Surprises in the family tree

by Maverick 13 Replies latest social family

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  Maverick

  I was always lead to believe my family came to America from Canada in 1926. Both my mothers and my fathers families are of French decent. It turns out only my mothers side came from there. My father, who I only know casually, (parents were divorced when I was three and Mom remarried when I was five), sent me a history of his side of the family.

  Turns out his side has been here since at least 1775, (New England)!

  Included in the papers was a War Department Declaration of Dad's Great grandfathers brother. His name was Oscar. Oscar was 21 when he was killed in action by a minny ball, May 15th, 1864 at Drewry's Bluff Va. This was reported by his boyhood friend and neighbor Joseph. Who along with another friend Napolis were detailed to help bury Oscar.They all served under a Capt. Walter Benedict during the Civil War.

  All of this came as a bit of a shock to me. I had no idea of any of this. It is kind of sad in a way to suddenly find out things like this about your families past!

  I just thought I would share this! I am not sure how to feel about all the stuff I read. Anyone have a similar experiance? Maverick
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  Double Edge

  I think your discovery is exciting ... your ancestry is coming to "life". There are numerous websites where you can trace your family tree. I think it is very interesting that you have the detailed information that you do have regarding your ancestor's death during the civil war... someone must have had a journal. Here is one of the larger websites: www.Ancestry.com

  Here's some info regarding the battle where your ancestor died:

  Drewry?s Bluff Other Names: Fort Darling, Fort Drewry
  Location: Chesterfield County
  Campaign: Peninsula Campaign (March-September 1862)
  Date(s): May 15, 1862
  Principal Commanders: Cdr. John Rodgers [US]; Cdr. E. Farrand, Brig. Gen. William Mahone, Capt. S. S. Lee, and Lt. John Taylor Wood [CS]
  Forces Engaged: 5 gunboats [US]; battery garrison [CS] Estimated Casualties: 41 total
  Description: With the fall of Yorktown, the Confederate ironclad Virginia at Norfolk was scuttled to prevent her capture. This opened the James River to Federal gunboats. On May 15, five gunboats, including the ironclads Monitor and Galena, steamed up the James to test the Richmond defenses. They encountered submerged obstacles and deadly accurate fire from the batteries at Drewry?s Bluff, which inflicted severe damage on the Galena. The Federal Navy was turned back.
  Result(s): Confederate victory
• 

  asleif_dufansdottir

  All of this came as a bit of a shock to me. I had no idea of any of this. It is kind of sad in a way to suddenly find out things like this about your families past!

  I know just what you mean. My family never talked much about our 'ancestors'...great-great grandma was about as far back as the stories went, and they never gave any indication that we'd been anything but dirt-poor farmers who came over with the faceless mass of immigrants sometime in the 19th century...no "family history" like some people had.

  Imagine my surprise to get ahold of documents from people who were doing geneologies on both my paternal and maternal families, to find out that on one side, "Capt. James Farley" came to the U.S. with his wife and son in 1625 (1625?!? You've gotta be kidding me!), and on the other, an ancestor named "Barefoot Benson" had been a scout and minor hero (good for a mention in some history text) of the Revolutionary War. Coulda knocked me over with a feather. Kind of sad, though, that we had all this history that we didn't know anything about. Part of me still doesn't believe it. (The other, naughtier part of me enjoys referring to my husband, whose great-great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Germany and Switzerland, as a wetback )
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  Maverick

  Thanks for the replies. I looked at the copies of the documents and they say May 15th, 1864. The information printed on the battle said May 15th, 1862. The document I have is dated Dec. 16th, 1879 from the Adjutant General's Office. Oscur was enrolled at Plattsburgh, March 18th, 1864 in the 96'd regiment of New York Volunteers. Some of the writing is hard to read. But two different documents have him killed May 15th, 1864. Maverick
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  Double Edge

  Apparantly there were two battles. Here's info on the second one, the one I believe where OSCAR lost his life:

  Proctor's Creek
  Drewry's Bluff, Fort Darling Virginia

  American Civil War
  May 12-16, 1864

  After his repulse at Swift Creek and Fort Clifton on May 9, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler withdrew into his entrenchments at Bermuda Hundred. A Confederate army of 18,000 was patched together under command of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard to confront Butler's 30,000. On May 12, Butler moved north against the Confederate line at Drewry's Bluff but again adopted a defensive posture when his attack was not supported by gunboats. On the 13th a Union column struck the right flank of the Confederate line at the Wooldridge House, carrying a line of works. Butler remained cautious, however, giving Beauregard time to concentrate his forces. On May 16 at dawn, Ransom's Confederate division opened an attack on Butler's right flank, routing many units. Subsequent attacks lost direction in the fog, but the Federals were disorganized and demoralized. After severe fighting, Butler extricated himself from battle, withdrawing again to his Bermuda Hundred Line. This battle stopped Butler's offensive against Richmond. Result(s): Confederate victory Location: Chesterfield County Campaign: Bermuda Hundred Campaign (May-June 1864) Date(s): May 12-16, 1864 Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler [US]; Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard [CS] Forces Engaged: 48,000 total (US 30,000; CS 18,000) Estimated Casualties: 6,660 total
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  Maverick

  Thanks Double Edge! I checked the papaer I received again and they both stated the same date. But I was very busy this weekend and did not have any time to look it up! I feel much better about this. I had my doubts about the history I was getting from the family. Maverick
• 

  Sentinel

  This is the type of stuff that sometimes comes out when you decide to "find yourself". Many of us decide to do this when we get a certain age, or after we remove ourselves from a cult or dogmatic belief system. We try to find out as much as possible about ourselves, and we do this by many avenues of self-discovery. Family history is one place to begin.

  Aren't you glad that you finally learned the truth? Families do tend to sweep things away in the closet and they say they do it to "protect" offspring. We deserve to know the truths that have been hidden.

  /<
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  jgnat

  This is exciting, Maverick. Researching some of the bolder members of my family tree makes me proud that I share some of their genetic code. Perhaps I can live up to that same standard of courage. The Very First Thing I did when I got my own computer, was to research my family tree. Later I found JWD. My very favorite ancestor so far is my Uncle Christie, who fought in the Great War, but counted his near-fatal encounter with a bear to be the defining moment of his life.

  I think that bear taught my Uncle that he could survive anything.

  If you want some hints and tips where you can find more information, PM me.
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  Special K

  Hi Maverick..

  My husbands side of the family is from the U.S.A. When his father died we of course flew down to make funeral arrangements and clean out the house. There were some pictures we found and some relatives we found that we had never had contact with before.

  What moved us was a picture of my husbands Uncle who was killed in the second world war. Young fella only in his late teens or so. Never married, no children.....Life over..before new life began.

  What moved us was the vivid striking resemblance of our oldest son to this long lost dead Uncle. Splitting image.

  I often think that if I would have known all this I would have incorporated the name of this lost Uncle into my oldest sons name when he was born...

  This year during remembrance day services my oldest son was able to present a poppy to be pinned onto a wreath during the service at his school. He was extremely pleased to be able to do this in the name of his Great Uncle who died in WW2.

  sincerely

  Special K
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  gitasatsangha

  Well it's not quite the same, but I found out I had a real brother. I'd been told he was spiritually dead, and hadn't talked to him in years. Now he's my closest family.