Private in Co. I, 37th New York Volunteer Infantry, 1861-63. Unit known as the "Irish Rifles." A carpenter and engineer, when he resettled in New York City after the Civil War, he went by the name "James Francis Prime" and presented himself as an Irishman, and was known for carrying a carved walking stick. He feared his biblical name, given him by his Dutch Reformed parents, would lead people in the anti-semitic Irish community in NYC to think he might be Jewish. This is stated in the pension papers of his widow, Mary Furniss Prime, who related on affidavit that she was not even aware of his real name until a week or so after their marriage, when they visited his parents in Ellicottville!
Private in Co. I, 37th New York Volunteer Infantry, 1861-63. Unit known as the "Irish Rifles." A carpenter and engineer, when he resettled in New York City after the Civil War, he went by the name "James Francis Prime" and presented himself as an Irishman, and was known for carrying a carved walking stick. He feared his biblical name, given him by his Dutch Reformed parents, would lead people in the anti-semitic Irish community in NYC to think he might be Jewish. This is stated in the pension papers of his widow, Mary Furniss Prime, who related on affidavit that she was not even aware of his real name until a week or so after their marriage, when they visited his parents in Ellicottville!
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