William Louis Shuttleworth
William Louis Shuttleworth




William Louis Shuttleworth

Colonel William Louis Shuttleworth




Scene from the Navy Yard
Brooklyn, NY, 1904




Marine Barracks
Brooklyn, NY, ca.1870




   



William Louis Shuttleworth, 1812-1871, a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, was born in Piscataway, New Jersey.1

According to family lore, his ancestors were originally from England and settled in New Jersey; several Shuttleworths fought in the Revolutionary War and two died at Valley Forge.2

William Louis entered the U.S. Navy in 1831, serving as a carpenter.3 He sailed on the U.S.S. Falmouth, the frigate Potomac, and the Ohio.4

On 28 Feb 1839, he resigned from the Navy and entered the U.S. Marine Corps as a 2d Lieutenant.5 He was stationed at the Navy Yards at New York and Brooklyn,6 served on the steamer Missouri,7 on the sloop Vandalia,8 and was brevetted captain for conspicuous gallantry at the bombardment and capture of Vera Cruz during the War with Mexico.9 At some time during the War with Mexico, he served under Major John Harris.10 He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1847,11 sailed aboard the U.S.S. Jamestown,12 and was promoted to Captain in 1857.13 In 1860 he was the superintendent of construction of the new Marine Barracks at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.14

"In April, 1861, he was ordered to the Minnesota steam frigate and served on her two years, participating in the capture of Forts Clark and Hatteras, the action with the rebel ram Virginia, and numerous skirmishes in the neighboring rivers. At Hatteras he landed through a heavy surf and cut off the retreat of stragglers from the forts. In April, 1863, he was ordered to Pensacola to assist in holding the navy yard, and commanded the marines there until 1865, when he was ordered to the marine barracks at the Brooklyn navy yard,"15 In 1864 he was promoted to Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel.16

According to a descendant, William Louis Shuttleworth IV, among his duties, he took recruits from New York down to Pensacola, Florida. It was there he met Dr. John Brosnaham,17 a naval surgeon from Catskill, New York, and his family.

William Louis married one of Dr. John's daughters, Clotilda Santiago Brosnaham 6 July 1843 in Pensacola.18 They had three children: Mary, who died when she was a year old; William Rodman, who died at four months; and John George. Clotilda died in Brooklyn from childbirth complications in 1850 when she was only 30.19 Clotilda and two of her children are buried in the Catskill Village Cemetery in Catskill, New York, where Clotilda's grandparents, the Brosnahams, lived.20 After Clotilda and their son William Rodman died in 1850, William Louis wrote a poem about their death which appeared in the Home Journal. John George Shuttleworth served in the Civil War on the Confederate side.21 After the War he received the Degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University Medical College in New York.22 He never married. When his father died in 1871, he served as the administrator of his estate.23

After Clotilda died, William Louis married her half-sister Amanda on 20 February 1851.24 They had three children: Mary Ella, born 1852, Samuel, born 1853, and David Dobbs, born 1855.25 Samuel died in Brooklyn about six weeks after he was born. He is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.26 Amanda died the day after Christmas in 1858 when her two children were still very young.27 Because their father was gone a lot, the children often lived with their grandparents in Pensacola.28 Soon after the Civil War ended, John George, Mary Ella, and David Dobbs accompanied their father to New York.29 In December 1865, all three were living with their father at the Marine Barracks in Brooklyn. According to a letter written to his Uncle George O. Brosnaham in Pensacola, 26 December 1865, Jack (John George) wrote that his father was recovering "from another attack of 'vertigo'. He is still unwell but I think improving fast." He also notes that "Father would have written but he is so weak that he can hardly write his name."30

William Louis retired from the Marine Corps in 1869, and lived the rest of his life in Brooklyn where he died 27 September 1871.31 He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, with his mother, Mary, infant son Samuel, and his son John George.32


Descendant report for Mary Shuttleworth, mother of William Louis Shuttleworth

William Louis Shuttleworth portrait in Brent locket

Marriage Certificate of William Louis Shuttleworth and Clotilda Santiago Brosnaham

Marriage Certificate of William Louis Shuttleworth and Amanda Brosnaham

Death Certificate of William Louis Shuttleworth

Obituary of William Louis Shuttleworth

Gravestone of William Louis Shuttleworth, Green-Wood Cemetery

Gravestone inscriptions for Clotilda and two of her children in the Catskill Village Cemetery

More on the death of Clotilda Brosnaham Shuttleworth

Children of William Louis Shuttleworth

4-Generation pedigree chart for Mary Ella Shuttleworth, daughter of William Louis Shuttleworth

Family tree showing ancestry of Francis Celestino Brent and Mary Ella Shuttleworth and related families


  1. "Individual Record of Officers and Enlisted Men Belonging to New York Regiments in the Service of the United States," Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Military Statistics, State of New York, Submitted to the Legislature February 11, 1867. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Co., Department printers, 1867, p.636. Original from Oxford University, Digitized Jun 9, 2006. Accessed through Google Book Search, May 2008.

    Certificate of death for William Louis Shuttleworth. Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Death Records, Record #8377. FHC microfilm 1323691.

  2. Letter from William Louis Shuttleworth IV of Canton, Ohio, to Anne Healy Field 28 June 1979.

    In the family file for Shuttleworth in the Pensacola Historical Society research library, there is a paper stating that William Louis Shuttleworth's father was Justin Shuttleworth who fought in Washington's Army and was killed at Valley Forge in 1778. [His father could not have died in 1778 if he was born in 1812]. His wife was Mary Dobbs of New York whose father was Samuel Dobbs of New York. Mary was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. This information gives a family Bible as the source but does not indicate whose Bible it was. The only fact that I have been able to confirm is that Mary Shuttleworth is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in the same grave as her son William Louis and her name is on the gravestone. William did name one of his sons Samuel, and another son had the middle name Dobbs, David Dobbs Shuttleworth, so that shows a very possible connection. William's son Samuel died as an infant and is buried in the same grave as William Louis and Mary in Greenwood Cemetery according to cemetery records.

  3. "Individual Record of Officers and Enlisted Men Belonging to New York Regiments in the Service of the United States." See note 1 above.

  4. "Naval Intelligence" [Arrival of the Ship "Falmouth"], 1834, The Military and Naval Magazine of the United States (1833-1836). Washington:Mar 1834. Vol. 3, Iss. 1, p. 78; Proquest American Periodical Series Online.

    "Editor's Correspondence: U.S. Frigate Potomac, Gibraltar," 1836, Army and Navy Chronicle (1835-1842). Washington:Nov 24, 1836. Vol. 3, Iss. 21, p. 329.

    "Line of Battle Ship Ohio" [article and list of officers], 1837, Army and Navy Chronicle (1835-1842). Washington:Oct 12, 1837. Vol. 5, Iss. 15, p. 238-239; Proquest, American Periodical Series Online.

  5. Letter of Acknowledgement of Receipt of Commission as Second Lieutenant of Marines by Wm. L. Shuttleworth, 11 March 1839, New York, New York, sent by him to The Hon. J.K. Paulding, Secretary of the Navy, Washington [DC].

    Oath of Identity of William L. Shuttleworth, Kings County, New York, 5 December 1850. The statment was made for the purpose of obtaining bounty land. In the document, he states that he was commissioned in New York on 28 February 1839.

  6. "Naval Intelligence: Officers of Navy Yards, Stations, etc.," 1840, Army and Navy Chronicle (1835-1842). Washington:Mar 5, 1840. Vol. 10, Iss. 10, p. 159; Proquest: American Periodical Service Online.

    "Article 1 -- No Title." [stations of officers], 1840, Army and Navy Chronicle (1835-1842). Washington:Jul 16, 1840. Vol. 11, Iss. 3, p. 47; Proquest: American Periodical Series Online.

  7. "Marine Corps: Stations of the Officers on the 1st January, 1843, The Army and Navy Chronicle, and Scientific Repository. Being a Continuation of Homans' "Army and Navy Chronicle" (1843-1844). Washington:Jan 19, 1843. Vol. 1, Iss. 2, p. 61_62 .

    "The Navy." [Shuttleworth detached from the "Missouri"], 1843, Niles' National Register (1837-1849). Baltimore:May 20, 1843. Vol. 14, Iss. 12, p. 179.

  8. "Naval Intelligence" ["Vandalia" headed for West Indies], 1844, The Army and Navy Chronicle, and Scientific Repository. Being a Continuation of Homans' "Army and Navy Chronicle" (1843-1844). Washington:Jun 21, 1844. Vol. 3, Iss. 25, p. 799_800.

  9. Obituary of William Louis Shuttleworth, d.1871, Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Eagle, Friday evening, 29 Sept 1871.

  10. Oath of Identity of William L. Shuttleworth, Kings County, New York, 5 December 1850.

  11. "Individual Record of Officers and Enlisted Men Belonging to New York Regiments in the Service of the United States." See note 1 above.

  12. Newspaper article: "News From Madeira" - W.L. Shuttleworth, 1856, New York times (1857-Current file), New York, NY; 30 June 1856; Proquest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2004), p.1, In the list of officers on the U.S. Ship "Jamestown" is W.L. Shuttleworth, Captain of Marines. The ship landed in Funchal, Madeira, 16 May 1856, after leaving Porto Praya (Praia), Cape Verde Islands, twenty days earlier.

  13. "Individual Record of Officers and Enlisted Men Belonging to New York Regiments in the Service of the United States." See note 1 above.

  14. Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, Brooklyn,New York, Thursday evening, 23 August 1860, p.3 , the building was being erected on Flushing Ave. near the Navy Yard and will be ready for occupation by November.

  15. "Individual Record of Officers and Enlisted Men Belonging to New York Regiments in the Service of the United States." See note 1 above.

  16. Newspaper Article: " Naval Movements" - W.L. Shuttleworth, 1864, New York Times (1857-Current file), New York, NY; 30 March 1864; Proquest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2004), p.1.

  17. Letter from William Louis Shuttleworth IV of Canton, Ohio, to Anne Healy Field 28 June 1979. Brosnaham was originally spelled Brosnahan according to Cynthia Brosnaham Richardson, great-granddaughter of Dr. John Brosnaham, d.1871.

  18. Escambia County, Florida, Marriage Records, Book B, p.16. FHL Microfilm 941001.

  19. Notice of death of Clotilda Shuttleworth & Mary Shuttleworth, Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Eagle, Monday, 28 Jan 1850, p.2.

  20. Inscriptions of the Gravestones of the Catskill Village Cemetery, Greene County, New York, comp. and ed. by Minnie Cohen, 1931. FHL Microfilm 17560. Also buried in this cemetery are Clotilda's grandparents, Andrew and Margaret Brosnaham and their son, George, Dr. John Broshaham's brother.

  21. Letter from William Louis Shuttleworth IV of Canton, Ohio, to Anne Healy Field 28 June 1979.

  22. Newspaper article: University Medical College, New York, Commencement ceremony, J.G. Shuttleworth, 1867, Medical and Surgical Reporter (1858-1898). Philadelphia, PA; Proquest Historical Newspapers (APS Online), 9 March 1867, vol. 16, issue 10, p.198, College is now know as New York University School of Medicine.

  23. Letter of Administration, Estate of Col. Wm. L. Shuttleworth, Brooklyn, NY, Kings County Surrogate Court, Liber 21, p.349, 3 October 1871.

    In the 1871 Directory for Brooklyn, New York, there is a listing for a John Shuttleworth, physician, living at 278 Cumberland in Brooklyn. This is the same as the address for W.L. Shuttleworth, so this may have been John George, living with his father just before his father died. Brooklyn, New York, City Directories, FHL Microfilm 1000704.

  24. Escambia County, Florida, Marriage Records, Book C, p.24. FHL Microfilm 941001.

  25. St. Michael's Cemetery Records, [Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida] compiled by Lola Lee Daniell [Bruington]. D.A.R., 1938, 1939. FHL Microfilm 850397. Dates of birth found on gravestones.

  26. Cemetery Records, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, copy of original cemetery record, May 2008, Age at death was 1 month, 18 days.

  27. St. Michael's Cemetery Records, [Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida].

  28. Letter from William Louis Shuttleworth IV of Canton, Ohio, to Anne Healy Field 28 June 1979: "The reason the children lived with the grandparents is because the colonel was always going back and forth on Navy ships from Pensacola to the East Coast and Mexico."

  29. Newspaper article: Passenger Arrival New York, J.G., D., Mary, and Col. Shuttleworth, 1865, New York Times (1857-current). New York, N.Y.; Proquest Historical Newspapers (online database), 12 June 1865, p.8, Col. W.L. Shuttleworth arrived in NY with his three children, John G., David D., and Mary Ella; this would have been less than two months after the end of the Civil War.

  30. Letter to Dr. George O. Brosnaham, M.D., Pensacola, Florida, from John George "Jack" Shuttleworth, Marine Barracks, Brooklyn, New York, 26 December 1865. Copy of letter provided by Cynthia Brosnahan Richardson.

  31. Certificate of death for William Louis Shuttleworth. Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, Death Records, Record #8377. FHC microfilm 1323691.

  32. Cemetery Records, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, copy of original cemetery records, May 2008.


Photograph at top of William Louis Shuttleworth is from a collection of photographs handed down to Jean Healy, Coronado, California.

Second photograph, of the Colonel in uniform, was taken sometime after he retired. Photographer: Silsbee, Case, & Co., Boston. Photo courtesy of William Louis Shuttleworth IV, of Canton, Ohio.

Two lower photographs are from the New York Public Library Digital Collection. The top one is of the Navy Yard in 1904, several years after William Louis died, but giving a picture of what the Navy Yard looked like. The Navy Yard has been sold and is now a redevelopment area. Some of the old buildings still stand, but most are gone.

The bottom picture is of the Marine Barracks taken about 1870, the year before William Louis died. In 1860 he was the superintendent of construction for the new marine barracks. An article in the Brooklyn Eagle notes that they are near completion and are located on Flushing Ave., near the Navy Yard. "The internal arrangements will doubtless surpass anything of the kind in this country for the comfort and convenience of the soldiers."
The Brooklyn Eagle, Thursday Evening, August 23, 1860, p.3; http://brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle/, accessed April 2008.


Anne Healy's Genealogy, Created October 2002
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Page created 26 December 2006
updated 30 August 2021
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