1860 Vigo Co, Sugar Creek Twp, IN. At age 16, he was living with thef amily of brother, David, according to the census. David latertestifie d that John had lived with him until he enlisted in the army.
7/16/1863 John enlisted as a Pvt in Co H 115th Rgt Ind Inf at TerreHa ute and was discharged 2/25/1864. He reenlisted with Co H 133rdInd In f, also as a Pvt, and was dischged 9/5/1864 at Indianapolis.
John was plagued with illness during his military career, as were manyo f the soldiers of that day:
9/22/1863 He was ordered for a medical exam & furloughed 9/29/1863for 2 0 days on sick leave. He was treated 10/28-11/12/1863 in TerreHaute f or fever, then returned to duty. He was hospitalized11/12-28/1863 and a gain 12/10/1863, no diagnosis either time.
1/1868 Jewett, Cumberland Co, IL where he married Martha.
11/1868 Newton, Jasper Co, IL, where his 1st child was born.
6/23/1870 Louisville, Clay Co, IL was where the next census takerfoun d John with his first family. John was 24 and a farmer, wifeMartha wa s 17, daughter Lucinda was 1.
11/1870 Effingham, Effingham Co, IL, where the 2nd child was born.
12/31/1871 Near Rardin, Coles Co, IL, where he and second wife Marywe re married.
1880 E Oakland Twp, Coles Co, IL, was probably the same address asthe l ast entry. When their 4th child was born, birth record showsJohn's age a s (he was actually 43) with the occupation of farmer.The census that y ear also said he was 34:
John R. ARTHER Self M Male W 34 IN Farming NC TN
Mary ARTHER Wife M Female W 26 IL Keeping House NC TN
Aaron T. A. ARTHER Son S Male W 8 IL At Home IN IL
Lydia L. ARTHER Dau S Female W 5 IL At Home IN IL
David N. ARTHER Son S Male W 4 IL At Home IN IL
William ARTHER Son S Male W 1 IL IN IL
Edward ARTHER Son S Male W 1 IL IN IL
1883 Ashmore Twp, Coles Co, IL, where his 7th child was born, listingh is occupation as laborer.
1886 E Lafayette Twp, Coles Co, IL. Their 8th child was born at thisa ddress.
7/1890 Arcola, Douglas Co, IL, when he applied for an Invalid Pensiono n his Civil War service. Ailments listed as reasons for disabilitywer e a rupture, chronic diarrhea, chest trouble & weakness of eyes.
He drew a pension on this service record, receiving his last check of$ 12 on 1/4/1896, just 9 days before he died. Also, both wivesapplied f or and received widows pensions.
1896 When Martha applied for a widow's pension, John's brother,David, t estified in a general affidavit that he knew nothing about adivorce fr om a prior wife. It's interesting that John named bothchildren by Mar tha after his brother and sister but following thedivorce had nothing t o do with either of them and the rest of thefamily knew nothing about t his brief marriage.
Nearly every record indicates John was born about 1844 but descendantss ay he was born in 1838.
Family tradition is that John was born in IN, however, both the 1850an d 1860 census lists his birthplace as Illinois. In 1850 he was 6,maki ng his birth year abt 1844. There was a group of Arthurs fromIN, who m oved to Moultrie Co, IL, but stayed only a couple of yearsbefore movin g back. If his parents were part of that group, he mayactually have b een born in Illinois.
Also, 2 sources (birth record for child & 1880 census) show his age as3 4 in 1880, making his birth year 1846 rather than 1838. Which iscorre ct???
"St. Mary's is a village of 100 inhabitants adjacent to the communityo f the Sisters of Providence. Its site was never divided into townlots . It contains two stores, a cabinet, carpenter, blacksmith andcooper s hop, and a fine brick church which was built in 1867 and cost$13,000. T he only secular organization here is a St. Joseph's TotalAbstinence So ciety, at one time numbering ninety members; it nownumbers fifty."
Martha's Declaration for Widow's Pension, states John's death date isM ay, 1897, at Charleston, IL.
John's gravestone lists only his War service: Co H, 115 Ind. Inf
