Monday, April 27, 2020

1864/1865 Payments on Behalf of Family of Civil War soldier George Phelps of Robbinston, Maine; in 1860s/1870s Ledger of Financial Transactions of Robbinston, Maine


George Phelps - payments made in 1864 and 1865 to his family in Robbinston, Maine.  Phelps, age 24, was then serving in the First Maine Battery.

Found on page 1 in a ledger of Robbinston, Maine, financial transactions from the mid 1860s to the 1870s.

Payments made on behalf of:
  • Aaron Phelps, age 56, George's father [representative to the Maine Legislature in 1845]
  • Mehitable Phelps, age 45, George's mother - Mehitable (Lambert) Phelps, born in New Brunswick, Canada
  • Nancy Phelps, age 10, George's sister
  • Margaret Phelps, age 6, George's sister

George had several more siblings, but they were out of the household by 1864.

There were at least two men named George Phelps in the area during the same time frame.  I've heard they've been confused in many genealogies.

Here is a CDV of a George Phelps in the First Maine Battery on Digital Maine, presumably the same George Phelps.  And a death record for a George Phelps in 1923, showing he was in the First Maine Battery and which gives his birth date as October 10, 1840 and death date as March 6, 1923.

Interestingly, a Find a Grave Memorial for George Nelson Phelps (1838-1923) gives a birth date as November 1838 and a death date of March 5, 1923. This George is shown as having served in the 13th Maine Infantry. He was the husband of Hannah Elizabeth (Carlisle) Phelps.

1872 - Maine Marriages, 1771-1907 - Intention to Marry

  • Mr. George Phelps and Miss Hannah Carlisle
  • given certificate dated 16 January 1872 by Cyrus Balkam, Town Clerk of Robbinston, Maine

If you can shed light on the George Phelps who was the son of Aaron Phelps and Mehitable (Lambert) Phelps, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

The page shown above was found in a ledger of financial transactions of the 1860s and 1870s, including payments made to the families of nearly 50 Robbinston men serving in the Civil War. 

The ledger, which measures about 13" by 8" by 1/2", is missing its hard covers. About half of the 178 numbered pages have entries. The first page of what remains is shown below.  


Soldiers and sailors listed in the ledger
  • The numbers in parentheses indicate specific pages in the ledger.
  • Many of the men listed below were born in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia and may have returned to Canada after the War.  See the map below to see how close New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were, particularly in the Age of Sail.
  • If you have information on any of the men listed below, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

The List, Alphabetized

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