LAYMAN, Albert Alston - Putnam

Albert Alston Layman who died at his home two miles west of Putnamville on Friday morning, January 8th, was a son of Albert Gallatine Layman and Jane Lights Howe. The father, born at Stunton, Virginia, in 1810, came to Putnamville in the early thirties, to join his brother, Dr. Daniel W. Layman, and opened a tailoring shop which grew into a general store. The mother, born at Albany, N Y., in 1818, and educated in Massachusetts, came to Putnamville in 1811 to visit her sister, Mrs. Professor Thompson, and was soon thereafter married to Albert G. Layman. They lived together happily for more than forty years. Mr. Layman reached the age of ninety-one. Both parents were very religiously inclined and were active members of the Methodist church while they lived.

The deceased, their third son, was born in Putnamville June 15, 1843. In his young manhood he united with the church of bis parents, and for some years was active in the Sunday school and as class-leader. The parents moved to a farm two and a half miles west of Putnamville, in 1861, but this did not prevent four of their sons from answering the call to arms in defense of the Union. Albert A. Layman enlisted three times in Indiana volunteer infantry regiments. His first service was as a private in Company K of the 55th. Indiana, under his cousin, James T. Layman, as captain. In this capacity, being nineteen years of age, he served three months in the summer of 1862. His company was detailed to escort prisoners from the South to Sandusky, Ohio. On one of these trips he received a bayonet wound, from the effects of which he suffered more or less during the rest of his life. Having recovered sufficiently he re-enlisted August 4, 1863, in Company C of the 115th Indiana, and was sent to the mountains of East Tennessee. After successful fighting at Blue Springs, the company was employed near Bull’s Gap in fortifying and guarding the mountain passes. Retained here until February, 1864, they suffered great hardship from the weather of an unusually severe winter, as well as from hunger, since the government was unable to send clothing and food regularly. During this winter Mr. Layman was promoted to the office of corporal. After a period of recuperation at home, he enlisted in Company C of the 149th Indiana, in which his brothers, E. H. Layman and J. P. Layman, were captain and first lieutenant. Promoted once more, to the rank of sergeant, he served six months, until the close of the war. During much of this time he was stationed at Decatur, Alabama. He received his final honorable discharge at Nashville, Tennessee, Sept. 27, 1865.

He was always proud of relating his war experiences, and was for some time a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1874 he married Nancy Ann Peek, who survives him. Their oldest daughter, Mrs. Sarah Jane Hadden, died in 1901, leaving two children, William Albert and Minnie Margaret Hadden. Two younger daughters survive, Anna Augusta (Mrs. Bert Smith) and Minnie Bell (Mrs. James Williams.).  Mr. Layman also left a sister, Mary K. Layman, and a brother, George W. Layman, who reside one mile north of Putnamville. Mr. Layman lived in a house on his father’s farm until 1901, when he purchased the residence where he died. It stands on one of the highest hills in Putnam county, with a magnificent outlook in every direction. Within the past few weeks he had sold this place to the state of Indiana, and had purhased a house in Putnamville, where he was hoping to reside comfortbly for years. But he had not been in perfectly robust health at any time once the rough experiences of the Civil War, and had recently been suffering from several disorders, to which his strong constitution finally succumbed.

Mr. Layman was always gentle and kindly, and made no enemies. Until recent years he had marvelously keen eyesight, and he was always a close and careful observer. He was a very interesting talker, with unusual powers of expression and description. By inheritance, industry and frugality, he acquired some means. He was always closely attached and considerate to both the family of his parents and his own. After a long life, in which he exemplified the chief Christian virtues, he fell asleep in the faith of his youth. W. W. TUCKER Physician and Surgeon. Office Vine street, between Washington and Walnut sts., Greencastle, Ind. - kbz