Hiebert's grandfather fought in Civil War
Staff writer
The paternal grandfather of Ruth Hiebert, 98, of Marion, was a Civil War veteran who fought for the Grand Army of the Republic — the North.
James Newton Buckley, her grandfather, is buried in Marion Cemetery. Hiebert can almost see his grave and tombstone from Marion Manor, where she now lives.
He enlisted in the Union Army when he was only 15 1/2 years old. His mother, Hiebert's great-grandmother, had to sign for him, since he was underage.
He wanted to go, to be part of the war effort. He was not injured in the war, staying with the Army until it ended in 1865.
Hiebert has James Newton's discharge papers from the Army, safely stored in a deposit box in a bank. She found them in December, after misplacing them for a while.
She lived north of Marion until she was eight, then moved into town, Hiebert said.
Just a few years ago, she and her sister, with a lawyer's help, wrote to the State of Illinois and asked for a flag they could place in the Avenue of Flags at the cemetery, with James Newton Buckley's name on it, for Memorial Day rites.
Buckley was from Petersburg, Ill., which was where he enlisted. He was a "buck private," she believes, throughout the War Between the States.
He farmed after the war, in Central Kansas. He did not talk about the war much. "He was upset about war," Ruth Hiebert said. Her grandfather lost his eyesight and couldn't read well, but tried to keep up with the news about World War I, she said.
She remembers her grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary celebration, along about 1917.
She has bought flowers for their graves, red geraniums, which she likes a lot, for Memorial Day.
She's grateful to the men who put the flags up in the cemetery. "I agree with Bill (Meyer, editor and publisher of the Marion County Record), people should show loyalty to the American flag."
Ruth's father was Edward Buckley. Albert Hiebert was her husband. She has one son, Bob, a construction supervisor for the State of Missouri, living in Columbia, Mo.
She also has two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
