Hieronymous Weidner was born the son of Johann and Franziska (Habich) Weidner and grandson of Gottfried and Maria Anna (Holtz) Weidner. Heironymous is Jerome in English, and that it came from the Greek language, where it means "holy name." He was the father of Charles Weidner; grandfather of Frank Weidner, great-grandfather of Elanora (Weidner) Buchmiller, great-great grandfather of Dennis Buchmiller. He was born in Oestringen, Baden, Germany.

He was the first member of my maternal Weidner family to immigrate to America. His common law wife Agnes Magdalena Hirsch and his two children, Charles and Albertina arrived aboard the ship Oceana, at the Port of New Orleans, Louisiana on June 15, 1841. Magdalena and the two children were listed as members of her father and mothers party (Johann Jacob and Maria Johanna (Weigenant) Hirsch. His name does not appear in the ship records, but family folklore has it that he was a stow-a-way. Before coming to America, Hieronymous had served as a member of a "Karbiner" (rifle) Battalion in Baden, Germany. It is possible he secretly fled Baden while still a member of the German army. His parents, Johann and Maria (Holtz) Weidner arrived at Port of New Orleans aboard the ship Chesapeake on March 18, 1846. Like other German immigrants who intended to settle in the Madison, Clinton and Bond County, Illinois areas, they probably continued their journey to St. Louis aboard a steamship on the Mississippi River. Depending on the amount of personal effects they brought with them they either rode the stagecoach east from St Louis, or purchased horses and a wagon in East St. Louis for their journey east.

He married Magdalena in Germantown, on April 16, 1843. They probably lived in the Germantown area for several years, where he worked at his trade as a stonemason. The demand for stonemasons in the Germantown area probably subsided once the church and government buildings were finished. According to the book "History of Marion and Clinton County, Illinois", their name appears as one of the early settlers locating near Jamestown, in St Rose Township between 1850 and 1851.

The first recorded settler in Jamestown was John King, who arrived there in 1817. His cabin was the first to be built in the timber-covered site on the west shore of Shoal creek. Two brothers, William and John Brisban, were the second settlers there, arriving in spring of 1818, and also build cabins. John was a family man and William either a bachelor or widower. They eventually moved to Morgan County Illinois. In 1835, Joseph Taylor, a native of Kentucky, moved there and erected a large brick residence. He made the brick on his farm. At the time, it was the largest house in the county, and first brick residence in the township. It should be noted here that erecting brick structures usually required the help of a stone mason. Perhaps Hieronymous moved to the area because there was a growing demand there for brick and stone structures during the 1850's. [The availability of the type of soil needed to produce bricks no doubt also played a role in his decision]. Mr. Taylor was a Baptist minister, and improved his farm to three thousand acres. He died in 1845. The first of the German farmers who commenced to settle in the Jamestown area after 1840 included; Henry Kaune, Anton Dumbeck, Peter Barth and Hubert Hartleib. Between 1850 and 1851, the "newcomers" included Abraham Fricker, Hieronymous Weidner, Christian Pfister, John E Meyer, Joseph Amman, Jacob Senn, Christopher Junghaus and Jacob Amsler. In 1890, the town contained 20 houses, a store, Louis G Meyer saloon, post-mistress, harness shop, H. Theodore Lager blacksmith shop, Charles Schlueter Wagon shop, a one room school house, Methodist church, Frederick & Louis Habbeger Harnesss Makers, WW Everett Physician and surgeon, and water mill on Shoal Creek. Other Surnames of early Jamestown included Lennox, Massey, Habbegger, Grundman, Uzell, Randall and Lindly, .

There were a large number of Catholics in the Jamestown area, including the Weidners, who attended religious services in nearby St Rose. In the 1850's, the St Rose area was called Blue Mound. In 1868, a commodious brick Catholic Church was erected near the base of the mound. It was named "St Rose" church. If Hieronymous had survived the Civil War, he no doubt would have helped build the church. In 1870 Peter Schuette erected a store building near the church. Shortly there after, a post office was established and named St Rose. Soon a little village was built up and also named St Rose. There were 22 houses, two stores, two saloons two blacksmiths, two wagon shops, a school and two shoemakers in the 1880's.

He joined the 16'Th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry on October 12, 1862 at the age of 48. His military records describe him as 5 feet 3 inches - fair complexion - brown eyes - gray hair and age 42. The records are mistaken about the age. He enlisted for three years, which meant he needed to be 45 on or after his discharge date to qualify for service. Thus he falsely stated his age (commonly done on both sides) as 42 when he volunteered. His official enlistment took place in East St Louis. Like most volunteer cavalry soldiers, he brought his own horse with him to the war. He traveled by troop from East St Louis to Springfield. Nine days passed from his enlistment date to his arrival at Camp Butler located about 5 miles east of Springfield, Illinois. The trip covered about 100 miles, averaging 11 miles a day.

Camp Butler was established on August 2, 1861 as a training camp to replace camp Yates in Springfield. It was located on the northeast shores of Clear Lake, south of Jamestown, (often called Jimtown) now called Riverton. The original camp was 1/4 mile wide and 3/4 miles long. The Sangamon River was within easy walking distance providing a means for cleanliness and recreation. The Wabash Railroad was located close to the north boundary of the camp. The first troops arrived on August 3, 1861, and by August 5, 1861, 23 regiments had arrived. Two of the regiments, the Illinois 8'Th Infantry and Illinois 26'Th Infantry were among the 23. Hieronymous' sons Charles and Philip, as well as his son in law Gustav Reichart were members of the 26'th. Charles also served a second term with 8'Th. Each company had it's own barracks with three-tier bunks, stoves, tables to serve meals and benches. One supply contract stipulated a need of 12,000 lbs. of bread a day to the camp @ 2 1/2 cents a pound. Another was for enough beef for 30 days @ 5 1/2 cents a lb. Camp Butler was last used for mustering out troops after the war. On June 19, 1866, the camp was dismantled and all of the good equipment was send to St Louis. The buildings were dismantled and the lumber sold at public auctions. Almost 200,000 troops had trained and passed through the camp during its existence.

Camp Butler also served as a prisoner of war camp. It had held 5,178 Confederate prisoners, 830 of which had died due to illness, 203 escaped and 339 having been released on their oaths of allegiance. Prisoners were feed very well according to the camp inspection reports. It was noted on one repot that they were afforded more than they could consume. However the sanitary conditions were less than desirable which contributed to the spread of disease. The major killer amongst the prisoners was pneumonia. A letter written by a nurse described the camp as "Oh, what a horrid place this Camp Butler is after three days of rain". During February and March 1862, 148 prisoners died. The camp commander deemed it necessary to have the coffin builder move from Springfield to the camp in order to keep up with the demand. On any given day in 1862, there were 90 to 140 prisoners "continually hospitalized". All that remained after the closing of the camp was the cemetery containing both of Confederates and Union soldiers. The original cemetery of about six acres was dedicated July 17,1862 as "Camp Butler National Cemetery". It was expanded in 1949 by adding 34 acres. It now contains the graves of military personnel from all the US wars and actions since then.

The 16'Th Illinois Cavalry's Regimental History states: "In September 1862, the War Department authorized the extension of the Battalion to a regiment and on the 11'Th of June, 1863 the regimental organization was completed. The table of Organization for a regiment was set to include 10 companies, plus officers, non-commissioned officers, and musicians, for a total of 937 men. Soldiers were paid at the end of every month. They received $15 a month, a bounty of one hundred dollars when they got to camp, a section of land at the end of the war, clothing provisions and medical attention free. Their days started at 5:30 AM and ended at 9:30 PM. Due to the shortage of uniforms and weapons, training took place without either one. Guards however were issued both. National Archive records shows him present at Camp Butler from October 21, 1862 until July 1863. The book on the Camp history tells of the shortage of qualified training personnel. It is possible that his past experience in the German military led to his decision to enlist. Since there was a shortage of experience in training personnel, his age and past military experience could have been of great value as an instructor/trainer. The Regiment's September 1863 entry shows "he took ill on August 1'ST, while on a training march from Quincy to Kinderhook". The part about being on a training march also shows the possibility of him being utilized as an instructor, because he would have been finished with basic training by the preceding December.

Kinderhook, Illinois was, and still is a town of about 200 population situated at the bottom of the second river bluff, on route 96. The area west and south of town is a large fertile agricultural valley. It is 12 miles from the bluff to the Mississippi and Hannibal MO. Some time after the Civil War, all the buildings in Kinderhook but one, burned to the ground. The Pike County map of 1872 shows the Wabash Great Western Railroad tracks going through Kinderhook and continuing to the banks of the Mississippi River, east of Hannibal MO. It also shows another railroad intersecting the Wabash tracks near or in the village of Hull. This track runs north and south, and apparently went to Quincy. Many of the new trainees from Camp Butler were probably moved by troop train to the Mississippi River for travel by boat south to engage in the war. At the time of the Civil War, an "underground" railroad was also located and operated in a house on the west end of town. (see Kinderhook at bottom of article)

There were five Army hospitals in Quincy during the Civil War. Although Hieronymous took ill August 1, it wasn't until September 22, 1863 that he was admitted to Hospital # 3 at Quincy, where he died and was given a military burial that same day. Death did not come easy to Hieronymous. He lingered on for 52 days before giving up his spirit. Considering the lack of medicines, sanitary conditions, air conditioning and nutritious food, it must have been 52 days of hell. It would have been more merciful for him to have been shot to death on the battlefield. The most published casualty lists of the Civil War included those who died during battle, because the battles were more glamorous. I have always felt the real heros of the Civil War however, were the soldiers and families who endured the greatest hardships. Hieronymous suffered tremendously and should be recognized for his contribution to the war effort.

Cause of death was given as "Diarrhea Acuti" (inflammation of the bowels). His remains were laid to rest in plot 131 of the "Soldiers lot" of Woodland Cemetery. It is doubtful that any of his family ever visited his grave.

John Wood laid out Woodland Cemetery in 1846. It consisted of 40 acres on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River at the southwest corner of Jefferson and 5'th streets. Mr. Wood owned the cemetery and was paid by the city of Quincy to oversee it until 1879, when the lot owners took over the maintenance. John Wood's will provided that after his death (1880) the cemetery would revert to the city, which it did.

It has been strongly suggested that US Army hospital #3, where Hieronymous died, stood on the south side of Woodland at where the present day Mausoleum now stands. Apparently the soldiers who were near death were moved their to spend their last days. In 1849 an Asiatic cholera outbreak caused the death of an estimated 400 citizens. Many victims were buried in unmarked graves, often at night.

Henry Asbury, an early attorney in Quincy, composed the following poem about Woodland Cemetery in 1882. I include it here because I think it appropriately memorializes Hieronymous Weidner, and reflects the thoughts and feelings of his family, especially those who went there after the war to pay respects but couldn't find his grave, or couldn't afford to go at all. I believe there is a distinct possibility that some were planning to make the trip to Quincy and inquired about the location of his grave, or perhaps had asked the government to move his remains to the Jamestown area, and were told with his name didn't appear in the Soldiers' Lot. His wife and children surely suffered a great deal after his death.

Hail! Beauteous garden of the dead

Where many mourn lines are read

Telling that all ounce lived and died

Here sleeping at the river's side

And like that river at their feet

They onward pass without retreat

"Gods Acre" called His holy ground

Where faith and charity abound

And scarce a body resting there

Not watered by some loving tear

There lies before us many a grave

Where sleep the Faithful and the brave

Which raise our thoughts and touch the heart

And make it beat with aching smart

Here too the father of the town

With other men of large renown

Are gathered by that Reaper stern

Who cuts down each and all in turn?

Because wooden markers were used during the war to identify many of the soldier's graves, their names and pertinent dates deteriorated beyond recognition within a few years. Hieronymous' name does not appear in the inventory of Woodland Cemetery grave sites taken in August 1866. In 1870, all the existing cemetery records were destroyed in the great Quincy Courthouse fire. In 1899 the Federal government purchased land at 36'Th & Maine streets near Graceland Cemetery for a new "Quincy National Cemetery". His remains and those of approximately 200 other "unknown" soldiers from the "Soldier's Plot" of Woodland Cemetery were re-interred in Quincy National.

In 1997, I received copies of his military and pension records. When I contacted the Quincy National Cemetery, they were unable to find his name in their records. I then furnished the Veterans Administration with copies of his health and death records to prove that he had been buried in Woodland on September 22, 1863 in plot #131. They determined he indeed was one of the "unknown soldiers" from "Soldier's Plot". It is believed that when the soldier's remains were moved to Quincy National, they were buried in the same order in which they were exhumed in Woodland. Therefore, it is most probable that his remains are in the lot marked UNKNOWN, next to the grave of Wendellen Griesbaum, who died Sept. 17, 1863. After several mix-ups and 134 years after the date of his death, an appropriate headstone was finally placed on a vacant space at the front of Quincy National Cemetery, as there was no definite proof of which Unknown Soldier he was.

At the time of his death he had been paid up to the 30'TH day of June 1863. The government owed him $13.19 for clothing, three months pay of $30, and pay for the use of his horse at the time of his death.

His wife Magdalena received a military pension of $8 a month for herself and $2 a month each for their minor children Rosa, Henry and John. She received the children's pension until they reached the age of 16, which was considered at that time an age that they could and would earn their own "keep". She died on December 11, 1898 at age 72 and was buried at St Paul's Cemetery in Highland. Her grave and headstone are north and next to the Cross and priest's burial plot there.