Helena ceremony to place stone marker on Civil War veteran's grave

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A granite stone marker will be placed Saturday on the unmarked grave of a Civil War veteran who moved to Helena after the war and died years later in an accidental shooting.

The marker for Albert E. Haskell will be installed and he will be honored with a flag-raising at 11 a.m. at the Benton Avenue Cemetery, 1975 N. Benton Ave.

The public may attend.

The marker is partially being paid for by E Clampus Vitus, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the American West, said Tom Pearson, a member of the group and the secretary/treasurer of the Benton Avenue Cemetery Association. The cost for the stone is $1,750, of which $500 has been donated. An additional $1,250 remains to be raised, organizers said.

Those familiar with the Benton Avenue Cemetery said 50 veterans are buried there. Of those, 25 have government tombstones and 24 have private markers. They said Haskell remains the one veteran without a marker.

Pearson, 81, said he was aware of Haskell's unmarked grave and feared that if he died no one would recall where Haskell was buried. He said E Clampus Vitus, who he referred to as "The Clampers," offered to help.

Haskell, who was 56 upon his death, had no marker. The cement base is ready for a suitable stone to match what would have been supplied if someone had ordered one in 1898.

Haskell, sometimes called "Abe," was born to Edward and Sarah Haskell in 1842 in Tioga, New York. He was a farmer, but he enlisted into the Union Army with Company D, 106th New York infantry regiment on June 2, 1862.

Shortly thereafter he was made corporal. He was severely injured and captured at Monocacy, Maryland, July 9, 1864, and confined at Danville, Virginia, according to a news release announcing the event.

He was exchanged on March 25, 1865, and hospitalized in Washington, D.C. His accumulated injuries during the war were listed as: shot six times and run over by a gun carriage. He was promoted to first sergeant on May 25, 1865, and mustered out on June 22 of that year, event organizers said.

It is unknown who came to Montana first, Albert or his parents, or if they came together. By 1870, they all lived at Silver Gulch, and Albert and his father were listed as gulch miners, the news release stated.

Edward and Sarah listed their personal estate at $300, and Albert listed his as $7,000. He was the wealthiest man in the gulch, perhaps from a pension, or he was that good as a miner, event organizers said.

"That was a substantial amount of money for that time," Pearson said of Albert Haskell's estate.

On Jan. 11, 1872, Sarah Haskell died at the age of 58. Edward purchased a family plot in Benton Cemetery, which is where Sarah was buried. Sarah has a small unreadable tombstone.

In the 1880 census, Edward and Albert were living together in Belmont.

A woman listed as housekeeper, and a Chinese man, both close in age to Albert, were living in the household. All three are listed as laborers. Edward Haskell is listed as maimed, crippled, disabled or otherwise bedridden. He may have died shortly thereafter, the news release stated.

The Benton Avenue Cemetery in Helena.

"Because he had a family plot in Benton, one can assume that he was buried there. There is a marker similar in size to that for Sarah, but it, too, is unreadable," it stated.

On Dec. 9, 1898, Albert was shot in a hunting accident. He died the same day at the age of 56.

Pearson said Haskell was cleaning his cabin after having breakfast and a young man he was going to go hunting with was inside the cabin and cleaning a gun. The gun went off and struck Haskell in the back.

Pearson said there were no descendants, at least none that he could find. Nor has he been able to find a photograph of Haskell, he said.

When asked how he felt about Saturday's scheduled service and the long overdue marker to be placed on Haskell's grave, Pearson, who has joined "the clampers," offered a short response.

"It pleases me," he said.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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Assistant Editor, Helena Independent Record

Phil Drake is an assistant editor and reporter for the Helena Independent Record. Reach him at [email protected] or 406-231-9021.

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