Conant, Mary, 1838-1899

Tarbell, Doctor

Rank : Maj.

Regiment : 32nd New York Infantry Regiment. Co. A (1861-1863)

Service : 1861 May 1-1865 July 27

Doctor Tarbell (1838-1895) was born in Groton, New York, to Thomas B. Tarbell and Lydia Miller. On May 1, 1861, he enlisted as a sergeant in the New York 32nd Infantry, Company A. He was promoted to full commissary sergeant and transferred to Company S of the same regiment two months later. He was transferred back to Company A on June 23, 1862, and promoted to first lieutenant. He rose to the rank of captain in the U.S. Volunteers and saw action at Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. While stationed near Winchester, Virginia, he was captured by Confederate cavalry on September 21, 1864, and taken to Libby Prison. On October 2, 1864, the Confederates transferred Tarbell, along with the other officers at Libby, to Salisbury, North Carolina, and then to Danville Prison in Virginia two weeks later. On February 18, 1865, he was transferred back to Libby and paroled just a few days later. He was granted 30 days leave to return to Peruville, New York, to marry his longtime sweetheart Mary Lucy Conant on March 14, 1865. Shortly after his wedding, Tarbell traveled to Washington to return to his company. He was made a brevet major on July 10, 1865, and was honorably mustered out of service on July 27, 1865. After the war, Tarbell was elected clerk of Tompkins County and worked in the life insurance business. He died in 1895.

Mary Conant (1838-1899) was born in Charlton, Massachusetts, and was raised by her aunt and uncle, Sylvanus and Silence Larned, in Groton and Peruville, New York. Doctor and Mary had three children: George Schuyler, born July 15, 1868, in Peruville; Bertha Mary, born December 15, 1872, in Ithaca, New York; and Clarence D., born May 5, 1878, in Ithaca. Doctor Tarbell died before December 1897, when Mary applied for a widow’s pension based on his Civil War service.

From the guide to the Doctor Tarbell and Mary Conant papers, Tarbell, Doctor and Mary Conant papers, 1864-1881, 1864-1865, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)