He was born on 22 October 1827, at Elbinsville, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, to Nathaniel Elbin and Nancy Morse (6, 7). He was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania (4, 9, 10). He was 36 years old when he was enlisted (4, 9 [30 in 1860], 10 [42 in 1870]).
About 1852, he married Mary Jane Dicken, in Pennsylvania (6, 7). They had these children (7):
(In 1900, she reported having had ten children, six of whom were alive (11).)
In 1860, he was living in Southampton Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania (9). He was living with his wife Mary Jane, and children Amos, Amanda, Caroline, and Henry (9) He was a farmer, and owned $250 in personal property (9).
He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, and had a fair complexion, hazel eyes, and sandy hair (4).
He was drafted (1, 4). His service was credited to the sixteenth congressional district (4). He was mustered into service on 21 September 1864 (1, 5). He was enlisted for one year, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (4). He served as a private in company I (1).
He was discharged by general order on 30 or 31 May 1865 (1, 3 [31 May], 4, 5 [30 May]).
In 1870, he was living in Southampton Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania (10). He was living with his wife Mary Jane, and children Amos, Amanda, Caroline, Henry, William, Ruth, Annise, and Nancy (10). He was a farmer, and owned $400 in real estate, and $150 in personal property (10).
On 8 May 1882, he applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension (8, 12).
In 1890, he was living in Piney Creek, Mann Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania (5). He had rheumatism (5).
He died on 17 February 1897 (6, 12). He was buried in Fairview Cemetery, Inglesmith, Mann Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania (2, 7).
On 27 March [?] 1897, his widow, Mary J Elbin, applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension (8, 12).
In 1900, his widow, Mary J Elbin, was living with her son John C Elbin and his family (11).
His widow died on 28 April 1907, and was buried in the Fairview Cemetery, Inglesmith, Pennsylvania (7).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster) (Otho Elbin)
2 message on PABEDFOR-L list, from David and Carol Eddleman, 7 November 2002, transcribing lists of buried soldiers from the Bedford Inquirer, 22 May 1908 (Otho Elbin)
3 company I, register of men discharged (Otho Elbin [?])
4 company I, descriptive roll, #12 (Otho Elbin)
5 1890 US census, veterans' schedule, Pennsylvania, Bedford County, Mann Township, supervisor's district 7, enumeration district 74, page 2 (Otho Elbin)
6 IGI, on FamilySearch (viewed 4 March 2006) (Otho Elbin)
7 "Pedigree Resource File", on FamilySearch (viewed 4 March 2006) (Otho Elbin)
8 pension index, by name (Otto Elbin)
9 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Bedford County, Southampton Township (post office Elbinsville), microfilm series M653, film 1072, page 565-566 = 25-26 handwritten (Otho Elbin)
10 1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Bedford County, Southampton Township, microfilm series M593, film 1304, page 628 = 22 handwritten (Otho Elbin)
11 1900 US census, Pennsylvania, Bedford County, Mann Township, supervisor's district 13, enumeration district 23, microfilm series T623, film 1376, page 78 B = 1 handwritten (Mary J Elbin)
12 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company I (Otto Elbin)
| line | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 1 |
| Dwelling number | 665 | |||||
| Family number | 635 | |||||
| Name | Otho Elbin | Mary Jane " | Amos " | Amanda " | Caroline " | Henry Elbin |
| Age | 30 | 26 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Sex | m | f | m | f | f | m |
| Color | ||||||
| Occupation | Farmer | |||||
| Value of real estate owned | ||||||
| Value of personal estate | 250 | |||||
| Place of birth | " [sc. Pa] | " | " | " | " | Penna |
| Married within year | ||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | |||||
| Cannot read & write | ||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Dwelling-house number | 161 | |||||||||
| Family number | 161 | |||||||||
| Name | Elbin Otho | - Mary Jane | - Amos R | - Amanda | - Caroline | - Henry B | - William | - Ruth | - Annise [?] | - Nancy E |
| Age | 42 | 39 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 7/12 |
| Sex | M | F | M | F | F | M | M | F | F | F |
| Color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Occupation | Farmer | Wife Keeping House | At Home | At Home | At Home | At Home | At Home | At Home | At Home | At Home |
| Real estate value | 400 | |||||||||
| Personal estate value | 150 | |||||||||
| Birthplace | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa |
| Father foreign born | ||||||||||
| Mother foreign born | ||||||||||
| Birth month if born within year | Apr | |||||||||
| Marriage month if married within year | ||||||||||
| Attended school past year | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Can't read | ||||||||||
| Can't write | ||||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. | ||||||||||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old | 1 | |||||||||
| Male US citizen at least 21 years old who can't vote ... |
| line | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 |
| street | |||||
| house number | |||||
| dwelling number | 14 | ||||
| family number | 14 | ||||
| name | Elbin John C | - Willie | - Warren | - Mary J | Sprint [?] Lillie M |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Son | Mother [?] | Nece [sic] |
| color | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | M | F | F |
| birth date | May 1873 | Feby 1879 | Dec 1899 | March 1830 | Nov 1892 |
| age | 27 | 21 | 6/12 | 70 | 7 |
| married? | M | M | S | S [sic] | S |
| # years married | 2 | 2 | |||
| mother of how many children? | 2 | 10 | |||
| # of children living | 1 | 6 | |||
| birthplace | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna |
| father's birthplace | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna |
| mother's birthplace | Penna | Maryland | Penna | Penna | Penna |
| immigration year | |||||
| # years in USA | |||||
| naturalized citizen? | |||||
| occupation | farmer | Boarder | farmer [sic] | ||
| # months not employed | 0 | 0 | |||
| # months in school | 5 | ||||
| can read | Yes | Yes | |||
| can write | Yes | Yes | |||
| speaks English | Yes | ||||
| owned/rented | O | ||||
| free or mortgaged | F | ||||
| farm/house | F | ||||
| # of farm schedule | 14 |