Wartime image of
Ebenezer, taken likely around the time of his enlistment with 1st WV
Volunteers
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Post-war image of E.B.
McElroy and wife Agnes McFadden McElroy |
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Below are images and artifacts of Pvt. Ebenezer Burton McElroy, or as he was commonly called "E.B. McElroy", who served with Company A of the Roundhead Regiment from 1863 until the end of the war. In 1861 he started his service with the 1st West Virginia Volunteers, a company that his brother Capt. James McElroy commanded.
The McElroy family, from Washington County Pennsylvania were stout abolitionists prior to and during the war and Ebenezer's father James was a personal friend of the famous John Brown hung after his pre-Civil War uprising at Harper's Ferry, WV in 1859.
After the war, E.B. McElroy migrated to Oregon and had an illustrious career as an educator known throughout the Northwest for his exceptional school administrator success, where he became state superintendent of public schools. He also was the principal officer in charge of GAR affairs in the state of Oregon. He died at the age of 59 in May of 1901 in Eugene, OR.
One of his daughters, Lillian McElroy Taylor, an accomplished organist for silent films at the historic Whiteside Theatre in Corvallis, OR suffered a tragic death after she murdered her abusive husband and then took her own life in 1932. Ms. McClellan, the contributor of many of the historic images on this page, has written a screenplay pertaining to the life of E.B.'s daughter, Lillian McElroy Taylor.
--The Websmith, David L. Welch
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Wartime image of
Ebenezer with 1st WV band (on far left with drum) and likeness taken
while sitting in a chair about the same time period as band photo. |
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Gold Knight's Templar Piece awarded to E.B. McElroy as part of post-war masonic memberships |
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Original Obituary of
E.B. McElroy |
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GAR Calling Card of E.B. McElroy of Salem, OR , found by Websmith at http://www.civilwarbadges.com/cgi-bin/display_Items.asp?Cat=173&Sub=200&page=4 |
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News article/obituary of Lillian McElroy Taylor, E.B. McElroy's daughter who tragically committed murder against an abusive husband then took her own life. (image from Linda Cunningham Fluharty's webpage at
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Circa 1895 Nude Portrait of George McElroy and dog, grandson of E.B. McElroy and son of Willis and Rose McElroy (found by websmith on internet from Oregon State Library Digital Archives http://photos.lib.state.or.us/exhibit4/e40118a.htm Image courtesy of the Oregon State Library |
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Historic Home of E.B. McElroy and Family in Corvallis, OR at 611 NW Van Buren Ave. House is on the City of Corvallis List of Historic Homes and was built around 1876 for the McElroy family prior to family moving to Salem where E.B. took the position of State Superintendent of Public Schools and Oregon Department Head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). The post-war success of E.B. McElroy is amazing for a Civil War veteran that was not an officer. His motto, according to friends and family was "Work". --The Websmith |
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Oregon Literature, by John Horner, 1902 with Eulogy to the recently departed E.B. McElroy and friend and colleague of Horner's at the State Agricultural College in the early to mid 1870s in Corvallis, OR. Book found as .pdf file in Google books. --The Websmith |
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The Story of Oregon, A History with Portraits and Biography, Julian Hawthorne, Volume II, 1892 Biographical Profile of E.B. McElroy. Book found as .pdf file in Google books. --The Websmith |
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History of the
Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington, North Pacific
History Company, Volume 2, 1889 Biographical Profile of E.B. McElroy. Book found as .pdf file in Google books. --The Websmith |
   Note: correction on second entry on third thumbnail should say page 147, not 456. This passage gives the reader the sense of importance to this man's life as an educator in the State of Oregon and throughout the Northwest. ---The Websmith |
Click on thumbnails above to enlarge.
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Civil War image in Union sack coat with customary military respect having top button buttoned, unknown if image is with Co. B 1st WVI or with Co. A, 100th PVI. --David L. Welch, Websmith |
Pvt. Ebenezer Burton McElroy, Co. A, 100th Regt. Pennsylvania Volunteers and also Co. B, 1st West Virginia Volunteers Collection of Artifacts Contributed by Maggie McClellan, Great Great Granddaughter of Pvt. McElroy McClellan Family Collection, All Rights Reserved Some images compiled by websmith as noted. |
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Oregon State Officers 1882-1886 with E.B. McElroy in lower left corner (found on internet by websmith at http://photos.lib.state.or.us/exhibit4/e40048b.htm Image Courtesy of the Oregon State Library |
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