Part Two - Life After The War
It was June of 1863 and Asa Lomax Gailey was a free man. He
had endured the harshest of conditions of the Civil War and as a prisoner of war
at Camp Douglas in Chicago. At the time of his release around two thousand prisoners had died
while imprisoned. Asa was likely traumatized by the entire situation and was released
at Chicago with nothing more than the clothes on his back. It is unclear if the
released were given money to start with or possibly a direction to go in to
find work.
To date there is no documentation on the whereabouts of Asa
from his release to August 10, 1865, the date of his marriage to Mary Louise
Murray in Kane County, Illinois. Several versions of a story that involved Asa
returning to Texas have surfaced among the Texas Gailey descendants. The stories
are consistent in that they state he did return to Bell County but hastily
returned to Chicago after learning of his wife had legally declared him dead.
It is believed that after the battle at Fort Hindman, Asa was reported dead to
the family by his fellow surviving soldiers. Permelia would marry a sergeant
from Asa's company almost exactly one month after Asa's marriage.
Taking an educated guess, Asa did not attempt a return to Texas. The climate following the war was a hostile one, especially in the southern states in the direction of "deserters". Being that he took the oath over a painful death he was seen by many as a traitor to the CSA. He would have endangered himself and likely his family if he had returned to them. He may have felt that his wife Permelia was better off without him and that she was in a good location living next door to her parents and siblings. There is obviously a lot of room for speculation concerning Asa's decision.
Being that Asa married Mary Murray in Kane County, Illinois
leads us to believe he must have settled west of Chicago during the two years
he was unaccounted for. The couple made their first home together in the town
of Elgin. It is unclear what line of work Asa did at this time but one could
speculate that he may have started working for the Chicago and Northwestern
Rail Road Company soon after marriage.
Mary gave birth to the couple's first child together on
April 13, 1868, a girl they named Lola Maude Gailey. She was likely born at the
family's home in Elgin. Sometime after her birth the Gaileys moved to
Ellsworth, Iowa for Asa's work with the railroad.
The couple produced their second and final child, a boy
named Lester Ellsworth Gailey in April of 1871. Within the next four or five
years the family would relocate back in Elgin, Illinois. They appear on the
1880 U.S. Census in Elgin with Asa listed as a bridge builder, his job with the
railroad. Mary’s sister Harriet Murray lived with the family at this time.
Asa appears in an 1883 Chicago & Northwestern Railway Officers, Agents, and Stations book as being with the Northen Iowa Division. He is listed as the official in charge of buildings and bridges and shows working out of the Eagle Grove, Iowa depot. It is likely that the family lived in or near Eagle Grove during this time.
By 1885 the Gaileys had moved to Webster City, Iowa. It was
another railroad position Asa took that improved his pay grade. The family appears on the 1885 Iowa State
Census in Webster City as follows: A.L. Gailey 45, Mary L. Gailey 36, Lola
Gailey 18, and Lester E. Gailey 14.
It was likely during their time in Iowa that Lola gained love
for music. She developed as a musician and singer, and would soon become a very
popular soprano. It is known that Asa had been detailed as a musician during
the Civil War and it would not be hard to imagine that the Gaileys were a
musical family as a whole.
At Webster City, Asa became a Knight Templar, joining the local
Triune Commandery. The organization was rooted in an ancient Christian military
order style and is considered to be a form of Masonry.
On August 11, 1887 it was announced that Asa was promoted to
the Chicago and Galena Division of the railroad. This new position would move him
and his family into Chicago. An article from the Hawarden Independent newspaper
read as follows: A.L. Gailey, superintendent of buildings and bridges on the
Northern Iowa division, has been promoted to the Chicago and Galena division to
take the place of John Hickey, deceased. George Kosier, Mr. Hickey's assistant
takes the Northern Iowa.
A November 20, 1887 Webster City, Iowa newspaper listed that
the Gailey family attended an Alpha party back in Webster City noting they were
previous residents of the community. By all accounts the family was a well
liked and social one as several newspaper articles mention their social
activities through the years.
The family moved to the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL in mid
April of 1888. Their residence was on Park Avenue near the railroad tracks in a
home formerly owned by a Mr. Watson. The family lived in Oak Park for around
three or so years. With the promotion came more money and the Gailey Family
lived well during these years. Lola became a local celebrity with her regular
singing engagements all over town. Her activities were well documented in the
Oak Park newspaper. During this time she took several trips, including one on
the Mississippi River.
In 1891 the family had moved to Linden Park, another Chicago
suburb. Their residence was located on the Northwest Corner of Lydiard and
Chestnut, now known as Leamington and Ferdinand Streets. The two-story home
still stands today and appears in the photo below courtesy of Sean Barlow.
Asa Lomax retired from his high position with the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad in early 1892. His first order of retirement was a
trip back to the south and to the home of his boyhood. It is unknown where
exactly Asa went on his trip but it likely included the area of Hall County,
Georgia and Craighead County, Arkansas. His boyhood was spent in Georgia;
however his mother and remaining siblings lived near Jonesboro, Arkansas, where
they moved prior to Asa leaving home. One could speculate that he attempted to
locate his children in Texas on this trip. A factor that would have made it a
difficult task was that the family had since moved from Bell County to then
sparsely populated Eastland County.
It has been shared that Asa had contact with some of his
family in Arkansas prior to his trip south. One of his nephews, John Lomax
Gailey, went to live with Asa and family around 1882 to get an education,
possibly funded by Asa. An account of this was passed down on John Lomax's side of the family. Many years later John left behind a signature book from his time with the Asa Gailey family, which included signatures from Asa and Lola.
When Asa Lomax returned from his trip the city of Chicago
was engulfed in preparations for the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known
as the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The fair was a celebration of Christopher
Columbus’ arrival in the New World 400 years prior. It was an event of gargantuan
proportions, one that changed the lives of Chicago’s residents, inspiring and
enlightening them.
Through a very descriptive obituary for Asa Lomax, we learn
that one of his reasons for his retirement was to perfect a patent he had
invented. What was this idea or invention? Did it have to do with his line of
work with the railroad or could it be related in some way to the Chicago World’s
Fair? So far, we have yet to learn any details on his patent. The search will
continue on.
Lola married George Brownell Chace at her parents’ home on
October 19, 1892. Mr. Chace was a Wyoming native and had made his way to
Chicago to seek a better life. The 1900 U.S. Census lists George as working for
the Bridge Department of the Chicago & N.W., the same office that Asa had
retired from. George either met the Gaileys through the railroad job or Asa
hired him or helped him get work after the fact.
On the afternoon of Tuesday November 21, 1893 Asa Lomax
Gailey was out clearing the sidewalks around his home of recently fallen snow.
This was likely a chore he had done many times before living in the Illinois
and Iowa area for the past 30 years. Snow was something that was highly
uncommon for him in his youth and it may have still been something that he
appreciated. On this day it would lead to his demise. After a clearing the
sidewalks around his yard he walked to his garage in back of his home and
suffered a massive heart attack. He was only 56 years old.
He had only been able to enjoy his retirement for a little
over a year. His patent work was left unfinished and likely unpublished. He
left this earth with a loving widow and five of his offspring; however the three
in Texas knew nothing of their half siblings in Illinois at the time.
Asa's obituary reads as follows:
A.L. Gailey, for a quarter of a century superintendent of bridge
construction of the C. & N. W. Ry. Co., and for many years an honored
citizen of Austin (IL) , dropped dead Tuesday afternoon at his home in Linden
Park. A strong, stalwart specimen of manhood, in the prime of his life, his
death was entirely unexpected. Only a year ago Mr. Gailey resigned his position
with the company to devote his entire time to a patent which he was perfecting.
At the time he left the railroad company, he was the recipient of gifts and
testimonials from employees and officials all of whom loved and respected him.
Tuesday he cleaned off the snow from his walks, went to the barn to replace his
tools, when without a cry, he dropped dead.
The funeral will be held tomorrow from his late home and
will be conducted by the Rev. Frank O. Ballard, formerly of the Presbyterian
Church, now of Indianapolis. The remains will be borne to Turner, Mr. Gailey's
former home for interment. A special car has been placed at the disposal of the
family and friends by the Northwestern Company, for this last sad journey. At
Turner the Masonic fraternity will conduct the services. Mr. Gailey leaves a
widow, a son Lester, and a daughter, Mrs. George B. Chace.
The obituary, which is usually prepared by the immediate family, makes no mention of his Texas children, Jane, J.W., and Asa Nelson. Some events that followed Asa Lomax's death indicate that while he may not have shared his secret with his children, his wife likely knew.
An interesting bit of information was unearthed in the estate
settlement paperwork concerning Asa’s ex-brother-in-law and fellow Civil War
soldier Nicholas F.M. Tuder, who passed away on August 3, 1895. Nicholas had migrated to Texas with his family
and brother-in-law Asa in the 1850s, their first stop being in Bell County and
later to Eastland County, where he remained until his death. In Nicholas’
possession at death was a newly published book called “Columbus and Columbia”
which documented the Chicago’s World Fair and the history of America to that
point. This clue may indicate that Nicholas may have had contact with Asa
Gailey or may have at least known about him or his whereabouts. It could have
been just a coincidence.
We do know that the Texas Gailey’s did learn about Asa’s “second
life” in Illinois just a few years after his death. They may have believed up
to that point that he had perished in the war. What a surprise it must have
been.
Check back for Part III, where we will look into the lives
of Asa Lomax Gailey’s Chicago family and their ties back to Texas.
