John H. Theis

Name: John H. Theis Company: E Veteran; enlisted March 11, 1862; promoted Corporal, Sergeant.
Birth Date: February 21, 1836 Place: Holzrath or Haltzrath, Rhine Province (Germany)	Mustered In Date: March 11, 1862 Rank: Private Age: 26 Residence prior to military service: Prussia, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Marystown, Scott County, Minnesota; Shakopee, Scott County, Minnesota Vocation prior to military service: [description]
Death Date: Place: Burial:	Mustered Out Date: September 6, 1865 Rank: First Lieutenant Age: about 39 Residence following military service: Shakopee, Scott County, Minnesota Vocation following military service: Saloon Keeper, Business Man, Capitalist

John H. Theis Biography and Civil War Narrative

John H. Theis was born in Holzrath or Haltzrath, Rhine Province, Germany on February 21, 1836, to Nicholas and Catherine (Lenz) Theis. In 1851 (about age 15), John came to America. He lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, until 1855 when he moved to Marystown, Scott County, Minnesota.

He enlisted in Company E of the 5th Minnesota on March 11, 1862. During his military service, Theis was promoted to Corporal, Sergeant, and finally to First Lieutenant on January 18, 1865.

On July 28, 1864, John married Catharine Bruggemann (born November 1844 in Missouri) while home on veteran leave. A daughter, Catherine, was born in 1865.

First Lieutenant John H. Theis was discharged with his regiment on September 6, 1865. After returning home to his family, John and Catharine had eight more children including daughter Lizzie (born about 1867), son John (born about 1869), daughter Mathilda ("Tillie," born December 1871), daughter Mary ("Mollie," born January 1873), son George (born November 1877), and daughter Ida (born August 1883).

The John Theis family moved from Marystown to Shakopee -- also in Scott County, Minnesota -- in 1873.

The 1880 U.S. Census reports John and Catherine Theis living in Shakopee, Minnesota, with six children: Catherine (age 15, "at home"), Lizzie (age 13, "at home"), John (age 11, "at school"), Mathilda (age 9, "at school"), Mary (age 7, "at school"), and George (age 2). John (age 44) is working as a "Saloon Keeper," and 36-year-old Catherine is "keeping house."

The 1883 Pensioner list for Scott County, Minnesota, lists John H. Theis of Shakopee as having received a gun shot wound in the left thigh.

On January 26, 1889, 53-year-old John filed an affidavit concerning the health of fellow soldier, Michael Herrmann, of Company E. In the affidavit he describes himself as a "retired Business Man."

In 1900, the U.S. Census shows John and Catharine living in Shakopee, Minnesota, with four of their children: Tillie (age 28, "Dress Maker"), Mollie (age 27, "Dress Maker"), George (age 22, "Laborer Telephone"), and Ida (age 16, "Dress Maker"). John's occupation is described as "Capitalist." The census also shows that seven of John and Catharine's nine children were still living.

John H. Theis died on July 15, 1916, in Shakopee, Scott County, Minnesota, and was buried in St. Mark's Cemetery in Shakopee on July 17.

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