Who Would You Invite to Dinner? (#4 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks." This week's theme is: 
INVITE TO DINNER.

My great, great grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, was born 27 November 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee, with the Civil War just months from starting. She lived until 21 August 1960, about 3 months short of her 100th birthday. Over almost 100 years, she saw and experienced an incredible amount of change, both in the world and in her family.

Sisters Mary (Dickson) Dickson Sutton, Julia (Dickson) Dickson, and
Sallie (Dickson) Ward in Perry County, Tennessee. Photo was hanging on
Perry County courthouse wall when I visited in 1999.

What an experience it would be if I could invite "Grandma Sallie" to dinner. Among many others, here are five topics I'd love to discuss with her.

HUSBAND

Your husband was a Methodist circuit rider preacher who also appears to have had a drinking problem, was likely murdered at the age of 47, and left a bankrupt estate. What was Reuben Ward like? How did you meet him? Did you love him? Did you argue with him over his drinking? What was it like as you searched for him for weeks and then discovered he had been killed? How did you raise your family after his death?

Headstone of Matthew and Lenora "Nora" (Dickson) Ward
in Perry County, Tennessee taken by me in 1999

RAISING A GRANDCHILD

Your daughter, Nora, died at the age of 30 only six months after giving birth to my grandmother, Evelyn. You raised Nora while Nora's widowed husband, James B Dickson, raised the four older children. How did you get through the grief of losing your daughter so young? How was this decision made? Did you and Evelyn often see Evelyn's siblings? 

SLAVERY

You were born in Tennessee where slavery was legal, yet slavery was abolished probably by the time you started school. What did you know about slavery? In Perry County, Tennessee, how did former slaves and former slave owners interact? Did you hear stories about how slaves had been treated by your family members or others in your community?

CIVIL WAR

You were quite young, but do you remember any stories from the Civil War? Did you listen to men who had fought in the war and hear their stories? Did you listen to the women who had stayed behind during the war and hear their stories? How did the war affect your family?

INVENTIONS

The world changed incredibly during your lifetime. You grew up with horses and buggies, outhouses, candles, slow communication, and the death of many babies and their mothers through childbirth. Throughout your years, you saw the inventions of cars, planes, indoor plumbing, electric lights, radio, television, immunizations, pain killers, and more. Which invention affected your life the most?

Grandmother as a Little Girl (#2 of 52)

This post is based on Amy Johnson Crow's "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" challenge. This week's theme is: FAVORITE PHOTO.

My grandmother, Evelyn, the youngest of five children, was born 10 October 1915. Sadly, when she was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. Although Evelyn's father raised the four oldest children, Evelyn was raised by her maternal grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward. Evelyn grew up near family, including her father and siblings, in Perry County, Tennessee.

Photo likely taken in Perry Co., Tenn. in ~1918
Elsie Ward (~15), Sallie (Dickson) Ward (~58), Evelyn Dickson (~2), and Ethel (Ward) Pollock (~24)

This is one of my favorite photos as it is the only known childhood photo of my grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Keachle (1915-2004). Wearing a bow and a dress, Little Evelyn is looking down at a pet chicken she is holding. Behind her, with her hands resting on Evelyn's shoulders, is Evelyn's grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, who raised little Evelyn after the death of her mom.

Photo retouched by JRS (my father)

On the left side of the photo is Elise Jo Ward (1903-1989) who is Evelyn's first cousin/Sallie's granddaughter through Sallie's son, Joe. On the right is Sallie's youngest daughter, Ethel Ward (1893-1987).

I often learn more about a family or situation as I write a blog post. In this case, I did not know when Ethel had died. But, as I did research for this article, I located her death certificate. Now I know that Ethel died at the age of 95 of cardiac arrest in a nursing center in Daviess County, Indiana.

Remembering Vietnam and Remembering Wallace A. Abbott

Last week, I attended my local DAR meeting and the guest speaker was retired Colonel and Vietnam veteran, Albert Nahas. Colonel Nahas has written a photo documentary book, Warriors Remembered, highlighting the images and stories behind 100 Vietnam memorials in the United States.

Part of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Photo taken by me, 2010

Several of those memorials include special images like a face without features or a dog tag without a name. Those images are to memorialize those who weren't killed during the war, but who died as a result of the war. For example, some died later from the affects of Agent Orange while others too many others committed suicide. As he emotionally shared photos and stories of the memorials with us, I had to wipe away my tears.

2010 photo by me of my daughter pointing to the name of Gary R Holland.

When my daughter and I visited Washington, D.C. in 2010, we visited the wall memorial and looked for two individuals. One of them was Gary R. Holland who was a classmate of my mother-in-law's. The other was Wallace A. Abbott, a first cousin of my mother's. 

There were quite a few of these "posters" at the base of the memorial. They say that
these particular individuals died "40 years ago this weekend." There is also a portion of
a speech by President Ronald Reagan which starts "...in our hearts, you will always be young..."
The ages of each soldier at the time of his death are also given: these four young men 
were 20, 21, 24, and 26.

Wallace Adrion Abbott (21 Dec 1946-4 Nov 1966) was the son of Marvin Abbott (1905-1981) and Bernie Dickson (1905-1972), my grandmother's sister. According to his Find A Grave memorial, Wallace was attached to the "1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, Company C" in the light weapons infantry. His tour start date was October 7th, 1966, and he died less than a month later of non-combat related drowning in South Vietnam.

How sad to have died so far away from home.

How sad to have drowned.

How sad to have been on active duty for only four weeks.

How sad to have never seen a 20th birthday.

November 4th of this year will mark 50 years since
Wallace A. Abbott died in Vietnam.

I will close with more of the 1988 Veteran Day's speech that was given by President Ronald Reagan's and posted on the small posters at the memorial:

...in our hearts, you will always be young, full of the love that is youth, love of life, love of joy, love of country... you fought for your country and for its safety and for the freedom of others with strength and courage."

Tip: Finding a Newspaper Article That Is Not Online

If you know of a newspaper clipping but can't find it online, maybe it hasn't been digitized. If so, a great place to find out what repositories have copies of it is at the Chronicling America site.

I've been working on my Dickson family of Tennessee. A 1998 post on RootsWeb by David Walker mentioned an 1846 legal notice. The notice is in regards to the estate of my 4th great grandfather, James Dixon [or Dickson], and also mentions his son, my 3rd great grandfather, Joseph Dixon/Dickson. But, I could not find this article on any of the digital newspaper sites. So, I followed these steps:

Step 1: Go to Chronicling America to see who carries this paper. To do this, go to their site and click on "US Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present." Enter the known information. I entered "Tennessee" and "Academist," which was the name of the newspaper mentioned on RootsWeb. The results showed just one newspaper which was published in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee in 1846.

Step 2: Click on the link to that newspaper and then click on "Libraries that Have It" in the blue strip near the top. The short-lived Academist has copies in five locations.

Step 3: Find the correct date. I know from the RootsWeb post that I am looking for the paper December 2nd, 1846. Since the dating system is a little bit confusing, I'm including two examples.

Chronicling America screenshot showing dates available for the Academist newspaper
at Duke University Library

Example 1: The above example shows Duke University Library's holdings for the Academist. Under dates, it states: <1846:3:18-12:2>  This means they hold all of the published newspapers between the dates of March 18th and December 2nd of 1846. Also, note that these are available as "original" copies, so they are not microfilmed images. Duke would be one place I could find my article.

Chronicling America screenshot showing dates available for the Academist newspaper
at the Tennessee State Library& Archives

Example 2: This second example shows Tennessee States Library & Archives' holdings for the Academist. First of all note that these are available in microfilm format which is different than what Duke holds. The Archives holds the following dates: <1846:3:18, 4:1-5:27, 6:10-7:1,15-9:9, 10:28- 11:4, 12:2> This means they have the following copies from 1846, the only year this newspaper was published: March 18th, April 1st through May 27th, June 10th through July 1st, July 15th through September 9th, October 28th through November 4th, and December 2nd. Since I need December 2nd, this is also a place I could find my article.

Step 4: If none of the locations are nearby, your final step is to contact one of the repositories, or hire a researcher, and have them look up the article. For my article, I chose to contact the Tennessee State Library & Archives. I talked to the reference librarian who first verified they had the paper and date I needed. Then he told me how to send $10, the out-of-state fee, for the clipping. I am now in the process of waiting 4 to 6 business days to receive an emailed clipping of this legal notice! I am hoping it has other helpful information, and I'll be sure to post about it when I receive it.

Married in a Buggy

While researching my great, great grandfather, Reuben Houston Ward (aka Rev. R. H. Ward), I came across this short, sweet newspaper article today:

LINDEN, Sept. 22.-(Special.)- James W. Lewis, Circuit Court Clerk, and Miss Dickson were married by Rev. R. H. Ward at his residence on March Creek Sunday afternoon. The couple came to his residence in a buggy, and stopping under the cool shade of a beech tree they called for the minister. He went out and while seated in the buggy they were united in the bonds of humanity. The newly married couple started at once for Linden.

Lewis-Dickson Marriage, The Tennessean, Nashville, Tennessee, 23 Sep 1897, page 5, column 3,
digital image, newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com : accessed 20 July 2016).

"Miss Dickson" was Minnie Jane Dickson (1869-1962) who was also my 1st cousin, 3 times removed. Her father, Jacob Tipton Dickson (1843-1931) was the son of my 3rd great grandfather, William Kennedy/Canady ("W. K.") Dickson (~1811-possibly late 1860s).

Wouldn't you love to find a marriage article like that about your ancestors?

A Life of Almost 100 Years: Sallie (Dickson) Ward (Fearless Females Day 1)

As part of Women's History Month, Lisa Alzo has created 31 blogging prompts which you can find on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist. If you're participating in the Fearless Females blogging challenge this month, let me know & I'll hop over & read your posts!

March 1st prompt: Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key fact you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check.

Sallie (~ age 58) is in the middle of the back row. My grandmother, Evelyn (~ age 3) is the little girl holding her pet chicken. On the left is Elsie Jo Ward (~ age 14), also holding a chicken, who is another of Sallie's granddaughters. On the right is Ethel Ward (~age 25), who is one of Sallie's daughters. (Photo from my grandmother's collection.)

My grandmother's grandmother, Sallie Harriett (Ward) Dickson is one of my favorite female ancestors. Why? Partly because she raised my grandmother, so I feel a closer connection to her then to other ancestors who were born in the mid-1800s. And, partly because of all she lived through during her almost 100 years... from the Civil War to both world wars... from the invention of cars and planes to the invention of electricity and movies... what an incredible world she lived in!

Her Story

Sallie, born November 27th, 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee, was the youngest of 9 children born to Matthew James Dickson (1820-1904) and Lenora "Nora" J Mays (1823-1909). At the age of 19, she married Reuben Houston Ward, a farmer who later became a Methodist minister. They had 9 children together, and one died as an infant. Reuben was murdered in 1906 at the age of 47 - I told his story here.

When Sallie's husband died, her 5 youngest children were ages 18, 15, 13, 10, & 7. A few years later, in the 1910 census, she was listed as a farmer. She must have worked hard raising this family without her husband!

One of Sallie's daughters, Lenora or Nora, married her cousin, James Bedford Dickson. They had five children, including my grandmother. My grandmother was only 9 months old when her mother, Nora, died. The father, James, raised the four older children. But, he probably didn't feel capable of raising a baby. That job went to his mother-in-law, Sallie, who was 55 years old. Sallie was the only "mother" my grandmother remembered.

Sallie H. (Dickson) Ward (Photo from my grandmother's collection)

Sallie raised not only her own children, but also my grandmother, and lived as a widow for more than 50 years. She died in 1960, just 3 months short of 100 years of age. She'd lived in the Perry County, Tennessee, surrounded by family and friends, her entire life. 

Research Plan:

• Locate her in the 1940 census - still searching!
• Find an obituary
• See if 1960 death records will be available in a year or two (currently available until 1958)

Who Was Sarah "Sally" McCage's Father?

Sarah E. McCage (~1812-1860), who married William Kennedy Dickson (1811-probably 1860's), was born in Tennessee and lived in Perry County, Tennessee by 1840 (if not before). I'd seen her maiden name, McCage, on other researcher's trees, but last year is the first time I found it on a document. One of her children, Jacob Tipton Dickson, had written his mother's name as Sarah McCage on a Civil War Questionnaire in 1920.

Jacob Tipton's Civil War Questionnaire (Question #8 lists "Maiden name in full of your mother: Salley McCage.
She was the daughter of "dont know" and his wife "dont know."

I've been looking through Fold3.com's War of 1812 Pension Files lately. (The are currently posted through the letter M, and I'm "patiently" waiting for the W's for Whitwell.) Today, I came across a Samuel McCage from Tennessee who looked like a possible father or uncle for Sarah. Samuel was from Humphreys County, Tennessee which is adjacent to Perry County, Tennessee.

I found Samuel's Find-A-Grave memorial and a researcher lists Samuel's children, which did not include my Samuel. It did, however, say that Samuel McCage lived in Perry County, Tennessee until the late 1840's! But, her birth of May 1811 to April 1812 does not fit nicely with Samuel's marriage date of March 29th, 1812.

Could Samuel McCage possibly be Sarah's uncle? And, there's still a chance Samuel is her father.

I had never found Sarah and her husband, William Kennedy Dickson, on the 1840 census... until recently. I looked for Samuel McCage in the 1840 census in Perry County, Tennessee. I found him, and just 3 names down was Kennedy Dickson with his wife and three young children.

Since Sarah was born in 1811 or 1812, we are looking for a possible father who was born between 1780 to 1790. Perry County is a burned county, so I'm still looking for Sarah's elusive parents. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

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

Ancestor Fought in Creek Indian Wars: Pension File Discovered in War of 1812 Records

As you probably know, the War of 1812 Pension Files are free on Fold3 and they continue to add more names each month. I'm "patiently" waiting for the Ws for my direct ancestor, Thomas B. Whitwell. But, in the meantime, I was scrolling through the names in Tennessee where my grandmother's maternal family lived.

Under the letter D, I came across the fairly common surname, Dickson, which was my grandmother's maiden name. As I clicked on each of these men, one name stood out to me: Joseph Dickson. I have four Joseph Dickson's on my tree. Two were born after the War of 1812, but one was born in 1772 and another was born in 1795 (though I figured he was probably too young). The Joseph in the Pension File was from Linden, Perry County, Tennessee which is where "all" of my grandmother's family lived.

The pension file includes 37 pages and never mentions his wife or family members. But, three different papers indicate his birth year. The first is image #29 which is dated 7 May 1855 where Joseph says he is "aged fifty nine years." The second letter is on image #32 and is dated 09 Dec 1852 and Joseph says he is "57" years old. Third dated 29 May 1871 saying "75 years" old. All of these ages match my Joseph Dickson, born on December 1st, 1795, exactly.

Joseph Dickson (1795-1898) was my fourth great-grandfather, and this pension file was the first piece of evidence I'd ever seen that he fought in any war.

So, what did I discover in Joseph Dickson's pension file?

Joseph Dickson's Pension File (image from Fold3)

• Joseph received two pieces of Bounty Land: 40 acres in 1850 (claim #93350) & 120 acres in 1855 (claim #57224) - this is something I need to look into further! (Image #1 on Fold3)
• He enlisted on Jan 28th, 1814 & discharged on May 23, 1814 in Tennessee Militia under Captains Michael Moulton & Joseph Williams (Image #1)
• Mentions the "Creek War" (Image #4)
• Lists length of service as 116 days (Image #7)
• Discusses that, besides actual fighting days, he was also paid for 200 miles "travel allowance" (Images #9 & #10)
• States "Joseph Dickson aged 59 years a resident of Perry County in the state of Tennessee who being duly sworn according to law declares that he is the identical Joseph Dickson who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Joseph Williams in the regiment of mounted riflemen commanded by Colonel Michael Molton in the War with Great Britain declared by the United States on the 18th day of June 1812 (with the Creek Indians) for the term of three months and continued in actual service in said war for fourteen days, that he has heretofore made application for bounty land under the Act of September 28th 1850 and received a land warrant No------- not reccolected (?) for forty acres which he has since legally disposed of and cannot now return.   [paragraph] He makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the additional bounty land to which he may be entitled under the act approved 3rd day of March 1855. [paragraph] He also declares that he has never applied nor received under this nor any other act of Congress any Bounty Land warrant except the one above mentioned. [signed] Joseph Dickson (Image #29)
• States "... that he volunteered at Dickson [County] on the [blank] day of January 1814 for term of 3 months and continued in actual service for the term of 3 1/2 months and was honorably discharged at Camp Blount on the 10th day of May 1814 as will appear by reference to certificate of discharge herewith filed - and by the muster rolls of said company (Image #32)

• Includes Joseph's actual discharge papers! (Image #35)
• A fill-in-the-blank form dated May 29th, 1871 says he is "not" married & all information about a wife is crossed out. Joseph's wife died in 1867, but this is still puzzling as it is asking about who his wife's name "was"... (Image #36)

From this information, I looked at the Tennessee Secretary of State site at "Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812" and was able to determine that Joseph Dickson served under Colonel Robert Dyer in the Tennessee Volunteer Mounted Cavalry. One of the Captains of the regiment was Michael Molton who Joseph stated he served under (though he listed him as a colonel). Molton also signed Joseph Dickson's discharge papers.

The brief history of this regiment (at the above site) states that it was "part of General John Coffee's cavalry brigade throughout most of the Creek War. The unit participated in most of the battles of the war, including... Horseshoe Bend (27 March 1814). There were several companies of "spies" in the regiment: companies of cavalry that were sent on reconnaissance patrols and usually took the lead in the line of march for Jackson's army."

Battle of Horseshoe Bend (public domain image from Wikipedia)

A great synopsis of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend is at Access Genealogy: "The Creek Indians, who had been allies of the British during the War of 1812, were angered by white encroachment on their hunting grounds in Georgia and Alabama. In 1813, some Creeks under Chief Red Eagle (William Weatherford) (1780-1824) attacked and burned Fort Mims on the lower Alabama River, killing about 500 whites [the Fort Mims Massacre]. Afterward, US militiamen, led by General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), invaded Creek territory in central Alabama and destroyed two Indian villages, Talledega and Tallasahatchee, in the fall of 1813. Jackson pursued the Creek, and on March 27, 1814, his 3,000 man army attacked and defeated them at that Battle of Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River in eastern Alabama. More than 800 Creek warriors were killed, and the power of the Creek nation was completely broken. At the Treaty of Fort Jackson on August 9, 1814, the Creek were compelled to cede 23 million acres (half of Alabama and part of southern Georgia) to the whites. It is sometimes considered to be part of the War of 1812."

Grandma's Old Family Photos

After writing about my Grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, this past weekend, I decided to share some of her old family photos. The photos were probably all taken in Perry County, Tennessee where my grandmother grew up.

This is a photo of Sallie (Dickson) Ward, my grandmother's grandmother. My grandmother was raised by Sallie since her own mother, Nora (Ward) Dickson, died when she was only 8 months old. Sallie lived to be 99 years old and lived her entire life in Perry County,Tennessee.

This photo was labeled "Sallie & Mary." Sallie is Sallie (Dickson) Ward who is also pictured above. This "Mary" is almost certainly Sallie's older sister, Mary Elizabeth (Dickson) (Sutton) Dickson. She was born in 1849, about 11 years before Sallie's birth. Mary lived to be 87 and died in 1939. So, this photo was probably taken in the 1930's.

My grandmother told me this was a photo of "Mary Ary, Tom Ward's daughter." Tom Ward is one of Sallie's sons. He did have a daughter named Mary, who would've been about a year older than my grandmother. So, it is likely these first cousins grew up as close friends in Perry County. However, I don't have any information on Mary Ward after the 1930 census when she was 15 years old. 

The only Mary Ary in Perry County has been attributed to other parents by researchers. There is also a Mary Erie in the 1940 census in Wayne County, Tennessee who might be Tom's daughter. Either way, more research is needed!

Born 100 Years Ago Today: A Tribute to My Grandmother

My grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle, was born 100 years ago today. Though she died in 2004 at the age of 88, I'm paying tribute to her by sharing part of her life's story in words and photos.

Evelyn was the fifth child born to James Bedford & Nora (Ward) Dickson. Both the Ward and Dickson families had lived in Perry County, Tennessee for generations. But, for some reason, Evelyn was born about 100 miles away in Newbern, Dyer County, Tennessee on October 10th, 1915.

Sadly, when Evelyn was only 8 1/2 months old, her mother died. I remember Grandma telling me her mom died from "eating too many fresh vegetables," but the death certificate says her cause of death was "billious dysentery." Evelyn's mother was only 30 years old.

This is the only photo we have of my grandmother as a young child. She's about 2 and she's holding a pet chicken, most likely in Perry County, Tennessee. On the left is Elsie Jo Ward (age ~14), one of grandmother's first cousins, who is also holding a chicken. In the middle is Sallie (age ~58), the grandmother who raised my Grandmother Evelyn. And, on the right is Ethel Ward (~20), Sallie's youngest daughter. I scanned this photo at my grandmother's house about 15 years ago. I don't know what has become of the original.

Though Evelyn's dad evidently felt comfortable taking care of the older children (who were ages 12, 10, 8, & 4), he must have decided baby Evelyn would be better off with her maternal grandmother. So, Evelyn was raised by her widowed grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward.

Evelyn lived with her grandmother in Marsh Creek, Perry County, Tennessee surrounded by family including her father, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In the 1920 census, 4-year-old Evelyn was living with her grandmother and two unmarried uncles: Uncle Lowry and Uncle Grady. In 1930, she was still living in Marsh Creek with her grandmother, Sallie, and Uncle Lowry.

This is a photo of my grandfather and grandmother, Evelyn, taken in 1941 either right before or right after they were married in Ohio. The original is in my mother's possession.

Around 1941, at the age of 25, Evelyn met Sherman Kaechle who was working at a farm in Tennessee. They traveled to Toledo, Ohio where Sherman had family, and were married on July 5th, 1941. Though they lived in Tennessee for a few years, Evelyn would live most of the rest of her life in Indiana.

Although she didn't grow up in the same house as her father and older siblings, she still had a nice relationship with them. This is a photo of my Grandmother Evelyn, on the right, with her father, James B Dickson, in the middle, and oldest sister, Bernie, on the left. Original photo in possession of my mother.

Evelyn and her husband, Sherman Kaechle, with the first of their 7 children

Evelyn's first 4 children, a son then 3 daughters, were born within just 4 years of each other. Her fifth child, a son, was born 6 1/2 years later. The last two boys, born less than 12 months apart, weren't born for another 5 years. Altogether, Evelyn raised 7 children, 4 sons and 3 daughters. The oldest child was 16 1/2 when the last baby was born.

Grandmother Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle with my siblings and me (I'm on far right)

Evelyn survived breast cancer in 1986. But, 8 years later, the cancer returned; this time it attacked her bones. My mother took care of Grandma for several months at home. Eventually, though, Grandma was moved to hospice.

My mother, daughter, and I got to spend those last few days with her, though she responded very little. I held her hand and my 3-year-old daughter and I sang hymns to her. It was a sweet, but sad, time as I watched Grandma slip away. Peacefully, in the middle of the night on June 6th, 2004, Grandma Kaechle breathed her last. I believe she went home to be with her Lord where I will one day see her again.

Fearless Females, Day 2: Photo of a Female Ancestor

Lisa Alzo has used the month of March for her "Fearless Females" blogging prompts for the past 6 years. She has posted her daily prompts and has also included free access to her "Tips and Tricks for Tracing Female Ancestors" Webinar for the month.

March 2nd prompt: Post a photo of one of your female ancestors. Who is in the photo? When was it taken? Why did you select this photo?

Lillian (Ward) Evans, my grandmother Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle
sitting, my great, great grandmother Sallie (Ward) Dickson, age 92
sitting, my mom, her oldest brother Sherman, and baby Ronnie
(photo in possession of my mom)

Who is in this photo? This is a photo of 3 of my female ancestors. In the back on the right in the dark dress is my grandmother, Evelyn (Dickson) Kaechle. In the middle by herself is my great, great grandmother, Sallie (Dickson) Ward, who I wrote about yesterday who was 92. And, in the front row is my mother. My grandmother, Evelyn, was raised by her grandmother, Sallie.

When was this photo taken? The photo was taken in the summer of 1952 in Tennessee. My mom thinks it might have been taken at her aunt & uncle's house where Sallie lived. She's asking her older brother if he can identify the other lady in the photo.

An interesting story about the photo... At this time, my grandmother & grandfather had five children. About every other summer, they would make the long drive from Indiana to Tennessee. This time, they were bringing along baby Ronnie for the first time. Some time into the trip, hopefully just a few miles in but my mom doesn't remember for sure, my grandmother realized she'd forgotten the baby! As you can see, they turned the family car around and raced home to get him.

Why did I choose this photo? I believe I only have 3 photos of my great, great grandmother, Sallie, who I wrote about yesterday. I posted one of her younger photos yesterday. This is the oldest photo I have of her. I also have a photo of her when my grandmother was a little girl that I need to locate and share. I hope someday someone will come across this post that is also related to Sallie and perhaps has more photos they can share with me or will appreciate the photos I have shared.

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

Fearless Females, Day 1: A Favorite Female Ancestor

Lisa Alzo has used the month of March for her "Fearless Females" blogging prompts for the past 6 years. She has posted her daily prompts and has also included free access to her "Tips and Tricks for Tracing Female Ancestors" Webinar for the month.

March 1st prompt: Do you have a favorite female ancestor? One you are drawn to or want to learn more about? Write down some key facts you have already learned or what you would like to learn and outline your goals and potential sources you plan to check. 

Sisters Mary, Julia & Sallie Dickson in Perry County, Tennessee

My ancestor: Sallie Harriet (Dickson) Ward, my great, great grandmother

Her Story

Sallie was the youngest of 9 children born to Matthew James Dickson (1820-1904) and Lenora "Nora" J Mays (1823-1909) in 1860 in Perry County, Tennessee. She married Reuben Houston Ward, a farmer who later became a Methodist minister. They had 9 children together, though one died as an infant. Reuben was murdered in 1906 and I've recently told his story. 

One of their daughters, Lenora "Nora", married a cousin, James Bedford Dickson. They had five children, including my grandmother who was less than 9 months old when her mother, Nora, died. James raised the older four children, but his mother-in-law, Sallie, raised the baby, my grandmother.

Sallie lived as a widow for more than 50 years and died in 1960 at the age of 99. She'd lived in the same county, surrounded by family, her entire life. My grandmother thought of her as her mother.

Research Plan

• Talk to my mom and see what she knows
• Try to locate her on the 1940 census
• Try to find newspaper clippings
• See if death records are available for 1960
• Check FamilySearch for Sallie

My Top 10 Genealogy Finds in 2014

2014 has been an amazing year for me and my genealogy research. With increased knowledge, time, and resources available, I've uncovered some amazing discoveries! I had thought about making a "top 10" booklet for my family as Christmas gifts, but didn't get around to it. Maybe I will still do that but give it to them for Valentine's Day. But, for now, I thought I'd highlight my top 10 finds of the year.

1839 Marriage Record - Parish of Prestwich, Lancaster County, England from Ancestry.com

#10 - I didn't start blogging until March of this year, so my first "find" is actually from the end of 2013. It was huge! In November, I made my first "jump across the pond" when I found my 3rd great grandparent's (James Eastwood & Sarah Hall) 1839 marriage record from Lancaster, England! After finding this location, I was able to find birth, marriage, and death records and go back another generation.

Gov. LaFollette of Wisconsin addressing Chautauqua assembly, Decatur, Ill. c.1905
(image from Wikipedia)

#9 - This is a more distant relative and I didn't blog about it, but I found out my 2nd cousin, 5 times removed was Bishop John Heyl Vincent. Bishop J. H. Vincent was one of the two founders of Chautauqua - an adult education movement in the late 1800's & early 1900's. I found many newspaper articles about him including one that starts with this... "General Grant once introduced Bishop J. H. Vincent to President Lincoln and said: 'Dr. Vincent was my pastor at Galena, Ill., and I do not think that I missed one of his sermons while I lived there.'" The next paragraph said, "This same Bishop Vincent, of good old Pennsylvania stock and for many years a resident of Pennsylvania, was the founder of the Chautauqua assembly, next only to the public school system in bringing to the masses of the people some share of their inheritance in the world's great creations in art and literature." [Today in Pennsylvania History, Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 09 May 1924, page 11, column 1, digital image newspapers.com, accessed 08 Dec 2014.]

Barbara Grozinger's 1616 baptism record found on FHL film

#8 - After finding my English ancestors, I made another huge discovery when I found the place of origin of one of my German families: the Kaechle's. I first found a marriage record (index only) of my 3rd great grandparents (Thaddeus Kaechle & Katharina Kern) which gave the names of Thaddeus' parents (Anton Koechle/Kaechle & Anna Diringer). From there, I found a site where someone had indexed hundreds of years of church records (Ortsfamilienbuch fur Grissheim) at the church where Thaddeus was born! His ancestors had attended that church for centuries. The oldest record I found was the 1616 baptism of my 8th great grandmother, Barbara Grozinger. That's almost 400 years old! (The location was Grissheim in Baden-Wurttemberg.)

U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records from Selected States, 1660-1926
Marriage record; date: Aug 12, 1710
found on ancestry.com

#7 - Several years ago I discovered I had French Huguenot ancestors (surnames Doremus & Vincent/Van Sant) who had escaped to The Netherlands before coming to America in the late 1600's. But, just recently I found my first document that shows my 8th great grandfather, Cornelis Cornelisse Doremus, was born in The Netherlands! The record is his 1710 marriage record to my 8th great grandmother, Rachel Pietersen. It says he was born in Middleburg, Zeeland, which is part of The Netherlands!

1847 marriage record of Anton Kehrbach & Maria Anna Reuter

#6 - I traced another family back to Germany this year (so, my 3rd location in Europe!) when I located a distant cousin on My Heritage. He had an 1847 marriage record for my 3rd great grandparents, Anton Kehrbach (Korback) & Maria Anna Reuter. Not only did this record show where this family had come from (Ediger which is a small village in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate), but it also gave the names of both of their parents!

#5 - I busted through a brick wall by uncovering my 4th great grandfather's father! Andrew McClintock/McClintic was born in August of 1804 in Pennsylvania. I'd been stuck at this generation for many years. This information came from a researcher I'd hired in Pennsylvania. (The same one who helped me with the Stiver's in #9.) She had transcribed some church records and had the baptism of Andrew McClintock listing his father, John McClintock.

Headstone of Jacob T Dickson, Confederate soldier

#4 - The Civil War Questionnaire of Jacob Tipton Dickson, my great, great grandfather's younger brother. The questionnaire was sent out to Civil War soldiers who were still alive in 1920.  Besides verifying their mother's maiden name, Sally McCage, I love the language of this man from Tennessee and can only imagine that my great, great grandfather would have talked (& spelled words!) the same way. Here are a few of the questions:

...Remarks on Ancestry... my grate parance was from Orolan [?]  and they Died while I were small and I dident never know them

...If you owned land... Now I diden owen any thing I were stayen at home

...Did you parents own slaves?... My father Owen 6 Slaves

I will definitely blog more about this document as I think it is priceless and a wonderful 'find'!

Her Death is Cause for Four Being Held, Springfield Republican, Springfield, Missouri, 01 Nov 1911,
page 1, column 4, digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 30 Oct 2014

#3 - I uncovered not one, but two MURDERS in my family this year! That's just crazy! This first one was the murder of my 3rd great grandfather's granddaughter. Her name was Ollie Werther and she married Roy Crockett in about 1909 or 1910. The marriage lasted maybe a year and then, after quarreling, Ollie went home to her dad and told him she had proof that her husband had committed arson on one of their houses to collect the insurance money. They turned this information over to the authorities and Roy was arrested. Allegedly, Roy's sister, brother, cousin & a friend poisoned Ollie with morphine to keep her from testifying against Roy! I found articles acquitting the two females of their murder charges, but have yet to find anything about the two males. As for Roy, he was "surrendered to his bondsman" a few years later, but also started another family, an oil business, and became both a judge and  mayor in Texas!

Ephraim P Bennett's Missouri State Penitentiary Records from the Missouri State Archives

#2 - The other murder I uncovered was actually one that had been passed down in my family, though I hadn't heard the story. I first discovered it after finding my great, great grandmother's brother in the state penitentiary in the 1900 census. From there, I ordered prison records and then found newspaper articles about the murder. 

Ephraim Bennett's brother-in-law, Nathan L Buchanan, was physically abusing his wife, Louisa Jane, Ephraim's sister. At one point, Nathan hit her on the head with a log from the fire and she ended up having to go to an asylum for awhile. Ephraim loaned Nathan the money he needed to commit her, but then one day came out into the field where Nathan was working and shot and killed him. He then turned himself in to the authorities. There most be more to the story as, that night, a lynch mob of somewhere between 50 to 200 men came to hang Ephraim! The family story that was passed down made Ephraim sound like a hero. But, the lynch mob makes me wonder what really happened. I hope to find out more! (I wrote quite a few posts about this murder as I uncovered the story.)

My grandmother & her best friend, circa 1925 (original at my aunt & uncle's in Kansas)

#1 - My biggest "find" of 2014 was the absolutely amazing amount of family photos & memorabilia that my aunt & uncle have at their house. Not only do they have at least 100 old photos, they have baby books, report cards, journals, poems written by family members, land records, newspaper clippings, and so much more! They inherited the work of my Grand Aunt, Beulah Brewer, who started me on this journey back in 1998. Their friend, Cheryl, is a retired librarian who has spent several years putting all of the records both in binders and in a genealogy program. I visited them in Kansas back in October and came home with over 900 images! Wow!!! Some of my favorite photos are those of my grandmother as a young girl.

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please write 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

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

Following a Confederate Soldier Through the Civil War: Battle #2 The Battle of Shiloh

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 second battle listed on William Porter Dickson's 1911 Questionnaire is the Battle of Shiloh. Approximately 100,000 soldiers met in Shiloh, Tennessee as they fought over the train depot at Corinth, Mississippi. This station had tracks leading north, south, east and west, so it was an important piece of land. The two-day battle, on April 6th & 7th 1862, would see almost 24,000 casualties. These casualties amounted to more men than had been lost in all wars since the United States became a nation! It was a startling battle to both the North and the South.

Map from Wikipedia

This map helps me to visualize where the brother of my great, great grandfather was during the early part of the Civil War. On November 7th, 1861, he had fought in Belmont which you see in Missouri along the Mississippi River. Then, you can follow the red arrow down to Corinth, the site of the railroad depot. I wonder if this is where they spent the winter. On April 6th and 7th, he fought in Shiloh, Tennessee, which is just a short (red arrow) up into Tennessee.

Battle of Shiloh by Thure de Thulstrup
public domain image from Wikipedia

I watched a wonderful documentary about the battle on the PBS site. It's called "Shiloh: The Devil's Own Day and it shows what the fighting was like at this bloody battle. William remained a soldier throughout the war and I can't even imagine the horrors he saw.

This hauntingly beautiful version of "Shiloh Hill" was played during the PBS movie listed above

I will finish with a contemporary newspaper account from a North Carolina newspaper. In it, the author writes that the projected number of Confederates killed will be about 1,017. According to this Thomas' Legion site, the actual number of deaths was 1,728. Also, over 8,000 were wounded and 959 missing or captured for a total of 10,699 casualties.

Confederate Loss at Shiloh, The Milton Chronicle, Milton, North Carolina, 16 May 1862, page 1, column 2;
digital image newspapers.com, (http://www.newspapers.com: accessed 28 Aug 2014)

Confederate Loss at Shiloh - The Memphis Argus of Thursday, April 24th, gives the following concerning the loses at Shiloh.

Our table, giving a list as far as possible of the casualties sustained by the Confederates at Shiloh, to-day takes in 38 regiments of infantry and one cavalry, in which the killed, wounded and missing amounts to 5,759. A sufficient number of regiments yet remain unreturned which will probably swell the list to 7,000. We do not think the full official reports will show a greater list of casualties. Already we have killed outright 927, and wounded 4,471. Of the latter perhaps one fiftieth have died since the publication of the lists, or will die which will increase the number of killed thus far to about 1,017. Of missing there is a list of 361, of whom, of course, the greater portion are either prisoners, wounded, or will return unhurt. Probably very few of them have fallen.

Considering the immense number of wounded, the proportion receiving mortal injuries, is much smaller than usual, and assuming the entire list of casualties to be 7,000, as above mentioned, we do not think that the number of soldiers killed or permanently disabled from Shiloh will much exceed 1,300. Our force upon engaging the enemy on Sunday could not have exceeded thirty thousand, and it fought fresh troops each day. When it is remembered that, after participating in a general engagement from daylight until dark on Sunday, and, without reinforcement or food, our forces held the field another day against a superior body of fresh troops, and that nearly one-forth of the entire number of Confederates engaged were either killed or wounded, a spectacle of heroism and valor is presented which would do credit to any age and people. Should we meet with nothing but reverses in future, the stern heroism displayed on the bloody field of Shiloh would be enough to establish Southern prowess forever.

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