John Besack, circa unknown.
John Besack was born in 1837 to Sebastian and Amalea (Gantner) Besack. Both were German immigrants who arrived in New York in 1834 and settled in Lyons, Wayne County, New York. Sometime between the birth of his brother William (1839) and Henry (1842) the family relocated to the Township of Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin during a time when Wisconsin was still a territory. John married Helena Seitz in 1861 in Caledonia. Just two years later the United States Congress would pass the Civil War Conscription (or Enrollment) Act, the first wartime draft in America. John registered in June, 1863 and was classified as "Class I" which included men aged 20-45 and aged 36-45 and unmarried. Other classes included Class II, married men 36-45 and Class III, volunteers. All unmarried men were taken before married men. Being drafted didn't necessarily mean you would serve in the Civil War, however. Exceptions were allowed if you could find a substitute or pay $300 to avoid service. This clause in the Act led to rioting in New York City as the exemptions seemed to be favored only toward the wealthiest Americans, coining the phrase "Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight". Other exemptions I haven't mentioned were: men who were physically or mentally impaired, the only son of a widow, the only son of infirm parents or a widower with dependant children. At this time I have been unable to find any service records for John, for whatever reason, and I believe he did not serve. This is not to suggest that he paid a substitute or otherwise. The reason could be as simple as all the unmarried men hadn't been drafted yet. The answer will most likely be found in the National Archives
Records of the Provost Marshall General's Bureau 1863-1865; a list of enrollments and substitutes for each congressional district.
John listed in the Civil War draft registration, line 3.
A farmer by trade, he and Helena lived in Caledonia for the majority of their married life. Over the years the couple had 10 children: Mary (1862), Emma (1863), Elizabeth (1864), Henry (1866), Catherine (1868), Rose (1870), John (1872), Helena (1873) my 2 times great grandmother, Odtelia (1875) and Joseph (1876). John and Odtelia did not survive to adulthood. It seems, as the oldest son, he inherited his father's farm of approximately 43 acres in 1889 when Sebastian passed away.
John Besack obituary appearing in The Racine Daily Journal, August 21,1899.
John died on 21 August 1899 and is buried at Old Holy Cross Cemetery in Racine, block T, lot 238, grave 1. Apoplexy (a stroke) is the listed cause of death on his death record. Looking at the Probate Records, he left an estate valued at $2,000 to his wife, Helena, which in today's dollars would be about $45,000.
John's death record.
John and Helena Besack, circa unknown.
Location of Besack Farm in Caledonia Township, circla 1887.
Additional Information
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1994/winter/civil-war-draft-records.html
References