52 Ancestors: #4 Frank Troville & Frank Tourville

Two young men. One from New York, the other from Kentucky. Their names were almost the same as Frank Troville was also known as Frank or Francis Tourville. Both born in 1844, both enlisted in the Civil War in a Cavalry Regiment, both died in 1864 in the same state. In Andersonville, Georgia.

Frank Troville was born in 1844 in Vermont. His parents, Narcisse Tourville and Celina Durand (or Francis Troville and Adelina Durand in the United States) were married in Quebec in 1838 but soon left for South Hero, Vermont with Francis’ parents. They later relocated in Plattsburgh, in Upstate New York around 1853.

On February 10, 1864, at age 19, Frank Troville enlisted in the Civil War in Beekmantown for three years. Little he knew that less than eight months later he would be dead. Mustered in on March 4, 1864 in the New York 16th Cavalry Regiment, Company L and made prisoner of war on June 24, 1864 near Centreville, Virginia, his family was informed only three months later, on September 19, that he was taken prisoner. He died of scorbutus on October 24, 1864 at Andersonville Hospital. He was admitted there on October 18.

The details about the life of his “twin”, Frank Tourville, from Illinois, are not so clear. He was born abt 1844 in Alabama as well as his mother (according to the Illinois 1860 Census). However, his mother is said to be born in Kentucky in later censuses. I always thought that Frank was the son of Peter Tourville and Nancy Irwin. The Civil War pension application made by his mother reveals an important detail: she was his foster mother. The pension application was rejected on that ground. So maybe he was born in Alabama after all but we will probably never know who his biological parents were. According to his obituary, Peter and Nancy were married in February 1839. It was a second marriage for Peter. His wife Marie Aspace gave birth to a girl in 1838 in Florissant, Missouri, so we can assume that his first wife died between that birth and his second marriage. In the 1860 Census, Francis (or Frank) is living alone with his adopted parents in Jersey County, in Illinois. Peter has moved from Missouri to Illinois around 1849. Both died there in the 1890’s.

Frank Tourville enlisted in the Civil War on December 14, 1862 in Lebanon, Kentucky, his place of residence at that time. Mustered in on April 16, 1863 in the Kentucky 11th Cavalry Regiment, Company E, he was declared absent without leave from April 18, 1863 until his return on May 1st, 1863. He went missing at the battle of French Broad, in East Tennesse, on January 28,1864. He was declared as having died in Andersonville during the month of March 1864.

By being prisoner at Andersonville, our young men did not have much chance to survive. The numbers talk: Of the 45,000 Union Army soldiers held prisoner at the camp during a period of 14 months starting February 1864, 12,913 have died.

andersonvilleTo find more information about Andersonville:

52 Ancestors / 52 Weeks is an idea proposed by Amy Johnson Crow. Link on the image for more details about it.

52 Ancestors / 52 Weeks is an idea proposed by Amy Johnson Crow. Link on the image for more details about it.

 

4 thoughts on “52 Ancestors: #4 Frank Troville & Frank Tourville

  1. This reminded me of the episode of #WDYTYA with Kelly Clarkson. She had an ancestor who I believe survived being imprisoned at Andersonville and later became a State Senator.

    • It is from that episode that I learned that Andersonville was a camp and not a “regular” prison. Nothing like seeing to make you understand how it was back then.

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