Edward Swain Past was born in Cliffton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on June 3, l841. His father, J. C. Past, was involved in building mills. This led the family to move often. In his early years they lived in the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia and finally Minnesota. The Past family came to Minnesota in 1858. The reason for their move was the new position J. C. received as the manager of a new steam mill in Brooklyn. It was located on section 36 on the Mississippi and fancifully called "The Industrial Mill Company." The family also had a small farm of forty acres with one horse, a cow and three pigs. They also grew a small quantity of corn, oats and wheat but with that small a farm it was not a full time enterprise. The steam mill did not work out. The boiler exploded in late 1861, which ended the company. Ed's father served in the Minnesota legislature in 1862 and perhaps other years as well. Edward, the oldest son, worked as a sash and blind maker. The family was in living in Brooklyn at the outbreak of the war, when Edward enlisted in Company D of the First Minnesota Infantry. At the time of his enlistment he was 20 years old, stood 5'10" tall, had a light complexion and blue eyes. He began his service with the rank of 7th corporal in Co D. He was promoted to sergeant on May 8, 1862, and to sergeant major of the regiment on July 19, 1862. On July 11, 1862, Ed wrote the following letter home, which was published in the local paper. "Our regiment was inspected last evening by Gen. McDowell. We were tried on loading and firing. We could load, kneeling, in six seconds less than half a minute, and load, standing, in eight seconds less than half a minute, and could load and fire just twice in a minute, which is as good as the regulars can do. We have practiced firing at a target, and the average shots are about six inches from the center at three hundred yards distance. This is pretty good for the time we have had to practice. Besides our boys can act with perfect coolness, as has been fully demonstrated: for we have two alarms, which brought us out under arms and into the line of battle, and while the guns were popping all around the boys seemed to move with the same degree of coolness that they do when on drill. They are all very anxious to get still further South, and a great many complaints are made because we stop so long in one place. They seem to be waiting to keep moving onward all the time." At the battle of Antietam, on September 17, 1862, Ed was severely wounded in the left leg just below the knee. The bullet was not easily accessible and was thus left in him. Ed was discharged for disability on Dec. 1, 1862. The wound caused him great pain for the rest of his life; until, years later, he finally had the bullet removed and he became pain free. Ed's brother, Marcus, enlisted in November, 1861, and he too was wounded at Antietam. Marcus recovered and was soon back in the ranks. He lived for ten more months until the First made their fateful charge at Gettysburg. He fell mortally wounded as the men fought to buy the Union a few precious minutes to bring up their reserves. Marcus was buried at Gettysburg. After Ed was discharged he went to recover from his wound at the Delaware farm of a relative. There he met his future wife, Mary Ann Whitman. They were married on March 26, 1863, in Newark, Delaware. The picture shown here of the two of them dates from that period.
Shortly after their marriage, in the spring of 1863, Ed was appointed to two positions, both Recruiting and Enrolling Officer at Minneapolis. In the fall of 1863, they moved to Pennsylvania. There he became an agent for the P. & E. Railroad at Glen Union, and at the same time was engaged in lumbering for other parties. In May 1864, their first child was born, a son, whom they named Marcus Aurelius Past. He was names after Edward's younger brother, who had fallen at Gettysburg. In 1869, the family moved to Nebraska, locating in Beatrice in Gage County. There he was involved in surveying, prospecting and locating lands. In the summer of 1870, they moved to Thayer County. Ed was one of the 15 original founders of the city of Hebron, Nebraska. It was conceived on paper in 1868 and developed after 1870, according to the Hebron Journal Register. He was appointed the Postmaster in 1871, and was elected County Clerk in the fall of the same year. During this time he was also the editor of the Hebron Journal and for a few years thereafter. During 1874-75, he was engaged in the hardware business. In 1877, he purchased the Thayer County Sentinel, which he ran for two years. In 1879, he briefly worked as a Cashier at the Exchange Bank. In November of that year was again elected County Clerk. He served on the Hebron school board for eleven years. In 1879, the Morgan Post #17 of the G. A. R. was established in Hebron. Ed was elected the Commander. The picture shown here is of him wearing his Post Commander's uniform. The Morgan Post was one of the strongest posts in Southern Nebraska, having 150 members. In 1902, Ed was living in Grafton, West Virginia, working as the superintendent of the National Cemetery there. The 1910 roster of the veterans of the First Minnesota lists his address as PO Box 367, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. After working in West Virginia, he had moved to become the superintendent of the National Cemetery in St. Louis. Later, he moved back to Nebraska and became a director of an asylum in Lincoln. Ed died in Missouri on Nov. 13, 1914, at the age of 73. He is buried at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery near St. Louis. Sources: The State Atlas, Minneapolis, MN, July 24, 1861, p 2. The Weekly Pioneer & Democrat, St. Paul, MN., Oct. 3, 1862, p 2. The State Atlas, Minneapolis, MN, May 27, 1863. The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Sept. 5, 1909. Roster of the First Minnesota Infantry, 1910. Minnesota 1860 Census Minnesota State News, St Anthony Falls, Oct. 4, 1862. Letter from Ed Walker to Adin Laflin, Nov. 12, 1913. Andrea's History of the State of Nebraska, Parts 3 & 4. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
