Dan and Bettie's Confederate Pension Applications

My paternal great-grand aunt, daughter of Ben Abshier and Carmelite Boulet, was born in Chambers County, Texas in 1847. My Wiser cousins may know her as an older sister to our Sylvina Abshier Wiser.  

Known as "Bettie," Elizabeth married Daniel Ainsworth July 3, 1865. 

Dan had only recently returned home from the Civil War when the couple married. In 1862 the 25 year old Dan had enlisted in the Confederate States Army in Liberty County, Texas. He served four years as a private with Company F, 2d Battalion Waul's Legion, Texas Infantry. He reportedly saw several battles. 

He was injured from a bomb sometime between May and July of 1863 during the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Read about it in his 1899 application for military pension:

[Four pages above]


Dan died in Anahuac, Texas in November of 1904. His widow, Elizabeth (Abshier) Ainsworth, applied for her husband's pension in 1905:

[Six pages in the above gallery]

Bettie Ainsworth was approved for a pension. See what amount she received each year until her death in 1912. That is an annual payment--not monthly. 

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/pensions/amounts.html


By the way, it was 158 years ago tomorrow that Daniel Ainsworth entlisted in the Texas Infantry. I wonder what stories he might have told about the War. 

Source:  Texas State Library and Archives Commission and Alabama Department of Archives and History, Ancestry.com. Alabama, Texas and Virginia, Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Another Teenager In America's Horrific War

          Nineteen year old Josephus Shelburn Paxton enlisted in the Confederate Army on the 10th of February 1863. He fought with Company K, 22d Regiment of the Virginia Infantry as evidenced by his military record. He no doubt fought against his distant cousins, as so many in his family did. See nine pages in the gallery below Cephas' photo.

          Cephas mustered out on April 25, 1864 at Camp Gauley, West Virginia, and returned home safely to his parents, Abner John & Hester Paxton. He later married Sarah Jane Slack, and raised nine (known) children. 

          My cousins need not fear we have yet another "rebel" among our many ancestors who fought on the losing side. Not at all. Dear Cephas is my husband's 3xGreat-Uncle. Can't you tell by the photo? 

--  Mr. Paxton's military papers were found on the wonderful Fold3 website.

One Confederate Veteran's Application for Pension

          Burgess Gambill was 86 when he applied for a military pension for his service in the Confederate Army. He had fallen on hard times when he made his request in May of 1932.  Indigent veterans could seek compensation. The process wasn't quick. If successful, they received a few dollars a month. I've seen applications of widows receiving as much as $12 and as little as $4 a month. 

          Pension records make for fascinating reading for family historians. Details are recorded that might not otherwise be known for these old soldiers born in a time without birth certificates. 

          Born 6 Jan 1848 in North Carolina, Gambill  wrote that he was 16 when he enlisted in 1864 at Ashe County. But Gambill does not recall the name of the company or regiment. Captain Henry Williams is one officer's name he gives, adding that he  "...served as a Home guard one year from 1864 to 1865. After Lee surrendered, all who served with me are dead and I am not able to furnish witnesses."  

          Asked what special service he might have provided, he wrote:  "Detailed to take prisoners to [the]  execution guard."   What, he led Yankees to their death? Where are my smelling salts!


          Ahh, oh. The authorities required proof. He doesn't know what outfit he served with, and can't produce supporting affidavits from a fellow soldier. 


          Victory at sea! 

          Notice the dates on these papers. Months grew to years, in this waiting game. And widows seeking pension had to provide marriage certificates or affidavits from someone who had witnessed their marriage.  Burgess Gambill died on 28 Dec 1940 in Shamrock, Oklahoma at age 92. 


NOTE TO MY PATERNAL COUSINS:  We are not related to Mr. Gambill (except distantly via marriage). But the brother mentioned on one of these images above later became Pryor, Oklahoma's first postmaster: James Martin Gambill. The "Katy" Railroad (MK&T) was built near his property, and the town of Pryor grew around his early post office/home. That same Jim Gambill married Jane McCausland--twin to Margaret ("Mags"), who was married to Henry Wilson Ackley. Henry was the son of Sam Ackley who operated a ferry on the Arkansas River. Sam had brought his large family from Pennsylvania to Chouteau, Cherokee Nation in 1878. Henry's sister, our Lucy Ackley, was the mother of Sam Childers, Sr.  When young Sam's dad died in 1891 near Pryor, I believe it was one of the twin sisters, Jane or Margaret, who cared for my great-grandfather after he was orphaned. Because we know nothing about the ancestry of Sam's dad, I hope to learn of his family by studying the history of those who once knew him. And who were kind to my ancestor.

Meet Miss Jane and Miss Margaret McCausland, twin sisters:






 


Was My Great-Grandfather Amiel Wiser A Confederate Soldier?

My Great-Grandfather and his twin brother Barney were born 172 years ago today--May 31, 1845 in Sachsen or Saxony in what is now Germany. His daughter wrote that he and his three brothers immigrated with their mother to Texas when he was six years old.

My other relatives born around 1845 nearly all served in America's Civil War, as did yours. But I hadn't found proof or any hint of Amiel and Barney having joined the Confederacy. No such memory or story has been passed down to their many descendants.  

This past Memorial Day weekend I again ran my ancestors' names through Fold3's military databases. What a happy surprise to find mention of a Wiser from Chambers County, Texas:


Amiel and Barney's mother Hannah had married Sam Leeper in April of 1853 at Galveston, Texas. Sam became the guardian of her four young sons before his death nearly two years later. Because he had received hundreds of acres of Texas land for his service in the Battles of Bexar and San Jacinto, this land passed to his wife. "Honey Leiper" or "Hanna Leaper" are some of the many misspelled names for Hannah Leeper found on land records in state archives at Austin. 

The image above was the only page or reference in that database to Barnard Wiser, Texas soldier.

Source:  Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65, NARA (National Archives), Publication No. M346, also known as the Citizens File - original records pertaining to goods furnished or services rendered to the Confederate government by private individuals or business firms.

But wait! Fold3.com has a second database with mention of my Wisers. Because military documents were often folded in thirds (hence the name Fold3) this first image shows the soldier's name as the title to the folder:


The second page is dated February 13, 1865, and is addressed to Captain J.W. or J. M. Lacone, C.O. (commanding officer) of Chambers County, Texas, and stamped by the Record Division of the War Department: Rebel Archives. 

See the two names in the upper left? Barney and his twin, "Amel Wiser." Why their names are written phonetically, I can only imagine. Bad handwriting led to confusion by another clerk who wrote what he thought he saw on paper? Were my ancestors illiterate and therefore clerks guessed at spelling? 

FEBRUARY 13TH, 1865:  Amiel is my great-grandpa, and I'm thrilled to see his name on paper from 1865 (even if he did serve in Texas with a loser army). Click on the image to enlarge it. Click again to return to this page:




Wait for it: In this next document, Hannah gave permission for her boys to join the Confederacy. 


And now my research goes out the window because Hannah gave a different birth year than what I had for the twin brothers. Not 1845--but 1850. 

This makes no sense to me. Census records indicate the Wiser boys were born in Germany. The brothers all have the last name of Wiser. To my knowledge, none used Sam Leeper's surname. Immigration records would have their ages, but no such papers have yet been found. Don't you too love a mystery!


Hard to read? Here's my transcription: 

The State of Texas   )

Chambers County    )

          Before me James Jackson Chief Justice of said County this day personally appeared Hanor Leiper to me well known, who being duly sworn by me deposed and said that that Barnard and Amel Wiser my sons and that said Barnard and Amel were both (twins) born in the Spring of the year; in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty.

          In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and affixed the seal of the County Court of Chambers County this 13th day of February A.D. 1865

          James Jackson Chief Justice C.C.


Source:  Unfiled Papers and Slips Belonging in Confederate Compiled Service Records, NARA, Publication No. M347, Papers of and Relating to Military and Civilian Personnel, compiled 1874-1899, documenting the period 1861-1865.


My only source for the twin brothers' birth date is Amiel's tombstone, which reads:

                    Amie Wiser 
                    Born  May 31, 1845 
                    Died  Oct 28, 1895 
                    Blessed are they that die in thee LORD 


The 1860 Federal Census (see copy in link attached) indicates the twins were 15 years old, born in 1845. See the actual census page linked here. On lines 39 and 40--at the bottom of the page, you will see Hannah Leeper and eldest son, Louis Wiser. Click the arrow next to "Image" to go to the next page, Image No. 4, to see Amiel (here as "Lemuel") and brother "Barny" on lines 1 and 2.

                   https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-MJ8


Their half-brother, Sam Leeper, appears on line 3. Little Sam never knew his father. Sixty-year-old Samuel Leeper died April 1, 1855--nearly nine months before Sam, Jr.'s birth on Christmas Day, 1855.

-- This post will be amended as more data is found. I wanted to celebrate their birthdays and post it today. I welcome your comments below. 

I am grateful that my great-granddad's mom Hannah feared losing her twin boys in battle, and therefore lied about their ages. Can you think of any other reason why a German immigrant would give false data to a Texas judge?









Jesse and Samuel Coffee -- Brothers Who Served

I found a beautiful document on Ancestry.com/'s database: U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865. Beautiful in that it is crystal clear. A nice scan of a 150+ year old record. I do not know when it was prepared, or from how many transcriptions it was gathered. But I am happy to see a clear military record of two of my second great-grand uncles. Meet Sam Coffee and Jesse Coffee, on lines 9 and 10 of these two pages:


Jesse Coffee served with the 2nd Regiment, Missouri Infantry, Confederate States Army. Also called Burbridge's Infantry Regiment. He discharged as a sergeant. I'm glad to learn he made it out alive, and could return to his property in Morgan County, Missouri:  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~momorgan/patents/42-17/26.html

Samuel Coffee enlisted January 21, 1862 at Camp Price, saw battle at Elk Horn, Arkansas. Left sick at Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas. Months ago I posted many images from his war record, as he too fought with the 2nd Missouri Infantry. See the sixth person in my earlier post: http://treepig.posthaven.com/a-few-csa-records

Sam Coffee also saw battle at:

          Oct. 4, 1862 at Corinth, Mississippi;  http://www.corinthcivilwar.com/history.htm
          Oct. 8, 1862 at Perryville, Kentucky; http://www.perryvillebattlefield.org/
          June 18, 1864 (no place listed), and
          Nov. 30, 1864 at Franklin, Tennessee. http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/franklin/maps/franklin-animated-map/

While his record doesn't mention the location of the June 1864 skirmish, there are several from which to choose in this list of Civil War battles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Civil_War_battles 

On a side note, my husband's cousin, Chuck Eades, a former Williamson County Commissioner living near Nashville, was one of several who championed the preservation of the Tennessee battlefield where Sam once fought in 1864. A local newspaper's headline in 2001 reads: "Battle rages over library's relocation." Mr. Eades is quoted: "We don't need any new construction on any battlefield. There has been too much blood shed there." The dispute continued for months. Several articles collected at this site are prefaced by: "Find out where the real Second Battle of Franklin will soon be fought."  http://americancivilwar.50megs.com/CWPres03.html

Do you have family from Missouri who fought in the Civil War?  https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1932374  Or from another state? https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/United_States_Civil_War,_1861_to_1865

Jesse and Samuel were the eldest sons of Rolly and Alea Coffee from Montgomery County, Kentucky. Some time after 1854 the Coffees and their ten children moved to Morgan County, Missouri. While Jesse appears to have married and stayed in the area, Sam and wife, Harriet, moved to Texas after 1870. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad (known as the "Katy") soon made travel easier between Missouri and northern Texas, as several of their "kin" also moved south. For example, my great-granddad John Coffee was born in Sherman, Texas in 1875, but raised in Missouri. He later returned to the Texas/Oklahoma border. Cousins went south, and then returned to Missouri to live "a spell." The railroad was a certainly a boon to migration.

Jesse's tombstone indicates he died in 1899 at age 65. He's buried in Versailles, Missouri. I have yet to locate Samuel's burial place or a death date, His widow Harriet remarried shortly before the 1880 Federal Census shows her living with Mr. George Small in Grayson County, Texas with several of her seven children fathered by Sam:  James R. Coffee, Joseph M. Coffee, Thomas Jefferson Coffee, Matilda Ann Coffee, Mary Coffee, Nettie Jane Coffee, and Samuel P. Coffee.  Some of these children later moved over the border into Indian Territory, and made their homes.

I know a fair bit about these Coffees from the many records left in Marshall and Bryan counties of southern Oklahoma. I hope their descendants see this blog and contact me. Perhaps a distant cousin who is also a family history buff and has shared DNA with one of the top three genetic-genealogy services? Hope so. Our Coffees immigrated from Ireland in the mid-1700s. Would love to know from which county, and hope to find a distant cousin who knows more about these Coffees. 

_______
SOURCE: Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.  Original data:  Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registrations, 1863-1865. NM-65, entry 172, 620 volumes. NAI: 4213514. Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War), Record Group 110. National Archives at Washington D.C.

Old Soldiers At The Brady Theater 1918

      I work in the Brady District in downtown Tulsa, and am fascinated by its history. Steve Warren shared a short clip to Youtube prepared by Tulsa's Historical Society of a meeting of Confederates at what is today known as the Brady Theater, adding: "The national reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was held in Tulsa in September of 1918."

      Among those veterans, I recognize several names of Tulsa's white pioneers. (Many Creek Nation cattlemen and their families had lived for decades in this area that was later "discovered" by white businessmen and lawyers) This reunion must have helped push the new city into prominence. Discovery of oil had already given Tulsa its first boost.

      Tate Brady's Theater is just a few blocks west of the site of one of our nation's worst race riots. Oklahoma's "Black Wall Street" and hundreds of homes were demolished by fire brought by white rioters just three years after this 1918 reunion. 

 

      New to Tulsa's sordid history? My old friend Lee Roy Chapman best describes events leading up to our city's most shameful occasion:  http://thislandpress.com/2012/04/18/tate-brady-battle-greenwood/ 


      

For Diane - Records of Two Confederate Ancestors

                Just pulled military records from Fold3.com  regarding your 2xG-Grandfather, William Welcome Wilhelm, and his brother, Archey. Arch's birth name was very likely John Archibald Wilhelm. One doc pictured below shows "Archible," for goodness' sake. Both the 1850 and 1860 censuses indicate a birth year of 1845--which made him 17 when he enlisted at Horse Head, Arkansas. Google the locations mentioned to learn the many places their unit walked and fought. Where Welcome fought, that is. I'm not sure Arch made it out of state. I've found no record of when Archey died or where he is buried. He had allegedly become seriously ill and was released from service. Sent home, he never recovered. As you know, more Civil War soldiers died from sickness than from injury in battle. Below are Archey's records. Click on the four images within each gallery:

          Here are 18 images from Welcome Wilhelm's military records. Sadly, I am inept at getting these pictures to appear consecutively--starting with the first page. My apologies. Please click and scroll over to the right and begin reading the LAST pic. As a reminder, Welk Wilhelm was born September 14, 1843 in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Shortly before 1850, his parents migrated to northwest Arkansas. He was 18 years old when he enlisted September 26, 1861 at Camp Jackson in Arkansas. Welk survived the War and married Mary Cowan in Florence, Texas in 1866. Together they had eight children before Welcome left his family in 1882 for parts unknown. (UPDATE: As of August 2017, I've changed the year 1883 to 1882 as to when Welk fled for parts unknown. Why? Because a newspaper article said so.)  Some say he left after killing another man in self defense. I call it abandoning your family. 

          It was in the late 1990s that I first found info on our Wilhelm ancestors' service with Company C, 15th Northwest Arkansas Infantry. I am grateful to the late Edward G. Gerdes for sharing his research:  http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/15infcoc.html

          The National Park Service has a brief summary of this unit's service:

 https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CAR0015RI04

__________

Researchers Beatrice Willhelm Steeves (1907-1995) and Ola Irene Johnson (1914-1988) also have 1845 as Archey Wilhelm's birth year, along with 1843 for Welcome. 

From the Dec. 7, 1906 Liberty Vindicator, Liberty, Texas, p.2

Our Wiser family alive in 1906 and living in Liberty or Chambers County Texas might have read this in the local newspaper. 


The "boys of '61."  Now there's a phrase I've not heard before. Was it a common refrain?

UPDATE:  YES, apparently it was! I just googled it. The free book site, Gutenberg, even has copies available of author Charles Carleton Coffin's book by that same name/phrase. Evidently Mr. Coffin was an embedded reporter with the Union Army.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34843 


This link shows the book The Boys of '61 online:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34843/34843-h/34843-h.htm