Pvt Timothy F. Oliver
| Oliver, Timothy F. Born: c. 1829, Hartford, Connecticut Died: February 11, 1892, Windsor, Connecticut Burial: Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Connecticut Occupation: Farmer Enlisted: September 26, 1863, Providence, Rhode Island Unit: 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored) Company: E Rank: Private --------------------------- Timothy F. Oliver was born in Hartford, Connecticut, around 1829. He was the second of nine children born to Timothy Oliver and Sabra Freeman. Timothy spent his entire childhood in Hartford, where the family appears in the federal census of 1830, 1840, and 1850. In the 1860 census, Timothy is listed as thirty-two years old, unmarried, and living with the Easton family in Hartford, where he worked as a farmhand. In 1863, Timothy decided to serve in the Civil War. Connecticut had not yet approved the creation of a Colored regiment, so Timothy traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, where he enlisted in the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored) on September 26, 1863. In May 1864 the regiment was redesignated the 11th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment (USCHA). Timothy was assigned to Company E. Timothy was not the only member of his family to enlist during the Civil War. Three of his brothers also served. Joshua Oliver enlisted in the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment on December 15, 1863, and died of illness in Brownsville, Texas, on October 5, 1865. Daniel W. Oliver enlisted in the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment on February 29, 1864. James F. Oliver enlisted in the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry Regiment on December 24, 1864. While four of the Oliver brothers fought for the country, they were not the first in their family to do so. Their great-grandfather, Syphax Mosely, served during the Revolutionary War. Syphax had been jointly enslaved by Joseph Mosley of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and Giles Sage of Middletown, Connecticut. In September 1777, Syphax enlisted in the 3rd Connecticut Regiment commanded by Colonel Samuel Wyllys, serving under Captain Edward Eells of Middletown. Before leaving for the war, Syphax entered into an agreement with his enslavers. In exchange for his freedom, Syphax promised that they would never be required to financially support him in the future. Should that ever occur, they would be compensated using the bounty he was to receive from the government for his military service. This agreement was recorded in the Glastonbury town records. At the time, the Continental Congress promised soldiers a bounty of $100 and 100 acres of land for service during the Revolutionary War. Syphax assigned those benefits to his enslavers as security for his future care in exchange for his freedom. After returning from the Revolutionary War, Syphax adopted his enslaver’s surname, calling himself Syphax Mosely. Sometime after his death in 1808, however, his wife and six children began using his given name as their surname, with his wife referring to herself as Mary Syphax. Of note, Mary, the wife of Syphax, is often recorded in town records as Polly rather than Mary. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Polly was a common nickname for women named Mary, particularly in the United States. Syphax and Mary’s daughter, Sabra Syphax, married Joseph Freeman. They were the grandparents of Timothy Oliver. Sabra and Joseph then had a daughter they also named Sabra (Timothy’s mother), who married Timothy’s father in Glastonbury on October 5, 1825. Timothy was named after his father. During the Civil War, from December 20, 1864, until January 1865, Timothy performed provost guard duties at Plaquemine, LA. Several months later, he mustered out on October 2, 1865. After the Civil War, Timothy lived for a time in Windsor, Connecticut. In 1880 he appears as a boarder in the household of John Higinbatham and worked as a farmhand. He never married and had no children. Although, his brother, Henry Oliver was the first husband of Mary Ann Percy. Mary later married William Giddy, who also fought during the Civil War with the 31st United States Colored Regiment. According to probate records, Timothy’s great-grandmother Mary left a substantial estate at her death in 1816, including a will, bonds, inventories of personal property, land, and financial holdings. While she distributed personal belongings among her sons, daughters, grandchildren, and others named in her will, her land was primarily granted to her daughters and certain grandchildren, suggesting a deliberate effort to secure stability for her daughters and future generations. Timothy’s grandmother, Sabra Freeman, was among those daughters who acquired land through this transfer of property. Over time, however, and across successive generations, the land and material wealth Mary had carefully established appear to no longer present by Timothy’s generation. While specific reasons for loss of family assets are not particularly clear, family circumstances or the broader economic and social challenges that often disrupted African American landownership in the 19th century may have played a role. At the time of his death, Timothy was a resident of the almshouse in Hartford. On February 17, 1892, the Hartford Courant reported that after receiving a back pension payment of $150, Timothy traveled to Windsor on February 11, 1892. While in Windsor, Timothy stopped at the house of a friend, Henry Peterson, became ill and died. George Terry, a resident of the Hayden’s Station neighborhood was called by the Town Selectman to prepare the body for burial. While doing so, he came across a large sum of money in Timothy’s clothing, took it, and began spending it for himself. After hearing about this, the Town Selectman filed a complaint against George Terry and he was arrested. The constable pulled $69.21 from George Terry’s pocket, Terry pleaded guilty and was held on $500 bond. According to the death certificate, Timothy was ill for 5 days and died of phenomena. Timothy and his three brothers served during the Civil War, and their great-grandfather Syphax had earlier secured his freedom by fighting during the Revolutionary War. Together they represent yet another American Black family whose lineage reflects a long tradition of military service in support of the establishment and defense of the United States. After returning from the war and in the latter part of his life, Timothy struggled to make ends meet as he waited for the service pension he was owed— payments that arrived too late for him to fully benefit before his death. Even in death, he was treated poorly, despite the respect and admiration his life and sacrifice deserved. Timothy F. Oliver was buried by the Town at Palisado Cemetery in Windsor, Connecticut. |