Details of his Life

After Adam was discharged from the military he immediately went back to Philadelphia where he married Mathilda Jung within in a month (the marriage papers can be seen in her section). Unfortunately, little is known about what Adam did between his marriage in 1863 and when he first started applying for his invalid pension in 1890.

It is known that Adam did not have any children with his wife, and that even with his rheumatism, he made a living as a coach (or carriage) maker. The life of a carriage maker was not an easy one, and the physical aspect of it really taxed Adam because of his affliction. Over the three decade that Adam was a carriage maker, the price of a quality carriage dropped from $135 to $50, probably making it harder to make a living, so he probably engaged in carriage repair work as well.

Unfortunately, it is also unknown when exactly Adam moved into the Marion, Indiana Branch of the Veterans Home for Disabled Soldiers when it opened in 1890 though due to Dr. Kimball's notes on Adam's medical records, it was probably sometime in May of 1890. Adam would spend the remaining four years here with a multitude of other Civil War veterans. He is even buried in the veteran cemetary near the home.

(Thomas A. Kinney, NPS)