| 1. |  James Monroe Auter, II was born on 8 May 1846 in Petersburg, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA (son of James Auter, I and Virginia Jennie Stewart); died on 17 Feb 1932 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA. Other Events:
- Ethnicity: American
- Race: Black
- Race: White
- Veteran: Civil War: Landsman US Navy. Served aboard the New Hampshire, Chenango, and Bermuda.
- Name: James M. Auter
- Name: James M. Auter Jr.
- Name: James M. Auter Sr.
- Military Enlistment: 1863, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Served aboard the New Hampshire, Chenango, and Bermuda at the rank of landsman.
- Military: 27 Nov 1863, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Race: Mulatto; Occupation: Barber; Height: 5' 8"; Age: 17; Rating: Landsman; Muster Date: 31 Mar 1864; Vessel: State of Georgia.
- Military: 31 Mar 1864, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Military: 27 Jul 1865, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; James Monroe Auter completed his service on the Bermuda, for the US Navy on July 27, 1865, when he was 19 years old.
- Military Discharge: 20 Sep 1865
- Residence: 1870, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Residence Post Office: Philadelphia
- Residence: 1880, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Son
- Residence: 1883, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
- Residence: 1900, Ward 2, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; StreetAddress: 14th Street; 52 Age: 52; Messenger Occupation: Messenger; AbleToSpeakEnglish: Yes; CanRead: Yes; CanWrite: Yes; CityWard: 2nd Ward Harrisburg; EnumerationDistrict: 0047; HomeMortgaged: Mortgaged; HomeOwnership: Own; OwnsFarm: H; YearsMarrie
- Residence: 1910, Ward 2, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Head
- Residence: 1920, 114 Balm street, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
- Newspaper Clipping: 21 Dec 1932, Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; Joseph Whiten Named Executive Mansion Santa- Taking Place of Late James Auter _21 Dec 1932
Notes:
The son of James & Virginia (Stewart) Auter, whether he was born free or slave is as yet unknown. His family moved to Philadelphia ca. 1856, so either they escaped bondage or were free to move about. The family is not found in the 1860 census, but James may have then been working as a barber, an occupation he is shown later to have assumed.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Philadelphia with the U.S. Navy sometime during 1863, although the exact has not yet been found in any online source. He served aboard the New Hampshire, Chenango, and Bermuda at the rank of landsman. He reportedly honorably discharged at term's end to date September 20, 1865, although that is as yet unverified, albeit the date is logical.
He appears to have married a Davidson and fathered James Monroe (b. 03/22/78), a future doctor, that based on the younger James' death certificate. The status of the first wife is as yet unknown, but he married the much younger Pennsylvania-born Frances E. Weaver, fathering Ethel (b. @1889 - married a Snow), Jennie (b. 08/??/92), and Helen Aida (b. 03/??/95). On July 19, 1883, he moved to Harrisburg to work as a government messenger. One obituary claims he began with the U.S. Treasury Department at the request of Sen. Matthew Stanley Quay and in 1895 took a similar role with at the Pennsylvania state house, while another says he started at the state capitol.
He died at his home from "nephritis" and "senility." Gov. Gifford Pinchot attended his funeral and provided an American flag from the capitol that draped Auter's coffin. Pinchot also published a message of sorrow in the Harrisburg Evening News that described Auter as "a man of whom we could all be proud." He had served many years as "the state's official Santa Claus" each Christmas at the executive mansion. Along the way, he joined Harrisburg's Stevens Post No. 520, G.A.R., serving at least once as its commander.
His tombstone contains two definite errors and probably a third:
1. He never held the rank of commander but was a landsman, then the lowest rank in the U.S. Navy. It was then common for veterans who rose to post-war public prominence to be granted "promotions" to ranks they never held while in the military.
2. There was no vessel in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War called the "Chernango."
3. He probably was not born in 1847. His obituaries and death certificate list a birth date of May 8, 1848, the 1880 census claims "abt. 1850," and the 1900 census says "May 1848." Tombstone birth years for those born prior to the issuance of formal birth certificates are wrong approximately 25% of the time. Unfortunately, those found in death certificates and censuses from that era are no more reliable.
Race: Mulatto
Occupation: Barber
Height: 5' 8"
Birth Year: abt 1846
Birth Place: Petersburg, Virginia
Age: 17
Enlistment Date: 27 Nov 1863
Enlistment Place: Philadelphia
Term of Enlistment: 1
Rating: Landsman
Muster Date: 31 Mar 1864
Vessel:
The 1870 census claims that he and his entire family were Pennsylvania-born, but his obituaries and death certificate say otherwise.
Contributor: Dennis Brandt (47232334) tbng@comcast.net
His middle name and the date of his marriage were added by contributor #50248686.
Inscription
Landsman on Chernango U.S. Navy
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126703009/james-monroe-auter : accessed 14 September 2021), memorial page for James Monroe Auter Sr. (8 May 184817 Feb 1932), Find a Grave Memorial ID 126703009, citing Lincoln Cemetery, Penbrook, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Kathie Gifford (contributor 47169336) .
Buried:
Lincoln Cemetery
Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- Milton Auter was born on 23 Mar 1878 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; died on 17 Jan 1918 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
Family/Spouse: Laura Davidson. Laura was born about 1852 in Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- Milton Auter was born on 23 Mar 1878 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; died on 17 Jan 1918 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
James married Frances Fannie E. Weaver on 1 Oct 1888 in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA. Frances (daughter of William H. Weaver and Charlotte Elizabeth Chester) was born in Dec 1864 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; died on 19 Dec 1929 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
Children:
- Ethyl B. Auter was born on 29 Mar 1889 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; died in Apr 1973.
- Virginia H. Jennie Auter was born in Aug 1892 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; died on 14 Mar 1931 in Manhattan, Kings, New York, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Alda H. Auter was born in Mar 1895 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
- James Monroe Auter, III was born on 18 Nov 1900 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; died in 1982 in Harrisburg, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; was buried in 201 South 30th street, Penbrook, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA.
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