Great Grandpa MosherCharles Henry MosherHe was a stone mason and Grandpa said he was very strong from lifting big blocks of stone. He worked on bridge abutments and dams and such heavy construction as that. Mom said that Grandpa told about a time when Great Grandpa wrestled a bear at a carnival. He also punched a preacher, or at least threw him into a tub of mortar. The cause of this action is not known other than that Great Grandpa had a terrible temper.
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| Charles & Emma Mosher |
Grandpa told me several times that Great Grandpa wanted to enlist in the army during the Civil War, but was too young. His desire to serve (and his father's reluctance) is understandable as he had two older brothers who had been serving in the war since 1861. As Grandpa told the story, when Charles Henry was only 15, he went to town (Cardington or Mt. Gilead presumably) to enlist. His father went after him, pulled him out of the enlistment line, brought him home and gave him a thrashing. The next day Charles Henry was gone to the enlistment line again. Again his father fetched him home and again disciplined him. The third day, Charles Henry persisted and returned to the enlistment line. This time his father brought him home, saying that if you must go, come home and get a good meal, say your good byes, and take my very best riffle. And in fact, the enlistment record shows that Charles Henry Mosher was enlisted into the 126th OVI in 1865 at the age of 15. He was discharged at Macon, Georgia in 1866.
Grandpa told me that after the war, Great Grandpa said that he was always home sick during the war and that he sometimes would climb up on tree stumps to see if he could see back home.
My mother said that her father told her that Charles brought home a "big ol' black buck nigger" from the war. And in fact, the 1870 census does show that a 24 year old black man named John who was from Louisiana is living with the Moshers. The Underground Railroad ran through Morrow County and so it is possible that Charles was not unfamiliar with freeing slaves. This is pure speculation however.
In 1869, Charles married Emma Sherman. The Rev. George Wood presided over the ceremony that was held in Woodville. Charles was 20, and Emma was 18. Emma Sherman Mosher was listed on a later map as owning a fair sized lot on the very west edge of Fulton.This is a 1901 map of Fulton, Ohio (Lincoln Center at the time) showing property owned by Emma Mosher. It's not known if she lived there or simply owned the property. You can see that there was also a railroad and depot at that time. A very different place than today.
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