Dean A. Enderlin was born September 11, 1961, at Deer Park (Napa Valley), California, the only child of Roy and Lucille Enderlin. Dean grew up in Calistoga, California, on the family vineyard which is still his home. Aside from a few years living in Lower Lake and St. Helena, he has been a Calistoga resident his whole life. Dean graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geology from Sonoma State University in 1985, and worked for Homestake Mining Company as a geologist at its McLaughlin gold mine in Napa County from 1985 to 2002. He is now a California licensed geologist, practicing independently in the Napa and Lake County area.

Dean’s interest in family history was sparked early in his life by his maternal grandmother, Dagny Jacobsen (1889-1979), who lived in the family household while Dean was growing up. His interests soon led him to explore the paternal side of his family, where he found deep roots in American history going back to colonial times. His direct Union Civil War ancestor was his paternal great-great-grandfather, Private Erick Nelson (1838-1920), a.k.a., Nils Erik Nilsson, who served in Co. F, 89th Illinois Infantry.

Dean’s collateral Union Civil War ancestors include:

• Corp. Richard Pierce Bissell (1846-1926), great-great-granduncle
       Co. L, 17th Illinois Cavalry — Member, C. D. Murray Post No. 302, GAR, Massena, Iowa
• Pvt. Edwin Harlin Cole (1821-1870), great-great-great-granduncle
       Co. D, 9th Kansas Cavalry — Member, Neosho Post No. 129, GAR, Chanute, Kansas
• Pvt. Flavius Josephus Cole (1838-1928), great-great-granduncle
       Co. B, 140th Indiana Infantry
• Pvt. John Wesley Cole (1831-1913), great-great-great-granduncle
       Co. B, 140th Indiana Infantry — Member, Neosho Post No. 129, GAR, Chanute, Kansas
• Corp. William F. Hobart (1838-1870), half great-great-great-granduncle
       Co. K, 97th Indiana Infantry

Dean has a little “reb” in him, too! A great-great-great-granduncle, Richard Van Boskirk (1818- ), served as a private (wagonmaster) in Co. A, 15th Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A., later “galvanizing” into the 9th U.S. Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) in Texas, where he served as a veterinary surgeon from 1871 to 1878.

Dean joined the SUVCW in November 2006, and is a member of Col. Elmer Ellsworth Camp 23, based in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California. He has served as Camp Council (2017-2018), Camp Jr. Vice-Commander (2008, 2017-2018), Camp Sr. Vice-Commander (2015-2016, 2019), and Camp Commander (2009-2011, 2020-present). Dean is also Camp Civil War Memorials Officer (2008 to present), and shares the office of Camp Graves Registration Officer with Ronald Cannon, PCC.

Dean holds a dual membership in Phil Sheridan Camp 4, based in San José, and is a member of the Sons of Veterans Reserve (SVR), Co. C, 8th California Vol. Inf., 6th Military District. He is also a 2010 graduate of the SUVCW Memorial University Officer Training Course.

At the Department organizational level, Dean has served the Department of California & Pacific as Guide pro tem (2008), Guard (2009), Patriotic Instructor (2010-2012), Jr. Vice-Commander (2013-2014), Sr. Vice-Commander (2015-2016), Commander (2017-2018), and on the Department Council (2019). Dean is Department Civil War Memorials Officer (since April 2011), and served as Counselor to the ASUVCW Department of California & Pacific (2017-2020).

For his service with the SUVCW, Dean has received the following honors:

• 2012 (March 10): Department Officer of the Year Award, by Department Commander Glen L. Roosevelt, “for his actions & deeds while serving as Department Patriotic Instructor & Civil War Memorials Officer.
• 2012 (March 10): Major Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs Graves Registration Award, by Department Commander Glen L. Roosevelt, “for his actions & deeds to locate and record the grave locations within the Department of California & Pacific.”
• 2015 (March 7): Department Commander’s Certificate of Commendation, by Department Commander Timothy P. Reese, “for his outstanding service as Civil War Memorials Officer, for his overhauling data read-out & storage, updating the registry of cannons & memorials, and his participating in numerous projects relating to the Civil War, Memorials office, & serving on Dept. & National committees.”
• 2015 (March 7): Meritorious Service Award, by Commander-in-Chief Tad D. Campbell, “in recognition of his exceptional long-term dedication and effort as Department Civil War Memorials Officer and National GAR Records Officer.”
• 2017 (March 18): Department Officer of the Year Award, by Department Commander Thomas T. Graham, “for his actions and deeds of successful relocation and direction of the Department 2017 Encampment.”

At the National organizational level of the SUVCW, Dean holds the office of GAR Records Officer (since 2010), and is Chair to the National Committee on GAR Records. He is also a member of the National Committee on Civil War Memorials (since 2012), and from 2018-2022 was a member of the National Committee on Program & Policy.

Membership in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and Allied Orders in Dean’s family goes back to his great-great-grandparents, Erick and Lois Nelson, and his great-grandmother, Jessie (Nelson) Tebow. Erick was an officer and charter member of Lew Wallace Post, No. 137, GAR (organized Nov. 1882), based in Scandia, Republic County, Kansas. When Post 137 disbanded in 1896, Erick transferred to nearby Courtland Post, No. 344. Lois and Jessie were especially active in the Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC) in Kansas. They were charter members of Courtland Corps, No. 135, serving as the corps’ first Sr. Vice-President and Treasurer, respectively. Dean’s membership in the SUVCW is not only to honor his Civil War ancestors, but to carry on the good work of his ancestors who were so dedicated to the WRC and GAR.

Separate from his activities in the SUVCW, but connected to the work of the other Allied Orders of the GAR, Dean joined Logan’s Brigade, Men’s Associate to the National Woman’s Relief Corps (NWRC), during its formational period in July 2020. He became a founding/charter member when the organization was official chartered in March 2022.