Dr. Peter Edward Austin, 1833–1901

Dr. Peter Edward Austin was born on 6 Aug 1833 in Bedford County, Virginia, the son of Dr. Peter Lucillius Austin and Sarah Susan Leftwich. Dr. Peter Austin and his wife Sarah had at least eleven children: John Alexander, Susan Catherine, William Leftwich, Esther Elizabeth, Sarah Malissa, James Turner, Ann Isabella, Lucy Jane, Mary Elizabeth, Peter Edward, and Robert Archibald.

Peter Austin graduated from McDowell Medical College of St. Louis in 1861 and joined the Confederate Army, Company C, Colonel Benjamin Rives’ Regiment, General Slack’s Division, Missouri State Guard. He served as assistant surgeon at the Battle of Carthage with a rank of sergeant. He also served as a surgeon with General Joseph O. Shelby in the 4th Division, Missouri State Guard, and in the 9th (Elliott’s) Missouri Cavalry Regiment. Dr. Austin resigned his military service on 31 May 1865 at Corsicana, Texas, as a surgeon in Elliott’s Regiment of Missouri Cavalry, General Shelby’s Brigade.

After the war, Dr. Peter Austin continued to practice medicine and farmed. He never married. He died 7 Dec 1901 in Carrollton, Missouri, and is buried at Austin Cemetery in Carrollton, Carroll County, Missouri, next to his mother.

Written by Shirley Wadell
January 2025

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