Before Mr. James Wade joined the 80th Pennsylvania Militia in the 1840s to follow in his family legacy of serving for the United States military, he fell out of line multiple times. With the sense of the military looming ahead, maybe he was struggling to find his “way” again and gain himself back. Let’s explore the mistakes he made before joining getting married.
James Wade got into trouble during the late 1830s. He met a young woman and fathered a son out of wed-lock. He was caught and he was charged with bastardy because he didn’t marry the young woman. The woman didn’t want to the child, so James would bring his son into the next family. His first true son’s name would take his own as James A. Wade born on August 27, 1839. He couldn’t afford him at the time, so he was placed within the Adams County Almshouse and would later join the Union Army in 1861.
James Wade would find love in April 1840 and marry Mary Ann Filby in Bendersville. She would then find out that James had a son out of wedlock. This is now where it gets interesting again. James Wade and his new bride Mary would have a daughter in July 1841. If that’s the case, which it is, she was pregnant sometime in late 1840. However, right before her birth, Capt. James Wade Sr. would get in trouble with the law again, this time in Bendersville. He was known to enjoy drinks heavily at the local taverns. He was accused of setting a fire to a local tavern named the Charles Myers Tavern on May 16, 1841. His tavern still exists today also known as the Elkhorn Inn. He was acquitted of the charges and let go.
On July 4th, the Wade family had many things to celebrate. Let’s list them here:
- James Wade wasn’t in jail
- James and Mary welcomed their first daughter into the world – Georgeanna “Georgia” Wade
- Georgeanna Wade was born on July 4th, 1841
- It’s Independence Day to celebrate the nation’s holiday
- He’s not in jail!
Trouble continued to follow James as he was accused of assault and battery in 1842, and again the charges were dropped. Trying to not continue to get on the wrong side of the law, Captain James Wade, Sr. lived with the Skelly’s for a few years to serve as an apprentice to Johnston Skelly. Prior to the birth of their next daughter, Jennie Wade in May 1843, her father would work with the Mr. Skelly. However, the differences between the families are large. The Skelly family was accomplished and in wealth due to a successful business. The Wade family was on the line of poverty and living in the Alms House north of town.
They lived in the Alms House complex until 1846 when Captain James and Mary Ann Filby Wade’s third child was born, John James Wade. He was born in March 1846. They moved to the house on Breckenridge Street after his birth. His father James would continue to work as an apprentice. However, domestic life didn’t fit with the Captain. He was charged again with assault and battery, and convicted of larceny in 1850. He would have stolen 300$ and found guilty. He was sent away for a few years to serve his time outside Philadelphia at Eastern State Penitentiary, pictured below.
Capt. James Wade Sr. returned back to Gettysburg in 1852 along with his imaginary friend. This time, however, his wife Mary Ann had dealt with so many charges against her husband, she went to the Adams County Courthouse and declared her husband insane and he was committed to the Adams County Alms House for the remainder of his life. He was so mentally insane that he did not know that his own daughter passed away in the battle. Some people at the Alms House thought that James Wade Sr. was so mentally insane that he didn’t know there was a battle outside the complex. He did find out how Jenny passed away, sadly, when he passed away nearly a decade later in July 1872.