(NOTE: John D. Jump probably never sat for a portrait before his entering the service during the Civil War, but he spent almost 10 months with the 86th in the Nashville, Tennessee area, during which time most of the members of the 86th took the opportunity to sit for portraits to send back home to their loved that they missed so much. These portraits would have come in one of two forms. The oldest form was what was called the "tin type", which was printed on a thin slice of tin and usually put in a fancy case, similar to plastic. The newer form was called the CDV and was a paper picture glued to a heavy card stock about the size of a modern day baseball card and unlike the "tin type" many copies could be easily made of the picture and boy did the boys make extra copies. They were swapped among their many friends, messmates and tentmates within their respective companies as well as being sent home to family and friends. Even today many copies have been found of the same picture of some men in the 86th.
Then, John survived the war and lived well into the 20th Century. During this time, John must had his picture taken many more times. Thanks to Carolyn Dennis Kress we have a beautiful portrait of John from about the turn of the century, I would guess. I would still love to see some pictures of him as a young man, especially one of him in uniform from his days with the 86th, if he sat from a portrait in Nashville. I would also love to see some more pictures of him through the years. Can anyone else help us with this? It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Baxter)

Sergeant JOHN D. JUMP, Co. C, 86th Illinois

John D. Jump was born on July 23, 1835 in or near Greenville, Greene County, New York, the son of __________ Jump and __________ (__________) Jump.
John D. Jump can not be located in the 1850 census, though he must be in Greene County, New York. John D. Jump is known to have had a brother, Reuben, who was born c. 1823 in New York. At the time of the 1855 New York state census, John and his family are found in E.D. 2, Coxsackie, Greene County, New York;
Reuben Jump Other M 32
Christina Jump Wife F 26
Henry Jump Child M 5
Catharine Jump Child F 2
George D Jump Child M 0
John D Jump Brother M 19

It appears that John came west on his own sometime about 1858. At the time of the 1860 census, John D. Jump is found living with the Smith and Calder families in Saratoga Township, Marshall County, Illinois. Living next door is A. P. Webber, another future member of Co. C;
T Smith M 27 N Y
Hannah Smith F 25 N Y
John Jump M 24 N Y
Z Calder M 24 N Y
Wm Calder M 22 N Y

John D. Jump was married shortly after this census was taken to Elvira Leighe. They were married on January 10, 1861, probably there in Marshall County, Illinois. Elvira was born on August 8, 1840 in Illinois, the daughter of Elisha Newell Leigh (1799 - 1871) and Sarah (Bowman) Leigh (1798 - 1883).

Seven children were born to John and Elvira, at least one of whom died before 1900. They include;
1. Mary C Jump, born c. 1862/1863 in Illinois.

2. Fredrick M. "Fred" Jump, born July 20, 1866 in Illinois in either Livingston County or Peoria County, Illinois. Fred M. Jump died on May 21, 1940 in North Platte, Lincoln County, Nebraska and his mortal remains were laid in the Ogallala Cemetery in Ogallala, Keith County, Nebraska. See his Find A Grave Memorial #61757659.

3. Flora B. Jump, born c. February __, 1868/69 in Illinois. Flora B. Jump was married to Joseph Alson Benner. In the early 1900's Flora and Joseph were residing in Edmonton, Canada, but, by the late 1910's had settled in Craig, Colorado. Flora died on __________ __, 1930 in Colorado and her mortal remains were laid in the Craig Cemetery in Craig, Moffat County, Colorado. See her Find A Grave Memorial #28476458.

4. Myra Etta Jump, born April __, 1873/74 in Illinois. Etta M. Jump was married to James W. Whitney on September 1, 1886 in Weston, Livingston County, Illinois. According to a site on familysearch, James was 24 and born in Beverly, Washington Co., Ohio, the son of H.H. Whitney and E. Anderson, while Etta, who is incorrectly listed as being 24, is listed as having been born in La Prairie Center, Marshall County, Illinois, the daughter of Jno. D. Jump and Elvira Leighe.
At the time of the 1910 census, seen below, Myra is found residing with her mom. Myra is listed as single.

5. Clinton Leigh Jump, born January 12, 1877 in Illinois. Clinton Leigh Jump was residing in Kansas in the early 1900, but by the 1910's had moved to Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. Clinton died on 28 Oct 1961 in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota and his mortal remains were laid in the Oak Knoll Cemetery in Princeton, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. See his Find A Grave Memmorial #185283179.

6. Wilber J Jump, born March __, 1880 in Illinois.

7. __________ Jump,

Now to continue the biography of John David Jump and his family;
By 1862, John and his family had moved into LaPrairie Township in Marshall County, Illinois. On August 11, 1862, John D. Jump left his home in LaPrairie Township in Marshall County, Illinois and went down into Chillicothe, Illinois where he volunteered to serve in a company which was being raised in Chillicothe, Illinois, and in the townships immediately north and west of Chillicothe, including Halleck Township in Peoria County and LaPrairie and Saratoga Townships in Marshall County by John H. Batchelder, who operated the Ferry at Chillicothe, and Dr. Joseph Thomas, a Chillicothe area Physician.

ILLINOIS CIVIL WAR DETAIL REPORT
Name JUMP, JOHN D
Rank SGT Company C Unit 86 IL US INF

Personal Characteristics
Residence LAPRAIRIE, MARSHALL CO, IL Age 27 Height 5' 7 1/4 Hair BROWN
Eyes BLUE Complexion LIGHT Marital Status MARRIED Occupation FARMER
Nativity GREENVILLE, GREEN CO, NY

Service Record
Joined When AUG 11, 1862 Joined Where CHILLICOTHE, IL
Joined By Whom J H BATCHELDER Period 3 YRS
Muster In AUG 27, 1862 Muster In Where PEORIA, IL
Muster In By Whom N/A Muster Out JUN 6, 1865
Muster Out Where WASHINGTON, DC Muster Out By Whom LT SCROGGS
Remarks N/A

When Batchelder and Thomas had almost 100 volunteers, they led the Chillicothe area company into Peoria where they went into camp at Camp Lyon, near present day Glen Oak Park. On August 27, 1862, Batchelder, Thomas and 87 of their volunteers, including John D. Jump were mustered into service as Co. C of the 86th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Dr. Thomas was elected by the men of Co. C to serve as their Captain, while Batchelder was elected to serve as their 1st Lieutenant. John D. Jump was elected by the men to serve as one of the five sergeants in Co. C.
On September 7, 1862, the men of the 86th Illinois marched out the gates of Camp Lyon, through the streets of Peoria, with much fanfare, down to the railroad depot. There they were joined by the men of the 85th Illinois, who had been mustered into service at Camp Peoria. At the depot, the men of the 85th & 86th boarded trains bound for Camp Joe Holt, Jeffersonville, Indiana, located across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. By early October, the men of the 85th & 86th were in the field in Kentucky as part of Col. Daniel McCook's Brigade, in pursuit of Confederate troops. On Oct. 8, 1862, the men of McCook's Brigade were engaged with those troops in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, the 86th Illinois suffering their first casualties. There would be many more to come. After the Battle of Perryville, the Confederate troops withdrew from Kentucky and the men of McCook's Brigade marched on to Nashville, Tennessee where they would go into winter camp.
During the next two and a half years, Sergeant John D. Jump would serve faithfully in Co. C as the men of the 86th served in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. During this time, John was witness to and a participant in numerous battles and skirmishes, some of the bloodiest fighting in the Western Theatre of the war, including the Battles of Chickamauga, Georgia; Resaca, Georgia; Rome, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, Peach Tree Creek, Georgia, Jonesboro, Georgia, Averasborough, North Carolina and Bentonville, North Carolina and marched with General Sherman to the Sea.
After the war came to a close, the men of McCook's Brigade marched on to Washington City (now D.C.) where they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue on the 2nd day of the Grand Review. Sergeant John D. Jump was still there with the surviving members of Co. C when they were mustered out of the service on June 6, 1865 in Washington. Shortly after that the men of the 86th were put on a train bound for Chicago, Illinois, where they received their final pay and were discharged. By the end of June of 1865, the surviving members of the 86th were back home with their families in Central Illinois.

At the time of the 1880 census, John and his family are found in Eppards Point, Livingston County, Illinois;
Johnny D Jump Self M 44 New York
Elvira Jump Wife F 39 Illinois
Mary C Jump Daughter F 17 Illinois
Fredrick N Jump Son M 13 Illinois
Flora B Jump Daughter F 11 Illinois
Mina E Jump Daughter F 6 Illinois
Clinton S Jump Son M 3 Illinois
Wilber J Jump Son M 0 Illinois

In 1887, some of the surviving members of the 86th Illinois organized and held a reunion of the old 86th during the week of August 27th, the 25th anniversary of the mustering in of the old 86th back in 1862. Twenty members of old Co. C were able to attend that first reunion, including Sergeant John D. Jump. More than 130 members of the 86th attended this reunion, which was such a success that they decided to continue to hold these reunions every August as long as they could and they continued to hold these reunions through 1923, when the few that were able to attend that 1923 reunion tearfully decided that they were too few and too old to continue to hold them any longer. Through the years, 34 different members of old Co. C were able to attend at least one reunion. Unfortunately, the 1887 reunion was the only one that Sergeant John D. Jump was ever able to attend as he soon headed west, about 1889, settling in Nebraska. After the move was made to Nebraska, the trip back to Peoria was just too long and difficult for him to attend. The "boys" kept in contact with him though.

At the time of the 1900 census, John and his family are found in Helena Precinct, Johnson County, Nebraska;
John D Jump Head M Jul 1835 65 New York
Elvira Jump Wife F Aug 1840 60 Illinois
Myra Jump Daughter F Apr 1874 26 Illinois
Clinton Jump Son M Jun 1877 23 Illinois
Wilber Jump Son M Mar 1880 20 Illinois

Sergeant John David Jump died on July 4, 1908. The Friday, July 10, 1908 edition of "The Sterling Sun" newspaper, of Sterling, Johnson County, Nebraska carried the following obituary;
"HIS LIFE WORK FINISHED
John D. Jump, old Soldier of the Civil War, Has Answered the Last Bugle Call.
John D. Jump was born in Green county, New York, July 23, 1835, and moved to Illinois in 1858.
January 10th, 1861, he was united in marriage to Alvira Leigh, and to this union seven children were born, one died in infancy and the others still living, are Mrs. J. W. Whitney of Tulsa, Okla., F. M. Jump, of Tecumseh, Nebraska, Mrs. J. A. Benner of Edmonton, Canada, C. L. Jump of Belville, Kansas, Myra Jump and Wilber Jump, both of Sterling, Nebraska
In August, 1862, he enlisted in the 86th Ill's vol. Inf't. at Peoria, and was mustered out of service during the war of the rebellion and is said by those who knew his record to have never missed a skirmish or a fight in which his regiment was engaged during the entire service. This loyalty to his country he maintained to the date of his death, which occurred at his home in Sterling, on the night of July 4th, 1908, after a painful illness of several weeks, starting with a carbuncle on the back of his neck; and up to that time he was apparently enjoying the best of health.
The deceased came with his family from Illnois to Sterling in 1889 and settled on a farm four miles souteast of Sterling where he continued to reside until he moved to Sterling last year.
For about fifty years the deceased has been a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist church, and lived an exemplary life.
He was a man very radical in his views, and free to express them; and this characteristic probably shattered some friendships; but no man ever doubted his honesty of purpose, or accused him of hypocrasy. What to him seemed wrong, he fearlessly condemned.
In his death the wife loses a good husband, the children a kind father and the world a good man.
The funeral services were conducted Tuesday afternoon from the M. E. church and an excellent sermon by the pastor, Rev. J. C. Street, was listened to by a large number of relatives and sympathizing friends.
All that was mortal of J. D. Jump was laid to rest in the Sterling cemetery and his soul has gone to its just reward."

At the time of the 1910 census, Elvira is found widowed and living on Jackson Street in Ward 1 of the city of Tecumseh, Johnson County, Nebraska. Myra, who is listed as Single is also living with her mom;
Elvira Jump Head F 69 Illinois
Myra E Jump Daughter F 35 Illinois
Austie C Benner Granddaughter F 13 Nebraska

Elvira died on February 19, 1916 and her mortal remains were laid next to those of her husband of 47 years.