Roger Loughran was born in the parish of Killeeshil Co. Tyrone 28th July 1822 to Patrick Loughran and Alice Mullan. His parents were more than likely very small farmers or more likely labourers. Killeeshil parish is about 5 miles from Dungannon on the Ballygawley Road. See map. The name Killeeshil is the Anglicised version of the old Irish name "coilliseal" meaning a church or perhaps a lower wood. Roger's name Loughran is the Anglised form of the Irish name O'Luachrain. This part of Tyrone lies on the lower slopes of the Sperrin hills and the people then as now would live in an interface area between the "native" Irish Catholics many of whom would have been disposessed by the turmoil of the early 17th century when the leading family of Ulster the O'Neills whose main family castle was at Dungannon a few miles distant from Killeeshil fled to Continental Europe in the so called "Flight of the Earls" in 1607. The Plantation settlers mostly Scots Presbyterian arrived after the fall of the O'Neill's in the early 1600's and availed themselves of the lands confiscated from the O'Neills. A strained relationship developed between the native Irish and the plantation settlers and in all honesty exists to this day.
Most people are aware that the 1847 era famine lead to mass emigration from Ireland. Many of the soldiers of the 69th Pa. were its victims but we have such little recorded information on their life pre-emigration to America. However in Roger Loughran's case we have two very good sources of information. Perhaps the best being a copy of his birth record for July 28th 1822 and secondly we have documented evidence of the social, economic and historical information on the parish of Killeeshil circa early 19th century
Let us look at Rogers life span. He was born 28th July 1822 in Killeeshil parish. As now we do not know which townland. This was an Ireland in social and economic turmoil. The rebellion of 1798 by both the native Catholics and Presbyterian settlers had been put down ruthlessly by the State controlled militias mainly set up and run by the "gentry" estate farmers mostly of English stock and members of the Established Church or the Church of England. Things did not improve and were not helped by the ending of the Napoleonic war in 1815 when requirement of grain, meat, flax and agricultural products fell off. Into the mix was the the turmoil between the Orange Order members and the local Catholics in the Killeeshil area leading to many faction fights, burnings and general mayhem. One such confrontation of note took place in 1824 when Roger was just 2 years of age is noted in history by a poem called the Tullyallen Fight a confrontation between local followers of the local Protestant Orange Order and the Catholics in Killeesil parish the latter thinking that their chaple at Tullyallen built in 1768 would be burnt. Tullyallen was the first chaple built in the area as the Penal Laws were relaxed. Catholic Emancipation was not granted fully until 1829 but more benine landlords were keen both from a moral viewpoint and of necessity of having available estate workers, relaxed the laws much earlier. However with the decline of agricultural production and religious confrontation the common outcome was mass poverty and associated illiteracy. It was into this background that Roger Loughran was born 22.7.1822 to Patrick Loughran and Alice Mullen who was some 5 years younger than Patrick. Roger was the youngest of their three known children brother John born 9.6.1816 and a sister Anne born 22.2.1820.
What was the area like in 1822?. We have a very good account of what it looked like. On 21st June 1822 some three weeks before Roger Loughran was born a gentleman called Robert Reid having returned from Australia noted down the following.

"Rode many miles through Tyrone, northward by Ballygawley and saw nothing but dirt, poverty and wretchedness.The country abounds in hills here called mountains covered with heath and strewed with miserable hovels to each of which are attached a few yards of badly cultivated ground which only makes the barronness that prevails the more conspicious. Many of their hovels are constructed by placing long sticks in a slanting position against a high bank and covering them with scraws (sods), these were afterwards thatched with heath as they did not project above the level of the heathy bank they could not be easily be discovered or distinguished by a stranger until he came close upon them.The doors of these huts if doors they can be called are formed by two perpendicular sticks and five crossed ones somewhat resembling a gate of rude workmanship having the interstices filled with ropes made of straw worked in the manner of a basket.
As far as I can collect from private friends and other persons well aquainted with the country the number of children in a cabin is seldom less than four and that it would average about five with which the parents would give at least seven in every cottage or house. I have invariably found the increase of children in Ireland to be in an inverse proportion to the means possessed by their parents to support them.

Our second and perhaps the most interesting document we have on Roger is a copy of the records of his birth registration. This is a very unique document and as far as I know the only one we have on any of the Irish soldiers of the 69th. Pa. Very few such documents exist in the Catholic parishes from so far back.

Back then and up to quite recent times all records were kept by the local priests and as Latin was the compulsory language in which they studied and because the Catholic services were in Latin their parish records were also kept in Latin. Reading the third line down you will see the name Rogerious this is Latin for Roger then the names of his parents in Latin format Patrick and Alice Mullan and the name of the two baptismal sponsors one of whom is Jacobus (James) Loughran probably Rogers uncle and Sara his wife. The two squiggles are probably the "short hand" for "filium legitum " born in wedlo ck. The name Roger stands out immediatley a VERY uncommon name in Catholic east Tyrone then and indeed now. Where did his parents get this name?. Looking at the history of the time circa 1822 there was a man called Roger O'Connor who was fighting the land war against the landlords over land ownership and rents. This may well be why Roger was so named. Finding his name in the Penn. Civil War record cards can be confusing. After some deduction and searching it is found that he was enlisted as Rodger Loughlin. Why?. Subsequent research and information suggests that he was illiterate and his name sadly was simply a "sound in his head" and the recruiting sergeant would simply write down what he heard. It's little wonder that there are so many many mistakes in the Civil War records.
As to when he or his family left for America we can make a fair estimate at what age he was. It is known that all of Roger's four children were born in Pennsylvania from the 1850 census. These children were Anne, John, Alice and Kate. John's birth date is known as being 8. 6. 1848. From this date and the fact that all the children born in America it looks like Roger emigrated in the famine era mid 1840's. He was brobably aged in his early or mid 20's. Prior to emigrating he was at best employed as a labourer or helped at home on a small holding in the Killeshil parish. What did he do in America prior to the Civil War? I suppose we can only guess but very probably worked as a labourer as thousands of the immigrant Irish did in the Philadelphia area.
We know that he enlisted May 11th 1861 into the 24th. Pa. Vols. and then enlisted into the 69th. Pa. Vols. Aug 20th 1861. He was nearly 40 years of age and with a very young family. Son John for example would be approx 13 years of age. This was big risk decision and one wonders why he took it. Was it patriotism or the need for the enrolement bounty or a steady income from the army?
Roger soon saw active service. He fought at Antietam and wounded there but recovered. He was also active at the battle of Fredericksburg but badly injured in a related accident Dec. 11th 1862 necessitating hospitalisation for three weeks in a field hospital, then the Lincoln Hospital in Wash. D.C. hence to Satterlee Hospital in Philadelphia. Not fit for further front line duty he was transferred to Co. I of the 10th Regt. V.R.C. He mustered out from the service 15th Nov 1865. Sadly his wife Mary (possibly Mary McMahon) died young on June 13th. 1865 though another source states 3. 6. 1864. By Nov. 1865 Rogers war was over. His wife had died in 1865 and he still had four young children to raise. Roger badly need a wife and he very soon after he left the army remarried a Susan Johnson by whom he had a son also named Roger in 1866. Susan pre deceased Roger (father) dieing 1.9. 1888. Roger as we know died 3. 4. 1896 and was buried in the New Cathedral cemetery. His son Roger from his 2nd marriage died in 1899.