Person:William Egle (1)

XXVI WILLIAM HENRY EGLE John Valentine Casper Marcus 1 b September 17 1830 in Harrisburg Pa where he now resides His father dying when he was four years of age he went to his paternal grandmother's to whom he was indebted for his careful training during childhood and youth He was educated in the private and public schools of Harrisburg and for two years attended the Harrisburg Military Institute under the care of Captain Alden Partridge where he pursued the study of the classics and higher mathematics Not having the opportunity of entering college he determined to learn the art of printing and for this purpose spent three years in the office of the Pennsylvania Telegraph during most of which time he was foreman of the establishment Subsequently he had charge of the State printing. In 1853, having been a frequent correspondent to the monthly magazines he undertook the editorship of the Literary Companion which was discontinued at the end of six months at the same time the editing of the Daily Times afterwards merged into one of the other newspaper ventures of Harrisburg In 1854 he began the study of medicine with Doctor Charles C Bombaugh of Harrisburg during a portion of which period that and the following year he was assistant teacher in the boys schools of the then North ward afterwards mailing clerk in the post office under Messrs Brant and Porter In the fall of 1857 he resigned his position and entered the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania from which institution he graduated in March 1859 The same year he located at Harrisburg and was in the practice of his profession there when in 1862 after the battles of Chantilly and the second Bull Run he was telegraphed by Adjutant General Russell of Pennsylvania to go to Washington to assist in the care of the wounded which duty he performed In September of that year he was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Ninety-sixth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers and in the summer of 1863 surgeon of the Forty-seventh regiment Pennsylvania volunteer militia At the close of service with the latter command he resumed his practice but afterwards at the earnest solicitation of Adjutant General Thomas of the United States army he accepted the appointment by President Lincoln as surgeon of volunteers and was ordered to Camp Nelson Kentucky to examine the colored regiments then being organized in that State He was subsequently detailed with the cavalry battalion under Colonel James Brisbin now of the United States army thence ordered to the Department of the James under General Butler and assigned to the Twenty fifth army corps During the Appo mattox campaign he was chief executive medical officer of General Birney's division Twenty fourth army corps and upon the return from that campaign ordered to Texas with General Jackson's division Twenty fifth army corps as its chief medical officer In December 1865 he resigned the service and returned home when for a brief period he partially resumed the practice of his profession Upon the organization of the National Guard in 1870 Doctor Egle was appointed surgeon in chief of the Fifth division with the rank of lieutenant colonel and subsequently in the consolidation of the commands transferred to surgeon of the Eighth regiment and the senior medical officer in the National Guard of Pennsylvania He has been honored by election as corresponding member of a number of historical and learned societies in and England Turning his attention to historical research he commenced the preparation of his History of Pennsylvania which was published in 1876 at the same time in connection with Honorable John Blair Linn edited twelve volumes of the second series of the Pennsylvania Archives Following these have appeared a number of historical works from his pen the latest of which are the histories of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon and this initial volume of Pennsylvania Genealogies He resides at Harrisburg Pa Doctor Egle m July 24 1860 at Harrisburg Pa by the Reverend Daniel Gans DD of the Reformed church ELIZA WHITE BEATTY b January 5 1833 at Harrisburg Pa dau of George Beatty and his wife Catharine Shrom, (see Beatty record.)

William H. Egle was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1830. After completing school, he worked as a printer for the "Pennsylvania Telegraph." Later, Egle became the editor for the "Literary Companion" and the "Daily Telegraph." In 1859, he received a degree from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. After the outbreak of the Civil War, Egle worked as a surgeon for the Pennsylvania volunteers, and in 1863 was appointed surgeon to the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment. After the war, in 1870, he became surgeon-in-chief for the Pennsylvania National Guard. During this time, Egle also became interested in historical research and genealogy, and began writing books on Pennsylvania history, including "History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," "Pennsylvania in the Revolution," and "History of the County of Dauphin." In 1887, Governor Beavers appointed Egle State Librarian, a position he held for twelve years. He resigned from the National Guard in 1898. In 1901, Egle died of pneumonia.

Noted Pennsylvania and Dauphin County historian Dr. William H. Egle died at his home on 19 February 1901. His many books and other writings include much information on the early development of the Lykens Valley area, including Gratz Borough. During the Civil War, he served as an army surgeon in both the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry. His obituary tributes appeared in Pennsylvania newspapers as well as the New York Times and some are transcribed below.

Birth: Sep. 17, 1830
Death: Feb. 19, 1901, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA
Burial: Harrisburg Cemetery, Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, USA

William Henry Egle was instrumental in updating the library. He was the state librarian from 1887 to 1898. He broadened the collection to include materials focusing on history. The building the library was in at the time was not suitable for storing and preserving the collection. In 1894 the collection was moved to a new building.

EGLE, WILLIAM HENRY, was born September 17, 1830, in Harrisburg, Pa., and the fifth in the line of descent from the original emigrant, Marcus Egle. His ancestors settled in Pennsylvania prior to 1740, coming on the one side from the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and on the other from Palatinate, Germany. A great-great-grandfather served as an officer in the French and Indian wars; his paternal grand and great-grandfathers served in the war of the Revolution, while his maternal grandfather served in the war of 1812-14. His parents were John Egle and Elizabeth von Treupel, both natives of Pennsylvania. The father dying when the son was four years of age, the latter made his home with his paternal grandmother. He was educated in the public and private schools of Harrisburg, and at the Harrisburg Military Institute, under the famed Capt. Alden Partridge. In 1848 he was tendered the appointment of midshipman in the United States navy, but declined the honor. At the close of his school life he spent three years in the office of the Pennsylvania Telegraph, during most of which time he was foreman of the establishment, subsequently having charge of the State printing, which was done in the office. In 1853 he undertook the editorship of the Literary Companion as well as the Daily Times; the latter afterwards merged into one of the newspaper ventures of Harrisburg. In 1854 and the following year he was an assistant teacher in the boys' school, and part of the time mailing clerk in the postoffice, which latter position he held until the fall of 1857, when he resigned to enter the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated in March, 1859.
The same year he established himself at Harrisburg, and was in the practice of his profession there, when, in 1862, after the battles of Chantilly and the second Bull Run, he went to Washington in response to a telegram from Adjutant General Russell, of Pennsylvania, to assist in the care of the wounded. In September of that year he was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Ninety-sixth regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and arrived at his post on the eve of the battle of Antietam. During the progress of that battle he was ordered to the field hospital for duty, where he remained several days. In the summer of 1863, during the Gettysburg campaign, he was appointed surgeon of the Forty-seventh regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer militia. At the close of service with the latter command, he resumed his profession, but, in August, 1864, accepted the appointment by President Lincoln of surgeon of volunteers, and was ordered to Camp Nelson, Ky., to examine the colored regiments then being raised in that State. He was subsequently detailed with the battalion under Col. James S. Brisbin and Col. James F. Wade in the famous attempt by Gen. Burbridge to destroy the salt works in Southwestern Virginia. Upon his return from that ill-fated expedition, he was ordered to the department of the James, under General Butler, as surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixteenth United States colored infantry. Subsequently assigned to the Twenty-fourth army corps as executive medical officer, Gen. Wm. Birney's division; he accompanied that division during the Petersburg and Appomattox campaigns. Upon the return from that duty he was ordered to Texas, with General Jackson's division, as chief medical officer and stationed at Roma, on the Rio Grande, until December, 1865, when he resigned the service and returned home, partly resuming the practice of his profession. In 1867 Dr. Egle was appointed an examiner for pensions, a position he retained four years. For twenty years he was annually elected physician to the Dauphin county prison, which he resigned in March, 1887, when Governor Beaver appointed him State librarian, the Senate promptly confirming the nomination. Governor Pattison re-appointed him in 1891 and again in March, 1894, and he was confirmed by the Senate and commissioned by Governor Hastings. The present effectiveness of the Pennsylvania State Library, in the front rank of the best libraries in America, is largely due to Dr. Egle's management and has been greatly appreciated by students at large.
Upon the organization of the National Guard in 1870 Dr. Egle was appointed surgeon-in-chief of the Fifth division, with rank of lieutenant colonel, and subsequently, in the consolidation of the commands, was transferred to the Eighth regiment. As a medical officer he was on duty during the so-called "Sawdust War" of 1871 and the railroad riots of 1877, as well as the Homestead fiasco of 1892. In 1885 Dr. Egle was commissioned surgeon-in-chief of the Third brigade, which military position he now holds. He is the senior medical officer of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, having passed his twenty-sixth year of service with the Guard.
Acquiring an early taste for historical research, during the relaxation from professional duties, when he returned from the army in December, 1865, he commenced the preparation of his History of Pennsylvania, published in 1876, a bi-centennial edition in 1883, and of which fifteen thousand copies were sold. Principally among his historical publications are the Historical Register, two volumes (1883-1884); History of the County of Lebanon (1883); Centennial County of Dauphin and City of Harrisburg (1886); Pennsylvania Genealogies, chiefly Scotch-Irish and German (1886, reprint 1896); Harrisburg-on-the-Susquehanna (1892); Notes and Queries, historical, biographical and genealogical; relating to the interior of Pennsylvania; first and second series, two volumes (1878-1882, reprint two volumes 1894-1895); third series, two volumes (1887-1891, reprint 1895-1896, three volumes); fourth series, two volumes (1891-1895). He has also written a large number of biographical sketches of prominent Pennsylvanians, at least two hundred of which were furnished Appleton's Encyclopedia of Biography, and also biographical sketches of the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1776, and of the delegates to the Pennsylvania convention to ratify the Constitution of the United States, published in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History. Dr. Egle was co-editor of the Pennsylvania Archives, second series, volumes I. to XII.; editor of the same series, volumes XIII. to XIX., and also of the third series, now passing through the press. The most valuable of these are those relating to the services of the Pennsylvania Line of the Revolution.
Lafayette College in 1878 conferred upon Dr. Egle the honorary degree of A. M., appreciative of his services in American history. He has also been honored by election of a corresponding member of a number of historical societies of the United States as well as of several learned societies in France and England. He was one of the founders and the first presiding officer of the Pennsylvania-German Society, and by virtue of his services in the Rebellion is a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion, the Society of the Army of the Potomac, and of the Grand Army of the Republic. Through his eligibility from an original member of the Cincinnati, he is a member of the State Society of Pennsylvania, is a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, a member of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution, Society of the War of 1812-14, and of the Society of Foreign Wars. In addition Dr. Egle preserves his membership with the Dauphin County Medical Society, State Medical Society, is a member of the Academy of Medicine at Harrisburg, and an active member of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.

Birth: 1830, HARRISBURG, PA

William Henry Egle was born in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1830. The son of John and Elizabeth Egle, he married Eliza Beatty in July of 1860.

An 1850 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Medical Department, William H. Egle, M.D. had been trained as an Allopathic Physician; he practiced a form of medicine known for its use of pharmaceutical and other interventionist treatments for human diseases and injuries.

At the dawn of America’s Civil War, he was a resident of Harrisburg. Upon his enlistment for military service, he was commissioned as an officer in Company S, 96th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry on 12 September 1862. He then enrolled with the 96th at Bakersville, Maryland, serving honorably until his resignation from his position 9 March 1863.

William H. Egle then re-enlisted, and was commissioned an officer and promoted to Full Surgeon with the 47th Pennsylvania Militia, Emergency of 1863 on 9 July 1863, mustering in at Harrisburg’s Camp Curtin.

Organized at Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the 47th Pennsylvania Militia, Emergency of 1863 was a separate and distinct military unit from the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (also known as the “47th Pennsylvania Volunteers). Authorized by Pennsylvania leaders as an emergency response to the Confederate Army’s invasion of Pennsylvania, the 47th Pennsylvania Militia and other militia units of 1863 generally performed duties not associated with front line actions – guarding Rebel prisoners or locations strategically important to the Union (government buildings, railroads, main thoroughfares, etc.). According to historian Samuel P. Bates, the 47th Pennsylvania Militia performed duties in Williamsport and Reading before being transported to Schuylkill County to head off potential violence among the miners there.

Commanded by Colonel James P. Wickersham, Dr. Egle and his fellow 47th Pennsylvania Militiamen served only briefly with this unit – until the 47th Pennsylvania Militia’s disbandment on 14 August 1863. (As Confederates retreated following their defeat during the Battle of Gettysburg, the crisis ended.)

Appointed as a Surgeon by President Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Egle next headed for Camp Nelson in Kentucky where, beginning on 12 July 1864, he served as a commissioned officer and Full Surgeon with Company S, 116th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops. His diary from this period presents illuminating glimpses into the lives of America’s black soldiers. Promoted to Major on 12 August 1864, Dr. Egle mustered out of the 116th on 9 November 1865.

He subsequently became the Executive Medical Officer for the division of the U.S. Army’s 24th Corps, which was led by General William Birney and served at Petersburg and Appomattox. Later assigned to General Jackson’s division, he was stationed with his unit near the Rio Grand River and Roma, Texas from 25 June 1865 until December 1865 when he resigned.

A letter from Egle, dated 31 December 1883 and published in a January 1884 issue of the The State Journal documents his title as “M.D.” and his service as Physician to Dauphin County Prison. The letter presents his annual report regarding prison conditions and care rendered to inmates to the board of inspectors.

According to an obituary for Egle which ran in the New York Times on 10 February 1901:
:In March 1887, he was appointed State Librarian, which position he held for twelve years. He was the author of a history of Pennsylvania and a large number of other historical publications.

As a respected historian and genealogist, in fact, he is still known for his publication, Notes and Queries, Historical, Biographical, and Genealogical, Chiefly Relating to Interior Pennsylvania. His papers are housed at, and beyond, the Pennsylvania State Archives.

Egle died at home during the evening of 10 February 1901 after losing his battle with pneumonia. A burial ledger and other church records indicate that he was a member of the Episcopal faith. He was buried at the Harrisburg Cemetery, 521 North 13th Street.