Sometimes looking for one thing leads to realizations that have never been made.

Some background: Tonjes Ehmen  and Schwantje Ehmen were the parents of John, Willm, and Jurgen Ehmen and Antje (Ehmen) Sievers. Tonjes’ children were all living in Adams County, Illinois, during the Civil War era. Their exact dates of immigration are not currently known.

I am contemplating obtaining a copy of the Compiled Military Service Record for Willm (William) Ehmen who enlisted in the 43rd Illinois Infantry in November of 1864. Willm is a first cousin of an ancestor and in an attempt to keep my budget under control I’ve not ordered copies of every record he generated.

But then I realized that he would have been fairly young when he enlisted in the Civil War and may have needed permission. His father would have been deceased by the time of his enlistment and, based upon his father’s will, it does not appear that his mother was in the United States in April of 1864. While it does appear that Willm’s mother did immigrate, she may not have been in the United States when Willm enlisted either. Seeing who signed for him would have been interesting, particularly if it was a non-parent as some guardianship would have had to have been created. And if his mother had signed it would have helped to pinpoint when she immigrated.

It was not to be. Willm turned 18 on 4 November 1864–a little over two weeks before he enlisted. He would have been old enough to enlist.

In reviewing my materials more completely, I discovered something else happened between Willm’s 18th birthday and his enlistment in an Illinois unit 15 days later: his brother John died in a military hospital.

Key dates:

• 21 April 1864–Tonjes Ehmen writes his will in Adams County, Illinois.
• 30 April 1864–Tonjes Ehmen died–probably in Adams County, Illinois.
• 25 October 1864–John Ehmen admitted to the military hospital in Quincy, Illinois
• 4 November 1864–Willm Ehmen turned 18 years of age.
• 12 November 1864–John Ehmen died in a military hospital in Quincy, Illinois.
• 19 November 1864–Willm Ehmen enlisted in Company C, 43rd Illinois Infantry. He was mustered in on the same date.

1864 was a hard year for the Ehmen family. Nothing happens in a vacuum and chronologies are important and integrating as many dates of family events is important. Fortunately Willm did return from the War. Not every enlistee was so fortunate.

Now I’m wondering if Schwantje did leave Germany sometime during 1864. I’m still searching for her on a manifest entry as there is some evidence (later land transactions in Adams County, Illinois) that she did settle in the United States.