Honoring US Civil War Vets for Decoration Day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, a day to honor those who fought in the US Civil War by decorating the graves of the fallen. 

For some years, I've been researching and documenting Civil War vets from my husband's family tree. Nearly all returned from the war, although a few died--mainly of disease.

To honor their service, I'm listing their names, genealogical relationship to my husband, and their military branch.

Union side, US Civil War

Ira Caldwell (hubby's 1c3r) - 84th Indiana Infantry

George H. Handy (hubby's 1c2r) - 4th Massachusetts Infantry

Harvey H. Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Isaac Newtown Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 35th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Jacob Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 151st Indiana Volunteer Infantry

James Elmer Larimer (hubby's 1c4r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry

John Wright Larimer (hubby's 1c3r) - 17th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry

John N. McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry, then transfer to 26th Indiana Volunteers 

Train Caldwell McClure (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 89th Indiana Infantry

Hugh Rinehart (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 15th Ohio Infantry

Benjamin Franklin Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 10th Ohio Cavalry

Samuel D. Steiner (hubby's 2d great-uncle) - 8th Ohio Infantry

Lemuel C. Wood, Sr. (hubby's 3d great-uncle) - Commander of the USS Daylight, Union Navy

Lemuel C. Wood, Jr. (hubby's 1c3r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Robert Crooke Wood, Sr. (hubby's 4c4r) - Asst. Surgeon General, Union Army

Thomas F. Wood (hubby's 1c2r) - 3d Massachusetts Infantry

Isaac Larimer Work (hubby's 1c4r) - 74th Indiana Infantry

John Wright Work (hubby's 1c4r) - 74th Indiana Infantry

Confederate side, US Civil War

John Taylor Wood (hubby's 4c5r) - Confederate Navy, CSS Tallahassee, CSS Virginia

Robert Crooke Wood Jr. (hubby's 4c5r) - Wood's Mississippi Cavalry Regiment

Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood (hubby's 6c3r) - 18th No. Carolina Infantry, 3d No. Carolina Infantry

Married 124 Years Ago by Reverend Hopkins

On September 21, 1898, nearly 124 years ago, my husband's grandparents Mary Slatter (1869-1925) and James Edgar Wood (1871-1939) were married in Toledo, Ohio. The couple received the license and were wed on the same day, a Wednesday.

Curious about the officiant, whose name is circled in the image at top, I searched online for more background. Reverend William Cyprian Hopkins, 1834-1910, was born in Burlington, Vermont, a son of the state's first Episcopal Bishop. After college, he earned a Doctor of Divinity degree and became rector of a church in Vermont until being commissioned as a chaplain in the Union Army during the US Civil War, serving with the 7th Vermont Infantry. 

Later, Rev. Hopkins became rector for churches in Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio. In 1898, he married hubby's grandparents while at St. Paul's Church of Toledo, Ohio. 

Because Rev. Hopkins was from a prominent Vermont family, he and his family appear in a wide variety of sources.

At left, a news clipping from the New York Journal newspaper of January 23, 1899, from the US Library of Congress website. It described the will of Charles Jerome Hopkins, a talented yet eccentric and prolific composer. 

The composer left his estate to his brother, Reverend Hopkins, with the exception of his music, which was left to his nieces in Chicago.

Happy almost anniversary to my husband's grandparents, never forgotten.

Cousin Bait: Fish in Many Ponds

Trying to catch the eye of cousins who are searching online for mutual ancestors, I fish in as many ponds as possible. Anything I post as cousin bait works 24/7, waiting to be found when a possible cousin does a surname search or looks on a genealogy-related website for folks in the family tree.

Above, my Find a Grave memorial for Isaac Larimer Work with bite-sized bio (repurposed and posted to multiple sites when I researched hubby's US Civil War ancestors). Although I can't be 100% sure that Isaac is actually in Nashville National Cemetery, he's listed as being buried there in the US Civil War Roll of Honor (see title page here at right).

Isaac was my hubby's 1c4r. The Find a Grave page was cousin bait after being discovered last week by a descendant of this Union soldier's brother. The cousin contacted me via my Find a Grave profile and now we're exchanging family history photos and more. 

Also last week I was contacted by a 2c2r in my Burk/Mahler/Jacobs family tree, who found his grandfather on my Ancestry public tree. He has photos I've never seen, and I have photos he's never seen. We're sharing info and putting our heads together for further research!

To fish in many ponds, I have trees, memorials, photos, and/or bios on all of the following:

• Find a Grave
• Ancestry
• My Heritage
• WikiTree
• Find My Past
• Fold3
• FamilySearch
• Ancestor landing pages of this genealogy blog

It was a great week for genealogy last week, and September will be a terrific month for collaborating on research with these newfound cousins.

Seventeen Wood Children Born in Three States

 

As I continue to draft bite-sized bios of my husband's great-grandparents, Mary Amanda Demarest (1831-1897), husband Thomas Haskell Wood (1809-1890), and their children, I'm examining what was going on in their lives. This helps me put each ancestor into the context of the time, place, and ongoing family situation. Even if I write only a sentence or two for the wee ones, it keeps their memory alive for the future.

Bride from New York, groom from Massachusetts

Thomas Haskell Wood was born in Massachusetts and his bride Mary Amanda Demarest was born in New York, yet they married in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, in 1845. 

The Wood family was based in the whaling community of New Bedford, many working in the industry. There's some evidence that Thomas signed onto a whaling ship in New Bedford years earlier. He may have arranged to bring Mary to Louisiana by ship for an elopement, but we have no proof.

Their 17 children were born in three states from 1846 to 1875. At left, the names and dates of their five girls and twelve boys. Mary was 15 when her first child arrived, and nearly 45 by the time the last child arrived. 

Three born in Louisiana, 1846-1850

Jane "Jennie," Thomas, and John--the first three children--all were born in Iberville Parish, Louisiana.

Only Jane survived to adulthood, unfortunately. Thomas drowned at age 12, and John died at age 8.

Why the family left Louisiana, no one has any idea. Thomas Haskell Wood was a carpenter and much later, a coach builder, so he could go wherever work was available. But they must have had a good reason to pack up and move 900 miles away.

Six born in Virginia, 1851-1861

Once the family settled in a part of Virginia that is today in West Virginia, six more children were born: Lucy, William, Alfred, Francis, Lavatia, and Joseph. 

Sadly, not all lived long lives. Lucy died at age 18. Diphtheria claimed Lavatia just after her 5th birthday and Joseph just before his 2d birthday. William died of typhoid at age 39, leaving a wife and children. Alfred also died at age 39, leaving a widow but no children. 

Francis grew up and followed his father into carpentry, forming a business with some of his brothers. He and his wife had four children--and their descendants are in some of the old Wood family photos.

Eight born in Ohio, 1862-1875

The move to Ohio, about 300 miles away, could very well have been precipitated by the US Civil War, which broke out in April of 1861. Both parents were from the North, so maybe they wanted to leave the South to settle in the Union state of Ohio, or simply wanted to be far from the fighting. 

Another reason might have been opportunities for steady work on Ohio railroad projects, as indicated by occupation of "RR carpenter" and "coach builder" in two US Censuses taken after the family got to Ohio. 

In Toledo, Ohio, the last eight of the Wood children were born between 1862 and 1875: Charles, Rachel "Nellie," George, Marion, Mary "Mollie," James, Robert, and Leander. During this period, one of the children born in Louisiana and two of the children born in Virginia died in Toledo. 

Of those born in Ohio, neither George nor Leander lived more than a few months, sad to say. The other six children all grew up and married. The men went into carpentry or commercial painting, sometimes in partnership with each other. Photos of some of these ancestors are in our hands and in the hands of cousins.

My husband's grandfather was home builder James Edgar Wood (1871-1939), the tenth of twelve sons who became the father of four sons himself. 

Exploring New Military Pages on Fold3

 

Researching my husband's ancestors, I've stumbled across a fairly new type of page on Fold3, the Ancestry-owned website featuring military records and more. 

I access Fold3 for free via my state library and use it to look at 1812 War records, US Civil War records, World War I/II records, and military pensions, among other documents. I've also used Fold3 to make memorial pages for ancestors who served. 

Above, a Fold3 page listing key elements on the time-line of Charles H. Stout. This page was created in June, 2021 by the Fold 3 team. 

I like that the page summarizes which conflict (US Civil War), which part of the military (Union Army, Ohio Volunteer Infantry), and links to sources that support these facts.

Charles's birth year of 1843 is supported by 3 Ancestry records, which all turn out to be US Civil War records. In fact, all the records attached to Charles H. Stout are, so far, Civil War records. 

Clicking on Charles's regiment brings up this terrific page, highlighting when the Ohio 51st Volunteer Regiment was mustered into service and when it was mustered out of service--plus key battles fought by the regiment. In the past, when I was writing about my husband's US Civil War ancestors, I had to individually look up much of the info that is linked to page.

On the right side of the page, it's easy to click on the Company and see facts such as the name of the youngest person to enlist (in this case, at age 15) and the oldest man to enlist (at age 46). Other details include a list of officers and a list of soldiers. Symbols show, at a glance, who was a prisoner of war, who was wounded, and who died during the war. All excellent historical and human background for understanding the life of a Civil War ancestor.

If you haven't used Fold3 lately to research your military ancestors, I encourage you to explore the new pages and provide feedback, since these are currently in beta. 

Clues in Genealogy Book Lead to Another Civil War Veteran

My husband's family tree has multiple generations of men named Isaac Larimer. Untangling who's who has taken many hours of research. But thanks to the printed genealogy book Larimer Family, 1740-1959, by John Clarence Work (now available digitally, free, through Family Search), I picked up enough clues to identify one as yet another Civil War veteran in hubby's family!

Few sources, missing information

Above is an excerpt from page 30 of the Larimer genealogy, where the top name is ISAAC LARIMER (my husband's 1c4r). No sources on this page, and missing information such as birth/death dates; the first name of the wife of Isaac Larimer; the first name of the wife of John Larimer; and the first name of the wife of Jacob Wright Larimer. 

Other pages list as sources specific relatives (living at the time of publication) who provided information, and church letters showing who was born where/when and the movement of Larimer families as they moved westward. But of course the author didn't have the benefit of digitized, transcribed, indexed data available with a click or two.

Starting point for research

When I saw that this particular Isaac Larimer was "wounded in the Civil War," according to the book, I jumped him to the top of my research list. My priority was discovering more about his military service. But first, I had to be sure I was focusing on the correct Isaac Larimer.

Using Ancestry, I entered Isaac's spouse's maiden name and quickly discovered an Isaac Larimer who married Marilda McCreary (not McCrory, as in the genealogy) in 1852. The place/date fits, and matches other details from the printed genealogy--including the fact that another McCreary was married into the Larimer family, which I easily verified. That tiny note in the book clinched it. Correct Isaac Larimer!

"Gunshot wound of face"

Next, I searched the database U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865. I found an Isaac Larimer born about 1828 in Fairfield County, Ohio. (That fits with what I know of this branch of the Larimer line, from the printed genealogy and other sources.) A farmer, he enlisted at the age of 33 and was mustered into Company K of the 35th Illinois Infantry on August 28, 1861. Just over a year later, he was promoted to sergeant. 

Isaac was mustered out of the infantry on September 27, 1864, after a "gunshot wound of face." I wasn't surprised to see that he filed for an invalid pension on October 8, 1864 (see index card at right).

Later life

As the Larimer printed genealogy indicates, my research confirms Isaac Larimer did return home, and later moved to Southern Illinois, where I found him in the 1870 and 1880 census records. 

Although the author of the printed genealogy found no further records, the trail continues for today's researchers. I soon found Isaac as a homesteader in Missouri. Later, he was enumerated in Webster county, Missouri, as part of the 1890 Veteran's Schedule, where he was noted to be "now blind in rite eye" (enumerator's spelling, not mine.)

Isaac's wife, Marilda, died in 1905 and he died in 1910. They are buried side by side in Redtop township, Dallas County, Missouri. Once I write a bite-sized bio of cousin Isaac Larimer (1828-1910), I'll include it in my booklet of Wood family Civil War ancestors. I'll also post it as a memorial on Fold3, FamilySearch, and other sites to share more widely.

"Multiples" is the week 9 prompt in Amy Johnson Crow's 2021 challenge of #52Ancestors.  

Genealogy Progress in the Pandemic Year of 2020

With only days to go until 2020 is in the history books, I'm looking back at the progress I made with my genealogy projects during this year of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm putting ever more emphasis on sharing what I know with relatives and preparing my trees, photos, and materials so they are in good shape to pass to the next generation years from now. 

In particular, I've been creating a variety of bite-sized projects while continuing to work on longer-term projects. Getting a small project finished in a short time gives me a sense of accomplishment and keeps my genealogy fun and engaging. If you can turn any of your research into a small project to share with family, I encourage you to try this in 2021!

During 2020 my progress included:

Complete though not planned: My original 2020 plan didn't include focusing on hubby's Civil War ancestors. But when younger relatives expressed interest, I dug into the research and wrote about 15 ancestors who fought for the Union and 3 who fought for the Confederacy. Thinking like a reader, I included an illustration with every ancestor bio, and complied an index in case someone wants to look up a specific person (maiden names included). 

Complete though not planned: A fun bite-sized project: I created a family history coloring book for each side of the family. It didn't take much time and it was a delightful, quick way to share ancestor photos and basic genealogical information, in a format that encourages children to color faces and backgrounds. I also sent adult recipients the coloring book electronically so they can reprint whenever they wish.

Nearly complete: My long-awaited "Daisy and Dorothy" booklet about Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001) is almost finished. The goal is to give the next generation "insider" insights and tell family stories that bring the twins alive as people. My research revealed  details that I either didn't know or didn't remember, a real plus to completing this booklet.

Ongoing sharing: I accelerated my plan for posting photos, memories, and life stories of ancestors on multiple genealogy sites as cousin bait and to keep these names and faces alive for future generations by sharing. When I post a photo these days, I include names, dates, and sources directly on the images (as shown above from my small but growing WikiTree tree). I've also been using various tools to tease out faces and details from old images. And I've been lucky enough to have cousins who share family photos and letters that illuminate the surprisingly intertwined lives of our common ancestors! My resolution is to continue in 2021.

Improving research and sources: Some ancestors in my trees had limited sources attached from my original, basic research. Now I'm researching more widely, adding more sources, and including captioned images, where available, boosting my trees' credibility. Rotating newspaper databases instead of sticking with just one has helped me uncover new clues, as well. I'm very grateful to the parking lot angels who have been so helpful in obtaining digitized images visible at FHCs only. My resolution is to keep this going in 2021.

Curating my genealogy collection: Practicing what I preach, I'm continuing to curate my collection by sorting and distributing selected items to extended family or outside the family. A cousin was delighted to have a 1911 postcard written by his grandfather to my grandmother. I also donated 1950s theater programs and 1940s war-related ephemera to a university, among other items. I resolve to do more curation during 2021.

Preparing for the 1950 US Census release: The actual release isn't until April of 2022, but I've been carefully studying the enumeration instruction manual and the blank forms. When the Census is finally released, I want to be ready to find my ancestors in the unindexed, untranscribed records (starting with my parents, who were recorded together in one household for the first time). Plus the Census has some fascinating quirks and insights into mid-century life in postwar America.

New presentations! It's been great fun doing virtual presentations to audiences near and far since the spring. I've been updating and reformatting every program with colorful backgrounds and easy-to-read fonts suitable for digital devices of all sizes. Two brand-new talks scheduled for 2021 are: 

• "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects" - this program will debut at the New England Regional Genealogy Conference in April. 
• "Get Ready for the 1950 Census Release!" - this talk has been scheduled for the second half of 2021, before the 1950 Census is released. 

Genealogy community. I enjoyed participating in #GenChat, #AncestryHour, and #OurAncestors Twitter chats during 2020 and I look forward to being a #GenChat guest expert in 2021. Also it was fun to follow threads in the new #ANZAncestryTime chat, which takes place live on Twitter when I'm asleep. I really loved attending the 2020 Virtual Genealogy Association annual conference (2d year in a row) and have it on my 2021 calendar (more news soon). I've learned so much and felt great joy connecting with genie friends on FB, Twitter, blogs, webinars/conferences, and more. I resolve to continue participating during 2021.

This is my #52Ancestors "resolution" post for week 52. TY to Amy Johnson Crow for another year of interesting genealogy blog prompts! Another resolution is to continue with these prompts in 2021.

To my dear readers, may your 2021 be healthy, hopeful, peaceful, and filled with genealogy breakthroughs. The new year should bring safe opportunities to be with family and friends in person!

Sharing Family History Stories on Multiple Sites

This summer, I wrote a booklet about 18 of my husband's Civil War ancestors. With the stories written, I want to share them across multiple sites (as cousin bait and to keep the memories alive for future generations). I could even use one of my genealogy blog posts (slightly edited, or a snippet) as the basis for a brief story or memory to post on a genealogy or family history site. 

Here's how I shared one story on two well-known sites, Fold3.com and FamilySearch.org.

Memorializing Isaac Larimer Work on Fold3

Through my state library website, I have free access to Fold3, known for its military databases. I created a free individual account so I can post brief write-ups of different veterans in the family tree of my husband as well as in my own family tree.

Today, I copied and pasted the brief bio I wrote of Isaac Larimer Work (1838-1862), my hubby's 1c4r.  The options allow me to boldface the name (or other words). I have no images, but I did add a gold star (see green arrow and oval at top right of screen shot) to indicate that Isaac died during the war. 

Now the memorial page (including my story) shows up in a search for "Isaac Larimer Work" along with his actual Civil War records (which Fold3 has available). Larimer and Work cousins will be able to read my story about this young man, who was born in December of 1838 and unfortunately died in December of 1862.

If you have access to Fold3, I encourage you to post photos and/or stories of veterans in your family tree. My father's photo is now there, along with a synopsis of his WWII service. Where possible, list sources so other researchers can retrace your steps. I'm getting ready to post more stories and photos (if available), little by little.

Memorializing Isaac Larimer Work on Family Search

Given the global reach of FamilySearch and its fame as a free collaborative family tree site, it's a great place to post ancestor stories. Above, I the same condensed story on Family Search, as one of the ancestor's memories. No boldface, but very readable. I can also tag other people, add topic and date/place tags, etc., enabling researchers to quickly and easily locate this man, his family, and his story.

My story is publicly visible and I am shown as the contributor. If cousins read the story and want to get in touch, they can use FamilySearch's messaging system. 

I encourage you to consider posting even a brief paragraph or two about ancestors, as a Life Sketch or a Memory on FamilySearch. It takes only a few minutes, and will be available to countless people over the years.

--

This is one of many bite-sized family history projects you can plan and complete in a short time! I'm giving a presentation on the topic of bite-sized projects during the all-virtual NERGC Conference in April, 2021.

Not All of the 1890 US Census Burned!

Nearly a century ago, a devastating fire at the U.S. Department of Commerce Building burned up nearly all of the 1890 U.S. Census records. Read all about the fire here.

Sadly, many damaged records sat around for years after the 1921 fire, while the government dithered over what to do. 

Some Records Survived

As shown at top, some fragments of the population schedules are actually still available to be searched. For a complete list of which localities can be searched, take a look at the U.S. Census Bureau's page here.

Better news: Many of the Veteran's schedules (which enumerated Civil War vets) survived the fire. Read more here. 

Veterans Enumerated!

Happily for me, my husband's Civil War ancestors who were still alive in 1890 were enumerated on the special Veteran's schedules that survived. 

This page from 1890 shows Benjamin Franklin Steiner (1840-1924)'s service in the 10th Ohio Cavalry during the Civil War. 

Lots of detail, including exact dates of service and his current town of residence at the time of the enumeration. This was one of the sources I consulted when I wrote a brief biography of Steiner for a booklet on my husband's Civil War ancestors. 

So now, nearly 100 years after the fire that burned up most of the 1890 Census, I can still research Civil War veterans in hubby's family tree.

- I just added this post to the November Genealogy Blog Party, which focuses on veterans and military ancestors. Lots of good blog posts to read there.

Adding Context for 3D View of Ancestors, Part 1

Last week, I finished a 40-page booklet about hubby's 18 Civil War ancestors. Even though these ancestors died generations ago, each lived a unique life that I wanted to honor and memorialize in this family history booklet.

Yet when I sat down to write, I had only bare-bones facts from the US Census, Civil War pension records, and similar sources.

To engage my readers (younger relatives of today and descendants in future generations), I needed to flesh out these skeletons beyond just names and dates. My goal was to provide a more three-dimensional view of each ancestor's life.

This first part of my new blog series examines how an ancestor's family situation can add an important dimension to understand his or her life. Later posts in this series will look at community, society, and history as context for understanding ancestors.

Ancestors in Context: Family Situation

Here are some of the elements of family situation I examined to understand the life of Benjamin Franklin Steiner, born in 1840 in Crawford County, Ohio. He was my husband's second great uncle, and he served for nearly three years in the 10th Ohio Cavalry, fighting for the Union side.

• Birth order - He was the seventh of nine children, and the fifth of six sons. But since his father was a tailor, not a farmer, having a lot of boys didn't necessarily help the household prosper. It probably meant mouths to feed. Perhaps this is why I found Benjamin not at home in the 1860 US Census but living 40 miles away with a carpenter's family, and working as a laborer at the age of 20. Then I looked further.

• Parents - Benjamin's mother was listed as head of household in the 1860 US Census, no occupation. Benjamin's father died before the Census. Still at home with his Mom were a 25-year-old son who was a carpenter; a 21-year-old daughter whose occupation was "sewing;" and three children under the age of 15. I think this explains why Benjamin wasn't living at home--he needed to board elsewhere and make money while one of his brothers remained at home to be the chief breadwinner for the family.

• Siblings - One brother was a carpenter, one a plasterer, one a grocer, one a butcher, and one a farmer. After serving in the Civil War, Benjamin first started farming. With his second family, he tried brick and tile making before returning to farming. Both of these occupations he would have seen first-hand. Interestingly, none of the children chose to be a tailor like their father.

• Spouse and children - In 1861, Benjamin married a farmer's daughter. He was 21, she was 23. They had one son before Benjamin went to war in October, 1862. It must have been difficult for his wife and child, on their own, financially and emotionally, while Benjamin was in the military. When he returned, he and his wife had two more children. Only months after the third child was born, Benjamin's wife died. He remarried three years later, to a widow bringing up three children on her own. Now Benjamin was supporting a wife, two children, and three stepchildren, which may be why he changed occupations to try brick and tile making. Once the children were all grown and gone, he went back to farming in his later years. 

Benjamin's life took many twists and turns, with both ups and downs, I realized as I looked at his changing family situation. This gave me a better appreciation of who he was and the decisions he faced--fleshing him out as a 3D human being, beyond the basics of birth, marriage, and death.

More about context in Part 2.

Finishing Touches for Family History: Think Like a Reader!

Top, snippet of front page of family history booklet. Bottom, index of names in the booklet

This summer's genealogy project was writing about my husband's 18 ancestors who served in the Civil War. Although most were fighting for the Union, thanks to a wonderful Wood cousin, I had a head-start researching the distant cousins on the Confederate side.

Every man who served had a fascinating and often poignant story. I researched and wrote about their lives and families before the war, what their military units did during the war, and the course of their lives and families after the war. My research showed that only two ancestors died during the war--both of disease, not wounds. This was a sadly common pattern during the Civil War.

Now, to add finishing touches that make this booklet as appealing and accessible as possible, I needed to think like a reader!

Finishing touch: Catch the eye

From experience, I know that the next generation enjoys a pop of color to catch the eye. So I found a colorful and evocative free photo to illustrate the first page (thanks to Pixabay), as you can see at top of this post.

In fact, every ancestor profile has some illustration, whether it's an excerpt from a pension record, a letter from the man's military files, or an illustration from an out-of-copyright mug book. My goal is to keep the reader's attention or at least intrigue the reader enough to look further.

Finishing touch: Did you know...

My first page also contains a few highlights and spoiler alerts. After all, when I pick up a book, I read the inside flap or back cover to see what's inside. That's what my highlights/spoiler alerts page is all about.

I explained that some Wood ancestors were in hotly-contested battles like Chickamauga...in famous engagements like the Monitor vs. the Merrimac...came from all walks of life before the war (blacksmith, farmer, tinsmith, mariner, doctor-in-training, career military). This is my way of saying to my audience: Read on for even more interesting details!

Finishing touch: What's in it for me?

I also needed to answer the unspoken question from every reader...what's in it for me? Well, one ancestor might be a distant cousin, one might be a 3d grand uncle, but all are related to you. The surnames are also a tipoff that these people were in our family tree.

My table of contents lists each man (and his birth/death dates) and indicates whether he served for Union or Confederacy (yes, I used color to make the words stand out). Next, I list the full name of his wife or wives, and their dates. Then I show the exact relationship to my husband and to the next generations.

So Lemuel C. Wood, Jr., who was in both the Union Army and the Union Navy, was a 1st cousin, 3 times removed to my hubby and his siblings. Their relationship to Dr. Thomas Fanning Wood, who served the Confederacy, was much more distant: he was their 6c3r.

Finishing touch: Find an individual quickly

Thinking like a reader, I realized someone might want to find a particular person or family quickly. In a 40-page family-history booklet, that's not possible without an index. With an index, if readers are curious about only the Larimer ancestors, they can look at the Larimer names in the index, for instance. Or if readers want to look up a name that's familiar, they can browse the index.

See part of the first page of the index I prepared for this booklet at top. Every family or associate name mentioned in the book appears in this index. I indexed women by their maiden names, showing married names in parentheses. In this Mayflower 400 year, I mentioned when a Civil War ancestor was descended from a Mayflower or Fortune passenger--and indexed those names as well.

The only people not indexed are Civil War figures like Stonewall Jackson. They're not part of the family, and are mentioned so often that the index alone would balloon to 5 pages.

Quite a labor of love for my family, but well worth the time I invested now that the youngest generation has expressed interest in the Civil War. And being close to home during this pandemic has allowed me large blocks of time to concentrate on the research and writing.

Bigger than bite-sized but achievable little by little

This is a longer but worthwhile "bite-sized project" that can be accomplished by researching and writing a brief bio of one ancestor at a time. I repurposed some of the bios by posting them on genealogy sites to share with more people. Little by little, I completed each bio and eventually assembled all into a booklet that has been shared (printed and digitally) with the Wood family.

Unforgettable Stories of Civil War Ancestors

From Library of Congress, sketch showing aspects of region surrounding Gallatin, TN

I am almost finished with my family history booklet about the 18 ancestors in my husband's family tree who served in the Civil War. Of the 18, 15 were fighting for the Union and 3 were fighting for the Confederacy. (Thanks to hubby's wonderful cousin L, who originally researched those 3 Confederates.)

Each of their life stories is unique and many are unforgettable. Let me share the story of two brothers who didn't survive the war.

Students Against Slavery

Isaac Larimer Work and John Wright Work were born in Ohio but moved with their pioneering family to Indiana when very young. The brothers were starting their first year of college prep at Hillsdale College in Michigan when the Civil War broke out. Hillsdale College was then quite well-known for its anti-slavery position, and students resolved to do their part in the fight against slavery.

In the spring of 1862, hundreds of students left campus and returned home to enlist for the Union--including Isaac and John, who both joined Company I of the 74th Indiana Infantry. The unit quickly moved into position for the Union, pursuing Confederate General Bragg and his forces through Kentucky. It fought in the Battle of Perryville, which the Union won but which caused heavy losses on both sides. Toward the end of 1862, the 74th Indiana Infantry marched to Gallatin and Castillian, Kentucky, to regroup and care for sick and wounded soldiers.

Dying of Disease, Not Wounds

Alas, Isaac and John both succumbed to chronic diarrhea at Gallatin not long afterward. Isaac was only 24, and his brother John only 22. The brothers had been in the Union Army for less than six months. They were my husband's first cousins, 4 times removed.

Their infantry unit actually lost many more men to disease than to battle: 91 officers and soldiers were killed or fatally wounded during fighting, while 2 officers and 181 soldiers died from illnesses like diarrhea. The prevalence of death by disease was the reality for both North and South throughout the War.

Knowing that these idealistic young men died only weeks apart, not from wounds but from disease that is today very treatable, made their story unforgettable for me.

RIP, Isaac Larimer Work (1838-1862) and Jacob Wright Work (1841-1863).

The #52Ancestors prompt for this week is "Unforgettable."

The Women Married to Civil War Ancestors

Excerpt from Wood Civil War Ancestors booklet

In researching and writing about my husband's Civil War ancestors (both blue and grey), I'm making sure to document the lives of the women they married.

Some wives outlived their Civil War veteran husbands, by a few years or decades; some wives died while their husbands were away at war; some wives died soon after the vets returned home. Each has a story and I want to be sure their lives are remembered, along with their husbands.

Here's my plan for writing "cradle to grave" about each veteran and his wife or wives:

• Head the first page with veteran's full name and dates. 
• Explain the veteran's relationship to readers in the next generation.
• List the full name of his wife (or wives) and her dates. 
• List the units in which the veteran served (blue indicates Union, red indicates Confederate).
• First paragraphs summarize the man's family background (parents, siblings, birthplace, movements, occupation). This is the "cradle" part of "cradle to grave" in a nutshell.
• Emphasize "story" part of family history by adding a dramatic hook early in the veteran's life narrative. Here, I say that this man and two brothers were all in the Union Army, but their lives diverged after the war was over.
• Include at least one illustration, such as a newspaper obit or a Civil War Pension card. 
• Say when and where the man got married, and any special circumstances. In the excerpt above, John N. McClure married Rebecca Jane Coble only 3 days after he enlisted in the Union Army, just before he shipped out with his unit. Quite a start to their married life.
• Describe the wife's life as well as the veteran's life to add context to the family tree overall. 
• Say when and where (and why) the veteran and his wife died and were buried, the "grave" part of this "cradle to grave" profile.

What's in This Family History Booklet?

My booklet will have a table of contents, a listing of Civil War military units in which the men served, and possibly the key battles or actions in which they participated. 

This is a work in progress, having grown from the quickie booklet I originally envisioned, so I may decide to add an index. After all, I'm profiling 19 men and their wives/families. That's a lot of names. I want to make it easy for descendants to look up any particular ancestor by checking the table of contents and/or the index.

Highlight the Drama: Spoiler Alerts Wanted!

I'm going to write a page highlighting "not to be missed" dramatic or interesting details about some key ancestors. Spoiler alerts will actually whet my readers' appetite for more. 

For instance, Robert Crooke Wood was the next generation's 4c5r and a senior U.S. Army surgeon. He married Ann Mackall Taylor, the oldest daughter of Major General Zachary Taylor--yes, the U.S. Army veteran who later became the 12th U.S. president. Zachary Taylor's daughter Sarah married Jefferson Davis. Yes, that Jefferson Davis. So Robert Crooke Wood's father-in-law was a future U.S. president, and his brother-in-law was a future Confederate president.

The Civil War intensified the family drama: Two of Robert Crooke Wood's sons fought for the Confederacy, while their father remained on active duty in the Union Army. (Many thanks to my hubby's wonderful cousin L for sharing his knowledge of this distant part of the Wood family tree.)

Don't you think such spoiler alerts will get my readers' attention?

Trouble Finds Lemuel C. Wood Senior and Junior

Neither Lemuel C. Wood Senior (let's call him "Capt. Wood") nor his son, Lemuel C. Wood Junior (let's call him "Junior"), actually made trouble for anyone, except for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Unfortunately, trouble came looking for them.

Capt. Lemuel Wood, Sr. (1792-1870) Hubby's 3d great uncle

Capt. Wood was a successful mariner based in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, at the major whaling port of New Bedford. He also owned 13 acres of farmland and livestock worth about $9,000 in 1860 (nearly $280,000 in today's dollars), according to that year's Census.

Sadly, the captain's first wife, Mercy Bowditch Taber, died of consumption in 1856. A year later, in 1857, he married Rosetta Howland Ellis, who died of either consumption or palsy in 1859 (records are inconsistent). One year after that, he married Julia Lambert Sampson--and she survived him by 21 years. In order to collect his Civil War pension, she had to prove that her first husband died (at sea during a whaling trip) and that Capt. Wood's previous two wives had died. Quite a fat file of paperwork and a lot of trouble, but she won her case.

Capt. Wood answered the call for Union service during the Civil War. According to some war records, he was commander of the USS Daylight. (Other pension records call him the "acting master" of the Daylight.) He was already in his 60s, with decades of experience on the water.

The USS Daylight sailed along the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, part of the Union blockade against the Confederacy. After the ship was damaged by Confederate gunfire, she was repaired and reassigned to the James River from October, 1864 to May, 1865, after the war ended.

Doctor's note attesting to Sarah H. Wood's deadly illness

Capt. Wood returned home at war's end. In 1870, a few months before he died at the age of 78, he told the Census his occupation was "mariner." He left his widow Julia an estate of $13,450--worth more than $270,000 today.

Lemuel C. Wood, Jr. (1828-1898) Hubby's 1c3r

The Captain's son and namesake, “Lemuel Junior,” first went into business as a merchant. At the age of 28, he married Sarah Howland Wood, on June 26, 1856. By the time their first child was born in 1857, the birth record recorded Junior’s occupation as “gentleman.” He and Sarah had four five children in all, but only two survived to adulthood. Two died within weeks of each other, one of "brain fever" and one of consumption. So tragic.

At the start of the Civil War, Junior became an acting paymaster for the Union Navy. He resigned that post in June of 1862. On September 22, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company I, 3d Massachusetts Infantry, and was mustered in the next day. At the time of this enlistment, he said his occupation was “farmer.” On December 3, 1862, Junior was working as a hospital steward at Plymouth, North Carolina, according to his Civil War records.

Trouble hit Junior's family while he was at war in North Carolina. His wife Sarah was fatally ill with consumption. Letters written to her husband’s commanding officers requested that Junior be given a month of furlough to be at her side.

After weeks of letters back and forth, Junior was granted a month's furlough on April 5, 1863. It was just in time: His wife Sarah died on April 14th.

Junior returned to North Carolina after his furlough. His nine-month service with the 3d Massachusetts Infantry ended when he was mustered out on June 26, 1863. Then he joined the 23d Unattached Company Massachusetts Infantry as a sergeant for 100 days. According to the 1890 Veteran’s Schedule, he had dysentery and was “brought home sick.” From April to September of 1865, Junior was an acting assistant paymaster for the Union Navy, stationed aboard the USS Nantucket.

When he first left the service, Junior took a job as a grocery clerk and hired a housekeeper to care for his children. Eventually, he remarried in 1894, to Emma Louise Small Sherman, listing his own occupation as nursing (remember, he was a hospital attendant during the Civil War). Junior died four years later, at the age of 70, in Fairhaven, his birthplace.
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You know I married my husband for his fascinating ancestors! This week's #52Ancestors blogging prompt is "troublemaker."