Thursday, November 3, 2011

Documentation Needed on the Family of Edward Gabbard (1798-1885)

Looking for information and documentation regarding the family of Edward Gabbard, born about 1798, probably in Carter County, TN. He was the son of Jacob Gabbard and Margaret "Peggy" Smith - this relationship proved when his father gave permission for his son Edward to marry Sarah "Sally" Bowman, daughter of Elijah Bowman. Edward and Sarah married 8 Mar 1818, Clay County, KY. Sarah's father also gave his permission, so apparently both were underage.

Edward and Sallie Gabbard were living in Jackson County, KY in 1880 with their daughter Susan and her husband Thomas Lakes. They are not found after that date and I do not have a date for when either of them died - I do not believe graves ever actually been found, although new markers have been placed by descendants in the Roberts Cemetery, Jackson County, KY and a death date of circa 1885 has been added. Edward Gabbard's marker has the nickname "Ned" but I've not found his name that way in any actual record.

Both Edward Gabbard's father Jacob Gabbard, and his maternal grandfather, Edward Smith, are approved DAR patriots and I would like very much to add them to my own supplemental patriots. I have all the documentation necessary for both EXCEPT for adequate proof that Edward Gabbard was the father of a daughter Sarah Ann "Sally" Gabbard, born about 1825 - Sally married Nathaniel M. "Nathan" Harrison, 20 Feb 1845, in Madison County, KY and Nathaniel's father, Elisha Harrison, gave permission indicating Nathaniel was not yet 21, but Sally must have already been 18 and no permission was necessary as none exists in the Madison County records - or the permsission has been lost. If I cannot find direct evidence of the relationship between Edward Gabbard and his daughter Sally, perhaps I will eventually be able to build enough circumstantial evidence.

Since Sally married prior to 1850, she does not appear as a named person in any census in the household of Edward and Sarah Bowman Gabbard. Nathaniel & Sally Harrison were living next door to Edward Gabbard in 1850 in Madison County. I also have the Kentucky Land Grant records showing their surveys were adjoining and that Edward Gabbard, his son John Wesley Gabbard, and Nathan M. Harrison, shared in the chain carrier & marker duties at the time of the surveys. The 1840 census reveals an uncertainty because there were two Gabbards living in Madison County and both have daughters of the right age to be Sally [between the ages of 10 and 16]. Edward did have a daughter of that age in 1840. John Gabbard, an older brother of Edward, had three females in his household of that age - if I could find out enough about them to eliminate any of them as being Sally, that would also be helpful. Lists of his family online do not indicate any daughter for John that was named Sally, but neither do they offer proof documents.

John Gabbard's household in 1850 seems to indicate that his daughter under 5, and three daughters ages 10-15 back in 1840, were all still at home. In 1850 there is a possible extra fifth daughter, born between 1830-1836, plus a 13-year-old who would have under 5 ten years earlier. These daughters were Margaret, Eliza, Mary, Susan, and Elizabeth. The four older girls are all so close together, it would not seem there could have been a daughter Sally in there anywhere. The Madison Co marriage records show no marriages for any daughter of John prior to 1850.

I can find no deeds of gift from Edward Gabbard to his children, nor does he seem to have left any sort of property that was divided among his heirs. The genealogies online have less information that I have on this family, although the children are seen as I have them. I was given much of the Gabbard data by an Ira Gabbert some years ago, but documentary proof was not provided, nor have I found anything since.

Here are the children as I believe them to be, but I would welcome additional documentary proof for any of them. Birth years, are primarily from census records or correspondence with descendants of a particular line. Those for which I have some sort of proof document [mostly marriage permissions] are starred. The only child listed for which I find nothing to indicate a relationship is a suggested daughter, Mary.

1. Elijah G. Gabbard, b. 14 Mar 1818, married Sarah Stevens, 1836, Madison Co and died 1901 in Johnson Co, AR. Edward Gabbard was bondsman for the marriage and signed consent but did not specifically state he was the father. Most state laws even today specify consent by a parent or guardian. Elijah named a son Edward, a daughter Sarah, and the information was shared with me by a descendant. He seems to have been born a bit early but dates are often "off" a year, plus there is a difflugity in the marriage documents of Edward & Sarah Bowman Gabbard - one is dated 1818, another 1817.

** 2. John Wesley Gabbard, b. Sep 1822, married Alitha Harrison, Madison Co. His father Edward Gabbard gave consent for his son to marry. Alitha was a sister to "my" Nathaniel Harrison. He married a 2nd time, had a total of at least 20 children. John W. died 1909, Jackson Co KY. The grandfather, Jacob Gabbard, age 80 was living with John W. & "Alithy" in 1850 - although it of course doesn't state the relationship, the implication is there. John Wesley Habbard's obit did not name his parents. His grave marker apparently has his birth as 1812, but I believe that to be an error, as it is not consistent with the census data.

** 3. Nancy Gabbard, born 1823, married John Lakes, 1848, Owsley Co. Her sister married Thomas Lakes on the the same day, Edward Gabbard, father of the brides, gave permission for both to marry.

4. Jacob B. Gabbard, b. Aug 1824, married Mahala Marcum, 1845, Owsley Co KY. In 1850 they were living in Madison Co KY; Jackson Co KY in 1860 and 1870. Jacob named his first two sons John Wesley and Edward. This family moved to Crawford Co AR where Jacob received a land patent in 1890. He applied for his Civil War pension and is buried Crawford Co; he died in 1907. Mahala received her widow's pension after his death. His service was Company A, 47th Kentucky Infantry, Union.

5. My lady - Sarah Ann "Sally", born circa 1825, married Nathaniel Harrison, 20 Feb 1845. they were next door to Edward Gabbard in 1850, but by 1860 had moved to Schuyler Co IL. Nathan Harrison's death was noted in the "Rushvile Times" newspaper in 1880, but no family was named - her death is unknown. One of their sons, my gg grandfather, moved to Crawford Co AR.

** 6. Susan Jane Gabbard, b. 26 Dec 1829, married Thomas Lakes, 1848, the same day as her sister Nancy married John Lakes. Edward Gabbard gave permission for both daughters. Edward & his wife were living with Susan in 1880, Jackson Co - Susan and Thomas Lakes both died in Jackson Co KY.

7. Siretha Gabbard, b. 3 Feb 1830, married Jacob Sebourn, 1849, Laurel Co KY, as Cyntha Gabbard. They are found living next door to Nathan & Sally Harrison in Schuyler Co IL in 1860 - Iowa in 1870 - but Crawford Co AR in 1880, where both are buried. It is true that John Wesley Gabbard later named a daughter Cynthia. Siretha/Cyntha did not use Gabbard given names for her children except for daughters named Sarah and Nancy were are so very common anyway. There was a son named Jacob, but of course that was her husband's given name as well.

** 8. Elizabeth Gentry Gabbard, b. 23 Apr 1833, married William C. Harrison, younger brother of "my" Nathaniel Harrison, 1849, Madison Co. Edward Gabbard, father of the bride gave consent for the marriage. This family also moved to Crawford Co AR. Three Harrison siblings married three Gabbard siblings.

9. Mary Gabbard, born maybe 1834, said to have married James Brandenburg. There is no James Brandenburg of proper age in Kentucky in 1850, nor was there a daughter Mary still at home with Edward in 1850. I have not found additional proof that this daughter actually belongs here - the age given is the same as Margaret and I doubt there were twins. There really doesn't seem to be a place for a daughter this age based on the known ages of the others. Another version of the daughter Mary, places her born in 1831 which would fit better in the family - but then this database gives her 1st husband as James Brandenburg, a second husband as John M. Peters. Unreliability is high as this database found on Ancestry has Mary and both husbands attached to widely random and impossible census records - none of which seem to apply as most relate to Marys of varying ages who are married to Gabbards, not Brandenburg or Peters.... There is one census, 1870, Owsley Co KY when a John J. Peters, age 24 [born 1846] has a wife Mary J., 22, born (1848) which cannot possibly be this Mary since her mother would have been past childbearing years.

** 10. Margaret E. Gabbard was age 16 in 1850 and still living at home with her parents - and she was still there as Margaret Gabbard, age 23 in 1860, with a possible son Elijah, age 1. She is thought to have married a Sebourn. There were Sebourns in the area in Kentucky and later in Crawford Co, AR. I have no further information, after 1860. [I have wondered if she and Mary were confused and they are the same daughter]

** 11. Eliza Jane, b. 9 May 1839, age 14 in 1850, which indicates she was older than born 1839, and at home with her parents. Married George M. Baker, 1860, Jackson Co KY. Only the two youngest daughters were still at home with Edward Gabbard for the 1850 census.

I would welcome correspondence with anyone about any members of either the family of Edward Gabbard or his older brother John who married Elizabeth Loar. I do have more information, children for the couples above, some exact dates, etc. that I would be happy to share.

My email address can be found by clicking on my name to my photo on the right hand side of this page. Any posted comments are monitored and might not appear for a few days.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - The Ancestors GeneaMeme

The GeneaMeme just looked like too much fun to pass up!
The Ancestors' Geneameme
The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (colour optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type
You are encouraged to add extra comments in brackets after each item

1. Can name my 16 great-great-grandparents [Andrew Jackson Adamson, Rachel Ann Garner, William Alexander Harmon, Emma Elizabeth Miller, Nathaniel M. Harrison, Sarah Ann Gabbard, Ira Perrin Irwin, Elisabeth Ann Avery, Elijah Thomas Comstock, Miranda Jane Brown, Joseph Christopher Wood, Letitia Ann Mayberry, Elias B. Hays, Martha Frances Crutcher, Peter Buell Allen, Mary Rowena Hoskins.  I can name my husband's 16, too...]

2. Can name over 50 direct ancestors  [Absolutely!  Ahnentafel reveals 59 by the end of the fourth generation - one of my German lines has been traced back about 14 generations.]

3. Have photographs or portraits of my 8 great-grandparents [Have only the 4 on my mother's side.  My mother left my father when I was two - she cut up all the pictures of him.]

4. Have an ancestor who was married more than three times  [Have a sister who's been married 4 times ...does that count?  One of my gg grandma's had a sister that married 5 times - each one was a neighbor and she got his land when he died.   Hmmm.... ]

5. Have an ancestor who was a bigamist   [YES - my ggg grandfather Ephraim Comstock left a wife in Kentucky and married another in Tennessee - the abandoned wife married again, too.  No divorce.]

6. Met all four of my grandparents  [My birth father's mother died at age 32 of pneumonia - I never knew his father who had gone off to California and never, no he never, returned.]

7. Met one or more of my great-grandparents   [Two.  My maternal grandmother's father lived until I was 11; my maternal grandfather's mother lived until after my first child was born.  She died in 1963 - we had five generations.]

8. Named a child after an ancestor   [All three of my children have a middle name from an ancestor.]

9. Bear an ancestor's given name/s    [I wish....  My mother heard my name, Karen Kay, from a total stranger the day before I was born and stuck me with it.]

10. Have an ancestor from Great Britain or Ireland   [Most of them....]

11. Have an ancestor from Asia   [No]

12. Have an ancestor from Continental Europe   [Germany - two family lines]

13. Have an ancestor from Africa  [No]

14. Have an ancestor who was an agricultural labourer   [Lots of farmers - some were storekeepers and schoolteachers, too, but they had farms.]

15. Have an ancestor who had large land holdings (what's large? Larger than 40 acres? Yep. Larger than 640 acres? Probably.)       [Just small farms....]

16. Have an ancestor who was a holy man - minister, priest, rabbi   [My gggg grandfather Richard Jones was a Union Baptist Minister in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.  I had lots of Quaker ancestors - they could all preach if they wanted.]

17. Have an ancestor who was a midwife    [Doubt it.]

18. Have an ancestor who was an author   [had some wannabees...]

19. Have an ancestor with the surname Smith, Murphy or Jones     [YES - all three, Smith, Murphy, and Jones and two families of Brown that are not related!]

20. Have an ancestor with the surname Wong, Kim, Suzuki or Ng   [No]

21. Have an ancestor with a surname beginning with X   [No]

22. Have an ancestor with a forename beginnining with Z    [No.  My gg grandma Wood has asister Zella.]

23. Have an ancestor born on 25th December    [I'm cheating - my husband's grandfather, James Frank Pippin, was born on Christmas day, 1892]

24. Have an ancestor born on New Year's Day    [I was born on Janury 4th - almost New Year's....]

25. Have blue blood in your family lines (supposedly if Royal Descendants book is right)     [We thought for awhile my husband did, but the line is faulty....  Even though it goes through a person approved for Colonial Dames ...DNA indicates not!  I never could make the line work out anyway, I always thought something was very wrong - people just not in the right places at the right time.]

26. Have a parent who was born in a country different from my country of birth   [Nope]

27. Have a grandparent who was born in a country different from my country of birth    [Nope]

28. Can trace a direct family line back to the eighteenth century   [all but a few]

29. Can trace a direct family line back to the seventeenth century or earlier [several]

30. Have seen copies of the signatures of some of my great-grandparents   [The best one is my great grandfather Mon Comstock's permission for my grandfather to marry my grandmother.  It's written on his store letterhead.]

31. Have ancestors who signed their marriage certificate with an X    [Yes.  And everything else.  My Samuel Brown in Old Pendleton couldn't sign his name - he was the only one of five Sam Browns living there, that could not sign his name, so I was able to separate and identify him.]

32. Have a grandparent or earlier ancestor who went to university   [Likely not - I don't know of any]

33. Have an ancestor who was convicted of a criminal offence   [The same ggg grandfather that was a bigamist was also convicted of forgery in Breckinridge Co, KY, and sentenced to a two to four year prison term, but was found to be "not in that Commonwealth".  I know where he was, but I'm not tellin'.]

34. Have an ancestor who was a victim of crime   [They say an ancestor isn't an ancestor unless they are direct.  But I have two uncles of sorts who were murdered in the same family line.  My 2nd great granduncle James Irving/Ervin Comstock was poisoned in October of 1893 - either by his second wife or his stepson.  They were never convicted.  He was a brother to the criminal & bigamist above.  My great grandfather's brother, Hardy Comstock, was shot & killed by his neighbor Chester Lemon who turned himself in.  Lemon was acquitted because Hardy was reported to have been seeing Lemon's wife - made the killing justified in 1936.

35. Have shared an ancestor's story online or in a magazine  [Both in Blogs and in local genealogical publications.]

36. Have published a family history online or in print  [Just online]

37. Have visited an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries   [Most of my ancestor's homes were burned during the Civil War.  I would like to visit Providence, RI where the Comstocks came from, even though there is no home there now.

38. Still have an ancestor's home from the 19th or earlier centuries in the family  [One of my husband's family homes is still owned by descendants of a different child - homesteaded in 1848.  The house has been added on to, but the original part is still there.]

39. Have a family bible from the 19th Century   [They burned in the fires during the Civil War.  My husband's great grandma was reported to have a Bible, but it disappeared and no one will own up to having it.]

40. Have a pre-19th century family bible   [I wish!]

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Who was Mary Rowena Hoskins?

NOTICE:  There is an update as of 10 January 2020: Father of Mary Rowena Hoskins Was Silas Hoskins
----------------------------------------------------
Mary, Mary, where were you born?   Who were your parents?  Mary Rowena Hoskins is my great, great grandmother on my matrilineal line.  Since I cannot find her parents, I can go no further back.  I have recently had my mtDNA full sequence test and I have a perfect match - but that lady can go back one less generation than I can so we are stuck at one of those brick walls.

Here is what I know.

Mary Rowena Hoskins was born 15 Sep 1815 in New York.  In 1880, she stated her parents were born in New York.  That is as specific as I can be for her place of birth.  Her husband was born in Ontario County, New York, and I know his Allen family well, but there don't seem to be any Hoskins that lived there.

Mary Hoskins married Peter B. Allen in Vigo County, Indiana, 28 Dec 1836, when she was age 21 and Peter was 25.  The Allens had been there since about 1820.  Peter's older sister Amanda married a Silas Hoskins, 14 Mar 1825, some eleven years earlier.  Silas was age 30-40 in the 1830 census - the only census he appears in because he was likely deceased by 1840.  That would make him born between 1790 and 1800 so it is possible he could have been Mary's father - especially if he was closer to age 40.  In that 1830 census, there were several older children including a daughter between the ages of 10 and 15 - the age of Mary Rowena in 1830, and they could not have been the children of Amanda Allen Hoskins because she was born in 1807, plus they were born before the 1825 marriage of Amanda and Silas.  Presumably Amanda was the second wife of Silas Hoskins.

But no record exists suggesting more about the relationship of Mary and Silas Hoskins.  Father/daugher, brother/sister, cousins, who knows...     In 1840, Amanda Hoskins was head of household, but there was a male age 40-50 present - strange, but true.  I've suspected that Silas had perhaps died that year, but the enumerator counted him as living past a certain date.  I've found no evidence of exactly when Silas died - no probate, etc.  I have found nothing to suggest where Silas Hoskins was born.  Amanda moved to Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, along with her brother's family and some of her children.  I have only been able to identify one child - Peter A. Hoskins born probably about 1826.  The 1840 census indicates others, including several daughters.  There are three Hoskins marriages in Vigo County, Indiana in 1848 - Clarissa married Andrew Newcomb, Eliza married William Mars, Martha Jane married Artemus Gilbert.  Were they daughters of Silas?   Are were some of them daughters of Joseph Hoskins who also lived in Vigo County at that time?

Here is the other Hoskins family in Vigo County.  They appeared just before Mary and Peter B. Allen married, circa 1835 or so.  Some researchers have assumed Joseph to be Mary's father, but I think not.  Joseph Hoskins was head of this household and he apparently lived out the rest of his life in Lost Creek Township.  He rests in the Hoskins Cemetery outside Seelyville along with what I believe was his second wife, and several children who died as infants or in young adulthood.  Joseph Hoskins was born 1796, making him about age 19 the year my Mary Rowena was born.  Joseph Hoskins alternately gave his place of birth as Tennessee or Kentucky but never New York.   I believe he was married at least three times:  (1) Nancy Thompson, 25 Feb 1817, Shelby Co KY  (2) Sarah Sweet, 20 Aug 1838, Vigo Co, IN   (3)  Nancy Morris, 13 Sep 1855, Vigo Co IN.  I believe he had children by all three wives, several of whom married in Vigo Co.  One of the daughters buried Hoskins Cemetery, married in Vigo Co in December of 1835, effectively placing the family there at that time.  Jos. Hoskins was in the 1830, Shelby Co KY census.    I've never found Joseph Hoskins in the 1840 census in Vigo, but I do believe he was there and just missed or has been indexed in some very obscure way - he is in the censuses 1850 through 1870 in Vigo Co.  He died 27 Oct 1870.

Because he was born in either Kentucky or Tennessee and did not marry until two years after Mary Rowena Hoskins was born in New York, I think Joseph Hoskins is not part of her family in any immediate way.  Joseph Hoskins and family did not live in the same part of Vigo County, nor did they interact with the Allens that remained there.

Mary Rowena Hoskins and Peter B. Allen left Vigo County soon after their marriage and moved to Arkansas.  They seemed to have gone on this adventure without benefit of friends and relatives, locating first on the Red River in Sevier County in 1839, moving two years later to Polk County, near the town of Cove where they spent the rest of their lives.  There were nine children.  None of the information that has survived in any of the families provides any hints about Mary's parents or birthplace other than "New York".

Mary died 15 Mar 1885, and is buried Pleasant Grove Cemetery, about 1/2 mile southeast of Cove, Polk County, Arkansas.  Peter Allen lived until 1901 and is buried beside her.

Are there any Hoskins, born in New York, out there?  Do you have any ideas that I could pursue?  Can you help me find Mary's parents?

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette!

I haven't participated in Saturday Night fun for a long time, but I decided to do so tonight.

My great-grandfather, James Monroe "Mon" Comstock, was born 23 Feb 1860, so he would be 151 years old.  Divided by 4 and rounded off that would be number 38 in my Ahnentafel.

Number 38 is William Miller, a third great grandfather and here are three facts about him.

William Miller was born 30 May 1781, in North Carolina.  The exact place and his parents are unknown to me.  He married Nancy Meek probably about 1808.  William and Nancy moved to Boone County, Indiana, about 1830, settling in the Eagle Creek coomunity as one of the first settlers. Birth places of their children indicate they probably lived somewhere else in Indiana as early as 1815 - and they quite likely spent a few years in Tennessee after leaving North Carolina.

There were at least ten children - the ninth of which was my 2nd great grandmother, Emma Elizabeth Miller, born 10 Jul 1825.

William and Nancy (Meek) Miller are buried in the Eagle Village Cemetery, Zionsville, Boone County.  William Miller died 25 Aug 1844, aged 63 years, 2 months, and 26 days.  Nancy died four years later.  Their graves, including pictures of the stones, can be found on FindAGrave.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Comstock DNA Project News

The  Comstock DNA Project is proceeding slowly.  There is one new test in progress at FamilyTree DNA - the gentleman in question also descends from Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island so is expected to match the two tests that have been done.

Since no other Comstocks are in the Project at FamilyTree, I entered the results of one of the men already tested at GeneTree.  You can register and do this manually at that site, even if you have been tested by another company.  Although the markers tested are not all the same, enough of them are to get indications of matches.  Another Comstock did reveal to be a match - 26 markers out of 28 - which is not a bad match at all considering this new individual goes back to the son Daniel of the immigrant William Comstock and William would be the nearest possible common ancestor.  The person at GeneTree did not wish to be contacted and did not provide an email address, but he did include a GEDCOM file showing his descent from Daniel, which can also be found in John A. Comstock's book,  A History and Genealogy of the Comstock Family in America, 1949.  The two descendants are at least 11 generations from William.   This is a very good indicator that both Daniel and Samuel are from the same family of Comstocks - Y-DNA is not precise enough to tell us the exact relationship.

Daniel Comstock (1630-1683) is a proved son of the immigrant William Comstock who died in New London, CT about the same year that Daniel died in the same place.  

The American Genealogist, 1933, Vol. 10, p.169
New London CT Probate Records:
Comstock,Daniel, of New London. File #1392. Inventory taken 13 Nov 1683 by Daniel Witherell and Charles Hill, Townsmen. Proved and administration granted his widow Paltiel, she to improve the whole estate for the bringing up of the children.

Quoted in E. B. Comstock's, The Comstock Family in America, 1938
William had sons John & Daniel as shown by deed of 4 Dec 1694 in which grandsons William Comstock of Lyme [son of John] and Daniel Comstock of New London [son of Daniel] conveyed land at Nyantik which said land was given to our grandfather William Comstock, deceased, by the town of New London, 20 acres. This is the 20 acres granted 21 Jun 1647:
12 Jun 1647. William Comstock was granted a lot at Pequot [later New London] by the town, also 10 acres of upland, 10 acres on East side of River Thames

 
It has been assumed by most researchers, that Samuel Comstock (1628-1657) was also a son of William because of his close association with Daniel, but the proof was circumstantial.  Now that a descendant of Daniel has matching DNA to descendants of Samuel, the relationship is further substantiated.

A third son of William was John Comstock, proved by the same deed above.   There is a fourth possible son - a Christopher Comstock who lived at Norwalk in Fairfield Co. CT.  There has been some dispute based on research abroad that no one since has been able to duplicate, that Christopher might have a different lineage.  That he might have been of German heritage.  Subsequent researchers, including the author John A. Comstock, did not agree.

The naming of sons in Daniel and Christopher's family is somewhat notable.  Daniel had sons named for himself and for Samuel; he had a grandson named Christopher.  Christopher Comstock had among his sons, a Samuel and a Daniel; he also had a grandson named Christopher.

Y-DNA testing of a direct descendant of Christopher Comstock, who still carries the Comstock surname, is important to shed further light regarding his family connection.  Testing by a descendant of John would also be helpful and important to the project.  The more men that consent to the test, the better the predictions can be.

If you are unfamiliar with Y-DNA testing - the 37-marker test is recommended for reasonable genealogy purposes.  It is a simple and painless cheek swab.  The test is non-medical.  It has no resemblance to DNA testing for law enforcement purposes and does not reveal any health conditions, nor paternity.  There is no "chain of custody" with DNA testing by the companies testing genealogy DNA - there is no way for anyone to track or access your results and use them for any other purpose.  The tests are as private as you want them to be.  Sharing your email address does allow communication with your matches, but you do not have to do so.

To join the Comstock DNA project, simply follow the link at the beginning of this Blog, where you can find more information.  There is a "Join Project" tab.  Feel free to email me for more information:
My Email Address



Thursday, July 28, 2011

My Own DNA

I have just received the results of my own FamilyFinder DNA test at FamilyTree DNA.  I had quite a few matches and several of them have already led to the discovery of new cousins, particularly among the Gabbard-Baker-Smith-Bowman families that lived in several Kentucky coutines - Madison, Clay, Owsley, Jackson, etc.  Some of new cousins are related in two or more ways.

Then there are those intriguing matches which don't seem to match - some of these are at the 3rd cousin level which suggests we share great, great grandparents ....but we can't find any surnames at all in common, much less great, great grandparents.  One really starts to wonder what some of our ancestors were up to!

At any rate, I've been busy all day, comparing notes and discovering new information and new friends.  The above families in Kentucky were all quite far back and I've not included them on my webpage in the past, but after today, I will be doing just that.

I don't pretend to understand all the ramifications of the results of the test, but I do know this:  my DNA is "out there" for comparison.  I have also ordered a mtDNA test because I can only go back five generations on my direct female line to a lady named Mary Rowena Hoskins.  She seemingly had no family, but I'd really like to find one for her.

I wish I had a crystal ball and could see what the future holds regarding DNA studies.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Comstock DNA Project - Sale at FamilyTree DNA

This post is for any male Comstock descendant who still carries the Comstock surname. 

There is a one-week sale at FamilyTree DNA. The 37 marker Y-DNA test is the cheapest it has ever been and this is the test most often recommended for genealogy purposes. If you have considered having your DNA tested to help prove the lineage of the four proposed sons now would be the time to do so. So far only two descendants of Samuel Comstock of Rhode Island have been tested.


The sale is from today, Friday, July 15th, 2011, through Thursday, July 21st, at 11:59 PM CST. The “regular pricing” shown below is already a project group price and is less than ordering directly from the FamilyTree DNA homepage

• Y-DNA37 for $119 (Regular price would be $149)

• Y-DNA67 for $199 (Regular price would be $239)

• Family Finder for $199 (Regular price would be $289)

• Family Finder + Y-DNA37 for $318 (Regular price would be $438)

• Family Finder + mtDNAPlus for $318 (Regular Price would be $438)

• mtDNA Full Sequence for $219 (Regular Price would be $299)

• SuperDNA for $418 (Regular Price would be $518, includes Y-DNA67 and mtFullSequence)

• Comprehensive Genome for $617 (Regular Price would be $797, includes Y-DNA67, mtFullSequence and Family Finder)

In addition, existing Family Tree DNA customers may order the Family Finder add-on for $199

Unfortunately these are also the dates of my vacation, and much of the time I will not have computer access to answer any questions.  However, ordering a test is easy to do.  The test should be ordered through the Comstock project for you to be a part and have your DNA compared there with other Comstock descendants.  Results are posted by a Kit number, not by name - privacy is respected.  Here is the Comstock DNA Project home page

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/comstock/

At the top of the page is a “Join” tab, which leads to a page with the option to “Purchase a Test to Join This Project”. Follow the instructions.

Any questions about the test – what it consists of, etc – can be answered by going to the FamilyTree DNA homepage and checking the FAQs found there.

http://www.familytreedna.com/

This is the first time prices have been this low since last summer and the opportunity to puchase tests at these prices may be come again.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Adamson Obituaries

Today is a genealogy Happy Dance day.  I recently discovered the obituary of a grandaunt, Blanche Adamson - now I have access to the obituaries of her parents, my great grandparents, Enoch Reuben and Mary Elizabeth (Harmon) Adamson. 

This is the situation.  My mother divorced my birth father - she left him before I was age two.  At age six, I was adopted by my stepfather and legally given his name.  My birth family, the Adamsons, were effectively erased from my life - to be rediscovered when I began family research.  I have had no traditions, no family stories, to further this research or give it depth.  On the other side of the coin, each tidbit of information about the Adamsons is always fresh and new.

Enoch was a Union Army Civil War Pensioner, so I had a copy of his very large file, which included a date and place of death, but no particulars.  He had not died at home in Benton County, Arkansas, but curiousily, in Oklahoma.  I knew that after his death, Mary was counted twice in the 1910 census - once in Rogers, Benton County, Arkansas, and also in Chester, Crawford County, Arkansas, some fifty or so miles and two counties away.  I had no more records about Mary after about 1912, so assumed she had also passed away.  I knew that Blanche had died as a young woman because I found her listed in USGenWeb in the Rogers Cemetery, but knew absolutely nothing else about her.

The following obituaries are some of the richest in detail that I have seen - Enoch's even offers the explanation of why Mary was counted twice in the 1910 census.  The obituaries can also be found on FindAGrave.com, Rogers Cemetery, Benton County, Arkansas.  The contributor has given me permission to use them in this Blog.  The Rogers Democrat was the local newspaper.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
March 08, 1905
ADAMSON, Blanche – A telegram was received yesterday announcing the death that morning of Miss Blanche Adamson of Cherry Lynn, 8 miles from Denver. The body will be brought to Rogers for burial and while no word has yet been received from Mr. and Mrs. Adamson regarding the funeral arrangements it is thought they will reach here tomorrow night or Friday morning. Miss Adamson's death was the result of consumption and her condition had been such since Christmas that her death had been almost daily expected. It will be two years in April since Miss Adamson went to Colorado with the hope that the change of climate would cure her and it was thought at times she was on the road to recovery. It was too deep seated and death alone could give her relief. None of the young ladies of Rogers of recent years have been more deservedly popular than Miss Adamson and she had a wide acquaintance in this part of the state. Born in Kansas she came with her parents, E.R. Adamson and wife, to Rogers 16 years ago and resided here until she went to Colorado. She had always been prominent in local social circles, her pleasant manners and lovable traits of character making her a general favorite. During the years that her father had the control of the Commercial Hotel here the active management of the same was handled by Miss Blanche and she made a most capable landlady. The Democrat joins with the many Rogers friends in extending sympathy to the bereaved family.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
March 15, 1905
Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Adamson, accompanying the body of their daughter, Miss Blanche, who died a week ago near Denver, arrived in Rogers Friday noon. Funeral services were held Sunday afternoon at the Congregational church at two o'clock and were conducted by Rev. J.G. Bailey, assisted by Rev. Alling. The church was crowded with friends of the deceased and of the family and many were unable to gain admission; an eloquent tribute to the popularity of Miss Blanche. Interment was in the local cemetery. All of the funeral arrangements were carried out in accordance with the wishes of Miss Adamson, who planned them a short time before her death.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
January 13, 1910
ADAMSON, E.R. - E.R. Adamson died Friday, January 7th in the hospital at McAlester, Okla. the result of pneumonia and complications. The body was brought to Rogers and funeral services were held Monday afternoon at two o'clock at the Presbyterian church and were conducted by the pastor, Rev. Arnett. Interment was in the Rogers cemetery. Mr. Adamson had been in charge of a Rock Island bridge gang the past three months with headquarters at Haileyville, Okla. Christmas Day he was sent to Shawnee to assist in clearing away the wrecked machine shops where a number of men were killed by the explosion of a locomotive boiler. He caught a severe cold and was ordered to the hospital January 1st. He rapidly grew worse and died before any of the family could reach him. "Col" Adamson, as he was familiarly known, was born February 19, 1854 at Kokomo, Howard county, Indiana. He grew to manhood there served four years in the Civil War in an Indiana regiment. After the war he went to Missouri and October 12, 1870 was married to Miss Mary E. Harmon of Oregon, Mo. To them were born seven children, four of whom with their mother survive him. They are Mrs. E.E. Musselman of Rogers and Lee, Ray, and Clarie, who have been the past year at Quanah Texas. Two children died at Peirce City, Mo. and Miss Blanche died here several years ago. Mr. Adamson had been a Frisco employee for twenty-seven years, commencing about the time the Frisco company began work on the line south from Monett. He had always been in the bridge and carpenter department and in charge of a regular crew. The family moved to Rogers from Peirce City in 1890. In 1897 Mr. Adamson took charge of the Commercial Hotel of Rogers and owned it for about three years, although he was himself in charge and off the road for only one year. He was elected mayor of Rogers that spring and served with credit to himself and the town. For a number of years Mr. Adamson had owned a large fruit farm near Chester and a little over two years ago they moved down there to give it their personal supervision. Mrs. Adamson and the boys will retain the farm this year at least. Mr. Adamson was one of the most popular men that ever lived in Rogers and his list of friends was only limited by the number of his acquaintances. Big, jolly and with a hearty welcome for everyone, he was known from one end of the division to the other and the news of his sudden death will be learned with much regret by all. Mrs. Adamson and children request us to thank the friends who so kindly assisted her in preparing and conducting the funeral and for other kindnesses shown.

Rogers Democrat
Rogers, AR
September 19, 1912
ADAMSON, Mary Elizabeth HARMON - Mrs. E.R. Adamson died Saturday morning [September 13th - the 19th was a Thursday in 1912] at Dr. Love's sanitarium after a prolonged and painful illness. There had been but little hope for her recovery for several months and death came as a welcome relief from her sufferings. Funeral services were held at the Presbyterian church Sunday afternoon at three o'clock and were conducted by the officers of the Eastern Star, under the direction of District Deputy Worthy Matron Addie L. Bartlett. A large number of friends gathered at the church and cemetery to pay their last sad tribute to the memory of the deceased. Mary Elizabeth Harmon was born in Indiana July 14th, 1850 and was married to Enoch R. Adamson on October 19, 1868. They moved from Indiana to Bremer county, Iowa in 1869 and lived also in Kansas and Missouri before coming to Rogers twenty years ago from Pierce City, Mo. Mr. Adamson died Jan. 7, 1910 and Mrs. Adamson is survived by four children, Mrs. E.E. Muesselman, Lee H. Adamson, and Ray and Clair Adamson, all of this city. A daughter, Miss Blanche, died a number of years ago. The deceased also leaves two brothers and a sister. Mrs. Adamson had been a member of the Presbyterian church of Rogers for twenty years and was always one of its most conscientious and faithful workers. She was one of the best beloved Christian women of the city and none stood higher in the esteem of our people. She was a member of the Woman's Study Club and took an active interest in all matters that pertained to the welfare of her town and her neighbors. Her death is a loss not only to her own immediate family but to the entire community.

There is one very interesting fact from the above obituary - Mary seemed to always maintain she was born in July of 1850 - also indicated in the obit.  However, in the 1850 census, she was listed with her parents as being 11/12.  The census enumerator was there on 19 Sep 1850.  Perhaps he intended to list her as 1/12.  In 1860, the informant declared Mary to be age 12 - so that didn't help solve the problem.  Other dates related by Mary or by Enoch, such as in the various pension applications and forms, have been quite accurate.  I can only conclude that she certainly understood her birth year to have been 1850.

I was curious, too, about Love's Sanitarium.  Ah, the Internet is truly a wonderful place.  It was a small private hospital run by Dr. George M. Love in Rogers, Arkansas. There is even a picture!

Love's Sanitarium

Happy Dance!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial to a Veteran


  My husband and I both had several uncles that served in World War II.  His Uncle John Haden was a true hero and fought in two wars.  He was a recipient of the Distinquished Flying Cross.  I have seen his medal and his citation, but, alas, that was before the days of digital cameras and I have no photos.  I would like to remember John on this Memorial Day, 2011.

John Haden was born 7 Feb 1921 in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas - the youngest of three brothers.  His oldest brother William, born 7 Apr 1910, was my father-in-law.  I have articles from The Ladonia News - John graduated from Ladonia High School in the Class of 1938.  The "socials" column notes that he was studying at the University of Texas in Austin in 1929 and 1940.

John married as Lt. John Haden of the Marine Air Corps in December of 1942, in Houston, Texas, and it was noted in the local newspaper that the couple would be living in Corpus Christi, where the groom received his commission and was stationed temporarily. 

On the same day of his wedding announcement there was a second article in The Ladonia News:
Friday Dec 11, 1942.
John Haden Wins Coveted Medal
John Haden, son of Mr. & Mrs. R. C. Haden, Ladonia, recently was awarded the coveted "Navy Wings of Gold" and commissioned 2nd Lieut. in the U.S. Marine Corps at the Naval Air Training Center, Corpus Christi.
Lieut. Haden received his wings with the designation of a Naval Aviator from Rear Admiral E. A. Montgomery, USN, Commandant of the training center, at an impressive class graduation ceremony.
Haden volunteered for flight training in March, 1942, and received preliminary instructions at the US Naval Aviation Base, Dallas. Upon successful completion of this training he was transferred to Corpus Christi for intermediate and advanced training at the "University of the Air" the world's largest naval aviation training center.
In addition to flight instruction, Haden completed a thorough ground school course, including navigation, radio code, gunnery, and bombing theory, communications, and other aeronautical subjects. He is a former student of the University of Texas.

During World War II, the Marines were part of the Navy.  John flew the bent wing F4U Corsair.  On 1 Jun 1945, he was shot down in the Pacific and flown to a hospital in Guam with a badly broken foot.   Family letters related that he was sent on to a hospital in Honolula and then eventually home.  He remained in the reserves and was called back into service during the Korean War.

He received the Distinquished Flying Cross: 
"For heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as Pilot of a Plane in Marine Fighter Squadron 214 during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 6 October 1951. Responding to an urgent call for close air support when friendly ground forces were subjected to concentrated fire from a hostile battalion command post and four heavily defended artillery emplacements, Captain Haden skillfully led his flight over hazardous terrain to the target area in reduced visibility and initiated a series of daring attacks against the enemy. Despite intense hostile automatic-weapons fire, he continued to press determined bombing, napalm and strafing assaults, inflicting many casualties on the enemy and destroying the command post together with the artillery pieces. By his courage, skilled airmanship and devotion to duty, Captain Haden struck a damaging blow to the enemy and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
For the President, C. S. Thomas, Sect of the Navy.


John was the humblest of heros.  I was part of the family for years before I even knew he had served in two wars.  He was a delightful and gracious gentleman - it was my good fortune to have known him.  John Haden passed away on 12 October 2010; he had lived with his beloved wife Merle in Bedford for many years.  John and Merle had celebrated 68 years of marriage.   As of the posting of the Blog, his wonderful obituary is still available online and has a small picture of John in his uniform.  I have seen the picture at his home, but have no copy.  You can see it here

Except for some small family pictures made when John was just a boy in the 1930's, I have only a single photo.  This one was made in Dallas on the occasion of my second son's wedding, March of 1990.  The man on the left is William Haden, my father-in-law who died two years after the picture was taken ...the man on the right is Uncle John with a twinkle in his eye.  To me, this picture is a true portrait of a great man with a great sense of humor.  Our true American heros live among us as ordinary men, although they are anything but ordinary.









Clip Art

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Andrew Pippin

One should never say never...  I thought I had told the last of the Civil War ancestor stories, but that was not quite so. 

Another of my husband's great, grand grandfathers was Andrew Pippin, born 1 Mar 1825 in Jackson County, Tennessee, and lived there all his life.  Andrew married Mary "Mollie" Goolsby about 1845 and they had seven children born before the War, a daughter born during the War, and one more son in 1866.  Mollie died before 1870, and Andrew married again in 1871 to Lucinda Hutcheson by whom he had at least ten more children for a total of nineteen, eighteen of whom reached adulthood.

Andrew's Civil War story is told through his pension application.

Andy enlisted in Co. B, 28th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry at Murfreesboro, on 23 Dec 1862 [Stated 1862 in his pension application but the enlistment must have been in 1861 based on other events.] and served as a private. His Regt was merged with the 84th TN on Mar 8 1863 and designated as the 28th Consolidated; he was in Company K. His commanding officers were his his first cousin Capt. Alfred C. Pippin and Col. P. D. Cunningham. [Cunningham was killed 2 Jan 1862 at the Battle of Murfreesboro and Alfred Pippin died in a skirmish 13 Jan 1864.]

Andrew stated he was in the Battle at Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga where he received a gunshot wound in the upper right arm and was taken to the hospital.   [This may be an error as the Missionary Ridge battle occured a couple of days following Chickamauga; his unit was certainly there at the Ridge, but I believe Andrew was already in the hospital.]  He was released from the hospital as "unable for military service" by a nurse.   He was captured by the Yankees on the way home and imprisoned at Nashville and held there for about two months, very ill and growing worse.

Andrew received no medical aid and was advised he would die if he remained in prison. He was offered transportation home on Jan 3 1864, provided he sign the oath of allegiance to the United States.  He signed the oath, so he could go home.  After arriving home he was bedfast and helpless for sometime.  It was more than a year before he gained much use of his arm.  His brother Simeon "Sim" testified that he was with Andrew in the Battle of Chickamauga, and with him when he was released from the hospital, very ill with his wound.  He was with Andrew when he was captured and was carried with him to prison in Nashville and knew that Andrew grew worse while there.

Just as an aside:  Regimental history reveals that at Chickamauga, Pippin's unit sustained 34% casualties. Very few men remained to surrender by 1865.

Andrew was denied his Confederate pension for signing the oath.  A document dated, 7 Aug 1908 "War Records Report" says: Took the oath at Nashville, Jan 4 '64. The board hold a soldier had no right to take the oath, but must go to prison. Independent of this, he was on his way home when captured."

Examination of the file sent from the Tennessee Archives included a letter from Mr. T. C. Fuqua, dated 17 Dec 1914, stating that Mr. Pippin is dead [the cemetery record states that Andrew died 17 Dec 1913] and his widdow is "just to mercies of charity" He states further that Pippin was evidently entitled to a pension but lacked some in proving his claim and all correspondence has been lost; please send proper papers for re-application & instructions for doing so.

Application was first made 1 Jul 1908 and the letter from Mr. Fuqua about his death is the last dated document found in the file. Strangely the outside of the pension jacket is stamped "Accepted" - I believe Andrew was accepted as a pensioner but the notice arrived after his death.


Lucinda applied for her Widow's Indigent Pension on 8 Sep 1926. She was living with her son-in-law S. R. [Silas Redmon] Jackson and had no property of any kind; she was totally blind. She named all the children and gave their ages. She did not remember the company & regiment Andrew served in. John Tucker was named as a friend who would be willing to furnish more information.


D. B. Flatt and Willis Meadors were her witnesses. Flatt said he'd known her for 40 years and known her husband since he was a child. They did not know anything about his military service except what they'd been told. They knew he had been born in Tennessee and that they had cohabitted together and recognized as husband and wife. She had no property nor had conveyed any in the past two years as she had none to convey and she was blind.

Algood Moore, Clerk of the Putnam County Court, certified that the court house was destroyed by fire in 1898 and if the record of the marriage of Andrew Pippin and Lucinda V. Hutchison ever existed, it had been destoyed by said fire.

An inquiry was sent to see if Andrew Pippin had served in the 8th Regisment of the TN Cavalry. The reply came back that "one Andrew Pippin, who enlisted at Murfreesboro, residence Jackson Co., served in Co. B, 28th Tenn. Inf., C.S.A. which became Co K, 18th (Consolidated) Tenn. Inf. C.S.A.

Apparently her friend, John Tucker was contacted as there's a typed letter from him. His letterhead reads: John Tucker, General Merchandise, Coffins and Caskets. Double Springs, Tenn. It's dated 2 Oct 1926, and he offers to try to find old people who can testify to the marriage of Andrew & Lucinda by their living together, but says there is no one living who was present at their marriage. He is willing to assist her anyway he can at no charge as he lost his father in the Confederate Army.

The Pension card has the following note:  No proof of marriage. No Trustees certificate. Can't file. Perhaps this was all eventually corrected as it's also stamped ACCEPTED. The Tennessee pension records do not give the amount awarded.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - William Franklin Haden

Today's post is the last of the Civil War ancestor stories.  William Franklin Haden was my husband's great, great grandfather, born 30 Sep 1817 in either Logan or Warren County, Kentucky.  According to dates passed down in the family, he was born about seven months after his father died from being thrown off a horse.  William had one brother about two years older.  The half-orphaned boys were raised by a stepfather with the guardianship of their Haden uncles.  William's brother, John, moved from Kentucky to Mississippi and then Missouri, dying there in Jasper County in 1852.  The picture was made in 1859 - it is a daguerrotype.

William married first Mary Martha Ann Gaines in 1837 and had two daughters.  The family left Kentucky bound for Greene County, Missouri, where cousins were living, probably about 1843.  It isn't known whether Mary Martha died in Kentucky or on the journey, or soon after their arrival in Missouri.  William married again to Mary Jane Perkins, 16 Dec 1845, in Greene County - he had known her back in Kentucky, as both of their families had lived in Logan County.

By the time the Civil War started, the area of Greene County where the Hadens lived had become Christian County.  Their home was near the Wilson Creek battlefield.  William was a bit old for the service - he was about 44 when the war began.  It is doubtful that he actually served as a soldier.    But William was captured by the Yankees and put into prison in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  For some years I searched for proof that this was more than a family story.  Then I came into possession of letters written by his son Joseph Benjamin Haden, who was my husband's great grandfather, and found the following letter written in 1924 to his older brother, James or "Jimmie".



































Let me explain a bit more.  Joe B. Haden spent most of his long life in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas.  He died in 1953 at age 93.  For many years he wrote articles both for his local newspaper and the Dallas newspaper; he also kept up correspondence with many of his friends and relatives.  He had a very old typewriter which I actually saw in the house some years ago and he made carbon copies of everything he wrote - both the articles and the letters.  The letter certainly confirms the family story that William was in prison, but does not say why.  Family tradition is that he was accused of spying for the Confederacy.  At that time in place in southern Missouri, the Union forces needed little reason, so likely "spying" was as good as any.  

Unfortunately, Joe didn't tell us which of his sisters made that incredible ride.  There are three possibilities.  One of the half-sisters, Sarah Mildred, was already married, the other half-sister, Elizabeth Margaret, was in her early 20's.  Joe's oldest full sister, Marietta, would have been about age 16.  Let me describe a bit about this journey.  It is about 175 miles and over the Boston Mountains, a range of the Ozarks.  Although they might have been able to travel on some roads and trails, including the Butterfield stage route, even today this area is heavily forested and much of it quite unpopulated.  Throughout the duration of the War the whole area of southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas was the haunt of bushwhackers and guerillas - it was a war zone.  Today it would take some three and a half hours in a good vehicle to make this trip through the mountains.  Although the Pony Express could cover 100 miles a day, at normal speeds and with no fresh horses along the way, the girls likely covered about 20 miles a day, which meant they surely had to sleep along the way.  Did they camp out?  Did they beg lodging from strangers?  What courage to have made this difficult and frightening journey!

And, yes, I have the postcard:




William's daughters were not able to get him released, so they would have had to return home by the same long, dangerous route.

The story doesn't end there.  Mary Jane was left in Missouri with her step-daughters and seven children of her own, ranging from their early 20's to an infant girl.  I have no choice but to rely on the family traditions about this time period, but remember that Joe B. Haden lived to be 93 and my husband knew him.  His mother, Mary Jane, lived to be 91.  They were around to tell these stories for a very long time.  Because the guerillas took horses, wagons, anything they might be able to use, the Hadens had hidden a horse in the woods and had dismantled the wagon and buried it.  Mary Jane had pity on any of the soldiers, regardless of their uniform, and fed all who came to her door, although she may have spit in the food of the Yankee boys.  Since she had shown kindness, the Union soldiers warned her that her home was to be burned.  Mary Jane and the older children dug up the wagon, reassembled it, and left for Texas, as did so many other Missourians.  Joe remembered looking out the back of the wagon and seeing the plume of smoke that had been his home.

William was still in prison, so Mary Jane stopped at every crossroads and country store to explain which way she was going, so that William could retrace their travels and find them should he be released.  He was released at the end of the War and did find them. The family settled first in Lamar County, then moved to Fannin County, where they would remain for the next three generations.  William and Mary Jane and several of their children are buried in the Ladonia city cemetery - I have visited their graves several times, as well as the house where Mary Jane lived following William's death in 1880.  I have the copy of the deed when she gave the house to my husband's grandfather.


Mary Jane outlived William by so many years and I do not have a picture of her when she was young.  This one was made circa 1895-1900.  I have one other remembrance of Mary Jane.  On my backporch in Florida is a cast iron wash pot - large and very heavy - it traveled with Mary Jane and children in that wagon from Missouri to Texas.  I wish that pot could tell it's story!





Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Holderness Brothers

Another of my husband's great, great grandfathers was Robert Charles Holderness, born 11 Oct 1827, in Caswell County, North Carolina.  He was a physician, having attended the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Holderness, his widowed mother, and all but one of his siblings moved to Calhoun County, Arkansas, just after the 1850 Census.  Robert married Virginia Elizabeth Thomas there in Calhoun County, 2 Nov 1854, but he had known her family back in North Carolina.  In October of 1863, Robert and Virginia along with three young children and a six-week-old baby [Elizabeth "Bettie" my husband's great grandmother] left Arkansas for Hopkins County, Texas.

Dr. Holderness joined the Confederate Army in Black Jack Grove (Cumby), in Hopkins County, and was attached to Company K of the 9th Texas Cavalry (Ross Brigade). However, because of the great need for medical service, he was assigned to civilian practice at Primm Hill (another small town that would be part of Cumby) and did not see any actual military service.


From Civil War Shadows in Hopkins County, Texas, by June E. Tuck, 1993:

p.38 "The 4th of March 1864, the County exempted the following doctors from military duty: Robert Holderness of Tarrant .... The Commissioners thought they were needed at home more than the military needed them.

p.90 "On June 24, 1893, Col. Dillahuntz of Mt. Pleasant, TX, met with ex-Confederates at Black Jack Grove (Cumby) Hopkins Co, TX to organize a new chapter to be known as "Dud Jones Camp, U.C.V. Dr. R. C. Holderness [was elected] Surgeon."


However, Robert had six brothers. 


His eldest brother William Henry, had bought out the shares of his mother and siblings and remained in North Carolina.  Documents on Footnote.com reveal that William worked as a sub-agent for the collection of taxes for the benefit of the Confederacy and received reimbursement for office space, pens, paper, glue, and the labor of a slave. 

When Presidential Pardons [Amnesty] was offered, William Henry Holderness was quick to reply:
"Case Files of Applications from former Confederates for Presidential Pardons [Amnesty Papers] 1865-67 M1003, NARA

Caswell Co NC
June 17, 1865
Dear Sir,
I was a citizen of Caswell County NC about 45 years. I was appointed Title Agent for this county which office I accepted for the Sole purpose of avoiding conscription in the Confederate Service As I was not able or willing to go into the Army.
I was very anxious to have Civil Government established in the State & see peace, prosperity reign over this Country, and I am now Very anxious to take the oath proscribed by your Amnesty Proclamation and to become a good true and loyal citizen of the United States. Upon a statement of the above facts I ask your Excellency to grant me a full and free pardon.
Very respectfully your,
Obet. Servt.
W. H. Holderness

A copy of a printed form with the blanks filled in:
I, W. H. Holderness, of Caswell County, State of North Carolina, do solemnly swear or affirm, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
W. H. Holderness
Sworn and subscribed to this the 23 day of Augt, A.D., 1865, before
A. A. Pattillo, J.P.


Two of the brothers, James and Thomas, born between William and Robert, seemed to have avoided involvement in the War.  James suffered from rheumatism for many years and may have not been physically able.  The next to the youngest of the Holderness boys, Jonathan Iverson, born 1832, also seems not to have served in the War.  All three of these men were Texas ranchers, James & Jonathan in Palo Pinto County, Thomas in Jones county.  None of them ever married.  It is always possible they did serve in the War and their records have been lost to time - none of them would have needed to apply for a pension, nor did they have widows that would have done so.


George W. Holderness was two years younger than Dr. Robert.  Chances are excellent his middle name was Washington, but that is not proved.   George was a merchant in Monticello, Arkansas, a single man.  He had remained in Arkansas when several of his brothers had moved to Texas.  He was enlisted in the Confederacy by Capt. J. A. Owens at Monticello on 8 Feb 1862 for one year, later extended to three years, or the War.  George served as Sergeant Major in Owens Battery or Monticello Battery (Light Artillery) of the Arkansas Volunteers.  This unit served East of the Mississippi throughout the War.  On 19 Oct 1864 he was admitted to Ross Hospital in Mobile, Alabama.  He died there on Nov 19th of acute diarrhea.  His effects were listed simply as "sundries" and he was owed back pay of $91.75.

The youngest of the Holderness brothers was Algernon Sidney Holderness, born a few months after the death of their father.  He, too, was a physician, also receiving his degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  Like his brother George, he remained in Arkansas.

Confederate records from National Archives state A. S. Holderness was enlisted 16 June 1862 by J. M. O'Neill at Hampton, AR to serve three years or the War, in Company B of the 1st Regt. Arkansas Cavalry (Monroe's Regt.)  Apparently following the battles in northwest Arkansas, A. S. was left at the hospital in Fayetteville to care for the wounded.  On 18 Apr 1863, he was detailed as Asst. Surgeon and left at Fayetteville with 1 horse. His papers include a Parole for A. S. Holdiness (sic) of Calhoun Co, Ark. aged 29 years, 5' 9 1/2 " high, eyes blue, hair light, complexion fair; dated 23 Apr 1863 at Fayetteville, Ark. He promises not to give information to the enemies of Government of the United States or harbor any spies of the so called Confederate Army or communicate to any members thereof. Handwritten on the parole is "and that I will not go beyond the Hospital Limits of the Town of Fayetteville, Ark., nor bear arms whilst on duty". Signed with his signature: A. S. Holderness, Ass. Surgeon, CSA, Monros Regt.

A biography in Biographical & Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas (1890) The Goodspeed Publishing Company, pp. 723-24, states this about Algernon Sidney Holderness's Civil War Service:   "He was nearly all through the war, in the Confederate army, as assistant surgeon of the First Arkansas Cavalry, and operated in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. For a short time he held the rank of first lieutenant of Company B. He was discharged in Texas, May 27, 1865, and the same year was married..."

Monday, May 2, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Andrew White

One of my husband's great, great grandfathers, Andrew B. White, was born 20 April 1820 in Tennessee, most probably the son of Thomas and Martha White.  Placing him in this family is documented by considerable circumstantial evidence.  The "B" in his name is a mystery - if I knew it, therein might lie a clue to his mother's maiden name.  [A nephew was named Andrew Burris White so that is at least a possibility.]  Andrew and some of his brothers moved to St. Francois County, Missouri, probably a year or two following the 1840 census. 

Andrew White married Elizabeth Sebastian, daughter of Martin and Mourning (Smith) Sebastian, on 17 Dec 1844, in St. Francois County, and they moved to Fannin County, Texas, with her family.  Andrew first appears on tax rolls in Fannin County in 1848 with 160 acres of preemption land.  In March of 1859, Elizabeth died, leaving Andrew with six young children.  He married again before the year was over, to Sarah Williams who had been a Missouri neighbor.  Sarah was a daughter of John Jefferson Williams and Nancy M. Bowles.  Andrew and Sarah had at least five more children, two born before the Civil War began.

Sarah applied to the state of Texas for an Indigent Widow's Pension, 20 Oct 1899.  According to her application, Andrew enlisted in the Confederacy at Bonham, Texas in the Fall of 1863 in Bolands Regiment, Company H, Anderson's Company, and served for about a year.  She didn't state his rank.  At age 43, Andrew was a bit older than most soldiers.  I believe the Regiment was actually Bourland's Border Cavalry Regiment commanded by Col. James Bourland  - two of Andrew's children by his first wife married into the Bourland family, but no relationship to the Colonel is known.  Sarah was then age 65 and said she had married Andrew White in 1859 in Fannin County and that's when she came to Texas.  Andrew had died in 1881.  [His grave marker has 17 Nov 1881.]

J. S. White - John  Sebastian White, my husband's great grandfather - and C. B. Bridges testified on behalf of Sarah, stating that she was the widow of Andrew White  and was unable to support herself by labor of any sort.  The pension was approved 20 Feb 1900.  The Texas State Confederate Pensions seem to have required a minimum of documentation - most of the files are only a few pages.

I have been unable to locate a service record for Andrew.  Online rosters indicate that an A. B. White served as a Captain in Company D of Bourland's regiment.  However, this man was Ambrose B. White and he was from Whitesboro, in Grayson County - just across the Fannin county line.  No relationship between Ambrose and Andrew is known.  Andrew's nephew of the same name - Andrew B. White - fought for the Confederacy in Tennessee and later applied for his pension from Titus County, Texas.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Stewart Wishard

Stewart Wishard was a brother to my husband's great, great grandfather Robert T. Wishard.  Stewart was born 22 Aug 1825 in Fleming County, Kentucky, but his family had moved to Shelby Co, Indiana before he was four.  He seems to have been something of a restless soul - he lived in several different places and married four or possibly even five times - he had children by four wives.  His wives [there is evidence some died, but were there also divorces?] and children have been difficult to trace.

By the beginning of the Civil War, Stewart was living with his second wife and the two daughters he had with her in Davis County, Iowa.  I believe I found one of his two sons of his first wife living with her brother's family back in Johnson County, Indiana, in 1860.  The other son was probably with his first wife's sister's family in Shelby County, Indiana.

Stewart Wishard enlisted in the Union Army, but in the 10th Missouri Infantry Volunteers, Company D, as a Sergeant.  His enlisted in July of 1861 and was discharged at St. Louis in November of 1864.   After the War he moved to Alabama where he was found in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses in Madison County.  In 1881, Stewart married for the fourth time in Jackson County, Alabama.

On 3 Oct 1888, Stewart made declaration for his Civil War pension before the judge of the Probate Court in Jackson County, Alabama.  He stated his age as 66, which was about three years older than he actually was.  Stewart was 6 ' 1 1/2" tall, blue-eyed with brown hair.  While in the line of duty at High Hill, Missouri, during the month of August, 1861 he contracted chronic diarrhea with resulting piles and prolapse of bowels, by reason of exposure. He was treated at High Hill that fall by Dr. Payne and at various other places. He served three years and three months and has not since been in the military. Since leaving the service he has resided in Alabama & Iowa, occupation that of farmer. He was a farmer and in sound health when he enlisted but he is now greatly disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor.

The muster roll cards in the pension file show that Stewart was absent, sick, several times, and that he was admitted to the Regimental Hospital at one time with disease of the kidneys and another time with lumbago.  He had a 30-day furlough in the summer of 1863, to go to Bloomfield, Iowa - I suspect this could have been about the time of the death of his second wife.

Stewart's pension was $6 per month, increased to $12 in 1890.  Through the years, there were many medical reviews and additional testimony required.  Here is one of affidavits given in 1890 for proof of his disability.
12 Jul 1890. Affidavit of James C. Quigley of Bailey, Hand County, South Dakota. He was acquainted with Stewart Wishard while at Corrinth, Mississippi, the Spring & Summer of 1862. He had contracted diarrhea and resulting piles with relaxation of the bowels and was terribly reduced. He rallied some time in the fall and winter and kept with his command but was not fit for severe duty at all or very little. After discharge, I lived neighbor to him for two years, 1867 & 1866, at Drakeville, Iowa when he moved to Alabama. All this time he suffered & showed the effects of his disability. When he enlisted he was a strong stout energetic man, a good true soldier and stuck to the service and his duty so far as able. I knew him for at least five years.


By 1891, his physical examination showed he had trachoma of both eyes, as well as chronic diarrhea.  In 1892, Stewart said his sight had become imparied about 1877 or 1878 and he didn't know the cause.  His acquaintances from Madison County, Alabama, continued to provide testimony about his inability to work.  He also asked for a higher disability rating because of his deteriorating health, but perhaps didn't get it because his pension continued at $12 per month.

By 18 May 1893, Stewart Wishard was found at the National Military Home, in Grant, Indiana.  He was admitted to the Marion Branch of the National Home for disabled Volunteer soldiers in September of 1895 and his pension was transferred to the Pension Agency in Indianapolis.

Here is a webpage of the Marion Branch home that has both a picture of the home and picture of the men in the dining hall made 1898 while Stewart Wishard was a resident.  I find this picture incredibly sad.

In February 1898, his martial status was requested which helped me confirm and place some of the wives and children.  Stewart said he was a Widower and his wife's maiden name had been Webb [she was the fourth wife]. He didn't give any record of the marriage, nor did he answer the question regarding previous wives. He was asked to give names of children living and their date of birth. He had no record of their births but gave these names: John Thompson, William Thomas, Sabrina, Susana, and Myrtle.  I had found probably two other children in census records, apparently deceased by 1898.  [I know that John and William were sons of the first wife, nee Sarah Harris; Sabrina and a daughter Surena were born to the second wife, Frances Huffman; Susanna and possibly a son Willy/Wylie? were born to the third wife, Olive Elvia "Alla" Jenkins; and Myrtle was the daughter of the fourth wife, Sudie Webb.  There is also a marriage record in Alabama - Stewart Wishard to Jane Phillips, 6 Jun 1887 - but Jane is mentioned nowhere else.]

There was a request for the military and medical history of Stewart Wishard in 1903 and the subsequent answers reveal new information that he had been wounded in the thigh in the battle near Iarka, Mississippi on 19 Sep 1862.


On 10 Jun 1905, Stewart Wishard stated that he had a daughter that was blind, married to a blind man, and he was inquiring if there was any pension provision for dependants.  There was not.  [The blind daughter was Myrtle, born December of 1884, apparently the only child of Stewart's fourth marriage to Sudie Webb.  In 1900, Myrtle Wishard, age 17, was in the census, living at the Institute for the Education of the Blind in Indianapolis.]
Then the following two documents appear in the pension file.
 
11 Jul 1906 Marion Branch National Home for D.V.S., Indiana. Stewart Wishard, late D Co, 10 Regt MO, Pension, Certificate #762466, DIED at this Branch on the 11th day of Jul 1906. Stamped: Rec'd 18 Jul 1906.


14 Jul 1906 Marion Branch, National Home. Stewart Wishard died at this Branch Hospital on 11 Jul 1906. He died of Senility; he was a widower. Next of kin: Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman, daughter, Kokomo, IN

Steward Wishard is buried at the Marion National Cemetery, Grant County, Indiana.

The story doesn't end with Stewart's death.  In 1903 Myrtle had married William A. Brinkman.  The 1910 census lists both of them as "Blind" - and there were three young children.  Myrtle also indicated they had lost a child prior to 1910.  William Brinkman was quite a bit older and had been twice married.  He was born in Ohio, his parents born in Germany.  His occupation given as "a Peddlar on the Street".
 
In 1907, Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman hired a lawyer to write to the Pension Bureau to inquire if, as the daughter of a pensioner, and blind, she would be entitled to any pension.  She receive the following:
11 Jul 1907
Reply to Mrs. Myrtle Brinkman, 138 Indiana Avenue, Kokomo, Indiana. In response to your communication of the 3rd instant, received the 5th, wherein it is stated that you are the daughter of Steward Wishard.....There is no provision of law under which pension can be granted to the child of a deceased soldier or sailor by reason of permanent helplessness or otherwise, who was over sixteen years of age at the date of the father's death. Commissioner of the Bureau of Pensions, Dept of Interior.
 
I found the pension file of Stewart Wishard to be one of the most intriguing I've ever read.  He is the only relative I've discovered that actually lived in one of the homes for disabled veterans.  The saga of the blind daughter Myrtle was also interesting - certainly she was able to marry and have children, although one does wonder how they provided for the children.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - William Wishard

Robert Thomas Wishard, one of my husband's great, great grandfathers had brothers that also served in the Civil War.  His older brother William and William's son Abraham served in the same company with him, although the father and son were not in service at the same time.  William and another Wishard brother, Stewart, were both disabled by their wartime service and both have massive and very interesting pension files.  I will describe the files in separate posts.

William Wishard, born 28 Feb 1815 in Fleming County, Kentucky, was not a young man when he answered the call to serve his country.  He was 46 years old, had buried his first wife then married her sister and had a total of eleven children when he enlisted - one more son was born following the War.   I believe that his service shortened his life.  William enlisted 31 Aug 1861 as a sergeant.  By September 20th he had been promoted to the First Battalion's Commissary Sergeant.  His residence was Bloomfield, Davis County, Iowa.  He was discharged for disability in August of 1862.

From the pension file I found out what had happened to William Wishard.  William's first application for his pension was dated 30 Mar 1864.  In his affidavit, he stated that at a place called Pea Ridge in Arkansas on 7 Mar 1862, during the battle of Pea Ridge he was injured when his horse jumped a rail fence, straining his back and spine. He was thereafter unable to perform any military duty and the injury continues so that he is incapacitated from earning a living.  William was a resident of Davis Co Iowa, aged 49 and he had been a Commissary Seargent of Company A, commanded by Lt. M. L. Baker, 3rd Regt of the Iowa Cavalry commanded by Col. Cyris Bussey for the "suppression of the rebellion in certain States". He volunteered at Bloomfield on 30 Aug 1861 for three years. He was discharged at St. Louis and had his certificate of discharge.

The deposition of M. L. Baker of Van Buren County, Iowa, described the injury and disability:  "On or about the 7 of Mar 1862 while in the service and line of duty and in the battle of Pea Ridge, he received an injury of the spine by his horse jumping over a rail fence with him during the fight. He was afterwards unable to perform military duty up until his discharge and is now unable to earn a living by manual labor. The said soldier was in good health at the time he entered the service; the above disability affected him while in the service and at his discharge by rendering him unable to ride and a good part of the time he is confined to his bed."

There was of course a physician's examination which confirmed the injury to the spine; the doctor's evaluation was that Wishard was about one-third disabled.  He did indicate that William had continued pain in the small of the back.

Also interesting is a Muster Roll card after the injury which states "Absent without Leave".  It is a very good example of the fact that the muster rolls simply indicate that whoever was taking the roll did not always know why someone was not present.  The soldier was either there or he was not and presumptions for the absence were made.

On 5 Apr 1866 Margaret Wishard [nee Breeding], age 41 years, applied for her Widow's pension. William had died 20 Feb 1866 at his home in Davis County, Iowa, of disease of the spine, kidneys, and back, which disease was contracted in the service of the United States. She was married to said William Wishard 15 Jun 1843 and has remained a widow ever since he died. Her husband left five surviving children under the age of sixteen: Wm aged 11, John 9, Henry 7, Sarah J. 4 & George Curtis age nine months. She further states that Pension Certificate #27718 was issued to her said husband on 29 Apr 1864. Margaret Wishard made her mark, witnessed by Elisha Wallace and Abram Wishard [Elisha was a son-in-law and Abram, her stepson that had served with his father].


Incredibly, Margaret's pension application was rejected, apparently because William had not continued to have his examinations every six months.  Margaret died in 1871.  
Due to changes in the pension laws over time, the minor children of William discovered they were entitled to payments and on 26 May 1883, the five children who were under age sixteen in 1866, made application for what they should have been paid. The five children were now aged 28, 26, 24, 21 and 18. They all signed with their own signatures - Wm. A. Wishard, John O. Wishard, Henry Wishard, George C. Wishard, and Sarah signed as Sarah J. Lester, formerly Sarah J. Wishard.  
 
Additional documents in the file included the affidavit of Dr. D. C. Greenleaf of Bloomfield, dated 8 May 1884. He was acquainted with soldier for 16 years prior to his death & had treated him the last seven days of his sickness from 13 to 20 of Jan 1866 inclusive when he died. He had been sick for a long time. He complained of his back and having received injury while in the Army and I am of opinion he had chronic inflamation of the cord [spinal] in its lower portions. The nature was obscure but it is evident he suffered much. Said disease contributed largely to his death if not the whole cause. This affiant was present at the birth of his daughter Sarah J. Wishard born 8 Aug 1861.


One of the sons of William, John O. Wishard, testified to the following on 7 May 1887.  He is 30 years old and lives in Bloomfield. He has the family Bible of William and Margaret Wishard, now deceased in which is recorded their family record ....dates of birth of their children. Requests the Clerk of Davis Co Court to copy and certify the entries relating to the births of Wm. A. Wishard, John O. Wishard, Henry Wishard, Sarah J. Wishard and George C. Wishard.

William Allen Wishard was born December the 14th A.D. 1854
John O. Washard was born March the 2nd A.D. 1857
Henry Wishard was born February the 25th A. D. 1859
Sarah Jane Wishard was born August the 8th A.D. 1861
George C. Wishard was born January 23rd 1865.

"The above were written in different shades of ink and have the appearance of having been written for a long time; the book containing the entries is old and well worn. I am well acquainted with affiant John O. Wishard and certify that he is a Credible person."
Signed: W. D. Leech, Clerk District Court
[I find it amazing that the court clerk evaluted the Bible much as any genealogist or family historian would!  Too bad he didn't tell us the copyright date.]


Affidavit of Silas Breeding, who was a brother to Polly and Margaret, was dated 22 Sep 1887 at Bloomfield.  He was age 67 years. "I was well acquainted with the soldier prior to his first marriage in 1837. He was married in that year to Polly Breeding...who died in Shelby Co IN about January or February of 1843. I have personal knowledge from being present at her funeral. Said soldier again married to Margaret Breeding in Shelby Co IN on or about Jun 1843. I was acquainted with Soldier up to time of his death 20 Jan 1866. His widow Margaret Wishard was remarried to James L. Thompson about Feb 1869 and she died in January 1871. From personal knowledge."


Elisha and Nancy Wallace both testified on behalf of her siblings. Nancy was the first child of the second marriage; Elisha had witnessed his mother-in-law's earlier application.

Copies of both of William Wishard's marriages are in the file, as well as a copy of the widow Margaret's remarriage.

The children received the pension:
29 Dec 1887 #239503 Original Pension of Minor Children.
A note in the margin of the approval says "Pay on their own vouchers".  William A. was to receive Minor Pension at the rate of $8 per mo beginning 21 Jan 1866 [day following his father's death] until 13 Dec 1870 [when he reached age 16]. John O. to receive until 1 Mar 1973. Henry until 24 Feb 1875. Sarah J. Wishard, now Lester, until 7 Aug 1877, George C. until 22 Jan 1881. There is a note that William T. Deupree, guardian of George C. Wishard is not now recognized - George was by now of an age he didn't need a guardian. Unfortunately George died of a hunting accident before he actually received his voucher - he had a liason with an unmarried woman who attempted to claim George's share for a daughter said to be the child of George C. Wishard.  That claim was rejected.


William Wishard is buried Lester Cemetery, Cleveland, Davis County, Iowa.

William's son Abraham served in the same unit his father had served in, and his uncle Robert Thomas Wishard was in at the time of Abraham's enlisted.  He, too, has a pension file but I have not yet accessed it.  Called "Abram" like his grandfather, the young man was age 23, a resident of Drakesville, Iowa, but born in Indiana, when he enlisted 15 Mar 1864 in Company A of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment.  He was mustered into the company the next day.  Abram was wounded 16 Apr 1865 in Columbus, Georgia, and mustered out of the service at Atlanta on 9 Aug 1865.  The pension index card indicates that Abram filed for his pension on 25 Oct 1879, and that minor children also filed.  Grave stone records of Davis County, Iowa, as copied by the WPA show that Abraham died 24 Dec 1893 and is buried Lester Cemetery where his father is also buried.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Civil War Ancestors - Robert Thomas Wishard

All of the Civil War ancestry I have described previously were my family - my husband had Civil War ancestors as well, though not quite as many.  And, just as in my family, there were soldiers on both sides of the War.

Robert Thomas Wishard was born 12 Nov 1829 in Shelby County, Indiana, the youngest child of Abraham "Abram" Wishard and Sarah Reynolds.  Abram had served in the War of 1812 - his father, William Wishard, in the Revolution.  Sarah's father also fought in the Revolution.  Robert married Lavinia Carney, 16 Oct 1853 in Shelby County, but they left Indiana for Iowa about 1857-58, settling in Bloomfield, Davis County.  By the time of the War, they had five children including a set of female twins, one of whom would be my husband's great grandmother.  In truth, the twins were born about four months after Robert enlisted.  Lavinia surely had her hands full while he was away and he served almost the entire war.

Robert Wishard's service record is online, along with that of his brother William and nephew Abraham, who served in the same unit:

http://www.iowa3rdcavalry.com/Roster/menu.html

3rd Iowa Cavalry Roster - look under Company A.

Wishard, Robert T. (Veteran.) Age 32. Residence Davis County, nativity Indiana. Enlisted Aug. 31, 1861, as Sixth Corporal. Mustered Sept. 7, 1861. Promoted Fifth Sergeant Sept. 20, 1861; Fourth Sergeant Nov. 18, 1861; Company Quartermaster Sergeant June 30, 1862; First Sergeant Feb. 25, 1863. Re-enlisted and re-mustered Jan. 1, 1864. Promoted First Lieutenant March 1, 1864. Resigned Sept. 23, 1864.

With three years service, there are many Muster Cards included in the Service file.  There is a record of a furlough in November of 1861, but not in December when the twin daughters were born.  He was ill in the hospital in Janury of 1862.  It is noted that he received one month's pay and a month's furlough when he reinlisted early in 1864.  The unit was stationed in Little Rock, Arkansas for several months and he was away, scouting in Mississippi, in June of 1864.  Robert was honorably discharged from the Army of the Tennessee at Memphis.  Histories of his unit reveal that among their many battles, the unit fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas, probably against my great, great grandfather Tom Comstock.

Infant twin sons had died and two more children had been added to the Wishard family by 1870 and they had moved to Appanoose County in 1867.  Soon after the 1870 census, the Wishards moved to Fannin County, Texas, near the small town of Ladonia, in the heart of Texas cotton-growing country.   Bonham, in Fannin County, had been the headquarters for the Western Army of the Confederacy - Fannin County seems to be a strange choice of residence for a man that had served so long in the Union Army.  I wish I could ask why the decision was made!

Robert T. Wishard applied for his Texas Civil War Pension after he was kicked by a horse while in the stable, suffering a double hernia as a result and no longer able to work or farm.  [A fairly simple surgery would fix him right up today - the only solution then was to fit him with a truss.]    There is a physical description - he was 5'7" tall, blue eyes, dark hair, and weighed 127 pounds at age 62.  His application was approved in the amount of $12 per month commencing 5 Aug 1890. The pension was increased to $20 per month effective a month before his death in 1907.  Robert and Lavinia and some of their children and grandchildren are buried Oak Ridge Cemetery in Fannin County.  I have visited their graves; they have matching stones. 

I believe this tintype to be a picture of Robert Thomas Wishard.  I found it in my husband's grandmother's cedar chest [her "hope" chest] after her death.  It was folded inside heavy brown paper and on the outside written in her hand was "my grandpa"  Of course she had two grandfathers but there are other tintypes of the Wishards that seem to have been made at the same time.  On the back of the paper frame, written in pencil is "This be thy Sweetheart in all the days to come as by your leave".  It is no longer readable but I copied it when it was.  This picture as well as one I believe was Lavinia made about the same time had been slightly colorized - his cheeks are very slightly pink and his patterned tie has a pale blue background.



The next picture isn't from the Civil War, but since the twins were born in December of 1861, I'd guess the picture was made not too long after - perhaps about 1868.  I thought I should share it. The tintype has grown quite dark - the paper frame is as yellow as their father's but I lightened the picture to show the little girls.  The picture is the twins, Emmazetta and Henrietta Wishard with "a little friend" between them.  I do not know which was which - I believe they were identical twins.  Henreitta "Etta" was my husband's great grandmother - Emma never married and is buried near her parents.