Notes for William Gerkin

Family Group Sheet

Notes for William Gerkin

WILLIAM GERKING
William Gerking (Gerking) born 1820-1821, Orange county, Indiana; died 12 June 1863, Murphreesboro, Tennessee; bur. Military Cemetery, Murphreesboro, Tennessee. He died in the field hospital from chronic diarrhea during the Civil War; m. 1st - 3rd Oct 1839, Orange County, Indiana (Bk, C-2, p. 96) to Lucinda E. Roberts, b. 14 January 1824; d. 8 August 1859, Orange County, Indiana. Parents of 8 children. 2nd. 12 June 1860 Orange County, Indiana (Bk. C-4, p. 358) Mrs. Hannah Griggs, widow of Shadrack Griggs. Hannah was b. ca 1831; d. 31 July 1910, Spokane, Washington. They had 1 son. Hannah m. 3rd to Charles Hopper.
William Gerkin, a farmer from Orange County, Indiana enlisted as a private in Co., A., 17th Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, in the war between the states, August 14, 1862. At the time his health was excellent and his personal description was a follows:
Eyes-Black; Hair-Black; Complexion-Dark; Height 5' 9 1/2"
From his military records it has been discovered that he was captured by the Confederate Army and paroled at Mumfordsville, Kentucky, September 17, 1862. Later while fighting in Tennessee he bacame victim of the dread disease that plagued and killed so many during the Civil War - chronic diarrhea!
William Gerking made his X mark on the papers he signed. It was for this reason that those who wrote for him left the final 'g' off of his name thereby giving his descendants the 'Gerkin' spelling. William's widow, Hannah, spelled their name 'Gherkin.'
After William's death, Robert Higgins was appointed guardian of his minor sons, namely: John, Clayburn, Robert, Alfred and Jesse. Hannah's son by William died in 1865 and she remarried to a widower and veteran of the Civil War by the name of Charles Hopper. They moved first to Kansas where Charles died and then she moved to Spokane, Washington. Their marriage record is found in Orange County, Indiana (Bk. C-5m o, 240).
Bowe, Florence; The Gerking Family in America; 3rd Edition Revised 1990; p. 44.