Mappy Monday: Cairo, Illinois and Vicinity, 1861

Viele, Egbert Ludovicus. H.H. Lloyd & Co's campaign military charts showing the principal strategic places of interest. H.H. Lloyd & Co., 1861. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

My 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley died of measles 154 years ago today, on 9 January 1863, in Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois, while he was serving in Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry. This map shows the area where he was stationed, and where he died.

Military Monday: Cornelius C. Bogert

Cornelius C. Bogert index card. Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, compiled 1949 - 1949, documenting the period 1861 - 1942.  National Archives and Records Administration. Record Group 15. Microform publication T289. Roll 305. Available from Fold3.

My aunt's great-grandfather Cornelius C. Bogert was a private in Company H, 25th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The company was commanded by Captain James Inglis, Jr.

The regiment was active from September 1, 1862 to June 20, 1863. The men trained in Beverly, Burlington County, New Jersey, and then went to Washington, DC. They fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 11-15, 1862) and the Siege of Suffolk (April 11 - May 4, 1863).

References
25th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Sunday's Obituary: John G. Gatlin

Nashville American, 1 September 1897, page 3

John J. Gatlin, a well-known brickmason, died last night at the residence of his sister, Mrs. N. L. Page, 95 Wharf avenue. He was 56 years old and had lived the greater part of his life in this city. He leaves a wife.

John G. Gatlin was born on 15 August 1841 in Tennessee. He was the son of my 4th-great-grandparents John McNairy Gatlin and Margaret "Peggy" Gower. He served in the Confedederate Army as a private in the 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry, Company D, and was held at Rock Island Barracks as a prisoner of war. He married Martha Ann Gower on 20 December 1865 in Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1874, John and Martha adopted a two-year-old girl, Minnie (formerly Tennessee Reed). John died on 31 August 1897 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville.

Sibling Saturday: Finding a Previously Unknown Half-Brother

When I obtained the Civil War pension application of Samuel August Samuelson, the brother of my 3rd-great-grandmother Johanna Carolina Samuelson, I discovered a previously unknown family member.

Statement of C. J. Johnson. Samuel A. Samuelson (Pvt., Co. E, 73rd Ind. Inf., Civil War, pension application no. 283,424, certificate no. 217,996),Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

C. G. Johnson gave a statement, and was asked if he was in any was related to Samuel A. Samuelson. He answered, "I am what is called a half brother."

I knew that Johanna and Samuel had two older brothers, Johan Peter and Anders Fredrik, but I did not know that they had a half-brother. Their mother, Anna Lisa Torstensdotter, was thirteen years older than their father, Samuel Eriksson, so I wondered if C. G. Johnson was her son from a previous marriage.

I found Carl Gustaf Johnson's death certificate in Ancestry.com's database Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011. He had died in Westchester, Porter County, Indiana on 30 July 1909. The death certificate gave his date of birth: 27 October 1823. His birthplace was listed as Vastra Harg, Sweden.

Indiana State Board of Health. Death certificate no. 109, Carl Gustaf Johnson, 1909. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

I had already known that the family had come from Västra Harg, Östergötland, Sweden. I looked at the Swedish records on ArkivDigital, and found Carl Gustaf's birth and baptismal record. He was not a child from a previous marriage; he was an illegitimate child. The record did not name his father.

Västra Harg C:1 (1797-1840) Image 179 / page 341 (AID: v42201.b179.s341, NAD: SE/VALA/00446)

I found the family in the household examination records, after Anna Lisa Torstensdotter had married Samuel Eriksson. Carl Gustaf was listed with the patronymic Jaensson.

Västra Harg AI:11 (1835-1840) Image 88 / page 159 (AID: v27140.b88.s159, NAD: SE/VALA/00446)

Carl Gustaf Johnson married Matilda Sofia Johnson. According to the 1900 United States Census, Matilda had six children.

1900 United States census, Westchester, Porter County, Indiana, population schedule, enumeration district 94, page 3B. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

However, I have only discovered four of the children: Albertena Johnson (born 15 August 1868), Albert L. Johnson (born about 1874), Ida Johnson (born 24 March 1875 or 1876), and Gustaf Johnson (born 29 March 1883).

Military Monday: Joshua Hunt Thomas, Musician

Spicer, William Arnold. History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862. Providence, RI: Snow & Franham, 1892. Pages 396-397. Available from Internet Archive.

Joshua Hunt Thomas, the husband of my 3rd-great-grandfather's sister Catherine Bennett Winters, was a musician during the Civil War. He enlisted on 26 May 1862.

Joshua was in Company C, 10th Rhode Island Infantry. The regiment was mustered into service on 26 May 1862 in Providence, Rhode Island, and then moved to Washington, DC from 27 May-29 May 1862. The regiment was on duty at Camp Frieze, Tennallytown until 26 June 1862.

Spicer, William Arnold. History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862. Providence, RI: Snow & Franham, 1892. Page 199. Available from Internet Archive.

Company C was then assigned to garrison duty at Fort Cameron.

Joshua served for just over a month. He was discharged due to disability on 7 July 1862, and he mustered out on 8 July 1862 at Battery Cameron, DC.

References
Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
Spicer, William Arnold. History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862. Providence, RI: Snow & Franham, 1892. Available from Internet Archive.
10th Rhode Island Infantry
Union Regimental Histories: Rhode Island. Civil War Archive.

Society Saturday: NSDU Memorial Service and Monument Rededication

Today I attended a memorial service for Civil War soldiers that was held by the Private Joseph Bessette Chapter, National Society Daughters of the Union 1861-1865. I am a member of the chapter. We placed flowers on the graves of Civil War soldiers at the Old Newton Burial Ground, Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey.

After the service, we held a rededication of the Defenders of the Union monument in Newton, which was erected in 1895 by the citizens of Sussex County, New Jersey. We then toured the Hill Memorial Museum.

Military Monday: Memorial Day

Today is the day that we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. I am remembering family members who died while in service.

My great-grandfather's first cousin Ferdinand Constand Schneider (4 November 1887 - 15 July 1918) was killed in action during World War I at the Battle of Château-Thierry. He was the son of a German immigrant, and died fighting against the Germans.

Photo from page 165, Missouri - Soldiers of the Great War, compiled by W. M. Haulsee, F. G. Howe, and A. C. Doyle. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. Available online at http://www.usgwarchives.net/mo/wwi/missourisoldies-greatwar.htm.

 The map  below shows the Western Front of the war at the time that he was killed.

 Chicago Daily Tribune, 16 July 1918, page 2

Thomas J. Tarkington, whom I suspect was my 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington's brother, was killed in the Battle of Buena Vista (23 February 1847) during the Mexican War.

Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Mexican War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1846 - 1848. Thomas J. Tarkinton, Wheeler's Co., 2 Illinois Foot Vols. (Bissell's), Mexican War. NARA M616. Available from Fold3.

Map of Battle of Buena Vista. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Although my 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley did not die in battle, he was serving his country when he died. He was a private in Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He was stationed at Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois during the winter of 1862-1863. He died of measles on 9 January 1863.

Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Illinois. Davidson Binkley, Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry. NARA M539. Available from Fold3.

Harper's Weekly, 1 June 1861, p. 350. Available from Son of the South.

Fred Logan Trickey, Jr., the husband of my second cousin once removed Peggy Lorraine Clark, was one of five World War II heroes that died when B-25 bomber 227 crashed on Cold Mountain, Haywood County, North Carolina on 13 September 1946.
 

Fred and Peggy (Clark) Trickey. Milwaukee Journal, 10 October 1943.

Cannon, Doris Rollins. Cold Mountain Bomber Crash: The Enduring Legacy. Printed by Edwards Brothers, 2005. ISBN: 0-9772101-0-3

Society Saturday: National Society Daughters of the Union 1861-1865

The National Society Daughters of the Union 1861-1865 (http://www.nsdu.org) is a hereditary society which honors soldiers and patriots who supported the Union during the Civil War. The society was founded by Mrs. Frank Crowell on 9 October 1912. Women who are lineal or collateral descendants of a man or woman who provided military or civil service to the Union during the period from 1861 to 1865 are eligible for membership.

The Society's objectives are:
1. To honor the memory of the men and women who contributed toward the preservation of the Union during the Civil War, extending over the years 1861-1865
2.To foster a spirit of patriotism, loyalty and love of country
3. To uphold the honor of the Flag of the United States of America
4. To give financial aid to Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee

Today I attended the charter meeting of the  Private Joseph Bessette Chapter, which is currently being formed in the Butler, NJ area by Organizing Regent Jennifer Dowling Norato. I am one of the organizing members. New members are welcome!

Military Monday: Lieutenant Colonel DeMoss Captured During Atlanta Campaign

The 24 May 1864 issue of the Memphis Daily Appeal reported on the Atlanta Campaign. The 10th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry was involved in this campaign. My 3rd-great-grandfather Joseph Tarkington and my 3rd-great-grandfather's brother John G. Gatlin were privates in the 10th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry, Company D, although they were not present during the Atlanta Campaign. Lieutenant Colonel DeMoss, whose capture was reported in the article below, was a cousin of mine.

Memphis Daily Appeal, 24 May 1864, page 2

Veterans Day

Available from Veterans Day Poster Gallery, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

On Veterans Day, I would once again like to thank the members of my family that have served in the United States military, or served allied nations in World War I. In addition to ancestors, this list includes uncles, cousins, and relatives by marriage.

Revolutionary War
Adam Binkley
Frederick Binkley
Abraham Louis DeMoss
Elisha Garland
Lazarus Gatlin
Jesse Greer
Francis Hardgrave
Benjamin Isbell
Henry Isbell
Thomas Isbell
Benjamin Mayo
James Mayo
Joseph Mayo
Stephen Mayo

War of 1812
Chapman Gordon
Francis Hardgrave
Skelton Hardgrave
Elias L. Mayo
Thomas Mayo
Andrew Russell

Mexican War
James Thomas Gilliam
Thomas E. Gilliam
James Hardgraves
Robert Francis Hardgraves
Thomas Tarkington

Civil War (Union)
Davidson Binkley
Samuel August Samuelson
Hugh Winters

World War I
John Joseph Berberick
John G. Leech
Ferdinand Constand Schneider
Cornelius Thomas de Kam (Canada)
Edward Otto Troedson (Australia)
George Arthur Troedson (Australia)

World War II
Gilbert Joseph Blocker
Theodore Boe
David Theodore Borg
Delmar Emil Borg
Walton E. Borg
Clifford Irwin Clark
Louis D. Hightower
William Philip Carl Illig
Norman Kowelman
James Bratton Lampley
Harry Ashby Lee
William Patterson Leech
Leroy N. Mayrant
Julian G. Nagle
Amanda Mary (Whitman) Pybas
Earl Mason Roberts
William Robert Ruty
Karl J. Schneider
Fred Logan Trickey

Korean War
Harry Ashby Lee

Other Veterans
Nile Weldon Farnsworth, United States Navy, 1946-1949
John Joseph Koestler, United States Army 1958-1964
Frank Casole, United States Army 1977-1981
Todd Thompson, United States Air Force 1991-2011

Current Service Members
Jon Rodriguez, United States Marines
Mitchell Stansbury, United States Navy

Amanuensis Monday: Amanda Tarkington's Confederate Widows Pension Claim: William Tillett's Statement

The statement that William Tillett gave in support of my 3rd-great-grandmother Amanda (Russell) Tarkington's Confederate Widows Pension is transcribed below.

GEO B. GUILD, President                                                               HON. FRANK DIBRELL
  FRANK A. MOSES, Special Examiner                                                 ATT'Y GEN. CHAS. T. CATES
      W. H. COLEY                                                                           JOHN P. HICKMAN, Secretary


                                                          HEADQUARTERS
                                           Tennessee Board of Pension Examiners
                                                BOARD MEETS SECOND TUESDAYS IN JANUARY, 
                                                                                APRIL, JULY AND OCTOBER
                                                       Nashville, Tenn. ______________  190____
       _____________No.__________________________
                                     (Must give number when writing)

State of Tennessee  }                  Personally appeared before
Davidson County      }                 me William M Tillett whom I
know to be a man of truth and integrity of character who after being sworm to me makes the following additional statement in the case of Mrs Amanda Tarkington the widow of Joseph Tarkington decd she being an applicant for a state pension as follows. I was present at the marriage of Amanda Russell and Joseph Tarkington they were married at the old Russell place on the Harding pike in Davidson County Tenn on the 12th day of June 1850 by Esquire Porch a justice of the peace. I have known them as man and wife up to the death of Joseph Tarkington in 1903 and that they were living together at that time as man & wife ____

I also remember distinctly the time in 1863 when Joseph Tarkington came home from the army on sick leave with asthma & pneumonia, he remained sick for a long time, I know the fact that he never was able to rejoin his command on account of his continued sickness which lasted till the war closed and for a long time afterwards, in truth he never was a well man again and suffered till he died in 1903 with this complaint. I know these facts because I saw him frequently during the time I speak of and that he never was fit for military service after he came home  –  I have no interest further than to see justice done in the application of Mrs Tarkington in her case

witness                                                                                         his
Mrs Julia Johnson                                                                W .M.  x   Tillett
                                                                                                    mark
Subscribed and sworn
before me this 2nd day Jan 1909
                                    Aris Brown
                                       Notary Public

Statement of William Tillett. Tennessee Confederate pension application 2079, Widow's Indigent Pension. Amanda Tarkington, widow of Joseph Tarkington. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Statement of William Tillett. Tennessee Confederate pension application 2079, Widow's Indigent Pension. Amanda Tarkington, widow of Joseph Tarkington. Nashville, Tennessee: Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Note: William Tillett was wrong about the date of Joseph Tarkington and Amanda Russell's marriage. They married on 12 June 1849, not 12 June 1850.

Military Monday: Memorial Day

Graves at Arlington National Cemetery, Memorial Day 2008. Photo by Remember. Public domain. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

On Memorial Day, I would like to honor those who have died in service, including the following relatives:

Thomas J. Tarkington, who died in the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War
Davidson Binkley, who died of measles while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War
Ferdinand Constand Schneider, who died in the Battle of Château-Thierry during World War I
Fred Logan Trickey, Jr., who died in a B-25 bomber crash in 1946

Amanuensis Monday: Joseph S. Tarkington's Southern Claims Commission Claim: Cross-Examination of Witness, Alfred Smith

When Joseph S. Tarkington filed Louisiana claim #12265 with the Southern Claims Commission, another of his witnesses was his former slave Alfred Smith. I do not know if Alfred was related to Joseph's other former slave who testified, Jack Smith. Alfred's cross-examination is transcribed below.

Cross-examined by the Commissioner - Witness answers as follows:

My name is Alfred Smith, I am 40 or thereabout. I live in New Orleans and am engaged as fire-man on a Mississippi river boat. I was born a slave of the claimant and lived with him until the end of the war. I do believe that the claimant always had been a strong Union man, during the war I have often heard him talk against the Confederacy and say he did not want anything to do with it and would not be mixed up with it. I have heard men threaten to whip the claimant and drive him out of the parish on account of his Union sentiments, and for a long time he could not go to town for fear of these threats being executed. The claimant and his wife often gave United States soldiers food, milk, &c. but he never gave the Confederates anything at all - they were too much against him. I used often to go to Franklin with the claimant and the people would beset him to join them in Secession and threaten to whip him if he did not, but he would always refuse and take no part at all in the fuss. One time I remember of they were going to cow-hide him because he would not join them and had he stood they would have whiped [sic] him, he ran away manfully jumped into his skiff and went home. I feel sure that the claimant never could prove loyalty to the Confederacy if the same had been maintained as a separate government because of the reasons I have already expressed. I have no interest in this claim at all.                   
                                                               his
                                                    Alfred  X  Smith
                                                             mark

 Sworn before me this 25th day of June 1872
                                              Wm. Grant
                                              Special Comm

Cross-examination of witness, Alfred Smith, 25 June 1872; Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Available from Fold3.

Cross-examination of witness, Alfred Smith, 25 June 1872; Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Available from Fold3.

Cross-examination of witness, Alfred Smith, 25 June 1872; Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Available from Fold3.

Amanuensis Monday: Joseph S. Tarkington's Southern Claims Commission Claim: Cross-Examination of Witness, Jack Smith

Joseph S. Tarkington filed Louisiana claim #12265 with the Southern Claims Commission. One of the witnesses was Jack Smith, his former slave and employee. When Joseph married Nancy (Sanders) Theall (the widow of Joseph Theall), Jack became his slave. Jack's cross-examination is transcribed below.

Cross-examination of witness, Jack Smith, by the Commissioner

My name is Jack Smith, I am 45 years old, and reside at present at 20 St. James St. New Orleans La. I am at present working as a gardner [sic]. Before the war I resided in the Parish of St. Mary La. J. S. Tarkington was my master, for thirty years before the war, I became his servant through marriage, and I resided with him until the close of the war, but after the proclamation of emancipation he paid me wages. I left him in 1865, because he broke up, being too poor to continue farming. The claimant was always called a Union man among the coloured people. I have heard the claimant openly speak against the Confederates to white people, and if he had been a younger man they would have prosecuted him. I know that the claimant never took any part in the war and did all in his power to assist the Union cause. I heard the claimant urge the young men at the Court house not to go to the Confederate Army, but I do not know of any other act done or language used by claimant which would have prevented him establishing his loyalty to the Confederacy. I have no interest in this claim.

                                                                    his
                                                            Jack x Smith
                                                                  mark

Sworn before me this
12th day of April 1872
Wm. Grant

Cross-examination of witness, Jack Smith, 12 April 1872; Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Available from Fold3.

Cross-examination of witness, Jack Smith, 12 April 1872; Orleans Parish, Louisiana claim no. 12265 (Joseph S. Tarkington), Allowed Case Files, Southern Claims Commission, 1871-1880; Settled Accounts and Claims, Third Auditor. Records of the Treasury Department Accounting Officers, Record Group 217. National Archives, Washington, DC. Available from Fold3.

Those Places Thursday: Elmwood

Elmwood. Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division HABS: WVA,19-SHENJ.V,1-1. Available from Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons.

Elmwood is a two-story brick house in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located 2.4 miles south of Shepherdstown on County Road 17 (Flowing Springs Road), on 315 acres of land.

The land which Elmwood is located on was claimed by my 7th-great-grandfather Edward Lucas in 1732. The house was built in 1797 by his son Edward Lucas (from his first marriage to Mary Darke), the half-brother of my 6th-great-grandfather Andrew Lucas. The house was inherited by Robert Lucas, the son of Edward Lucas and Elizabeth Edwards. Robert, who had received medical certificates from the University of Pennsylvania, volunteered as a physician during the Civil War, and Elmwood was used as an army hospital. The Lucas family owned the home until 1948.

References
Elmwood (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Elmwood
West Virginia Cattle Farm Is Family Affair That Will Be Passed On

Military Monday: Battle of Nashville

The Battle of Nashville took place on December 15-16, 1864. It was the last major battle of the Civil War. This year is the 150th anniversary of the battle.

After the Battle of Franklin, Lieutenant General John Bell Hood and his Confederate troops pursued Major General George Henry Thomas' Union troops to Nashville. They arrived on December 2. Thomas' troops attacked the Confederates on both the left and the right flanks. The attack on the right was intended to be a diversion. Troops from General James B. Steedman's Provisional Division advanced on the right flank at 8:00 AM on December 15. However, the diversion did not work; Hood realized that the main attack was coming from the left, and he moved some of Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee's troops to the left flank.

At 10:00 AM the attack on the left flank began. Brigadier General James H. Wilson's cavalry corps and Major General Andrew Jackson Smith's "Detachment of the Army of the Tennessee" headed west and then south. Brigadier General Edward Hatch's cavalry brigade headed to the Belle Meade plantation, where they burned Brigadier General James R. Chalmers' supply wagons. Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood's IV Corps advanced on the Confederate line. The five Confederate redoubts on the left were attacked. The last one to fall was Confederate Redoubt No. 1.

On December 16, Major General Thomas once again utilized the strategy of creating a diversion. Two brigades from General Steedman's provisional division and two brigades from Samuel Beatty's division of Brigadier General Wood's IV Corps attacked Peach Orchard Hill. Hood sent reinforcements to Peach Hill; the Confederate line of defense at Compton's Hill (now Shy's Hill) became thinner.

At 3:30 PM, Brigadier General John McArthur told Smith and Thomas that unless he was given orders not to within the next five minutes, he would attack Compton's Hill and the Confederate line to its east. Shortly afterward, McArthur's three brigades began their attack. They captured 1,533 men, 85 officers (including Brigadier General Thomas Benton Smith), and eight cannons. Colonel William M. Shy was killed.

The Battle of Nashville Preservation Society's events in remembrance of the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Nashville began on Saturday, 13 December 2014, and continue on Monday, 15 December 2014 and Tuesday, 16 December 2014.

Map of the battle of Nashville, 1864. 18 March 2007. By Andrei nacu [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

Nashville, Tenn. Federal outer line. Photo by Jacob F. Coonley, 16 December 1864.  Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Available from http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.02087/.

References
Battle of Nashville
Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, Inc.
150th Anniversary (1864–2014) This Month in the Civil War: Battle of Nashville
Zimmerman, Mark. Guide to Civil War Nashville. Nashville, TN: Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, 2004.

Veterans Day

Available from Veterans Day Poster Gallery, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

On Veterans Day, I would like to thank the members of my family that have served in the United States military, or served allied nations in World War I. In addition to ancestors, this list includes uncles, cousins, and relatives by marriage.

Revolutionary War
Adam Binkley
Frederick Binkley
Abraham Louis DeMoss
Elisha Garland
Lazarus Gatlin
Jesse Greer
Francis Hardgrave
Benjamin Isbell
Henry Isbell
Thomas Isbell
Benjamin Mayo
James Mayo
Joseph Mayo
Stephen Mayo

War of 1812
Chapman Gordon
Francis Hardgrave
Skelton Hardgrave
Elias L. Mayo
Thomas Mayo
Andrew Russell

Mexican War
James Thomas Gilliam
Thomas E. Gilliam
James Hardgraves
Robert Francis Hardgraves
Thomas Tarkington

Civil War (Union)
Davidson Binkley
Samuel August Samuelson
Hugh Winters

World War I
John Joseph Berberick
John G. Leech
Ferdinand Constand Schneider
Cornelius Thomas de Kam (Canada)
Edward Otto Troedson (Australia)
George Arthur Troedson (Australia)

World War II
Gilbert Joseph Blocker
Theodore Boe
David Theodore Borg
Delmar Emil Borg
Walton E. Borg
Clifford Irwin Clark
Louis D. Hightower
William Philip Carl Illig
Norman Kowelman
James Bratton Lampley
Harry Ashby Lee
William Patterson Leech
Leroy N. Mayrant
Julian G. Nagle
Amanda Mary (Whitman) Pybas
Earl Mason Roberts
William Robert Ruty
Karl J. Schneider
Fred Logan Trickey

Korean War
Harry Ashby Lee

Other Veterans
John Joseph Koestler, United States Army 1958-1964
Frank Casole, United States Army 1977-1981
Todd Thompson, United States Air Force 1991-2011

Current Service Members
Jon Rodriguez, United States Marines

52 Ancestors: #19 Davidson Binkley

My 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley was born on 12 November 1831 or 1832 in Springfield, Robertson County, Tennessee. According to a family group sheet compiled by P. C. Lampley, his full name was Benjamin Davidson Binkley. The information on the family group sheet came from the family Bible of Davidson Binkley's granddaughter Laura Belle (Tarkington) Leech and from family members.

In 1850, Davidson and his brother Patterson lived in Davidson County, Tennessee in the home of William T. Garrett. His brothers Robertson and Turner and their wives lived in a nearby household. His mother Fanny, brother Montgomery, and sister Martha also lived nearby, in the household of Andrew Sullivan. Davidson obtained a license to marry Angeline Mayo on 19 January 1853. Angeline (Mayo) Binkley's Civil War widow pension application file includes a statement that the couple were married at the home of Jacob D. Mayo (Angeline's father) on Whites Creek, Davidson County, Tennessee by J. P. Garrett on 20 January 1853.

On 28 September 1853, Davidson and Angeline's first child, Sara Elizabeth, was born, but she did not live long; she died on 11 October 1853. Their second child, Louise Jane, was born on 15 November 1854, and died on 18 November 1855. The children's birth and death dates came from the family group sheet compiled by P. C. Lampley. The couple's third child and first son, William Searcy Binkley, was born on 15 June 1856. The family moved to Illinois before the birth of their next child, Anna Malvina (my great-great-grandmother) on 19 December 1858. In 1860, the family was living in Township 9 Range 2 E, Williamson County, Illinois. Davidson was a farmer, and the value of his personal estate was $300.The couple's second son, James Rutherford Binkley, was born on 12 February 1861.

Davidson Binkley's Illinois Civil War Detail Report provides information about his military service. He joined the Union Army on 26 September 1862 at Camp Butler, Illinois, and he mustered in at Camp Butler on 5 November 1862. A 14 May 2008 Illinois Times article on Camp Butler calls it Camp Misery because it was overcrowded and there was so much disease.

Davidson was a private in Company G, 128th Illinois Infantry. The Marion Illinois History Preservation Web site provides information about this regiment. Robert M. Hundley was the regiment's colonel. Most of the residents of Williamson County, Illinois had come from Kentucky, Tennessee, or North Carolina, and many people sympathized with the southern cause. The loyalty of the regiment was questioned, and they were called the "Whang Doodle Regiment." The regiment was disbanded on 1 April 1863 after it had lost more than 700 men, mostly from desertion. Davidson Binkley was not one of the deserters. He remained loyal, and he served with his unit until 9 January 1863, when he died of measles in Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois. He was buried in Spiller Cemetery in Williamson County, Illinois.

Marriage license for Davidson Binkley and Angeline Mayo, 19 January 1853. Nashville, Tennessee: Metropolitan Government Archives.

NGS 2014: Day 4

Today was the final day of the NGS 2014 conference. I began the day with Barbara Vines Little's session "A Treasure Trove of Rarely Used Records". Processioning records and road orders were among the sources that she talked about. I then attended Vic Dunn's session "Colonial Migrations in and Out of the Shenandoah Valley." He gave us specific information about every county in the Shenandoah Valley. That level of detail is very helpful! I I then went to the New England Historic Genealogical Society luncheon, where David Allen Lambert spoke about researching Confederate veterans after the Civil War. After lunch, I attended Donald W. Moore's session "Seventeenth Century Virginia Ancestors: A Research Case Study". My final session of the conference was Ann K. Blomquist's session "Virginia Colonial Parish Records". I need to get her book Southam Parish Land Processioning, 1747-1784: Goochland, Cumberland, Powhatan Counties. She had a copy with her and I saw the surname Mayo in the index more than once. I will definitely need to try to locate parish register records for my ancestors. Finally, I attended the National Genealogical Society annual meeting, and then headed back to my hotel. It has been a very educational and productive week. I plan to attend NGS 2015 in St. Charles, Missouri.

NGS 2014: Day 1

Today was the first day of the National Genealogical Society's 2014 Family History Conference. And what a busy day it was for me! In the opening session, Sandra Gioia Treadway, Librarian of Virginia and State Archivist, talked about the Library of Virginia and its modernization. I then went to the Exhibit Hall and found many books that I needed to add to my collection. At 11:00, I heard Eric Grundset speak about the challenges of researching early Virginia ancestors and possible ways to break through those brick walls. I then attended the Virginia Genealogical Society luncheon. Conley L. Edwards shared some of the experiences he had had working with genealogists over the years. At 2:30 PM, I heard Kathy Huber speak about the records of the Southern Historical Society. She mentioned some of the articles that were published in the Southern Historical Society's papers. One was on Rock Island Prison. My 3rd-great-grandfather's brother John G. Gatlin was imprisoned there. I will have to track down that article. At 4:00, I heard Nathan W. Murphy speak about colonial ancestors who arrived as transported convicts. With all the black sheep in my family, I would not be at all surprised to find out that one or more of my ancestors arrived as a transported convict. I then visited the tables of some Virginia genealogical and historical societies. Some of them, such as the Augusta County Genealogical Society and the Goochland County Historical Society, focus on areas where my ancestors lived. Finally, I headed to the Library of Virginia. The library had special late hours and was open until 9:00 PM. I found an indenture for an apprenticeship for a Chapman Gordon who may be my ancestor. I found an estate appraisal for Andrew Corn; I wonder if he was the father of my ancestor Elizabeth Corn. I also found my ancestor William Isbell's estate inventory, an account of guardianship for my Mayo ancestors (my 5th-great-grandfather was guardian of his children with my 5th-great-grandmother Ann Isbell, because they had received bequests from William Isbell, their maternal grandfather). I found my ancestor Edward Lucas' will and estate appraisal. I found deeds for land transactions involving my ancestors Russell Blakely and Abel Gower. It was a long but very productive day!