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Sun, 03.16.1845

William Hemings, Soldier, and Farmer born

*William Hemings was born on this date in 1845. He was a Black soldier, farmer, and relative of Sally Hemings.

William Beverly Hemings was born in Ross County, Ohio. As reported in the Kansas City Star, 1/5/00, a document from the National Archives in Kansas City showed that William had a sister, Mary A. Johnson, and a niece, Ellen Jones.  This information matches that of Hemings' genealogy.

As a soldier, he was a member of Company H, 73rd, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Research indicates that he enlisted on February 10, 1864, held the rank of Private, and was mustered out on July 20, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky.  The 73rd was made up mostly of Ross County, Ohio soldiers.

A document from the soldier’s home provides additional information about Hemings.  He was a farmer and received a $ 12-a-month pension. He had a bad heart when he died in 1910 at Western Branch National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (VA Medical Center), formerly the Wordsworth Military Home, Leavenworth, Kansas.

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