Josiah Sefton

Josiah (jo-Sigh-uh) Sefton 

    Nancy Jane Ogden Westerdahl's

    Great Grandfather

   

Nancy’s great-grandfather, Josiah W. Sefton, was a well-known resident of Gettysburg with many friends from all over the country he met when he was a battlefield guide for nineteen years.     

Josiah was born in Thurmont, Maryland on September 23, 1838. He was a wagon maker in his early life until about 1866 when he moved to Gettysburg where he sold fresh produce from a truck throughout the town. From 1894 until 1913, he was a battlefield guide, continuing that actively until poor health compelled him to retire. According to his obituary, "Mr. Sefton was a man of pleasing qualities and had the respect of all his acquaintances."

     

While a resident of Maryland he married Miss Martha Fleagel who died in 1898. One of the most interesting facts about Josiah is the names he and his wife chose for their children: Clellia Cuba, Harry Beverly, Ivy Myrtle (Nancy’s Grandmother), Charles, Minna C., Virgi, Paper B., Edgar Brooks and Brady M. Nancy remembers her Great-Aunts Clellia, who she called Aunt Clelly and Paper B who was called Aunt Pacey.

  

Josiah Sefton died when he was 76 at his home on Baltimore street (possibly 336) early Sunday morning, March 5, 1914. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg.