Photo # 15: Joseph A. SCHOFIELD

Joseph A. SCHOFIELD, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Photo # 15 Joseph A. Schofield

Civil War Vet, Engineer,
Tin and Sheet Iron Dealer, Bicycle Repairer

This great photo of Joseph A. Schofield was found at Joe Bott's Dead Fred Photography Web Site. I was asked to write a short article on how to use his "orphan" photo hosting service for a local genealogy newsletter so I searched the site for one of my favorite surnames, Scholfield or Schofield. You can't imagine the shock on my face when I came face to face with my second great grandfather's photograph. I sat stunned in front of the monitor for quite some time. I can't Joe Bott enough for mailing this original photo to me (and his sister Lizzie's photo too).

You wouldn't know this was him from my grandmother's description of "smart, inclined to obesity, loved rich food and had the gout". The first clue was the notes on the back of the photo who turned out to be a family member. The second clue was the setting of the photo which is the same photographer's studio and pose as one of my other ancestors. But, the biggest clue was the dark circles under his eyes. Daughters look like their fathers in my family and they are spitting images of each other. Remember Nellie's weight problem later in life?

Joe Schofield was a man of many talents and it may be why I can't get a copy of his Civil War pension record from NARA. They say it is stored elsewhere and I have to claim it in a very round about way because of The Freedom of Information Act. It may be that Joe invented something during the Civil War because he was a very talented engineer. He never retired! He is listed as a tin and sheet iron dealer and a bicycle repairer. I recently found out he was in business with his son-in-law. City directory work is amazingly rewarding.

He served in the Civil War for his home state of Connecticut in Company G, 5th Infantry Regiment Connecticut, despite the fact that he was living in Westerly, Rhode Island during the War.

He is buried with his wife, his parents and his mother's second husband. I was so excited to find the gravestone that I made a classic beginner mistake and had to go back and take a row shot and each individual stone.

It appears that Joe Schofield was the one who dropped the l from the surname. I am certain that he is a Jr. but only the cemetery records indicate that. I continue to search for information about this interesting family.

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