Samuel Magill, Civil War Veteran

Samuel Magill in his G.A.R. uniform

Samuel Magill was born near Bloomingville, Ohio on September 22, 1815. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Magill, Sr., were early pioneers of Erie County. In 1810 they traveled from Pennsylvania to Bloomingville, Ohio in a covered wagon along with several of their youngsters.  The elder Mr. Magill farmed the land located about two miles south of the Seven Mile House, along the Columbus Pike. Samuel Magill, Jr. married Celia Ann Sampson in 1835. They had a total of eleven children. One son, Alfred A. Magill, was the Erie County Sheriff from 1894 through 1898.

During the Civil War, Samuel Magill, Jr. enlisted as First Sergeant in Company G of the 145th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served in the military for 100 days, and received a Certificate of Honorable Service from President Abraham Lincoln on December 15, 1864. An article about the family that appeared in the April 16, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that eight of the Magills served in the Union ranks during the Civil War, with four reaching the rank of officers. 

Samuel Magill, Sr. died in 1858, and Samuel Magill, Jr. died in 1897. Both are buried in Sand Hill Cemetery, along with several other Magill family members. 

An interesting historical story passed down through the Magill family was recounted in the March 29, 1916 issue of the Sandusky Register by A. A. Magill. On September 10, 1813, Samuel Magill, Sr. and some of his sons and a hired man were working in the fields of the family farm. The boys sat down on a boulder which stood near the roadside. They could hear a cracking noise when they placed their ears next to the large stone. Later they learned that the noise they heard was the booming of a cannon during the Battle of Lake Erie when Commodore Perry met and defeated Commodore Barclay.