Life After the War

William McCracken worked at, and possibly owned, a livery stable for many years in the town of Meadville, Pennsylvania. After his service in the Civil War, he returned to Meadville. In various affidavits, taken from his pension records, McCraken is described as an asset to his community; at one point he helped to build a church and gained the respect of Meadville's mayor. He is described as an “able” man who “occasionally “ took a drink. According to the numerous pension records, it is evident that McCracken was approved by the Pension Office for his suffering from “chronic diarrhea and resulting disease of the rectum.”

McCracken was married to Emrose Finney and had two children, Willard McCracken (b. 4/10/1876) and Margaret Ellen (b. 3/22/78). His wife died on April 10, 1897. William McCracken died on February 25th, 1911, at the Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors Home in Erie.