HENRY AKI (ETHIER) -- 26th CAVALRYIN NEW YORK'S LAST CAVALRY REGIMENT - Henri Ethier, who was born inRedford, enlisted in the 26th Cavalry in Plattsburgh, under the name,Henry Aki. Henry was the son of Quebec-born parents, Henri Ethier andMarie-Anne Anderson. He was 5' 4½" tall and had hazel eyes, brown hairand a light complexion and was working as a miner before he got \$262.50from the Town for enlisting.He enlisted on January 13, 1865, when he was 18 years old but didn'tmuster in until February 13th. This regiment was organized in the Statesof New York, Massachusetts and Vermont, under special authority from theWar Department, for services on the northern frontiers for one year.The New York battalion consisted of five companies and, under therulings of the War Department, the field officers of the regiment wereappointed by the Governor of the State.The first company, L, Capt. David A. Piercy, was recruited, and February24, 1865, mistered in the United States service at Malone; the second,Company H, Capt. Henry E. Turner, was recruited, and February 22, 1865,mustered in the United States service at Watertown; the third, CompanyK, Capt. Edgar Hinkley, was recruited, and February 24, 1865, musteredin the United States service at Buffalo; the fourth, Company G, Capt.Pliny Moore, was recruited, and February 11, 1865, mustered in theUnited States service at Plattsburg. This was Henry's company. Thefifth, Company I, Capt. Newton H. Davis, was recruited, and February 22,1865, mustered in the United States service at Malone.The regiment was disbanded on July 6, 1865, after the end of the war andafter the government decided there wasn't going to be any invasion fromthe North.Henry married Sophie Seney in 1868 and they stayed in the county untilthe late 1880s before going to work in the mills in Massachusetts withtheir daughter and his mother and father. A son was born to them in1897. Henry died in 1923 at 76 years of age and was buried in theEastlawn Cemetery in Williamstown, MA. He was buried under the samestone as his wife and mother who both died in 1896 and his father, whodied in 1905. His son, Herman, died in 1980.
