A Relic and It's Journey.....
In the fall of 2010 I unearthed my best find in 20 years of hunting...
I posted it once before,but that little voice kept saying to me,your not done with this.
Turns out,I was not.
I know some of you can relate to the How did this get here way of thinking.
Or the, I wonder who dropped this,What were they doing at the time...thing
You know,Those burning little questions that mostly go unanswered.
Well today After 1 1/2 years of research I can finally check one off the list...
Below you will find the story of a man and his life,as best can be told,and for once the question of who put this there...
Can finally be answered...
The life of this former Civil War soldier Manassa Timothy Houser
Started on a winter day in Dec 1832,he was born in the town of Salem,NC
His father Timothy was a farmer by all accounts and his mother Sarah tended the home and children.
Then in September of 1835 the family packed there belongings and moved to Hope,IN to start a new farm.
Manassa's uncle Rev.Martin Houser and his family moved there as well,Rev Martin later founded the Moravian Church in Hope,And the Highschool there is named "Hauser" in honor of the family....
Not much else could be found about my subjects life until 1850....
It was in that year that the family again packed all they owned
And moved to Richland County,IL....
Upon there arrival,
Manassa's father purchased several parcels of land in Denver Twp and began the makings of a home and farm....
They had few neighbors,But one of the closest was a man named Aaron Riggs....Seems not long after meeting Aarons daughter Mahaly,Manassa proposed to her and they were soon married.
After the marriage Manassa returned to his fathers home with his new wife,and helped out on the farm....
On the 18 December 1853 Manassa father Timothy passed away.
The lands of his fathers were then divided among the siblings.
Manassa being the eldest son got the homestead and lived there with his wife....
For several year he lived the life of a farmer
And him and his wife started a family,having four children
In 1862 life changed...
It was in that year He was mustered into federal service on 3 Sept...
He was assigned to the 98th IL Infantry Company G and on 8 March 1863 the 98th IL was converted to Mounted Infantry
http://civilwar.ilgenweb.net/r100/098-g-in.html
http://civilwar.ilgenweb.net/history/098.html
Manassa fought in many battles with the 98th and remained in its service till he was mustered out in Sprinfield,IL 27th June 1865...
It is at this point in Manassa life that one can fully understand the true price of war
For upon returning to his home he finds that his wife Mahaly and daughter Floria have passed away just months before his return.
I can only imagine the sense of loss he must have felt after giving some much for his country....
And will always wonder How the Buckle came to rest where it did....Did he bury it in a fit of anger? or toss it while cursing the war for his loss...I guess somethings will always remain a mystery...
But the Who owned it...now I know...For I found it in what was once his backyard....
Manassa remarried in the late 1860's and moved his family to Nebraska about 1875,there he owned a farm until his passing....
RIP Manassa Houser
Buried in Rose Hill Cemetery,Waverly NB
In the fall of 2010 I unearthed my best find in 20 years of hunting...
I posted it once before,but that little voice kept saying to me,your not done with this.
Turns out,I was not.
I know some of you can relate to the How did this get here way of thinking.
Or the, I wonder who dropped this,What were they doing at the time...thing
You know,Those burning little questions that mostly go unanswered.
Well today After 1 1/2 years of research I can finally check one off the list...
Below you will find the story of a man and his life,as best can be told,and for once the question of who put this there...
Can finally be answered...
The life of this former Civil War soldier Manassa Timothy Houser
Started on a winter day in Dec 1832,he was born in the town of Salem,NC
His father Timothy was a farmer by all accounts and his mother Sarah tended the home and children.
Then in September of 1835 the family packed there belongings and moved to Hope,IN to start a new farm.
Manassa's uncle Rev.Martin Houser and his family moved there as well,Rev Martin later founded the Moravian Church in Hope,And the Highschool there is named "Hauser" in honor of the family....
Not much else could be found about my subjects life until 1850....
It was in that year that the family again packed all they owned
And moved to Richland County,IL....
Upon there arrival,
Manassa's father purchased several parcels of land in Denver Twp and began the makings of a home and farm....
They had few neighbors,But one of the closest was a man named Aaron Riggs....Seems not long after meeting Aarons daughter Mahaly,Manassa proposed to her and they were soon married.
After the marriage Manassa returned to his fathers home with his new wife,and helped out on the farm....
On the 18 December 1853 Manassa father Timothy passed away.
The lands of his fathers were then divided among the siblings.
Manassa being the eldest son got the homestead and lived there with his wife....
For several year he lived the life of a farmer
And him and his wife started a family,having four children
In 1862 life changed...
It was in that year He was mustered into federal service on 3 Sept...
He was assigned to the 98th IL Infantry Company G and on 8 March 1863 the 98th IL was converted to Mounted Infantry
http://civilwar.ilgenweb.net/r100/098-g-in.html
http://civilwar.ilgenweb.net/history/098.html
Manassa fought in many battles with the 98th and remained in its service till he was mustered out in Sprinfield,IL 27th June 1865...
It is at this point in Manassa life that one can fully understand the true price of war
For upon returning to his home he finds that his wife Mahaly and daughter Floria have passed away just months before his return.
I can only imagine the sense of loss he must have felt after giving some much for his country....
And will always wonder How the Buckle came to rest where it did....Did he bury it in a fit of anger? or toss it while cursing the war for his loss...I guess somethings will always remain a mystery...
But the Who owned it...now I know...For I found it in what was once his backyard....
Manassa remarried in the late 1860's and moved his family to Nebraska about 1875,there he owned a farm until his passing....
RIP Manassa Houser
Buried in Rose Hill Cemetery,Waverly NB
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. It just doesn't get any better than that. . . 
