Person:John Saylor (9)

About John Saylor

John W. Saylor was born in August 1825 in Maryland according to the information listed in the 1900 Census. He was married twice; first, to Isabel Orndorff in 1854; and 2nd, to Elizabeth ____, in 1881. John and his first wife Isabel apparently separated or divorced before 1870, when she was listed with Orndorff family members in the 1870 Census, and certainly by 1881 when John had re-married.

A clue to John and Isabel's situation may likely lie in a murder charge listed in Frederick County, Virginia records in 1863 at the beginning of the Civil War. John W. "Sailor" was tried for murder in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia on 6 February 1863, by Special Order #17, dated 5 February 1863, Milroy's Division (Union Army). That John W. Sailor was released from arrest by order of the President in General Order #257, dated 8/1/1863, so the troubles arising with these probable charges likely led to the dissolution of John and Isabel's marriage.

It seems that John Saylor has the distinction of fighting on both sides of the Civil War, a distinction normally given the name "Turncoat". He had initially enlisted in Company "K", 10th Virginia Infantry, on the side of the Confederate Army on June 2, 1861, in Luray, Page County, Virginia, but several months later on May 23, 1862; he deserted and was said to be "serving in the cavalry", though he had actually switched sides over to the Union Army and had enlisted in Company C, 3rd West Virginia Infantry (6th West Virginia Cavalry), on 6 July 1863, in Philippi, West Virginia. Detailed as scout under Gen. W.W. Averell, and noted by former Confederate comrades as having been a "Jessie Scout", or a Federal soldier disguised as a Confederate. He served at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas on 22 May 1766 and had "mustered out" in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1866. After the Civil War, John Saylor reenlisted in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia, in 1867, in the 5th U.S. Cavalry, and was sent to Fort Cottonwood (McPherson), Nebraska, and later to Fort David A. Russell, near Laramie, Wyoming.

In later years in Winchester, one "John Saylor" was later described as "an old Indian fighter", and a J.W. Saylor [very likely this John W. Saylor] married on 19 May 1881 to Elizabeth Cravill [Crabill?], in Washington County, Maryland. He likely returned to Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia shortly thereafter. He applied for and received a pension for his military service in the Civil War.

Sources:

1900 Census

Ancestry.com

Find-A-Grave

"Confederate Veteran", Volume 30

Washington County, Maryland, Marriage Index, 1861-1949

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Find A Grave.

   Pvt. John W. Saylor
   Birth: 1829
   Virginia, USA
   Death: 1905, USA
   
   Born ca. 1829; died ca. 1905.
   
   Married Isabelle C. Orndorff (born 11/10/1835, in Wardensville, Hardy County, Virginia), on 1/10/1854. In 1860, the family, with children, was listed on the census records for Page County, Virginia (at Cedar Point), and John Saylor was listed as a wagoneer.
   
   http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=SAY&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=48&GScntry=4&GSsr=441&GRid=71201750&

2.   United States. 1900 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T623).

   1900 United States Federal Census
   Name: John Saylor
   Age: 74
   Birth Date: Aug 1825
   Birthplace: Maryland
   Home in 1900: Winchester Ward 4, Winchester City, Virginia
   Race: White
   Gender: Male
   Relation to Head of House: Head
   Marital Status: Married
   Spouse's Name: Elizabeth Saylor
   Marriage Year: 1881
   Years Married: 19
   Father's Birthplace: Maryland
   Mother's Birthplace: Maryland
   Household Members: Name Age
   John Saylor 74
   Elizabeth Saylor 76
   
   Note: John is listed with his 2nd wife Elizabeth in this Census. As listed, they had been married since 1881.