Excursus: "What Did You Do During the Civil War, Grandpa-from-Wisconsin?"

I've written almost nothing about Jane's Wisconsin ancestry, which is her father's side. The "cheesy grits" reference is strictly to her mother's ancestry. Her father, Ron Godfrey, nevertheless could be called some sort of "cheesehead," for he was a farm boy from Wisconsin, who, after getting a degree in engineering from the University of Wisconsin (Madison), enlisted in the Navy. While helping to outfit a ship in New Jersey, he met Jane's mother at an Officer's Club dance in Manhattan, and they went on to make history, as it were.

Jane's father's family is in fact all Wisconsin. The Godfrey forebear—Thomas by name—arrived in the U.S. in Philadelphia in 1846. Whether the Irish Potato Famine, which commenced in 1845, had anything to do with his decision to leave County Derry has not yet been discovered. In any event, he gradually made his way westward from the Philadelphia area and in 1851 settled in Wisconsin where he bought some farmland. He married a former compatriot from County Antrim named Eliza Pinkerton, whose family had arrived in the U.S. about the same time he had.

Thomas and Eliza Pinkerton Godfrey's son George married the daughter of a Swedish father and German mother, and that couple would be Jane's paternal grandparents, George and Ruth (Olfson) Godfrey. Jane's Swedish/German grandmother, Ruth Olfson Godfrey, was the granddaughter of William Weisenborn, who fought for the Union in the Civil War.

William Weisenborn was born in 1827 in Marbach in Thüringen, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1851 and became a citizen in Waupaca County, WI, in 1861.

William F. Weisenborn, Waupaca, WI
21st Wisconsin Infantry, Company G

In 1862, William Weisenborn enlisted in the 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, Company G and went off to war, leaving a wife and several small children at home. The 21st Wisconsin Regiment fought at Perryville, Jefferson Pike, Stone River, Hoovers Gap, Dug Gap, and Chickamauga.

The 21st Wisconsin subsequently joined General W.T. Sherman's drive to and through Atlanta and thence onward to the sea at Savannah. Having taken Savannah, the Union Army turned back northward and drove through the heart of South Carolina, burning the capital, Columbia, as they went.

One wonders if any of Jane's Savannah ancestors saw this short (5'5") dark-haired Prussian-born Wisconsin farmer while the 21st Wisconsin was at and around Savannah. How curious would that have been! And, although Charlestonians assumed that Gen. Sherman would surely march up the coast and take Charleston next, they were mistaken. So while we can surmise that Private Weisenborn might have seen Savannah, there is no reason at all to suppose that he might have seen Charleston, or that Jane's Charlestonian ancestors might have seen him.

The penultimate great battle between the Northern and Southern armies occurred at Bentonville, NC, (just SSE of Raleigh) where General William Sherman soundly defeated the ragtag Confederate forces. The 21st Wisconsin Regiment was there and the regimental history reports that Private "W.F. Wiesborn" was among the wounded.

After the war was over, the 21st Wisconsin went to Washington, DC, to march in the grand review of the victorious armies that was held in May, 1865. It is not yet clear whether William Weisenborn accompanied his unit to Washington for the march or whether he was even capable of marching because of the wound he received at Bentonville. There may be photos of his unit marching in Washington, but until we find them, this montage from Youtube of photos from the march will have to suffice.

William F. Weisenborn
Waupaca, WI

William F. Weisenborn returned to Wisconsin and was honorably discharged on 30 Jun 1865. He was certified disabled because of the wound he received at Bentonville,  but he nevertheless went on to father at least eight more children. He died in Waupaca, WI in 1909, and is buried in Lakeside Memorial Park. His final resting place is marked with a Civil War Veteran grave marker.