By Gari Voss
The formal Civil War Gravestone Celebration for Pvt. Staring included a program led by Commander Len Sheaffer, of General Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20. The Honor Guard was conducted by members of the Hopkins FFA. FFA advisor and coach Comer Skinner shared how the FFA uncovered the grave. Historian Amanda Strickfaden gave an account of Pvt. Staring’s story. The tombstone was unveiled by Commander Sheaffer and Patriotic Instructor Skinner. Songs of the era were played, and the ceremony was concluded with the tolling of the bell, a 21 gun salute and taps.
Pvt. Staring (or Starring) was born in Michigan on October 2, 1839 to Henry and Judith (Mosier) Starring. Henry was a farmer who moved from New York State to Monterey about 1837. John was the youngest of their 6 children.
On Oct. 7, 1861, Henry joined the Union army by enlisting in the 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics. His sons followed: Simeon joined the 17th MI Infantry in Sept. 1864; Peter enlisted in the 19th Infantry; Henry, Jr. and Edmund joined the 3rd MI Calvary in Aug. 1863; John enlisted on Feb. 2, 1864, in Company C of the 13th MI Infantry when he was 24. All the men returned except Edmund who died of a disease in April 1864 when in Tennessee.
The 13th MI Infantry joined General Sherman on his March to the Sea. John participated in the surrender of Savannah, Georgia on Dec. 16th, then the army continued through South Carolina before fighting the battle for Averasboro, North Carolina on March 16th. They moved on to the Battle of Bentonville on March 16, 1865, where John was wounded and later admitted to Harper Hospital in Detroit, June 2, 1865. He was given an honorary discharge.
Staring’s tie to the military was last recorded when he attended the reunion of the 13th MI Infantry in Kalamazoo on Oct. 25, 1912. This was the 50th anniversary of the regiment’s muster into service.
Once Staring recovered from his injuries, he returned to the farm. As with many farmers of his day, the work was hard, and life often brought celebrations and hardships. John and his first wife Esther Ann Butrick (m. May 17, 1863) welcomed George (Mar. 30, 1866). Then came sorrow as Esther died in 1873, then John’s father Henry died in 1974.
June 13, 1879, John married Carrie M. Clark and they had a daughter, Nettie, in 1885. Nettie passed a year later, just after John’s mother Judith. John and Carrie divorced. In Sept. 1894, Staring married Henrietta Murray. She died in 1906. In 1908, he married Elmira Litzenberger who remained with him until his death on March 22, 1922.
Pvt. John Staring may have passed quietly into eternity had it not been for the Hopkins FFA. Since 2010, this group has taken on themselves the care and preservation of Popular Hill Cemetery. Currently, they are assisted by Jessica Couch and Patriotic Instructor Comer Skinner, who is also with the Sons of Union Veterans.
In 2018, as FFA members cleared a section of the cemetery that was overgrown with weeds and brush, a marker was discovered that signified the grave of a Civil War veteran. There was no headstone or indication of who this soldier was. The investigation began.
The cemetery plot maps were studied to identify the name of the occupant. Cross investigation was done into the records of Civil War soldiers from Monterey Township. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was contacted to obtain a proper headstone for this Civil War Veteran. The FFA, with assistance from the Sons of Union Veterans, installed the gravestone.
The Gravestone Dedication on July 22, 2023, was sponsored by the National FFA, Hopkins Chapter, and the General Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20 – Dept. of MI, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
The Hopkin FFA began their annual clean up of Popular Hill Cemetery in 2010. Comer, Alumni President of the Hopkins FFA, shared, “Each year the FFA members work with their school advisor and 6-8 Sons of the Union Veterans to clean up sections of the cemeteries. They have located 12 markers, or flag holders. Others do the work of going through plot books of the cemetery to identify the soldier then research records from the Civil War. From the research, the story of the soldier unfolds.”
The partnership has opened avenues for the students and members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. At the same time, invaluable hours are spent assisting with the upkeep of the cemetery.
Those interested in the work of the General Pritchard Camp 20 – Dept. of MI, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War can visit https://suvcwmi.org/camps/camp20.php and https://www.facebook.com/camp20suvcw. A person does not have to be a direct descendant of a Civil War veteran to participate in the group.