Taggart/Taggert genealogy

Taggart/Taggert genealogy
of Steuben County NY
William Taggart/Taggert from New York who married a Susan Underwood in 1853. From what I can tell they lived in Whitesville or West Union of Steuben county.
Taggart family from Tyrone Co., Ireland

John Taggart born 1780 in Ireland married Fanny (Elizabeth Frances) Rolston born abt 1784 Ireland. They had 5 sons and 2 daughters. They left Ireland between 1828, as this is the birthday of their last child and 1839 as this is the birth date of one the earliest grandchildren.

A letter of Jan. 9th 1864 from Charles T. Kelsey, Asst. Surgeon reads in part, "I do hereby certify… that he has been suffering from rheumatism so as to be almost incapacitated for duty during the last nine months, and within the last thirty days he has become so much debilitated that his life is seriously threatened. …in my opinion, unfit for duty. …he will not be able to resume his duties in a less period than twenty days and the prospect of his recovery is distant and uncertain." George then requests for a leave of absence the next day, Jan. 10th, but is yet performing duties 16 days later where upon he writes on January 26th "To Henry Thompson… I would respectfully ask that a leave of absence for Ten (10) days be granted…" which was approved and forwarded the following day. Whether he returned to active duty through February I do not know.
A letter was written March 11th 1864, addressed to Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and signed by 21 of his fellow* officers, petitioning President Lincoln "to appoint and Commission him Commissary of Subsistance with rank of Captain." George's health continued to decline and it seems sick leave was granted "from March 19: 20 days from April 8, 1864: 20 days from April 28, 1864." Then at the age of 42 years 6 mos. and 5 days, he died on May 27th 1864 at Addison, surrounded by his wife and three young children, the eldest, Eva, having just turned eleven years ten days earlier. Some months after his widow filed an application for pension there were written two further letters by Asst. Surgeon Charles T. Kelsey certifying that George had "died of Rheumatism and 'Bright's disease of the Kidney's', which diseases were contracted in the line of his duty with his regiment in the field, during the campaign of 1863."
He had survived four horses being shot from beneath him during his participation in the war and it would be another year before the last of the Confederate soldiers would surrender and the Civil War would come to an end. In a "June 9th 1862" letter from "U.S. Hospital Philadelphia" written to his wife from Rodney R. Crowley it reads "Your husband requested me… to let you know that he is well + escaped the tremendous battle of Sunday June 1st unhurt. The 64th lost 186 killed wounded + missing + it is almost a miracle that George did not get hit. I am slightly wounded and on my way home. (signed)" We have 23 letters that George wrote home to his family during the war, starting with Dec 13th 1861 at Camp Fenton and ending with May 3rd 1863 at Falmouth.
There are 11 known images of him taken throughout his life, two of which he appears on horses, both tintypes. Another tintype is of him seated with Col. Daniel G. Bingham and an as yet unknown officer no doubt of the 64th. Three are Daguerreotypes, one of which is pencil signed as noted above, another in a locket that belonged to his wife, Anne and shows that of their youngest son, James Baldwin Taggart, who died in infancy, on the reverse side. Four are albumen prints, 2 of which were taken in sequence of one another standing in full uniform, another larger in an oval frame of him seated.