Monday, May 25, 2026

Memorializing Civil War veteran Adam Goelz ... because the G.A.R. never did.

Adam Goelz, a first cousin, 3-times removed, was a Hessian emigrant in 1852 at age 6, and a Civil War enlistee in 1862 at age 17 (with his father's permission).

On 1 July 1863 he was horribly wounded at Gettysburg, shot in the face and shoulder, his misspelled name is found in casualty lists in the German newspapers. Hospitalized in Philadelphia, he was returned home to Milwaukee, and lingered until he died on 22 Aug. 1865. There is no official  veteran burial record or official grave stone for him.

I found his burial in the parish register of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, but their cemetery's records were destroyed by fire in 1910. There might've been a wooden marker at one time, but Adam's death and grave were lost to history, and his death and cemetery are only now being recorded in veteran's resources.  I've narrowed the search for where he is likely buried.

Another veteran of the 26th Volunteers, Hubert Mondlock Sr., was buried at Holy Trinity Cem. in 1870 and he is also not a recognized veteran since his grave record no longer exists. He's connected to Adam's family by the marriage of his son Hubert Jr. to Adam's cousin Caroline Goelz.

1 comment:

Jackson said...

Thanks for your genealogy work on Adam. I was investigating another Adam Goelz, buried in Monticello, MN. I found record of an Adam Goelz in the 26th WI and wanted to see if it was the same Adam. It was not. I have added your Milwaukee Adam to the SUVCW's national grave database.