Philip Leon Loufman

Philip's grave with a beautiful view of Pittsburgh in the background.

Philip Leon Loufman is my great-great grandfather on my mother’s side of the family along the Zeber line. I have very few, vague memories of meeting some Zebers when I was very young and have lost contact with that branch of the family. I have had a difficult time finding specific information relating to Philip. However, by searching on Ancestry and Google, I have been able to piece together some information on his life before and after the Civil War. His last name is also spelled “Laufman” in different sources which makes the searches more difficult.

Philip Leon Loufman was born in 1842 in the United States to Leon Loufman and Margaret Weaver. Philip had a younger brother, James, and a younger sister, Katherine. James’ birth certificate gives his place of birth as Mobile, Alabama. I also found documents indicating that the Loufmans spent time in Ravenswood, West Virginia. I believe the family was living in Washington County, Ohio at the start of the Civil War because Philip enlisted in Marietta, Ohio and served with an Ohio company before ultimately ending up in the 1^st Regiment, West Virginia Light Artillery, Battery C. His regiment was mustered out of service in June 1865.

I have not been able to find information on exactly how or when he settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after the war. At some point, Philip married Eliza Jane Hafer who was a native of Pittsburgh although I haven’t been able to locate any documentation of their marriage. They had four children, William, Annie, Amelia and Cora May.

In 1866 both he and James were living in Pittsburgh and working as barbers. Apparently, Philip wasn’t cut out to be a barber. The 1867 Pittsburgh city directory lists his occupation as a laborer. By 1870 he was working as an axe grinder and continued working in that profession until he passed away in 1887 at age 45 years old. I have not been able to find a death certificate or any other documentation to indicate why he passed away.

I was finally able to confirm that he is buried at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in the Spring Garden area of Pittsburgh. I had suspected he was buried there because his wife, sister, son and daughter, Cora May, are also buried there. However, he is not listed in the documentation that the current caretakers possess and there is no grave marker for him. After many searches, I finally came across an “Application for the Burial of a Deceased Soldier” indicating that he died “without leaving sufficient means to defray the necessary expenses of burial.” This document confirmed his place of burial as St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery and provided the Section and Lot number of his grave. I reviewed a list of burials I had found online and discovered that he is buried in the same section and lot as his sister Katherine Hoffman. My husband and I took a trip to the cemetery and found their graves and the graves of my other ancestors buried there.

Philip is buried here with his sister, Katherine Hoffman. There are no grave markers for them but we were able to locate their graves using a cemetery map and list of burials. We placed the flag for the purpose of the picture.

The graves of Philip's wife Eliza, son William, and daughter Annie. Again there are no grave markers but we located the grave site using the cemetery map and list of burials for reference.

Philip's daughter, Cora May married Harry Zeber. They lived in Pittsburgh and had seven children, Harry, Philip Russell, Ralph, William, Marie, and twins Cora May and Walter. Unfortunately, the twins died shortly after birth and Marie also passed away at a very young age. My grandfather, Philip Russell, known as Russ, married my grandmother Evelyn Gill, served in the Navy during World War II, and worked as an electrician at the new Pittsburgh International Airport until he retired. Russ and Evelyn had one daughter, Jean Ann who married my father, Charles England and the rest is history.

The grave of Philip's daughter, Cora May Zeber. Her husband Harry, daughter Marie, and presumably the twins Cora May and Walter are also buried here.

My grandfather Russ and two of his brothers served in the Navy during World War II.

I have enjoyed learning about my great-great grandfather, my Loufman ancestors, and the Civil War through transcribing Philip’s diary. I am honored to possess such a treasure and when I hold it, I get a thrill thinking that he held that same little book in his hands and took the time to write down his thoughts on the historic events he was living through. I will continue to try to fill in the many gaps of his life story and continue to search for the elusive holy grail of a photograph of him or even his regiment.

This will be my last regular blog post. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to come with me on this journey of discovery. I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts and gained some new perspective of the life of a Civil War soldier from this new voice from the past. I would love to hear from you and would like to know how you discovered my blog.

I will post an update if I come across any new information about Philip or his regiment. Until then,

I remain your most humble and obedient servant,

D.E. Miller