Journeying with Jacque

Bridging Skeleton Trees and History

In the late 1800’s, genealogists focused on building “skeleton trees” which consist of the “bare bones” of people’s lives including their names and the dates of births, marriages, and deaths. Today most genealogists focus on building family narratives and telling the “whole story.” The foundation of chronicling this family identity is accuracy, authenticity, and comprehensiveness of the information.

Washington Clark was my 3rd great grandfather on my father’s side.  A genealogist in the 1800’s would proclaim that Washington Clark was born in 1828 in Lee County, Virginia, died in Chicago, Illinois on September 14, 1864 and was buried on September 15. He married Lavina C. Burchett on January 28, 1847. Lavina  was born in 1828 in Virginia and died in 1900. Washington and Lavina had five children: Samuel Clark, Droucilla Clark, William Franklin Clark (my 2nd great grandfather), Henry David Clark, and Mary A. Clark.

An historian in the late 1800’s would focus on the Civil War as the major historical event that occurred during Washington Clark’s life. The historian might summarize,  “The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and much of the South left in ruin.” https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history

A  genealogist today might bridge the information from the earlier genealogist and the historian and hopefully bring life to great-great-great grandfather Washington:

Washington Clark was born in 1828 in Lee County, Virginia to Robert Clark II and Rebecca Harris Clark. He married Lavina C. Burchett on January 28, 1847. Lavina was born on April 22, 1828 and died March 2, 1900. Lavina was a devout Christian and her Baptist church was very meaningful in her life. Washington and Lavina had five children.

Washington was a farmer and supported the confederacy.

He enlisted in the Confederate Army on February 1, 1863 at Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia. He was in the 64th Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry. On September 9, 1863, Washington and his regiment were guarding Cumberland Gap. Morale was low; the Union had just won major battles in Vicksburg and Gettysburg. The Confederate soldiers were also struggling because they had little combat experience and were greatly outnumbered by the Union. Feeling defeated, Brigadier General Frazier agreed to an unconditional surrender.

As part of the surrender, Washington Clark was captured at Cumberland Gap. Then on September 24, 1863, he was transferred from Louisville, Kentucky to Camp Douglas, Illinois.

Camp Douglas is often described as “the North’s Andersonville” and was one of the largest Union Army prisoner-of-war camps for Confederate soldiers taken prisoner during the American Civil War.  According to http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/207.html,  “Like all Civil War prisons, Camp Douglas had a high mortality rate: one prisoner in seven died in Chicago. Poor sanitation, hastily constructed buildings, and harsh weather conditions were to blame. By the end of the war more than 4,000 rebels had died in the camp.”

Washington Clark died on September 14, 1864 of inflammation of the lungs while still a POW.

Family Ties to the American Revolutionary War

Military service has been the foundation of our country. The United States has a distinct personality with a set of evolving values. The American Revolutionary War gave us a hard fought independence. Americans tend to be generous in heart and spirit. It’s in our nature to strive for excellency. We have the mindset that we can achieve anything.  For this week’s theme on the military, I am exploring family ties to the American Revolutionary War.

Joseph Hanslap Watkins (1788 – 1870) and Margaret McElroy (1793 – 1878) were married on November 18, 1814. (Joseph and Margaret had a son, Samuel; Samuel and Susannah had a son, John Calvin; John and Lavina had a son, Donald; Donald and Fanny had a son, Billy Dean who was my father.) Joseph and Margaret’s fathers both enlisted in the American Revolutionary War.

Joseph’s father was Stephen Watkins (1763 – 1839). Stephen enlisted as a private in Captain Jonathan Sellman’s Company, Colonels Smith’s and Hall’s 4th Maryland Regiment in May, 1776 in Anne Arundel, Maryland. He fought in the Revolutionary War battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Monmouth. He was discharged at West Point on May 20, 1780.

According to https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Order_of_battle_of_the_Battle_of_Long_Island, “the Battle of Long Island (sometimes called the Battle of Brooklyn) was a decisive British victory early in the American Revolutionary War over American forces under the command of Major General George Washington, and was the opening battle in a successful British campaign to gain control of New York City in 1776.”

Margaret’s father, Thomas McElroy, was born in Drummore, County Down, Ireland in 1751. He immigrated to America in 1773 and settled in Drumore, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. (According to https://www.littlebritain.org/a-history, “the majority of townships in Lancaster had been given names reflective of the original roots of their citizens, such as Caernarvon (Welsh), Conestoga (Native American), Sadsbury (English) & Drumore (Irish).  Most landowners in this newly formed township of Little Britain were of Scots-Irish descent.”   Thomas enlisted in the American Revolutionary Army in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1776.

Thomas served as a wagoner or wagon driver. The American colonies at the beginning of the Revolutionary War were mostly rural. Much of the land consisted of forests, marshes, and swamps. The terrain was extremely rugged. Existing roads were inadequate. Travel was slow. “It took Washington ten days to travel from Philadelphia to Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army.”  http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/p/2005/CMH_2/www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/revwar/risch/chpt-3.htm  Because of these issues it became policy to hire wagons and drivers to provide transportation for the troops and supplies. Sometimes local people were hired for this duty while at other times, soldiers were given this responsibility.

After the war, Stephen’s 3rd wife, Sarah, applied and received his Revolutionary War pension. Thomas, however, applied for his Revolutionary War pension but was denied. His pension was rejected because he was a wagoner which was not considered military service.

(One of my goals as I continue my research is to explore membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. It has been challenging to obtain primary source documentation on various ancestors. Some researchers confuse Stephen Watkins with his father and add information indiscriminately without ensuring that the right Stephen is involved. Stephen Watkins II also has a nephew named Stephen Watkins. Additionally, there are many, many men named Stephen Watkins who are not related to our branch. Then there is the spelling of Hanslap, Hanslep, Hanslip, Hanstep, or Hanslape. Add to that Frances (female) or Francis (male) Warman or Warmen or even Norman who are on two sides of the family. And the challenge continues…)

“Libraries of Marble”

“The term cemetery comes from the Greek, and means, literally sleeping place.”  (http://www.colorado-cemeteries.com/cemetery-traditions.html) For some, cemeteries are sacred places. For others, they may be a peaceful place to meditate and reflect, while for many they are a good source for information which is why they may be referred to as “libraries of marble” in the genealogy world. Growing up, my immediate family did not have any tradition for visiting cemeteries. However, when we moved to Bartlesville when I was 11, this was a very important practice for my grandmother, Alta May Watkins. She took us to the cemetery with her on holidays to remember her family members and ancestors. It was always a very solemn occasion.

When I was in high school, one of best friends lived near a very old cemetery. We would occasionally walk through the cemetery and examine the gravestones. I found it fascinating. Later, I took a writing class at Coffeyville Community College and one of our assignments was to go to a cemetery and select a gravestone. We were instructed to use whatever information we could find on that gravestone and create a story about that person. This is one of those assignments that I always remembered.

Next week, one of the people I will be focusing on is Thomas McElroy. It was quite a find to discover the gravestones of Thomas and his wife Elizabeth O’Rea McElroy.