John W. Coston

Abt 1835 - 1865  (~ 30 years)

• Name	John W. Coston  [1, 2, 3]
  Born	Abt 1835	Indiana   [4]
  Gender	Male
  Died	27 Sep 1865	near Martinsville, Morgan, Indiana   [5]
  Person ID	I5374	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of TNH
  Last Modified	2 Mar 2020

  
  

  Family	Abigail Hatton,   b. Abt 1842, Van Buren, Brown, Indiana ,   d. 24 Dec 1917, Washington Township, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana  (Age ~ 75 years)
  Married	5 Jan 1858	Owen County, Indiana   [2, 4]
  Children	1. Katie Coston,   b. Abt 1858, Indiana + 2. John Mitchell Coston,   b. 22 Aug 1864, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana ,   d. 6 Dec 1942, Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska  (Age 78 years)
  Last Modified	9 Feb 2020
  Family ID	F4908	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos		John Coston Civil War pension record
  		John Coston headstone record

  
  

• Notes

  Also perhaps "Joseph." Or perhaps "Castin", "Caston", or "Costin". His origins are the biggest "brick wall" in the ancestry of TNH. The record of his headstone, and the record of his pension (it calls his widow "Abigail Hardin", which is not a garbling of "Hatton", because by then she had remarried to John Vardemon Hardin), agree that he served in Company H, Indiana 79th Infantry Regiment, so these records surely refer to the same man. He enlisted on 15 Aug 1862 and was mustered out on 13 Jul 1865. Since he died in Morgan County, Indiana, it's possible that he was born there as well. The 1874 The People's guide: a business, political and religious directory of Morgan Co., Ind. lists three Costins then living in that county, any of whom could be related to our John (or Joseph): * M. A. Costin, farmer of Gregg Township, born in Kentucky in 1836, settled in Morgan County 1842. Democrat, Protestant. * R. H. Costin, farmer of Ashland Township, born in Indiana in 1850. Demcrat, Protestant. * William Costin, farmer of Adams Township, born in Kentucky in 1840. Democrat, Protestant. Gregg and Ashland townships are reasonably close to Martinsville. Adams Township is farther away, well to the north of Indianapolis. A John Coston of Jefferson County, Indiana, appears on a May 1865 Federal excise tax assessment list. A John W. Caston married Nancy St. Killes on 12 Sep 1843 at Warrick, Indiana. A John W. Coston appears on the 1850 US Census, age 12, in the family of Paul Coston (age 36, born in Pennsylvania) and his wife Eleanor (age 34), living at Pleasant, Hardin, Ohio. Someone on ancestry.com has submitted an "alternate information" ticket claiming that the handwritten census form actually reads "Castor", but this reading is only supportable on the line for Paul Coston himself. The last letter of the surname for all the other family members is unmistakably an "n". The handwriting is loose enough that the name could as easily be "Caston" as "Coston", but this family was clearly not named "Castor."

  
  

• Sources

  [S86] U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, on ancestry.com. [S85] Indiana, U.S., Marriage Collection, 1800-1941, on ancestry.com. [S3749] Nebraska, Marriage Records, 1855-1908, on ancestry.com. [S176] Ancestors of Hazel Ethel Coston, record held in the family of TNH. [S3744] Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1861-1904, on ancestry.com.