He was born on 22 December 1840, to Johannes Rinker and Margaret Pensyl (4, 5). He was born in Monroe County, Pennsylvania (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). He was 23 years old when he was enlisted (3, 6 [19 in 1860], 7 [30 in 1870], 8 [30 sic in 1880], 9 [69 in 1910]).
In 1860, he was living in Jackson Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania (6). He was living with his parents and siblings (6). He was a farm laborer (6).
He was a far[mer] when he was enlisted (3).
He was 5 feet 5-1/2 inches tall, and had a dark complexion, hazel eyes, and dark hair (3).
He was drafted (1). His service was credited to the Eleventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania (3). He was mustered into service in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry on 2 March 1863 (1). He served in company E of the 118th Pennsylvania (11). He was enlisted for three years, in Monroe County, Pennsylvania (3).
On 2 June 1865, he was transferred from the 118th Pennsylvania to the 91st Pennsylvania (1, 2, 11 [1 June]). He served as a private in company I of the 91st Pennsylvania (1).
He mustered out with his company on 10 July 1865 (1, 3, 11).
On 21 October 1866, he was married to Julia Ann Singer (4, 5). They had eight children (5):
In 1870, he was living in Jackson, Monroe County, Pennsylvania (7). He was living with his wife Julia and children Austin and Mary (7). He was a laborer, and owned $100 in personal property (7).
In 1880, he was living in Paradise Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania (8). He was living with his wife Julia and children Oscar, Wallace, John, Hattie, and Sarah (8). He was a laborer (8).
In 1886, he was married to Caroline Emma [unknown surname] (4, 5, 9 [24 years in 1910]).
On 16 July 1890, he successfully applied from Pennsylvania for a pension (10, 11).
In 1910, he was living at 543 Ann [?] Street, Stroudsburg Borough, Monroe County, Pennsylvania (9). He was living with his second wife Caroline, daughter Emma, and her daughter Myrtle (9). He was living on his own income (9).
On 24 December 1910, he again applied for a pension (11).
He died on 12 April 1916, in Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania (4, 5, 11).
On 24 April 1916, his widow, Emma C Rinker, successfully applied from Pennsylvania for a pension (10, 11).
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) (Elias Rienker)
2 company I, register of men transferred (Elias Rinker [sic])
3 company I, descriptive roll, #95 (Elias Rinker)
4 message, 10 November 2005, on "Rinker" surname board, at Rootsweb.com, posted by Brent (Elias Rinker)
5 'Miller-Kellog-Bartholomew-Shipe Family Pages', a GEDCOM on Rootsweb.com WorldConnect, updated 29 August 2005 (searched 2 January 2006) (Elias Rinker)
6 1860 US census, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Jackson Township, microfilm series M653, film 1142, page 582 = 106 handwritten (Elias Rinker)
7 1870 US census, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Jackson (post office Jackson Corners), microfilm series M593, film 1376, page 89 = 19 handwritten (Elias Rinker)
8 1880 US census, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Paradise Township, supervisor's district 5, enumeration district 222, microfilm series T9, film 1157, page 318 A = 9 [?] handwritten (Elias Rinker)
9 1910 US census, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Stroudsburg Borough, supervisor's district 7, enumeration district 50, microfilm series T624, film 1376, pages 203 B - 204 A = 13-14 handwritten (Elias Rinker)
10 pension index, by name (Elias Rinker)
11 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company I (Elias Rinker)
[I did not find an entry for him in the index on <www.ancestry.com> to the 1890 veterans' census (searched April 2007)]
| line | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Dwelling number | 641 | ||||||
| Family number | 681 | ||||||
| Name | John Rinker | Margaret " | Jeremiah " | Elias " | Elizabeth " | Eliza " | Silas " |
| Age | 63 | 56 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| Sex | M | F | M | M | F | F | M |
| Color | |||||||
| Occupation | Farmer | Farm Laborer | Do | ||||
| Value of real estate owned | |||||||
| Value of personal estate | |||||||
| Place of birth | Do [sc. Pennsylvania] | Do | Do | Do | Do | Do | Do |
| Married within year | |||||||
| Attended school within year | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Cannot read & write | |||||||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |
| line | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Dwelling-house number | 125 | |||
| Family number | 133 | |||
| Name | Rinker Elias | Julia A | Austin | Mary |
| Age | 30 | 19 | 2 | 3 [?]/12 |
| Sex | M | F | M | F |
| Color | W | W | W | W |
| Occupation | Laborer | K House | ||
| Real estate value | ||||
| Personal estate value | 100 | |||
| Birthplace | - Pennsylvania - | |||
| Father foreign born | ||||
| Mother foreign born | ||||
| Birth month if born within year | Mar | |||
| Marriage month if married within year | ||||
| Attended school past year | ||||
| 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 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| street name | |||||||
| house number | |||||||
| dwelling visit # | 84 | ||||||
| family visit # | 84 | ||||||
| name | Rinker Elias | " Julia | " Oscar | " Wallace | " John | " Hattie | " Sarah |
| color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | M | M | M | F | F |
| age | 30 [sic] | 29 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| month born if born in year | |||||||
| relationship | Wife | Son | Son | Son | Daughter | Daughter | |
| single | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| married | 1 | 1 | |||||
| widowed/divorced | Laborer | Keeping House | |||||
| married during year | |||||||
| occupation | |||||||
| months unemployed | |||||||
| currently ill? | |||||||
| blind | |||||||
| deaf/dumb | |||||||
| idiotic | |||||||
| insane | |||||||
| disabled | |||||||
| school this year | 1 | ||||||
| can't read | |||||||
| can't write | |||||||
| birthplace | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna | Penna |
| father's birthplace | Penna | Penna | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa |
| mother's birthplace | Penna | Penna | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa | Pa |
| line | 99 | 100 | 1 | 2 |
| street | Ann [?] Street | |||
| house nr | 543 | |||
| dwelling nr | 319 | |||
| family nr | 319 | |||
| name | Rinker Elias | - Caroline E | Martines [??] Emma | - Myrtle [?] |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Daughter | Daughter [sic; probably granddaughter?] |
| sex | M | F | F | F |
| color | W | W | W | W |
| age | 69 | 73 | 38 | 14 |
| marital status | M2 | M2 | M1 | S |
| #years present marriage | 24 | 24 | 3 | |
| mother of # children | 1 | 1 | ||
| mother of # living children | 1 | 1 | ||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| immigrated | ||||
| naturalized/alien | ||||
| speaks English | English | English | English | English |
| occupation | Own Income | None | Labor | None |
| nature of industry etc. | Odd jobs | |||
| employer etc. | W | |||
| out of work 15 Apr 1910? | No | |||
| # weeks out of work 1909 | 0 | |||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| school since 1 Sep 09 | yes | |||
| owned/rented | R | |||
| owned free or mortagaged | ||||
| farm/house | H | |||
| nr on farm schedule | ||||
| civil war vet | [blank (sic)] | |||
| blind | ||||
| deaf & dumb | ||||