Captain Ingham Starkey served with the 63rd Illinois volunteer infantry, company K, from February 1, 1862 until July 12, 1865. He is second from the right in the first row. The photo is actually the inside of an envelope, a form I have never seen before, and is in pretty bad condition. The back of the photo has part of an address (to his wife in Missouri) and the stamp and part of a postmark. There is no date but it looks as if the letter was mailed from Springfield, Illinois. Captain Starkey was born October 9, 1831 (possibly in Ohio) and came to Missouri from Illinois with his parents in 1851. He enlisted with the Johnson County Missouri Home Guard (also known as Company B, 27th Missouri Mounted Infantry) in July, 1861 and was discharged January 27th, 1862. This regiment was mustered out after the battle of Lexington, Missouri in which most men of the unit were captured or killed. He then enlisted with the Illinois 63rd. He came back to Johnson County, Missouri after the war, married, fathered two children, and was a prominent businessman and also served as mayor of Holden, Missouri.
Submitted by Linda Blazek
