THOMAS C. EATON, LT, USN

Thomas Eaton '47

Date of birth: July 2, 1823

Age: 32

Loss

Thomas died of consumption on June 1, 1856 in Brooklyn, New York. (From the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier on June 3, 1856.)

Other Information

Oddly, a letter to the Navy Department on June 2 from his commanding officer, T.A. Craven says his death was "in the discharge of his duties". Thomas was "attached to the Steamer Corwin;" he was on Coast Survey duty since July 1852.

He was born in, and appointed to the Naval Academy from, Maine; it seems his family was from Bangor.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Thomas born in Bangor, Maine on 7/2/1823. Twin Albert died young, perhaps in childbirth.
Father Enoch (1784-1863), a hatter, mother Fanny.
Siblings: Twins Harriet and James born 3/2/1817, Albert born 3/19/1825 – on ship Cantero 1849, Frances born 1/16/1828, Charles born 1829, William born 5/10/1834. Charles died 5/2/1885 and was buried with parents according to the Faylene Hutton Cemetery records.
The USS Corwin was in New York City in June. Starting on the 17th, it surveyed the hydrography of New York bay and harbor-from Light Ship to Throg's Point, including Harlem river, Harlem Kills, and Little Hell Gate; for Commissioners on Harbor Encroachments. (from Annual Report of Superintendent of Coast Survey, 1856.)

Career

From the Naval History and Heritage Command:

Midshipman, 9 September, 1841. Passed Midshipman, 10 August, 1847. Master, 14 September, 1855. Lieutenant, 15 September, 1855. Died 1 June, 1856.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

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.