John Wharton Pocock is my 3X Great Grandfather and a Civil War Veteran. My line to John is through my Great Grandmother Blanche Pocock Mauser. Blanche’s parents are Glenn Pocock and Ada Albright. Glenn’s parents are then John Pocock and Lucina Patterson.
John was born in Ohio in 1838 and moved to Nebraska in 1858. When I write his full bio, there are details on his trip to NE, but that comes a bit later. John is also recognized as one of the First Families of Nebraska from the Nebraska State Genealogical Society as he was in Nebraska before statehood – see this prior blog post. I have also proven lineage to John as part of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
On October 22, 1862 he enlisted in Company H, Second Nebraska Cavalry. He lists his age as 23 years old, 5’11” and the records say he has fair complexion, light hair and grey eyes. He enlisted from Plattsmouth, NE for an initial period of 9 months and the valuation of his horse was $85. He paid dues for the use of horse and equipment.
A bio of John Pocock in the “Compendium of History Reminiscence and Biography of Nebraska” published in 1912 has a bio of John that includes this information on his service:
“He was in frontier service in the west during almost the entire time of his enlistment, and was discharged at Plattsmouth in December, 1863. His services extended as far west as Fort Pierre, and he participated in the battle of Whitestone Hill where the cavalry captured five hundred hostile Yankton Sioux, who had been guilty of the New Ulm massacre in Minnesota in 1862.”
His service records and pension show that he was on the hospital muster roll in January of 1863 for what looks like constipation and was returned to service after a few days. I did a quick search on this and found that poor food and water really caused trouble for the soldiers digestive systems. Wikipedia Link
He was discharged on Dec 8, 1863.
John was granted a pension for Rheumatism, lumbago, sciatica and eventually senile debility. In 1903 that pension amounted to $6/month. By May of 1913, that amount was up to $24/month. John states in his pension file that in the summer of 1895 he was confined to bed most of the summer and was unable to walk without crutches from May until Nov 1895. This would have been quite difficult for someone farming in that time period.
Cory and Nicole Family History 
Hello, John Warton Pocock was my great Grandfather, whose wife was Lucinda Patterson Pocock. Their daughter, my grandmother, was Clara Lela Pocock who married Roscoe Conklin Willard, their daughter Beulah Shirley Willard was my mother.
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Super!! I know I’ve got that name in my family tree – do you have an online family tree?
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Somewhere. Wikitree I believe. Sorry I’m not exactly a computer wiz. I will see what I can do.
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Hello, I believe we share the same Grandparents. My Grandfather was John Wellie Pocock, I believe Blanche’s brother. During the Depression he couldn’t find work. He had 6 children. Because their was a man in the family they couldn’t get Government Assistance to help with food, rent or anything else. Apparently he thought the only way his family could get help was if he was out of the picture. He committed suicide in I believe 1934. My mother was his youngest daughter.
Thank you so much for your blog!
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Hi Sue! What a tough time that must have been for them to go through. I can’t even imagine how desperate a person must feel in that situation. I have a lot of great things on the Pocock line – and especially it’s branch into the Patterson line. Looking forward to getting those stories out and I’ll add your tidbit into the notes I have for John. Enjoy!
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1. The Indians killed during the “Battle of Whitestone Hill” were NOT the Indians responsible for the New Ulm Massacre. This horrid miscalculation (Not to mention the atrocities committed on the Indians by the 2nd Neb. Cav.) succeeded in making the “battle” a black eye for the US Cavalry. Per the Battle of Whitestone Hill Historical Group.
2. Mother and Grandma once made a trip by train to Patterson, WA. from Nebraska, to visit relatives. The town was names for the founder (I don’t remember who that was but mom knew).At that time the town was along the Columbia River. When a dam was built down stream (McNary Dam I think) the old townsite was flooded/submerged and a new town was located on the hill high above the river. There was, possibly still is, a museum owned by a woman on the Horse Heaven Hills near the new site of Patterson and when mom and I were there in 1978 she had all the old city records; births, deaths, marriages, etc. I wish I had been interested in genealogy at that time but I was 16 and more interested in the old cars and farming equipment at that time. The owner and my mother looked through the books and talked much about the people she knew. I plan to return there asap. Thank you for your research. If I can help, please ask. Troy.
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P.S. Sorry, regarding the Battle of Whitestone Hill; I was thrilled to find info on JW Pocock and his involvement in the Indian Wars until I researched it and discovered the nature of the battle. It is with sincere hope that my Great Grandfather was not involved in the atrocities perpetrated on the Indians which proved to be innocent of the New Ulm massacres. I was not implying that your information was wrong, simply that the truth is different than what was reported at that time. Thanks again. Troy
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Thanks Troy – what I try to do is just present the information as I find it and then as needed, make comments where the information is maybe misrepresented. Here’s the link that shows where I found my information – and while we see what it says, who really knows what actually happened. Sometimes the person recording the info puts their own spin on things, sometimes it’s the person’s own words, or sometimes it’s the kids or another family member who misunderstood and put down what they thought they heard. As the publication of the book was in 1912 it could have been anyone providing the data. The Indian wars were really a horrific thing. Sadly the people involved were usually just following orders and often their understanding of things was different than what we have the advantage of looking back through history. I appreciate the info and feedback!!
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/Comp_NE/cmp0640.htm#JOHN%20W.%20POCOCK
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