Civil War Soldiers - My Father's Family

As I said in my last blog, I have 8 second or third great grandfathers that were the right age and generation to have fought in the Civil War.  Five on my mother's side and three on my father's.

1. Thomas McHugh. GG-Grandfather - b. 1834. Lived near Greenville, SC.  During the Civil War he served in the Confederate Army as a carpenter. In in civilian life he was a wood worker: 1850 Census -  Cabinet Maker. (age 16), 1860 Census - Mechanic.  He was furloughed on sick leave from Jun 1862 to Feb 1863 and when he returned he was detailed as a carpenter.  During the war his occupation was listed variously as 1.) Carpenter duty (Repairing Wagons), 2.) mechanic, 3.) carpenter.  After the war, he returned to being a cabinet maker (1870). In 1880 he is listed as a farmer.

2. Mumford Stokes McKenzie Sloop. GGG-Grandfather. -b. 1832 (28 when the war started).  I haven't found any evidence that he served in the war. During a Sloop family reunion, one family historian said the Sloops never owned slaves.  Mumford's 1st cousin  Caleb Sloop fled to Illinois to avoid service. I don't have any evidence that Mumford did anything similar.  There are other Sloops who served in the Confederate Army.

3. William "W.D." Tevepaugh. GGG-Grandfather - b. 1833. The National Archives have a record for a W.D. Tevepaugh who was a Confederate soldier, Pvt. in 29th Reg. N.C. Infantry [company not recorded].  (Record downloaded from fold3.com.) His date and place of enlistment are not recorded. He was paroled at Charlotte, N.C. on 24 May 1865. I am hoping to find additional information to collaborate this record.

 W. D. died in 1868. His tombstone reads:

W. D. Tevepaugh
Died January 18, 1868
from a wound in the hand
caused by the accidental discharge of a gun in his own hands
Aged 34 yrs. 8 mos. 11 days

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Civil War Soldiers - My Mother's Family

Most people my age have about 8 second or third great grandfathers that were the right age and generation to have fought in the Civil War. In the south the number is higher because Confederate soldiers' ages had a wider range than Union soldiers. Most Confederate soldiers were between 18 and 39. Although according to some historians it wasn't uncommon to see men in their 50s, 60s, and a few in their 70s.

[Note:  In this blog, I refer to WV as a geography before it was a state because it's helpful to distinguish it from Virginia.]

Below is a brief description of my maternal 2nd/3rd great grandfathers and whether they participated in the war. If I say they "did not serve," it means I have searched for records but there isn't any indication they were in either army.

1. Thomas "T.R." Houghton. GG-Grandfather - b. 1846, WV: Preacher. ; Did not serve. He was a little young and would have only been 15 in 1861. His older brother Jesse served (Confederate) as did his future father-in-law James F. Cochran (Union).

2. James F. Cochran. GGG-Grandfather- b. 1819, WV. 3rd West Virginia Cavalry. Union Soldier. Enrolled: 10 Mar 1864; Died 19 Sep 1864 - probably from infection of a small pox vac. He entered as a private and was at some point promoted to Corporal during his 6 months of service. His daughter Sarah Jane married TR Houghton 11 years after her father died.  The guardian of his children applied for his pension and thus his file contains a significant amount of information about the family.

3. Shelton Rodney Boise Henderson. GG-Grandfather - b. 1843 VA. 36th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Confederate Army. On June 5, 1864 during the Battle of New Hope or Piedmont, VA - near Staunton, VA, he was wounded in the right foot and his leg had to be amputated just below the knee.  His records include an order for his prosthetic leg. Ten years after the war, he married my gg-grandmother, Elizabeth Alice Hanna and had 9 children. (see photo)

3. Adolph Meminger. GG-Grandfather - b. 1844 Baden Germany. Records indicate he arrived around1865 and missed the war. I have been unable to find any immigration records.

4. William Clark Babcock. b. 1843 Michigan. I have not found any indication that he served but according to my cousin Dan Meminger, other Babcock cousins did.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

The Name Game

All genealogists play the name game.  Multiple spellings of our surnames is fairly common.  My great grandfather came from Lithuania with a relatively easy last name. Dausin.  Well, perhaps not that easy.

I have seen so many spellings that I started a spreadsheet to keep track of the various spellings.  Lithuanians add a suffix to the root of their last name which identifies whether the individual is a man,  a married woman, or an unmarried daughter. (See a great explanation here by John Peters, a genealogist who helped many Lithuanian Americans over their brick walls.)

I added the date and source to my spreadsheet; when looking for a new record I usually start my search with the spellings closest to the date of the new source.

	First	Last	Date	Source
1	Joel	Dauzin	1897	Naturalization paper
2	Julias	Dausaunas	1890	Sister Beth's papers
3	Julijonas	Dausinas	1902	Marriage register (Church)
	Julionas	Daunsinos	1902	Marriage license & certificate
4	Julijani	Dausinas	1903	Daughter Bronislava Haimi (?) baptism record
5	Juligan	Dauzen	1904	Son Boleslav's birth certificate
6	Julijano	Dausinas	1904	Son Bolieslaum's baptism record
7	Julius	Dausen	1907	Joseph's birth certificate
8		Dausinas	1904	Boleslav baptism record
9	Julius	Doosen	1910	Census
10	Julius	Dowsen	1918	WWI Draft Registration
11	Julius	Dausen	1941	Anthony's birth certificate
12	Julius	Dausinis	1943	Edward's birth certificate
13	Julius	Dausenas	1952	Death certificate
14		Dausinas	1967	Paulina's death certificate

Turns out, that wasn't enough. Several databases, like Cook County's genealogy site,  let you put in the soundex code. Since most of the spellings had the same sound, I felt they would all have the same soundex code.  Generally speaking, the table below bears that out.  250 without the suffix and 252 with it.  Again, I used a spreadsheet but there are several good soundex converters that will do the work for you.

D	A	U	S	I	N	AS
	O	U	Z	E		IS
		W		AU
		O
D			2		5	2	0	Soundex

That just one of the many name games I've played to find information about my great grandfather.  He didn't leave a lot of information behind.  I'm still searching to find his entry to the US (around 1892) and any information regarding his origins in Lithuania. 

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Mahala Bennett Cochran's life during the Civil War

In March 1864, Mahala's husband James F. Cochran voluntarily enrolled in the Union Army at the age of 35.  She had five children at  home ranging in age from 18 months to 8 years old.  Among them was my gg-grandmother, Sarah Jane Cochran.

I assume James volunteered in order to receive the bounty offered to Volunteers.  Upon enlistment he received $60 and became part of the West Virginia, 3rd Regiment Cavalry. However, by September 1864, James was dead; he died of disease in Clarysville Hospital. According to the Civil War Archive (www.civilwararchive.com) the unit lost a total of 182 men.  136 of those (or 75%) died of disease.  On the Army's record of his death, her post office is listed as Anderson's Store West Virginia. 

What was life like in Anderson's Store at the time?  Perhaps J. Bouse letter asking for protection from raiders provides some insight. The letter is included in: "The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies" (Scott, Robert N. et. al., Editor - found here) .

One more interesting fact.  When the widowed Mahala Bennette Cochran married Adam Wilfong in 1867,  "J. Bouse" married them. 


ANDERSON'S STORE, W. VA.,
January 29, 1864.
To Brigadier General B. F. KELLEY, greeting:
We, your humble petitioners, being all loyal citizens, pray to be heard in behalf of our present perilous situation.

First. We represent that we live immediately on the border. That we are daily, or, more properly speaking, nightly, exposed to rebel hordes of guerrillas, who infest the mountains and pounce upon us when and while we are unable to protect ourselves in any degree. There are several roads leading from the settlements into the mountains, any and all of which are used by them in making their raids among us.

Second. The manner of making their raids: The come in quietly and are received by the rebel sympathizers, and then from 10 to 20 armed rebels dash upon the citizens in the dead hours of the night, robbing them of whatever valuables may be found, consisting of money, bedclothes, wearing apparel, even down to ladies' dresses and children's shoes and stockings. Some families have been reduced to want in this way. They have even taken the last knife and fork in some instances. They begin the work of robbing as they go out of the neighborhood, and before we can possibly get help they are gone. They have already got nearly every Union horse for several miles round where yu petitioners live.

Third. We anticipate worse now soon. We expect the next thing that our cattle will be driven off, as it has been done in the adjoining county (Braxton).

Fourth. The remedy; The only remedy we can conceive of is to have a company or two of men stationed at two points along the line. One company stationed on the head of the West Fork, where they could watch and guard the roads and passes infested by these guerrillas. In like manner let a company be stationed at Centreville, Upshur County, there being a way from that point to the mountains. That is the point of attack where the Upshur County militia were captured.

Fifth. Now let Company A of Tenth Virginia Volunteer Infantry be placed on the head of the West Fork, in Lewis County. That company was mostly raised in that locality, and are well acquainted with the roads leading to the mountains, and can therefore be much more efficient than strangers can be. The same as it regards Company B, same regiment, who were raised in the locality of Centreville. They are well acquainted with the roads and guerrilla haunts.

Lastly, our young and able- bodied men have nearly all gone into the Government service. There are but a very few men, except grey- heads and invalids, left.
Now, we do humbly ask (if it can be done without prejudice to the General Government) you to send the aforesaid Companies A and B to the aforesaid points, and we will continue to show our loyalty, as we have hitherto done, by doing all we can in support of the Government and the suppression of the rebellion.

J. BOUSE, [And 31 others].

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

It's Time to Play ... Tombstone Mysteries

The bottom of this tombstone says:

Text Luke C. 10. V. 42.

I've sent several people queries about this tombstone. I couldn't quite tell what it meant.


Initially, I  thought it said:  Luke 6. 10. V. 42.  After I wrote the first draft of this posting (having looked at the picture at least 100 times), I finally saw the "6" as a "C."  Clearly Chapter and Verse (duh!).  I was so convinced it was a 6 that I couldn't come up with any other option.

It's still rather odd - I expect the person ordering the tombstone wanted the actual text from Luke on the tombstone or just
Luke C. 10. V. 42., not the word text engraved on the tombstone. I could be wrong, but it seems funny!

From the New International Version of The Bible  -
Luke 10:42  ... but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” 

This seems an odd selection for a tombstone.  For some time, I've considered the possibility that I misread the numbers. Could it be 10:12? What about 20:12 or 20:42?

I searched for other possibilities and described them in my second draft of this blog.  Then it hit me -- the woman buried here is Mary.  Now it makes sense.  Here's the verse in context.  Rest in Peace, Mary.

Luke 10:38-42
At the Home of Martha and Mary

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The tombstone is in Bunker Hill Cemetery, Weissport, Carbon County, Pennsylvania.

Memory of

Mary

Wife of 

Josiah Ruch

Born Feb. 9, 1833

Died Aug. 21, 1892

Age 59 Yrs,  6 Mos. & 12 Days

 Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn
P.S.  I'm not related to Mary or Josiah! 

A Rare Photo - Thomas Richard "TR" Houghton

My beloved Grandpa Houghton (Minter Jackson Houghton) would have been 106 years old on 12 June 2013.

Coincidentally, I recently found a photo of his grandfather, Thomas Richard "TR" Houghton 1846-1923, on ancestry.com. Holy Cow! He looks just like my grandfather. See photo - TR, left and Minter right. In this photo, Grandpa Houghton is in his 80s.  I don't know how old TR Houghton is in the photo but he died around the age of 77.

TR Houghton's first wife, my gg-grandmother, Sarah Jane Cochran Houghton, 1858-1905, died at the age of 47. She was 12 years younger than TR.

After Sarah died, TR moved to Oklahoma (in 1907, age 60) and married Rinda Horton. She was 26 years younger than he; they had one daughter, Lillie Lee Houghton. This photo is from one of her descendents. I've contacted the person who posted it in hopes of getting more information.

When TR died in 1923, his body was sent to West Virginia for burial with his first wife, Sarah, and family. They are in Walnut Grove cemetery, Strange Creek, WV.

Belated Happy Birthday to Grandpa Houghton!

 Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Follow the Records

At times I can be very focused on a task.  On occasion I have searched for a single record for several hours.  However, at other times, I'm all over the map.

This morning, for example, I was finishing some research regarding the burial location of my 3rd great grandfather, James F. Cochran, who died while enlisted in the Union Army. I found a record of James Cochran buried in 1864 in Grafton National Cemetery, WV and a J. F. Cochran, Cprl, buried in Antietam (photo right). I believe the latter is correct. 

While looking for more information on ancestry.com, I noticed in the member connect section that someone downloaded some info from my tree on Thomas Richard Houghton who married James F. Cochran's daughter Sarah. Thomas and Sarah are my 3rd great grandparents. I looked at the tree and found it had Cochran information I've never seen.  It provided info on James F. Cochran's father (also James) and his grandfather (Thomas).  On Thomas Cochran's page, there was an image of a transcription for the 1st Census of Greenbriar County, Virginia.
 



 I knew the 1790 US Census for had been destroyed so I googled " 1790 Virginia census" and an interesting result came back:

1790 / 1800 Virginia Tax List Censuses - Binns Genealogy 
www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses

This free site provides an index and original images to the 1790 and 1800 Tithable lists.  When I think "Tithable," I think of Elijah Houghton.  Elijah, born about 1746, is my 6th great grandfather. He's a major brick wall.  I've used transcripts of British Tithable lists for clues to his origin.  These were helpful because they show an Elijah Houghton living with a Joseph Houghton in Loudoun County, Virginia, in the 1700s. I believe Joseph is Elijah's father. However, I had only seen transcripts, not original documents or images. There's something very exciting about seeing the actual doc or an image of it -- and Binns Genealogy delivered.

Anyway, Elijah later moved to Culpeper County, Virginia - but I don't know when. I had it narrowed down to somewhere between 1789 and 1810. The new Binn Tithable records show him in Loudoun in 1789 and in Culpeper by 1801.

1789 Loudoun County Tithable List

After saving the images and documenting this new information in my Roots Magic database, I uploaded the docs (with source information) to my ancestry.com tree.  Then I emailed the info to a cousin I met on-line.  Sharing is everything.

Wait, what was my point? I'm meandering. Just like my research.  I wonder if other genealogists do this? Let me pause to write a blog about it called Follow the Documents (done!).  James F. Cochran's burial research will sit on the back burner until another day.  Speaking of back-burner, that reminds me ......

 Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

A Civil War Letter

This past weekend my husband Steve and I flew to Athens, TN for a Swift fly-in. This is one of our favorite events where we meet friends from all across the US.  One of my good friends asked me to look into her family history regarding a family story that one of their ancestors was Native American. 

She mentioned that she had a cousin who had tried to prove it but was unsuccessful. Twice before I've been asked to prove the legend of the Native American ancestor and both times I was able to clearly show the family's heritage was 100% European.  I felt I might be able to prove this one way or another. 

I started with my friend's grandfather and very quickly moved back several generations. Thus far I've not found even a hint of Native American ancestry.  What I did find was just as interesting.  My friend's gg grandfather was John Siler Tye.  He was a Union soldier with Company D, Kentucky 8th Infantry Regiment. On February 3rd, 1863 he wrote his future wife a letter a month after the Second Battle of Murfreesboro (also called the Battle of Stones River or in the South, the Battle of Murfreesboro - 31 Dec, 1862, to 2 Jan 1863.)

This extraordinary letter tells the tale of the battle.  "Well Susan", he writes, "the truth is the bullets rained around me as thick as hail falling in water." I have more research to do, but this great find is why genealogy is so exciting. Below is a full transcription of the letter.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Murfreesboro Tenn.,
Feb., 3rd 1863
3rd Brigade 3rd Division
8th Regt., Ky Vol., infty

Dear Miss

I am in good health thank god I hope these few lines may reach you and find you enjoying good health. I have nothing strange at present to write to you my dear. it has been one month to the day since the Battle of Murfreesboro. It lasted 9 days in succession; well Susan the cannons and small arms did roar terrible; well I have been in 3 battles since I entered Tennessee the second time. The first fight was at Rural Hill Tenn. [Nov 18, 1862], the 2nd fight was at Dobing Ferry near a little town called Laverne Tenn [Dobbins' Ferry, near La Vergne, TN, Dec 9, 1862]., the 3rd battle was at or in front of Murfreesboro Tenn. [Dec 26, 1862-January 5, 1863], But I have been quite lucky. I was slightly wounded in the shin with a buckshot they Rebs shot a whole [sic] in my hat that you can let in your fist through. 

Well Susan the truth is the bullets rained around me as thick as hail falling in water; I can inform you that I am well sattisfied [sic] if I never git another fight with them; on Friday Jan., 2nd 1863 our Brigade was in the fight. The Rebels drove us for awhile but we turned them and chased them killing a large number. They say their loss in officers was heavy. They lost out of 2 divisions that attacked us some - turn over - four thousand men and we were not engaged over 2 hours in the main fight.  But we were skirmishing with them all day. I  [illegible, perhaps -was assigned to-] advance skirmishing when they attacked us. Capt. Ranton, commanding, he was killed before we came in from the skirmishing line; so you must excuse me for not writing more. I would like to see you the best in the world but I know not when that will be
So farewell yours truly
John S. Tye     To Susan Jones

I Didn't See That Coming ... Szilala, Šilalė, and Chelele

One of my key research projects is to discover where my Lithuanian ancestors came from. OK, yes, they're from Lithuania. But I'd like to narrow it down to a town or village. I'd love to find relatives in Lithuania.

My last name, Dawson, is an Anglicized version of the Lithuanian name Dausinas. The root name is Dausin; the suffix as indicates it is a man's name. Dausinaite is the version an unmarried woman would use, Dausinene would be used by a woman who married a Dausinas.

After years of research I found that my first cousin twice removed, Anton John Dawson (b. 1892) stated on his WWI draft registration that he was born in Szilala, Kuna, Russia.  Of course this was not easy to learn. The version posted on ancestry.com was nearly impossible to read.
 

 I requested a copy from the National Archives and received the following:

Ah, much better. Unfortunately I was unable to find this town on a map of Lithuania so I posted a query on the Lithuanian Genealogy Yahoo Group.  It took no time for this august group to tell me that Szilala is Šilalė, Lithuania.  Š is pronounced Sz.

I spent another year researching distant relatives and found that my Great Great Aunt Ana or Ona Dausinaite's husband Frank Rasckauskas/Raczkowski said he was from Chelele, Russia in his Declaration of Intent to become a citizen. I assessed they were married in Lithuania because I can't find a marriage certificate for them in any of the Chicago Roman Catholic Churches.

These are the only documents I have that provide a Lithuanian hometown.

When I was in Lithuania in 2012, I had dinner with Dalija, a woman I met via her on-line family tree.  We have a common ancestral surname (not Dawson). When I showed her the two documents, she said, " Szilala, Šilalė, and Chelele are the same place." There is no doubt, I didn't see that coming!

It may seem obvious as you read this, but these two documents were among hundreds of documents I had studied. Doh!  I couldn't see that Chelele was a phonetic spelling of Šilalė.  You could have knocked me over with a feather. 

Since then, Dalija and her friend Vaclava found Anton's father's marriage registration and were able to confirm this location.  I still haven't found relatives but I will continue my search.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

What Did the W Stand For?

My great grandmother, Luanna W. Henderson, was born in 1875 in Strange Creek, Nicholas County, West Virginia.  "Lewie" married my great grandfather, Homer Newton Houghton, at the age of 18 and lived her life on a picturesque if remote farm caring for her 12 children. Despite a trail of indicators that her middle initial was W, I've never learned what it stood for.  

Below are six sources that use "W" as a middle initial.  The only other initial used is H - presumably for her maiden name Henderson (e.g. on her tombstone: Lewie H. Houghton).
 
1.) 1880 Census - Luanna W. age 4, this census is very difficult to read (ancestry.com).  Appears to use "W." as a middle initial.  Also appears to have another letter at the end of Luanna.
2. ) West Virginia reindex of the Marriage Register (typed) uses W. as a middle initial. (http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx)  1893
3.) Daughter Vada Houghton's Tombstone: Vada Daughter of HN and LW Houghton. 1919
4.) Son Murrill Houghton's Tombstone: Murrill son of HN and LW Houghton.  1934
5.) Husband Homer Houghton's WWI Draft Registration: "Lewie W." 1918 (below)
6.) Obituary: Luanna W. Houghton, 1938

  




Family name?  Could the W stand for a family name? My best guess to date is that it's Wilson. Luanna's maternal grandmother was Alcinda Wilson, born in 1823. Also, Luanna has a brother and uncle that use the name Walker as a given name. There are lots of Walker's in the area but  I have not found this family name anywhere in the family tree which only goes back to the 1700s.

I will continue my search.
Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn 

My Boss; My Cousin - Brent

I'm not really well connected to my extended family.  My parent, as mentioned in an earlier blog, were only children.   I have no aunts, no uncles, no first cousins.We were geographically separated from our grandparents and cousins. Most of my siblings left home after college and moved away.  I joined the US Air Force in 1982.

A few years after I retired from the Air Force, I worked for a defense contractor where I was assigned to a project in Charlottesville, Virginia. Brent was the project lead.  Brent had also recently retired from the Air Force.  One Friday we discussed our weekend plans; were were both headed to family reunions in West Virginia. The reunions were in adjoining but different counties.  I thought it would be interesting if I could find someone from Brent's family who married someone from my family.  With a little research, I determined that we were actually 5th cousins! Our common ancestors are our 4th great-grandparents: Robert Henderson (1772 - 1837 from Augusta, Virginia) and Hanna McClung (1780 - 1849 from Bath, Virginia). 

To this day, this is my favorite genealogically discovery.  When Brent and I met, I was immediately drawn to him and his family. We worked in a very tense environment and we knew we could trust each other. No one will convince me that it wasn't because we are family.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn

Cemeteries from the Sky - Culpeper National Cemetery

Last Sunday's flying mission was to take overhead photos of local cemeteries to post on findagrave.com -- one of my favorite sites.  I want to provide photos from a new vantage point and leave a historic record.

First target: Culpeper National Cemetery.  It's a beautiful cemetery in the heart of Virginia. There are many Civil War soldiers and veterans from other wars buried there.

I've scoured the cemetery for relatives.  There's one Houghton (John S.) who might be related.  My mother's Houghton family lived in Culpeper county before the Civil War.  Several of Elijah Houghton's sons, including my 4th g-grandfather Job Houghton, moved to what is now Lewis County, West Virginia between 1820 and 1830. Others remained in Culpeper County.

Here's the pic I posted on findagrave.com. Culpeper National Cemetery is here.

The day was slightly overcast which makes for a better image. It was also a wee bit turbulent, which does not improve the image (definitely not!).  Believe it or not, it's easy to take photos while flying. My straight-tail Cessna 172 is designed to fly straight and level even if I let go of the yoke to take a photo.  It's a big sky out there and if I drift off course a bit, no problem. The photo below is from an earlier flight over Pennsylvania.

Till next time, keep the blue side up ... Lynn