SDBlackmon62 – Grandma's Trunk

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024 – Week 3 – Favorite Photo

I have 1000s of photos after 48 years of researching my family. I LOVE pictures. Dates, facts, and events are all wonderful and necessary; without them, there would be no skeleton and no foundation. Pictures bring all the dry and dusty bones to life.

While I have some unusual and beautiful photos, one stands out as special every time I see it. My daddy was never really interested in what I found out about his family. He would listen to my discoveries and then go on about his business. Unlike my momma, he didn’t get excited. Not long before he died, his interest grew, and we started spending more time talking about his side of the family. He shared stories I had never heard, shocked me with some revelations, which is hard to do, and left me with some mysteries to solve.

I printed all the pictures I had found of his relatives, not many compared to Momma’s family, and took them to him after writing on each of them who they were and how they were related to him.

All my life, I’ve heard the words, “You’re James’s little girl; you look just like him!” It’s true that the genes are strong. I didn’t realize how strong they are until I found a picture of my paternal/maternal 4th great-grandmother, Nancy Yarbough.

After I showed this picture to Daddy, he showed it to everyone who came through his door and said,

“This is me before I got my hair cut!”

I’m missing a couple of generations, but I bet it’s pretty safe to say that the resemblance is strong. So, while I have many other pictures that are funnier, more interesting, more “beautiful”, none of them make me smile quite like the one of my Daddy, “before he got his hair cut.”

#52ancestors

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024 – Week 2 – Origins – Shipwreck

“O, brave new world
that has such people in’t!” ― William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Sea Venture, the 300-ton flagship of the London Company, was the first purpose-built emigration ship. The hold was built with cabins, and the twenty-four canons were stationed on the main deck. On 02 June 1609, Sea Venture set sail from Plymouth, England, on her maiden voyage, part of the Third Supply mission, as the flagship of a nine-ship fleet destined for Jamestown Colony. Aboard were Edward Waters, a member of the London Company, which was organized for the purpose of colonizing Virginia, and John Graye Proctor.

The usual course was to sail as far south as the Canary Islands; at that latitude, the direction of the wind was from the West, which would have pushed them across the Atlantic. They would have then followed the chain of west indian islands to Florida and then up the Atlantic coast. With the West Indies firmly in the grip of the Spanish Empire, the English fleet turned Northwards into the open Atlantic. The intent was to bypass the Spanish threat and head directly for Virginia.

On 24 July 1609, days from reaching Jamestown, the fleet ran into a strong storm, most likely a hurricane, and became separated. Sea Venture fought the storm for three days. Other ships of comparable size had survived such storms; the critical difference was that Sea Venture’s timbers had not had time to set, and the caulking was forced from between them. Despite the efforts to bail and jettison the ship’s guns to raise her buoyancy, the hold continued to leak, and the water level rose.

Sir George Somers, Admiral of the Company, spied land on the morning of 25 July; the water in the hold had reached a depth of nine feet, and the passengers and crew were past the point of exhaustion. Admiral Somers had the ship driven into the reefs of what proved to be eastern Bermuda, allowing 150 people and one dog to be safely landed.

The survivors, who were disenchanted with this new world, were confined to a prisonlike camp for almost a year while they constructed two new ships, the Deliverance, and the Patience, from local cedar and the salvaged wreckage of the Sea Venture. On May 10, 1610, 142 survivors set sail for Virginia. On reaching Jamestown, less than two weeks later, they discovered that only 60 of the 500 or so who had preceded them to the colony had survived. Everyone boarded the ships to set sail back to England, the settlement of Jamestown being deemed unviable. They were intercepted by a relief fleet and relanded at the colony.

Edward Waters had remained in Bermuda to help hold possession of the island; John Graye Proctor was among the survivors who landed at Jamestown in 1610. Waters would finally reach his original destination in 1618.

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest was inspired by accounts of the wreck of the Sea Venture, the shipwreck that saved Jamestown, and ultimately the colonization of America.

While this is an interesting bit of history, how does it relate to the prompt of Origins? Three hundred eighty-eight years after the wreck of Sea Venture, a 10th great-grandson of Edward Waters, Jerrell Blackmon, married a 10th great-granddaughter of John Graye Proctor, Susan Black, in a small town in North Central Texas!

#52ancestors

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024 – Week 1 – Family Lore

lore¹/lôr/ noun

1. a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth.

For as long as I have been researching my family, 47 plus years, I’ve heard that we are related to Robert E. Lee on my maternal grandfather’s side. Countless scraps of paper among my notes, charts, photographs, etc., most of them in my Momma’s handwriting, allude to this bit of family lore.

According to Momma’s grandmother on her daddy’s side, her daddy was a cousin to Robert E. Lee by way of his paternal grandmother, Susan Adeline Parks. Now that is clear as mud! No matter how I have gone about it, I have not been able to prove this connection.

However, this past year, I did stumble upon a different connection. My 9th great-grandfather on my paternal grandfather’s side was Robert E. Lee’s 3rd great-grandfather, making him my 4th cousin 6x removed! While researching this connection, I found a more convoluted adoptive tie to George Washington through his wife, Martha (Dandridge) Custis.

Martha Dandridge (1731-1802) first married Colonel Daniel Parke Custis (1711-1757). When their son John Parke Custis died in 1781, just weeks after his son, George Washington Parke “Wash” Custis, was born, Martha and her second husband, General George Washington (1732-1799), adopted Martha’s grandson, G. W. P. “Wash” Custis, who would later become the father-in-law of Robert E. Lee.

So, while you can’t always take the family traditions and stories as fact, you should never completely disregard what “great-aunt Tilly told cousin Jonas” as wrong. There is often a thread of truth or a hint of where you need to look buried in the lore.

Whispers from the Past…..

Susan Black Blackmon – Author

Week 26 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – Quite the Character

I can’t count the times that I’ve made the statement, “Don’t poke the bear.” in the course of my genealogical research. If you don’t want to know, don’t go searching. I, however, want to know, so I proceed with a very sharp stick!

Whether you think of them as rascals, black sheep, rogues, scoundrels, or reprobates, these colorful folks bring life and a bit of flavor to every family’s story. Such is the case of my 7th great-grandfather, Thomas Walling I.

Thomas was born in 1627 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. In 1650, Thomas and his friends stole a boat and helped two women run away from their husbands. There was more trouble over the theft of the boat than over the runaway wives. Stealing a boat in a fishing village in New England was a serious offense.

In 1651, when he was 24, Thomas married Mary Abbott, Daniel Abbott Senior’s spinster daughter. In a letter from Roger Williams, of Narragansett, to the town of Providence, he alludes to Thomas and Mary, “I understand that one of the orphans of our dear friend Daniel Abbott is likely (as she herself told me) to be disposed of in marriage. ‘Tis true she has now come to some years, but who knows not what needs the poor maid hath of your fatherly care, counsel and direction. I would not disparage the young man (for I hear he hath been laborious),” Williams desired that the town have some assurance that the young man [Walling] will “forsake his former courses.”

For a time, it appeared that he had settled down. They started a family, and Thomas served as a public official in various capacities. That illusion of maturity and responsibility was soon shattered when Mary filed a petition for relief in Providence County, Rhode Island. Thomas had abandoned his wife and family and run off with a neighbor woman. His estate was seized “for the reliefe of the wife and child.”

Good ‘ole Tom mended fences with Mary because, by 1664, they had three more children. In October of that year, Thomas was indicted by the Grand Jury and convicted of fornication with a woman named Ann Smith. Thomas confessed his guilt and was sentenced to pay a fine of 40 shillings or be whipped. He paid the fine.

Once again, he mended things with Mary, and in February 1666, their youngest son was born. Thomas ran off with his married neighbor, Margaret (White) Colwell, who had two small children herself. In October of that year, Thomas and Margaret had their hands full with their legal woes. Margaret was fined and publicly whipped, and Thomas was indicted, tried, and found guilty of the charge “that he did Asault beate and Wound Robert Colwell (Margaret’s husband).” He paid a bond of £20 (pounds), which he forfeited by not appearing at the next court session in May 1667. The £20 was given to Mary and her children “for her relief.”

Thomas and Margaret had run away together, again.

Margaret’s husband, Robert, divorced her in July 1667. In May 1668, Mary’s brother, Daniel Abbott, Junior, brought charges against Thomas for fornication, his second offense. Thomas was sentenced to be whipped (15 stripes) and pay court costs.

By June 1669, the long-suffering Mary (Abbott) Walling had died, leaving five small children ages three to sixteen. Thomas wasted no time marrying the now-divorced Margaret Colwell, with whom he had three more children before his death five years later in 1674.

In December 1678, Daniel Abbott, Junior, a 46-year-old bachelor and brother-in-law of the late Thomas Walling, married Margaret (White) Colwell Walling in an attempt to recover his late sister, Mary’s dower share of Thomas’ estate. He and Margaret must have gotten along well enough; they had two children before Daniel died in 1700.

I’ve not found a will for Daniel Abbott. Presumably, Margaret ended up with everything he had.

There was quite a bit of drama and scandal in the 1600s. One thing that I’ve learned through genealogy is that people are the same, no matter when they lived. You have “saints and sinners,” good and evil; it all comes down to human nature.

The moral of the story could be, if you don’t want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly – Don’t poke the bear! Oh, but what will you miss out on if you don’t?

Whispers from the Past…..

Week 25 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – Lost

When you have been researching for as long as I have, 46 years, you accumulate a lot of paper. Unfortunately, things sometimes get lost. Such was the case of the project I did in 8th grade History that was the beginning of my genealogical journey.

After years of searching, I found it a few weeks ago. Many happy memories came flooding back and a few things stood out, I misspelled Genealogical and cemetery and apparently, I thought I was still in the 7th grade.

What follows is what happens when you have to write an autobiography and fill out a pedigree chart and your older sister is extremely creative. I did the work, under her guidance, so no, Mrs. Cody, you can’t take that A+ back.

The Tale of the Beautiful Princess: Or Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Me, But Were Afraid to Ask

Once upon a time in merry old England lived the great-great-great-great-grandfather of the heroine of our story, “the beautiful princess”. He owned an estate near London called the “Grantham Courts”. His son came to “the colonies” about the turn of the nineteenth century, and his grandson served in the Civil War under Robert E. Lee. This ancestor came to Texas in 1875.

The princess’ Great-great-grandpa Driver and his son came to Graham and built the old Driver Hotel in 1923.

Now that we have established the general ancestry of our main character “The Beautiful Princess” (so named that this story won’t seem dull), we shall concentrate on the present.

The father of our princess, “King James I”, locally known as James Black, owner of The Graham Ice and Locker, was raised in Munday. Naturally he is married to Mary Grantham Black alias “Queen Mary” (not to be confused with the ship). She was born and raised in Graham.

The “prince” in our story, heir to the throne, a beat-up green recliner, is Thomas Benton Corbin, II (Buba), 29, he resides in Wichita Falls with his wife, Jerri, and their children, Thomas Brent, 7 and Ty Scotty, 2.

“Princess Linda”, our world traveler, is 26 years old. She has lived in Hawaii and has visited most of the fifty states. Her travels have taken her to Belgium and to our Mother County, England. After returning home, she was married to Ronnie Howard Pippin, of Jermyn. They now have one child, William Brian, who is four months old.

“Princess Rebecca”, who is 23, is the family scholar. She attended college at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is married to Samuel Louis Ribble, II, of Graham. They also have one child, Bradley Garrett, who is fourteen months old.

“Princess Jaime”, 22, is the family clown and her hobby is cooking. She lives in Brockton, Massachusetts.

And last, but not least, we come to your favorite and mine, “The Beautiful Princess”, Susan. She was born in Fort Worth at Northwest Hospital. She loves animals and music and is an active member at First Assembly of God Church, where she sings in the choir and is secretary of the youth group.

At times in her dreams, she can see the handsome prince charming that will come someday to take her away.

So, as we drift away from the quiet castle, you may be safely assured that everyone lived happily ever after.

THE END

View Original School Project – lots of after the fact scribbles

That which is not written, is lost forever

Whispers from the Past…..

Week 24 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – The Miracle of DNA

DNA – The hereditary material in humans

I remember when I first started hearing about DNA testing for genealogy purposes. That was well over 20 years ago and prohibitively expensive. By the time I took my first of six tests in 2012, the price was under $200, now you can test for as little as $49. In a few short weeks you can be viewing matches to your genetic make up from databases with tens of millions of testers.

It’s taken me ten years to get a decent handle on understanding the different tests and the results that I received. For years I wasn’t getting the most from my results, but that’s finally starting to change as I’ve taken classes and watched webinars that explain how I inherited 50% of Momma’s DNA and 50% of Daddy’s and how the same holds true for each of them and their parents, so with each generation certain genetics are lost.

There’s a saying that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile. Well, that’s kind of what happened in 2016.

Momma had passed before testing was readily available and affordable to the consumer, and I almost waited too long to get Daddy to do it. In April I had him do a 23andMe® test. We had a fun time collecting his spit sample since he had extreme dry mouth, but he was a trooper. We sent in the sample and waited. While we waited, he talked. Daddy had never been much to talk about family history. Any time I made a new discovery on his line he was politely interested and that was about it. Maybe the fact that he was dying made him open up, who knows. He told me about places he had lived, about his mother’s second husband and how they had “hoed cotton so she could divorce him” and how she remarried him five days later. We looked at the few pictures I have of his ancestors and discussed who looked alike and which ones we favored.

Finally, the results came in and I was puzzled and confused. Daddy got a “match” that he had a 1st cousin, what confused me is that I got the same match on my test, also as a first cousin.

So there’s a cool little tool that helps you figure out possible relationships based on the amount of DNA you share with a person.

Daddy	Susan
1064 cM	611 cM
Great-Grandparent Great-Aunt / Uncle Half Aunt / Uncle 1C Half Niece / Nephew Great-Niece / Nephew Great-Grandchild	Great-Great-Aunt / Uncle Half Great-Aunt / Uncle Half 1C 1C1R Half Great-Niece / Nephew Great-Great-Niece / Nephew

I thought I knew all of Daddy’s nieces and nephews and my first cousins, there weren’t that many, but here was a flashing neon sign saying I was wrong. So, I sent a message and waited for 13 LONG days for this reply, “I was surprised that we could be 1st cousin’s! I’m wondering if it could be from my dad’s side, of which I know nothing, as he was adopted.”

We quickly exchanged several more messages and then – “I’m scanning some newspaper clippings and found a letter that had my dad’s mother’s name listed…Edna Hamill. She was a cotton picker, 19 years old. Does that sound familiar?”

Twelve short days before he passed away, Daddy discovered he had an older brother. Nineteen year-old Edna Hamil, her mother and 14 year-old sister were picking cotton, 200 miles from home. Edna gave birth to George whom she gave the name, Ben Milam. Thirteen days later, Edna left her baby on a doorstep just 19 miles from where she lived with her family. Ninety-one years later, DNA revealed one of the many skeletons in my grandmother’s closet. Sadly, George had passed away eight years prior to me finding him.

Daddy was able to speak to his newly found niece, by phone, before he died and I got to meet my new cousin a couple of days later. The week after we discovered George was one of the most enlightening times of my life. For the first time since I had started researching his family, Daddy talked, a lot.

I believe that George was waiting to welcome his little brother when Daddy passed over. What a reunion that must have been.

I encourage anyone who is thinking about taking a DNA test to do so, quickly. Sure you may have unexpected results, but who cares. It’s all about finding out who you are and who else shares a part of that.

Unlike my Grandma Edna, my MamMaw was very open and willing to tell me everything she knew about the family. She always told me that it didn’t matter what anyone had done who came before, that wasn’t on me. I did however need to know all about my kinfolk because each and every one of them made me who I am.

No matter how hard you try to keep the door closed, sooner or later those “family skeletons” will come tumbling out of the closet. I’ve seen over and over where a “closely guarded” secret was actually a matter of public record.

Don’t miss out on opportunities to know your family. You may not have a single surprise, but then again, you may have a glorious adventure waiting just a “spit” away.

AncestryDNA® – my recommendation if you’re only going to take one

23andMe®

MyHeritage

FamlyTreeDNA – the only company that offers mtDNA (maternal) and Y-DNA (paternal) as well as atDNA (autosomal – your family DNA in general)

Week 23 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – Curious

After much too long of a break, I’m hoping to finish this project this year. What better way to get “back in the saddle” than a Murder Mystery…..

In 1998, my husband and I took a road trip in hopes of solving the mystery of the murder of one of my great-great-great-grandfathers, Daniel H. Carroll. I know very little about this man and that drives me a bit crazy.

From the 1850 Scott County, Arkansas Census, I know that he was born about 1820 in Kentucky. About 1843 he married Nancy Boultinghouse and they had four children, Sarah Jane in 1844, Francis Marion in 1848, and twins, Thomas Jefferson and Mary Elender Victoria, on 21 Apr 1851. Fourteen days later Daniel was murdered while at work. Thirty-one short years of life and a huge mystery that still remains shrouded 171 years later.

“August 5th A.D 1851

Dear Brothers and Sisters

I gladly imbrace the present opportunity of writing you a few lines….. if you have not heard it I will Now let you know that I lost my husband on the 6th day of last may he was Shot While he was at work about one half Mile from the Mill geting logs in to the Slough his Brother George was with him Tho was some distance from him when he Was Shot. Daniel never Spoke after he was Shot he turned round and fell on his face and lay there till George went about A Half mile to henry Scaggs and back George saw the glemps of some person Run off but could not tell who it was

I can not tell for sertain who it was That done the murder but I believe it was one of the Harras boys under The influence of Jo Tumlinson it is a great loss to me the greatest I could have met with in this world”*

This letter has intrigued me ever since it came into my hands in the late 1980s. I’ve researched, asked everyone I could think of, run down “rabbit holes”, ANYTHING that might possibly shed some light and reveal more information about who Daniel H. Carroll was and who murdered him. Much to my dissatisfaction and disappointment, I’ve found very little.

In 1998, Jerrell and I decided to visit Waldron, Arkansas to see if we could discover more information by being at the source. Waldron is the county seat of Scott County and where Nancy was living when she wrote the letter. My first stop was at the courthouse where I was informed there were no records that far back due to a fire. I later learned that between the departing Union troops burning most of Waldron, Reconstruction and the “Waldron War” (1870-1882), there truly were no records to be found.

Nancy’s letter goes on to speak of more murders –

“I will now inform you that Jo Tumlinson And his Clan is not Satisfied with taking Daniels life they are still seeking more Blood on the 9th day of July all the Men in the neighborhood of Tumlinson Was called out to work the road in the Evening of that day Joe Tumlinson rode up in to the crowd with a gun on his Shoulder and with out any seremony Shot king Bennet and he died in a Few minutes after Tomlinson Rode off To Waldron and gave himself up to The law and was tried before Esqrs Featherston and Gaines and was acquit He is now the great monster of the West”*

From other researchers and sources I’ve learned that Esquires Featherston and Gaines were apparently “cronies” of Joe Tomlinson/Tumlinson. That being the case, it’s not surprising that he was “aquit” for the murder of King Bennet. My researchers mind wants desperately to know, who killed Daniel and why. Where was he buried, who were his parents and what happened to his brother George. I’ve been banging my head against this brick wall for 40 years.

What I can tell you is this –

Daniel was murdered
Nancy moved to Texas with her father, Daniel Boultinghouse prior to 08 Jan 1854 which is when she remarried.
George M Carroll, who was born about 1822 in Kentucky, was in the 1850 and 1860 Scott County, Arkansas Census and then disappears.

I was told by a local historian that it was very common for people to vanish from Scott County. The aftermath of the Civil War and the Waldron War resulted in many murders and disappearances, she said that many people changed their name and moved on.

This may be a mystery I never solve. I’m currently trying to locate a direct male descendent of my Daniel to take a Y-DNA test.

For further information on how “wild and wooly” Scott County was, The History of Scott County Arkansas paints quite the picture.

That which is not written, is lost forever

Whispers from the Past…..

*Excerpts from a letter written by Nancy Boultinghouse Carroll to her brother, Daniel Brown Boultinghouse, and sister, Mahala Boultinghouse Russell, who were living in Georgetown, Williamson, Texas, are quoted in blue italics.

Week 22 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – So Far Away

“If there’s a downside, it’s that “time and tide wait for no man” and so opportunities have been lost as cousins have passed away. If I could offer only one piece of advice, it would be, make time to talk to your family, learn your family’s stories, ask the questions, share the memories, smile for the camera.”

Four months and 24 days from the day I wrote those words my world shattered. A routine doctor’s visit led to an MRI that revealed my husband had metastatic lung cancer. That day is burned into my brain. My best friend, my soulmate, the love of my life was dying and there wasn’t a thing in the world I could do to change that.

The next 16 weeks passed in fits and spurts, some moments are indelibly etched, others are foggy. One thing we all learned from this is that you can get another job, you can earn another dollar, you can start another project BUT, you can’t get more time.

Never in my life have I experienced grief like I have since the day we found out Jerrell was dying. It comes in waves and often threatens to suck me under with no way to reach the shore. I don’t carry my grief alone, my husband was well loved and we, as a family, are “there for each other” as we make this journey without him. ‘Without’ is now my most hated word because from the day he died until the day I join him, I will be without him. Memories are a comfort and a curse, pictures are a source of joy and tears.

Jerrell was always up for a visit to a cemetery or a courthouse. As a matter of fact, our first date we went to a cemetery, true love.

I begin researching his family not long after we got together and for years the progress was minimal. About six years ago I hit on one tiny piece of information that blew things wide open and fortunately we were able to travel to Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee as well as some places in Texas where his family was prominent in history. I always told him it wasn’t fair that I’d researched my family for over forty years and then overnight he had way cooler history just fall into my lap.

I haven’t been able to even think about researching again. I’ve dipped my toe in the waters a couple of times but so far it’s just not right. I have no doubt that with time I’ll pick up the threads again but it will never be the same ‘without’ my partner.

So, how does this relate to the title of “So Far Away”? Never are we so far away from the ones we love as we are in death.

“I have so much to say but you’re so far away.”

You can find anything at WalMart, even a husband

If my boys were here we could get it in the truck

“The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – But the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love.”

Hillary Stanton Zunin

Hoping you never have to be without or so far away…

Susan

Whispers form the Past…..

As another year comes to an end…..

Any new beginning is forged from the shards of the past, not from the abandonment of the past. Craig D. Lounsbrough

As 2018 comes to a close, I look back over what I’ve accomplished and what is still waiting for me to find time enough to do.

I started this year by participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge, I made it to week 21 before another project became all encompassing and each week I would think, “Oh yeah, I need to write my blog.”, then I would go right back to working on my latest obsession – the Parks family.

I signed up for the 52/52 challenge again this year and hopefully I’ll finish out the other 31 weeks of prompts, if not, 2020 is still ahead.

This has actually been a successful and fulfilling year. I’ve been able to untangle a few mysteries through DNA. I’ve made some serious progress on my next series of books which will focus on the children of John Gray Parks and Elizabeth Head Morris. Huge strides were made in organizing and cataloging my research, all in all, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made this year.

If there’s a downside, it’s that “time and tide wait for no man” and so opportunities have been lost as cousins have passed away.

If I could offer only one piece of advice, it would be, make time to talk to your family, learn your families stories, ask the questions, share the memories, smile for the camera.

Until next time, here’s wishing you a wonderful new year!

Susan

Whispers from the Past…..

Week 21 – 52 Ancestor Challenge – Military – The Courage of a Mother’s Heart

…He is the darling of my heart, My Southern soldier boy. Oh, if in battle he were slain, I know that I would die, But I am sure he’ll come again, To cheer my weeping eye…

SOUTHERN SOLDIER BOY by Captain G.W. Alexander

It speaks to the courage of a mother’s heart that she could endure the personal hell of having her six sons march off to war. It speaks to the strength of a mother’s heart that she could survive three of those sons dying on the field of battle.

While researching one of my maternal lines I recently came across the family of Lucinda White Morris and William Jackson of Murray County, Georgia. Lucinda was my 4th great-aunt, she and her husband had 13 children, seven girls and six boys. The onset of the War Between the States would drastically change the dynamics of this family.

John Morris Jackson, oldest son, born 01 November 1827, died 31 August 1864 – Battle of Jonesborough.

Commissioned a Captain on 03 Jan 1862. Mustered out on 15 May 1862. Commissioned an officer in Company A, Georgia 34th Infantry Regiment on 15 May 1862. Promoted to Full Major on 01 Mar 1863. Mustered out on 31 Aug 1864 at Jonesboro, Clayton, Georgia. Burial site unknown.

Joseph Franklin Ballenger “J F B” Jackson, second son, born 1830, died 14 January 1912 in Alabama.

Commissioned as 1st Lieutenant in Company B, Georgia Phillip’s Legion Infantry Battalion on 11 June 1861. Promoted to Full Lieutenant Colonel on 20 Mar 1862. Mustered out on 20 Mar 1862. Commissioned an officer in Company S, Georgia 39th Infantry Regiment on 20 Mar 1862. Mustered out on 29 April 1864.

Thomas A Jackson, third son, born 01 October 1836, died 14 March 1869

Served as a 2nd Lieutenant in 60th Georgia Infantry. Died of war related injuries in 1869.

Eppy William Jackson, fourth son, born 02 Mar 1838, died 30 Aug 1862 – Battle of Second Manassas.

Commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant, Company C, 11th Regiment Georgia Infantry. Promoted to Captain 27 January 1862. Burial site unknown.

William White “John” Jackson, fifth son, born 18 April 1840, died 25 January 1905 in Alabama.

Enlisted as a Private 08 August 1861 in Company E, Georgia 3rd Infantry Battalion. Promoted to Full Corporal. Promoted to Full 5th Sergeant on 12 Nov 1861. Mustered out on 06 May 1863. Transferred to Company C, Georgia 37th Infantry Regiment on 06 May 1863. Served as 1st Lieutenant and Adjutant, 36th Regiment (Broyles’) Georgia Infantry. He was captured 04 July 1863 during the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi and was paroled on 09 July 1863. He was next captured on 16 Dec 1864 at the Battle of Nashville and was taken to a Prisoner of War camp in Ohio. He was mustered out at Greensboro, North Carolina on 26 Apr 1865. He was released from the POW camp in Ohio 16 June 1865, after the war ended.

Benjamin Floyd Jackson, the youngest son, born 25 February 1845, died 21 September 1863 – Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia.

Enlisted 26 February 1861, the day after he turned 16, as a Private in Company C&B, 1st Georgia Regulars. Burial site unknown.

When the summer breeze is sighing, mournfully along,
Or when autumn leaves are falling, sadly breathes the song.
Oft in dreams I see thee lying on the battle plain,
Lonely, wounded, even dying, calling but in vain

Weeping, sad and lonely, hopes and fears how vain!
When this cruel war is over, praying that we meet again.

WHEN THIS CRUEL WAR IS OVER by Charles Carroll Sawyer

#52ancestors

Whispers from the Past…..