Seth F. Fortney, 12th West Virginia Infantry, Civil War

SETH F. FORTNEY, Company "G"

Seth F. Fortney was the son of Joshua N. Fortney and Catharine Orr. His father died 26 Sep 1854 and Seth appears in the 1860 census of Harrison County, living with his mother and his brothers, George and John. George, Seth and John served together in Company G during the war. In the 1870 census of Harrison County, W.Va., Seth is living with his mother, Catharine, age 76. In 1880, he resides with his brother, John O.

Submitted by Dorothy Nay & Sherry Symmons.

Seth Franklin Fortney was born November 8, 1841 in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the son of Joshua N. Fortney and Catharine Orr. Catherine was the daughter of John Dale Orr and Elizabeth Johns. John Dale Orr was in the Revolutionary War. His mother was the sister of Commodore Richard Dale who served with John Paul Jones.

In the early days of the Civil War, prior to his enlistment in the 12th infantry, Seth served in the Home Guard of the 138th Militia.

In the History of Medicine in Harrison County, WV, by Alice Jo Hess, it states that "Our jolly young friend, Seth S. Fortney, has purchased property and will locate in Lumberport where he will hang out his "shingle" as doctor." This was in the Clarksburg Telegram of April 29, 1876 in the Prospect Valley News info.

Seth Fortney was 46 when he married Mariah Cordellia Mathis, 32, on March 1, 1889 in Harrison County, W.Va. She was the sister of his brother George W. Fortney's wife, Catharine Mathis. The marriage record lists Seth's residence as Johnson County, Missouri. He died May 27, 1918 in Johnson County, Missouri and is buried there in Blackwater Cemetery, in the Fortney family plot. (Tombstone)