Thompson Vandergrift's father was Samuel Vandergrift who is my 4th great grandfather.
(as always, you may click on the photo for a larger view)
Turns out that John Thompson Hart's father has a very tragic end as well.
I had supposed that because Samuel died just a couple years after his son was shot and killed that that might have had something to do with Samuel's death. How difficult for a father to lose his son. I wondered how exactly Samuel died and now I know.
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| The Pittsburgh Gazette, 28 DEC 1863, page 3 |
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| Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, 30 SEP 1863, page 3 |
I tried to find the original article detailing Samuel's death in The Pittsburgh Gazette but sadly I cannot find a copy of their December 26th issue. We now know that at the age of 69, Samuel was partially deaf and blind. It does sound as if there may have been some question as to whether this was truly an accident or not.
Samuel's wife Nancy Robb Vandergrift lived 26 more years after her husband's death.
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| Pittsburgh Daily Post, 04 JAN 1890, page 11 |
