B. S. Osborn

Candidate Biography:

Benjamin Atwood Osborn
Born: 1843 in Lincoln, Maine
Married: Annie Knowlton (m. 1869)
Children: Benjamin H., Lucy, Eva, and Edna
Military Service: Army (Civil War)
Died: April 4, 1925 in Watsonville, CA

1900s: Member, Watsonville City Council

• Although the Assembly Journal for 1895 records Osborn's initial as B. S., the voter registration records and Census lists for Watsonville in 1890-1910 indicate that the only B. Osborn living in the area at that time was Benjamin Atwood Osborn, who had lived in the area since the 1860s and was a prominent member of the community (also serving a member of the Watsonville City Council).
• During the Civil War, Osborn was promoted from Private to 1st Lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, while taking part in the battles of Middleburg, Winchester, Fredericksburg, Brandy Station, Rappahannock Station, Aldie, Upperville, Gettysburg, Shepardstown, Sulphur Springs, Mine Run, defenses of Richmond, Cold Harbor, Old Church, Todd's Tavern, Deep Bottom, St Mary's Church, Hatcher's Run, Hawes' Shop, Dinwiddie Court house, and a number of smaller engagements and skirmishes. His regiment went into the war with 1,200 men and returned with less than 300. Only three of the 99 men in his company returned.