Dr. Charles Terry-Pioneer, Physician & Surgeon

Eaton, Clark County, Wisconsin

Dr. Charles Terry was probably the first resident doctor of Eaton Township, Clark Co., Wisconsin where nearly all of the men were employed in the pineries.  Logging was dangerous work and one can only imagine how much his skills were appreciated.  He was the son of Edward Pomeroy and Mary Sophia (Hamilton Ross Pollock) Terry.  He was born in Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut.  and died at Baton Rouge, La., August 4, 1865. He graduated from Trinity College in 1851 and New York Medical College in 1853. He enlisted in Hartford, Connecticut, with the 12th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, Company I, on September 4, 1862.

The paternal grandparents of Charles were Nathaniel and Catherine (Wadsworth) Terry.

Census Records

*Emma Gillingham Terry was sister to Charles and she was born December 1, 1838 in Hartford, CT.  She married Edward Phelps Lull November 5, 1870 in Hartford.

*We are not certain this is the same Charles Terry because of the age difference.

*Clarence was a brother to Charles E. Terry.  He was born March 14, 1841.  January 20, 1869, he married Emma Louise Buck who was born in March of 1847 in Connecticut.

Military Service (not confirmed)

We believe Dr. Charles Terry may have fought with the12th Regiment, Connecticut Infantry.

Organized at Hartford November 19 to December 3, 1861. Left State for Ship Island, Miss., February 24, 1862, arriving there March 9. Attached to 1st Brigade, Dept. of the Gulf, to October, 1862. Weltzel's Reserve Brigade, Dept. of the Gulf, to January, 1863. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Army Corps, Dept. of the Gulf, to August, 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Army Corps, to February, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Army Corps, Dept. Gulf, to July. 1864, and Army of the Shenandoah, Middle Military Division, to April, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Provisional Division, Army Shenandoah, April 1865. 2nd Brigade, Dwight's Division, Dept. of Washington, to June, 1865. District of Savannah, Dept. of thc South, to August, 1865.

SERVICE.-Duty at Ship Island, Miss., till April 15, 1862. Operations against Fort St. Phillip and Jackson, Mississippi River, April 15-28. Occupation of New Orleans, La., May 1, the first regiment to land. Duty at Camp Parapet and Carrollton till October. Expedition to Lake Pontchartrain, Pass Manchac and up Tchefuneta and Pearl rivers July 25-August 2. Skirmishes at Madisonville and near Covington July 27. Operations in District of La Fourche October 24-November 6. Occupation of Donaldsonville October 25. Action at Georgia Landing, near Labadieville, October 27. Duty in District of La Fourche till February, 1863. Expedition to Bayou Teche January 13-15. Action with steamer "Cotton" January 14. Moved to Brashear City February and duty there till March. Operations against Port Hudson March 7-27. Pattersonville March 28 (Detachment). Operations in Western Louisiana April 9-May 14. Teche Campaign April 11-20. Port Bisland, near Centreville, April 12-13. Irish Bend April 14. Opelousas April 20. Expedition to Alexandria and Simsport May 5-18. Near Cheyneyville May 18. Movement to Bayou Sara, thence to Port Hudson May 22-25. Siege of Port Hudson May 25-July 9. Assaults on Port Hudson May 27 and June 14. Surrender of Port Hudson July 9. Operations in Western Louisiana July to September, 1863. Sabine Pass (Texas) Expedition September 4-11. Teche Campaign October 3-November 30. Duty at New Iberia till January, 1864. Move to New Orleans and on veteran furlough till May. Duty at Carrollton till July. Moved to Fortress Monroe, Va., thence to Washington, D. C., July 5-13. Snicker's Gap expedition July 14-23. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August to December. Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September 19. Fisher's Hill September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Duty at Winchester, Newtown and Summit Point till April, 1865. Moved to Washington, D. C., April 21, and duty there till June. Grand Review May 23-24. Moved to Savannah, Ga., June 1-5 and duty there till August. Mustered out August 12, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 6 Officers and 65 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 8 Officers and 196 Enlisted men by disease. Total 273.
 

Research Notes

Edward Pomeroy Terry was born October 28, 1800 in Hartford, Hartford, CT.  He died December 22, 1843.

Nathaniel Terry (grandfather of Charles) was born January 30, 1763 and married Catherine Wadsworth, March 14, 1798.  She was the daughter of Jeremiah and Mehitabel (Russell) Wadsworth who was born January 17, 1774 in Hartford.  Nathaniel died December 22, 1843 (alternate date: June 14, 1844), and is buried in the Old North Cemetery in Hartford.  He was a U. S. Representative for Hartford, CT between 1817-19.  He was president of the Board of Directors for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb which was incorporated in Hartford in 1818. Catherine died October 26, 1841.

 
AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE CONNECTICUT ASYLUM FOR THE EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION OF DEAF AND DUMB PERSONS.

Be it enacted by the Governor and Council and House of Representatives in General Court assembled: That John Caldwell, Nathaniel Terry, Daniel Wadsworth, Mehitable Wadsworth, Susan Tracy, Ward Woodbridge, Henry Hudson, Daniel Buck, Mason F. Cogswell, Joseph Battell, William H. Imlay, Charles Sigourney, David Porter, David McKinney, Isaac Bull, Thomas S. Williams, John Morgan, Samuel Tudor, Jr., John Butler, George Goodwin, John Beach, James Ward, Roswell Bartholomew, George Smith, Joseph Rogers, Moses Tryon, Jr., Nathan Strong, Jr., Charles Seymour, James H. Wells, Jonathan W. Edwards, William W. Ellsworth, William Watson, Russel Bunce, Eliphalet Terry, Seth Terry, Lynds Olmsted, Thomas Lloyd, James B. Hosmer, Joseph Trumbull, Samuel Tinker, Horace Burr, Russell Talcott, Christopher Colt, Eliphalet Averill, Nathaniel Fatten, Joseph Wells, William Ely, Spencer Whiting, Barzillai Hudson, Jr., Jonathan Law, George Goodwin, Jr., Daniel Crowell, Charles Goodwin, Michael Shepherd, Caleb Goodwin, Dudley Buck, Aaron Chapin, Jared Yarborough, Barzillai Hudson, Jacob Sargeant, Peter Thatcher, Talcott Wolcott, Nathaniel Spencer, and their associates be, and they hereby are, formed into, constituted, and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of "The Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons," and by that name they and their successors shall and may have perpetual succession: shall be capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded in all suits of what nature soever, may have a Common seal, and may alter the same at pleasure, and may also purchase, receive, hold, and convey any estate, real or personal, the annual income of which shall not exceed five thousand dollars. Hartford Connecticut, 1816.

The uncle of Charles Edward Terry, Charles Augustus Terry, was born October 9, 1810 and died February 5, 1872.  He married Julia Elizabeth Woodbridge of Hartford. He graduated from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeon in 1833 and was professor of Obstetrics at Western Reserve College in Ohio.

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The Terry and Bacon families of Hartford and New Haven were both highly respected. "Nathaniel Terry, the progenitor of the family, married Catherine Wadsworth. Nathaniel was mayor of Hartford and a Congressman. His sons were also quite distinguished and most of them attended and graduated from Yale.  One son, Adrian Russell Terry, was a physician, and his most fascinating letters are those written while he was in Ecuador trying to establish a medical practice there. Great observations of the local land and citizens, plus a huge list of medical supplies he purchased in New York City are two of the highlights among his papers.

Charles A. Terry, another of Nathaniel’s sons, was also a physician and when he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, he sent back vivid descriptions of that city. His brother, Alfred Terry, was the most avid letter writer in the family. His letters are mostly from his student days at Yale and later at Litchfield, Connecticut, where he studied law under James Gould.

Daughter Catherine Terry married noted minister, theologian and author Leonard Bacon. All of their children (and there were plenty) wrote to mother about their activities, the development of their children, their relationships with other family members, etc. Leonard Bacon and his son Leonard W. traveled to Europe and the Middle East from 1850-1851 and they wrote long, detailed letters of their impressions of the familiar and unfamiliar.

Catherine and Leonard’s son, Francis Bacon, a physician, wrote from Galveston, Texas where he tried (unsuccessfully) to get established in a practice. His letters are filled with disparaging remarks about the lack of culture among the population there. He also could not stand the weather".  Connecticut Historical Society Library.