Disunion & Emerging Civil War - Follow Friday

The sesquicentennial of the Civil War has prompted me to focus on the conflict and its effects on the families I explore. Initially, much of my research has been examining the War in Tennessee, Kansas, Maryland and Virginia where our kinfolk lived during the conflict.

Two blogs have been more than helpful - they're so well written and engaging that they've become must reads for me. I've mentioned the fabulous Disunion posts at the New York Times and the Emerging Civil War blog written by National Park Service historians before. I'm doing so again.

Read these blogs. Seriously - though the blogs are not always serious. There are moments of humor and even whimsy. My latest favorite post at Emerging Civil War is a set of photographs Antietam Remembered. I will not forget the image of the Union soldier reenactor and his cell phone. I loved Roxana Robinson's post on coming to terms with her Great-Aunt Hattie's legacy at Disunion. Hattie, by the way, is more commonly known as Harriet Beecher Stowe. Great stuff.

Under Occupation - Civil War Saturday

Frederick, Maryland, home of my husband's maternal grandparents, saw much of the Civil War at close range. Only 21 miles from John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, 24 miles from Sharpsburg and Antietem Creek and 35 miles from Gettysburg, Frederick's citizens saw Union and Confederate armies march through its streets and fields, heard the cannons and nursed the injured. 

In 1864 the family of Dr. Charles Smith was living on 2nd Street in a house that had belonged to Maryland's former governor Enoch Louis Lowe. Lowe was a Confederate supporter who, shortly after the beginning of the war, had sold his home and moved to Virginia. The Smiths, too, had strong Confederate sympathies, but remained in Maryland. In addition to Dr. Smith, the household included his mother, Mary Eliza Jamison Smith, younger brother (and my husband's great-grandfather), Dr. Francis Fenwick Smith, and sisters Catherine, Mary, and Cornelia. A Charles Smith and a Mary Smith are listed on the 1860 census as slave owners, but it is unclear if they are the same Smiths. 

In July 1864 the Confederate army moved north and briefly occupied Frederick. One of the officers was Brigadier General Bradley T. Johnson, a Frederick native. He apparently knew Dr. Smith, for in the papers of Smith's sister-in-law was a very faded and worn bit of paper written pencil ordering that no harm or damage should befall Dr. Smith's property. The writing is faint, but as best I could manage, the transcription reads

“P__ __s Johnsons Brigad
July 6^th 1864
Special Orders
No 3
Soldiers & others are
hereby ordered to respect the known
property of Dr Chas Smith – and
attention is called to the fact
that the penalty of a violation
of a “safe guard” is death -
By Cons_ _ of Brig Genl Johnson
_ _ ere_ _ _ Howard
1^st Lt _ lect A R C”

The Confederate occupation was brief. The Battle of Monocacy took place July 9, 1864 and the troops moved on toward Washington, DC. Days later the younger brother of Smith's future sister-in-law, Maria Lee Palmer, left his school in Maryland to join General Johnson's troops. His sister became the family archivist, collecting and saving many documents relating to their lives during and after the Civil War.

Source: Confederate Order regarding House of Dr. Charles Smith, July 1864; privately held by descendent of Dr. Francis F. Smith, Frederick, Maryland. 1966. Papers of Maria Lee Palmer Smith. 

The Whitaker Brothers, Bleeding Kansas and the Border Wars - Civil War Saturday

Benjamin Franklin Whitaker (1841-1932) and his brother Frederick Lucius Whitaker (1844-1915) were my husband's 3x great-uncles, younger brothers of his great great-grandfather Henry Lyman Whitaker (1838-1902). Born in Massachusetts and dying on the west coast, their lives spanned the continent. It is for these Whitakers that I've nicknamed my husband's paternal family the Westward Expansionists.

They were born in western Massachusetts, near Springfield, to Stephen Lyman Whitaker and his wife, Emaline Kentfield (Kantfield). Both parents were from deeply entrenched New England families. But after their father died in 1852, their mother moved her boys west - first to Illinois and then by 1858 to Pardee in Atchison County, Kansas Territory.

Atchison County is on the northern edge of the area known as Bleeding Kansas where free and slave state forces struggled over land and power in the years leading up to the Civil War. No documented deaths occurred there related to these struggles and the worst of the violence had abated when the Whitakers settled there. But it could not have escaped their notice that the Kansas-Missouri border was fraught with tension.

In 1860 the brothers were living with their mother and new stepfather, Joseph Trueax. Frank may have been elsewhere at the time of the census enumeration. He's listed as a gold seeker and I'm not sure there was much gold panning, mining or seeking in Kansas.

From Ancestry.com

On 16 Jul 1861, six months after Kansas achieved statehood, the brothers enlisted in the Army at Fort Leavenworth. They are recorded as serving in Kansas's 10th Infantry Regiment, Company B. One regimental history states that the 10th was formed from the 3rd & 4th Regiments in 1862, however the Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kansas, Vol. 1. - 1861-1865 lists the Whitakers on the Company B roster from enlistment. (Of note is another Whitaker from Atchison County also enlisted in Company B (as an officer) - David Whitaker/Whittaker. I know of no relationship between this Whitaker and my husband's family.)

The brothers spent the war close to home, chiefly in Kansas and Missouri. They took part in the Battle of Cane Hill, skirmished with Quantrill in 1863 and guarded the military prison across the Mississippi River in Alton, IL. Both were discharged after three years, mustering out on 19 August 1864 back at Fort Leavenworth. Frederick served as a private for the duration of his service, but his older brother Frank was promoted three times, ending his service as a First Sergeant. 

Following the war both married and started families. Their lives following the war are full enough to demand another post. 

For further information see

Bleeding Kansas: Behind the Legend (www.youtube.com)

Border Disputes and Warfare, Territorial Kansas Online, 1854-1861 (www.territorialkansasonline.org).

Civil War, Kansas Historical Society/Kansapedia (www.kshs.org).

Watts, Dale E. How Bloody Was Bleeding Kansas?, Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains; Vol. 18 (2) (Summer 1995): pp. 116–129 (www.kshs.org).

My House Divided - Civil War Saturday

I don't know much about my ggg grandfather Philip Mulkey beyond what was given to me in family records - name and dates.  He was born 14 Jan 1810 in Washington County, TN; married his first wife Ann Duncan in Washington County on 21 June 1831; died in Hawkins County, TN before 1 Oct 1883. Census and marriage records have supported much of the information my grandmother passed down, but I have no pictures of him and the only family story I heard had to do with the Civil War.

The story is that Philip was estranged from some of his children because of their support for the Union during the Civil War. His sons Isaac and James Duncan Mulkey served in the Union Army, James volunteering from Tennessee with the 8th TN Cavalry and Isaac serving with the 152nd Illinois Infantry. His daughter Rachel married another Union veteran who served with James in the 8th TN Cavalry after the war. I wrote recently about these Mulkey siblings when I was sent a copy of a photograph of James Mulkey.

A divided family in East Tennessee during the Civil War is not news. As I've started researching my 19th century kinfolk I'm discovering more and more incidents of divided families -- even relatives fighting for both sides. I suspect they were not willing volunteers. I've ordered a whole library of books to help me understand the situation there.

Still, I must admit Philip puzzled me. His father, grandfather, and grandfather-in-law were all abolitionists. His children fought for the Union. Was it possible to document this family story? I was fairly sure that at 50+ years old Philip did not fight and that good ole' reasonably exhaustive search failed to produce any evidence that he did. He did not file for any compensation from the Southern Claims Commission. But, I did find evidence - two files - that more than support the family story.

The first was a surprise - but then every record I find indicating someone in my family fought for the Confederacy has been a surprise given our family stories of no Confederate involvement.

From Footnote.com 

Philip's younger brother Hiram Mulkey was a Confederate soldier. He enlisted at age 36 on 20 September 1862 and fought at Vicksburg where he was captured on 4 July 1863. He was paroled four days later and presumably returned home. I found no record of him serving after his parole.

From Footnote.com

The second file was an even greater surprise - it documented Philip's support for the Confederacy. On 16 September 1863, only two months after Hiram's parole from Vicksburg and while battles were raging for control of the railroads in East Tennessee, Philip sold 25 bushels of corn to the Confederate Army. Receipts show he sold two lots of corn, one to be delivered to Ferguson's School House (Washington County), TN and the other to Thomas' Mill (Sullivan County), TN. It doesn't seem that big a thing - to sell some corn to the Army parked on your doorstep.

From Footnote.com

However, less than two weeks later, on 28 September 1863, his son James enlisted in the Union Army where he served for two years. In 1860 James and his family were enumerated living next door to Philip in Washington County, TN. In 1870 Philip was living in Hawkins County, TN. James, his sister Rachel and their families were still in Washington County.

It doesn't get any clearer than that.

Sources

        James D Mulkey, muster rolls of Co. D, TN 8th Cavalry; NARA M395; Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee; digital images, Footnote.com (www.footnote.com : accessed 27 Apr 2011).  

        Hiram Mulkey file; NARA M268. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from Tennessee units; 109; digital images, Footnote.com (www.footnote.com : accessed 10 Apr 2011). 

        Philip Mulkey, Document 273; NARA M346. Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, documenting the period 1861 - 1865; 109; digital images, Footnote.com (www.footnote.com : accessed 27 Apr 2011).
         1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Hoggards, Washington, Tennessee, p. 83, dwelling 624, family 624, Philip Mulky; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 1277.
         1870 U.S. census, population schedule, District 1, Hawkins, Tennessee, p. 6B, dwelling 94, family 94, Philip Mulkey; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 1535.

Civil War Saturday - Matthew McAdams' Brief War

Matthew Judson McAdams and his two younger brothers John Cloyd and David Brainard McAdams left their home near Locust Mount in Washington County, TN in early November, 1862 to volunteer for the Union Army.

Matthew was born August 15, 1835, the eldest of the eleven sons of Thomas and Cynthia Stephenson McAdams. In 1862 he was 27 years old, and had been married eight years to Sarah E. Sevaney (or Swinney). They had at least two children, Cynthia, David and likely another, Thomas, and were living near his parents. He and his brothers were all farmers, probably working his father's prosperous land. Mathew, Sarah, their two eldest children, her sister and mother (who appears on the next page in the census) all appear in the 1860 census next his father.

1860 Census, from Ancestry.com

I noted in an earlier post about the 1860 census that Matthew's father had two slaves who were originally enumerated with the family, then crossed out and transferred to the slave census. Having grown up hearing of the McAdams brothers' Union service I was more than surprised to learn that they came from a slave owning family.

Nevertheless, Matthew and his brothers decided to join the Union Army. They rode northwest, through the Cumberland Gap to McKee, Kentucky where, on November 5th, they were enlisted as privates by Lt. Mullenix in what became Company B, 4th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. According to their muster records Matthew was the shortest of the three brothers, standing 5' 6" tall. They stairstepped in height with David, the youngest, standing the tallest at 5' 10". All three shared dark hair, eyes and coloring. They likely moved quickly to Louisville and then towards Nashville where the they were officially mustered in on February 9, 1863. And there they stayed.

From Google Earth

Matthew spent the remainder of his entire, brief war in Nashville. He died of typhoid on June 19th only seven months after leaving home and was immediately buried. He lies in the National Cemetery just north of Nashville. It seems he never saw combat, only the tedium and disease of camp life. The Tennessee GenWeb site history of the regiment quotes a letter from Brig. General Robert Mitchell written in March complaining of a lack of weapons for the regiment. It was autumn before the 4th Cavalry was deployed.

Death Record from Footnote.com

Matthew's brothers both survived the war, as did his younger brother Samuel, my great-great grandfather, who enlisted in November, 1863.

Matthew's widow Sarah first filed for a widow's pension on October 12, 1865. She married William Mahoney, who had enlisted and served with the McAdams brothers, on August 21, 1866 in Washington County, TN. He may have been the brother of John Cloyd McAdams' wife Sarah Jane Mahoney.

William, Sarah, Matthew's children and their own children all appear in Greene County in the 1870 census and in Washington County in the 1880 census. Sarah's sister Nancy is still living with her. The McAdams children are enumerated as Mahoney in 1870 and 1880, but Cynthia and Thomas both appear in Tennessee marriage records as McAdams.

1880 Census, from Ancestry.com

Sources

       1860 U.S. census, population schedule, Tennessee, Washington, Campbells District, p. 64, dwelling 1145, family 1145, Matthew J McAdams; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.Ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M653, roll 1277.        

       1880 U.S. census, population schedule, Tennessee, Washington, District 1, enumeration district (ED) 28, p. 431D, dwelling 65, family 66; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 1284.
        Matthew J. McAdams, John C. McAdams, and David B. McAdams muster rolls of Co. B, 4th Tennessee Cavalry, 5 Nov 1862-19 Jun 1863; NARA M395; Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee; digital images, Footnote.com (www.footnote.com : accessed 7 Apr 2011).

       "Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900," database and images, Footnote.com (accessed 7 Apr 2011); Matthew J McAdams; NARA T289.
        R.N. McAdams, "McAdams Family Record" (Private). 

Civil War Saturday - the war brought home

With the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter only days away, I've decided (with prompting from Bill West's Civil War Genealogy Challenge) to add to my genealogy goals and examine the Civil War's impact on the families I research.  Occasionally on Saturdays over the next four years I will write about my findings.

Matthew Brady Civil War camp scene from the National Archives via Flickr's The Commons

My children have four direct ancestors who fought in the Civil War - three for the Union and one for the Confederacy.

Caulk, Allen Monroe	Union	Company D, Illinois 7th Infantry
Conway, Charles Turner Porter	Confederate	Company I, 61st Infantry Regiment Tennessee
Jones, Joseph	Union	Company B, Illinois 117th Infantry and Company H, Illinois 33rd Infantry
McAdams, Samuel B	Union	Company D, 8th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry

At least eleven uncles of various degrees also fought - most for the Union - and uncounted cousins, in-laws and shirttail relatives. Of the uncles only Matthew McAdams died during the War. Like many, he died of disease in Nashville. I shall write about Matthew next week.

Clark, Elon D	Union
Conway, Joseph	Union
McAdams, David Brainard	Union
McAdams, John Cloyd	Union
McAdams, Matthew Judson	Union
Mulkey, Isaac	Union
Mulkey, James D.	Union
Palmer, James Armistead	Confederate
Whitaker, B F	Union
Whitaker, Frederick L	Union
Williams, John F	Confederate

Some of our families lived in the midst of some of the fiercest fighting - western Maryland - and some in areas of brutal local conflicts - East Tennessee and Missouri. The Civil War looms large in their stories and traditions. My husband's Tidewater family, proud but distant cousins of Robert E. Lee, were staunch Confederates and he grew up hearing the war referred to as the War of Northern Agression. My grandmother, whose grandfather and five great-uncles all fought for the Union, was equally proud of her heritage. She was however, unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge the full scope of her family's involvement in the War. I wrote about this last summer in Story time, or Lies, Lies and more damned Lies.

During these Sesquicentennial years, a century and a half after the Civil War raged across our country and our families, I plan to research and write about the its impact on both the men who fought and the women and families swept up in the conflict. The costs and effects were far reaching, profound and continued late into the 20th century.

Mulkey Siblings - Almost Wordless Wednesday

James Duncan Mulkey, 1836-1909

I recently received this image from a newly connected Mulkey cousin. It is an image of an image - and perhaps again of an image - showing my great-great grandmother Rachel Mulkey McAdams' older brother James in his Civil War uniform. It's difficult to compare the images I have of Rachel and her two brothers taken at different ages and in different condition, but I see a resemblance to James across her mouth and nose. Isaac, with his full beard, is even more difficult, but he and Rachel seem to have the same coloring (beyond the faded sepia), hairline and shaped head.  

Rachel Mulkey McAdams, 1839-1906

Isaac M. Mulkey, 1834-1885

Amanuensis Monday: A Civil War Record

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

This is another transcription of a document from the papers of Maria Lee Palmer Smith (1844-1931), my husband's great-grandmother. It is a handwritten account of her brother's Civil War Service. She labeled it "Account of my brother's service in Confederate Army." The note is written on letterhead from the Virginia Club, Norfolk (VA). It is undated. Punctuation, format and spelling are retained from the original, though line breaks have been altered.

Left College, last of June - 1864 and temporarlly joined Genl Bradley T. Johnson's command, in Genl Earlys Army. Went on towards Washington, D.C. with Cavalry (1st Md Reg. I think) after the fight at Mon___y Junction. In a fight near Rockville had my horse shot through the mouth. We then crossed the Potomac and I left the Maryland Reg. and went home. In fall of 1864, joined Co. D. 9th Va Reg. and took part in all engagements until the surrender in Apr. 1865. My horse gave out and I walked home from Appomattox.

Notes:
John Armstead Palmer, Maria Lee's younger brother, was born at Clifton near Kilmarnock (VA) 21 Jan 1846 and died there on 7 Dec 1929.  He was a student at Mount St. Mary's in Maryland when he left to fight. He received a Confederate Disability Pension payment of $35 in 1924 and is listed on a Company D roster of the 9th Virginia Cavalry compiled by Robert Krick. Both the Roster and Pension payment indicate that no official documents recorded Palmer's service, but sworn statements from fellow soldiers and United Daughters of the Confederacy rosters supported his service.

General Johnson's 1st Maryland fought at Monocacy Junction in June, 1864. They fought at Rockville on 13 July 1864 and crossed the Potomac the next day.  The 9th Virginia Cavalry fought in and around Petersburg (VA) during the fall of 1864 and spring of 1865.  They fought at Dinwiddie Courthouse on 31 March 1865 and surrendered at Appomattox on 9 April 1865.

Amanuensis Monday: Philip Mulkey Will, written 1876

Thanks to John at Transylvanian Dutch for providing a framework (and nudge) for transcribing family records, news clippings and other treasures.

Will of Philip Mulkey, Proven Oct 1^st 1883,

            I, Phillip Mulkey do make and published my last Will and Testament hereby revoking and making void all former wills by me at any former time made.

First, I direct that my funeral expenses and my just debts be paid as Soon after my death as possible out of any money that I may die possessed, or may first come into the hands of my executors.

Secondly, I will to my daughter Sarah Furgerson one Dollar, -

Thirdly, I will to my Son Isaac Mulkey one Dollar;

Fourthly I will to my Son James Mulkey one Dollar;

Fifthly I will to my Daughter Rachel McAdams, one Dollar;

Sixth I will to my Daughter Ann Eliza Bayles one dollar.

Seventh, I will to my Daughter Elizabeth Mulkey one dollar,

Eight, I will and direct that my wife Mary Jane Mulkey have my farm on which, I am now living during natural lifetime or as long as she remains my widow after her death (or in the event she should Marry again) then my afore Said farm and all the right and title is to vest in my daughter Ida M Mulkey;

Ninthly I direct that all my personal property of every description go to my wife, and daughter in the same way and Conditions, that my farm is willed.

Lastly I hereby nominate and appoint James H. Walker and D. M. Sheffey, Executors of this my last Will and Testament.

                        This June the 5^th 1876,

Witnessed by

J.J. Carroll,                                                                                    Philip Mulkey

C.M. Merell,

Source: Hawkins County (TN) Will Book 1, pp. 555-556. 

-------------

Notes - Mulkey family researchers from the families of James and Rachel have referred to Philip Mulkey disinheriting them because of their Union loyalties during the Civil War and have pointed to this will as evidence. While not discounting that there was family tension over the War, I do not see this will as evidence of such. Rather, it seems a standard will leaving property to support minor children. 

There is the possibility that Philip deprived them of money their maternal grandmother Sarah Hunt Duncan had intended them to have. In 1852, shortly before moving from Washington County, TN to Macoupin County, IL, she deeded 128 acres of land to Philip with the stipulation that he give $200 to his children when they come of age. I have not found the record yet of how he disposed of the land, nor have I seen any deeds that would support or contradict his executing Sarah Duncan's wishes.

Story time, or Lies, Lies and more damned Lies

I'm having trouble bringing things into focus. Not the meaning of life (an interesting thought but absolutely beyond my scope) but the meaning of this blog.

I spent this summer posting transcriptions and photos. Quick and easy during a busy season. The posts prompted oohs and ahhs from family and kind bloggers, as well as contacts from cousins which is tremendously exciting (and yes, I'm getting back to you!). I haven't touched actual research in months, and haven't posted anything about my research (my ostensible goal) since June.

What I'm learning is that I'm as interested in what other bloggers are writing as in my own research. There are some wonderful minds, good writers and fascinating ideas in the blogosphere and it's downright exciting to read their blogs. My mind is spinning with a month's worth of thoughts, research successes, stories and pictures. I've missed the discussions on sources (gotta get the "Got Sources" badge onto here), discovered some blogs I adore and am suddenly puzzled about my purpose. I hadn't really expected this to be a dialog.

Let's see if I can trace my train of thought (often more a train wreck than actual progress) -

• Several bloggers I enjoy post family stories, some absorbing, some funny, some tragic. They fall far outside what I've ever done. Tipper blogged about her Uncle Frank recently on her Blind Pig & The Acorn posting "Sinners and Saints". By the comments it's clear I am not alone in being moved by her story. I wrote last week about the memories Sharing a Slice of Life's prompts provoked.

• James Tanner has been writing about the accuracy of family legends at Genealogy's Star. All the research I did for my first decade was verifying information handed down to me by my family. Not a source cited anywhere. Most has proved true - even information I seriously doubted. A few lines are clearly wrong. But my work focused on genealogy rather than family stories.

• My own family has been surprised by some of my postings - startled by something they either didn't know or had long ago forgotten.

So is there any value in our specific stories? And does it matter if they are true or not?

 Some rights reserved by Patrick Q

Here's one - When Gone With the Wind was released in 1939 my aunt and her friends wanted to join the local Daughters of the Confederacy chapter. They planned a theme dance, likely dreaming of beaus, hoop skirts and sweeping staircases. My grandmother, Iva, squashed the plans. My aunt could join the DAR, but never the Daughters of the Confederacy. Their family were Union soldiers and supporters. My aunt, never one to dwell in gloom or to be apart from the crowd, convinced her friends that it would be far more fun do something else altogether. I don't remember if it was a fan club or some other exploit but no more was heard of the Daughters of the Confederacy or the dance. I was told this repeatedly during my own obsession with Rhett, Scarlett and Melanie.

It's a fun story, especially as told by my mother with flourishes and embellishments, but no more complete than the book or movie. It neglects the fact that Iva's father R.J. Williams, born in the mountains of southern Virginia, was from a staunchly Confederate family. That her husband's grandfather Porter Conway fought for the Confederacy and that his family had been slave owners for generations. That her Union soldier grandfather Samuel McAdams was from a slave owning family and his father, Thomas, was deemed a Confederate supporter by the Southern Claims Commission.

I admit to skepticism about that last fact. I wonder how much a Southern sympathizer a man could be whose four eldest sons volunteered in the Union Army and who maintained close ties with them. Perhaps a touch of local politics or neighbor's grudge? But even discarding the Southern Claims Commission, there's evidence of a family as divided as East Tennessee itself.

So, the story. Does it mean anything? Is it worth keeping in our family lore? When told properly it gives a clear picture of my aunt as a girl and illustrates more than a few family traits. It suggests Iva's family stories focused on the maternal rather than paternal lines and may point to a bias in her research.

It is probable that Iva did not know of her in-laws' involvement, though she should have known they were slave owners. Her sisters-in-law maintained complete ignorance about their family's Civil War experiences, suggesting no one had actually fought. At least they never heard tell of any such thing. No hint their grandfather had served in the Confederate Army. No war stories beyond what their father had seen as a child. Of course, there was no contact with one great-uncle's family.... some sort of falling out between the brothers when they were young men.

I learned that Porter Conway and his brother Joseph fought on opposing sides during the Civil War only after a cousin's persistent questions forced me to consider what might have caused the schism. It never occurred to me to look. Clearly I absorbed more of Iva's story and the aunts' wide-eyed ignorance than I realized.

So stories to come sometimes - along with whatever I have learned about them. They may point to blind spots. They may be true (not too likely in this crowd!). They probably will say quite a bit about who we think we are and more than I realize about who I want us to be. Maybe I'll tell you about my great-uncle Vasil who fire bombed the church.

Coming Late to the Party

As a newbie blogger and poster of genealogical data I thought a carnival had rides and cotton candy.  I was fascinated to discover the blog versions were every bit as entertaining.  I was so moved by the Carnival of African-American Genealogy.  Unfortunately, I've missed the first theme, but look forward to others.

What motivated me about the Carnival was that it addresses one of the key reasons I've finally started sharing my research online.  It has been impossible to research my southern families without facing the role slavery and the Civil War played in their lives.

Things seemed clear when researching my husband's family.  Much loved, but clearly on the wrong side of history.  The wistfulness about the old Virginia homestead did not disguise the fact that slaves built the home, tilled the fields and crewed on the ships that carried their goods back and forth across the Chesapeake Bay. Did his family suffer greatly during the war? Yes.  But nothing like the losses suffered by those they enslaved for generations.  The right side won the war.

The stories we heard of my family, small farmers and tradespeople from East Tennessee, were of staunch Unionists with no hint of Confederate loyalties.  And there were Union soldiers, some who fought, died and came from slave owning families.  There were also those who fought and died for the Confederacy, wives and sisters who fled to the hills hoping to avoid the ravages and ravishing of the war, each side unspeakably cruel and vicious.  Any smugness I felt about my "pure" Union roots vanished as I read more about the Civil War in Tennessee and looked more closely at the census and land records.  The right side looked exactly like the wrong side.  

From this distance, I'm not sure sides matter any more.  What matters is that we look honestly at the past.  I want to know my family and those in their lives.  I have gathered information on their neighbors, kin and associates looking for those tiny details that illuminate their lives.  I know names, religions, occupations.  I know how they died, where they went as they migrated across the country.  And now I know who owned slaves.  I am making an effort to document the slaves, just as I do their neighbors and relations.  It's easier to do with the wealthier families who owned more slaves - more documentation.  But even my small town Tennessee family can provide clues.  The 1860 Washington County, TN census (Campbells district, p. 180, lines 34-35) lists a 24 year old black woman, Sarah and 3 year old Martha E. with the family of Thomas C. McAdams.  The enumerator then crossed their names out and added them to the slave census -  without names.