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ALBERT
COLBERT DILDINE was born on April 1, 1847 in Belvidere, New
Jersey to William Mack Dildine and his wife the former Almira
Owen. He was one of at least eight children. William M. Dildine
worked as a tailor to support his family.
Albert
C. Dildine answered the call of his country on July 20, 1862,
enlisting as a musician . He went into Company C, 15th New
Jersey Infantry Regiment on August 25, 1862. He mustered out on February
17, 1864 at Brandy Station, Virginia.
During
his time with the 15th New Jersey he was present and took part
in the following actions:
December 11–15, 1862 - Battle of Fredericksburg
April 30 - May 6, 1863 - Battle of Chancellorsville
July 1–3, 1863 - Battle of Gettysburg, but the
regiment was not actively engaged| |
July 5–24, 1863 - Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap
July 5, 1863 - Fairfield, Pennsylvania
July 10–13, 1863 - At and near Funkstown, Maryland
Albert C. Dildine
re-enlisted on September 19, 1864 as a Private. On
September 24, 1864 he was made a member of Company D, 38th
New Jersey Infantry Regiment. The 38th New Jersey Infantry
served out the rest of the war as the garrison for Fort
Powhatan, on the James River, where General Grant had a pontoon
bridge used to supply Union troops engaged in the siege of
Richmond. The fort was abandoned at the end of the Civil War.
Private Dildine mustered out on June 30, 1865 at City Point,
Virginia.
Albert
C. Dildine married around the time he went off to war. His wife
apparently left with another man while he was away, and he never
saw her again. He married Emma Atkinson in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania on September 1, 1867. They separated in late 1881
or early 1882 due to Emma's problems with alcohol. She
apparently disappeared and Albert had to wait years before
getting permission to again marry.
Albert
Dildine appears in the 1870 Census, working as a printer and
residing in Gloucester City in what was then Newton Township. He
appears in Camden City Directories in 1878, at 318 Atlantic
Avenue. The 1883 Directory shows him at 636 Clinton
Street. From 1885 through 1890 he is known to have lived at
430 Line
Street. Albert Dildine followed the printer's trade through
at least 1890. The 1891 City Directory shows a change in career
and fortune, as he had been appointed Superintendent of Letter
Carriers for the United States Postal Service office in Camden.
He remained in the employ of the postal service until his
retirement in 1920.
Albert
Dildine married Edith Nora Beers on July 13, 1891 at Belvidere,
New Jersey. Edith's stepfather opposed the marriage and brought
a charge of bigamy against Albert, with was dismissed. Albert
and Emma Dildine went on to have five children,
Earle Benard Beers Dildine,
Harold Redruth Dildine,
Alma Leona Dildine,
Ira Lindsey Dildine, and
Kenneth Albert Dildine.
The 1891 City Directory lists Albert Dildine at 229 Market
Street. He is listed at 717 Fern
Street in 1892 and at 404 North
7th Street in 1895. The Dildine's purchased a home at 36 North
34th Street in what was then the Town of Stockton in 1896.
Stockton, which comprised the present-day neighborhoods of Cramer
Hill and East
Camden, was annexed by Camden in 1899. The Dildines resided
at the North 36th Street address as late as the fall of 1918. By
January of 1920 they had moved
to 2759 Carman Street.
The 1920 Census shows
that Albert C. Dildine, his wife and three youngest children
living at that address. By April of 1930 only sons Ira Lindsey
and Kenneth were still at home. The 1931 City Directory shows
Albert C. Dildine still at the home on Carman Street.
He passed away on November 9, 1931 and was buried in Belvidere,
New Jersey. Edith Beers Dildine passed away in 1938 and was also
buried in Belvidere. Albert C. Dildine was a member of the Thomas
M.K. Lee Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). Oldest
son Earle Dildine live on the 500 block of York
Street with his family from the 1920s into the 1950s. |