Consigny, Eugene A. (1841-1900)

CONSIGNY

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 9/16/2019 at 16:12:47

Eugene A. Consigny
(May 15, 1841 – August 8, 1900)

(From the 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.623)
GENERAL EUGENE A. CONSIGNY, Avoca, Iowa. General CONSIGNY is one of our prominent soldier citizens who was identified with Avoca in its infancy, and who is one of the founders of the business interests of this thriving town. He is from an old French Catholic family. Louis de CONSIGNY, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and the founder of the family in America, was born on a farm in France. He married in his native land and soon afterward, about 1790, left the shores of sunny France with his bride to endure the hardships and privations of pioneer life in New France, or Lower Canada, as it was then called. Settling on a large farm near Montreal, he lived there for many years as an independent Canadian farmer, surrounded at length by the solid comforts of life, and here he reared a large family of children. At his death, he left a considerable estate to his descendants. The stock from which he sprang was strong and hardy, and from the name and prefix, "de," it is inferable that he was of more genteel blood than that of the common French voyager to America. Be this as it may, good blood is best shown by long life and good deeds, and in this respect the CONSIGNY family have always been prominent. Longevity marks the morals of a family as surely as the sand in the hour glass marks the time. Louis de CONSIGNY lived to the patriarchal age of eighty years, and his good wife lived to see the sands of time mark the great age of ninety-eight years. The descendants from these pioneer voyagers to the new world are to be found among our reliable and valued citizens.

Antoine P. L. CONSIGNY, the second son of the above, and the father of Eugene A., was born on the old homestead near Montreal in 1811. He had but one brother, the remainder of the family being sisters. This brother, Louis, and himself were well educated, their father having liberal means. Antoine, having a taste for learning, at the early age of fourteen years entered the college of Montreal, receiving a thorough classical education, besides becoming a good French, Latin, Greek and English scholar, writing and speaking these languages with ease and fluency. Some of his letters are still extant, and the clear, old-fashioned hand looks like copper plate engraving, with so much skill and precision are the letters formed. He ranked at college as an able scholar, and graduated with honor. At the medical department of the same institution, he pursued his medical studies, and having a natural talent and love for his chosen profession, he attained as high a degree in medicine as he had in the languages. Soon after completing his medical studies, he began practice at St. Cesaire, Lower Canada, and with a slight interruption, he remained here all his life, enjoying an extensive practice and the confidence and respect of the community to an enviable degree. Possessing "the best gift of the gods," oratory, he took quite an active interest in politics and exerted a wide influence. His skill as an orator enabled him to hold an audience as if with a magic spell, and he molded their opinions. This enabled him to rank among the ablest orators of his day.

National scenery exerts a strong influence over the minds of the people. The Egyptians, born and nurtured in a land of dull and somber surroundings, possessed the melancholy character, which made it natural for them to pass years of time in erecting vast monuments to their dead. The Swiss, reared amid the grand scenery of their native Alps, and the soul-stirring music of their fierce winds, love liberty and cannot be enslaved. The magnificent natural scenery of Canada, its broad and mighty rivers, vast lakes, lofty mountains and almost impenetrable forests, gave Dr. Antoine CONSIGNY the love of native land and liberty, which broadened with his mind and strengthened with his manhood. Reared amidst a brave and fearless race, who have been voyagers, pioneers, and explorers from Montreal to Lake Michigan and New Orleans, and who were born soldiers, trappers and hunters, the early influences thrown around him strengthened his character and prepared him to take a part in that struggle for liberty made by the Canadians and known as the Patriot War, and which, although unsuccessful in its principal object, involved the best blood and vigor of the entire British Canadas, and was ultimately the means of a great modification of the severe and tyrannical rule of England.

In 1837 the gathering clouds of discontent in Canada darkened into the storms of civil war, and Dr. CONSIGNY was one of the first to respond to the call of patriotism. His countrymen, fellow patriots and companions in arms were such men as General PAPINEAU, and Dr. ALLARD, two of the most prominent men in this patriotic movement. After a short but severe struggle and some fighting, the patriots, deceived by traitors and overwhelmed by the mighty power of England, were obliged to fly for their lives. Dr. CONSIGNY fled to the neighboring and friendly state of Vermont, which indeed proved a haven of rest for his weary body as well as a solace for his heart, for here he met and won his wife, Miss Lucy L. GOODRICH, in 1840. She was the daughter of Ezekiel GOODRICH, of an old American family, and among the defenders of our country in the War of 1812. Captain Valentine GOODRICH, a brother of Mrs. CONSIGNY, gave his life to this country at the battle of Lundy's Lane, and the bullet by which he met his death is still in the possession of the family as a precious relic.

Dr. CONSIGNY practiced medicine at Swanton Falls, Vermont, for two years. A price of L10,000 cash was placed upon the heads of General PAPINEAU, Dr. ALLARD, and Dr. CONSIGNY, and it required a special pardon from the King of England before they could return to their native land. When this was effected, Dr. CONSIGNY returned to the peaceful pursuit of the practice of his profession at St. Cesaire, taking with him the young bride he had won in the States when a rebel exile with a price on his head. He was content to remain at peace with the Government the remainder of his life. His health was greatly shattered by the vicissitudes through which he passed while attempting his escape from his pursuer. His horse having given out, he was three days and nights in the dense Canadian forests in a rainstorm without shelter. Here he contracted rheumatism, which resulted in his death at the comparatively early age of forty-five years; and thus a man of brilliant parts and devoted to his family and his country, was sacrificed to the cause of liberty. On account of his health, he was obliged to relinquish his profession, and to accept from the Government the appointment of Superintendent of Instruction of Lower Canada. This office he held until his death, to the credit of himself and great satisfaction of the people. He was a man of great liberality and broad ideas, and while earning and possessing large means, he did not at his death leave more than a comfortable estate. Dr. and Mrs. CONSIGNY were the parents of ten children; four died in infancy, and six are now living: Eugene A., Lucy, George J., Napoleon B., John F., and Joseph E.

Dr. CONSIGNY was a man that the biographer delights to honor, possessing great nobleness of character. He was an honored citizen and liberal-minded patriot, a true Christian and indulgent father. To say that he was a dignified gentleman of the old school would be only to say that he was an educated and cultured Canadian gentleman. His memory is revered by his descendants, and this tribute springing from the heart and lips of his eldest son is but little in comparison with his great worth of character.

His widow is still living, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, in Avoca. She was born June 2, 1811, at Swanton Falls, Vermont, and after her marriage to Dr. CONSIGNY resided in Canada for about fifteen years. She had a natural taste for literature and was a good scholar in her girlhood days, and throughout her life has been a great reader, and to this day retains the memory and mental faculties unimpaired by time. She has been a consistent and life-long member of the church, and her strength of character has been a great influence in molding the minds of her children. Her father, Ezekiel GOODRICH, was a well-to-do Vermont farmer, and lived to the very great age of ninety-nine years, and retained to his last days his cheerful disposition and mental activity. He had all his life been a man of great energy and of very temperate habits. The CONSIGNY family thus blends with French stock and the sturdy solid characteristics of the Vermont pioneers and soldiers, who as "Green Mountain Boys" are famous in Revolutionary annals, and the good characteristics of the two races, who for generations were opponents in arms, were thus joined together.

General Eugene A. CONSIGNY, the oldest son, was born May 15, 1841, at St. Cesaire, Lower Canada, now Province of Quebec. He received the usual common school education, and then entered the College of St. Hyacinthe, and graduated with honor. His father died about this time, and young Eugene was appointed in his father's place as Superintendent of Instruction for Lower Canada to fill the unexpired term of three months, and though so young in years, he filled this important position so well at least that there was no cause for complaint. His father's choice had been that his eldest son should enter the legal profession, and his own inclinations were in the same direction. However, his father's liberality had so encroached upon his estate that the family, although not poor, found themselves in not the easiest circumstances, and upon Eugene, as the oldest son, devolved the task of assisting his brothers in acquiring an education. After a severe struggle, and actuated by a sense of duty to his mother and family, he gave up his cherished plans and entered a mercantile establishment, as a clerk, at Granby, Lower Canada.

He remained in the mercantile business as a clerk, engaged by different firms at St. Albans, Vermont, and at Montreal for more than four years, and then went to the old home of his mother's youth (Swanton Falls, Vermont), his mother having returned from Canada two years abefore. Here he was connected with the firm of Jewett & Barney, and represented the interests of Colonel BARNEY, who was at that time a soldier in our great Civil War. During this time, Eugene had contributed liberally of his earnings to assist his mother in educating her children, and had truly been a mainstay and support to his family. Young CONSIGNY, however, was fired with a feeling of patriotism, and although offered a commission by his cousin, Colonel BARNEY, of Vermont (a gallant Vermont soldier who fell at the battle of the Wilderness while bravely leading his brigade), preferred to enlist as a private in Company M, First Regiment Vermont Volunteer Cavalry, going to Burlington, that state, to enlist, and receiving no bounty. The regiment was immediately ordered to the front, and Mr. CONSIGNY was engaged in a good many battles and skirmishes, among them Fairfax, Dranesville, Winchester, Lynchburg, Gettysburg, Fisher's Hill, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Five Forks and Appomattox, where Lee surrendered; and here, on the morning of the 9th of April 1865, he then being Adjutant of the regiment, led the last charge made by cavalry in the Eastern army. He then received the commission of Second Lieutenant, and for gallant and meritorious service on the battlefield, he received his promotion of First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the regiment, an office much courted by the younger officers. From the battle of the Wilderness at Five Forks, he was detailed on general Hancock's staff, and while on duty was wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania, by a sharpshooter and was struck by a spent ball on the head. After the war, he served three months on the frontier and was honorably discharged at Burlington, Vermont.

Like the great majority of our soldiers who fought to preserve the Union and survived, Adjutant CONSIGNY returned to a life of active business, and seeing the great opportunity offered by the West, came to Dubuque, Iowa, by way of Chicago, and engaged in mercantile business for two years, and then went to Cascade, Iowa, and engaged in the same business. Here our soldier citizen was himself called upon (by Cupid) to surrender, which he gracefully did, September 2, 1869, to Miss Cassie BENHAM, daughter of Dr. Lucius BENHAM, formerly a surgeon in the United States Army, and an Ohio man. Her mother's name before marriage was Rebecca VAN HORN, and she was of an old Kentucky family. The family circle of General and Mrs. CONSIGNY has been made complete by the birth of two sons, Goodrich L. and Eugene F. After marriage, General CONSIGNY took his young wife to De Soto, Missouri, and for three years was a fruit farmer. In 1872 he came to Avoca, then a very small town, and engaged in the grain business, and ran the first elevator in Avoca. Since that time, General CONSIGNY has been identified with the leading business enterprises of Avoca; is a prominent member of the milling firm there, a stock company, and has done a prosperous business. The Centennial Mill Company also owns mills at Tracy, Missouri, and Avoca. General CONSIGNY is president and manager.

Socially, General CONSIGNY is a member of the Knights of Pythias, G.A.R., and Loyal Legion, and he holds the office of Department Commander of Iowa, to which he was elected by acclamation. At Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at the encampment in 1888, by a rising vote of the convention, the delegates were instructed by resolution to nominate General CONSIGNY, as Commander in Chief of the G.A.R., an honor which an old soldier can always appreciate. By virtue of his rank as Department Commander of Iowa, the title of our subject is that of General, which is for life. At the Colonel Redfield Association, Dexter, Iowa, 8,000 soldiers being present, a resolution was ordered sent by wire to President Harrison for the appointment of General CONSIGNY as Commissioner of Pensions, in place of Corporal Tanner, Pension Agent, a compliment appreciated by our subject, as showing the esteem in which he was held by the old soldiers of this State. At Des Moines in April 1890, at the department encampment, he was presented by that body with an elegant jeweled gold badge representing his rank as General, as a slight token of their recognition of his services.

In his political views, General Consigny is a Republican, and he represented the Ninth Iowa Congressional District at the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1884. He has filled the office of Mayor of his town, has taken an active interest in the cause of education, and was Trustee of Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa. Being mindful of the utility of our common schools, he served six years at President of the School Board at Avoca. Both General and Mrs. CONSIGNY are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The oldest son, Goodrich L., is Captain of the Camp Major E.A. Consigny, Sons of Veterans, which camp was named in honor of his father. He represents the Centennial Mill Company on the road as a traveling agent, and, although but twenty-one, and the youngest traveling man in the state, meets with assured success. General CONSIGNY is still a comparatively young man, not having reached fifty years, and while the frosts of winter have touched his head with silver, his erect military form and energetic bearing mark him for many years of active life. As a soldier and a citizen, he has been an example to younger men, not only in what he has accomplished in defense of his country in its hour of need, but in the bright example of temperance and morality. Neither the vicissitudes of camp nor the pleasures of the social reunions have tempted him to indulge in either intoxicating liquor or tobacco, and few there are, born and reared among a social and father bibulous people, and who have been accustomed through life to the ease and freedom of the west, can say as much. When the great roll of honor is called, while the achievements of the young soldier who fully offered himself to his country will be credited to him, his name will be more honored for his control of himself than for his victories in the field.

(from of the Iowa Department of the Grand Army of the Republic, p.88-89)
One of the soldiers who witnessed Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, and one of the members of that magnificent host that marched up Pennsylvania Avenue at the close of the war was Eugene A. Consigny. Born on May 15, 1841, in what is now the province of Quebec, Canada, he moved at an early date to the State of Vermont, and during the second year of the Civil War he enlisted in the First Vermont Volunteer Cavalry. By virtue of his fine soldierly qualities and business ability he steadily advanced in rank until at the close of the war he was mustered out as adjutant with the rank of major. He was an active participant in many of the great battles of the war – Fairfax Courthouse, Lynchburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Five Forks.
For a quarter of a century he was a resident of Iowa and a zealous worker in the interest of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the Fourteenth Annual Encampment held at Cedar Rapids in 1888 he was elected Department Commander, an office which he filled with honor and profit to the Department. For many years he was a prominent resident and business man, a dealer in grain and operator of mills, at Avoca in Pottawattamie County. It was at Manitou, Colorado, however that he came to the end of his career, in August 1900. [his photo on page 80 includes the text, “Eugene A. Consigny, Commander of the Iowa Department of the Grand Army of the Republic, April 1888 to April 1889”