Thomas J. Dale, Vermilion County

Thomas Dale has given a wonderful synopsis of his life, including his service in the 35th Illinois Infantry. He enlisted in Catlin, Illinois on July 3, 1861 and was captured on September 19, 1963 at Chickamauga. He spent the rest of the war in the horrific confines of the Andersonville prison.

He did not marry early, but waited until 1887 to marry Jessie Tarrant in Vermilion County. They had four children. He wrote this letter in 1892, just a few years after marrying Jessie.

He traveled to Kansas at one point, to try his hand at running a drug store, farming and attending college at Kansas State University. He taught school in Illinois and became Vermilion County Treasurer and County Clerk. He served the county for 36 years.

Thomas J. Dale died May 19, 1935, aged 91. His resting place is at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Danville, Illinois.