Selah Cornwell GAR Post 632

Between a recent donation from the owner of Scipio business St. John’s Memorials and another trip to the NYS Archives in Albany, I have gathered some more information about Scipio and Cayuga County in the early years.
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) records stored at the Archives are not complete, but there were several for Scipio, Union Springs, King Ferry and Auburn. I plan to share some of them in the weeks ahead, and of course will make them available at the Scipio Town Hall for anyone who is interested. Here are a few details about Scipio Civil War veterans who belonged to #632.

Yearly reports submitted by Post 632 of Scipio tell us who was an officer, how many members the Post had and what the dues were.

In 1895, there were 22 members reported with their Headquarters in Merrifield, Town of Scipio. Officers were Wm. C. Tripp, J. B. Hitchcock, Libeus Merry, Francis Flynn, W. M. Clark, P.T. Shorkley, M. M. Palmer, C. Sincerbox, T. C. Tallman and S. Williams.

June of 1897 shows the Post Headquarters listed as Association Hall, and there were 23 members; two members were lost by suspension leaving 21. Dues were $1.68 per capita.
Officers listed were: Wm. C. Tripp, W. M. Clark, J. B. Hitchcock, P.T. Shorkley, M. M. Parker, C. Sincerbox, S. Williams, T. C. Tallman, Libeus Merry and Francis Flynn.
They met the 1st and 3rd Saturdays in Morgan Hall.

For December of 1897, a report was filed showing 21 current members, and another two mustered in: John Muldoon, aged 72 and a resident of the neighboring town of Fleming and J. P. Northway, aged 52, born in Cortland and residing in Venice (which was formed off from Scipio in 1823).
John Muldoon was mustered in on December 30, 1862. He served as a Private in Company E of the 9th NY Heavy Artillery until his discharge on October 18, 1865 due to a surgeon’s certificate.
J. P. enlisted on January 7, 1864. He mustered in as a Private in Company H of the 16th NY Heavy Artillery. At discharge on November 29, 1865, he was a member of Company A of the 4th NY Cavalry. His discharge was due to General orders #144. Dues had been lowered to eight cents a member. Meetings were held the 1st Saturday of the month at Association Hall.
Officers listed were Morton M. Palmer, John P. Northway, William C. Tripp, Thomas C. Tallman, Pardon T. Shorkley, Chester Sincerbox, Leonard Williams, Wilbur C. Clark, Alonso A. Austin, James B. Hitchcock and Francis Flynn.

On June 28, 1902, 37 years after the end of the Civil War, Post 632 had just 13 members and they each paid eight cents for dues, so a total of $1.04 was collected. The roster of members was as follows:
Francis Flynn, J. P. Northway, W. M. Clark, P.T. Shorkley, M.M. Parker, Chester Sincerbox, Wm. C. Tripp, J. W. Jaquette, A. A. Austin and J. B. Hitchcock.