Capt. (USA) Joseph B Rife

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 14 2021, 4:33:26 UTC

The son of Jacob & Mary Ann (Bomberger) Rife, in 1860 he was a currier living with his well-to-do family in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 9" tall and had black hair and dark eyes.

A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Middletown April 22, 1861, and mustered into federal service at Harrisburg June 27 as 1st sergeant of Co. G, 6th Pennsylvania Reserves (35th Pennsylvania Infantry). On July 21, he was reduced to ranks and discharged to transfer to the regular army. Per Military Record of Civilian Appointments in the U.S. Army, he entered at the rank of 2nd lieutenant and promoted to 1st lieutenant to date September 9, 1861. He is subsequently listed both as promoted to captain November 7, 1865, and brevetted captain for meritorious service at Antietam, although a post-war register lists him as "Bvt. Capt." None of his regular army records mentions a company designation until very late in his career. He remained with the post-war army, serving in the Reconstructed South and on the Plains. He resigned his commission effective March 1, 1872, and returned to Pennsylvania.

In 1880, he was living with his parents in Middletown where he was a member of Starr (later Cameron) Post No. 78, G.A.R. On January 29, 1889, he was driving his carriage down Harrisburg's Cameron Street on the way home. Events about to occur show that he was moving at an unsafe speed, perhaps, said one account, because a passing "motor car" had frightened the horse. Unexpectedly, the racing vehicle struck "a heap of earth across the road used as a walk to reach a stone quarry." The impact flipped the carriage and launched Rife airborne. When he came down, the right side of his head smashed against the "sharp edge of a rail." A coroner's inquest concluded that he had died instantly.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 14 2021, 18:12:46 UTC

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In the 1860 and 1870 census he is living with his parents. In the 1880 census he is also living with his parents and is listed as a widower.
The son of Jacob & Mary Ann (Bomberger) Rife, in 1860 he was a currier living with his well-to-do family in Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 9" tall and had black hair and dark eyes.

A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Middletown April 22, 1861, and mustered into federal service at Harrisburg June 27 as 1st sergeant of Co. G, 6th Pennsylvania Reserves (35th Pennsylvania Infantry). On July 21, he was reduced to ranks and discharged to transfer to the regular army. Per Military Record of Civilian Appointments in the U.S. Army, he entered at the rank of 2nd lieutenant and promoted to 1st lieutenant to date September 9, 1861. He is subsequently listed both as promoted to captain November 7, 1865, and brevetted captain for meritorious service at Antietam, although a post-war register lists him as "Bvt. Capt." None of his regular army records mentions a company designation until very late in his career. He remained with the post-war army, serving in the Reconstructed South and on the Plains. He resigned his commission effective March 1, 1872, and returned to Pennsylvania.

In 1880, he was living with his parents in Middletown where he was a member of Starr (later Cameron) Post No. 78, G.A.R. On January 29, 1889, he was driving his carriage down Harrisburg's Cameron Street on the way home. Events about to occur show that he was moving at an unsafe speed, perhaps, said one account, because a passing "motor car" had frightened the horse. Unexpectedly, the racing vehicle struck "a heap of earth across the road used as a walk to reach a stone quarry." The impact flipped the carriage and launched Rife airborne. When he came down, the right side of his head smashed against the "sharp edge of a rail." A coroner's inquest concluded that he had died instantly.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 29 2023, 1:58:07 UTC