Scott, there was also a John T. Halligan in the 3rd Virginia Reserves, it is also possible this could be your soldier but since he appeared to be from the Petersburg area of the State I did not bring that to your attention. It's possible the T in John's name could have stood for Thomas. I'm trying to remember but I believe that Thomas Halligan had children by the name of Ann, Tersea, and Joseph. I do agree that the Halligan name came originally from Ireland. I would be curious if the obituary mentioned either Tersea or Ann as one of the daughters, since they lived with Thomas Halligan and his wife Mary in York, Pennsylvania according to the 1860 census. Since Thomas Halligan died in 1923 he should have had a death certificate. I would consider that as a primary source of information. It should state where and when he was born. Sometimes newspapers made mistakes in the obituaries. Keep at it and please let us know either way how this plays out. Thx Dennis