Private Henry McIntosh, 102nd U.S. Colored Troops

Battle flag of the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops (1st Michigan), presented to the regiment by the Colored Ladies Aid Society on January 5, 1864. Henry McIntosh served in Company G. Image source: capitol.michigan.gov. 

Henry McIntosh (1843-1915) of Lake Forest, Illinois, served with the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops (1st Michigan) from February 1864 to October 1865. 

McIntosh was born enslaved on a plantation in Kentucky. When war erupted on April 12, 1861, he was made a horse wrangler for the Confederate army, but wanted no part in the South’s fight to save the institution of slavery. After several months, McIntosh saw a chance for freedom and crossed the Ohio River into a bordering free state.

Gateway to Freedom: International Memorial to the Underground Railroad by Ed Dwight, Sculptor. Dedicated in Detroit, Michigan on October 20, 2001.

According to his family, McIntosh made his way via the secret network of abolitionists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Many freedom seekers who headed north continued onto Canada, but McIntosh stopped in Detroit, Michigan where there was an established African American community.

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all enslaved people in the Confederacy. The intention was to cripple the Confederacy’s use of this labor source to support their armies and home front; something that Henry McIntosh had experienced firsthand.

In July 1863, U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, authorized the State of Michigan to “raise one Regiment of colored Infantry.” The order stated that these men would not receive a bounty for enlisting, but would be paid “ten dollars per month.” They would also be “commanded by white officers.”

Between August 1863 and February 1864, a total of 895 men from across Michigan signed the rolls for the new regiment. The unit received its commission into the service of the United States as the First Michigan Colored Infantry on February 17, 1864. Its' designation changed to the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops/Infantry (USCI) on May 23. Henry McIntosh served as a private in Company G.

McIntosh was particularly proud that the 102nd USCI were part of the forces supporting Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea (November 15 - December 21, 1864), a campaign that led to the eventual surrender of the Confederacy. The 102nd served on picket duty, built fortifications, destroyed rail lines, and engaged the enemy.

After the war's end in Spring 1865, the process of Reconstruction began to redress the inequities of slavery and help the South become part of the Union again. Federal troops, including Henry McIntosh with the 102nd USCI, were sent to Charleston, South Carolina to keep order. 

The presence of African American soldiers caused provisional governors of Southern states to complain that “the black troops are a great nuisance & do much mischief among the Freed men.” The uniformed and armed African American troops made for a powerful image, undoubtedly generating pride in Freedmen and fear in Secessionists. 

Pressure from the governors prompted the War Department to muster-out the Black troops and send them home, essentially removing their presence from Southern states. The 102nd mustered-out September 30, 1865. They arrived in Detroit, Michigan on October 17 and received their final pay and discharge.

Shortly thereafter, Henry McIntosh made his way to Lake County, Illinois, seeking new opportunities, and settling in Lake Forest. One attraction to the area was the number of African Americans living there. This is likely where he met Sarah Martin, whom he married in 1869. According to the 1870 Census, there were eight African American households, totaling 30 people, in Shields Township/Lake Forest. 

View of 1870 U.S. Census data for Henry McIntosh, misspelled "Mackintosh" and his wife Sarah. Ancestry.com.

Henry McIntosh was an active community member, and became one of the organizers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Organized in 1866, the church was constructed in 1870 at the present corner of Maplewood and Washington Road. McIntosh had a lifelong association with the church. 

Notice from the The Lake Forester August 1, 1903, showing Henry McIntosh as superintendent at the Bethel A.M.E. Church. McIntosh is credited as one of the organizers of this church. 

McIntosh worked as a laborer, and later as a coachman and gardener on a private estate. Sarah and Henry had no children. Sadly, on May 30, 1884, Sarah died.

Over one year later, on July 14, 1885, Henry married Fannie Davis Freleigh (1867-1960). 

Fannie was born in Missouri in 1867 to Sarah and Charles Davis. Her father was a plasterer by trade, and in the late 1870s he moved the family to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. As the oldest of eight children, Fannie helped the family by working outside the home as a house servant for the Earle Moses family. Moses was a buyer and seller of wood in Oshkosh’s lumber industry.

Between 1880-1885, Fannie came to Lake Forest and was employed in the household of Rev. Daniel S. Gregory (1832-1915), the president of Lake Forest University. 

Henry and Fannie lived on Washington Road and had nine children: William W., Etta (Mrs. Andrew Smith), Clarence, Peter, Euphemia (Mrs. Henry Walker), Arnett, Lillian, Lutie E. (Mrs. William Slaughter), and Wayman H. 

Photo detail of Henry McIntosh in 1899. Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 64.39.2. 

The above photograph from the Dunn Museum's collections was taken on August 29, 1899, at the dedication of the Lake County Civil War monument in Waukegan. This cropped image shows an African American Civil War veteran. 

Is this man Henry McIntosh? Post update 8/19/21 - When I researched this post months ago, I strongly suspected, but could not be 100% certain that the veteran's identity was Henry McIntosh. Today, I received an email from his great-great granddaughter, Bonnie McIntosh, to let me know that her great aunt, Maxine McIntosh (Henry's granddaughter), confirmed that he is Henry. I am so grateful for this information and to make a connection with his descendants. Thank you! 

Another view of the photograph of veterans at the dedication of the Civil War monument in Waukegan. Henry McIntosh is right of the drummer and marked by a red star. Dunn Museum 64.39.2.

There is no list of names for the men in this photograph, making it difficult to ascertain their identities. Of the African American men who lived in Lake County and are known to have served in the Civil War, McIntosh was the only one active in veterans' associations. George W. Bell (1816-1910) was an African American Civil War veteran with Company B, 40th U.S. Colored Infantry. After the war, he lived in Waukegan, but was noted for refusing to have any photographs taken and his name does not appear in veterans' records. Newport Township Historical Society has identified another African American veteran, Samuel Killerbrue (c1833 - c1897), who served in Co. K, 1st Tennessee Colored Troops. Killerbrue lived near Wadsworth from about 1866 to mid-1880s with his wife and children. 

McIntosh was a member of the Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association. He was noted in the Association's records (below) as attending the August 1913 reunion in Waukegan. From this record, we know that he participated in veterans' reunions. 

Ledger entry noting Civil War veterans, including Henry McIntosh (bottom), who attended the Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association reunion in August 1913. McIntosh was 70-years old. Dunn Museum 74.19.16.

Henry McIntosh's service during the Civil War inevitably inspired his children and grandchildren to serve their country: 

Son, Clarence Nathaniel McIntosh (1889-1963) served as Sergeant Major with the 351st Field Artillery during World War I; son, Wayman Hillis McIntosh (1900-1982), an athletic trainer at Lake Forest College, volunteered as air raid warden during World War II; grandson, Henry Nathaniel McIntosh (1923-1980) served as lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War; and grandson Clarence Pearson McIntosh (1925-1999) served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. 

Henry McIntosh's grave marker at Lake Forest Cemetery. Findagrave.com.

Henry McIntosh died on August 3, 1915, leaving a legacy of service to his community and the nation. 

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Special thanks to Laurie Stein, Curator, History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, for research assistance. lstein@lflbhistory.org 

Sources: 

Ancestry.com (1870, 1880, 1900-1940 U.S. Census; World War I/II registration cards, Lake Forest city directories). 
FindAGrave.com.
Bess Bower Dunn Museum. Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association Collection, and G.A.R. Photo Collection. https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/collections/. 
History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff www.lflbhistory.org. 
Detroit Historical Society www.detroithistorical.org. 
Michigan in the War web.archive.org. 
https://web.archive.org/web/20030724204008/http://www.michiganinthewar.org/infantry/1colora.htm
"Lake Forester Deserts Confederacy, Marches With Sherman's Army to Sea." Uncited, July 27, 1961. 
"African American History in Lake Forest: A Walking Tour," Lake Forest College, 1997. 
"DAVIS." The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. July 2, 1931. Roy Davis obituary, brother of Fannie McIntosh. 
"Revival of Democracy." Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi, June 14, 1942. Lists air raid wardens in Chicago's Division 8, including Wayman McIntosh of Lake Forest, Illinois. 
Robertson, Jno. Michigan in the War. Lansing: W.S. George and Company, State Printers and Binders, 1882. Michigan's Adjutant General's Department reports. https://archive.org/details/michiganinwar00mich/page/n7/mode/2up. Accessed February 12, 2021.
Dobak, William A. Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History United States Army, 2011.
Arpee, Edward. Lake Forest Illinois: History and Reminiscences 1861-1961. Lake Forest, Illinois: Rotary Club of Lake Forest, 1963.
Halsey, John J. A History of Lake County, Illinois. Illinois: Roy S. Bates, 1912. 
Lake County (IL) Genealogical Society. “Lake County, Illinois Marriages 1881 to 1901,” Volume III. Libertyville, Illinois.

Lake County's Dr. King

Dr. Eugene P. King, M.D. (1893-1961), or "Ole Rex" as he was affectionately known, dedicated himself to the communities of Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion through his medical practice, and sponsorship of community gardens and the Rexes and Rexettes athletic teams.

Dr. Eugene P. King with a patient at St. Therese Hospital in Waukegan, circa 1950.

From the archives of the Convent of the Holy Spirit, Northfield, Illinois.

King was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1893 and raised by his grandmother, Winnie C. Koons (1833 - 1916). At a young age he was adopted by the King family for whom he took his surname.

King attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and taught vocational classes at the Lincoln Institute in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky.

In early 1917, after the United States officially entered World War I, Eugene P. King was accepted for officers' training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. As part of an elite group of African American men, he went through technical and physical training and graduated as a lieutenant. The success of King and his comrades laid the groundwork for change, ultimately leading to President Harry Truman's executive order of July 1948 abolishing racial discrimination and segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Detail of "5th Provisional Company officers reserve training Camp Ft. Des Moines, Ia." Library of Congress. 
Eugene P. King graduated from this military camp in 1917.

King served with the American expeditionary forces (AEF) in France under General John J. Pershing (1860-1948). He worked in army intelligence, led units of African Senegalese (French troops), and was wounded while fighting on the Western Front.

Following the war's end in November 1918, it took months for the millions of American soldiers to return home due to arranging ship transport and concerns about the 1918 influenza pandemic that ultimately infected one-third of the world's population and killed an estimated 50 million people. Sadly, while King was still in France his adopted father, W. Nolan King (1865-1919), died of double pneumonia from "Spanish Influenza."

After his honorable discharge in September 1919, King traveled the globe on a tramp steamer. On his return to the United States he attended Rush Medical College in Chicago.

King graduated at the top of his class in 1924, completing the five-year course in three years. Because of his outstanding record, Dr. Frank Billings (1854-1932) personally presented King's certificate of graduation. Dr. Billings had served as Dean of Rush Medical College and president of the American Medical Association. By 1928, King opened a medical practice in Waukegan and wed Vyvien Porres.

His affinity for sports and commitment to community betterment led him to begin a tradition of sports excellence by sponsoring youth teams. All were welcome to play on Dr. King's Rex Athletic teams, and in particular young adults who were barred from playing at local schools because of their race or background.

Y Rex Athletic Club motto:

To make better men and women out of boys and girls

through clean wholesome athletic sports.

'Y' Rexettes basketball team, 1951.

First (bottom) row: Jean Anderson, Inez Davis, Dr. King "Rex Himself." Francis Thomas, Vivian White

Second row: Genevieve Pearson, Subrette Dupuy, Ardell Pearson, Barbara White, Ann Payne, Christine Springer, Marion Maxwell, Mrs. Florence W

Third row: Della Steele, Bertha Robinson, Barbara Belcher, Geraldine Evans, Lillie Vaughan.

Emblem from Rex Athletic Club girls' youth baseball jacket, circa 1950.

2019.1 Dunn Museum Collections

Dr. King purchased distinctive orange and black uniforms for his teams, and wore a jacket emblazoned with "Rex Himself." His teams played throughout the Chicago area and won 50 championships.

His own athletic ability brought him awards and even national recognition. In 1929, he was given a Daily News trophy for "Most Popular" area basketball player, in part for his impressive "one-handed set shots."  In 1954, Sports Illustrated noted him as one of the "oldest active" athletes in the nation. He was 61.

The Rexes had a "reputation of being one of the speediest teams of the north shore." 

December 22, 1939, Daily Herald.

King's philanthropic efforts were not limited to the African American community, but anyone in need, including children of Armenian and Italian immigrants. He worked through Barwell Goodfellowship Settlement in Waukegan (founded in 1915 to help the poor and sick), and was known to provide free medical service, clothing and college funds to those in need.

In addition to sponsoring athletic teams and serving as physical education program director at the S. Genesee Street YMCA, King developed community gardens to teach youth about cultivation and hard work. King planted 10,000 tulip bulbs in his personal flower garden at his home on S. Genesee Street, making for spectacular spring blossoms for everyone to enjoy.

In 1971, the Waukegan Park District created the Dr. Eugene P. King Park to honor King's legacy as a "constructive force" in the community.

The 2.7 acre Eugene P. King Park on South Avenue includes a softball diamond, 
playground, and flower bed/green house--all tributes to Dr. King's legacy. Waukegan Park District.

As an anonymous admirer said, Dr. Eugene P. King's "life was one of dedication to humanity, to his community, to his people, and to his profession. Everything he did -- he did for others."


Sources:
"Wheeling Aces Downed 78-58 by Waukegan Rexes," December 22, 1939, Daily Herald.
"Doctor's Spare Time Labor Pays in Beauty," May 1, 1957, Waukegan News Sun.
"Dr. King... Symbol of Brotherhood," Jack Hagler, February 22, 1961, Waukegan News Sun.
"Lighting the Way for Many: Barwell Goodfellowship Settlement," Bernice Just, June 26, 1965, Waukegan News Sun.
"Tribute in name," July 15, 1971, Waukegan News Sun.
"Dr. E.P. King candidate for Waukegan Hall of Fame," Vincent Bulter, August 10, 1976, Waukegan News Sun.
"Lake County had its own Dr. King," Diana Dretske, August 20, 2000, Daily Herald.
"King for a day... every day," Jim Berklan, unknown date, Waukegan News Sun.
"W. Nolan King," Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1965, Ancestry.com. 
"Eugene P. King," Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918, Ancestry.com
"Black Officers at Fort Des Moines in World War I," Iowa Pathways blog www.iptv.org. 
"Frank Billings, 1854-1932," Chicago Area Medical Archivists.blogspot.com. 

Joice Family of Ivanhoe - African-American Settlers

In 1862, James Joice (1822 - 1872), an enslaved African American from Kentucky, became the cook and valet for First Lieutenant Addison Partridge (1807 - 1888) of the 96th Illinois Regiment. 

Joice's service with the Union Army would lead him and his family to freedom in Lake County, Illinois.

Addison Partridge of Ivanhoe from the "History of the Ninety-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers" 1887.

During the Civil War, it was common for enslaved men to approach Union troops "desiring to accompany the command." However, it was tricky business for the troops to accept these men into their camps since the Fugitive Slave Laws made it illegal.

The 96th Illinois's officers "nearly all were radically opposed to slavery, and the negro who sought refuge in the camp was protected, but in such a manner as not to involve any one in a legal way." They accomplished this in part by not allowing citizens into camp whenever it was suspected they were hunting for runaway slaves.

In late October 1862, in Crittenden, Kentucky, James Joice approached the men of the 96th Illinois to "be of service" to their command. 

Crittenden, Kentucky, the area believed to be where James Joice first encountered the 96th Illinois, located to the left and below Cincinnati, Ohio, at the top of the map. The map shows the lines of march of the 96th Illinois Regiment through Kentucky. "History of the Ninety-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteers," 1887.

On November 2, Joice assisted Lieutenant Montgomery and a dozen soldiers of Company D on a foraging expedition as its "pilot" or guide. He directed them to a plantation, where Lt. Montgomery knocked on the door and spoke to a man explaining that they were a "detachment from the command encamped on Eagle Creek, and that, being short of rations, they had come for a few bushels of potatoes... if he was a loyal citizen a receipt would be given so that he could collect pay."

The man pretended there were no potatoes on the plantation, but Joice had assured the Lieutenant that there were potatoes in the fields. The Lieutenant kept the man occupied by making him repeat a long oath, while the soldiers went in search of the potatoes, which they found.

After this incident, Joice remained with the 96th Illinois "until Nashville was reached" as First Lieutenant Addison Partridge's cook and valet. Partridge was a known abolitionist, and his influence on Company C was "excellent as he helped in making both its moral and military standing high."

In February 1863, Partridge resigned his commission when he was unable to sufficiently recover after contracting “camp disease.” Joice accompanied Partridge to his home in Ivanhoe, Lake County, Illinois, (then known as Dean's Corners), where Partridge owned 80 acres.

View of Ivanhoe, previously known as Dean's Corners, circa 1913. Courtesy of private collector. 

After the war's end in spring 1865, Joice returned to Kentucky to bring his wife, Jenna "Jemima" Scruggs (1834 - 1920) and their young children Asa (1860 - 1924) and Sarah (1863 - 1941), back with him to Lake County, Illinois.

James Joice's wife and daughter, Jenna and Sarah, pictured at a picnic in Ivanhoe, 1897. Dunn Museum 76.30

Census records list Jenna and Sarah's occupations as "servant" and "housekeeper." 

In 1897, the Lake County Independent noted that Miss Sarah Joice "is taking orders for carpet stretchers." 

James Joice worked as a farm laborer, and over the years his family lived in rented homes along Route 176 near Lincoln School in Mundelein and further west near Ivanhoe. They eventually settled on a 10-acre farm on Route 60, one-quarter mile south of Hawley Street.

Fremont Township plat map (1907) with Asa Joice's property highlighted in green. 

Asa and Sarah attended Mechanics Grove School where they took piano and singing lessons. They were small children when they came to Lake County, and by all rights, this was the only home they knew. According to census records, the entire Joice family could read and write. 

On Joice's death in 1872, the Waukegan Gazette ran a short column: "Death to Colored Citizen - On Tuesday last occurred the death of James Joyce of Fremont in this County. 'Darky Jim' as he was familiarly known was with the Ninety Sixth Ill. Regt. during a part of their term of service and has most of the time since the war lived in the vicinity of Diamond Lake. He leaves a wife in rather destitute circumstances."

The Joices were members of the Ivanhoe Congregational Church, and attended prayer meetings. Asa served as church clerk and Sunday school treasurer.

Ivanhoe Congregational Church, circa 1913. Before and during the Civil War, this congregation was outspoken against slavery. Image courtesy of private collector. 

Jenna, Asa, and Sarah Joice were members of the Christian Endeavor Society, which was founded in 1881  in Maine. The CE became a national organization and took up many causes, including the temperance movement. In June 1897, Asa was elected as the local CE Society's president.

Christian Endeavor Society picnic on the grounds of the Ivanhoe Congregational Church, 1897. Asa Joice is seated in the middle to the right of center, and his mother and sister are standing to the far right. Dunn Museum 76.30

In addition to being a farm laborer, the civic-minded Asa became the first African-American elected to public office in Lake County. In 1889, he was elected as town constable and re-elected to the post for nine years.

Asa Joice photographed at a church picnic in 1897. Dunn Museum 76.30

On June 24, 1898, the Lake County Independent reported, "Constable Asa Joice of Ivanhoe arrested Charles Ray, a character who some years ago was employed in the Gilmer creamery..." In Lake Mills, Wisconsin, Ray had allegedly stolen a horse and a rig from a doctor and was traced to Diamond Lake (where the Ray clan lived).

Constable Joice took Ray before Justice Berghorn of Rockefeller (Mundelein) for a hearing, where Ray pleaded guilty. Joice then took him to the Waukegan jail "where he was lodged in default of bail to await the action of [the Grand Jury]." Shockingly, the next morning, Ray was found dead, supposedly of apoplexy.

Sarah and Jenna Joice were photographed on their farm in 1917. 

Photo courtesy of the Mundelein Heritage Museum.

In 1920, Jenna Scruggs Joice died after becoming ill while tending to influenza patients. She likely contracted the flu from being close to the sick. The flu pandemic lasted from June 1918 to December 1920, mainly striking healthy young adults and killing at least 3% of the world's population.

Asa Joice passed away in 1924 in Elgin, and Sarah Joice lived on her own near Ivanhoe until her death in 1941.

Ivanhoe Cemetery, circa 1918. Dunn Museum 2003.0.26

All members of the Joice family are buried at the Ivanhoe Church Cemetery on Route 176. 

For more on the 96th Illinois Infantry and their role as an "Abolition Regiment," read The Bonds of War: A Story of Immigrants and Esprit de Corps in Company C, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry by Diana Dretske. Available from SIUPress.com. 

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org