He enlisted under the alias Howard May. [sources: 4, 7]
He was born on 1 September 1846, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, to William E May and Harriet Bryan. [sources: date: 9; 3 (18 in 1861), 11 (6 in 1850), 12 (15 in 1860), 13 (25 in 1870), 14 (32 in 1880), 15 (Sep 1844), 16 (63 in 1910). place: 3 (Northumberland Cty PA), 9 (PA), 11 (PA), 12 (PA), 13 (PA), 14 (PA), 15 (PA), 16 (PA). parents: 9 ('Harriet Bryner [?]', 11, 12, 17 (Harriett Maria Bryan)]
In 1850, he was living in Moyamensing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with William and Harriet May (presumably his parents), and with William, John, Clara, and David May (presumably his siblings), and three others. His father was a merchant. [source: 11]
In 1860, he was living in ward 6, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with William E and Hariet May (presumably his parents), and with John H, Clara, David R, and Mary F May (presumably his siblings), and one other. He had attended school within the year. His father had a liquor store. [source: 12]
When he enlisted, he was a clerk. [source: 3]
When he enlisted, he was 5 feet 4 inches tall, and had a light complexion, light eyes, and dark hair. [source: 3]
He enlisted and was mustered into service on 4 November 1861. He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Lieutenant Gregory. He was a private in company F. [sources: 1, 3, 4, 5]
He was discharged at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on writ of habeas corpus, on 14 December 1861. He was a private, in company F. [sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
He also served as Landsman on the Princeton, State of George, and Vermont. [sources: 4, 7]
On 24 December 1868, he married Sarah Esrey. She was born in 1849, in Pennsylvania, to John Esrey and Margaret McCoy. They apparently had twelve children, including these:
[sources: 12, 13, 14, 15 (12 children, 7 alive in 1900), 16 (12 children, 7 alive in 1910), 17]
In 1870, he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his (presumed) wife Sallie, and (presumed) child Harry. He was a journeyman plasterer, and owned personal property worth $300. [source: 13]
In 1880, he was living at 1415 Bancroft Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his wife Sallie, and children Harry, Maggie, Florence, Sallie, and Lori. He was a plasterer. [source: 14]
On 17 October 1891, he applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension. [source: 6]
In 1900, he was living at 1149 South Juniper Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his wife Sallie, children Harry, Bertha, Edna, Howard, Margaret McNeill (and Margaret's husband James McNeill), and Julia Simons (and Joseph Simons, apparently Julia's son). He was a teamster, and had been unemployed 0 months in the past year. He owned his house, with no mortgage. [source: 15]
In 1910, he was living at 1738 Ellsworth Street, ward 26, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was living with his wife Sally and son Howard Jr. He was a teamster, working for himself. He owned his house, free of any mortgage. [source: 16]
On 5 April 1919, at 10 AM, he died, at 2331 Dickinson Street, ward 36, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died of capillary bronchitis (8 days duration), with senilitycontributing. He was a plasterer. The informant on the death certificate was Sarah E May, of the same address (presumably his wife, Sarah Esrey May ("Sallie")). On 13 April 1919, he was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [sources: 4, 6, 7, 9]
On 18 April 1919, his widow Sallie May applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension. [sources: 4, 6]
On 12 November 1919, at 2.05 AM, his widow, Sallie May, died, at 2331 Dickinson Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She died of cerebral emboli (duration 1 month, 2 days), with valvular disease of heart contributing. The informant on the death certificate was Florence Caldwell (of the same address). On 16 November 1919, she was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [sources: 8, 10]
A Thomas Howard May died of lobar pneumonia (14 days duration), on 11 October 1918, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 5447 Osage Avenue (46th ward). He was 53 years old, and born in Philadelphia to William May and [unknown]. He was a shipping clerk. The informant on the death certificate was Margaret May (same address). He was buried on 20 October 1918, at Northwood Cemetery, undertaker George H Chew. (death certificate, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, file number 148139, Thomas Howard May, available on Ancestry (accessed 14 December 2014))
The Philadelphia Inquirer death notice is this: 'MAY.--Oct. 11, of pneumnoia, H. [sic] HOWARD, husband of Margaret May. Relatives invited to services, Sun. at 3 P.M., at his late residence, 5447 Osage ave. Int. private.' (death notice, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday 20 October 1918, page 16, accessed on GenealogyBank 14 December 2014)
Since the memorial in Find a grave matches the spouse's name, and the date on the pension index cards, and is in a different cemetery, I have assumed that the Thomas Howard May who died on 11 October 1918 is not the Thomas Howard May who served in the 91st.
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) (Howard May)
2 company F, register of men discharged (Howard May)
3 company F, descriptive roll, #75 (Howard May)
4 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company F (and second card) (Thomas H May alias Howard May)
5 index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Pennsylvania (Howard May)
6 pension index, by name (Thomas H May alias Howard May)
7 Find a grave, memorial 134139073, created by Crypt Tonight, 10 August 2014, accessed 14 December 2014 (Thomas Howard May)
8 Find a grave, memorial 134139233, created by Crypt Tonight, 10 August 2014, accessed 14 December 2014 (Sallie Esrey May)
9 death certificate, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, file number 42814 (Thomas H May)
10 death certificate, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 12 November 1919, filed number 107808 (Sarah E May)
11 1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Moyamensing, microfilm series M432, film 809, page 274 verso = 546 handwritten = 86 handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
12 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 6, division 1, microfilm series M653, film 1156, page 639 = 17 handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
13 1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, microfilm series M593, film 1336, page 220 recto = 5 handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
14 1880 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, enumeration district 558, microfilm series T9, film 1185, page 622 = 6 B handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
15 1900 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 26, enumeration district 622, microfilm series T623, film 1468, page 92 = 3 A handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
16 1910 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 26, enumeration district 584, microfilm series T624, film 1401, page 5 = 5 A handwritten (FamilySearch) (Howard May)
17 'Mershon-Carter-May', an Ancestry family tree, contact netcrazycp, accessed 25 December 2014 (Thomas Howard May)
| line | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Dwellings visited | 584 | |||||||||
| Families visited | 708 | |||||||||
| Name | William May | Harriet do | William do | John do | Howard do | Clara do | David do | Mary Odmyer [?] | Martha Banford | Sarah Kally |
| Age | 40 | 30 | 15 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4/12 | 22 | 63 | 23 |
| Sex | m | f | m | m | m | f | m | f | f | f |
| Color | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w | w |
| Occupation of males over 15 years | Merchant | |||||||||
| Real estate owned | 800 | |||||||||
| Birthplace | Delaware | Pennsylvania | do | do | do | do | do | Maryland | Pennsylvania | do |
| Married within year | ||||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Over 20 & can't read/write | ||||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Dwelling number | [illegible] | |||||||
| Family number | 107 | |||||||
| Name | Wm E May | Hariet " | John H " | Howard " | Clara " | David R " | Mary F " | Elizabeth Moore |
| Age | 45 | 43 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 23 |
| Sex | M | F | M | " | F | M | F | " |
| Color | ||||||||
| Occupation | Liquor Store | no | Clerk | Domestic | ||||
| Value of real estate owned | 2000 | |||||||
| Value of personal estate | 1200 | |||||||
| Place of birth | N York | Penna | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Married within year | ||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Cannot read & write | ||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Dwelling-house number | [27] | ||
| Family number | 33 | ||
| Name | May Howard | Sallie | Harry |
| Age | 25 | 20 | 9 12 |
| Sex | M | F | M |
| Color | W | W | W |
| Occupation | Jour Plasterer | Keeping House | |
| Real estate value | |||
| Personal estate value | 300 | ||
| Birthplace | Pa | Pa | Pa |
| Father foreign born | |||
| Mother foreign born | |||
| Birth month if born within year | Oct | ||
| 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 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| street name | Bancroft East Side | ||||||
| house number | 1415 | ||||||
| dwelling visit # | 50 | ||||||
| family visit # | 73 | ||||||
| name | May Howard | - Sallie | - Harry | - Maggie | - Florence | - Sallie | - Lori |
| color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | M | F | F | F | F |
| age | 32 | 31 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3/12 |
| month born if born in year | |||||||
| relationship | wife | son | Daughter | " | " | " | |
| single | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| married | 1 | 1 | |||||
| widowed/divorced | |||||||
| married during year | |||||||
| occupation | Plaster | Home | " | " | " | " | " |
| months unemployed | |||||||
| currently ill? | |||||||
| blind | |||||||
| deaf/dumb | |||||||
| idiotic | |||||||
| insane | |||||||
| disabled | |||||||
| school this year | 1 | 1 | |||||
| can't read | |||||||
| can't write | |||||||
| birthplace | Penna | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| father's birthplace | Penna | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| mother's birthplace | Penna | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| line | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| street | S. Juniper Street | |||||||||
| house number | 1149 | |||||||||
| dwelling number | 43 | |||||||||
| family number | 48 | |||||||||
| name | May, Howard | - Sallie | - Harry | - Bertha | - Edna | - Howard | McNeill James | - Margaret | Simons, Julia [sic] | - Joseph |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Son | Daughter | Daughter | Son | Son in Law | Daughter | Daughter | Son |
| color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | M | F | F | M | M | F | F | M |
| birth date | Sept 1844 | Sept 1849 | Sept 1869 | Nov 1881 | June 1884 | Nov 1890 | June 1871 | April 1871 | Mar 1877 | July 1898 |
| age | 55 | 50 | 30 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 28 | 29 | 23 | 1 |
| married? | M | M | S | S | S | S | M | M | M | S |
| # years married | 31 | 31 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||
| mother of how many children? | 12 | 0 | 3 | |||||||
| # of children living | 7 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Scotland | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Ireland | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| immigration year | ||||||||||
| # years in USA | ||||||||||
| naturalized citizen? | ||||||||||
| occupation | Teamster | Teamster | Drugs | Waitress | At School | Policeman | ||||
| # months not employed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| # months in school | 10 | |||||||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
| speaks English | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||
| owned/rented | O | |||||||||
| free or mortgaged | F | |||||||||
| farm/house | H | |||||||||
| # of farm schedule | ||||||||||
| line | 45 | 46 | 47 |
| street | Ellsworth St | ||
| house nr | 1738 | ||
| dwelling nr | 80 | ||
| family nr | 86 | ||
| name | May Howard | - Sally | - Howard Jr |
| relationship | Head | wife | Son |
| sex | M | F | M |
| color | W | W | W |
| age | 63 | 60 | 20 |
| marital status | M | M | S |
| #years present marriage | 42 | 42 | |
| mother of # children | 12 | ||
| mother of # living children | 7 | ||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| immigrated | |||
| naturalized/alien | |||
| speaks English | English | English | English |
| occupation | teamster | None | Driver |
| nature of industry etc. | Own Self | Furniture wagon | |
| employer etc. | OA | W | |
| out of work 15 Apr 1910? | No | No | |
| # weeks out of work 1909 | 0 | 0 | |
| can read | yes | yes | yes |
| can write | yes | yes | yes |
| school since 1 Sep 09 | |||
| owned/rented | O | ||
| owned free or mortagaged | F | ||
| farm/house | H | ||
| nr on farm schedule | |||
| civil war vet | |||
| blind | |||
| deaf & dumb | |||