Hopkins man also was in on capture of Jefferson Davis in 1865

A celebration of Andrew Bee of Martin, who “first laid hands on” Confederate President Jefferson Davis, will be observed on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, at East Martin Cemetery, but a Hopkins man also was part of that capture 150 years ago.

The Then and Now Historical Museum in Dorr has received information from West Michigan Genealogical Society member Ann D. VandenBerg of Grandville that her great-grandfather, John William Linsley, of Hopkins was a member of the party that caught up with Davis in 1865 only a month after the Civil War had ended.

VandenBerg has sent Then and Now the testimonial her great-grandfather made in writing that he participated in Davis capture in Georgia. His story was told by rural correspondent Rosemary Hitt in the Wayland Globe in 1975.

In her communication, Ms. VandenBerg noted:

“John William Linsley, or ‘Bill,’ as he was called by all who knew him, chose farming as his life’s work. However, when the Civil War broke out, he put aside his personal considerations and took up the Union cause, enlisting in July 1862, in Co. L, 4^th Michigan Cavalry. He served actively until the end of the war except for three months when he was confined to the hospital in Kingston, Georgia, with a leg wound.

“He fought in many important battles and skirmishes of the war in Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee under Generals Buell, Rosecrans, Grant, Sherman, Thomas, and Wilson, He was one of the detachment who cap­tured Jefferson Davis; and he is referred to in the report of the commanding officer of the detachment, Gen. Benjamin Pritchard, as ‘one of my most able men.’

“John William Linsley was born in Parkman, Geauga County, Ohio, 26 August 1843, a son of John Parkman and Ann Eliza (Button) Linsley.

“John Parkman Linsley began earning his living at the age of 17, chosing the occupation of farming. After his marriage in 1840, he rented a farm and later purchased a wild tract of land in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, which he improved and resided upon for nine years. In 1853 he settled with his wife and five children in Hopkins Township, Allegan County, Michigan. He continued in his agricultural efforts and was active in local politics, giving his support to the Whig and later the Republican Party.

“For eight years John Parkman served as Justice of the Peace in Hopkins Township. On 2 June 1902, at the age of eight-three, his life labors ended in death. Ann Eliza and three of their children had preceded him. All are buried in Maplewood Cemetery, not far from their homestead.

“Like his father, Upon returning to Hopkins Township at the close of the hostilities, “Bill” located on his farm, which he improved from a dense wooded area to a high state of cultivation. On 6 September 1868 he was united in marriage with Lydia A. Chamberlin, a daughter of Peleg W. and Sarah (Chase) Chamberlin, natives of Greene County, New York, who settled in Hopkins Township in 1865.

“At a neighborhood picnic celebrating the United States Centennial on 4 July 1876, ‘Bill’ was firing a cannon as part of the festivities. As his family and friends watched in horror, the cannon exploded, shattering hi hands and arms, blinding him in one eye, and causing a partial loss of hear­ing. Gangrene set in making necessary the amputation of one arm below the elbow, the other at the shoulder.

“The only anesthetic used during surgery was whiskey. Though the pain of the accident and surgery was unbearable, he was determined not to become addicted to the morphine prescribed by the doctor. He would go alone into the woods and remain there for long periods of time until he finally mastered his condition. He never used the drug.

“Now Lydia’s hands and arms became his. For 50 years she dressed, fed, bathed, shaved, and cared for him; kept his accounts; wrote his letters; ran the farm; and raised their seven children.

“Despite his severe handicaps, ‘Bill’ Linsley was most resourceful in finding ways to keep busy. He could hoe and weed a field by tucking a hoe handle between his longer stump of arm and his body, loosening the soil, and pulling out the weeds with his bare feet. In the same fashion he helped dig a pond on his farm. He could drink by having someone set a container on his ‘arm,’ then by carefully balancing it, he would raise it to his lips.

“In his later years, after moving into the village of Hopkins, “Bill” would carry a basket on his ‘arm,’ go to the post office, and collect his neigh­bors’ mail. Summoning them to the door by stamping his foot on their porches, the neighbors would come out to him for their letters.

“He entertained his children and grandchildren by singing Civil War songs and by catching them between his knees as they ran toward him.

“Bill and Lydia Linsley and their family were popular and respected in the community; and they were active in public affairs throughout their lives. He was a member of the Grange, the Masonic Lodge, GAR Post No. 80, and the Republican Party. They were members of the Congregational Church in Hopkins, and Lydia was active in the Order of the Eastern Star. He also served as highway commissioner for several years.

“John William Linsley’s long and productive life came to its close on 10 May 1926. Lydia survived until 21 February 1936. They rest in Maplewood Cemetery, Hopkins Township, near their parents and other family members.”