Pvt William Sharp
| Sharp, William (also spelled Sharpe) Born: c. 1832, Windsor, Connecticut Died: December 26, 1901, Bloomfield, Connecticut Burial: Elmwood Cemetery, East Granby, Connecticut Occupation: Laborer ? Farmer Enlisted: August 21, 1863, Hartford, Connecticut Unit: 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment (Colored) Company: F Rank: Private --------------------------- Born in Windsor, Connecticut, around 1832, William Sharp spent his entire upbringing in that town. The youngest of three children, he had an older brother, Seth, and an older sister, Nancy. Their parents were Thomas Sharp and a woman named Wealthy, whose age aligns to that of Wealthy Griswold. The backgrounds of William’s parents could not have been more different. His father, Thomas Sharp, was potentially a formerly enslaved man of Thomas Hibbert in St. Mary’s, Jamaica, who later became a resident of Windsor by way of New York City. His mother, Wealthy, was a white woman, likely the daughter of Abel Griswold and granddaughter of George Griswold, both Revolutionary War veterans with deep roots in Windsor. The Griswold family were among the original English settlers of the town. Over the centuries, several publications have outlined the lineage of the Griswold family, tracing their origins from England to Windsor, Connecticut. These works rarely, if ever, acknowledge Wealthy Griswold’s marriage and children. Thomas Sharp first appears in Windsor in the 1830 census, where he is listed as head of a household of four, including one white woman, likely Wealthy Griswold. This suggests the couple married prior to 1830. The family also appears in the 1840 census, but the 1850 census is particularly valuable, as it is the first federal census to list all household members by name. In that record, Wealthy is identified as Thomas’s wife and the mother of Seth, Nancy, and William. All of the children are listed as “mulatto,” indicating mixed racial ancestry. By 1860, William, age twenty-six, was still living with his parents, while his siblings had established their own households. Thomas Sharp is listed as a property owner with real estate valued at $1,200. With Connecticut land prices averaging around $31 per acre at the time, this likely represented a moderately sized farm, possibly between forty and sixty acres. On October 6, 1861, Windsor town records document the death of Thomas Sharp. The cause of death is listed as dropsy, now understood as edema, a condition involving fluid retention and swelling of tissues. Two years later, on August 21, 1863, William Sharp enlisted in Hartford, Connecticut, with the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment. His enlistment papers list him as a farmer residing in Windsor. On October 31, 1863, William was appointed an artificer within the regiment—a skilled mechanic responsible for maintaining and repairing artillery weapons and equipment. Having been assigned and promoted to this role, Sharp’s craftsmanship, technical expertise, and intelligence were acknowledged in a system often-stereotyping Black soldiers as only being suited for manual and menial labor. Because of the technical nature of the role, artificers were typically compensated at a higher rate than privates. William remained in this position throughout the war and mustered out with his regiment on October 2, 1865. William does not appear in the 1870 census, but his mother, Wealthy does. She remained in Windsor, living in the household of her daughter Nancy and son-in-law Frederick Ross. Also in the home were Wealthy’s granddaughters, Ida, Mary, Alice, and Ellen. Nearby lived her son Seth, now married to Jane Carroll, with their children Catharine, Seth Jr., and William. By 1880, Wealthy Sharp no longer appears in the census and had likely passed away. William is recorded living in Windsor in the household of his brother Seth, alongside Seth’s wife Jane and their children Catharine, Seth Jr., William, and John. The 1890 U.S. census was largely destroyed in a 1921 fire at the Commerce Department building in Washington, D.C., with most of the remaining records later discarded. As a result, no census record exists to document William Sharp’s whereabouts during that year. On December 26, 1901, while visiting a friend in Bloomfield, Connecticut, William stayed the night. He was later found deceased. The medical examiner listed the cause of death as heart disease. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in East Granby, Connecticut. William Sharp was sixty-nine years old. |