This collection contains three letters from Pvt. William O. Gott, USA to Maggie, and two letters that Maggie sent to William, during the Civil War. William and Maggie married after the war, and the collection includes a transcript of their daughter Ada Louise Gott's record of baptism. There is also a photocopy of a condolence letter from representatives from the Hackensack branch of Grand Army of the Republic that was sent to Ada Louise after her father's death in 1887, and his 1849 certificate of baptism.

Private William Oscar Gott, United States Army (1840 - 1887) was born in Westchester County, NY to parents Isaac D. and Eliza A. Gott. The family was living in Hackensack, NJ by 1860. Pvt. Gott, who went by his middle name, joined New Jersey 22nd Infantry, which was comprised of volunteers from Bergen County and mustered in Trenton on 22 September, 1862 for a nine-month term of service. Gott's regiment endured difficult marches in Virginia, but saw little action on the battlefield. No officers or enlisted men in the 22nd were killed, but one officer and thirty enlisted men died from disease or accidents. Pvt. Gott was hospitalized for at least one month before mustering out in June of 1863. He married Margaret ("Maggie") sometime thereafter, and found work as a bookkeeper. The couple had two children: Ada Louise born in 1865 and William ("Willie") in 1868. The family lived in Westchester County, NY in 1870. It appears that Maggie died sometime between 1870 and 1880, and young Willie might have died too. The 1880 U.S. census shows only teenage Ada living with her paternal grandparents in Lodi, NJ. Oscar Gott's 1887 death certificate indicates that he was a widow. He was buried at Maple Grove Park Cemetery in Hacksensack, NJ.

.03 Linear Feet (one folder)

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