In honor of Marianna Day, here's a link to my post from a few years ago describing various ways the fateful date of Sept. 27th was commemorated in Florida in the 20th century.
http://www.thejacksoncountywar.com/search/label/Marianna%20Day
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Review of "The Indians of North Florida" by Sewell and Hill
My review of The Indians of North Florida: From Carolina to Florida, the Story of the Survival of a Distinct American Indian Community by Christopher Scott Sewell and Steve Pony Hill appears over the new blog www.bloodandoranges.com
Here's the link: http://bloodandoranges.com/2012/09/19/book-review-christopher-scott-sewell-and-s-pony-hill-the-indians-of-north-florida-from-carolina-to-florida-the-story-of-the-survival-of-a-distinct-american-indian-community-backintyme-publi/
Here's the link: http://bloodandoranges.com/2012/09/19/book-review-christopher-scott-sewell-and-s-pony-hill-the-indians-of-north-florida-from-carolina-to-florida-the-story-of-the-survival-of-a-distinct-american-indian-community-backintyme-publi/
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Basheba Thomas and the Southern Claims Commission
The Southern Claims Commission was created in 1871 to allow Southern unionists to recover compensation for property confiscated by federal troops during the Civil War. The crucial test for the applicant, besides documenting the lost property, was to prove that he or she had been loyal “to the cause and the government of the United States during the war.” The SCC files are full of great information including lots of personal details. Fortunately, fold3.com has made this material available on line (see Dick Eastman’s blog post about the SCC files generally and fold3.com, at: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/03/southern_claims.html ; also check out Robert Moore’s blog for lots of information about Southern Unionists and the SCC process. http://cenantua.wordpress.com ).
There is some amazing stuff to find on fold3.com. Looking for something unlrelated, I came across claim file for Basheba Thomas. Yes, we now know that Miss Thomas spelled her name “Basheba” and not “Bathsheba” (ed. - add that to the corrections list!). As discussed in the JCW book, Basheba was sympathetic to the Freedmen’s Bureau officers and their goals. Most significantly, she held the federally controlled (i.e., Republican) office of Marianna post-mistress for several years during the Reconstruction era (did that make her the first female officeholder in Jackson Co.?).
Basheba’s claim arose from the seizure of her food supplies by Union troops during the Battle of Marianna. (The only other such claim I know about was submitted by Martha Finlayson, but her case seemed to have been misfiled with Alabama claims and then lost).
Here is the claim with the amounts approved and disallowed by the SCC:
[source: www.fold3.com ]
That’s a lot of bacon and lard! What makes the file fascinating are the statements and the people who show up in the supporting paperwork. The initial petition attests that the above listed property was taken by U. S. troops in General Asboth’s command on Sept. 27, 1864, and removed to “Ft Pickens of the Navy Yard near Pensacola except so much thereof as was consumed at or near Marianna or on the march therefrom to Pensacola.” This filing, dated June 12, 1871 was witnessed by James F. McClellan (!) and James C. McLean before Judge of the County Court W. E. Anderson (all significant player in the JCW). In the claim, Basheba appointed as her attorney….Charles M. Hamilton of Wash. DC, (fresh out of Congress and looking for work), who filed the petition with the SCC. The claim states that Basheba lived alone and at the time of the confiscation (9/1864) had lived with “a sister & one servant both of whom are now dead.” A claim was refiled or supplemented in May 1874 with a different DC attorney, probably because Hamilton was incapacitated and out of the law business by that time. This refilling was swown to before Charles F. Britton, the U.S. Commissioner for the Northern District of Florida. Basheba testified that she was a fifty years old, single woman, never married, with the occupation of “P.M. at Marianna Jackson County Florida.” In answer to a series of questions, Basheba alleged that she had been “threatened with imprisonment by some few don’t know their names” presumably arising from her loyalty. She also stated that “my sympathies were always with the United States and are yet and I do solemnly declare that from the beginning of hostilities to the end of the same my sympathies was with the Union cause.” The supplies were taken from her smokehouse at about 12 noon: “there was about thirty United States soldiers engaged in the taking, they were some three fourth of an hour engaged in the taking. There was some officers present don’t know their names, knew they were officers from the stripes on their shoulders and arms.” Answers to other questions added details: “it was told off by the soldiers [I] was too scared to recollect what was said.” The troops stayed about “eight hours left at night.” Basheba knew the quantities of her stores because she had purchased them by weight on Sept. 17 & 18 prior to the battle.
Supporting statements came from Benjamin G. Alderman, Joseph W. Russ and Martha E. Finlayson (no surprise there). Alderman stated that he was a 53 year old merchant in Marinna where he had resided for 40 years. He had “been acquainted intimately with Miss Bathsheba Thomas, claimant, for over thirty years past and that during the war, he had frequent conversations with her in relation to the same, its causes & progress; seeing her nearly daily. – Knows that from the beginning of hostilities between the, so called, Confederate States, and the United States, to the close of the war, the said Bathsheba Thomas, claimant was truly loyal to the United States, in sentiment and in acts as far as circumstances offered, and was firm and unflinching in the maintenance of her union sentiments down to the present day.”
Martha E. Finlayson testified that she was a 60 year old planter residing in Jackson County for 16 years. She was “on the most intimate terms with Basheba Thomas the claimant for sixteen years and that during the war she had frequent interviews with claimant in relation to the rebellion, the war, its causes & progress, seeing her very frequently, three or four times every week and I know that from the beginning of hostilities to the close of the war claimant unflinchingly maintained her union sentiments and that claimant was in every sense truly loyal to the United States and would have sacrificed her last dollar in its support.”
The last statement came from Joseph W. Russ who identified himself as a 60 year old merchant in Marianna, who “runs a farm some six miles off in the county of Jackson where he has resided for over forty five years last past.” Russ has “been acquainted intimately with Basheba Thomas Claimant for over twenty five years past and that during the war he had frequent conversations with her in relation to the war, its causes & progress seeing her two or three times a week. Knows that from the beginning of the War to its close that the said Basheba Thomas claimant was truly loyal to the United States in sentiment and in acts as far as circumstances offered and was firm and unflinching in the maintenance of her union sentiments to the close of the war and is yet.”
For this second filing, the witnesses for the power of attorney were Louis M. Gamble and M. A. Richardson, and signed before Jim B. Erwin, Notary Public on April 21, 1874 and then executed again on May 20, 1874 with Jacob F. Willeford replacing Gamble as witness.
The payment for $114.50 was authorized by the Treasury Dept. in June 1878, only (!) 7 years after the initial filing. It is not indicated how much money the attorneys, “Lincoln and Willard” kept as their fee.
Basheba Thomas lived until 1900 when she was about 81 years old. She left her cow, calf and clothes to her “colored servant”, Lucy Johnson, and her property to the First Presbyterian Church of Marianna which she had helped found decades earlier. [See: http://firstpresmarianna.org/docs/ser20061029.pdf ]
There is some amazing stuff to find on fold3.com. Looking for something unlrelated, I came across claim file for Basheba Thomas. Yes, we now know that Miss Thomas spelled her name “Basheba” and not “Bathsheba” (ed. - add that to the corrections list!). As discussed in the JCW book, Basheba was sympathetic to the Freedmen’s Bureau officers and their goals. Most significantly, she held the federally controlled (i.e., Republican) office of Marianna post-mistress for several years during the Reconstruction era (did that make her the first female officeholder in Jackson Co.?).
Basheba’s claim arose from the seizure of her food supplies by Union troops during the Battle of Marianna. (The only other such claim I know about was submitted by Martha Finlayson, but her case seemed to have been misfiled with Alabama claims and then lost).
Here is the claim with the amounts approved and disallowed by the SCC:
[source: www.fold3.com ]
That’s a lot of bacon and lard! What makes the file fascinating are the statements and the people who show up in the supporting paperwork. The initial petition attests that the above listed property was taken by U. S. troops in General Asboth’s command on Sept. 27, 1864, and removed to “Ft Pickens of the Navy Yard near Pensacola except so much thereof as was consumed at or near Marianna or on the march therefrom to Pensacola.” This filing, dated June 12, 1871 was witnessed by James F. McClellan (!) and James C. McLean before Judge of the County Court W. E. Anderson (all significant player in the JCW). In the claim, Basheba appointed as her attorney….Charles M. Hamilton of Wash. DC, (fresh out of Congress and looking for work), who filed the petition with the SCC. The claim states that Basheba lived alone and at the time of the confiscation (9/1864) had lived with “a sister & one servant both of whom are now dead.” A claim was refiled or supplemented in May 1874 with a different DC attorney, probably because Hamilton was incapacitated and out of the law business by that time. This refilling was swown to before Charles F. Britton, the U.S. Commissioner for the Northern District of Florida. Basheba testified that she was a fifty years old, single woman, never married, with the occupation of “P.M. at Marianna Jackson County Florida.” In answer to a series of questions, Basheba alleged that she had been “threatened with imprisonment by some few don’t know their names” presumably arising from her loyalty. She also stated that “my sympathies were always with the United States and are yet and I do solemnly declare that from the beginning of hostilities to the end of the same my sympathies was with the Union cause.” The supplies were taken from her smokehouse at about 12 noon: “there was about thirty United States soldiers engaged in the taking, they were some three fourth of an hour engaged in the taking. There was some officers present don’t know their names, knew they were officers from the stripes on their shoulders and arms.” Answers to other questions added details: “it was told off by the soldiers [I] was too scared to recollect what was said.” The troops stayed about “eight hours left at night.” Basheba knew the quantities of her stores because she had purchased them by weight on Sept. 17 & 18 prior to the battle.
Supporting statements came from Benjamin G. Alderman, Joseph W. Russ and Martha E. Finlayson (no surprise there). Alderman stated that he was a 53 year old merchant in Marinna where he had resided for 40 years. He had “been acquainted intimately with Miss Bathsheba Thomas, claimant, for over thirty years past and that during the war, he had frequent conversations with her in relation to the same, its causes & progress; seeing her nearly daily. – Knows that from the beginning of hostilities between the, so called, Confederate States, and the United States, to the close of the war, the said Bathsheba Thomas, claimant was truly loyal to the United States, in sentiment and in acts as far as circumstances offered, and was firm and unflinching in the maintenance of her union sentiments down to the present day.”
Martha E. Finlayson testified that she was a 60 year old planter residing in Jackson County for 16 years. She was “on the most intimate terms with Basheba Thomas the claimant for sixteen years and that during the war she had frequent interviews with claimant in relation to the rebellion, the war, its causes & progress, seeing her very frequently, three or four times every week and I know that from the beginning of hostilities to the close of the war claimant unflinchingly maintained her union sentiments and that claimant was in every sense truly loyal to the United States and would have sacrificed her last dollar in its support.”
The last statement came from Joseph W. Russ who identified himself as a 60 year old merchant in Marianna, who “runs a farm some six miles off in the county of Jackson where he has resided for over forty five years last past.” Russ has “been acquainted intimately with Basheba Thomas Claimant for over twenty five years past and that during the war he had frequent conversations with her in relation to the war, its causes & progress seeing her two or three times a week. Knows that from the beginning of the War to its close that the said Basheba Thomas claimant was truly loyal to the United States in sentiment and in acts as far as circumstances offered and was firm and unflinching in the maintenance of her union sentiments to the close of the war and is yet.”
For this second filing, the witnesses for the power of attorney were Louis M. Gamble and M. A. Richardson, and signed before Jim B. Erwin, Notary Public on April 21, 1874 and then executed again on May 20, 1874 with Jacob F. Willeford replacing Gamble as witness.
The payment for $114.50 was authorized by the Treasury Dept. in June 1878, only (!) 7 years after the initial filing. It is not indicated how much money the attorneys, “Lincoln and Willard” kept as their fee.
Basheba Thomas lived until 1900 when she was about 81 years old. She left her cow, calf and clothes to her “colored servant”, Lucy Johnson, and her property to the First Presbyterian Church of Marianna which she had helped found decades earlier. [See: http://firstpresmarianna.org/docs/ser20061029.pdf ]
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
The Honor Roll of Company F: Jackson County's Fallen in the Peninsula Campaign
Jackson County’s soldiers were largely spared in the early battles of the war. A few men perished of disease but the ranks were mostly intact until early 1862. But that spring and summer, about 30 Jackson County men succumbed to disease - that relentless leveler of Civil War soldiers - many at hospital in Chattahoochee. Young recruits, including teenagers, were particularly hard hit. Officers too perished, including Capt. Lawrence Attaway and Capt. Daniel Boone Coleman, a salesman from Wakulla Co. residing in the home of James F. McClellan at the time of the 1860 census taking.
Combat also began to take its merciless toll. Two men were listed as dying at Shiloh in late April: Henry Rogers (age 24) and Franklin Brown (31). At least seven Jackson County soldiers from Company F, the Gulf State Guards, of the 2nd Florida Regiment, died in combat in the Peninsula Campaign, particularly at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1st. The rolls of the fallen heroes of the Company F include: Richard Howard (20), James L. McAnulty (20 yo); Joseph Padrick (21 yo); Thomas Player (23 yo); Albert Butler (21 yo) and Robert Irwin (24). This list is completed by J. Henry Pooser, who only 3 weeks prior to his death had been voted Captain of Company F, in place of James F. McClellan. (Note: Gideon Peacock of Co. F had succumbed to disease at a Richmond Hospital in late April). Thus, only a few months more than one year after the start of hostilities, well over forty Jackson County households mourned their war dead. Many more were to follow.
[I've assembled these names as part of a large database that aspires to trace the service records and fate of Jackson Co. men listed in the 1860 Census. Please email me with any corrections or questions.].
Combat also began to take its merciless toll. Two men were listed as dying at Shiloh in late April: Henry Rogers (age 24) and Franklin Brown (31). At least seven Jackson County soldiers from Company F, the Gulf State Guards, of the 2nd Florida Regiment, died in combat in the Peninsula Campaign, particularly at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31 and June 1st. The rolls of the fallen heroes of the Company F include: Richard Howard (20), James L. McAnulty (20 yo); Joseph Padrick (21 yo); Thomas Player (23 yo); Albert Butler (21 yo) and Robert Irwin (24). This list is completed by J. Henry Pooser, who only 3 weeks prior to his death had been voted Captain of Company F, in place of James F. McClellan. (Note: Gideon Peacock of Co. F had succumbed to disease at a Richmond Hospital in late April). Thus, only a few months more than one year after the start of hostilities, well over forty Jackson County households mourned their war dead. Many more were to follow.
[I've assembled these names as part of a large database that aspires to trace the service records and fate of Jackson Co. men listed in the 1860 Census. Please email me with any corrections or questions.].
Monday, July 02, 2012
Charles, F. Crosby, a Panhandle African American, Recounts His Experience in the 86th USCT
From Donald R. Shaffer's "Civil War Emancipation" blog come Charles Franklin Crosby's responses during a pension application interview. Crosby goes into detail about his background, service in the 86th USCT, and his remarkable post-war experiences. It's so rare to find these first person statements from African Americans about their army service. He was raised as a slave near Geneva, Alabama on the Florida side of the border. I'm assuming he's from Holmes Co. but I don't see the Eli and Polly Nunn family he mentions as his owners on the 1860 census listings for the panhandle counties.
Here's the link to Shaffer's account (which also appears in his book Voices of Emancipation: Understanding Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction through the U.S. Pension Bureau Files (2008)):
http://cwemancipation.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/a-black-veterans-story
Here's the link to Shaffer's account (which also appears in his book Voices of Emancipation: Understanding Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction through the U.S. Pension Bureau Files (2008)):
http://cwemancipation.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/a-black-veterans-story
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
"We thank God we have a 'dry town.'"
The Pensacola Journal of Sunday, Aug. 7, 1911 contained a 9 page, special advertising section devoted to Jackson County. Amid the usual boosterism ("Handsomest Court House in the State of Florida"!) and enticements for immigration and investment, appears another of Mrs. Fannie B. Chapman's delightful essays. In this article, she describes the state of Marianna society in 1911.
SOCIAL LIFE OF MARIANNA
Lady Who Has Spent LifeTime There Describes it for Journal Readers
By Mrs Fannie B Chapman
The Journal has requested me to give a sketch of the social life of Marianna. My residence here from youth to old age enables me, I think, to form a just estimate of such matters. The majority of the people are of the old-time stock of Southern aristocracy, and while proud of their ancestry, they are not in any wise offensively so.
People are accepted in society not for what they have but for what they are. “A degenerate son or daughter of an illustrious sire” is not more acceptable socially than degenerate children of anyone else. Culture, refinement and nobility of character are indispensable to admission into the best society.
This being true, our people are generous, genial, hospitable, conventional, only in the right and best sense. Our women are cultured, refined and of the highest and best I type of womanhood. They are above reproach as wives, mothers, daughters and sisters as well as friends.
The community as a whole is free from petty jealousies, envy and disturbing elements that do so much to mar the social peace wherever it is found. The men of our town are worthy to be the friends and companions of the women with whom they are associated. There is plenty of life and gaiety among our young people without excess.
Above all we thank God we have a “dry town,” and if ladies are on the street morning, noon or evening they have no fear of a drunken crowd of men, white or black, blocking the sidewalks about saloons, and we have the faith in God and in the honor of the men of our county that saloons are buried in our past- never to come up again.
We have a flourishing Epworth League, Baptist Young Peoples’ Christian Union, U. D. C. chapter, Knights of Pythias, Masonic lodge, and several other good things-Baptist, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists are all well represented. I cannot assert that a religious sentiment predominates but am inclined to believe that it does in quite an eminent degree.
While I do not think ours quite a model town in everything, as there is always room for improvement. In this world of ours, I am quite sure many places might be benefited by a little patterning after us. Is that egotism? If so pardon it-this is my home and mine own people.
[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1907-08-11/ed-1/seq-20]
The entire special section is very worth examining, particularly for the many photographs and advertisements.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1907-08-11/ed-1/
SOCIAL LIFE OF MARIANNA
Lady Who Has Spent LifeTime There Describes it for Journal Readers
By Mrs Fannie B Chapman
The Journal has requested me to give a sketch of the social life of Marianna. My residence here from youth to old age enables me, I think, to form a just estimate of such matters. The majority of the people are of the old-time stock of Southern aristocracy, and while proud of their ancestry, they are not in any wise offensively so.
People are accepted in society not for what they have but for what they are. “A degenerate son or daughter of an illustrious sire” is not more acceptable socially than degenerate children of anyone else. Culture, refinement and nobility of character are indispensable to admission into the best society.
This being true, our people are generous, genial, hospitable, conventional, only in the right and best sense. Our women are cultured, refined and of the highest and best I type of womanhood. They are above reproach as wives, mothers, daughters and sisters as well as friends.
The community as a whole is free from petty jealousies, envy and disturbing elements that do so much to mar the social peace wherever it is found. The men of our town are worthy to be the friends and companions of the women with whom they are associated. There is plenty of life and gaiety among our young people without excess.
Above all we thank God we have a “dry town,” and if ladies are on the street morning, noon or evening they have no fear of a drunken crowd of men, white or black, blocking the sidewalks about saloons, and we have the faith in God and in the honor of the men of our county that saloons are buried in our past- never to come up again.
We have a flourishing Epworth League, Baptist Young Peoples’ Christian Union, U. D. C. chapter, Knights of Pythias, Masonic lodge, and several other good things-Baptist, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists are all well represented. I cannot assert that a religious sentiment predominates but am inclined to believe that it does in quite an eminent degree.
While I do not think ours quite a model town in everything, as there is always room for improvement. In this world of ours, I am quite sure many places might be benefited by a little patterning after us. Is that egotism? If so pardon it-this is my home and mine own people.
[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1907-08-11/ed-1/seq-20]
The entire special section is very worth examining, particularly for the many photographs and advertisements.
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87062268/1907-08-11/ed-1/
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Jackson (and Calhoun) County African Americans serving in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War
The National Park Service on-line Civil War Soldiers/Sailors database states that it "contains the records of approximately 18,000 African American sailors." Following are the twenty seven sailors who listed their birthplaces as Jackson or Calhoun County. Nearly half of the 255 Florida born sailors did not list their county or town of birth, so there may be many more who belong on this list. These names do not appear among the "free men of color" in the 1860 census, so it may be assumed that they were slaves who escaped their bondage to join the United Stats Navy.
Berry, James 13 None Calhoun Co., Florida
Bryant, William 24 Jackson Co., Florida
Campbell, Mansfield 26 Steward/Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Carraway, Prince 18 Farmer Calhoun Co., Florida
Clayton, Henry 15 None Mariana, Florida
Everett, Grifin 19 None Jackson Co., Florida
Fan, John 17 None Jackson Co., Florida
Hardy, John 27 Jackson Co., Florida
Holden, Adam 29 Wheelwright/Carpenter Jackson Co., Florida
Holden, Nelson 26 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Hughes, James 24 Farmer Marianna, Florida
McGregor, Mac 17 None Calhoun Co., Florida
Nichols, Alexander 22 None Jackson Co., Florida
Phillips, Charles S. 20 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Pitman, Samuel 20 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Porter, Edward 18 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Porter, James 23 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Rankin, Isaac 23 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Rankin, John 21 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Ross, James 18 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Russ, Adam 28 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Tillinghast, George W. 18 None Marianna, Florida
White, Govenor 21 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Jack 18 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Levi 26 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Lewis 15 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Walton 17 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
For the complete list of Florida born African Americans in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, see: http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-sailors.htm?submitted=1&SAlName=&SAfName=&SAshipname_count=None+Selected&SAbirthcity=&SAbirthState_count=1+Selected&SAbirthState=FL&SAcountryName_count=None+Selected
Berry, James 13 None Calhoun Co., Florida
Bryant, William 24 Jackson Co., Florida
Campbell, Mansfield 26 Steward/Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Carraway, Prince 18 Farmer Calhoun Co., Florida
Clayton, Henry 15 None Mariana, Florida
Everett, Grifin 19 None Jackson Co., Florida
Fan, John 17 None Jackson Co., Florida
Hardy, John 27 Jackson Co., Florida
Holden, Adam 29 Wheelwright/Carpenter Jackson Co., Florida
Holden, Nelson 26 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Hughes, James 24 Farmer Marianna, Florida
McGregor, Mac 17 None Calhoun Co., Florida
Nichols, Alexander 22 None Jackson Co., Florida
Phillips, Charles S. 20 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Pitman, Samuel 20 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Porter, Edward 18 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Porter, James 23 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Rankin, Isaac 23 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Rankin, John 21 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
Ross, James 18 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Russ, Adam 28 Farmer Jackson Co., Florida
Tillinghast, George W. 18 None Marianna, Florida
White, Govenor 21 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Jack 18 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Levi 26 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Lewis 15 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
White, Walton 17 Laborer Jackson Co., Florida
For the complete list of Florida born African Americans in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, see: http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-sailors.htm?submitted=1&SAlName=&SAfName=&SAshipname_count=None+Selected&SAbirthcity=&SAbirthState_count=1+Selected&SAbirthState=FL&SAcountryName_count=None+Selected
Thursday, May 31, 2012
"Recollections of Some Noted Floridians"
Following is an engaging memoir recalling some of the prominent figures in mid-19th century Florida politics, including several men from Jackson County. The source is the Frank Papy Woodword Collection at the Florida State Archives in Tallahassee. The author is probably Alfred L. Woodword Jr. (1841-1915).
RECOLLECTIONS OF SOME NOTED FLORIDIANS
During the decade lying between the years 1840 and 1850, the little town of Marianna nestled on the west bank of the Chipola river in Jackson County, Florida, possessed as intelligent and cultured society, and could boast of as fine an array of legal and literary talent as could be found in many of the larger cities of the South.
These man and their families were settlers in the newly acquired territory of Florida, and had emigrated principally from the border states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North and South Carolina, lured by prospects of pecuniary or political gain in the new Eldorado. Some were appointees to office under the federal government; some had brought their slaves from the older states, had cleared vast plantations from the primeval forests and were now established as prosperous planters; while others still had come as volunteers in the Indian wars, had fought under General Jackson and were so pleased with the country that they had decided to remain and adopt it as their permanent home. There were very few of that class of adventurers among them so common to a new country, the old ante-bellum hospitality and courtliness was the rule and not the exception, and characterized their intercourse in all departments of life.
The St. Joseph's Convention - which gave Florida the constitution under which she had been admitted to the Union - had been held in 1838; the Indians through the energy of General Jackson had been conquered, transported or pacified, except a few roving bands of creeks which made occasional raids from Georgia; and taken altogether, no more ideal place for a permanent home could, be found than Jackson county and Marianna. Game was abundant - deer and wild turkey - while the waters of the Chipola teemed with fish, it being no uncommon, thing to catch "Rock Fish" weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds a species of fish which I have never seen in any other river in Florida.
Railroads were unknown. The shriek of the locomotive had never desecrated the stillness of the virgin forests, and tales of such wonders were listened to with bated breath as they were recounted by more fortunate ones - recent comers - who had actually seen them with their own eyes.
The commerce of the community was all carried on by water - from Columbus, Georgia, by steamboat to Chattahoochee, thence by wagon to Marianna; or from the latter place by barges propelled by poling down the Chipola, through the Dead Lakes to the Big River, thence by boat again to Apalachicola. St. Joseph and its railroad to Blountstown were already waning and being shorn of their glory by the new queen city at the mouth of the river, which had secured a monopoly of the cotton trade down the .river, including Columbus, Eufaula, Ft. Gaines and Bainbridge, and was the only shipping port for a vast area of country.
At Chattahoochee was the ferry for crossing travelers from West Florida to the Capital and East Florida.
The families located at Marianna had a very pleasant social custom of visiting around among each other after supper, and at these family gatherings the conversation generally assumed a literary, legal or political turn. Often have I seen gathered in my father's parlor fifteen or twenty gentlemen with their wives - men who either then or afterwards were distinguished in the history of the state. Though quite a child at the time, I think I can recall some of them sufficiently to present them to you.
There was the towering form of Judge A. E. Maxwell, who I think, has a son still living in Pensacola. The expression on his feathres [sic] was always one of extreme kindliness and mild dignity. Then there was Judge Thomas Baltzell, almost, if not quite, as tall as Judge Maxwell, but heavier built. He was decidedly of a Lincoln type of man, having a massive head with short hair inclined to curl. He was afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida. He had been a member of the St. Joseph's Convention with such men as John C. McGehee, who was president of the Secession Convention in 1861. Other members of the St. Joseph Convention were D. L. Yulee, afterwards United States Senator. William Marvin, afterwards governor of Florida; Alfred L. Woodward, afterwards receiver of the United States Land Office under President Buchanan.
One of the most prominent figures in these social gatherings was Judge George S. Hawkins, who was, I think, at the time Judge of the Western Circuit and afterwards member of Congress. He was rather under medium size, neat and dapper in appearance, and noted for his keen wit and biting sarcasm - also remarkable for having buried six wives and was then living with his seventh. Many were the joking comparisons made (not in his presence I assure you) between him and Henry the VIII of England. Then there were Thomas and Allen Bush, the latter of whom afterwards became the author of Bush’s Digest Laws of Florida.
But I would be sadly recreant to personal feeling and long, standing friendship did I fail to mention the “noblest Roman of them all," Major Jesse J. Finley, who came from Tennessee, and earned his title fighting the Florida Indians under General Jackson himself.
He was a very large man; tall and well-formed, a man of commanding presence and courtly bearing and a dignity tempered by great sweetness of disposition and suavity of manner. Before coming to Florida in 1846, he had served in the Arkansas legislature and been mayor of Memphis, Tennessee. He represented. Jackson County in the Florida Senate in 1850, was made Judge of the Western Circuit in 1861, Judge of the Confederate Court in 1862, resigned that position and entered the Confederate army- as a private and rose successively to captain, colonel and Brigadier General; commanded the Florida Infantry in the army of Tennessee, and was wounded at the battle of Resaca and again at Jonesboro. Removed from Marianna to Lake City in 1865, was a member of Congress from 1875 to 1879 from the Second Congressional district.
In 1879 he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit and after serving for six years retired from active life and died in 1904. A record duplicated by but few men.
Where are they now, these noble men of yore, who served their country well and fell asleep? The Chipola still flows on "to join the brimming river," winding in and out among her sluggish lakes. The sweet notes of the boatman's bugle is heard no more. The barges have long since rotted at their moorings; the neigh of the iron horse startles the echoes of her caves and swamps as he leaps her narrow stream.
Resuming my recollections of those Floridians who resided in Marianna during or about the period of time of which I am writing, there looms up very prominently one who afterwards filled a very important and responsible position in-the history of the state during a crisis of great danger and which required unusual courage, firmness and statesmanship. I refer to Colonel John Milton, who was elected governor in 1860 or 1861, and guided the ship of state during the disturbed and dangerous period of the four years of civil strife.
He was known as "Florida's War Governor," and as such was confronted by problems peculiarly intricate and difficult which few can now realize of appreciate.
My first recollection of him was when I was a small child in my father's home in Marianna. He resided then on his plantation several miles out from town. I knew him better during the dark days of strife when I was a young soldier, and shall ever hold him in grateful remembrance for his unvarying kindness to one who was "only a private." These were the days when the noble women of Tallahassee met as a sewing society in one of the rooms at the capitol to make uniforms and knit socks for the men at the front, and it was the duty of the governor to provide the material from which their handicraft was wrought—grey jeans and woolen yarns. When I chanced to be at home on furlough I sometime dropped in and saw them at their work. Were I an artist I could paint those groups from memory--Mrs. Ellen Call Long; her sister Mrs. Brevard; Mrs. J. J. Williams; Miss Mag Brown, daughter of ex-Governor Brown. Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Woodward; Mrs. T. J. Perkins; Mrs Selim Myers; a host of Maxwells from Belle Aire, Mrs. Hopkins, Mrs. Dan and George Meginniss, and many more. How they did sew and--talk.
How they would pause now and then to listen with breathless interest to some item of news from Tennessee or Virginia, while here and there one attired in darker robes walked silently aside while the big tears would course each other slowly down her cheeks. Such an one had "received news from the front," and such a heart was breaking for a grey-clad warrior who rested in a far off nameless grave.
Governor Milton was ever courteous, gallant and sympathetic, while ordinarily full of life and jest. Then the scene changes and memory on shifting wing transports me once again to childhood's sunny realm, and I see one calm, sedate, dignified; yet with sunny mein and pleasant face, pass athwart the stage. A large man with a heart and brain to correspond. One who wore the ermine without a stain--W. D. Barnes. Who lifted the bench out of the realm of politics and served with spotless integrity as Comptroller under Bloxham, and several terms thereafter.
Then there approaches one with heavy frame and martial tread. One with force of character and earnestness of purpose stamped upon his every lineament—-John H. McClellan, a fitting man to compile a Digest of Florida laws. I knew him when he commanded on Virginia's plains a company of the immortal 2nd Florida Infantry under the chivalric George T. Ward.
Leonine in his courage, and steadfast in his friendship yet enjoying a joke with the best, as witness how he bore with us when we guyed so unmercifully when he accidently rolled the barrel over the bluff and down among the tents of the 14th Louisiana, camped just below us, and who thought he did it purposely, and in consequence "had it in" for the 2nd Florida.
Just now there dropped from my pen the name of Bloxham.
No true Floridian can write that name without an extra heartbeat and a quickening of the pulse; nor can he pass "the lapse of earth" where rests his honored head without an involuntary slackening of his step and lifting of his hat. Bloxham! He needs no eulogy here. My hand is not worthy to write his epitaph. Patriot, orator, statesman. Patient under misconstruction--genial under criticism; pursuing still his high ideals when least appreciated by men. Caesar and Napoleon left no offspring, and nature gave us no model when she sent us Bloxham.
We will see thy genial face no more, nor hear thy ringing voice.
[Located at: M73-10, Frank Papy Woodward Collection, Box 1, folder 8, Alfred L. Woodward Writings, FSA]
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
A Jackson County Ante-Bellum Wedding
When nearly eighty years old, Mrs. Fannie Bryan Chapman wrote a series of articles for the Pensacola Journal newspaper recalling her youth and life in Jackson County. Anyone who has read my book knows of my admiration for Mrs. Chapman. In addition to her courage and talents, she was also a very charming writer, as evidenced by the following article dated Dec. 19, 1909.
A COUNTRY WEDDING SIXTY YEARS AGO
By Mrs. Fannie Chapman, Marianna, Fla.
In compliance with a request of the editor of The Pensacola Journal for acontribution to that widely-read paper, I have decided on a sketch of country weddings many years ago when Jackson county was new.
In those days the population was dense in spots. The people of whom I shall write were mostly cultured citizens of older states and held to the customs of the communities from which they came. They were from well-to-do up to wealthy, but wealth created no class distinction among them. All were neighbors and friends. The homes were not palatial, but large and comfortable. Hospitality was of the most generous Bible type.
When there was a prospective wedding everyone was kindly interested, although engagements were often the French style-not made public. Something might transpire that the marriage was not consummated and no explanations would be necessary. I never knew an instance of failure, but our elders wished their girls to be kept on the safe side.
When the parents had sanctioned the engagement the preparations began. The pigs for barbecue, without which no southern banquet was considered complete, were at once selected and put in pens to fatten. The flock of turkeys and chickens and ducks received attention, no matter if the wedding was months off. Long engagements were not favorably considered, three or four months being thought quite long enough unless there was some reason for delay.
When the set time approached for the marriage preparations began in earnest. The bridesmaids were selected and invited to spend as much time of the intervening days at the home of the bride as was convenient. There were always from four to eight in number. The groom selected his attendant friends. There were no “best man” nor maids nor matrons of honor. All we knew of such maids was of those in queens’ palaces. A maid of honor at a wedding looks lonesome to me now, marching along behind the pairs of ladies and gentlemen. There was no “giving away of the bride”; her father and mother did that when they consented to the marriage. The cake-making took from a week to ten days. Invitations were issued by hundreds, and all written by hand. It would not have been considered at all complimentary to have used printed notes. Brides and their attendant ladles all wore white, but the maids were not confined to any particular style in the making. Gentlemen wore the regulation black broad--- coat and white vest.
When all things were in readiness, the house was opened to the coming guests. Upon the arrival of the bridesmaids they were ushered into the bride’s chamber, while the groom and his friends were taken to another. As soon as the girls had put on the last finishing touch to their own and the bride’s toilet, they went into the family sitting room and the gents were notified that the ladies were ready to receive them. The minister was placed in position in the parlor and the crowd divided to make an open way for the coming party. The pairs of attendants took their places to the right and left of the minister, the bridal pair advancing a step or two between the lines.
When the marriage ceremony that united them for life “till death us do part” was completed, congratulations were cordial and profuse. There was no wedding march, as there could not have been space enough in those large parlors for one to sit at a piano. The music came after- all along in the evening at intervals.
About eleven o’clock supper was announced. The bridal party led the way to the dining room-which might aptly be styled a banquet hall. The sight of one of those wedding supper tables would be a revelation to the present generation. There were pyramids of lighted candles, the only means of illuminating at that time; pyramids of the best of cake, at least two and a half feet high, decorated with icing in a manner that might well be the envy of noted confectioners; and cakes, fruit cakes, square cakes, big cakes, little cakes, layer cakes and every sort we know anything about or our neighbors could suggest; orange, apples, grapes, the finest of candies, among which was a good supply of the old-time kisses with a wish of some sort wrapped in the fancy paper. Ice cream was not among the delectable dainties, as ice could not be had, but the richest of syllabub and boiled custard instead of the cream. The meats were served from a side table, also hot coffee and tea. Dining rooms were twenty feet square-in fact, most of the rooms were of that size- and it may be imagined what a jolly crowd could do in such a room, and at such a table.
It took at least two hours with all the dispatch possible to get through with the supper for all the guests. As there were no trips abroad taken, the people stayed as late as they pleased, and it was often near the dawning of another day before the house was quiet. The attendants were expected to dine with the family next day, also any visitors who might be in the house when dinner was announced.
The receptions all came after the wedding and continued for a week. But few bridal presents were offered and these were not expected. The parents and near relatives were the donors of housekeeping goods and furnishings. After the complimentary parties and dinners were all over, the young couple went to their own home and settled down to their new life. Had it been the custom to give such numberless and costly presents in that far-away time, it would have been done. It comes in very nicely to have all the silver, cut glass, china and table linen provided by the friends of one’s youth, but such offerings would have been in very bad taste then.
While discussing this subject with a friend of long ago in the presence of one of her young daughters, the girl said such extravagance was a sinful waste of good material. Perhaps it was, but we and our friends enjoyed it and the retrospection is delightful now. I shall never see the like again. I wish I could one more time in my life.
A COUNTRY WEDDING SIXTY YEARS AGO
By Mrs. Fannie Chapman, Marianna, Fla.
In compliance with a request of the editor of The Pensacola Journal for acontribution to that widely-read paper, I have decided on a sketch of country weddings many years ago when Jackson county was new.
In those days the population was dense in spots. The people of whom I shall write were mostly cultured citizens of older states and held to the customs of the communities from which they came. They were from well-to-do up to wealthy, but wealth created no class distinction among them. All were neighbors and friends. The homes were not palatial, but large and comfortable. Hospitality was of the most generous Bible type.
When there was a prospective wedding everyone was kindly interested, although engagements were often the French style-not made public. Something might transpire that the marriage was not consummated and no explanations would be necessary. I never knew an instance of failure, but our elders wished their girls to be kept on the safe side.
When the parents had sanctioned the engagement the preparations began. The pigs for barbecue, without which no southern banquet was considered complete, were at once selected and put in pens to fatten. The flock of turkeys and chickens and ducks received attention, no matter if the wedding was months off. Long engagements were not favorably considered, three or four months being thought quite long enough unless there was some reason for delay.
When the set time approached for the marriage preparations began in earnest. The bridesmaids were selected and invited to spend as much time of the intervening days at the home of the bride as was convenient. There were always from four to eight in number. The groom selected his attendant friends. There were no “best man” nor maids nor matrons of honor. All we knew of such maids was of those in queens’ palaces. A maid of honor at a wedding looks lonesome to me now, marching along behind the pairs of ladies and gentlemen. There was no “giving away of the bride”; her father and mother did that when they consented to the marriage. The cake-making took from a week to ten days. Invitations were issued by hundreds, and all written by hand. It would not have been considered at all complimentary to have used printed notes. Brides and their attendant ladles all wore white, but the maids were not confined to any particular style in the making. Gentlemen wore the regulation black broad--- coat and white vest.
When all things were in readiness, the house was opened to the coming guests. Upon the arrival of the bridesmaids they were ushered into the bride’s chamber, while the groom and his friends were taken to another. As soon as the girls had put on the last finishing touch to their own and the bride’s toilet, they went into the family sitting room and the gents were notified that the ladies were ready to receive them. The minister was placed in position in the parlor and the crowd divided to make an open way for the coming party. The pairs of attendants took their places to the right and left of the minister, the bridal pair advancing a step or two between the lines.
When the marriage ceremony that united them for life “till death us do part” was completed, congratulations were cordial and profuse. There was no wedding march, as there could not have been space enough in those large parlors for one to sit at a piano. The music came after- all along in the evening at intervals.
About eleven o’clock supper was announced. The bridal party led the way to the dining room-which might aptly be styled a banquet hall. The sight of one of those wedding supper tables would be a revelation to the present generation. There were pyramids of lighted candles, the only means of illuminating at that time; pyramids of the best of cake, at least two and a half feet high, decorated with icing in a manner that might well be the envy of noted confectioners; and cakes, fruit cakes, square cakes, big cakes, little cakes, layer cakes and every sort we know anything about or our neighbors could suggest; orange, apples, grapes, the finest of candies, among which was a good supply of the old-time kisses with a wish of some sort wrapped in the fancy paper. Ice cream was not among the delectable dainties, as ice could not be had, but the richest of syllabub and boiled custard instead of the cream. The meats were served from a side table, also hot coffee and tea. Dining rooms were twenty feet square-in fact, most of the rooms were of that size- and it may be imagined what a jolly crowd could do in such a room, and at such a table.
It took at least two hours with all the dispatch possible to get through with the supper for all the guests. As there were no trips abroad taken, the people stayed as late as they pleased, and it was often near the dawning of another day before the house was quiet. The attendants were expected to dine with the family next day, also any visitors who might be in the house when dinner was announced.
The receptions all came after the wedding and continued for a week. But few bridal presents were offered and these were not expected. The parents and near relatives were the donors of housekeeping goods and furnishings. After the complimentary parties and dinners were all over, the young couple went to their own home and settled down to their new life. Had it been the custom to give such numberless and costly presents in that far-away time, it would have been done. It comes in very nicely to have all the silver, cut glass, china and table linen provided by the friends of one’s youth, but such offerings would have been in very bad taste then.
While discussing this subject with a friend of long ago in the presence of one of her young daughters, the girl said such extravagance was a sinful waste of good material. Perhaps it was, but we and our friends enjoyed it and the retrospection is delightful now. I shall never see the like again. I wish I could one more time in my life.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Jackson County Civil War Database: The Unknowns
My goal for the Jackson Co. FL Civil War Database project is to try to get a handle the devastation of the war on Jackson County as represented by the deaths of its men connected to military service. To make any kind of statistical sense of the numbers, we need a stable, fixed pool to evaluate. I've chosen the 1860 census for that purpose. Yes, I know that some residents were not counted in that census, some departed from or moved to Jackson Co. in the interim between the census taking and the end of the war, and some "absentees" or newcomers enlisted in Jackson Co. companies or are even buried in Jackson County. But I'm not counting these 1860 absentees or newcomers, because then there will never be a goal post in sight. The pool of 1365 white males of military service age (which I'm defining as from age 13 through 46 inclusive in 1860) is a significant pool and large enough, I believe, to assume that these absentees and newcomers even out (any statisticians want to chime in?).
Last post I mentioned I was resonably confident that 240 Jackson Co. men (whites of military age), who appeared in the 1860 census, died in or as a result of military service. But I also mentioned that there are about 240 (i) white males of military service age in the 1860 Jackson Co. census, (ii) who do not appear in the 1870 Census; and (iii) whom I cannot otherwise reasonably confirm as surviving the war through various sources (e.g., other census searches, genealogy sites, CSRs etc). I stress "reasonably" confirm, because if someone has a discharge or is listed as captured on their CSR in April 1865, I'm crediting him as "s/w" (survives war). If the discharge or capture was from earlier, I'm putting them in the "unknown pool." The goal is not to guess but be as confident as we can that these men lived to see the war's end. If we can find out their actual living place in 1870 and their date and location of death, even better. I'm also tracking military units.
To push this project forward, I'm posting below my list of 237 unknowns with their ages in the 1860 census. Several of these men are here, it will be obvious, because they have very common names or share names with other Jackson Co. men of simliar ages and it was impossible for me to be "reasonably" sure in later records which man was which. A lot of these guys, about 90, I have FL unit listings for. Some are puzzling because they are familiar names, but with no post-1865 records on line. I very much welcome anyone's help on this. You will be credited for the information you share. As I've written before, I'm actively seeking people to collaborate with. History belongs to everyone.
Bevis, James P. 13
Bird, James 13
Blount, Jacob A. 13
Brantley, Francis A. 13
Cook, Eldridge 13
Johnson, William 13
Johnson, William 13
Johnson, William 13
Long, Joseph J. 13
Nugen, Wiley 13
Padgett, John 13
Plair, John S. D. 13
Powers, Henry 13
Rawls, Franklin 13
Register, Ezekiel 13
Shealds, Joseph 13
Webb, Vinson 13
Williams, Thomas 13
Wilson, David 13
Bayles, Irwin 14
Dainn, Thomas W. 14
Hurst, William 14
Jordan, Arthur C. 14
Lacey, Judson R. 14
Middleton, John M. 14
Morrow, Hugh E. 14
Padgett, J. C. 14
Parker, James 14
Parsons, William 14
Patterson, James 14
Rains, Sinaka 14
Alford, Jessee 15
Beckwith, William 15
Blackburn, Charles H. 15
Calhoun, W.B. 15
Conner, Robert 15
Maddux, Samuel D. 15
Parker, Asbury 15
Wadford, Wesley 15
Coulliette, George 16
Hall, Ferney 16
Jones, Arnobius 16
McDaniel, George S. 16
McNealy, William 16
Parsons, Joseph 16
Smith, Alexander 16
Whitesides, William 16
Berry, Henry 17
Bowles, Henry 17
Brantley, Harris M. 17
Carlisle, Benjamin 17
Carter, Stafford 17
Dickson, Benjamin 17
Lacey, William W. 17
Skipper, C. J. 17
Spence, Richard 17
Stanley, Jerry 17
Turner, John 17
Baxter, John D. 18
Coulliette, Joseph 18
Cox, Green 18
Davis, Columbus 18
Dykes, Riley 18
Jackson, Andrew 18
Long, Aaron 18
Owens, Richmond D. 18
Owls, A. H. 18
Parson, Joseph 18
Powers, Alonzo W. 18
Taylor, William 18
Carroll, Thomas 19
Lacey, James M. 19
Larimore, Russel 19
Roberts, John 19
Sapp, Noah 19
Webb, John M. 19
Williams, Nathan 19
Arnold, Thomas 20
Avery, A. W. 20
Brett, James W. 20
Croom, William 20
Daniels, Harrison 20
Lockey, Simeon 20
Boyd, Dawson 21
Devaughn, Robert 21
Herbert, George 21
Johnson, A 21
Jones, M. W. 21
Raiborn, Atha 21
Shepherd, Nathan 21
Sims, James 21
Spence, William 21
Stanley, John N. 21
Daniels, Samuel 22
Hall, Burrel 22
Hart, Thomas 22
Howard, Abraham 22
Johnson, Daniel F. 22
Knight, John 22
Long, O.R.F. 22
Munn, George C. 22
Pare, E. C. 22
Powers, William E. 22
Sapp, Allen 22
Simpson, Joseph 22
Simpson, Joseph 22
Stewart, James 22
York, Martin 22
Anderson, Joel F. 23
Bradberry, William 23
Hall, James W. 23
Heiring, Martin 23
Lee, Thomas 23
Oppenheimer, Edward 23
Pelt, Francas 23
Rogers, Reuben 23
Russell, James 23
Williams, William 23
Bayles, John 24
Bunch, Daniel 24
Bush, E. B. 24
Coonrod, Rowell 24
Crouche, Matthew A. 24
Cutts, Elisha 24
Gammon, John W. 24
Gilbert, Thomas 24
Larimore, Thomas H. 24
Rhodes, William 24
Robinson, John I. 24
Simpson, Benjamin 24
Sullivan, James 24
Wood, Wright 24
Cadle, William 25
Fields, John C. 25
Finley, Lewis 25
Hofheimer, Samuel 25
Kilbee, John C. 25
Lambert, Jasper 25
Neel, Lafayette 25
Owens, William E. 25
Patterson, Joseph J. 25
Rivers, Richard 25
Sims, Jasper 25
Vickery, Joseph S. 25
Bissell, Calvin 26
Compton, William W. 26
Dickerson, Samuel 26
Hall, James C. 26
McSwain, Daniel. E. 26
Perryman, A. 26
Plair, J. M. 26
Stanley, John 26
Ward, John W. 26
Webb, Manning A. 26
Corbett, Nicholas 27
Griffith, Joseph H. 27
King, John D. 27
Raburn, John L. 27
Riles, J. M. 27
Turner, James T. 27
Hollice, John 28
Lambeth, Allen 28
McCoy, W. C. 28
Saunders, William A. 29
Bazzell, Benjamin 30
Brock, Evan 30
Finley, Henry F. 30
Hart, Thomas 30
Maples, Thomas 30
Owens, John 30
Price, W. H. 30
Snipes, Martin J. 30
Sweringen, John L. 30
Taylor, William 30
Williams, Berry 30
Allison, William 31
Brantley, Thomas D. 31
Ernest, E. G. 31
Hendley, William J. 31
Russell, S. B. 31
Merriman, Joshua J. 32
Bullock, Robert 33
Godwin, Spartman 33
Houston, Thomas 33
Scurlock, Thomas J. 33
Bryan, William 34
Colwell, George 34
Daniel, B.M. 34
Baxter, Jacob E. 35
Cowen, James A. 35
Hall, James 35
Harrison, Edwin 35
Hartsfield, Charles N. 35
Jackson, J. W. 35
King, John D. 35
Newsom, Daniel A. 35
Sims, Isaac 35
Stephens, Benjamin 35
Bazzell, James A. 36
Boatwright, Isaac 36
Dozier, E. M. 36
Elmore, John W. 36
Faulk, George 36
Gainer, William 36
Hurst, Franklin 36
McDaniel, Henry 36
Hughes, William H. 37
Pender, James W. 37
Smith, John 37
Watson, Nathan S. 39
Brooks, William 40
Brown, Rufus 40
Buchanan, Henry 40
Carlisle, Wilson 40
Cobb, Columbus C. 40
Cook, Thomas F. 40
Dade William 40
Farley, William A. 40
Land, Thomas J. 40
Sullivan, James 40
Dillard, Joseph 42
Gilbert, Alexander 42
Allen, Isaac 44
Cox, Allen J. 44
Harvey, William B. 44
Moree, Moses 44
Whitesides, John 44
Belcher, Arvin 45
Bird, Archibald 45
Brown, James 45
Devaughn, George 45
Powers, William 45
Spence, William 45
Williams, John 45
Middleton, Stevens 46
Wilcox, J. A. J. 46
Last post I mentioned I was resonably confident that 240 Jackson Co. men (whites of military age), who appeared in the 1860 census, died in or as a result of military service. But I also mentioned that there are about 240 (i) white males of military service age in the 1860 Jackson Co. census, (ii) who do not appear in the 1870 Census; and (iii) whom I cannot otherwise reasonably confirm as surviving the war through various sources (e.g., other census searches, genealogy sites, CSRs etc). I stress "reasonably" confirm, because if someone has a discharge or is listed as captured on their CSR in April 1865, I'm crediting him as "s/w" (survives war). If the discharge or capture was from earlier, I'm putting them in the "unknown pool." The goal is not to guess but be as confident as we can that these men lived to see the war's end. If we can find out their actual living place in 1870 and their date and location of death, even better. I'm also tracking military units.
To push this project forward, I'm posting below my list of 237 unknowns with their ages in the 1860 census. Several of these men are here, it will be obvious, because they have very common names or share names with other Jackson Co. men of simliar ages and it was impossible for me to be "reasonably" sure in later records which man was which. A lot of these guys, about 90, I have FL unit listings for. Some are puzzling because they are familiar names, but with no post-1865 records on line. I very much welcome anyone's help on this. You will be credited for the information you share. As I've written before, I'm actively seeking people to collaborate with. History belongs to everyone.
Bevis, James P. 13
Bird, James 13
Blount, Jacob A. 13
Brantley, Francis A. 13
Cook, Eldridge 13
Johnson, William 13
Johnson, William 13
Johnson, William 13
Long, Joseph J. 13
Nugen, Wiley 13
Padgett, John 13
Plair, John S. D. 13
Powers, Henry 13
Rawls, Franklin 13
Register, Ezekiel 13
Shealds, Joseph 13
Webb, Vinson 13
Williams, Thomas 13
Wilson, David 13
Bayles, Irwin 14
Dainn, Thomas W. 14
Hurst, William 14
Jordan, Arthur C. 14
Lacey, Judson R. 14
Middleton, John M. 14
Morrow, Hugh E. 14
Padgett, J. C. 14
Parker, James 14
Parsons, William 14
Patterson, James 14
Rains, Sinaka 14
Alford, Jessee 15
Beckwith, William 15
Blackburn, Charles H. 15
Calhoun, W.B. 15
Conner, Robert 15
Maddux, Samuel D. 15
Parker, Asbury 15
Wadford, Wesley 15
Coulliette, George 16
Hall, Ferney 16
Jones, Arnobius 16
McDaniel, George S. 16
McNealy, William 16
Parsons, Joseph 16
Smith, Alexander 16
Whitesides, William 16
Berry, Henry 17
Bowles, Henry 17
Brantley, Harris M. 17
Carlisle, Benjamin 17
Carter, Stafford 17
Dickson, Benjamin 17
Lacey, William W. 17
Skipper, C. J. 17
Spence, Richard 17
Stanley, Jerry 17
Turner, John 17
Baxter, John D. 18
Coulliette, Joseph 18
Cox, Green 18
Davis, Columbus 18
Dykes, Riley 18
Jackson, Andrew 18
Long, Aaron 18
Owens, Richmond D. 18
Owls, A. H. 18
Parson, Joseph 18
Powers, Alonzo W. 18
Taylor, William 18
Carroll, Thomas 19
Lacey, James M. 19
Larimore, Russel 19
Roberts, John 19
Sapp, Noah 19
Webb, John M. 19
Williams, Nathan 19
Arnold, Thomas 20
Avery, A. W. 20
Brett, James W. 20
Croom, William 20
Daniels, Harrison 20
Lockey, Simeon 20
Boyd, Dawson 21
Devaughn, Robert 21
Herbert, George 21
Johnson, A 21
Jones, M. W. 21
Raiborn, Atha 21
Shepherd, Nathan 21
Sims, James 21
Spence, William 21
Stanley, John N. 21
Daniels, Samuel 22
Hall, Burrel 22
Hart, Thomas 22
Howard, Abraham 22
Johnson, Daniel F. 22
Knight, John 22
Long, O.R.F. 22
Munn, George C. 22
Pare, E. C. 22
Powers, William E. 22
Sapp, Allen 22
Simpson, Joseph 22
Simpson, Joseph 22
Stewart, James 22
York, Martin 22
Anderson, Joel F. 23
Bradberry, William 23
Hall, James W. 23
Heiring, Martin 23
Lee, Thomas 23
Oppenheimer, Edward 23
Pelt, Francas 23
Rogers, Reuben 23
Russell, James 23
Williams, William 23
Bayles, John 24
Bunch, Daniel 24
Bush, E. B. 24
Coonrod, Rowell 24
Crouche, Matthew A. 24
Cutts, Elisha 24
Gammon, John W. 24
Gilbert, Thomas 24
Larimore, Thomas H. 24
Rhodes, William 24
Robinson, John I. 24
Simpson, Benjamin 24
Sullivan, James 24
Wood, Wright 24
Cadle, William 25
Fields, John C. 25
Finley, Lewis 25
Hofheimer, Samuel 25
Kilbee, John C. 25
Lambert, Jasper 25
Neel, Lafayette 25
Owens, William E. 25
Patterson, Joseph J. 25
Rivers, Richard 25
Sims, Jasper 25
Vickery, Joseph S. 25
Bissell, Calvin 26
Compton, William W. 26
Dickerson, Samuel 26
Hall, James C. 26
McSwain, Daniel. E. 26
Perryman, A. 26
Plair, J. M. 26
Stanley, John 26
Ward, John W. 26
Webb, Manning A. 26
Corbett, Nicholas 27
Griffith, Joseph H. 27
King, John D. 27
Raburn, John L. 27
Riles, J. M. 27
Turner, James T. 27
Hollice, John 28
Lambeth, Allen 28
McCoy, W. C. 28
Saunders, William A. 29
Bazzell, Benjamin 30
Brock, Evan 30
Finley, Henry F. 30
Hart, Thomas 30
Maples, Thomas 30
Owens, John 30
Price, W. H. 30
Snipes, Martin J. 30
Sweringen, John L. 30
Taylor, William 30
Williams, Berry 30
Allison, William 31
Brantley, Thomas D. 31
Ernest, E. G. 31
Hendley, William J. 31
Russell, S. B. 31
Merriman, Joshua J. 32
Bullock, Robert 33
Godwin, Spartman 33
Houston, Thomas 33
Scurlock, Thomas J. 33
Bryan, William 34
Colwell, George 34
Daniel, B.M. 34
Baxter, Jacob E. 35
Cowen, James A. 35
Hall, James 35
Harrison, Edwin 35
Hartsfield, Charles N. 35
Jackson, J. W. 35
King, John D. 35
Newsom, Daniel A. 35
Sims, Isaac 35
Stephens, Benjamin 35
Bazzell, James A. 36
Boatwright, Isaac 36
Dozier, E. M. 36
Elmore, John W. 36
Faulk, George 36
Gainer, William 36
Hurst, Franklin 36
McDaniel, Henry 36
Hughes, William H. 37
Pender, James W. 37
Smith, John 37
Watson, Nathan S. 39
Brooks, William 40
Brown, Rufus 40
Buchanan, Henry 40
Carlisle, Wilson 40
Cobb, Columbus C. 40
Cook, Thomas F. 40
Dade William 40
Farley, William A. 40
Land, Thomas J. 40
Sullivan, James 40
Dillard, Joseph 42
Gilbert, Alexander 42
Allen, Isaac 44
Cox, Allen J. 44
Harvey, William B. 44
Moree, Moses 44
Whitesides, John 44
Belcher, Arvin 45
Bird, Archibald 45
Brown, James 45
Devaughn, George 45
Powers, William 45
Spence, William 45
Williams, John 45
Middleton, Stevens 46
Wilcox, J. A. J. 46
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
How Many Jackson County Men Died in the Civil War? The Answer (sort of) Below
How many Jackson County men served in the Civil War? How many died in service of the Confederacy or, for a few, in service of the Union? These are great questions and the wealth of Jackson County data available makes the answers approachable, although ultimately impossible to firmly ascertain.
Who served? A lot of men and boys volunteered at the war’s outset. At first the age ranges were relatively narrow as confirmed by the CSA’s first conscription act in 4/1862 which, in addition to extending the enlistments of all twelve month volunteers to 3 years, required all white males between 18 and 35 to enlist. A second act in 10/62 extended the age limit to 45 and a third act in 2/64 drew in all men from 17 to 50 (17s and over 45s serving in reserve corps). A number of categories of exemptions applied, including planters who owned twenty or more slaves: at least 33 Jackson Co. men fell under this exemption, but most of these served, at least in home guard units. We'll look at the actual service numbers at later date.
For purposes of these preliminary numbers, we’ll use a few assumptions. First regarding age: the 1860 census gives ages for that summer. Examination of previous and subsequent census numbers shows that a lot of these ages are estimates, but presumably with more than a thousand names, this problem should average out (any statisticians object?). A boy of 17 in the spring of 1864 would likely have been 13 in 1860. Men of 50 in the spring of 1864 would have been 46 in the 1860 Census. There are many outliers: children as young as 9 in the 1860 census are credited as serving in Home Guard units (hello Frank Baltzell!) as well as some men in their 60s and 70s, up to the oldest war death of Francis Allen (about 75 when killed at Marianna), but there are exceptions.
Here is the basic number: there are about 1365 white males in the 1860 census within the draftable age range. About 240 can be reasonably confirmed as dying as a direct consequence of military service or the war from 1861 through mid-1865. The ultimate fate of 254 is unknown. The remaining 871 are documented in some form or another as surviving the war, whether for a few months or decades. Therefore, for the broadest age range (13 to 46 year olds in the 1860 census): 63% survived the War, 17.58% perished and 18.6% are unknown. If we restrict the numbers just to those whose fates are known, the death rate rises to 21.6%.
Looking at the unknowns, we have service information for about 75. For purposes of discussion, we’ll assume that the reason that half these men are unknown is that they were killed and missing in action. This assumption will place the death stat at exactly 20%.
But, you say, these numbers are misleading. True, only about 1/3 of 13 year olds have service records, even for home guard units. Two-thirds of 1860 fourteens, on other hand, served. So we’ll put aside the 80 thirteen year olds including 4 deaths and 19 knowns. And on the upper range, if we scan down to find an age cohort where we know that more than 50% served in units, we have to go down to age 42. Cutting off this top range excludes another 80 including 9 deaths and 16 unknowns. The symmetry of 80 is a coincidence.
So, removing the 13s and the 43 -46ers:
1205 males 14 through 42: 227 deaths (18.84%); 219 unknown (18.17%), leaving 63% surviving the war. Putting aside the unknowns, the death rate is 23%. Playing the 50% game from above for unknowns who served, we are again left with about a 20% death rate of males within the conscription age range. It is crucial to emphasize this last point because these death rates do not deal with the actual numbers who served. Those death rates will be much higher. But a simplistic, preliminary examination indicates that Jackson County was certainly within the Confederacy’s average range (perhaps on the lower end of average) for war death rates.
Next steps include looking at the rates of death for actual service. It would also be interesting to explore the “rich man’s war, poor man’s fight” theory by examining service and death rates by wealth and slave ownership (Joseph Glathaar’s research on Lee’s army shows this to be a myth: the wealthy were more motivated and served and died at higher rates). We can also look closer at the 240 dead and break those numbers down as far as KIAs, deaths from diseases, eastern and western theaters, etc.
Notes:
These numbers do not in any way address the wounded and maimed. We know from pension records, for example, that there were many amputees. Certainly hundreds of men suffered from physical impairment and what is known today as PTSD.
A subject not addressed, but might be the most elusive research topic is the service, in whatever form it may have taken, of Jackson County’s African Americans in the Confederate armies.
There’s obviously a lot more work that can be done with this data (as well as more data to retrieve and verify) that I don’t have much time for. Any volunteers?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Catawba Tribe
Here's a link to "Patriot Chiefs and Loyal Braves" by Mr. Steven Pony Hill. It's a fascinating history of the Catawba Indians of the Apalachicola Valley, with emphasis on Jackson and Calhoun counties. (I had no idea that most "mulattos" listed in the 1860 Jackson County census were Catawbas). The section on navigating the color line in the late 19th and early 20th century is especially poignant. It's all worth a read:
http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/NativeAmericans.html
http://sciway3.net/clark/freemoors/NativeAmericans.html
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Confederate Monument and Cemetery ....in Westchester County, NY!
The monument was erected in 1897 and reads on one side: "Sacred to the Memory of the Heroic Dead of the Confederate Veterans Camp of New York." Supposedly, this is the only such monument and dedicated cemetery section north of the Mason-Dixon line, excluding, I suppose the prison camp cemeteries.
I plan to research and perhaps write about the story behind this monument, its dedication (that drew some opposition, but not much), the individuals buried around it and its preservation.
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