The Story of Philo B. Town
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Philo B. Town grave in Willow Cemetery in Lucas County, Ohio
(Collection of the author)
The story of Philo B. Town is a peculiar one and though he was not a Marshall County native, Town’s tale is connected to many who live in Marshall County. The son of Elihu Town and Ann Roberts, Philo B. Town was born in 1834 in New York. As a boy his family moved to Toledo, Ohio and Town later married Margaret Van Orden in early 1861. The couple welcomed their first child, Franke, in 1861.
When the Civil War began, Town was drafted into the Union Army and was assigned to Company A, Ohio 14th Infantry Regiment on April 27, 1861. He mustered out in August 1861 and took part in the march to Nashville and saw action at the Battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga and was part of Sherman’s infamous March to the Sea.
According to his Civil War Pension records, Town suffered from what Civil War-era doctors called “nostalgic” or combat stress reaction. The war caused him to suffer from nervousness, dizziness, tremors, and nightmares. He even suffered from bouts with amnesia. He was soon discharged and returned home to his wife and child in Ohio.
Once he returned home, Town’s condition eased and he and his wife had three more children: Mary, Margaret, and Mable. He went to work as lumberman and made a very successful business in Lucas County, Ohio.
However in 1885, Town’s symptoms of combat stress reaction returned and one day, he did not return home after work. Knowing and fearing the worst, his wife and family searched everywhere for him, but to no avail. After 5 years of searching and after all avenues had been pursued, Town’s wife declared him dead in 1890. Not long after, she filed for and began drawing a widow’s pension from his Civil War service.
Town was not dead, however. He had journeyed to Kentucky and soon wandered into Marshall County where he met and later courted Josie Washburn of the Hamlet community. Though he was 33 years her senior, Town married Washburn on September 30, 1888. The two would have four children: Dollie Ann Town (later married Oscar Lee Lovett), Dora E. Town (later married Thomas V. Mobley), Lora Dell Town (later married Leonard Miller), and Daniel Rupert Town. Town began a successful sawmill in the Hamlet community.
Shortly after the turn of the century in 1901, Philo Town, who was now in his late 60s, filed for his Civil War pension. When the application was processed, it was discovered that Margaret Town was already collecting benefits in Ohio. When questioned, Margaret told the authorities the story of how her husband had disappeared and she had declared him dead in 1890 after years of unsuccessful searching.
One morning in late 1901, authorities along with James Jacobs and Frank Sargent (Philo and Margaret’s sons-in-law), arrived at the doorstep of Philo B. Town’s home in Hamlet. Since he was legally married to Margaret, his marriage to Josie was not legal and thus was null and void. Officials told Town to return to his wife and children in Ohio and no charges would be filed. Josie and the four children were puzzled about the unfolding events surrounding their husband and father. Town told the authorities about his condition caused by the war and the bouts with amnesia he suffered.
Town was forced to return to Toldeo, Ohio where he lived out the remainder of his life at 935 Willow Avenue with his first wife and now grown children. Town eventually died around 1905 (exact date is unknown) and was buried in Willow Cemetery in Lucas County, Ohio. Margaret Town passed away in 1908.
The children of Philo and Josie Town, never saw their father again either. However, one daughter, Dollie Town Lovett, who was 15 when her father was forced to return to his first family, kept in contact through letters until they stopped arriving in 1905, presumably when Philo died.
As for Josie Town, she married George Dismore in April 1909 and after they divorced, Josie married William D. “Bunk” Miller in 1915 until his death in 1933. Josie passed away on January 28, 1944 and was buried in the Hamlet Cemetery. After he left her for Ohio in 1901, Josie never heard from Philo Town again.
