The collection is mostly composed of his handwritten (Personal Journal) volumes, documenting his life and the 30th Ohio Infantry, which were written after the war. Some volumes note the miles he traveled by railroad and steam boat (v. 4, v. 3). The early volumes note elections, his opinions and ideas about slavery, and pro- and anti-slave states politics. Also noted here are his trips back from Keokuk, Iowa, 1856, a trip to Wyandot, Kansas, 1858, and trips between Millersburg and Mount Vernon, Ohio, 1850-1860. The typed transcriptions are twentieth century and may have been done by past Clarke staff. The provenance of the collection is unknown. V. 2 Military History includes a history of Company I, 30th Ohio Infantry, handwritten addresses he gave in 1908-1909, and stories about Manistee County, Missionary Ridge, and the 36th and 4th Ohio Infantries. Two of his letters (1862, 1864) to his father were published in newspapers and are in the folder with newspaper clippings. Also in this folder are speeches he wrote for veterans reunions at Bear Lake, Michigan, 1909-1910, a speech about the Labor Question, 1892, and articles about soldiers and reunions of the 98th, 126th, and 30th Ohio Infantry regiments. His recopied early 1850 essays are also included.
Biography:
Emory W. Muenscher (February 6, 1834- ) was a music teacher from Mount Vernon, Ohio. He operated small schools and gave lessons in Millersburg and Mount Vernon. His father was an Episcopal minister and he had a number of siblings. Between 1860 and 1864 he married Sarah Johnson. During the Civil War, Muenscher served in Company I, of the 30th Ohio Infantry, 1861-1864. On December 27, 1864 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel. The 30th Ohio Infantry followed Sherman on his infamous March to the Sea. It also played an important role in the surrender of Savannah, Georgia. After the war he returned to Mount Vernon, Ohio. By the early 1900s he lived in Manistee, Michigan, where he was involved with the GAR and reunions of Civil War veterans. Muenscher was a surveyor for the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad and a county surveyor. He platted Howard City, Michigan. Muenscher was alive in 1917. (This information is from the collection.)