Augustus Dorsey was born 30 Dec 1841 in Somerset Co PA,[1] the only known child of Lloyd Dorsey and Sarah Moser.[2] He died 2 Jul 1924 in Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS.[3] Among distant relatives who attended his funeral were a half-brother Mike Coughenour, and a Mrs Wedge.
On 22 Oct 1868 in Dixon. Lee Co IL, he married as his first wife, Frances Minerva Shultz.[4] Frances was born 1 Apr 1849 in Somerset Co PA, the daughter of Joseph and Catheine (Hanna) Shultz.[5] She died 8 Jun 1878 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE.[6]
On 3 Aug 1879 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE, Augustus married as his second wife, Ersula Frye.[7] She was the eldest daughter of Stephen and Sarah (Essex) Frye, born 18 Apr 1849 in Peoria Co IL. She died 24 Nov 1936 in Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS.[8]
Augustus Dorsey served in the Civil War in several units.[9] He filed for a pension.[10] As a prisoner of war at Andersonville, in the state of Georgia, his name and personal data are also listed online:[11] Three geographical residences can be noted.
A Pre-Civil War, ancestral roots
1850 Somerset Co PA, Southampton Twp, p 211.[12]
1860 Somerset Co PA, Northampton Twp, 333 1880 Augustus.[13]
B Post Civil War, Illinois and Nebraska, Frances Minerva, 4 babies
1870 Dorsey, Augustus 27 mw farmer 1000 750 PA male citizen 21+, Minerva 21 fw k house PA, Thomas 2 mw IL, Lulu 8/12 fw NE, born within the year: Sept. (Thomas was son of Minerva’s sister Mary Ellen.)[14]
C A More Distant Frontier, Nebraska and Kansas, Ersula Frye, 5 children
1880 Lancaster Co NE, Oak & Worth Bluff, Vol 6, ED 238, Sheet 11, Line 22, 90-91.[15]
1900 Sumner Co KS, ed 342, sheet 4, line 18.[16]
1910 Sumner Co KS, roll 458, sheet 6, dist. 169, hh & family 127.[17]
1920 Sumner Co KS, Creek Twp, ed 170, sh 4A[18]
In the years after the Civil War, Augustus Dorsey was associated with several groups of like-minded men’s societies to improve elements of everyone’s life, organizations to promote education and a way of living, temperance groups, churches, agricultural boards to keep up with the latest research in improving farms and crops, and cohorts to put new ideas into practice. Some of these young leaders often dedicated themselves to literature and the study of philosophy, aiming at raising the standing of all farmers. Activities in these directions made Augustus a respected and prominent leader of his fellows. Augustus was a member of the Church of the Brethren in Conway Springs.[19]
The children of Augustus Dorsey and his first wife, Frances Minerva Shultz, were:
2. Lulu Belle DORSEY. Born on 15 Sep 1869 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE. She died in Anadarko, Caddo Co OK, on 23 Mar 1923; she was 53. On 16 Sep 1897 when she was 28, she married Fremont BOYLE in Enid, Garfield Co OK. Born on 29 Jul 1856 in West Liberty, Muscatine Co IA. Fremont died in Anadarko, Caddo Co OK, on 26 Sep 1944. They had the following children:
i. Dorsey Augustus (1898-1980)
ii. Charles (1899-1912)
iii. Robert Emmett (1902-1980)
3. Dallas Eugene DORSEY. Born on 22 Dec 1871 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE. Dallas died in Wellington, Sumner Co KS, in 1888; he was struck by lightning at the age of 16. He was buried in Randolph, Lancaster Co NE, with his mother and a baby sister.
4. Mary Ellen DORSEY. Born on 22 Jan 1873 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE. Called “Dolly,” she died in Hydro, Caddo Co OK, on 20 Mar 1928; she was 55. Buried on 23 Mar 1928 in El Reno, Canadian Co OK. On 4 Oct 1897 when Mary Ellen was 24, she married William Russell LIGHT, son of Oliver Perry LIGHT & Nancy Jane PRATHER, in Canadian Co OK. Born on 3 Apr 1861 in Marion Co MN. William Russell died in El Reno, Canadian Co OK, on 2 Jan 1934; he was 72. They had the following children:
i. Enid Beatrice (1898-1902)
ii. Ethel Marguerite (1900-1991)
iii. Evelyn Frances (1904-1992)
5. Edith Marie DORSEY. Born on 1 Jan 1878 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE. She died in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE, on 3 Jun 1878; she was under one. Buried in Randolph, NE.
6. Chester Arthur DORSEY. Born on 20 Jan 1882 in Lincoln, Lancaster Co NE. Chester Arthur died in Maize, Sedgwick Co KS, on 20 Nov 1955; he was 73. Chester married Nellie Mae WOODMAN. Born on 20 Oct 1888 in Wichita, Sedgwick Co KS. Nellie Mae died there, on 16 Aug 1948; she was 59. They had the following children:
i. Forrest Duwayne (1916-2009)
ii. Delwin Eugene (1919-2009)
7. Charles Augustus DORSEY. Born on 16 Jul 1884 in Wellington, Sumner Co KS. Charles Augustus died in Caney, Montgomery Co KS, on 15 Nov 1973; he was 89.
On 31 Aug 1925 when Charles was 41, he first married Hattie JOHANNSEN in Ashland KS. Born on 18 Dec 1900. Hattie died in Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS, on 26 Apr 1938; she was 37. They had the following children:
i. Donald (1927-2004)
ii. Charles Augustus (1928-1984)
iii. Beulah Marie (1931-)
iv. Darlene Ann (1932-)
v. Shirley Lee (1935-)
vi. Charlotte Jean (1937-)
Considering himself unable to care for so many small children from ages one to eleven, he allowed the two youngest girls to be adopted by a childless niece, Evelyn (Light) Eichor and her husband Roy. After 1938 when Charles was 53, he second married Opal SHELBURN in KS. Born ca 1911 in Wellington, Sumner Co KS. They later divorced.
They had one child:
i. Kenneth Leon (1939-)
8. Mabel E DORSEY. Born on 28 Jan 1888 in KS and died in KS in 1888; she was not yet one.
9. Zora DORSEY. Born on 18 Jan 1890 in Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS. Zora died on 18 Oct 1918; she was 28. She fell victim of the influenza outbreak of 1918 and died while still on the train, in a western State. Her body was returned home and buried in Conway Springs KS.
10. Florine DORSEY. Born on 10 Sep 1892 in Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS. Florine died in Albuquerque, Bernalillo Co NM, on 8 Aug 1972; she was 79. On 19 Apr 1919 when Florine was 26, she married Rudolph Martin TESKE in Wichita, Sedgwick Co KS. Born on 10 Nov 1893 in MN. Rudolph Martin died in Albuquerque, Bernalillo Co NM, on 10 Feb 1974; he was 80. They had one child:
i. Joan Ersula (1920-)
© 2009, 2020 Kathy Alvis Patterson
Added note: I ordered Augustus Dorsey’s complete pension file from the National Archives, many more pages than normally sent. It gave details of his capture, the date he arrived at Andersonville and the date he was paroled in Charleston Harbor. Of 17 men in his unit captured the same day, only two survived. Often when prisoners were at the point of death, they were paroled. I have read five books about Andersonville, but the most amazing thing was actually visiting the site. I highly recommend this book; one of the first-person accounts in the book was of the arrival of a group of prisoners to a ship in Charleston Harbor, flying the American flag, written on the exact day my ancestor was sent there. https://smile.amazon.com/Will…/dp/1883926068/ref=sr_1_1…. The pension file included letters from his commanding officer and several relatives; no one could recognize him after the starvation and disease inflicted at Andersonville.
[1] “A. Dorsey is Dead,” unidentified Sumner Co KS newspaper, 8 Jul 1924. Letter from Charles Dorsey by Florine Teske, to Kathy Alvis, 5 Jan 1967.
[2] Lancaster County Marriage Book 4:212, Court Clerk’s Office, Lincoln NE. The application for the Marriage License gives the names of Augustus’s parents, Loyd Dorsey and Sarah Dorsey, nee Moser.
[3] Death certificate no. 96-3061 (1924), Kansas State Bureau of Vital Statistics. Will, dated 6 Sep 1915, Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS. Typed copy received in correspondence with Donovan Dorsey.
[4] Lee County Marriage Book No. 4637, Court Clerk’s Office, Dixon IL.
[5] Charles Ross Shultz, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Michael Shultz. Privately published, 1943.
[6] Affidavit by Mary E (Dorsey) Light, 26 Sep 1924, Augustus Dorsey pension file no. 717367, National Archives. Copy in Ramona Duff, Armstrong Album and Light Lines, p 71. Frances Minerva Dorsey obituary, The Daily State Journal, Lincoln NE, 14 Jun 1878, p. 4, col. 4.
[7] Lancaster County Marriage Book 4:212, Court Clerk’s Office, Lincoln NE.
[8] Gravestone, Conway Springs, Sumner Co KS.
[9] Augustus Dorsey military service certificate, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commision, 28 Sep 1966.
[10] Augustus Dorsey pension file no. 717367, National Archives.
[11] http://www.montezuma-ga.org/chamber/prisoner.asp?code=49474. Online Andersonville lookup service.
Andersonville Prisoner Profile
Code No: 49474
Grave No: NOT BURIED AT ANDERSONVILLE
Last Name: DORSEY
First Name: AUGUSTUS
Rank: SERGEANT
Company: K
Regiment: 18
State PA
Branch of Service: CAVALRY
[12] David Coughenour 55 day laborer $50 PA, cannot rd & wr, Sarah 46 PA, Mary 12 PA attended school, Christina 11 PA attended school, Magdeline 8 PA attended school, Michael 6 PA.
[13] Augustus Dorsey 19 day laborer, $300 PA, Mary Moser 30 PA, George Moser, 33 PA blind, Jane Caton 17 PA, Loucinda Tidy 10 PA.
[14] Dorsey, Augustus 27 mw farmer 1000 750 PA male citizen 21+, Minerva 21 fw k house PA, Thomas 2 mw IL, Lulu 8/12 fw NE, born within the year: Sept. (Thomas was son of Minerva’s sister Mary Ellen.)
[15] Dorsey, Augustus wm 38 husband married farmer not employed this year PA, Ersula wf 30 wife married housekeeper IL, Lula wf 19 dau single in school NE, Eugene wm 8 son s in school NE, Mary E wf 5 dau s in school NE.
[16] Dorsey, Augustus head wm Dec 1841 58 m [31 strikethrough] 20 PA PA PA farmer owns w/mrtg, can rd, wr & sp Eng, Ersula wf wife Apr 1849 51 mar 5-4 20 IL PA VA, Chester A A wm son Jan 1882 18 sg NE PA IL farm laborer, Charles wm son Jul 1884 15 sg KS PA IL farm laborer, Zora wf daughter Jan 1890 10 sg KS PA IL, Florine wf daughter Sep 1891 8 sg KS PA IL & 2 hired men.
[17]Augustus, head, own mrtg, wm 78 mar, PA [illeg] PA rd & wr, farm; Ursula, wife, wf 70 mar, IL PA unknown, rd & wr, Eng; Chas A, son, wm 36 sg KS PA IL, farmer, also a handyman
[18] Dorsey, Augustus, head, own mrtg, wm 78 mar, PA [illeg] PA rd & wr, farm; Ursula, wife, wf 70 mar, IL PA unknown, rd & wr, Eng; Chas A, son, wm 36 sg KS PA IL, farmer, also a handyman
[19] Shultz, op cit.
Alvispat's Weblog 
Hi Kathy! My name is Katie Day (nee Burk). I just found your page when googling Zora Dorsey. Florine Dorsey was my great-grandmother, and Zora was her sister. I have always thought Zora to be a romantic figure. Just to let you know, my grandmother Joan Ersula Teske, married my grandfather Robert MacDonald Yearout in 1938. They had two children, Robert Kimberly, and Jennifer Kay, my mother. My grandmother, Joan passed away May 1, 2007. Her cousins Delwyn and Duwayne both died within a few weeks of eachother this past summer, 2009.
I am thrilled to find your information. A few summers ago, I sat down with my grandmother to get her stories and got carried away tracing the family’s geneology. Today you were able to fill in some blanks. Do you have more information? How are you and I related? Anyway, I would love to hear from you.
Thanks,
katie Day
Cousin Katie,
Your grandmother Joan was a (half-)cousin of my grandmother, Ethel Light Armstrong. Both were granddaughters of Augustus Dorsey. When I started collecting family stories in 1966 my grandmother communicated with both her aunt Florine and her cousin Joan. You just filled in a few dates for me. I would love to have a transcript or copies of the notes you took while your grandmother was living.
My Granny, as we always called her, passed away a few weeks before we were able to identify Augustus’s parents. She was very proud of his Civil War service and his life after the war. Since she was one of the oldest grandchildren, she remembered him and his second wife very well. Since his parents were either divorced or never married—both had other spouses by the time Augustus was eight—my mom commented that she is glad her mother wasn’t around to know about that.
Do I have the websites where he is named, that is, his unit and his time in Andersonville Prison, on the blog you found?
Hey! I just realized you are in my personal database. Living people are not usually included in websites because of privacy issues. You are another Bicentennial baby. Our daughter Liberty was born two weeks before you, on June 30, 1976. Your grandmother undoubtedly told my grandmother when you were born, and that is why I have your name and the date, but no more on your family.
Did either Duane or Delwyn leave sons? I know another cousin, Donald, and his brother Charles Augustus, did not. Donald is the only one I ever met. One of the big new things in genealogy is DNA testing, which only works in the male line. Since there is a question about Augustus’s birth, I would love to have DNA testing on one of his grandsons or their male children. I would pay up to half of the cost. That would not actually prove his father is who his second marriage license says, but it might prove he is not. That would be helpful evidence for the ancestry I consider ours.
Kathy