He was 19 years old when he was enlisted (3, 6 [15 in 1860]). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (6).
In 1860, he was living in ward 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (6). He was living with Jacob and Mary Kessler (presumably his parents), and with John, Sarah, William, Michael, George, and James Kessler (presumably his siblings) (6).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 20 August 1862 (1, 3). He was enlisted at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3). He was mustered in as a private, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (3). He served as a private in company D (1).
He was killed on 3 May 1863 at Chancellorsville, Virginia (1, 2, 3 [missing in action, supposed killed]).
On 23 June 1880, his mother, Mary Kessler, successfully applied for a pension (4, 5).
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) (Joseph Kessler)
2 consolidated morning report, 91st PA, 7 May 1863 (Joseph Kesler)
3 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 9 August 2004 (Joseph Kessler)
4 pension index by name (Joseph Kessler)
5 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company D (Joseph Kessler)
6 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, ward 1, microfilm series M653, film 1151, page 6 = 6 handwritten (Joseph Kessler)
[I did not find an entry for him in Ancesty's index to the 1890 veteran's census (searched May 2007)]
[I did not find an entry for him in RootsWeb WorldConnect (searched 21 November 2009)
| line | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Dwelling number | 29 | ||||||||
| Family number | 38 | ||||||||
| Name | Jacob Kessler | Mary | John | Sarah | Joseph | William | Michael | George | James |
| Age | 49 | 46 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 |
| Sex | m | f | m | f | m | m | m | m | m |
| Color | |||||||||
| Occupation | Gardener | ||||||||
| Value of real estate owned | |||||||||
| Value of personal estate | 1,000 | ||||||||
| Place of birth | " [sc. Phila] | " | " | " | " | " | " | " | " |
| Married within year | |||||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Cannot read & write | |||||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |