Email received by Graham George Hawker 25 April 2008:
Thank you for your site. I read about some of my ancestors from the Eag les Family
in Apperley, Gloucestershire, England. I am a descendant ot Thomas Eagles and
Ann Sparks. There were numerous notes on Hannah Maria Eagles-Harris. She is
the sister to Elias Eagles, the 9th son of Thomas and Ann Eagles.
Elias married Mary Crook in England and sailed to America in 1845 (I think aboard the
Palmyra). They settled in Nauvoo, Illinois and had two children, Mary Ann in Nauvoo
and Elizabeth in Burlington, Iowa. Elias had two
more children in Burlington, Joseph and Josephine that both died by the end of 1851.
Elias and Mary split up in 1852, Mary and the girls (Mary Ann & Elizabeth) came to
Utah. Elias move to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and in 1861 joined the 14th Iowa Infantry for
the Union Army (This can be verified by the official history of the Iowa units in the
Civil War... specifically the Iowa 14th Infantry Regiment). Elias and the 14th were
involved in the Battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donalson. Now here is the part that
very few have ever learned about, most histories just state that they don't know what
became of Elias.
Elias was in the Battle of Shiloh Tennessee and died there on 6 April 1862. Elias
Eagles was with Gen. Prentiss in the "Hornet's Nest". There was actually a eye
witness to this... Jesse Jay, a union soldier that was taken pris oner that day, he
mentions the death of Elias Eagles in his diary (Search "Diary of Jesse Jay"). Also
you can look up Elias on the Shiloh National Cemetery site. Also all of the military
sites on the Iowa 14th Infantry documents this quite well. Elizabeth and Mary Ann,
daughters of Elias, both give the middle name of "Elias" to their sons after the Civil
War, Willard Elias Coleman and Robert Elias Riddle.
So the question about "What happened to Elias?" is answered.
Thanks, Dave Combe
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