Organize Your Family History

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Finding Civil War ancestors

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If you have male ancestors born between about 1820 and 1850 and who lived in the U.S., I encourage you to look into their military records! I have been able to find large packets of information on two Civil War ancestors through Fold3.com. These are images of forms filled out by hand–Civil War Muster Roll, Pension Files and other documents. Fold3.com is a membership site. I paid only $40 for a year’s membership, though I think I got in on some kind of special. In just finding documents for two ancestors (there are probably more!), I feel I got my money’s worth.

A month or two ago, I found information on Benjamin Franklin Igleheart, my great great grandfather, on my father’s side. As I read his  Compiled Service Record, which consists of 15 pages of printed forms, filled in by hand, a story unfolded. I learned that he entered the war as a substitute. In other words, he was paid to serve for someone else (a man named Jacob Gish) who was drafted. He was only 18 and I guess had managed not get drafted himself. Thankfully, he survived that experience. I found the concept of a paid substitute an eye opener.

This weekend, I researched my great great great grandfather (on my mother’s side), Richard Anderson Jeffries. I was able to find his Compiled Service Record (29 pages!) and watched his story unfold as I read backward through time. I learned that on October 1, 1864, his rank was reduced from First Sergeant to Private. And on October 4, 1864, he was hospitalized in Atlanta, Georgia (with no indication why), where he appeared to reside until his discharge, due to the expiration of his term of service, on November 14, 1864. That’s mysterious. I’d love to find out why he was demoted. I also learned, that he went missing in action during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862 and was compensated upon his return for seven months as a prisoner of war. Wow. Now I want to learn more about that battle and about what conditions he might have endured as a prisoner.

To find this information, I needed to know the military unit my ancestors fought with. A good starting place to find that information is the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database from the National Park Service. Searching for Richard Jeffries turned up two possibilities in Missouri, where I knew my Richard lived at the time. There was one record for a Richard Jeffries in the Home Guard in Putnam County (his county) and another for serving in 18th Regiment, Missouri Infantry. I took that info to Fold3 and found his records. I was able to verify that the 18th Regiment, Missouri Infantry was him, since his death date was on the included pension form. (This was also the regiment listed in the genealogy compilation book I’d found online a couple of weeks ago, which gave me confidence.) I’m not certain if he’s also the Richard Jeffries in the Putnam County Home Guard. That will take a little more digging.

Both these ancestors fought on the Union side, so I only have experience with Union records. Your experience may be different if you’re researching ancestors who fought for the confederacy.

If you haven’t yet researched your Civil War ancestors, I think you’re in for a treat. I was amazed at how easily I found really exciting information that I was able to verify. Fold3 has been a goldmine for me, well worth the investment.

Fruits of my family visit

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When I visited my parents earlier this month I had high hopes of gleaning some facts and solving some mysteries. Alas, my parents didn’t have the information I sought.

I did, however, go through a box of old photos in my mother’s closet that she had taken after her mother died. They were mostly photos that her mother-in-law had collected. Unfortunately, most weren’t labeled, but there were some gems in there.

Wheeler Family 1903, Nebraska

My great-grandmother’s family, in 1903, in Nebraska

Here’s one of my favorites. It’s my great-grandmother, Rhoda Wheeler, before she became Rhoda Brown. The photo was taken in 1903 and the family lived in Carleton, Nebraska (Thayer County). Rhoda’s father owned a hotel. That’s her in the back row, second from the left. She’s only 16 in the photo. Those are her identical twin sisters in the middle. There were many photos in that box of the twins through the years.

(Click on the photo, then, if necessary, click on it again in the next screen and you can take a good look at this family.)

Photos like these always amaze me because they feel so real. The expressions are so dour, you wish you could read their minds. I look forward to learning about all the people in this photo!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained

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Index at Grandview Cemetery showing Nebergalls

The Nebergalls on the cemetery index

As I mentioned in last Thursday’s post, I took a little detour on my way from Walla Walla, Wash., where I was visiting my parents, back to Portland, Ore., where I would get my flight home to St. Louis. My husband, Barry, and I went to La Grande, Ore., to visit the Grandview Cemetery.

I’d read on a US GenNet cemetery index that my great great great grandfather, Thomas Washington Nebergall, was buried at the Grandview Cemetery, in Block 113, Lot 1, Space 5. His next of kin was listed as his wife, Miriam Van Bibber Nebergall, which matched my records. So I figured that was my guy and that a visit to the cemetery might provide me with some verified information about him (of which I have precious little).

We drove the winding roads through the Blue Mountains to La Grande (part of the time we were actually on the Oregon Trail) and managed to find the small cemetery. We found Thomas’s name in an index (pictured), in a big display case with a map. But when we went to Block 113, there was a lot of open grass and only one Nebergall grave stone, despite there being five Nebergalls on the index in that block.

We searched in vain in the hot sun for more Nebergalls and before giving up I telephoned the cemetery office. The gentleman there gave me the only explanation I’d been able to think of, which is that no grave stones were ever made for them. My hopes for finding more info about my grandfather’s great grandfather at the cemetery were dashed.

I was disappointed, but, as Barry reminded me, it’s just all part of the adventure. The search in and of itself is fun (though it’s made more sweet by some great discoveries). I’m confident that eventually I’ll get the information I seek. And I’m not letting it discourage me from looking at more cemeteries! I have many ancestors buried in the state of Missouri, so I expect some road trips before too long.

Quiz your relatives

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I’m just wrapping up my visit with my parents and I’m kicking myself for not having conversations with them sooner about family history and lore. (I wish I had done it when I first started dabbling in genealogy history some ten years ago.)

Either my family just doesn’t talk about this stuff a lot (we didn’t when I was a kid, I don’t think), or my octogenarian parents just don’t remember much. In any case, my fact-finding mission didn’t reveal a lot of facts. However, I did go through a box of old photos my mother had inherited from her mother. Only a few had any kind of labels on them (and my mom didn’t recognize most of those pictured), but there were some obituaries and other potentially valuable documents among the photos, which gave me a little thrill.

My aunt lent me a family history that had been published decades ago and I look forward to going through it and trying to verify the information contained in it. While it doesn’t seem to list sources, it will provide valuable clues.

Today, as we drive from Walla Walla, Wash. (where my parents live) to Portland, Ore., we’re going make a detour through LaGrande, Ore, where my great great great grandfather is purported to be buried. I’ll report on that next week.

My big takeaway for you is that even if your interest in family history is only slight, seek out your older relatives and ask them to tell you family stories. And take a few notes. If you end up doing genealogy history, those conversations might provide you with some valuable clues or explanations for what you find in your research.