Levi Jackson Colby was a New Englander who traveled west to Wisconsin with his parents as a child. After a very brief service in the war, he traveled west again and was probably the first Civil War veteran to settle in Tustin.
Levi Colby was born May 24, 1831, in Thornton, New Hampshire to James and Betsey (Anderson) Colby. Levi grew up working on the family farm, first in New Hampshire and later in Wisconsin when his family moved near Franklin, just south of Milwaukee.
It was in Milwaukee on August 21, 1862, that thirty-one-year-old Levi enlisted as a private in Company E, 24th Wisconsin infantry regiment. The regiment was mustered into Federal service on the day of Levi’s enlistment.
The regimental adjutant was Arthur MacArthur, who by the end of the war was a Colonel and second in command of the regiment although only nineteen years old. MacArthur was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a charge up Missionary Ridge in Tennessee and later would become the father of future general Douglas MacArthur.
Another officer in the 24th was Lt. John Mitchell, whose son Billy would also go on to become a general and the controversial proponent of American military air power in the years between the two world wars.
The 24th Wisconsin first saw action at the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky on October 8, 1862. While the battle was a tactical win for the Confederates it was considered a strategic Union victory because the Southern forces withdrew to Tennessee and Union forces were able to retain control of Kentucky for the remainder of the war. The battle cost the Union forces 4,241 casualties in killed, wounded, missing, and captured.
Perryville would have been the only battle Levi Colby was involved in, for on December 11, 1862, less than four months into his enlistment, he was discharged due to disability. He was undoubtedly suffering from one of the many diseases that were so prevalent in the unsanitary conditions of camp life in both armies.
Colby returned to Wisconsin, regained his health, and sometime around 1866 married Lucretia Douglas.
Lucretia, a native of nearby Lake, Wisconsin, was born in 1842, making her eleven years younger than her new husband. In 1870 Levi was working as a merchant in Lake and he and Lucretia were living with her parents, but within a few years the couple had relocated to southern California.
Colby was in Los Angeles in 1873, San Bernardino in 1874 and in February 1875 he purchased 27 acres from Columbus Tustin for $1,409. If the Colby’s moved to their new property around the time of the purchase it would make Levi, the first Civil War veteran to settle in Tustin.
Levi and Lucretia remained in Tustin for almost ten years where they appear to have prospered. In addition to growing oranges Levi also dabbled in real estate; the local papers of the period are filled with property transactions of Levi buying and selling acreage around Tustin and Santa Ana.
Colby was also involved in the community. For several years he served as the Tustin City delegate to the Republican Party County convention, and he was also an active member of Sedgwick Post 17 of the GAR. Levi was also prominent among the local Masons.
In April 1883 Colby sold his 28-acre ranch in Tustin and he and Lucretia moved to Santa Ana. They owned a home on West Sixth street and Levi continued his citrus ranching operations at the various orchards he still owned in the area. An 1892 Orange County voter registration record describes the then 61-year-old veteran as 6 feet 2 inches tall, with gray eyes and gray hair.
Levi Colby died at the age of 72 at his home at 616 West Sixth street on July 14, 1903. In various obituaries he was described as a “pioneer capitalist” and “retired capitalist” of the county. The funeral was held at the home under the supervision of the Masons, and he was buried in the Masonic Garden section at Santa Ana Cemetery.
Lucretia Colby survived her husband by just four years. In November 1906 she moved into a new house on North Broadway in Santa Ana but soon after the move she fell ill and never recovered. She suffered greatly near the end before passing away on August 12, 1907, at the age of 64. After a funeral service at the Episcopal church, she was buried beside her husband at Santa Ana Cemetery.
Lucretia had made out a will the day before she died. When the will was probated, it was discovered that she and Levi had accumulated an estate estimated at $100,000 (3.2 million in 2023 dollars.)
Because the couple had no children the estate was parceled out to relatives in Wisconsin, as well as to local charitable organizations and to a few friends.
One friend, who received $1,000, was Sarah Eddy, the widow of Tustin blacksmith and Civil War veteran Samuel L. Eddy.
Created: 10/20/2023
Researched by: Tim Zierer
