(NOTE: John H. Batchelder probably never sat for a portrait before his entering the service during the Civil War, but he spent almost 10 months with the 86th in the Nashville, Tennessee area, during which time most of the members of the 86th, especially the officers, took the opportunity to sit for portraits to send back home to their loved that they missed so much and most of the boys didn't stop at making just one or two copies of those pictures, which were most often printed in the from of what was called a CDV. They made a dozen copies or more, sometimes, so that they could swap pictures with the friends, tentmates, messmates and fellow officers within the regiment and their respective companies. Then, John H. Batchelder survived the war and lived into the 1870's. During this time, John must had his picture taken a few more times. I would love to see some pictures of John H. Batchelder as a young man, especially some of him in uniform from his days with the 86th, but at this point, I would just love to see some pictures of John be added to his FAG site, even some of him as a 40 or 50 year old man. Can anyone help me with this? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Baxter)

1st Lt. JOHN H. BATCHELDER, Co. C, 86th Illinois

John H. Batchelder was born c. 1820 in Wocester County, Massachusetts. He is almost certainly the John Humphrey Batchelder, who was born on July 21, 1820/21 in either Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts or in Greenfield, Hillsboro County, New Hampshire. He was almost certainly the son of Captain Joseph Batchelder and Mary Tileston Humphrey. Mary Tileston Humphrey is believed to have been born on July 5, 1795 in Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts and to have died on August 20, 1825 in Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts, the daughter of John Humphrey and Hannah Brinton. After Mary's death, Joseph Bathcelder was married to Rachel Stone.
Just after John H. Batchelder's birth, Joseph may have moved the family briefly to New York state, where his son Joseph Mayo Batchelder was is believed to have been born born c. 1822. If they did move to New York State, then they may have returned to Massachsetts before 1825, where some believe Mary Tileston (Humphrey) Batchelder have died. However, Mary may actually have died in New York State and it is possible, that this is where Joseph Batchelder met Rachel Stone and where they were very likely married, sometime before 1830.
In the 1830's, Joseph and Rachel brought their family west to Illinois, where they settled in Peoria County. An early Richwoods Township history states, "Another old settler who, with his family, were quite prominent in the early history of the township, was Joseph Batchelder, who came from New York State sometime in the thirties. His wife was a sister of William L. Stone, who was quite prominent in the literary world in his day. Mr. Batchelder was one of the original elders in the First Presbyterian Church of Peoria, and it had to be a very stormy day to prevent his taking the drive of five miles, with his family, to church on Sabbath. He had quite an intelligent family. One of his sons, now Rev. Joseph Mayo Batchelder, D. D., entered the ministry and is pastor of a Presbyterian congregation at Osborne, in the State of Kansas. He and his brother, Charles, made the brick on the farm, and built the house in which they lived for a number of years, the same which William Dempsey now owns." Rachel's brother, William Leete Stone, was born on April 20, 1792 in New Paltz, New York and died on August 15, 1844 in Saratoga Springs, New York. William was an influential journalist, publisher, author, and public official in New York City.
At the time of the 1840 census, Joseph and his family are found in what is called the Jackson Precinct of Peoria County. At that time, the family is believed to consist of;
1. one male 40 or under (probably Joseph, who must about 40)
2. one male 25 or younger.
3. two males 20 or younger (probably John Humphrey Batchelder and Joseph Mayo Batchelder.
4. one male 5 or younger.
5. one female 35 or younger (probably Rachel (Stone) Batchelder.
6. one female 10 or younger.
7. one female 5 or younger.

The children born to Joseph Batchelder are believed to include;
1. John Humphrey Batchelder, born July 21, 1820 in Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts. See his biography below.

2. Joseph Mayo Batchelder, born September 23, 1822 in Greenwood, Steuben County, New York. Joseph may be the Joseph Batchelder who was married to Mary Gearhart on January 30, 1846 in Fulton County, Illinois. Joseph is the Joseph M. Batchelder who was married to Harriet R. Gearhart on May 29, 1855 in Peoria County, Illinois. Joseph and Harriet Frances Gearhart were the parents of;
A. Mary A, Batchelder, born c. 1856/57 in Iowa.

B. Elizabeth F. "Lizzie" or "Lillian" Batchelder, born c. 1858/59 in Iowa. Lillian married Joseph Donahue Bonar in 1859 and they had one daughter, Jean Bonar.

C. John B.? Batchelder, born in early 1860's in Monroe County, Iowa. John died c. 1864 and his mortal remains were laid in the Oakview Cemetery in Albia, Monroe County, Iowa. See his Find A Grave Memorial# 100176730.

D. Mina O. "Minnie" Batchelder, born c. 1866/67 in Iowa.

E. Annie M. Batchelder, born c. 1866/67 in Iowa.

At the time of the 1860 census, Joseph and his family are found in The City Of Albia, Monroe County, Iowa;
Joseph M Batchelor M 37 N Y
Harriet Batchelor F 29 Penn
Mary A Batchelor F 3 Iowa
Elizabeth F Batchelor F 1 Iowa

At the time of the 1870 census, Joseph and his family are found in Albia, Monroe County, Iowa;
Joseph M Batchelder M 44 New York
Harriet E Batchelder F 34 Pennsylvania
Mary A Batchelder F 13 Iowa
Lizzie F Batchelder F 11 Iowa
Minnie O Batchelder F 3 Iowa
Annie M Batchelder F 3 Iowa

Rev. Joseph Mayo Batchelder died on April 2, 1905 and his mortal remains were laid in the Evergreen Cemetery in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa. See his Find A Grave Memorial# 98786396.

Nowto continue with the biography of John Humphrey Batchelder;
At the time of the 1850 census, a John Bachelor is found residing in Peoria County. He is listed as a Merchant and is 30 years of age. His place of birth according to this census in Massachusetts.
John H. Batchelder was an original member of and a Private in the "National Blues", a militia unit that served in Peoria County, from July of 1856 into the 1860's. It is found that "The Citizens of Peoria for some time previous to 1856, had been impressed with the necessity of having among them one or more volunteer companies, who would be available in case their services should be required in protecting property and aid in enforcing the laws. And in order to get an expression from those who were disposed to favor such an Organization, a meeting was held on the 9th day of July, 1856, in Engine House No.2, on North Adams Street, in said city, Andrew J. HODGES was appointed chairman and George S. BLAKELY, secretary. At that meeting the question was very fully discussed as to the necessity, and prospect of organizing a first-class volunteer company of infantry, and it was resolved that such a company be at once formed."
At the time of the 1860 census, a John H. Batcheldor is found residing in Chillicothe Village. He is listed as being 44 years of age and is a Trader in Chillicothe. According to the census, he was born in New York. After the Civil War began in April of 1861, it was also said of "the National Blues, an independent military organization dating from the 12th of July, 1856, besides contributing a large number of its members to the private ranks and furnishing some of the ablest officers known in the army, was an invaluable auxiliary in directing enlistments, organizing and equiping companies and hurrying them off to the front. In many other ways the Blues added largely to the success of war movements in the city and county of Peoria. In fact, this company was the nucleus of an army of nearly five thousand heroes that went from Peoria county in defense of the Union." A large number of the "Blues" entered service in 1861 as members of the 47th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
In July of 1862, after President Abraham Lincoln's appeal for 600,000 more troops, Dr. Joseph F. Thomas, a Chillicothe, Illinois physician, John H. Batchelder, who was then operating the ferry at Chillicothe, Illinois, and Reuben B. Beebe made the decision that they should try and recruit a company of men for service in the United States Army from the Chillicothe, Illinois area. In the July 29, 1862 edition of THE DAILY TRANSCRIPT, that was published in Peoria, Illinois, the following notice appeared under the headline RECRUITING NOTICES. "We learn that J. F. Thomas, of Hallock, and John H. Batchellor and R. Beebe, of Chillicothe are engaged in recruiting a company of volunteers for the new levy. Their headquarters are at Chillicothe." John H. Batchelder officially volunteered to serve in this company on August 1, 1862.

ILLINOIS CIVIL WAR DETAIL REPORT
Name BATCHELDER, JOHN H
Rank 1LT Company C Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence CHILLICOTHE, PEORIA CO, IL Age 41 Height 5' 11 Hair DARK
Eyes DARK Complexion DARK Marital Status SINGLE Occupation FERRYMAN
Nativity WORCESTER CO, MA

Service Record
Joined When AUG 1, 1862 Joined Where CHILLICOTHE, IL
Joined By Whom J H BATCHELDER Period 3 YRS
Muster In AUG 27, 1862 Muster In Where PEORIA, IL
Muster In By Whom N/A Muster Out JUN 6, 1865
Muster Out Where WASHINGTON, DC Muster Out By Whom LT SCROGGS
Remarks N/A

It appears that the three men began actively recruiting on August 5, 1862 and William J. Beebe, Andrew J. and Jacob J. Rutherford and John B. Selders, all of Chillicothe, were their first four recruits. By the middle of August, the newspapers stated that there were 101 volunteers in the Chillicothe company, who were primarily from Chillicothe, Hallock and Medina Township from Peoria County, but they also had a few volunteers from southern Marshall County, Illinois.
On the 7th of August of 1862, THE DAILY TRANSCRIPT published the following notice. "Doctor Thomas and John Batchelor are forming a company for the war at Chillicothe, Ills. They have about thirty men and think their prospects for a full company are highly encouraging." On August 13, 1862, Thomas, Batchelder and Beebe assembled all of the volunteers and brought them down to Peoria, Illinois, where they went into camp at the Peoria County Fairgrounds, by then called Camp Lyon, which was located across Prospect Avenue from Glen Oak Park in Peoria, Illinois. On August 14, 1862, THE TRANSCRIPT published the following notice. "From Chillicothe. J. F. Thomas, Esq., arrived in camp yesterday with a full company. This is quick work, as it was only last week that he was here and had his recruiting bills struck." The TRANSCRIPT also reported that, "They are coming from all quarters. It is expected that there will be at least four thousand men here by the last of the week."
Even after leaving Chillicothe, a few more men came down to join Thomas' company. On August 14th, William H. Crotz, John Harrington and Loren J. Wilson came into camp to volunteer. William J. Baldwin and Loren J. Wilson arrived on the 15th and on August 22, 1862, George Bolton, of LaPrarie, became Thomas' last recruit. On the 22nd it was published that Thomas' Peoria Co. company would become part of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry and that they had 101 volunteers in camp.
On the 26th of August, the men of the Chillicothe company elected Joseph F. Thomas to be their Captain, John H. Batchelder to be their 1st Lieutenant and Reuben B. Beebe to be their 2nd Lieutenant. To decide what each company would be called, pieces of paper bearing the names of the 10 company commanders that would make up the 86th were thrown into a hat and Thomas' name was the 3rd name drawn. So on the 27th of August of 1862, 88 of the Chillicothe area volunteers, including Thomas, Batchelder and Beebe were mustered into service as Company C of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
On September 7, 1862, the men of the 86th Illinois marched out the gates of Camp Lyon, through the streets of Peoria, with much fanfare, down to the railroad depot. There they were joined by the men of the 85th Illinois, who had been mustered into service at Camp Peoria. At the depot the men of these two regiments boarded trains bound for Camp Joe Holt in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which was located across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. By early October, the men of the 85th & 86th were in the field in Kentucky as part of Col. Daniel McCook's Brigade, in pursuit of Confederate troops. On Oct. 8, 1862, the men of McCook's Brigade were engaged with those troops in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, the 86th Illinois suffering their first casualties. There would be many more to come. After the Battle of Perryville, the Confederate troops withdrew from Kentucky and the men of McCook's Brigade marched on to Nashville, Tennessee where they would go into winter camp.
During the next two and a half years, Lt. John Humphrey Batchelder would faithfully help lead the men of Co. C as they served in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. During this time, John was a witness to and a participant in numerous battles and skirmishes, some of the bloodiest fighting in the Western Theatre of the war, including the Battles of Chicakamauga, Georgia; Resaca, Georgia; Rome, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, Jonesboro, Georgia, Averasborough, North Carolina and Bentonville, North Carolina, and took part in the Sherman's infamous "March to the Sea".

At the time of the 1870 census, a J. H. Batchelder is found residing in Chillicothe, Illinois. He is listed as being 53 years of age, is the Proprietor of the Ferry Boat and is listed as being born in New York.
Wm Shane M 54 Virginia
Sarah Shane F 35 Virginia
Anna Shane F 5 Illinois
J H Batchelder M 53 New York
Catherine Dukes F 53 England
Mary Robinson F 45 Illinois

Lieutenant John H. Batchelder died on March 15, 1879 in Peoria County. His earthly remains were laid to rest, probably about March 17, 1879, in the Chillicothe City Cemetery in Chillicothe, Illinois. John Humphrey Batchelder is believed never to have been married and never to have had any children.

by Baxter B, Fite III

(Baxter would enjoy hearing from anyone, especially descendants of the Batchelder family, who might be able to add to the biographical material that we have on John Humphrey Batchelder and the Batchelder family. Baxter would also like to see copies of any photographs of John H. Batchelder which have survived the years added to his Find A Grave Memorial for all to see.)