Jacob Peck Imboden

Narrative:

     Jacob Peck Imboden was born on 15 Sep 1846 in Staunton, Augusta Co., Virginia.^7,8,9,10
     He appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Augusta Co., Virginia, in the household of his parents, George Imboden and Isabella Wünderlich.²¹ He appeared on the 1860 Federal Census of Braxton Co., Virginia, in the household of his parents, George Imboden and Isabella Wünderlich.²²

Schooling Interrupted by the Civil War --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Jacob enrolled at Virginia Military Institute 31 Mar 1864 and a few weeks later took part in the battle of New Market as a cadet private in Co. D, where he was slightly wounded by a shell fragment.⁶
     The Battle of New Market was a battle fought on 15 May 1864, in the Shenandoah Valley in the area around New Market, Virginia. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced Union Major General Franz Sigel's army out of the Shenandoah Valley. The Confederate victory allowed the local crops to be harvested for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and protected Lee's lines of communications to western Virginia.²³
     Jacob did not return to the Institute but joined Company F, under Capt. Walter E. Franklin, 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, as a private. Company F was organized 13 Sep 1864, near Delaplane, Virginia. The Battalion, also known as Mosby's Rangers, Mosby's Raiders, or Mosby's Men, was a battalion of partisan cavalry in the Confederate Army. They were noted for their lightning strikes on targets behind Union lines and their ability to consistently elude pursuit. It was formed under the Partisan Ranger Act of 1862. Members of these units were a variously described as soldiers, partisans, and rangers, while the Union viewed them as unsoldierly guerrillas hiding among civilians, a simple loose band of roving thieves. Confederate General Thomas Rosser agreed with the Union that Mosby's men were not soldiers but glorified thieves, and bad for morale because his regular troops were jealous.^24,25,26
     The battalion seems to have kept few regular records. Jacob's compiled service record contains nothing but records of his parole at the end of the war. So we know nothing of the details of his service except that he was paroled 23 May 1865 at Staunton, Virginia, following Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House.²⁷
     Jacob was one of five brothers who served in the Confederate Army until the end of the war. Capt. Francis and Gen. John Imboden were also at the battle of New Market. The other brothers were Col. George and Maj. James Imboden.⁶

Return to Civilian Life --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Jacob married first Rebecca John Mims, daughter of John H. Mims and Caroline Hanson Cresap, on 21 Dec 1869.^11,12,13
     She died on 21 Sep 1872 in Richmond, Virginia.²⁸
     Jacob married second Anna Stuart Dickinson, daughter of Hudson M. Dickinson and Betty Ann Landcraft, on 17 Dec 1874 in Shannondale, Fayette Co., West Virginia, with C. W. Cook officiating.^14,15
     It is known that Jacob was a mining engineer in Missouri and West Virginia, and later was a superintendent for a mining company in Georgia, though details have not been found. It appears that he and Anna moved to Missouri shortly after their marriage, but when they returned is unclear. The 1880 census shows all three of their children as born there, but later records show the two younger ones as born in West Virginia. While she and the children were back in West Virginia by 1880, his whereabouts then have not been found. It appears he never again lived with Anna and the children.^29,30

A New Life in Central America --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     The "Liberal Reform" promoted by president Marco Aurelio Soto of Honduras in the 1880's led to the formation of several mining companies based on American capital. There was a substantial of inflow of Americans to, the country, particularly to the city of Yuscarán. Jacob decided to take part in this opportunity.³¹ He applied for a passport on 22 Nov 1884, in New York, New York, stating that he intended to travel to Central and South America.³² He left the U.S. on 9 Jul 1885, and remained in Central America, where he owned and managed a number of mines. It appears he did not return for at least a dozen years.^33,34,35,36
     The number of Americans in the area prompted the United States goverment to open consular offices in an unknown place in the mid-1880's. Jacob served as consul there in 1886.³¹
     It is not clear that Jacob and Anna ever obtained a divorce. When he tried to re-marry in Honduras in 1890 he was denied permission because the witnesses he offered could not satisfy local authorities that he was unmarried. With a change in administration the following year he was permitted to marry.³⁷
     Jacob married third Angela Gordon Colindres, daughter of Máximo Gordon and Jesús Colindres, on 4 Jan 1891 in Yuscarán, Honduras.^16,17
     On 19 Feb 1895 he again applied for a passport, from Guatemala, stating that his permanent residence was Richmond, Virginia, he intended to return to the U.S. within two years by himself, and that his reason for applying was for "protection."³⁸ He applied for a passport again in Guatemala on 1 Oct 1897, this time to include his wife, Angela and his three minor children, Jacob, Ranl and Blanca. His stated permanent residence is confused: New York, in the state of Virginia. He again stated he had left the U.S. in Jul 1885, and intended to return within two years.³⁹

Returning to the U.S. --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     We know he did return to the U.S. this time, arriving at New Orleans, Louisiana, 30 Nov 1897 aboard the Breakewater. He arrived without the wife and children.⁴⁰
     Jacob was named general manager of the Honduras-American Cattle, Agricultural and Colonization Company when its formation was announced in Feb 1898 in New York. The company had obtained a 25-year exclusive right from the Republic of Honduras to import and export cattle without duty, and to establish slaughter-houses, refrigerators, and canning factories without taxation.⁴¹
     Jacob married fourth Emily M. Renshaw, daughter of Morrison Renshaw and Jennie [surname unknown], in the summer of 1898 in New York, New York.¹⁸ She was described in one newspaper article as a "belle at eastern summer resorts who married a dashing ex-Confederate," a "handsome woman of cosmopolitan ideas." Her wealthy grandfather cut her out of his will, supposedly because he objected to her marriage because her husband was a great deal older than her. When he died shortly thereafter she sued to be awarded her late father's one-sixth share.¹⁸
     It appears Jacob remained in the U.S. for a time, unless he made another brief trip. He was in New York when he applied for a passport there on 21 Jan 1899, claiming New York as his permanent residence.⁴²
     Jacob died on 5 Dec 1899 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, at age 53. He was shot 3 Dec by Joaquin Hernandez, a Secretary in the Criminal Court, who intended to kill a friend of Jacob's, but who survived the attack.^19,20