Richard D. Bishop’s Great
Grandfather:
CPL Columbus Houck Bishop, Co G, 103rd IL Inf (M)
CPL Columbus Houck Bishop, Co G, 103rd IL Inf (M)
 |
| Columbus H. Bishop |
Columbus H. Bishop, a farmer and son of Dr.
Nimrod Bishop, moved from Knox County, Ohio, where he was born on 12 Oct 1839,
to Illinois where he enlisted in the union Army at Canton and was assigned to
Co G, 103rd IL Inf (M), commanded by CPT Charles F. Matteson. During
the Civil War, he participated in one of the most famous cavalry raids
conducted by Union Forces under COL Benjamin Henry Grierson, an event depicted
in the John Wayne film “The Horse Soldiers.” The raid, launched in the Spring
of 1862, covered 600 miles from La Grange TN to Baton Rouge LA.
Columbus was wounded in action seven times during the Atlanta Campaign. He suffered wounds in the calves of both legs on 12 May 1864 and received more serious wounds at Kennesaw Mountain on 27 Jun 1864. He noted in a letter that he was “anxious to continue as a participant in what was then known as the Chattanooga to Atlanta Campaign and treated the wounds himself. His injuries caused him considerable pain in later years but at the time, being a doctor’s son who had already seen his share of ‘kitchen table surgery,’ convinced the attending Union surgeon not to amputate one of his legs.”
Columbus H.
Bishop and Susan Elizabeth Mann exchanged wedding vows in a ceremony performed
by Rev. Hamilton, a Methodist clergyman in Freemont County IA on 23 Dec 1877.
He was 37 years of age at the time and she was 28. They had four children:
Vera, Loa, Kyle and Carsey who survived to adulthood. Of the children, Vera
married Wilson Sparks; they had four children named Francis, Iris, Mildred and
Allyn. Loa and Carsey never married.
 |
| Columbus and Susan Bishop |
Following the
flood the property was sold at auction. Family oral history indicates that the
family operated a café in Hinton OK and later moved to El Reno around 1910
while Kyle worked on the Rock Island Railroad. The 1909 El Reno City Directory
lists Kyle as a fireman on the railroad renting rooms at 520 S Choctaw Street
and later at 511 S Rock Island Street. The 1912 El Reno City Directory has Kyle
and his parents living at 510 S Roberts Street. Columbus and Susan were listed
as employed in the real estate business.
In the 1918
City Directory, Columbus and his wife Susan and daughters Carsey and Loa are
listed as living at 110 N Barker Street in El Reno. Columbus is listed as an
inventor, Carsey a milliner and Loa a clerk at Fryberger’s Dry Goods Store
located at 204 S Bickford Street. In the mid 1920s, Columbus and susan with
daughters moved into a house at 312 E Rogers Street, while their son Kyle and
his wife Clara bought a house at 1218 S Macomb Street to raise their own
family.
Columbus
tinkered with a variety of mechanical objects that included a working scale
wooden model that appeared to be an improved version of a railway car coupling
device that was stored in the garage attic of Kyle’s residence years after he
died. In recent years (2000?), Joan Leslie Bishop Michos, his 2nd
Great Granddaughter, discovered Columbus Bishop’s patent #978,686, dated 13 Dec
1910, for a “Saw Set” tool used to bend saw teeth to the proper angle in
sharpening operations.
In later years, Columbus
was said to have enjoyed spending time sitting on a bench at Knight Park near
the family residence, with a long-time friend and Civil War veteran named
“White” and is said to have looked very distinguished in a white shirt with
string tie and beard reminiscent of the style worn by men during the civil war
era. Susan died on 3 Jan 1927 and Columbus passed away on 5 Jan 1929. Both are
buried in the El Reno Cemetery across the lane from the Floyd P. Wilson plot
where Kyle and Clara are laid to rest.
To the right, Columbus
Bishop (40) married Susan Mann(30)in Hamburg IA on 23 Dec 1877.
By Permission of: Richard D. Bishop
By Permission of: Richard D. Bishop
Member -
Sons of Veterans of the Civil War
Major
General Thomas H. Ruger Camp #1
