Great Great Grandfather

[VaTom]

If you had a relative in the Union or Confederate Army here is how you can get further information. In the 1890's the U.S. Government required all states (north and south) to compile muster roll records. There are two large sets of volumes (like encyclopedias) that lists all soldiers both sides and their regiments. I found a set in the reference are of our local library. The catch is there are often numerous soldiers with the same name listed. You Must know the Regiment they were in. If you have their name and regiment then you are golden! You can get a copy of their muster roll records (for a fee) from Broadfoot Publishing Company out of Wilmington, NC. They have the same records that the Library of Congress has and it is easier and quicker to pay them and get the records.

Hope this has help those seeking information about their Civil War soldier!

 

[Peak53]

One served as a Ranger in the Texas Mounted Volunteers under Captain Henry E. McCulloch from 1850-1851.

Probably knew my GGgrandfather (Standifer), who was not in the famous McCulloch's group, but served about the same time. By family history, he was part of a commission that surveyed the site for the capitol building. There is a small monument to him in a field near the Austin airport where he "surprised" and killed six Comanche. My sister has seen the stone, but I could not find it years ago. Probably under a house at this point. I'm not particularly proud of my ancestors' "Indian Fighter" status, but that was the times.

His son was also a Ranger (not official Texas Ranger according to their archives) but in the Confederate army and then on the frontier. I have copies of three of his enlistments which ran about 6 months. He eventually was made captain of his unit and served with distinction, always known as The Captain until his death in 1896 after serving as Mayor of Lampasas for some years.

I love this stuff.

 

[desi2358]

The only GG Grandfather I have much info on was on my dads side. I have that because some of the family researched the family name back as far as they could. Ezra served in the 33'rd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. His grandfather Daniel served during the War of 1812 and was rewarded with a Land Grant in Ohio for his service. I don't have any real info on any of my other GG Grandfathers. Would like to research them someday.

I do know that on moms side much of the family came to Ohio out of Virginia and West Virginia, some of them after the Civil War era. there were still some living around Richmond as late as the 1950's. Mom stayed with a Great Aunt (on her mothers side) when dad was posted to Fort Lee in the early 50's until he went overseas. Of course some were movers, a number of my moms dads family kept going west and ended up in Kansas and Oklahoma.

 

[AKtinman]

Probably knew my GGgrandfather (Standifer), who was not in the famous McCulloch's group, but served about the same time. By family history, he was part of a commission that surveyed the site for the capitol building. There is a small monument to him in a field near the Austin airport where he "surprised" and killed six Comanche. My sister has seen the stone, but I could not find it years ago. Probably under a house at this point. I'm not particularly proud of my ancestors' "Indian Fighter" status, but that was the times.

His son was also a Ranger (not official Texas Ranger according to their archives) but in the Confederate army and then on the frontier. I have copies of three of his enlistments which ran about 6 months. He eventually was made captain of his unit and served with distinction, always known as The Captain until his death in 1896 after serving as Mayor of Lampasas for some years.

I love this stuff.

It may be that they knew each other. My GGgrandfather was William J Boykin, and he was listed as "Bugler" for the group.

You summed it up well by saying "I love this stuff." It can be addicting.

Gathering information can be both rewarding and frustrating.

On a recent trip to rural south Texas I stopped by the newspaper office to inquire about availability of their archives as part of my search about one G-grandfather. They suggested I stop by the county archive office which had all the old newspaper records. I went there and introduced myself and stated my interest in the records. The lady behind the counter, who had just retired from her county job, replied "Are you related to Sporty?" I affirmed that he was my cousin and she replied that they had graduated high school together. That opened the door to a very nice visit. I did not find the specific info about my G-grandfather, but left with over 200 legal sized photocopies of the family notes made during the 1940's by a cousin who was a retired teacher and active member of the DAR. I have digitized all those and shared with other family members.

You just never know what you will find.

 

[Kinman]

Information peters out on dad's side as far as g.g.grandfather. Mom's side has excellent history going back to coming over with William Penn and helping establish Pennsylvania, later moving out to Illinois. G.G.G.grandfather fought in the Mexican War and later served as Lt. Governor or the New Mexico Territory, was a personal friend of Kit Carson and emphasized how important getting an education was because Carson got ripped off because he was un-educated. He came home to Illinois and when the war broke out went back in with his son my G.G.grandfather. G.G.G. was shot off his horse at Chicamauga and killed while rallying his troops (Lt. Col. William Kinman) his son (Capt. Cyrus Kinman) could not attend to his body because they were in retreat. G.G. grandfather returned to Illinois after the war, went down to Missouri and travelled on the newly built transcontinental railway to California, bought some oil rich land, went back to Illinois, packed up the family, and loaded up everything on wagons and moved out on the Oregon Trail, settling in the upper Palouse of Northern Idaho (Princeton/Potlatch).

 

[DWalt]

I mentioned earlier about one of my distant relatives serving in the Revolution. His name was Michael Stock (sometimes spelled Stuck), and he served in some PA militia unit, so I was able to find out some information about it. He must have not been much of a soldier. His paperwork said that he served only 34 days total (in two brief periods). Nontheless, he is still classified as being a military service veteran during the Revolution. He definitely was not KIA, as he later moved to Northeast Ohio (likely to get some veteran's land grant). He and his wife had a flock of kids there. From what little I found, he and some of his sons were wagonmakers.

 

[Ranger17]

On my mother's side, I had little info past my grandparents. A combination of not showing much interest when I was young and losing my mom and her parents decades ago left me with no one else to ask. For my father, he left in the 60's when I was 6 and never heard from him again. And as mom never would tell us things I knew nothing about my paternal side until 2019. That's when I did a dna test for fun and suddenly matches popped up. I found an uncle and cousins who when we met were able to fill in some of the blanks. And thanks to Ancestry I suddenly had a tree, which goes back to England and Ireland for my 2nd great grandparents and beyond. And back to Germany for my mom's side.
One thing of note, i learned my paternal grandfather told his Chicago socialite wife one day he was going to work…. And never went back which created some press and searches. He ended up in KS where he met his next wife and started that family which included my dad. Seems that "leave and never return" ran in that family, thankfully it did not continue thru me lol.
A photo on Ancestry showed a grave marker for my father that listed him as a Korean War vet. I did not know he was gone nor that he was a vet; but I was able to get his records and details. He also helped on the nuclear testing in Nevada which I found very interesting.
I will say doing this sort of research can have both highs and lows emotionally. But it has been an incredible ride learning about my family. Though trying to read old Irish and German handwritten records gets a wee but tough lol. And yes, I do wish I would have taken that fun test earlier so i maybe had a chance to find and connect with my father and other relatives after the 5 decades, before it was too late.

 

[Sistema1927]

When you start researching this stuff, you never know what you will find. Both U.S. Grant and General Sherman are distant cousins of mine.

The "Madman" of the "Madman and the Professor" is a cousin of mine as well.

We all have heroes and horse thieves in our lineage somewhere.

 

[DWalt]

"We all have heroes and horse thieves in our lineage somewhere."

Something that I had been vaguely aware of during my childhood was that I had a grand-uncle who had killed his wife, but I had no details. I did some research on him, and found that it was true. Seems that in 1906, his wife had been two-timing him, and he tracked her and her BF down. He shot both of them on a sidewalk in town. The wife's BF died at the scene (shot three times) and his wife died on the way to a hospital (shot once). He had used an IJ revolver chambered in .38 S&W, which after the shooting he gave to my maternal grandfather to hide. No doubt existed as to his guilt, as there were around a dozen eyewitnesses to the shooting. He was tried, convicted of 2nd Degree murder and given a life sentence in the Ohio Pen, but he served only eight years. The details are very muddy, but he was apparently given a full pardon and released in 1914. I always wondered how that happened. He went on to take two more wives, but he didn't kill either one of them. One other thing - that was the first double homicide on record for the county, so I guess it was an historically significant event.

 

[rock doc]

I researched my father's lineage a few years ago and was able to trace it back to about 989. He was born and died in Normandy, France. His son was a Knight and was in the Norman invasion of England with William the Conqueror and fought in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Last name was changed in 1225 through a marriage contract with a Lady who had inherited a family estate in Yorkshire, England. The surname (my last name) was changed to the estate's name. There were several Lords and Lady's in the family tree.

To stay on topic, fast forward to my GGGF. He was born in Wayne Co., NY, 1826; died in 1894. Learned the ship carpenter's trade in Milwaukee, WI; worked at that business until 1873; was in business for himself in Racine from 1850 to 1860; in Grand Haven, MI., from 1860 to 1873; in 1873 he was in Duluth, building dredges; in 1881 he entered business in La Crone, WI, as a commission agent and dealer in second-hand goods; he married twice.

My GGF middle name was York, probably paying ohmage to previous York middle names, and to Yorkshire, England.

I was able to trace my mother's lineage back to 1550. He was born in the Netherlands and died in Nova Scotia. One ancestor, baptized in 1676 lived in the upper part of the Manor of Philipsburgh, Westchester County, NY. Washington Irving met with him and discussed the family history, some which was used in Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Again fast forward to my GGGF, mother's side. He was born in 1803 in East Durham, NY and died in Centerville, PA. He was a farmer. He early went to Canada and returned to the United States in 1834.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

We all have heroes and horse thieves in our lineage somewhere.

Depending on which state and county you ancestors hale from you have a few or a lot of either or Both!

As a kid in the early 60's, I remember sitting on the back porch and eating lunch with Hobos. My mom had an uncle that had been a railroader (Brakeman or Fireman), and she had been raised to be kind to all but especially the down on their luck.

One of the hobos that we fed remembered her uncle, along the tracks small piles of stones were placed that protected our home. We fed a few of these men every week and unlike many in the neighborhood, we were never vandalized.

A kind word, a bowl of soup, and a peanut butter or baloney sandwich is not a lot when you have it! But it sometimes makes you a hero, when you share with someone who doesn't.

I would see these men in the camps along the tracks, and never felt threatened. Besides most of them knew my name, 'cause we broke bread together!

Ivan

 

[arjay]

Remember this actress?
It turns out we are related
(Ok,technically an in law,but still! [emoji23] )

 

[BAM-BAM]

My uncle has researched the family history..... need to get ....... that said..

in the "Burbs of the Burgh" the original family farm dates back to the 1820s........ on McNeilly Road....... the road that leads to that farm.

Today it's a private catholic high school and a McNeilly park