George Washington Countryman was born on 21 Dec 1838 in the Varick Township of Seneca County, New York, a son of Isaac Countryman and his wife, Ellen (Voorhees) Countryman.

The 1840 federal census of the Varick Township of Seneca County, New York enumerates the household of Ira Countryman, age 30–39 years, a female, age 30–40 presumably his wife, Ellen (Voorhees) Countryman, and seven children (749). The youngest child, a male less than five years old was almost certainly George Washington Countryman.

Before Aug 1850, Isaac Countryman and his wife Ellen (Voorhees) Countryman divorced or separated. The 9 Aug 1850 federal census enumerates Ellen Voorhees, with her maiden name, living with her mother, Margaret Voorhees, in the Lodi Township of Seneca County, New York (1347). At the 1850 federal census, George W. Countryman, age 12 years, was living in the Varick Township of Seneca County, New York with his father, age 50, and brother Martin Countryman age 15 years (750).

At the 1860 federal census, George W. Countryman was working as a farm laborer while living in the household of David Vancourt in the Romulus Township of Seneca County, New York (761).

On 30 Jun 1863, George Washington Countryman registered for the draft to serve in the Union Army (768). Born in New York, he registered as 24 years old, single, and a laborer.

On 1 Jul 1864, at age 25 years and in the middle of the American Civil War, George Countryman married Amelia Kniseley, age 19, of the Romulus Township of Seneca County, New York (365). The couple married at Ovid in Seneca County, and the Reverend M. W. Holmes presided over the ceremony. Amelia Kniseley was a daughter of Elijah Kniseley and Abby Jane (Benjamin) Kniseley. As a child, George Countryman was raised in the Kniseley household and must have known Amelia since her birth (760). The 1860 census enumerates the Vancourt household, including George W. Countryman, near the Kniseley household (761).

During the American Civil War, George W. Countryman served as an artificer with Company H of the 15th New York Engineers Regiment. He enlisted for one year on 3 Sep 1864 as a Private. The 15th Engineers Regiment New York organized on 25 Oct 1861 and mustered out on 2 Jul 1865. George W. Countryman was honorably discharged on 18 Jun 1865 at Fort Barry, Virginia.

Between 3 Sep 1864 and 18 Jun 1865, the 15th Engineers Regiment New York engaged in the following battles:

Mine Run Campaign, Virginia, 26 Nov 1864 – 2 Dec 1864
Before Petersburg, Virginia, 1 Jul 1865 – 2 Apr 1865
Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 15 Jan 1865
Campaign in the Carolinas, 1 Mar 1865 – 26 Apr 1865
Wise's Fork, North Carolina, 7 Mar 1865 – 10 Mar 1865
Bennett House Virginia, 26 Apr 1865
Fall of Petersburg, Virginia, 2 Apr 1965
Appomattox Court House, 9 Apr 1865.

Almost certainly, George Countryman was able to return home during his military service as his wife was with child by about May 1864. An 1864 tax list for Seneca County, New York, Division 14 of Collection District 14, assessed G. W. Countryman $1 for a carriage.

The first child born to George W. and Amelia Countryman, William Lincoln Countryman, was born on 8 Feb 1865 at Ovid in Seneca County, New York (252). George W. Countryman was discharged from military service on 18 Jun 1865 at Fort-Barry, Massachusetts.

In Dec 1865, George Countryman paid income tax on $496 at Ovid in Seneca County, New York. A Seneca County, New York gazetteer for 1867–68 lists George W. Countryman as a stone and brick mason in Varick Township (238).

The 1870 U.S. Federal Census enumerates George W. Countryman, age 33 years, living at the Village of Ovid in Seneca County with his wife Amelia Countryman, age 24, and four children: William L. Countryman age 5, Frederick G. Countryman age 3, Emma J. Countryman age 2, and Samuel E. Countryman age 11 months. All children were born in New York. George Countryman worked as a stone mason. Amelia (Kniseley) Countryman  may have inherited prior to the 1870 census when according to the census, she held real estate valued at $1,200 and a personal estate of $150.

While living in Seneca County, New York, three more children were born to George W. Countryman and his wife Amelia A. (Kniseley) Countryman: John V. Countryman on 18 May 1871, George Washington Countryman, Jr. on 30 Dec 1873, and Catharine Amelia Countryman on 20 Feb 1876.

Following the birth of Catharine Countryman on 20 Feb 1876 at Ovid in Seneca County, New York and before the 1880 federal census, the George Washington Countryman family migrated from Seneca County, New York to Pawnee County, Kansas.

A son of George W. Countryman, Fred G. Countryman, later told his daughter Fannie Lee Countryman that the family traveled from New York to Kansas by excursion train and arrived at Larned, Pawnee County, Kansas on 10 May 1876 (760). Fred Countryman said that his father went to Kansas a year ahead of the family, primarily to seek work as a mason and contractor, but also to acquire 160 acres of land as a homestead. The land was adjacent to railroad company land. Amelia Countryman’s mother Abby Jane (Benjamin) Kniseley accompanied the George Countryman family to Kansas.

On 8 Jun 1876, George Washington Countryman applied to homestead 160 acres of land in Pawnee County, Kansas described as Section 30 of Township 23 south of Range 18 west of the 6th Prime Meridian (766). He paid fees of $12.50. On 10 Sep 1883, he was issued a patent for the northeast 1/4 of Section 30 in Township 23 south of Range 18 west (784). A 1902 plat of Township 23 South of Range 18 West in Pawnee County, Kansas shows George W. Countryman as the owner of the northeast 1/4 of Section 30 (261). A 1916 plat of Township 23 South of Range 18 West again shows George W. Countryman as the owner of the northeast 1/4 of Section 30; however, his sons Samuel Elijah Countryman and Charles Edwin Countryman had acquired most of the south 1/2 of Section 19 (769).

The 1880 federal census records George W. Countryman, age 41 years and born in New York, as living at Garfield in Pawnee County, Kansas (362). His wife Amelia Countryman was 33 years old. Seven children were living in the household: William L. Countryman, age 15 years; Frederick G. Countryman, age 13; Samuel E. Countryman, age 11; John V. Countryman, age 9; George W. Countryman, age 6; and Katharine Countryman, age 4.  All seven children were born in New York.

The Countryman’s youngest child, Charles Edwin Countryman, was born on 3 Apr 1882 at Garfield in Pawnee County, Kansas (254).

The 1885 Kansas State Census enumerates the George Countryman household in the Garfield Township of Pawnee County, Kansas (762). George Countryman was 46 years old and Amelia (Kniseley) Countryman was 38 years old. Eight children were living in the household: William L. Countryman, 20 years old; Fred G., 18 years old; Emma Jane, age 17; Sam E., age 15; John V., age 13; George W., age 11; Catherine, age 9; and Charles Countryman, 2 years old. With the exception of Charles E. Countryman, who was born in Kansas, all members of the household were born in New York.

George W. Countryman was among the first members of the Immanuel Baptist Church, organized in Pawnee County, Kansas on 12 Mar 1896 (185).

At the 1900 federal census, only Samuel and Charles E. Countryman were still living with George W. Countryman, 68 years old, and his wife Amelia Countryman, 55 years old, at Garfield in Pawnee County, Kansas (363). George Countryman worked as a brick mason. At the 1910 federal census, George W. Countryman and Amelia Countryman, age 64 born in New York, were living in Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas. Amelia Countryman is recorded as having 8 children, 8 of whom were living. Ed Countryman, age 28 born in Kansas, and his wife Elva Countryman, age 19 born in Illinois, were living on the property adjacent to the home of George and Amelia Countryman. Ed Countryman’s parents are recorded as born in New York. Charles E. Countryman, son of George and Amelia Countryman, was age 28 at the time of the 1910 census.

George Washington Countryman died on 23 Mar 1917 at Kinsley in Edwards County, Kansas. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery at Kinsley, in Edwards County, Kansas (259, 764).

Notes and Comments

When he applied for a pension based on service during the American Civil War, George Countryman was described as 5 feet, 5 and one-half inches with dark complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair (365).

The tombstone at the grave of George Washington Countryman in Edwards County, Kansas shows his date of birth as 1 Jul 1839 (764), while he stated on an application for a Civil War service pension that he was born on 21 Dec 1838 .

During the American Civil War, George W. Countryman served in the Union Army, and his later application for a pension based on this service provides substantial information about his family and history. Town clerk’s records of men who served during the Civil War state that the maiden name of George Countryman’s mother was Voorhees (169).

Fred Countryman recounted to his daughter, Fannie Lee Countryman, that Isaac Countryman and his wife separated while George Washington Countryman was a small baby, and that the Kniseley family raised him (760). Isaac Countryman and his wife divorced or separated soon after the 1840 census. The Kniseley family may have raised George Countryman, and he may then have lived with his father and brother as a young boy.

At the 1860 federal census, George W. Countryman was living in the David Vancourt household and working as a farm laborer. The 1860 census enumerates the David Vancourt household at dwelling 612 and the Elijah Nizely (almost certainly Kniseley) household at dwelling 608, suggesting that George Countryman became acquainted with David Vancourt as a boy raised by the Elijah Kniseley family.

The 1860 U.S. Federal Census enumerates George W. Countryman as Geo Countryman, age 21 years, which is inconsistent with his date of birth (George Countryman was actually 23 years of age in 1860). Perhaps this was a census error, or the head of the household provided an approximate age for George Countryman.

At the 1870 U.S. Federal Census of Varick Township, Seneca County, New York, the family of George W. Countryman’s brother Martin V. Countryman was living adjacent to the Elijah M. Kniseley household. Elijah M. Kniseley was George Countryman’s father-in-law and raised him and likely Martin Countryman as well as small children. Elijah Kniseley worked as a blacksmith.

Assuming that George W. Countryman and Amelia Alice Kniseley married on 1 Jul 1864 and that William Lincoln Countryman was born on 8 Feb 1865, William L. Countryman was born about two months premature or was conceived approximately two months before the couple married. William L. Countryman’s tombstone in Hillside Cemetery documents his date of birth.

The George W. Countryman homestead was located near the southwestern boundary of Pawnee County, Kansas with Edwards County. Kinsley in Edwards County was a nearby town and presumably offered medical care.

Hillside Cemetery at Kinsley in Edwards County, Kansas is located at 37.93750 degrees N latitude, -99.44860 degrees W longitude.

Sources

Image of George Washington Countryman in portrait is courtesy of Janette Friesen.

166. Abram Sixberry Household, 1870 U.S. Federal Census, Varick Township, Seneca County, New York, 3 Aug 1870. Family History Library Film 803861, Roll M653_861, Page 251. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)365. Declaration for Pension, American Civil War Service. George Washington Countryman. Pawnee County, Kansas, 2 Apr 1907. (Images on file.)

169. Town Clerks’ Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War 1865-1867. New York State Archives, Albany New York. Collection Number (N-Ar)13774, Box Number 56, Roll Number 30. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

185. Barbara Ziegenmeyer, “Immanuel Baptist Church.” Pawnee County, Kansas, Genealogy Trails, 2009.
URL: http://genealogytrails.com/kan/pawnee/rozel-churches.html

188. Andrew Countryman Household, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Varick Township, Seneca County, New York, 25 Jun 1900. Family History Library Microfilm 1241162, Enumeration District 0098, Page 13. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

238. Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Seneca County, New York, for 1867–8. Journal Office, Syracuse, New York, 1867.

252. Gravestone, William Lincoln Countryman, Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas, 22 Jul 1937. Find A Grave Memorial: 11301252. (Images: Find A Grave. Image on file.)

254. Gravestone, Charles Edwin Countryman, Hillside Cemetery, Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas, 2 Oct 1937. Find A Grave Memorial: 11301236. (Images: Find A Grave. Image on file.)

257. George W. Countryman Household, 1895 Kansas State Census, Garfield Township, Pawnee County, Kansas, 1 Mar 1895. Roll v115_116, Line 15. 1895 Kansas State Census, Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

259. Obituary, George Washington Countryman. The Kinsley Graphic, Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas, 5 Apr 1917. (Image on file.)

260. Connelley, William Elsey. A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company, 1919.

261. Plat Book of Pawnee County, Kansas, Northwest Publishing Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1902.

362. George Countryman Household. 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas, 4 Jun 1880. Enumeration District: 369, Roll T9_392, Family History Film 1254392, Page 55.1000, Image 0763. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

363. George W. Countryman Household. 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Garfield Township, Pawnee County, Kansas, 11 Jun 1900. Enumeration District 167, Roll T623_494, Page 7A. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

365. Declaration for Pension, American Civil War Service. George Washington Countryman. Pawnee County, Kansas, 2 Apr 1907. (Images on file.)

749. Isaac Countryman Household, 1840 U.S. Federal Census, Varick Township, Seneca County, New York. Roll 339, Page 232. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

750. Isaac Countryman Household, 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Varick Township, Seneca County, New York, 16 Sep 1850. Roll M432_597, Page 69B, Image 144. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

753. Catherine Sixberry Household, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York, 18 Jun 1880. Roll 931, Family History Film 1254931, Page 54B, Enumeration District 157, Image 0616. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Images on file.)

760. Recollections of Fredrick Glonar Countryman, Fairview, Major County, Oklahoma, ca 1938. (Originals and images on file.)

761. David Vancourt Household, 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Romulus Township, Seneca County, New York, 9 Jul 1860. Family History Library Film 803861, Roll M653_861, Page 572. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

762. George Washington Countryman Household, 1885 Kansas State Census, Garfield, Pawnee County, Kansas. Roll KS1885_105, Line 8. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, Kansas. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

763. Martin V. Countryman, Certificate of Death, Lenawee County, Michigan, 25 May 1910.  Division of Vital Statistics, Department of State, State of Michigan. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

764. Gravestone, George W. Countryman, Hillside Cemetery, Kinsley, Edwards County, Kansas. Find A Grave Memorial 11301242. (Images: Find A Grave. Image on file.)

766. George Washington Countryman, Application for 160 acre Homestead, Pawnee County, Kansas, 8 Jun 1876. U.S. Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800–c. 1955, Kansas, Volume 100, Page 106. (Images: FamilySearch. Image on file.)

768. George Washington Countryman, Civil War Draft Registration, Ovid, Seneca County, New York, Jun 1863. Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registrations, 1863-1865. Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)

769. Plat of Township 23 South of Range 18 West of the 6th Prime Meridian in Pawnee County, Kansas, 1916. (Image on file.)

784. Patent Issued to George W. Countryman, Pawnee County, Kansas, 160 acres. Larned, Kansas Land Office, 10 Sep 1883. General Land Office Records, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. Document Number 2946. (Images: Bureau of Land Management. Image on file.)

1347. Margaret Voorhees Household, 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Lodi Township, Seneca County, New York, 9 Aug 1850. Image 51, Page 23A, Roll M432_597. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, D.C. (Images: Ancestry.com. Image on file.)