John Conner
[alias: Robert Sidderman] (b. 1845 - d. 1886)
MSA SC 3520-16844
U.S.C.T. Soldier, Howard County, Maryland
Biography:
Born approximately during the year 1845, John Conner was a soldier in
the United States Colored Infantry during the American Civil War.
Conner was born into slavery on a farm in Howard County owned by Mr.
Chas Carroll of Carrollton until his service in the war. Although
considered “raw boned and very thin at all times”, Conner was allegedly
in good condition prior to the war and at the time of enlistment.1 Conner
was a runaway slave; during a deposition in the Widows’ pension of Mrs.
Susan Conner, a close friend and fellow former slave of Mr. Carrollton
named Henry Stoneman explained that he and John Conner enlisted in
Washington D.C. under different names “because we were afraid if
captured we would be returned to our former master” and presumably be
killed.2
On June 14th 1863, John Conner enlisted under the name Robert Sidderman
into Company D of the 1st United States Colored Infantry.3
Conner would change his name from Robert Sidderman back to John Conner
after the war was over. The 1st USCT was organized in Virginia on
December 22, 1863.4 The regiment served in
the Capture of Bermuda Hundred and City Point, Fort Powhatan and
Harrison’s Landing, and attended to duties along the Rio Grande until
discharge on February 4th 1866.5 The unit also notably served in the the First Battle of Deep Bottom during the Siege of Petersburg.6
The Siege of Petersburg was a nine month embroilment from June of 1864
to March of 1865 to cut off supplies from Petersburg to the capital of
the Confederacy, Richmond.7 During the Siege, Conner
complained “of cold, and severe pains in the small of his back, and had
great difficulty in making water”.8 Conner began to show
symptoms of Bright’s disease, a historical classification of a kidney
disease known today as chronic nephritis, and symptoms of dropsy, a
historical classification for a disease known today as edema.9 These conditions haunted Conner for the rest of his life, and ultimately led to his death.
Conner mustered out on September 29th 1865 and became a rag buyer by
trade until he landed a job on a farm near the Waverly Baltimore
Company for “Mr. Lucy”, a bookseller on Lexington Street.10
After his service, John Conner met his future spouse Susanna Sherwood.
Sherwood was born in August of 1839. On March 5th 1878, approximately
one year after first meeting, John Conner married Susan Sherwood in the
St. Francis Xavier Church.11 Mr. and Mrs. Conner had two children: Mary E. Conner, born August 17th 1871, and John H. Conner, born February 1st 1881.12
Both christenings took place in St. Francis Xavier Church as well.
There was questioning in Mrs. Conner’s deposition for a widow’s pension
about the church record because the record had Mary being born seven
years before her marriage.13 After questioning, Mrs. Conner
admitted that the two had lived and slept together in a room rented
from ‘Mrs. Johnson’ on Low Street, Baltimore.14 After Mrs.
Johnson found out about the situation, she convinced Mrs. Conner, then
Susannah Sherwood, to get married. Mary E Conner was born out of
wedlock, but Mr. Conner was the legitimate father of Mary E Conner.15
Conner experienced general debility and rheumatism after the war,
conditions characteristic of his demographic of Civil War veterans. On
November 16th 1886, Conner’s symptoms became so serious that he was put
into the City Hospital of Baltimore, Maryland on November 16th 1886.16
Conner’s condition worsened while he was instated; he died on December
2nd 1886 in the Baltimore City Hospital of Bright’s disease, dropsy,
and debility (332,340). Today, Conner is buried in the New Cathedral
Cemetery in Baltimore.17
With the death of John Conner, Susan Conner had little left; she owned
“no property, whatever personal or real, except a few old household
effects, such as a stove, bed, a few chairs and of no value...she [had]
no income whatever, but [was] totally and absolutely dependent upon her
daily labor for support of herself and minor child...she [washed and
ironed] for a living, and [did] not make more than $2 per week”.18
In “destitute circumstances” and with two children to take care of, one
of which still a minor under 16, Mrs. Conner turned to the government
for support.19 Mary E Giles, newly married daughter of Susan Conner, applied as the claimant of a widow’s pension for her mother.20
Mrs. Conner first declared herself an applicant for a widow’s pension
on August 17th 1889, but was rejected because past doctor examination
records suggested that John Conner’s sickness was not a result of his
time in the war. The Bureau of Pensions determined that Conner was
reportedly in good health at the time of his mustering out and
therefore must have developed in his cough and back pains after the war.21
Mrs. Conner successfully applied a second time for a pension on May 3rd
1892 and was awarded a pension of $8 per month starting in 1892.22
Since one of her children was still a minor, Mrs. Conner received an
extra $2 per month for her son John H. Conner until January 31st 1897
when John turned sixteen.23 Under the Disability Act of September 8th 1916, Mrs. Conner was entitled to $20 per month beginning that month.24
The Act states that widows of veterans who are 70 years or older are
entitled to $20 per month; Mrs. Conner qualified for this increase
because she was 77 at the time.
Mrs. Conner lived on 607 North Spring Street, Baltimore, Maryland at
the time of her death; her first sickness began on December 20th 1926.25
Despite being treated by Dr. W. B. Butler at #425 North Caroline Street
for $5, Mrs. Conner began to develop diabetes, gangrene, and
arteriosclerosis.26 Susan Conner died on February 4th 1927; today she is buried in St. Peters Cemetery in Baltimore.27
Mary E Giles, daughter of the Conners, was the claimant in charge of
funeral costs; Mrs. Conner’s funeral summed to $147.00, counting $5
paid to Dr. W. B. Butler.28 Giles cared for Mrs. Conner from January 13th 1927 until her death.29
Endnotes:
3. "1st Regiment, United States Colored Infantry." Regiment Details. Ed. National Park Service. National Park Service, Department of the Interior, 16 July 2013. Web. 14 August 2013.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
Written and Researched by Daniel Ingham, 2013.
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