Look Back: Last Forty Fort Civil War veteran died in 1930

Less than a month after enlisting in the 143rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in April 1864, Private Samuel R. Laphey, 18, was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia.

Laphey recovered from his wounds and was later taken prisoner by the Confederate Army, being held at Libby Prison in Richmond, Va.

Laphey and other Union soldiers escaped as he rejoined his regiment taking part in other Civil War battles at Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, according to Civil War records via ancestry.com.

Laphey was reportedly the last Civil War veteran from Forty Fort when he died at his daughter’s residence at 97 Stock St. on Oct. 18, 1930, according to a story in the Times Leader Evening News the same day.

He was 85.

“Comrade Laphey despite his advance years was in remarkable good health until stricken ill. Although retired from active pursuits for the last seven years, he took keen interest in the happenings of the day and community activities,” the Times Leader reported.

Laphey was one of seven children born to David Laphey, a tailor, and Sarah Laphey, a homemaker whose maiden name was Reke, in Luzerne Borough on Aug. 24, 1845.

The 1850 Census has the Laphey family residing in Kingston Township.

When the Civil War broke out in April 1860, Laphey was 14 and residing with his parents and three other siblings, according to the 1860 Census.

As a boy, Laphey was trained as a mechanic for the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad shops in Kingston before enlisting in the Union Army.

After he was mustered out of service at Hart Island, N.Y., in June 1865, Laphey returned to the Kingston railroad shops, and was employed by the Welles family of Forty Fort until he retired in February 1923.

Laphey married Ruth Ann Tucker and had one child, Mary Louise Laphey.

Four months before his death, Laphey and 14 other surviving Civil War veterans from the Wyoming Valley were honored during a ceremony in Wilkes-Barre on May 30, 1930.

“Samuel R. Laphey, last remaining Civil War veteran in Forty Fort, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Arthur B. Clark, 97 Stock St., on Saturday morning (Oct. 18, 1930) after a brief illness of complications,” the Times Leader story reported.

The story reported Laphey was a charter member of Conyngham Post, GAR and served with valor during the Civil War.

“Impressive services were held yesterday for Samuel R. Laphey, last remaining Civil War veteran of Forty Fort, at the home of his daughter. The funeral was attended by scores of friends and acquaintances and many floral tributes attested the high regard held for him,” the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Oct. 22, 1930.

Laphey was buried next to his wife, Ruth Ann, who died in April 1920, at Mount Greenwood Cemetery in Trucksville.

Stock Street was renamed Rutter Avenue in 1928.