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SIMON DOUGLAS NJ Black History Month: Remembering state's last Civil War soldier An undated newspaper clipping from Fairview author Michael Orecchio's collection shows former slave Simon Douglas, who died in 1950. Important historical material is oftentimes found in unlikely ways. Such was the case when I accidentally discovered information about Simon Douglas (1843-1950). Douglas was once a slave in Fairfield County, South Carolina, who, after the Civil War, settled in my hometown of Fairview, New Jersey. He lived to be the last Civil War soldier in the state. It all began with my being in the wrong place at the right time. Some time ago, I received a packet curiously displaying many 50-year-old stamps, addressed to Michael Orecchio, the deceased previous owner of my house -- where I have lived for decades. When I opened it, I realized what a treasure had fallen into my hands. The contents had recently been sent by University of Maine Professor Jay Hoar, who had dedicated decades of his life to researching various categories of Civil War veterans. His books included research on the last Union and Confederate soldiers of the Civil War, the nurses who worked during the conflict and the child soldiers who served. His packet contained a detailed biography and photographs of Douglas. The main 20th-century source of this information was a lost short history of Fairview written by Orecchio. Town historian Patt Mazzeo, coincidentally, had been researching Douglas for some time. At last, we had the whole story. Douglas came to life in the elegant prose of Professor Hoar and in that of the town elders from my childhood. Douglas' saga offers lessons for today and for many tomorrows to come. Barred from majors, these players were in a league of their own | Morgan Since African-Americans were generally "black-listed" from participation in the social and professional life of the nation, baseball was only following accepted strictures. In his early 20s, Douglas, like many other slaves in the South, went to the front lines as a servant to his master (or his master's son). When the opportunity arose, such men crossed over to the Union lines in an act of self-emancipation. Professor Hoar figures that Douglas became free by 1864 and moved north with Sherman's army as a forager and a blacksmith. In 1866, Douglas settled in what was to become Fairview. It seems he liked what he found. Douglas married a local woman, had a son and daughter, and spent the rest of his 84 years in town. He ran his own blacksmithing business into his 90s. We learn more about Douglas' life and status in Fairview from a local history written in 1987 by Orecchio, who had a long friendship with the Douglas family. Hoar relied on Orecchio's writings, and his compilations of letters from other townsfolk concerning Douglas, in portraying Douglas as a very modest man, unassuming, but with a strong moral sense of right and wrong. He loved to talk about horses, but rarely talked about his early life. He loved children, was very attached to his family and was a model father to his two children. Two events showed the great love and affection that the community held for Douglas. In his last decade of life, he was largely unemployed, sick and nearly blind, and way behind on his taxes. Yet, he and his family stood proud and never sought any public assistance, such as there might have been in 1949. So in that year, a county court judgment seized his homestead. Hearing the news, the town was aghast. Orecchio organized a special fund, and in short order, the total taxes were collected from local townsfolk eager to help. The property title was restored to Douglas. In another matter, a town leader led an unsuccessful fight to obtain a Civil War pension for the old soldier. He failed in his effort because Douglas, like so many others, was not officially mustered. Hence, officially, the oldest Civil War veteran of New Jersey is George Ashby, not Simon Douglas, who actually never described himself as a vet, just a soldier. (Sgt. Ashby, 1844-1946, was also an African-American soldier and, according to mycommunitysource.com, a park is named in his honor in Monmouth County.) In concluding his work about Douglas and his family, Orecchio states: "My family and this community where I live are richer because the Douglas’s lived among us."
This year, Fairview will honor the memory of its iconic citizen in a series of ceremonies. Such is the power of history to motivate, transform, commemorate and teach. But Douglas' story is not the only one to be found in the prolific and encyclopedic work of Professor Hoar. How many iconic figures of all ethnic and racial groups are to be rediscovered in his pages? How many documentary -- or even movie -- plots to be created? My discovery was serendipitous. But readers now know where to find material of interest. Just come to the Fairview library! |