He was born in 1845/46 (3 (18 in 1864), 4 [19], 7 [42 in 1888], 8 [42 in 1888], 12 [2 in 1850], 13 [14 in 1860], 14 [23 in 1870], 15 [42 in 1888]). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15). (Note that according to the 1870 census, his parents were both foreign born (14).)
In 1850, he was living in ward 3, Spring Garden, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (12). He was living with Elizabeth Kneedler (perhaps his grandmother??), with Simon, Hannah, Solomon, Jacob, and Emma Kneedler (perhaps parents, uncle(s), and aunt(s)?), and with George Singawood (12).
In 1860, he was living in ward 12, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (13). He was living with Elizabeth Kneedler (perhaps his grandmother??), and with Hannah and Emma Kneedler (perhaps his mother and aunt??) (13). He had attended school within the year (13).
When he enlisted, he was a roofer (4). He was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he was enrolled (4).
When he enlisted, he was 5 feet 2 inches tall, had a dark complexion, brown eyes, and dark hair (3, 4).
The pension index card refers to Michael Birmingham, who served in company K of the 115th Pennsylvania Infantry (10).
According to the 1890 census, he served from May 1861 to May 1864 (5).
He enlisted and was mustered into service, for three years, as a recruit, on 6 February 1864, at Philadelphia Pennsylvania (1, 3, 4 [5 Feb], 10 [5 Feb]). He was enlisted and mustered into service by Captain Lane (3). He was a private, in company E (1, 9, 20, 21).
He was wounded in action on 23 May 1864, at the North Anna River, in his leg (3, 9).
On 9 [or perhaps 17?] March 1865, he deserted from McClellan US General Hospital, Philadelphia Pennsylvania (2). He was readmitted there from desertion on 18 April 1865 (2).
He was discharged on 12 July 1865 by general order (1, 4, 10). He served for seventeen months (7, 8). He was a private, in company E (9, 20, 21).
In 1870, he was living in ward 19, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (14). He worked in a distillery (14). He was living with Emma and Hannah Kneedler (presumably his mother and aunt??) (14).
On 2 December 1870, he applied successfully for a pension (6, 10).
On 6 June 1874, Freeman H Kneedler, son of Freeman and Jane Kneedler, died (11). He was 8 months old (11). He was buried at Monument Cemetery (11).
On 9 January 1876, Joanna Kneedler, daughter of Freeman and Joanna Kneedler, died (11). She was 9 days old (11). She died at, or was buried from Beach and Poplar Streets (11). She was buried at Cathedral Cemetery, on 11 January 1876 (11).
In 1880, he was not living with Emma and Hannah Kneedler (18).
He is presumably the Freeman M Kneedler, collecter, living at rear 304 Clark Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1880 and 1881 (18).
He may be the John F Freeman living at 629 South 4th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1886 to 1888 (18). In 1886, his occupation is listed as 'waterman', which is consistent with the National Military Home's register (15).
On 17 July 1888, he was admitted to the National Military Home, Southern Branch (7, 8, 15). He was admitted from Pennsylvania (7, 8, 15). He had a gunshot wound of the thigh (7, 8, 15). He was receiving a pension of $6.00 per month (15). He was single (15). He was a sailor (15). He listed as a relative or friend Kate Gilbert, 341 Bainbridge, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (15).
In 1889, he was present in the Southern Branch of the National Military Home (7). He was receiving a pension of $6 per month (7).
In 1890, he was living in the National Soldiers Home, Southern Branch, in Elizabeth City County, Virginia (5). He had "pros" [prostate?] and kidney disease (5).
He died on 29 July 1892, in Philadelphia, on furlough from the Southern Branch of the National Soldiers Home (8 [11 Aug 92, Southern Branch], 10 [29 July 1892, Philadelphia PA], 15). He was then receiving a pension of $6 per month (8). Perhaps he is the John Kneedler who died in Philadelphia on 29 July 1892 of gastroenteritis, and was buried in Mt Vernon Cemetery (16, 17).
In 1893 and 1894, his presumed widow, Josephine Kneedler, was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 2 rear 1166 Sidney in 1893 and 243 Queen in 1894 (18).
On 24 July 1896, his widow, Joanna A Kneedler, unsuccessfully applied from Pennsylvania for a pension (6, 10).
On 12 February 1910, a contesting widow, Mary Wills, unsuccessfully applied from Pennsylvania for a pension (6, 10).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster)
2 register of deserters, company E, entry 22
3 descriptive roll, company E, entry 142
4 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 24 May 2004 (Freeman Kneedler)
5 1890 US census, Virginia, Elizabeth City County, National Soldiers Home, page 35 (image 34 on Ancestry), line 39 (Freeman Kneedler)
6 pension index, by name (Freeman M Kneedler)
7 Letter from the President of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, transmitting the report of the Board for the fiscal year 1889. Serial Set volume 2768, session volume 9, 51st Congress, 1st Session. House Miscellaneous Document 77. Page 312. (Freeman Kneedler)
8 Report of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1893. Serial Set volume 3151, session volume 1, 53rd Congress, 1st Session. House Miscellaneous Document 35. Page 717. (Freeman Kneedler)
9 'The Ninety-first Pennsylvania volunteers', Philadelphia Inquirer 8 June 1864 page 3 (Freeman Kneeder [sic])
10 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company E (Freeman M Kneedler)
11 Philadelphia city death certificate extracts on LDS Pilot site (accessed 11 September 2010) (Freeman Kneedler)
12 1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Spring Garden, ward 3, precinct 1, microfilm series M432, film 818, page 488 verso = 978 handwritten (Freeman Kneedler)
13 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 12, division 2, microfilm series M653, film 1162, page 400 = 180 handwritten (Freeman Kneedler)
14 1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 19, district 58, microfilm series M593, film 1404, page 203 = 55 handwritten (Freeman Kneedler)
15 National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938, Hampton, Registers, S, transcribed from Ancestry (image 548 of 3251) 14 December 2011 (Freeman Kneedler)
16 Find-a-grave, memorial 50227589, created by Meges, 26 March 2010, accessed 14 December 2011 [identification is uncertain; the surname and date of death make the identification possible, but the personal name is surprising--however, the HeritageQuest census indices have only 2 John Kneedler's in Philadelphia, neither of whom could be this John Kneedler (one was 39 in 1870 and the other 30 in 1920), and the city directories (18 below) don't have any other obvious candidates either] [I saw no other relevant entries on Find-a-grave of Kneedler's buried in Mt Vernon) (John Kneedler)
17 Philadelphia death certificates, transcribed 15 January 2011 from FamilySearch's Beta site (John Kneedler)
18 various Philadelphia city directories, transcribed 15 January 2011 from Footnote
19 1880 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 387, microfilm series T9, film 1179, page 74 C = 19 handwritten
20 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (Thomas Kneedler)
21 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (Freeman M Kneedler)
| line | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Dwellings visited | 568 | |||||||
| Families visited | 606 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Name | Elizabeth Kneedler | Simon Kneedler | Hannah Kneedler | Solomon Kneedler | Jacob Kneedler | Emma Kneedler | Freeman Kneedler | George Singawood [?] |
| Age | 65 | 35 | 31 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 24 |
| Sex | F | M | F | M | M | F | M | M |
| Color | ||||||||
| Occupation of males over 15 years | Carter | Stone Mason | Sadler [sic] | Carter | ||||
| Real estate owned | ||||||||
| Birthplace | " " [sc. Pennsylvania] | " | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Married within year | ||||||||
| Attended school within year | ||||||||
| Over 20 & can't read/write | ||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Dwelling number | 1282 | |||
| Family number | 1519 | |||
| Name | Elizth Kneedler | Hannah " | Emma " | Freeman " |
| Age | 76 | 45 | 35 | 14 |
| Sex | F | F | F | F [sic] |
| Color | ||||
| Occupation | ||||
| Value of real estate owned | ||||
| Value of personal estate | ||||
| Place of birth | " [sc. Penn] | " | " | " |
| Married within year | ||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | |||
| Cannot read & write | ||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Dwelling-house number | 374 | ||
| Family number | 481 | ||
| Name | Kneedler Freeman | - Emma | - Hannah |
| Age | 23 | 49 | 59 |
| Sex | M | F | F |
| Color | " [sc. W] | " | " |
| Occupation | Wk in distillery | Wk " carpet factory | " Shoe Store |
| Real estate value | |||
| Personal estate value | |||
| Birthplace | Penna | " | " |
| Father foreign born | 1 | ||
| Mother foreign born | 1 | ||
| Birth month if born within year | |||
| Marriage month if married within year | |||
| Attended school past year | |||
| Can't read | |||
| Can't write | |||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | |||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old | 1 | ||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old who can't vote ... |
| line | 43 | 44 |
| street name | North 13th St | |
| house number | [915] | |
| dwelling visit # | [746] | |
| family visit # | [200] | |
| name | Kneedler Hannah | - Emma |
| color | W | W |
| sex | F | F |
| age | 72 | 60 |
| month born if born in year | ||
| relationship | Boarder | Boarder |
| single | 1 | 1 |
| married | ||
| widowed/divorced | ||
| married during year | ||
| occupation | At Home | At Home |
| months unemployed | ||
| currently ill? | ||
| blind | ||
| deaf/dumb | ||
| idiotic | ||
| insane | ||
| disabled | ||
| school this year | ||
| can't read | ||
| can't write | ||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Penna | Penna |
| mother's birthplace | Penna | Penna |
| No. | 6568 6 00 112.610 |
| NAME. | Freeman Kneedler Sailor |
| Name and Address of Relatives or Friends | Miss Kate Gilbert 341 Bainbridge Phila. Pa. |
| Where Born | Pa. Adm. from Pa. |
| Company and Regiment | Private E 91 Pa. |
| Date of Enlistment | Feb 6. 64. |
| Date of Discharge | July 12. 65 |
| DISABILITY | G.S.W. r. [?] Thigh |
| Date of Admission | July 17 1888 |
| By order of Manager | Gen W. J. Sewell |
| Age. | 42 |
| Married or Single | S |
| Remarks | First Adm. H R and Wr. Died on furlough at Philada July 29' 1892 |