Peter and Mary Morend

Peter and Mary Morend were my great-great grandparents. Their youngest daughter, Eugenia (1861-1892) married Paul Drouhard (1855-1921). Their oldest son, Alfred Joseph Drouhard (1883-1929), was my grandfather.

Until January 2012, I knew very little about them. Through research of ships passenger lists and census records I had learned that the Morends came to the US from "Valais," Switzerland in 1847, had settled near Louisville, Stark County, Ohio, relocated to Millersburg and then Napoleon (Glenmont), Ohio by 1860. Glenmont is in Richland Township, Holmes County. They had six children; Mauris, Etienne (Steve), Mary, Josie, Peter, Jr. and Eugenia.

Two of the six children were born in Switzerland. Mauris, whose first wife and at least two young children died early, lived to be 90 years old, dying in 1934. He is buried in the Sunnyside Cemetery, which lies just east of Glenmont. Etienne died in 1872 at the age of 27 and is buried in an unmarked grave at St. Peter Paul Catholic cemetery in Glenmont. Mary, born in 1847, married a man named Duplain. I know nothing else about her. Josie, born in 1852, married a man named Patterson, lived until 1915, and is also buried in Sunnyside Cemetery. Peter Jr. was born in 1857. Other than a notation made on a military pension document in 1892, nothing more is known about him. As noted, Eugenia died early in 1892. She too, is buried in the St. Peter and Paul cemetery. Peter and Mary Morend are buried at that same cemetery.

I do have several photos of some of the Morend family. One photo is of Peter Sr., with his son, (presumed to be Peter Jr.). Several others are of Eugenia and her siblings.

In January 2012 I received a file pertaining to Peter Morend's service to the Union Army during the Civil War. While a GAR marker stood by his grave, his age at the time of the Civil War caused me to believe that it was improperly placed. A year earlier a search of service records through Ancestry.com, showed that a "Peter Morn" in Richland Township, Holmes County had applied for a military pension. The wife of Peter Morn was Mary. This indicated that Peter Mourn and Peter Morend were one and the same.

Among other documents, was the marriage record of Peter and Mary Morend. In 1890 Mary was required to prove that she was the wife of Peter Morend, so that she could collect a widow's pension. Her husband had died three years earlier.

The Morends came from Orsieres, canton Valais, Switzerland, which is in the southwestern part of that country. The village of Orsieres lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. Holmes County, Ohio drew many of the Swiss people to that area. The Morends were French speaking.

Peter Morend was indeed a veteran of the Civil War. On October 1, 1861 he enlisted in Company E of the 16th. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. While he listed his age at 40, he was actually 54 years old. He was 5'8" tall, had dark hair and blue eyes. His term of enlistment was three years. He would remain in the Union army until March 5, 1863, when he was honorably discharged for reasons not stated. A study of the pension request would lead one to conclude that his discharge was for medical reasons. He suffered from chronic diarrhea, varicose veins in his legs, "white swelling" of his legs and rheumatism, throughout his term of service. He was hospitalized on several occasions, and for long periods of time. When discharged from the service, he was in Memphis, Tennessee.

The pension request records indicated that in the early summer of 1862 his regiment was on duty near Cumberland Gap, Kentucky. He was treated for diarrhea in July of that year. The notes indicate that he participated in the retreat from Cumberland Gap (located along the Kentucky-Tennessee border, just north of Knoxville) to the Ohio River, which took place September 17 to October 3, 1862. Less than three weeks later his regiment participated in a march from the Ohio River to Charleston, West Virginia, via the Kanawha River valley. During this three week march, Peter completely broke down health-wise. By December 1862 his regiment was in Memphis, Tennessee, where Peter Morend was hospitalized on December 2, and then again on December 18. By January of the new year, it was determined that he would be discharged.

Why Peter Morend enlisted at the age of 54 is a real mystery. Prior to the war he had been a carpenter and did some farming. His oldest son was 18 years old, old enough to watch over the family. His youngest child, Eugenia, was less than a year old. Undoubtedly, his age along with the rigors of army life in the early 1860's contributed to the demise of his health. Of course, nearly two of every three deaths during the Civil War resulted from illness or disease.

Peter Morend began the application process for a soldier's pension in late December 1873. His would die nearly 14 years later without ever having received a dime of what he thought he was entitled.

From the start, the department of pensions questioned his identity. Enrollment and discharge papers list his name as Peter Morn rather than Peter Morend. Even though testimony by his enrolling officer and the company doctor that treated him for his illnesses stated that he suffered from serious health problems, his discharge papers never listed any reason for discharge. Apparently the pension office also did not believe that he was a sick man.

In one document he explained the incorrect listing of his name as this. Peter Morend was French speaking, and could not speak his name in English. When he enlisted, he wrote his name, or the enrollment officer wrote his name as it was pronounced in the French language. Morend was written Morn.