Individual Details

Registered for the Civil War Draft, June 1863. Davis Co, Iowa:
Abraham Wishard, age 21, farmer, unmarried, b. Indiana
Ancestry.com database

http://www.iowa3rdcavalry.com/Roster/menu.html
3rd Iowa Cavalry Roster
Company A
Wishard, Abram. Age 23. Residence Drakesville, nativity Indiana. Enlisted March 15, 1864. Mustered March 16, 1864. Wounded April 16, 1865, Columbus, Ga. Mustered out Aug. 9, 1865, Atlanta, Ga.


Iowa Marriages, 1809-1992, FamilySearch.org
Abraham Wishard married Alice F. Nelson, 12 Oct 1866, Davis Co, Iowa

1870 Census. Bloomfield P.O., Davis Co, Iowa, Hh 59
Abraham Wishard, age 29, Farmer, b. IN
Alice F. age 23, b. Iowa
Wilbert W., age 2, b. Iowa
Heratin Sales, age 21, works on farm, b. Iowa
Jacob Riley, age 21, works on farm, b. Ohio

1880 Census. Davis Co, Iowa
Abraham Wishard age 39, b. IN, parents b. KY. Alice age 34, wife, b. Iowa, her father born in KY, mother b. Maryland. Wilbert age 12, son, b. Iowa as were all the children. Ephraim age 9. Ida B. age 7 and "Infant" Wishard, age one month, born in May.

Although some Wishard databases give Abraham's wife as Phebe Putman, it's apparently an error. The papers in his Civil War pension state that neither he nor his wife Alice had any previous marriage. His pension application followed by that of his minor-age daughter Flora stated a marriage date to Alice Nelson, 12 Oct 1866, in Davis Co, Iowa, a record confirmed by the County Clerk, so it would seem that all the children found in the 1880 census were Alice's children. However, Alice Wishard died in Spokane Co, Washington, in 1889, while Abram seems to still be in Iowa receiving his pension - did they divorce and he marry again in his old age? I think not, at least not to Phebe Putnam. There was no possible "widow" - Phebe Wishard in the Davis Co, Iowa, 1900 census. The marriage records of Davis Co do show a marriage between a Pheba Putman and Alexander Breeding, 23 Nov 1865 - Alexander probably was Abram's first cousin - and this couple was still together in the 1900's. Appears to be a case of mis-identification.

Grave Stone Records of Davis Co Iowa, copied by the WPA give his name as Abraham, born 1840. Died 24 Dec 1893. Buried Lester Cemetery, Cleveland, Davis Co IA.

Abraham Wishard did draw a pension for his wound. After his death, his half-brother, John O. Wishard, as guardian, filed for a minor's pension on behalf of the youngest daughter who was not yet 16. John's first application provides us with some interesting facts.
30 Dec 1893, before a Notary Public, John O. Wishard deposed that he was age 37, the legal guardian of Flora D. Wishard, legitimate child of Abram Wishard. Abram had enlisted at Bloomfield, Iowa on 15 Mar 1864, in Company A of the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Cavalry [his father had served in this company, and his uncle Robert Thomas Wishard was also in Company] His pension Certificate was an Invalid Pension, 191.960. There is a certificate of discharge on file at the Pension office; he was honorably discharged in the summer of 1865. Abram Wishard died 24 Dec 1893, leaving no widow as she had died 22 Jul 1889. There is one child under the age of sixteen, Flora D. Wishard, born 9 May 1880. Abram Wishard married Alice Nelson on 6 Oct 1866, near Bloomfield.
Flora's Minors Pension, was #409.043 and commenced 4 Jan 1894, at the rate of $8, payable at the Des Moines Agency, until she reached age 18, 8 May 1896.
Other interesting items from the Pension file which is combined with that of the soldier's Invalid Pension:
John O. Wishard deposed that the mother of Flora, Alice Wishard, died at Latah, Spokane Co, Washington, 22 Jul 1889, and there is no public record of her death. Included in the file is a letter attesting to that fact from the County Auditor of Spokane Co. On 30 Jun 1894, Ida B Swift, age 21, of Cleveland Township, Davis Co, Iowa, deposed that Flora was her sister and daughter of Abram Wishard. Alice was her mother who resided at Latah, Washington, and died there at her home on 22 Jul 1899. Ida was present when her mother died.
Certificate of Marriage, Davis Co Iowa, is included. Abraham Wishard and Miss Alice Nelson were married 12 Oct 1866 by William Hartley, MG.
Abram's Pension was awarded for the disability of a gun shot wound to the right side of his face and neck. His first application was dated 22 Sep 1879, Davis Co, Iowa, before the Clerk of the District Court. He enlisted in Company A, 3rd Regt Iowa Cavalry on 15 Mar 1864 as a Private and never enlisted in any other service. He was honorably discharged on 6 Aug 1864, at Nashville, TN, with a Certificate of Disability. He was age 28, 5'9", fair complexion, gray eyes, brown hair, and was a farmer. While in the line of duty at an assault on Columbus, GA, 16 Apr 1865, he was wounded by gunshot in the right side of the neck and doctored for the would in the Hospital at Columbus. After about a month at the Columbus Hospital, he was taken to Cumberland Hospital at Nashville and remained there until discharged. [A record from the War Department in the file confirmed all of the above.] He has never received or applied for a pension. Abram was awarded $6 from 7 Aug 1865 [3/4 disabled], increased to $8 from 8 Jul 1885, and to $12 from 2 Jul 1890. He had been dropped from the rolls 14, Sep 1894, as dead. His Certificate of Discharge is in the files and notes Abram Wishard was born in Shelby Co. IN - he had been unfit for duty for 60 days when discharged. His Captain, W. G. Wilson, of Monroe Co, Iowa, also deposed on 18 Oct 1879, and stated he was present when the soldier was wounded in the line of duty. Medical examinations during the years describe a gunshot wound that entered near the right jawbone and passed out the back of neck at the shoulder. His arm was partially affected and the side of his face paralyzed. Abram described attacks of pain and dull hearing in his right ear. He could not elevate his right arm, rotate his head and opened his mouth only with difficulty. By 1890, he weighted only 125 lbs and was described as emaciated and feeble.
On 1 Jan 1894, Fred Hesse, age 57, of Bloomfield deposed that he had served in the 3rd Iowa with Abram Wishard. They were neighbors and he saw him dead in his coffin. He was one of the Pall bearers at the funeral on 26 Dec 1893.
Testimony of James Smith, age 48, of Bloomfield, noted that Smith had served with Abram Wishard in Company A of the 3rd Regt. He was the undertaker when Abram died 24 Dec 1893, and placed him in his coffin on the 25th, and conveyed his remains to Lesters Graveyard, west of Bloomfield, and deposited him in his grave. Deposed 12 Jan 1894.

Birth	1841	Indiana
Military	1864 - 1865	Company A, 3rd Iowa Cavalry, Civil War
Marriage	12 Oct 1866	Davis County, Iowa - Alice Nelson
Death	24 Dec 1893	Cleveland, Davis County, Iowa

Spouse	Alice Nelson (1846 - 1889)
Child	Wilburt Wilson Wishard (1867 - 1950)
Child	William Ephraim Wishard (1870 - 1958)
Child	Ida Belle Wishard (1873 - )
Child	Flora Dell Wishard (1880 - 1913)

Father	William Wishard (1815 - 1866)
Mother	Mary "Polly" Breeding (1820 - 1843)
Sibling	Elizabeth Wishard (1839 - 1868)