My 4x Great Grandfather Had a Pet Bear!!!

As a child, I loved to watch Grizzly Adams on television along with his pet bear, Ben. I had no idea that my own ancestor, Robert Stewart, also had a pet bear! His bear's name was "Bruin" (which means "bear") and they lived in Pennsylvania in the mid-1800's. While doing research, I uncovered an article titled "Mike Swartz and the Black Bear" in "History of Centre and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania" which was published in 1883. The "black bear" in this story was Bruin, and I'm assuming things turned out alright. Robert died about 30 years before this book was published, but I can imagine the stories of him & Bruin being told at gatherings throughout the county. I'm thankful this story was preserved in print.

Grizzly Adams & his pet bear, from Wikipedia

Mike Swartz and the Black Bear

A tame bear belonging to the family of Robert Stewart was missing one morning, whereupon a man by the name of Mike Swartz and Mr. Stewart went in pursuit of him. After a while he was discovered in a tree a short distance from the house. One of the men, who had a gun, fired at the bear, and succeeded in bringing him to the ground, but slightly wounded. In order to prevent Bruin from escaping Mike ran up and caught hold of the bear, which in turn Bruin caught Mike by the hand with his mouth, at the same time giving him a hug such only as bears can give; at which Mike called out to his companion, who was at a safe distance, to come to his assistance, but Stewart, who no doubt thought "self-preservation the first law of nature," coolly replied, "Mike, if you were my own born dear brother I could do nothing for you under the circumstances."

For Sale, Public Ledger, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 10 Sep 1845, page 2, column 5;
digital image, newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 18 Sep 2014)

As I looked for any newspaper article about my ancestor and his bear, I came across a lot of pet bear stories even into the 1900's. As could be expected, many of them did not have happy endings. Above is one clipping from Pennsylvania in 1845 offering a pet bear for sale. I wonder if Robert bought his bear or found an orphaned cub and raised it.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Following a Confederate Soldier Through the Civil War: Battle #4 The Battle of Perryville

William Porter Dickson enlisted in September of 1861 to fight as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. In the supplement to his 1911 Civil War Questionnaire he listed eight battles in which his company, Company D of the 12th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, took place. I am going to learn more about his company's role in the Civil War by researching these eight battles.

from William Porter Dickson's 1911 Questionnaire

The fourth battle on his list is The Battle of Perryville in Kentucky. Along with battle #3 in Richmond, Kentucky, this was a part of the Kentucky Invasion.

Kentucky, as a border state, had an unusual role in the Civil War. Kentuckians owned slaves, but they also wanted to preserve the Union. In 1861, they declared themselves a neutral state. But, both Union and Confederate armies were raised there. The capital in Frankfurt then declared itself loyal to the Union, but others in the town of Russell voted to secede.

On this map, you can see William's 3rd battle, Richmond, on Aug 30th, 1862
You can also see the 4th battle, Perryville, Oct 8th, 1862 (images from Wikipedia, public domain)

I've already discussed one of the battles that took place during the Kentucky Invasion: the Confederate win at the Battle of Richmond. But, the next battle William fought in was at Perryville, the bloodiest and largest battle fought in Kentucky.

Battle of Perryville - the extreme left - Stwarkweather's bridage
Associated name on shelfist card: Middleton, Strobridge & Co.
Source: Library of Congress (image from Wikipedia)

Led by General Braxton Bragg, about 16,000 Confederates met approximately 20,000 Union soldiers. Partly because many of the Union troops had never fought before, the Confederates had a tactical victory at Perryville. However, the Confederates had thousands of casualties: 532 killed, 2,651 wounded, & 228 missing or captured. With this huge loss, General Bragg retreated to Tennessee and the Union would control Kentucky for the rest of the war.

Abraham Lincoln had said, "'I think to lose Kentucky is to lose the whole game." The war might have ended a lot different if the Union had lost Kentucky.

One last note of interest: the Emancipation Proclamation, which took affect January 1st, 1863, did not apply to the slaves of Kentucky as they were a part of the Union! The slaves of Kentucky were freed with the 13th amendment which was adopted almost 3 years later on December 6, 1865.

Resources:

• video "The Civil War in Kentucky" at the Perryville Battlefield site
• video "Perryville Maney's Attack Tour Part 1 150th Anniversary" 
• The Civil War Trust site on Perryville
• wikipedia (for images) 

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

The Fear of Rabies: 100 Years Ago & 1 Year Ago

I have been having a lot of success lately with newspapers.com, my favorite site for newspaper research. Their search engine seems to work better than than the other sites, or at least I've figured it out better! Or maybe they just have more newspapers that are relevant to my family!

Ben Payton and family, Haskell News, Haskell, Oklahoma, 04 Oct 1917, page 5, column 3;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 14 Sep 2014)

This weekend, I decided to research some of my husband's family members and I came across the above article about one of his ancestors, Ben Payton. It looks like the family was attacked by a mad dog and they were taking a serum to combat against rabies.

Mad Cat Wounds Three, Haskell News, Haskell, Oklahoma, 13 Sep 1917, page 1, column 6;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 14 Sep 2014)

After a little more research, I was able to uncover an article about the actual attack. The father, Ben, and two children, Audrey aged three and Frank aged seven, had actually been attacked by a mad cat, not a mad dog! But, their dog had also been infected.

Last summer, I had a rabies scare, too. I was running in my neighborhood when two dogs came from behind me and the larger dog, a female pit bull, started jumping on me. The jumps were painful, but with the third jump she also bit me. I ran up to a house, and both dogs stood staring at me. At the time, I didn't understand it, but I've been told that I was no longer a target for them because I stopped running.

(Remember, you can't outrun a dog and it will be more likely to see you as a target if you are running! You are better off walking slowly away while keeping your eye on the dog. Do not make eye contact. Do not smile and show your teeth.)

The back of my upper leg the evening of the attack.
This is the bite mark and you can see the bruising from each tooth. 
The areas where she jumped on me with her nails bruised about the same amount.
The biggest light area on the bottom has a red spot - this was the only puncture wound
but it was enough that I could have gotten rabies is she had rabies.

The possibility that these two dogs had rabies is very low. They weren't exhibiting any symptoms and they had a reason to attack me... I was running. But, they didn't find the dogs and I ended up having to go through the rabies shots. I've heard the shots used to be incredibly painful, but now they are almost like normal shots.

(For more information on what to do if an aggressive dog threatens you, check out this CBS News link.)

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Was Your Ancestor Paroled at Appomattox Courthouse with Lee's Surrender?

On April 9th, 1865, General Robert E Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia after his 28,000 troops were surrounded by Grant's men. Lee and Grant met at the home of Wilber McLean in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. In the terms for surrender, all of the Confederate men and officers were pardoned. The very hungry men were also given food rations and allowed to keep their private property including horses to help in the late spring planting. Officers were even allowed to keep their side arms.

U.S. Postage Stamp, 1965 issue, commemorating the centennial anniversary of the
Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House (image from Wikipedia)

On April 12th, the formal surrender ceremony took place. The Confederate soldiers marched forward and stacked their weapons in pyramid formation (as in the stamp above) and laid down their flags. General Joshua L Chamberlain was the Union officer in charge of the ceremony.

Chamberlain, out of respect, ordered the Union army to salute their defeated countrymen as they came forward. Here are Chamberlain's words from his book, "Passing of the Armies":

Before us in proud humiliation stood the embodiment of manhood: men whom neither toils and sufferings, nor the fact of death, nor disaster, nor hopelessness could bend from their resolve; standing before us now, thin, worn, and famished, but erect, and with eyes looking level into ours, waking memories that bound us together as no other bond;—was not such manhood to be welcomed back into a Union so tested and assured? Instructions had been given; and when the head of each division column comes opposite our group, our bugle sounds the signal and instantly our whole line from right to left, regiment by regiment in succession, gives the soldier's salutation, from the "order arms" to the old "carry"—the marching salute....On our part not a sound of trumpet more, nor roll of drum; not a cheer, nor word nor whisper of vain-glorying, nor motion of man standing again at the order, but an awed stillness rather, and breath-holding, as if it were the passing of the dead!

http://www.fold3.com/image/50986634/

My husband's great, great, great grandfather, James Franklin Stewart (1840-1910) was a part of the Army of Northern Virginia, but he was either absent or already mustered out by this date. But, his wife's brother, Davault M Sigman (1838-1887), was present and must have took place in this end-of-the-war ceremony and laid down his weapons to the Union army. But he also would have received much needed food rations and been allowed to return home to his family.

The Parole of Gen. Lee and His Army, The Times Picayune, New Orleans, Louisiana, 10 Apr 1865, page 3, column 4;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 13 Sep 2014)

The newspaper clipping above gives the wording that was issued on a parole to the nearly 28,000 members of the Army of Northern Virginia who were being paroled:

I, the undersigned, commanding officer of ______, do, for the within named prisoners of war belonging to the Army of Northern Virginia, who have been this day surrendered by Gen. Robert E. Lee, Confederate States Army, commanding said army, to Lieut. Gen. Grant, commanding armies of the United States, hereby give my solemn parole of honor that the within named shall not hereafter serve in the armies of the Confederate States, or in military or any capacity whatever against the United States of America, or render aid to the enemies of the latter, until properly exchanged in such manner as shall be mutually approved by the respective authorities.

Done at Appomattox Court-House, Virginia, this 9th day of April, 1865.

The within named will not be disturbed by the United States authorities, so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside.

The National Park Service has a website with an "alphabetical listing of parole passes" which can be searched online to see if your ancestor was paroled at Appomattox!

Other websites used:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/robert-e-lee-surrenders
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House
http://civilwarwomenblog.com/fanny-chamberlain/
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/the-last-salute-of-the-army.html

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Following a Confederate Soldier Through the Civil War: Battle #3 Battle of Richmond

William Porter Dickson enlisted in September of 1861 to fight as a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. In the supplement to his 1911 Civil War Questionnaire he listed eight battles in which his company, Company D of the 12th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, took place. I am going to learn more about his company's role in the Civil War by researching these eight battles.

from William Porter Dickson's 1911 Questionnaire

William Porter Dickson's third battle was the Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, which took place on August 29th & 30th, 1862. This was a battle over the state of Kentucky. Kentucky, a border state, started the war officially neutral. The Confederates wanted to gain control of the state and get more men to fight for the cause of the South.

About 6,000 Confederate soldiers met approximately 6,500 Union soldiers near Richmond, Kentucky. Fortunately for the South, most of the soldiers for the North were new recruits. The South won this battle and captured more then 4,000 men.

Fifty-one Years Ago, The Richmond Climax, Richmond, Kentucky, 02 Sep 1913, 

page 3, column 6; digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: 

accessed 12 Sep 2014)

Fifty-One Years Ago

The Bloody Battle of Richmond Fought, Aug. 30, '62

Saturday was the 51st anniversary of the Battle of Richmond, one of the bloodiest in the Civil War. [I think this is an exaggeration - I checked a few "top 10 bloodiest" lists and it isn't on there.] It was also Saturday and a beautiful summer day. Gen. E. Kirby Smith, with 6,000 Confederates was en route from Kirksville to Lexington. He reached Kingston late in the afternoon of the 29th. Gen. William Nelson was in command of the Union forces, with headquarters at Lexington and had 9,000 men. with Gens. Manson and Craft in charge of brigades. Gen. Manson moved out the Big Hill pike and found the trouble he was looking for, being repulsed and forced to retreat, with heavy loss. Gen. Nelson had arrived by this time and rallying his disheartened men, made a stand at Rogersville, when the federals were again routed, falling back to Richmond in wild disorder. Gen. Nelson again rallied the thoroughly dispirited men, and they took position in the Cemetery. They only fired three volleys before flying in panic rout. Gen. Nelson was wounded, but continued to try to stem the tide of retreat, and is said to have killed several of his men with his sword in his efforts. The rout was complete, however, and the terror-stricken army rushed pell-mell along the Lexington pike and other routes eager to seek safety. The Confederate loss in the battle was 78 killed and 272 wounded, the Union loss 206 killed and 844 wounded, with 4,650 taken prisoners. In addition, the Confederates captured nine pieces of artillery, 10,000 stands of arms, 378 supply wagons, the teams and many supplies.

Gen. Nelson and a remnant of his men finally reached Louisville, where a few days afterwards the General was killed in the Galt House by Gen. Jeff C. Davis whom he mortally insulted. He was a brave man, but had and ungovernable temper, which was finally his undoing.

The number of citizens who remember the famous battle are very few, showing the ravages of time. The generation that has been born since know very little of the battle, which was one of the bloodiest and most decisive of the Civil War.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

What Does a Penitentiary Record Look Like?

After discovering Ephraim P Bennett in the Missouri State Prison on the 1900 census, I emailed the Missouri State Archives about his penitentiary records. First of all, they were incredibly helpful and emailed back within hours. And, they explained how to order his two-page record. The cost: only $1!

I had never seen a penitentiary record before and wasn't sure what it would contain. It is actually quite interesting and helpful! The record book is obviously a large book as I got two 11x17 pages. I don't have a scanner that can scan that will scan those, so I'm going to share 4 images which are really a two-page spread.

I thought the physical descriptions were really interesting. My favorite columns were the "length of foot", "whiskers worn", "habits of life", and "education."

• Register No: 12163
• Name; Ephraim P Bennett
• Age: 53
• Nativity: Tenn[essee]
• Trade: farmer
• Height: 5 ft 10 1/4 in
• Length Foot: 10 1/2
• Hair: Dark
• Eyes: Gray 

• Complexion: Dark
• Whiskers Worn: Full Beard
• Religion: None
• Habits of Life: Temp[erance] [everyone on the page says the same thing]
• Education: R & W [Reading & Writing]
• Former Imprisonment: None

• Marks and Scars: 
• Single Parent Compton Mo. [Missouri] 
• Scar left side neck
•   "     muscle left arm
•   "     back first finger left hand
•   "     inside right wrist
• Wright 172 [everyone on page says this & I wonder if it is a mark for whoever is describing the person]
• Offense: T. C. - Murder 2nd Deg.  [everyone else says "P. G.", not "T. C." but I don't know what these mean... maybe it relates to the offense?]  
• County: Dallas
• Sentence: 10 Ten Years from Oct 16 1894

• Term of Court: Oct 1894
• When Received: Oct 20 1894
• Expiration of Sentence:
• Full Time: Oct 16 1902
• Three-Fourths Time: April 16 1902
• Discharged: [stamped] Discharged under 3/4 law [not all readable] [stamped] APR 15 1902

P.S. I am new to doing citations and have both looked in Elizabeth Shown Mill's "Evidence!" and searched the internet and cannot find an example of a way to write this source. Any help would be appreciated!

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Finding a Murderer in My Family Tree

Let's face it, when we research our family histories we don't know what we'll uncover. And, when you get beyond the names, dates & places, you might find some incredible stories. You might find stories of an ancestor who was a war hero or someone who abandoned his friends. You might find true love and Christian sacrifice, or someone who disappeared and is later found with another wife and additional children. You might find a Civil War nurse or a prostitute. And, you just might find a murderer. I did.

I've made multiple posts now about the brother of my great, great grandmother, Elizabeth (Bennett) Coppenbarger. Her brother, Ephraim, killed their sister's husband, Nathan L Buchanan. The sister, Louisa Jane, was reportedly abused by her husband to the point that she went insane from a blow to the head and was put in an asylum. In retaliation, Ephraim killed Nathan.

Or maybe he killed him for some other reason.

When I first found out I had a murderer in my family, I was apprehensive. Who did he kill and why did he do it? Then, when I learned that he had killed his sister's very abusive husband, I was actually kind of  proud! Yes, I believe murder is wrong. But, I still felt proud that this man would defend his little sister to such lengths and even face jail time. Then I read about how he calmly shot his brother-in-law five times and calmly walked away with his young nephew and boasted "I was too quick for him and fixed him." And, I read articles about a lynch mob ready to hang him from a limb, and I wondered about what had actually happened. Why was this mob so ready to kill him when they weren't after the hired hit-man who was also in jail?

I hope to one day uncover the court documents and learn more about his trial, but for now I keep looking for additional newspaper records. I'm hoping they'll enlighten me as to what really happened.

Here's another story about the lynch mob. In this newspaper, the mob is reported to be over 200 men! That's quite a different story than my posting yesterday which said 14 masked men entered the jail and 50-60 surrounded it. It goes to show that you can't always trust what you read!

A Disappointed Lynching Party, The Sedalia Weekly Bazoo, Sedalia, Missouri, 

13 Jun 1893, page 3, column 5; digital image newspapers.com, 

(http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 09 Sep 2014)

A Disappointed Lynching Party

Marshfield, Mo., June 8 - Ephraim Bennett, who killed his brother-in-law, Nathan L. Buchanan, was bound over to await the action of the grand jury Wednesday. After the preliminary trial small knots of men were seen gathering on different parts of the public square. In the meantime Sheriff James Goss became suspicious and managed to spirit Bennett out of jail. He also took with him Wesley Hargis, the self-confessed murderer of Lum Yandles, who committed his crime in the same neighborhood. With a posse Sheriff Goss took his prisoners to the woods. A little before midnight Deputy Smith, who was in charge of the jail, was aroused by repeated knocking on the door. Upon opening he was confronted with twenty masked men, who demanded of him the keys and ordered him to lead them to Bennett's cell. The deputy informed them that Bennett was not in the jail. Not satisfied, they searched the sheriff's living apartments on the first floor and then proceeded to the cells on the second floor, which they thoroughly ransacked. The jail outside was surrounded by almost 200 men. No noise was made and persons living a few yards distant did not know what had transpired during the night. The mob dispersed as quickly as it came. Wednesday afternoon the sheriff brought the prisoner from concealment and took Bennett to the Springfield jail on the evening train for safe keeping. 

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net