ID: ind00200
Name: TenEyck Hilton FONDA
Given Name: TenEyck Hilton
Surname: Fonda
Sex: M
Birth: 15 DEC 1838 1
Baptism: 03 MAR 1841 2
Death: 1921
Age: 83y 3
Residence:
Note: b. Fonda, Montgomery Co., NY, bp. Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Caughnawaga, Fonda, Montgomery Co., NY; 1850, 1860 & 1870 US Federal Census, Mohawk, Montgomery Co., NY; 1869-70 Town Of Mohawk, NY Directory (Ten Eyck H. Fonda, ticket agent N.Y.C.R.R.); 1880, 1900 & 1920 US Federal Census, Omaha, Douglas, NE; 1885 Nebraska State Census, Omaha 4th Ward Pre, Douglas Co., NE (Ten Fonda, age 46, b. New York); 1889-90 Omaha, NE Directory (Ten Eyck H Fonda, Hilton T Fonda); 1910 US Federal Census, Dundee, Douglas Co., NE; d. Omaha, Douglas Co, NE; 1910 Omaha NE City Directory (Fonda, Ten Eyck H (Ralston & Fonda) livestock); bur. Forest Lawn Cemetery, Omaha, Douglas Co., NE; [Ten Eyck and family moved from IL to NE in 1878 for railroad work; Ten Eyck Hilton Fonda (1838-1923) served as a US Army telegrapher during the Civil War. Telegraphers served under the quartermaster and were mostly civilians. Although they were integral parts of the army and vitally important to the country, they were unfortunately not given the same status as soldiers. The job was perilous, and in the course of the war over three hundred telegraphers lost their lives in the line of duty. At midnight June 30, 1863, Fonda personally delivered the telegram transcription from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to General George Meade of the Union Army warning him of the advancing Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee toward Gettysburg and commanding Meade to assume the offensive. Fonda is credited with delivering this important warning, which allowed the Union armies to prepare for the approaching Confederates. An Omaha, NE newspaper, during the fifty-year reunion of the battle of Gettysburg, named Fonda "the agent that began the conflict." Scope and Content Note One letter (July 4, 1863; 11 pages) documents Fonda's midnight ride to deliver Stanton's message to Meade. Fonda wrote: "I had orders to spare nothing, horseflesh and money was of no account if I would only deliver the message. . . . I reached [General Meade's headquarters] delivering the message to him in person taking a receipt time at 5:15. He gave me a fresh horse and an escort of 50 cavalry and I came back the same day."]; o. Civil War Military Telegraph Operator, Railroad Ticket Agent NYCRR, Clerk BMRR; [R102] Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley; [R018b] Ten Eyck Fonda Papers; [R018a] A Midnight Ride >> www.fonda.org <<
Father: Garret T. B. FONDA Esq. b: 05 APR 1808
Mother: Rachel POLHEMUS b: 15 SEP 1809
Marriage 1
Harriet MCNEILL b: 25 FEB 1848
- Married:
15 OCT 1868
Religious Marriage
- Note: m. Broadalbin, Fulton Co., NY
Children
 Mabel McNeil FONDA b: 08 AUG 1869 TenEyck Hilton FONDA Jr b: 24 MAR 1871- Douw Henry FONDA b: 04 APR 1875
- William Brace FONDA b: 12 FEB 1879
- Edwin McNeill FONDA b: 19 NOV 1882
- Rachel Eliza FONDA b: 03 MAY 1885
Sources:
- Title: Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley
A Record of the Achievements of her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation
Compendium
Publication: Baltimore, MD
Publisher: Clearfield Co.
Publication Date: 1914
Issue: C23
Author: Reynolds, Cuyler
Note:
CompNewYorkSouth
- Title: Ten Eyck Fonda Papers
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Military
Publication: Navarro College, Corsicana, TX
Publisher: Pearce Civil War Collection
Publication Date: 1863
Issue: M3
Author: Holcomb, Julie
Note:
WarCivilPearceColl
- Title: A Midnight Ride
A Young Telegrapher Carries an Urgent Message
Military
Publication: Philadelphia, PA
Publisher: Civil War Times Illustrated
Publication Date: 1994
Issue: M2
Edition: March/April, p.24,69
Author: Raab, Steven S.
Note:
WarCivilIllus
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