Ward Spooner DOLBIER^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

1841 - 1927  (85 years)

• Name	Ward Spooner DOLBIER
  Born	1 Nov 1841	Kingfield, Franklin, Maine   [2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  FamilySearch ID	LHCH-TNV
  _UID	EB71BEE94F404A2C89523C6E30CEB2225F30
  Died	27 Aug 1927	Oakland, Alameda County, California   [2, 3, 4]
  Person ID	I17765	Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
  Last Modified	21 Nov 2023

  
  

  Father	William DOLBIER,   b. Aug 1817, New Portland, Maine ,   d. 2 Oct 1901, Kingfield, Franklin, Maine  (Age ~ 84 years)
  Mother	Martha Tarr DYER,   b. 1817, New Portland, Maine ,   d. 1905, Kingfield, Franklin, Maine  (Age 88 years)
  Married	Mar 1840  [2, 3, 4]
  Alt. Marriage	19 Mar 1840	New Portland, Somerset, Maine   [5]
  Family ID	F8749	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lucinda Page VOSE,   b. 16 Mar 1851, Kingfield, Franklin, Maine ,   d. 20 Aug 1923, Oakland, Alameda County, California  (Age 72 years)
  Married	2 Mar 1867	Kingfield, Franklin, Maine   [2, 3, 4]
  Children	1. Francis Delmar DOLBIER,   b. 2 Apr 1869, Kingfield, Franklin, Maine ,   d. 23 Dec 1945, Oakland, Alameda County, California  (Age 76 years)   2. Maud DOLBIER,   b. 30 May 1882,   d. WFT Est 1883-1976  (Age 93 years)
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2016
  Family ID	F8750	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  [hatherly.ged] [ben dolbeare tree.FTW] ANCESTOR BIOGRAPHY Ward S. DOLBIER 28th Maine Infantry by Harry Dolbier Nestled deep in the Maine woods, the village of Kingfield l ay hundreds ofmiles away from any Civil War fighting. Yet during the course of theconflict the town sent 29 of its young men, one-eighth of its registeredvoters and volunteers all, to serve under the Stars and Stripes. Ward Spooner Dolbier, just short of his twenty-first birthday, enlistedon September 10, 1862, as corporal in a new regiment of infantry beingformed to answer President Lincoln's call of August 4 for 300,000 men toserve nine months. Young Ward, a fourth-generation resident of Kingfieldand a blacksmith by trade, set out the 60 miles to Maine's capital,Augusta, where, along with 934 other young men from around the state hemustered into the 28th Maine Regiment of Volunteers, Colonel Ephraim W.Woodman, commanding. Along with his uniform and equipment, Ward received a testament from theNew York Bible Society. The pages fail to display a great deal of wear.However, the corporal did find time to decorate its fly leaves withpencil sketches of bearded and kepied officers, flags, and a patrioticeagle. The martial exploits of the 28th Maine nearly died a-borning when measlesswept through the troops gathered at Augusta, but the 28th reported nocases, so Maine Governor Washburn informed Secretary of War Stanton thathe believed it was safe to release the regiment for duty. Ward's regiment was slated to join the defenses of Washington, but atJersey City Colonel Woodman was ordered to report with his troops to FortSchuyler in New York harbor, where the 28th would become part of MajorGeneral Nathaniel P. Banks' expedition to New Orleans. The regimentproceeded to garrison the post at Fort Schuyler, where it turned in itsold smoothbore muskets for new Enfield rifles. Then on November 26 thetroops marched to Brooklyn, where they spent the night billeted in HenryWard Beecher's Plymouth Church. The Maine men were so orderly that theneighbors never knew they were there until they marched away the nextmorning. After a few weeks training and building barracks at East New York, the28th boarded the U.S. Steam Transport "Empire City" and sailed fromBrooklyn, January 17, 1863. Still far from the combat zone, Ward and hiscompanions now faced one of the most dangerous situations of theirwartime service. By 1862 the Union had nowhere near enough ships tomaintain the Southern blockade, fight the Confederate navy, carry oncommerce, and transport troops. The Government chartered 50 old vessels,leaking and under-manned, to carry Banks' troops to Louisiana. Onlythrough good fortune did this decrepit flotilla deliver its cargo alive.The 28th reached Fortress Monroe on January 22, then embarked on aneight-day voyage to New Orleans, encountering a severe gale on the way. The regiment reached Louisiana on January 29, became part of GeneralThomas Sherman's Second Division of Banks' Nineteenth Corps, and encampedat General Andrew Jackson's old battleground at Chalmette. Soon orderscame through sending the regiment to Pensacola, Florida, 180 miles to theeast, where the Union forces holding the Warrenton Navy Yard anticipateda rebel attack. The transport "Che Kiang" sailed on February 15 anddelivered the Maine troops to the navy yard two days later. Ward'sCompany D and three other companies under Lieutenant Colonel William E.Hadlock were assigned picket duty at Fort Barrancas, near the navy yard.After the Confederates evacuated Pensacola, the 28th boarded thetransport "Eastern Queen" for a five-day voyage to New Orleans, arrivingMarch 29, 1863. General Banks immediately ordered Colonel Woodman to station part of hiscommand at the newly constructed Fort Butler at Donaldsonville on thewest bank of the Mississippi about 60 miles from New Orleans and the restat Plaquemine, another 25 miles upstream. Around this same time, Ward got some good news: Captain Orrin Thomas,commander of Company D, had taken note of Ward's soldierly bearing andattention to duty, and approved his April 1 promotion to sergeant. Based at Fort Butler, Ward and his companions went to work manning thepost, guarding the telegraph lines, and intercepting contraband. Moralewas a problem. The duty?tiring, tedious, and dangerous?was made worse bythe terrain and the climate. This was bayou country?huge magnolia andlive oak trees, thick, jungle-like vegetation, and swampy ground all mademovement and visibility hard for the Union forces. There were more bugsand snakes than many of the Northern soldiers were used to, or cared for.Making matters worse, soldiers who had enlisted for nine-month terms wereoften looked down upon by those serving for longer periods, who believed(not without some evidence) that many of the nine-month men were bothlazy and cowardly. Confederate General Dick Taylor's raiders operating from Arkansasconstantly harassed the Union forces in Louisiana, and the 28th Mainebore its share. Captain Stanley, Sergeant Wilder, and eleven men werecaptured on April 18. Lieutenant Witham was severely wounded. ThenSergeant Dolbier got in the way of a rebel ball?shot in the right foot. In the hospital at Baton Rouge Ward must have had some grim thoughts ashe recalled the results of Civil War surgery he had seen. He wasfortunate that his wound was in an extremity?the further the injury fromthe center of the body in those days, the better the chances of recovery.Even more encouraging was the surgeon's decision that he would not needto amputate. Ward spent nearly two months in the hospital while CompanyD and other units of the 28th were sent to join in the assaults and siegeof Port Hudson, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River.The gunshot wound healed nicely, and Ward was released from the hospitalin time to rejoin the regiment as the siege was drawing to its successfulclose. On July 4 the companies at Port Hudson rushed to reinforce their besiegedcomrades in Fort Butler at Donaldsonville, and once that threat hadpassed, the regiment embarked for Baton Rouge to man the post there.Then, their nine-month term of enlistment nearing its end, the men of the28th boarded the steamboat "Continental" for Cairo, Illinois. ColonelWoodman described the trip home: "From Cairo the Reg't came by carsthrough Terre Haute, Buffalo, Albany, and arrived at Augusta, August18th," he wrote. "I would particularly mention the hearty welcomeextended the Reg't on its return by the patriotic citizens of Augusta,the goal to which we returned after having passed around nearly the wholeextent of the so-called Confederacy." The 28th Maine Regiment ofVolunteers was mustered out of the service of the United States on August31, 1863. Ex-Sergeant Dolbier returned to the forge in Kingfield and in 1867married Lucinda Page Vose. Two years later their son Francis was born.In 1875, Ward caused a hullabaloo in the family when he announced he wastaking his wife and son and moving to California. No Dolbier withinliving memory had seen any reason to leave Kingfield, but Ward's mind wasmade up. Perhaps the three thousand mile train trip to the Pacificslope, shepherding a six-year old boy, made Ward recall with fondness theswamps, the snakes, and the bullets of Louisiana. After several years working as a machinist in the lumber mills ofMendocino County, Ward settled in Oakland, California, where he opened abicycle shop. Ward S. Dolbier was an active member of the Grand Army ofthe Republic for many years, marching in parades and enjoying the group'sother activities almost until the end, which came peacefully on August27, 1927. His remains lie in the Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. __________________________________________________________________ " In 1853 Wm. Dolbier and Jerry Larrabee built the blacksmith shop, alittle later Mr. Larrabee sold out and for years Col. Dolbier ran theSmith shop and J. B. Mayo the carriage shop. In Oct. 1864 all of themills on the river and three sets of dwelling houses were burned in all13 buildings on which there was but very little insurance. Undismayed bytheir heavy losses owners resolutely went about the task of rebuilding.S. & C. W. French built saw mill, shingle and clapboard mill. Wm.Drummond the grist mill, S. H. Hinds the rake factory, Wm. and W. S.Dolbier the smith and edge tool factory and J. B. Mayo the carriage shop.Just two years later what is known as the pumpkin freshet washed out thedam and carried away all the mills except the rake factory which wasbadly damaged and the edge tool factory and carriage shop." -- O. C. Dolbier, History of Kingfield 1916 __________________________________________________________________ Ward S. Dolbier was born on November 1, 1841, the son of William andMartha (Dyer) Dolbier of Kingfield. He enlisted from Kingfield onOctober 13, 1862, as a Corporal in Company D, 28th Maine Infantry, andwas mustered out with the regiment August 31, 1863. He married LucindaVose. A blacksmith, he lived in Kingfield and in Oakland, California. http://www.geocities.com/barbour1048/CWsoldiers.htm

  
  

• Sources

  [S758] James Sergent, James Sergent. [S269] hatherly.ged. [S152] Sergent.ged. [S154] Sergent2.ged. [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 21 Nov 2023), entry for William DOLBIER, person ID KT3X-K8Y. (Reliability: 3).