BOTH MEN SERVED IN MAINE INFANTRY REGIMENTS DURING THE US CIVIL WAR.

PENSION DOCUMENTS HELPED US TRACE THE TWO MEN BACK TO CLARA, OFFALY, IRELAND.

CAN WE CONNECT THEM TO DESCENDANTS LIVING IN MAINE TODAY ?

The past few weeks we have been busy researching two newly discovered US Civil War soldiers with strong Offaly connections. As has happened several times before, we came upon their stories by chance while researching another soldier among the US army pension records. The details in these documents opened up the remarkable story of brothers James and Patrick Stones, born in Clara, County Offaly, who both fought for the Union Army during the war. One of the brothers, James Stones, sadly did not survive the war but his death in service and the resulting pension claim made by his Father, Bernard Stones, contained the vital documents that allowed us to connect the Stones Family in Maine to their home town in Ireland. In many ways it is Bernard’s story that became the most compelling aspect of the story that unfolded while reading those records.

Bernard Stones was born around 1804 and lived in an area called Raheen just outside Clara town. The availabe land registry records for this period and the later Griffiths Valuation allow us to pinpoint the exact location of the Stones families land holding and later census records continue to record members of the wider Stones family living in the same area right up to the recently published 1926 Irish Census.

Bernard Stones married Bridget Purcell in November 1831 and, while records for the Clara area are vague for this period we do know the couple welcomed 4 children while living and farming on a small piece of land in the aforementioned Raheen area. Sadly, in April 1855, Bridget Stones died and not long after this tragic event two of her children, the aforementioned Patrick (Born 1838) and James (Born 1835) left Ireland settling in Portland in the US State of Maine. The earlier mentioned pension records indicate that the two young Stones brothers were joining relations and former neighbor’s from the Clara area who had already settled in Maine. Back in Clara their Father, Bernard, remarried in 1857. His second wife was Jane Cronley and this marriage record can be found in the Tullamore Parish Register on the 18th January of that year. This second marriage produced three children, Thomas, Joseph and Mary.

By the time of the 1860 US Census both James and Patrick Stones are working in the brick making industry in the town of Brewer, Maine. During this period brick making was a huge industry in Maine with over 20 yards producing 15 million bricks annually with many Irish emigrants employed here during this time. Likely both Patrick and James were unaware of the political storm brewing in the USA that would spark Civil War in their adapted land in only a short few months and change the course of their lives.

In April 1861 the Civil War finally ignited and both James and Patrick enlisted in Maine only months apart of that year. James joined the 2nd Maine Infantry Regiment in May 1861 and Patrick enlisted into the 15th Maine Infantry later that year. It was James Stones regiment who were very heavily involved in the early period of the war. Initially sent to Washington D.C. as part of the defensive garrison protecting the capital. They would later take part in some of the more grueling battles in those early months of the Civil War including The First Battle of Bull Run, Yorktown, Hanover Court House and The Battle Of Gaines Mill.

It was at Gaines Mill on the 27th June 1862 that James Stones was badly wounded. James died of those wounds in a military hospital at Richmond, Virginia. There is some degree of confusion within the army records as to the exact date of James death with some documents stating it was the 4th July 1862 but the majority confirm the date as the 14th July 1862. If indeed the 14th July was the correct date of James death it does add a touch of irony as it was on this date President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the General Pension Act establishing the federal framework for compensating Union soldiers disabled during the Civil War and also providing financial relief for their surviving widows, minor children, and dependent relatives. James Stones death would mean that his Father, Bernard, would become a beneficiary of this new General Pension Act.

We have spent some time trying to find the exact location of James Stones final resting place but to date we have been unsuccessful. However, we did discover a Civil War memorial stone in Hathaway Graveyard in Garland, Maine and included on the inscription is the name “Jas Stone“. So while it is yet to be fully clarified it could be here where James was laid to rest in 1862.

The war for his brother Patrick Stones was a different experience with his regiment spending most of its period of service attached to the Department of the Gulf, serving in Louisiana, Florida, and Texas. The 15th Maine Infantry were first sent to Ship Island, Mississippi from where they would travel up the Mississippi River to New Orleans. During the entire Civil War most of the regiments casualties resulted from sickness such as “Swamp Fever”(malaria) which claimed the lives of close to 350 men. Patrick Stones survived sickness and the Civil War and was present with his regiment as they were employed as Provost Guards policing the crowds during the victorious “Grand Review” in Washington DC on the 23rd and 24th May 1865.

It is again the pension records that help us with the next phase of the story of the wider Stones Family. We learn here that Bernard Stones and his Family left Clara in 1867 moving to Maine and reuniting with his son Patrick and other Clara born relatives. Bernard had been in poor health for several years prior to this and while living in Ireland had regularly received payments from James as he was “destitute” and unfit for any type of work.

Soon after his arrival in Maine, Bernard initiated a claim for the earlier mentioned “Dependents” Pension arguing that his now dead son, James, had been his sole source of income and he was unable to provide for his family. Documents provided by Bernard, including the above fascinating hand written note from then parish priest of Clara, Fr. James Corcoran, confirming the record of his marriage to Bridget Purcell. Also provided were written testimonies from several witnesses living in Maine vouching for the marriage and confirming that the Union soldier in question, James Stones, was indeed the son of Bernard Stone.

Bernard also must prove he is unfit for work and while h e mentions he had attended a Doctor in Ireland prior to his arrival in America he adds how he was unable to contact the Doctor in question to provide exact details of his disability. Instead he was examined by a local physician, Dr. Horatio Nelson Small, who was at this time attached to the Union army and was also appointed by the pension investigators to examine Bernard’s case. Dr. Small confirms that Bernard is indeed unfit for work and states he is “a broken down man” and that while “he isn’t suffering from any organic disease but is a feeble old man”.

“The Doctor who treated me while in Kings County, Ireland and that I have made due search for him and am unable to find or hear from and that I have been examined by Horatio Small of Portland a surgeon appointed by the government to examine pensions.” – Bernard Stones

The vital documents that provide us with evidence that the Stones family original hail from Clara, County Offaly come in the form of written statements by former Clara natives, Edward and Daniel Heffron, then also living in Maine. The testimony of Edward Heffron in particular is interesting in that it details how he had assisted in the Stones brothers when they emigrated to America and had also employed James Stones prior to the Civil War. He further states that he had assisted James in sending several payments to his Father back in Ireland thus also highlighting how James was the main provider for Bernard.

“I Edward Heffron of Bangor in the county of Penobscot and state of Maine herby on oath declare that I am a native of Clara, Kings County(Offaly), Ireland and lived there until 1834 when I came to this country. That I was well and intimately acquainted with Bernard Stones and his wife, Bridget, residents of said Clara and lived a near neighbor to them and that for 3 years before I left they lived together as husband and wife.”

“I knew their children and acted as their agent in this country having often been if correspondence with the family in the old country. I feel sure that this relation of husband and wife existed for a long time after my removal to America .”

Bernard Stones application for a dependents pension was successful and in late 1868 he received notification of his first payment. Bernard was by then in his mid 60’s and taking into account the testimony of the Doctor who had examined him it would be probable for us to expect that Bernard Stones life expectancy was greatly diminished. Bernard Stones surprised everyone and in fact lived to the age of 97 before his death in November 1902 !

The several newspaper reports published at the time of his death refer to “Barney” Stone as being then the oldest resident in Biddeford, Maine. Reading through the articles Bernard “Barney” Stones does seem to have been a well known, and much loved, member of the community and is referred to as a “very picturesque man” . The same reports also confirm that his wife, Jane Cronley Stone, had passed away 2 years earlier in 1900.  She had taken a bad fall earlier that year, breaking her hip, and it would seem complications from this injury contributed to her death at the age of 75.  She had been the main carer for an aged Bernard, who was 20 years older, at the time of her death.

After the Civil War Patrick Stones returned to Maine where he resided for the rest of his days. He married Annie Cullinan in 1866 who sadly died from the effects of “consumption” (TB) in 1880. Patrick remarried Martha Ring in July 1885. Between these 2 marriages there were 6 children. Patrick Stones died on the 4th June 1915 in Portland Maine at nearly 80 years of age. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Portland alongside his wife Martha and several of his children. Newspaper reports at the time of his death refer to his Civil War service and his connection to “Kings County” (Offaly) in Ireland.

There is another interesting aspect to the story of the Stones family from Clara in Offaly. Thomas Stones,the youngest son of Bernard and Jane Cronley, was appointed Chief of Police in Biddeford, Maine in 1911. He would remain in this role for 10 years before his sudden death in June 1921 at 61 years of age. Thomas Stones remained unmarried throughout his life and was laid to rest alongside his parents Bernard & Jane in Biddeford, Maine.

In June 1941 the last direct connection to the Stones family members born in Clara. County Offaly ended with the death of Joseph Stones at 81 years of age. From their earliest arrival date in 1855 right up to the death of Joseph the families connection to the USA had spanned almost 90 years. That pension record we stumbled upon that led us to the discovery of two Clara born soldiers from the US Civil War quickly became a story about an entire Offaly family and its impact on the life of their adapted state of Maine, USA.

Before completing the story of our 2 Civil war soldiers Patrick and James Stones and the extended Stones family I have to mention two people who have been a huge help in uncovering a lot of the detail included in this article. Carolyn Hall and Lisa Ward are both direct descendants of Bernard Stones and of Patrick and James Stones. Both of these ladies had already done a huge amount of work and research into the their family hsitory. I reached out to them on ancestry.com and both were so gracious with their time and with the information they were able to add. It was also nice that we were able to provide them with some new information that we do hope will help them with their ongoing research into their families history. Thank you Carolyn and Lisa.

Kevin Guing

7th August 2026

For more on this story:

Patrick Stones – Americasoffalyheroes

James Stones – Americasoffalyheroes

Sources:

Pension Application File for Bernard Stone, Father of James Stone,

Ancestry.com – U.S., Civil War Pension Files, 1861-1934

1900 US Census Image | findmypast.ie

2nd Maine Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia

15th Maine Infantry Regiment – Wikipedia

Griffiths Valuation

Battle of Gaines’ Mill – Wikipedia

Census Record | The National Archives of Ireland

Newspapers.com™

Evening Express at Newspapers.com™

Nov 20, 1902, – Evening Express at Newspapers.com™

Stone, Patrick – US, Civil War Pensions Fold3

Portland Sunday Telegram at Newspapers.com™