JAMES M. TODD, MIDN, USN
James Todd '54
Loss
James died of consumption on December 30, 1855, at Brooklyn, New York. He was 20 years old, and was survived by (and died at the house of) his uncle, "S C S Parsons of 39 Monroe Place Bklyn."
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
James' great-uncle John Todd married Dolley Payne in 1790. After John's death, she married James Madison in 1794.
James was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His parents were John Neatby and Julia Todd. His father was a purser in the US Navy; in 1845 he was under indictment for problems in this position. On July 6, 1845, his second wife Susan (Hill) Todd wrote to Dolley Payne Todd Madison to please help her husband (Dolley's nephew) with these problems. John's brother Samuel Poultney also wrote Dolley on October 12, 1845. John was dismissed on November 11, 1845, for owing $27,000.
His brother Henry Davis Todd, graduated in the Class of 1857. After the Civil War, Henry was a math teacher at the Naval Academy 1865-1866, and later, taught physics and chemistry there 1879-1887.
James Madison Todd, of Massachusetts was one of six members of the [entering] class of 1851 who "were advanced and permitted to complete the course in three years."
Career
From the Naval History and Heritage Command:
Acting Midshipman, 2 October, 1851. Midshipman, 10 June, 1854. Died 30 December, 1855.
The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.
The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.
The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.
January 1855
Memorial Hall Error
Illness is not a criteria for inclusion in Memorial Hall. Also, James is listed as an Ensign; however, this rank did not exist until 1862. He was a Midshipman.
James is one of 2 members of the Class of 1854 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
