Relative of M. Stunz, Chaplain
Nathan Ratliff, Company I, 36th Indiana Infantry
The marriage for Nathan Ratliff to Charlotte Hunt is recorded in the marriage records of Wayne County, Indiana, on 15 January 1852. Charlotte was born 10 May 1835 at Fountain City, Wayne County, Indiana. Their sons, John, Isaac, Milton and Kimmer were probably born in Wayne County Indiana, where the family is found living on the 1860 US Federal Census, in Cambridge City. Their only daughter, Ella was born after the war in 1866. Charlotte’s parents were James Hunt and Lydia Mendenhall. After the death of James Hunt, Lydia remarried on 2 May, 1865 in Wayne County to Eli Griffith. By 1880, Lydia was again widowed, and found enumerated on the census in the household of Nathan and Charlotte.
On December 15, 1863 Nathan enlisted in Company I of the 36th Indiana Volunteers at Cambridge City. Nathan Ratliff's Volunteer Enlistment record is found in his service file, indicating that he was 31 years old, born in Henry County, Indiana. His physical description tells us that Nathan was 5' 7 1/2" tall, with auburn hair, blue eyes and a "sandy" complexion. A brief synopsis of engagements of the 36th Indiana Infantry is listed here, however a more comprehensive unit history was published in 1891 as "The Story of the Marches, Battles, and Incidents of the 36th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, by A Member of the Regiment".(William Grose), and is available as reprint from Kessinger Publishing. The book is also available as a free download from Google Book Search.
Nathan served past the end of the war, and was mustered out with his unit at New Orleans, Louisiana on October 13, 1865. He probably found passage home to Indiana on the northern bound riverboats plying the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
WPA records of Indiana give Nathan Ratliff’s death date as 29 July 1902 in Wayne County, Indiana. He is buried at Earlham Cemetery, in Section 5, which is dedicated the military veterans of Wayne County. Charlotte died on February 6, 1907 and is buried at the Williamsburg Cemetery in Wayne County. Her obituary which was published in the Richmond Indiana Sun-Telegram on February 13, 1907 indicates Milton and Kimmer had gone to Chicago, and Ella (Shutz) was living in Williamsburg. The oldest son, John was living in Indian Territory, which in the following year would become the eastern part of the new State of Oklahoma.
