Born in New York on 5 July 1835, David Tagg was a resident of Clinton Township in Lycoming County at the outbreak of the Civil War. His parents were both natives of England.

In 1858, he married Mary Catharine Welshams, the daughter of Pennsylvania natives, George and Emily A. Welshams. Born in Pennsylvania on 3 April 1834, Mary Catharine died in the Borough of Montgomery, Lycoming Township on 8 April 1920. She was interred at the “Brick Church Cemetery” (St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery) in Clinton Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on 11 April 1920.

But before she passed away, they had a long, full life together. In 1860, David and Mary Catharine were living in Muncy Creek, Lycoming County with their one-year-old daughter, Amelia.

Civil War Military Service

David Tagg enrolled for military service on 30 June 1863 at Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. He then mustered in as a Private with Company B of the 47th Pennsylvania Emergency of 1863 at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, Dauphin County on 1 July 1863. David Tagg mustered out just over one month later on 13 August 1863 from Washington, D.C.

The 47th Pennsylvania Militia, Emergency of 1863 was formed to defend the Keystone State from the threat of invasion by forces of the Confederate States of America during the Summer of 1863, and is not the primary subject of this website—the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which served from 1861-1865 with tours of duty taking its men from Harrisburg to the Washington, D.C. area and Virginia (1861); Florida and South Carolina (1862); Florida (for the entire year of 1863 when Tagg was serving briefly with the militia in Pennsylvania); Louisiana, Virginia and West Virginia (1864); and Virginia, Washington, D.C., Georgia, and South Carolina (1865).

Civilian Life

In 1870, David and Mary Catharine Tagg were residing in Montgomery Station in Clinton Township, Lycoming County with their 12-year-old daughter, Emma (shown as “Amelia” on the 1860 federal census).

In 1890, David and Mary Catharine Tagg were still residing in the Borough of Montgomery. By 1900, the federal census indicated that they had had two children, only one of whom had survived, and that David was employed as a machinist.

On 15 June 1901, David Tagg widowed Mary Catharine. He  was interred at St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Clinton Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on 17 June 1901.

Sources:

1. Tagg, David, in Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
2. Tagg, David, in Pennsylvania Veteran’s Burial Index Cards. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
3. U.S. Census (1860, 1870, 1900) and U.S. Veterans’ Schedule (1890). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.