Albert Woolson

Albert Woolson
Albert Woolson in the early 1950s
Birth:	11 February 1850 New York, USA
Death:	2 August 1956 Deluth, Minnesota
Age:	106 years, 172 days
Country:	USA
Centenarian

Albert Henry Woolson (11 February 1850 – 2 August 1956) was the last known surviving member of the Union Army who served in the American Civil War; he was also the last surviving Civil War veteran on either side whose status is undisputed.

Biography

Albert Woolson was born on 11 February 1850 in New York. He lived there with his family up until the time that the civil war began. In 1861, his father, Willard Woolson, enlisted in the Army to fight for the Union during the war. Willard Woolson was injured in 1862 and sent to Minnesota for treatment. The family, including Albert, moved to the state to be near him. After Willard Woolson died, the family stayed in Minnesota. Shortly after their move to the state, in August 1862, the U.S.-Dakota War broke out. The Woolson family lived in an area affected by the war and would have known about it. Albert joined and fought in the civil war on October 10, 1864, he enlisted in Windom, Minnesota, he fought was Heavy Artillery and his rank was a private. Albert left the army on September 27, 1865, Albert fought on the union side. After the war ended Albert worked as an electrician until he retired in 1933. His wife, Anne Woolson died in 1949 and Albert lived independently until he was 100 and he moved in with his daughter and her family.

Albert Woolson died on 2 August 1956, in St. Louis, Minnesota at the St. Lukes Hospital, in Duluth, Minnesota as the last surviving member of the union army. Woolson claimed he was born on February 11, 1847, until records show he was born on February 11, 1850.

Gallery

Undated, before Albert was a centenarian

Woolson (age 95, claimed 98) on November 1, 1945.

Woolson (age 96, claimed 100) playing drums on September 24, 1946.

Woolson (age 99, claimed 102, cropped) at a military gathering on August 30, 1949.

Albert (age 103) on his 103rd birthday (claimed 106th) with journalist George Grim on February 11, 1953.

Albert (age 105) sometime in 1955.

Woolson (age 106, claimed 109) in his deathbed at the local hospital on March 15, 1956.

References

• G. A. R.'S VETERAN PARADES; Lone Survivor, 106, Speaks at Minnesota Ceremony The New York Times, May 31, 1953 Page 16
• Albert Woolson Legacy
• Albert Henry Woolson Find a Grave
• Last Union Army Veteran dies The New York Times, August 3, 1956, Page 1
• Minnesotan Albert Henry Woolson was the last surviving Civil War veteran
• Death Record Ancestry (subscription needed)
• Stars And Stripes Newspaper Obituary Ancestry (says he was 109, he was actually 106, subscription needed).
• Claimed 106th birthday (actually 103) Ancestry
• Civil war information, birth information and death infromation Ancestry (subscription needed)
• Civil war Rank Information Ancestry (subscription needed)