My Genealogy Hound

CHRISTIAN LEIDIGH, carriage blacksmith, Troy. Christian Leidigh was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., May 13, 1845; he is a son of Michael and Louisa (Schwartz) Leidigh, both natives of Penn.; his parents moved to this State in the year 1853, and settled in Clark Co., where they lived till the death of his mother, in the autumn of 1863; his father is still living in Medway, Clark Co. The boyhood of our subject was spent on the farm, and his education was received in the common schools. In the fall of 1862, when the flag which we all love was in danger, and rebellion was rife in the Southern States, he, although only a boy of 17, bade farewell to home and friends, and enlisted in the 83d O. V. I., under Col. F. W. Moore, of Cincinnati, and started for the seat of war; he served his country for three years, most of the time in the 3d Division, 13th Army Corps, Department of the Gulf; he was in the fight of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post and Vicksburg, also the Red River campaign, the Battle of Champion Hills; assisted in the taking of Jackson twice; he was in numerous other battles in the Gulf States, some of which, though of little note in history, were as hard-earned as any of the more prominent ones; he served faithfully till the 24th of August, 1865, when he was mustered out at Galveston, Texas, and was finally discharged at Camp Dennison. After coming home, he learned the trade of blacksmith, worked as journeyman in several counties, and finally located at Troy, where he now carries on business, working chiefly on buggies, carriages and spring-wagons. He married Miss Candace Heckerman on the 17th of November, 1870. One child, Cora, has been born to them, Oct. 29, 1871. Mr. Leidigh is a genial, jovial gentleman, and has many friends, both in the fraternity of I. O. O. F., of which he is a member, and in the community at large. His wife is an exemplary lady, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.