Revolutionary Soldier’s Strange Pay: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “You Wouldn’t Believe It”

 

Strange Story About Shameful Combat Pay

William Weir: 1751-1787 (4^th Great-grandfather)

Family stories about Revolutionary War service abound in genealogy. But verified, proven stories are quite rare. If a researcher is fortunate, they find a few breadcrumbs that prove someone with the ancestor’s name from the right region served in the Revolution. When I reach this point in research, I usually accept their service as an unverified “fact”—I add it to the tree but note it isn’t verified. But the details from the family lore that make some stories so fascinating and evocative are nearly impossible to prove. That’s the case with this tale about David and William Weir’s service in the Revolutionary War.

According to numerous family histories, William Weir was of Scottish descent, and emigrated with his father David from Ireland. They appear to have been Covenanters, a Presbyterian sect that was persecuted in Scotland. Many Covenanters moved to the New World, and a large group settled in South Carolina near the community of Fishing Creek. That’s where William Weir started his family and acquired land.

Chester County region of South Carolina where Fishing Creek is located--1800s

According to some descendants, father David and son William served in the Revolutionary War together under General Sumter, fighting the British in South Carolina. Other descendants say that William and his oldest son David, a stripling lad of about 14, served together in the war, and young David died of wounds he received in battle.

And then there’s a truly fascinating, repulsive detail from one account: that William’s only compensation for his war service was bounty confiscated from a Loyalist’s estate. The bounty? A young black slave girl. This tale was printed in a reference book entitled Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The source is unclear.

So what parts of these stories can we prove?

First I searched Revolutionary War records on a variety of sites. The National Park Service records confirm that a David Weir served in the Continental Army in South Carolina.

A Genealogy.com thread on James Weir’s family compiled by Dorann O’Neal Lam provided some records related to David’s service, which seemed to indicate he was William’s son, not his father. She writes the following:

“David Weir, b 1770, Fishing Creek, Chester Co., SC d from wounds received in the battle at Eutaw Springs (8 Sep 1781).The story was told by Miller Weir that when David's father took a temporary leave from the war to return home to make shoes for his children, young David took his place and was wounded at Eutaw Springs and/or imprisoned at Charlotte. Although his mother Susannah obtained his release and brought him home, he died from his wounds. (See Chester Co. Gen. Bul. June 1981.) Salley's Stub Entries, "Paid to David Weir (Indexed Wier) 10 pounds sterling, for 100 days' militia duty, as per account audited.--Issued 2nd November 1784, No. 470.* Bk L, by A. S. Salley, Jr., Secy of the Historical Commission of SC.(Source:Charlene Gillespie Deutsch)” See full Lam citation below.

I have not been able to access the Chester County Genealogy Society’s 1981 Bulletin article that she cited to get further details. I would have to go to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City to read a copy. However, I did find the “Stub Entry” she refers to. The stub records the distribution of ten pounds sterling for David’s 100 days of service. The full citation is below.

In addition, a website that details South Carolina’s contributions to the American Revolution had listings for both David and William Weir as members of the Turkey Creek Regiment. The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) has also accepted William’s Revolutionary War service, although at least one of the applications lists David as William’s father and relies on David’s Revolutionary War service.  

I have not been able to verify veteran David Weir’s identity. I have found no birth records for a David who would have been old enough to serve in the war. And I have found no death records for William’s father David that would at least confirm that he was still alive during the Revolution. It is likely that war veteran David Weir is related to William Weir, but I can’t determine whether this David is William’s father or son. Miller Weir’s tale about David’s injury, release from service, and death are persuasive, but they can’t be proven.

The final part of this story, the claim that William Weir received no compensation for his Revolutionary War service except for a female slave child, is the most shocking and hard to prove part. I was raised to see the Revolution as a noble undertaking, untainted by the stain of slavery. This was something I found hard to believe. But I searched for evidence nonetheless.

I could find no “Stub Entry” for William, so he doesn’t seem to have received any cash remuneration for his service. I found it hard to believe soldiers would receive slaves in lieu of pay. But when I did a Google search on the topic, I was stunned to find there might actually be some truth to the story. An online reference book called the South Carolina Encyclopedia had an entry on African Americans in the Revolutionary War which included the following passage:

“However, South Carolina slaves were used as bounty to raise white recruits. In 1781 General Thomas Sumter offered one slave to each white citizen who joined as a private soldier for ten months and as many as three grown and one small slave to those who joined as colonels. Sumter did not have these slaves at the time he made this promise. He was banking on slaves he hoped would be seized from Loyalists during future campaigns. General Andrew Pickens also adopted this recruiting incentive, which became known as “Sumter’s law,” but Francis Marion rejected it, stating that it was ‘inhuman.’”

Sumter was named in the family story as William Weir’s commanding officer and William’s service record shows he served in 1781, so this horrible transaction may have actually taken place!

General Sumter

My experiences trying to verify these old family stories illustrate the continuing need for historical research and dissemination of historical facts. Americans should all know just how entwined slavery was in the Revolutionary War, and how pervasive the use of slaves really was during the period. We must push back against recent right-wing suppression of history with facts and records.

 

Sources:

Service records for William Weir and father David Weir in the Turkey Creek Regiment. South Carolina. The American Revolution in South. Website written and researched by J D Lewis, Little River, SC.  Carolina https://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/patriot_military_sc_privates_w.htm

DAR application for descendant of David and William Weir. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/14571291/person/230139490984/media/aad489d9-dbee-4776-9193-42b04f90bc58?_phsrc=Jng25074&_phstart=successSource

South Carolina Encyclopedia. “African Americans in the Revolutionary War, 1771782.” https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/african-americans-in-the-revolutionary-war/

Genealogy.com Surnames Forum: James Weir: Chester Co SC to Muhlenberg Co Ky. By Dorann O’Neal Lam. 6 Dec 2008. https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/weir/2501/

Stub entries to indents issued in payment of claims against South Carolina growing out of the revolution. Books B-I, K-Z / Edited by A. S. Salley, Jr. secretary of the Historical commission of South Carolina. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112037943567&seq=77

James Weir (1821-1906), by Jerry Long, Owensboro, KY 1994. Excerpt from BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, John M.Gresham Company, Chicago, Philadelphia, c1896, pp230-232[BA1] :

https://wckyhistory-genealogy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Jerry20Long20-20Weir2C20James20281821-190629.pdf

 

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Tradesman Extraordinaire: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Tradesman”

James Weir Builds a Mercantile Empire

James Weir: 1777-1845 (Third Great-Granduncle)

 

Hard work is certainly a requirement for success in business, but I believe some people have that extra something that enables them to succeed at a higher level than the average businessman. James Weir had a big helping of that something extra. He left South Carolina in the 1790s as a typical pioneer, moving to Kentucky with nothing but grit and ambition. He became one of the original pioneers of Greenville where he built a veritable mercantile empire that crossed state borders.

James Weir was the third son of William Weir and Susannah Miller Weir (fourth great-grandparents) of Fishing Creek, South Carolina. He was born in 1777, and was about ten or eleven when his father died. William’s will provided that James, along with his sisters, receive equal parts of his plantation, livestock and household furniture. James’ two older brothers, William and Samuel, were named executors of the estate.

James left South Carolina as a young man, heading west into Tennessee and eventually into Kentucky. He kept a journal during the eight months of his journey. His observations about the people, land and towns he passed through are interesting. I was surprised by how straightlaced he was, complaining and aghast at the swearing and immorality he found in Knoxville, for example. He supported himself along the way as a schoolmaster.

Weir originally arrived in Kentucky in 1798 as a surveyor, and eventually decided to settle in Greenville. When he first passed through the Greenville area, he noted in his journal that “Green River is navigable all seasons of the year for large boats, which may pass to and from Illinois and from thence to the Atlantic Ocean. It is thought that it will be a place of great trade in time to come.” He helped his prediction come to fruition.

Jarrels Creek area in modern times

Weir started a mercantile in Greenville in 1799, and received a land grant of 352 acres along the Jarrels Creek in 1802, which he probably used for farming. Slaves contributed to Weir’s wealth. The 1810 census shows he had seven slaves, and by 1820 he had eleven enslaved people in his household. However, by 1830 he had only two female slaves and a free “colored” male in his household—probably the man mentioned in a history of the county as his “body servant Titus”. Selling off his slaves probably reflected the shift in his business focus from farming to his mercantile and trading business, which required little slave labor.  

Rothert county history, cited below, examined a ledger owned by James’ great-grandson Harry Weir that recorded the transactions at Weir’s Greenville store over the period from 1813-1815. From this ledger, Weir’s business practices become clear. Rothert wrote: “Much of the merchandise brought from the East by old James Weir was exchanged for wild pork, rawhides, produce and tobacco. These he shipped to New Orleans on flatboats, where he sold them for cash, with which he bought more goods in Philadelphia.” This triangular trade practice built Weir’s wealth: raw goods and produce shipped from Kentucky and Illinois to New Orleans for sale, and then the proceeds used to buy manufactured goods in Philadelphia that Weir’s customers needed or craved.

Once he purchased goods in Philadelphia, he would ship them by wagon to Pittsburgh, and then send them by boat down the Ohio River. From there the Muhlenberg County goods were put on a boat up the Green River to Lewisburg, and then sent on by wagon. James Weir must have been quite the logistician to make this multi-step shipping system work.

The trips could be hazardous. Weir’s journal entries from his 1803 trading trip down the river to the New Orleans area were reprinted in an appendix to Rothert’s History. The journal recounts how Weir was arrested at the Spanish garrison in Baton Rouge for selling hams without the proper permission from the garrison commander. He was fortunate to be released after a few days and allowed to continue south. After selling his remaining goods in New Orleans, he travelled by sea to Philiadelphia. His ship ran into a severe storm, nearly forcing everyone to abandon ship.

Weir’s original Greenville store was a log cabin located on the west side of Main Street. He next built a brick store on the east side of Main a little further north. This building became known as Weir Corner. A photo of the brick building is below.

In 1816 he built a brick home for his family south of the store. He was also involved in local banking and insurance businesses.

Weir house in background of this photo from 1800s

Over time, he expanded his mercantile business to several other towns, with stores in Lewisburg, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Morganfield, Madisonville and Russellville, Kentucky, with one additional store in Shawneetown, Illinois.

James Weir had three wives. His first wife was Anna Cowman Rumsey, whose family was a powerful one in that era. He had five children with Anna, sons Edward Rumsey Weir and James Weir, and daughters Emily, Anna and Susan Mary Weir. 

Wife Anna died in 1838, and he remarried the following year to Jane Short. Sadly, Jane also died, and James took his third wife, Ruth Beach of St. Louis, on September 29, 1844.

Eleven months later on August 9, 1845, James died at the age of 68. He left his survivors, including an unborn daughter Ruth, handsomely provided for.

James Weir was a true “tradesman”—he learned to barter goods in various far-flung parts of the United States, and he learned to make deals with all sorts of people from all walks of life. He was a true original and a consummate businessman.

 

Sources:

A History of Muhlenberg County by Otto A Rothert. “The Weirs.” Pg. 56-62. Pg. 116-121. Publisher, J.P. Morton, 1913. https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_Muhlenberg_County.html?id=e1UnTbWjk2kC

Kentucky, U.S., Land Grants, 1782-1924. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/18690:2073?tid=81812584&pid=262518455113&hid=1037937987049

Muhlenberg County KyArchives History - Books .....VI The Weirs 1913.

Findagrave entry: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71435398/james-weir?_gl=1*1r5u67g*_gcl_au*OTYwOTExNTI1LjE2ODk4MDk1ODg.*_ga*MTQ5MDkwODUzMi4xNjI2MjI0NDE0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*ZDcyNjJkZWMtYTlmMC00MmIwLWI3ZWMtOGQwMDMzMzdhZjRmLjU3OS4xLjE2OTQ1NTczMjQuNjAuMC4w*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*ZDcyNjJkZWMtYTlmMC00MmIwLWI3ZWMtOGQwMDMzMzdhZjRmLjE3LjEuMTY5NDU1NzMyNC4wLjAuMA..

Slow to Emigrate: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Slow”

 Arriving in America Late in Life: Last Sister in Scotland

Mary Ann Robertson: 1864-1947 (Great-grandaunt)

Mary Ann Robertson was the only sister of great-grandmother Jane Ann Robertson, the youngest of William Robertson and Helen Wood’s four children. Born March 21, 1864 in Dundee, Scotland, Mary Ann never married and seems to have lived with her parents in Dundee until their deaths.

However, she didn’t remain in Scotland.  According to Mary Ann’s death certificate, she died in the United States on July 13, 1947 at the age of 84 and 3 months. She apparently was living with her nephew Andrew Aird and sister Jane Robertson Aird at the family home at 2690 Wreford Avenue in Detroit till her death.

So when did she arrive in America? Her death certificate provided a surprising answer.  In response the question of “Length of Stay in this Community”, respondent Andrew Aird reported 26 years. This means Mary Ann emigrated from Scotland around 1921 when she was about 57. That seems a bit old to decide to cross an ocean and settle in Detroit. Why did she choose to emigrate so late in life?  

I searched for verification of her years in America. I found her on the 1940 census living with her sister Jane, along with Jane’s daughter Isabella and son Andrew. However she was not listed on the enumeration for Jane’s household at the time of the 1930 census. So where was she?

A census search found her living with another of Jane’s children, David Aird and his wife and child. Her occupation was listed as “Household helper” so presumably she helped David’s wife.

I searched immigration records and found Mary Ann’s arrival at Ellis Island June 26, 1920 aboard the ship Columbia. According to the arriving passenger list, Mary Ann, listed as Mary Robertson, was 54 years and 10 months of age, and was 5 feet two inches with fair skin, grey hair and grey eyes. She stated that her destination was Detroit, where her sister Jane Aird lived, and her length of stay was “permanent”. 

Curiously, she listed her occupation as “housewife” despite being a life-long spinster. I was surprised that the person she listed as the “nearest relative or friend” back in Scotland was not one of her brothers, but her cousin, Mrs. Jane Watson of 6 Taits Lane, Dundee. The other shock was that she was unable to read or write!

I was left with many questions. Since she claimed to be a “housewife”, I suspected she had cared for her parents as they aged in Dundee. Had she never attended school? Was this why she couldn’t read or write? Or did she just read and write at a very low level?

I decided to go back to Scotland records to see when Mary Ann’s parents died. Did their deaths prompt her decision to join her sister in Detroit? Sadly, neither Family Search nor Ancestry has death records or dates for either William Robertson or Helen/Ellen Wood Robertson. They both appear on the 1871 census. William is a 43 year old “fireman” and Helen is 41. They are living at 17 Ryehill Lane in St. Peter, Forfarshire. They also appear on the 1881 census; at that point William has been promoted to foundry foreman. However, they appear to have died before the 1891 census, which finds Mary Ann living with sister Jane, her husband James Aird, and their four children on Lawrence St. in Dundee. Mary Ann is employed as a factory worker.

Mary Ann is still living with sister Jane and brother-in-law James Aird at the time of the 1901 census. She is listed as working as a jute weaver. I found a second 1901 census record showing Mary Ann boarding with a family named Chalmers, still working as a jute weaver. I suspect both Marys are the same person—she must have moved out after the Aird household completed the census, and before the Chalmers household was interviewed.

I also looked at other family members. Jane and Mary Ann had two brothers, Thomas and James. At the time of the 1871 census, Thomas had already left home and was working as a baker and boarding with at 21 Millers Road with a family near his workplace. He went on to marry and raise a large family with two wives. His first wife, Jessie, died in 1881, so by the time of the 1881 census he was a widower with four children living with his parents, sister Jane and her new husband James Aird, and unmarried sister Mary Ann. Presumably the extended family was providing childcare while he continued to work as a baker. He then remarried to Margaret Smith and moved and moved to Liff and Benvie. I find no records to indicate Mary Ann ever boarded with him.

Her other brother, James Robertson, died suddenly in 1897 at age 38, so he hadn’t been able to assist her over the years. It seems like she had been on her own for many years.Jute weaving involved hard physical labor, and at its height around 1900, 40,000 to 50,000 people were employed in the jute industry in Dundee. Two thirds of those workers were women, as they commanded lower wages than men. Did Mary Ann need to stop working due to an injury or due to the long-term effects of the labor on an aging body? Or did she get laid off as the jute industry began to relocate to India? Did she need to emigrate because she could no longer provide for herself?

I wish I could ask Mary Ann what motivated her to move to America. What a terrifying prospect it must have been to leave behind everything and everyone you knew to travel across the ocean and then travel across several states to reach a sister she hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years. Perhaps fear explains her reluctance to emigrate for so long. While Mary Ann may have been slow to make her decision, she was brave to undertake it at nearly 55 years of age.  

Sources:

Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, Michigan; Death Records. Accessed with Ancestry.com.

The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 - 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715, 1897-1957, Description Ship or Roll Number: Columbia. Accessed on Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYT715_2787-0047?pId=4036301205

“Beyond ‘Juteopolis’: Dundee’s changing economic landscape.” By Gillian Sharpe. BBC Scotland. 7 July 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-23105283

Final Rest Disturbed: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “At the Cemetery”

 

Exhumed and Reburied After Cemetery Desecration

George Calvert: 1832-1855 (Second Cousin 3x Removed)

George Calvert seems to have been born under an unlucky star. He suffered an unspeakable tragedy as a child, then died shockingly young, and a century and a half later suffered the indignity of having his grave desecrated.

George was born March 24, 1832 to parents Robert Patrick Calvert and Lydia Jane Smith Calvert. He was the third of their five children. In a previous blog post, I related how George’s father, Robert Calvert, beat his mother, Lydia Jane Smith Calvert, to death, and yet was somehow was exonerated at trial. George and his four siblings were taken in and raised by Robert Calvert’s father Patrick.

George died October 2, 1855, while still living with his grandfather. I have found no death records so have no idea what caused the death of a 23 year old man. George was buried in a family cemetery on his grandfather’s farm. The headstone was beautiful. At the top, framed by carved drapery and a Bible, is a Bible verse reading, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” The center panel includes George’s name and his birth and death dates, while a panel at the bottom includes a lovely line of poetry: “So fades the lovely blooming flower” attributed to C. Cross. It appears George was well-loved.

Photo from Findagrave. Ken Colbert, photographer,

But over the passage of time the tiny Calvert Farm Cemetery, along with Patrick Calvert’s farm, passed out of family ownership, and the story of the Calverts faded from memory. The Findagrave entry on the cemetery, written by Calvert descendant Ken Colbert, tells part of the little cemetery’s sad story:

 “The Calvert Farm Cemetery was located at the intersection of Hwy 65 and Nesbitt Station Road, on the Westside of the intersection. The gravesite included 15 bodies buried from Aug 10, 1827 to Feb 14, 1861. Two of the removals included the analysis of DNA samples taken. The graves were exhumed on April 2019 and relocated to Calvert Chapel Cemetery, approximately 2 miles North of the Calvert Farm Cemetery. Both Calvert cemeteries are located in Armstrong Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana. The patriarch of the family, Patrick Calvert born, Feb 6, 1784 in Boutetort, VA was the last burial occuring on Feb 14, 1861, laid to rest beside his wife, Sarah Martin Calvert, born Dec 11, 1781 and died Aug 11, 1840. Subsequent family members have since been interrned at Calvert Chapel. A detailed 101 page report is available on my Ancestry.com account. The report identifies the process of exhumation, analysis, and reinternment of the Patrick Calvert family. The details of why the removal may be found in my ancestry account or by emailing: seekandfind@att.net I am the 5th Greath Grandson of Patrick and Sarah Calvert.”

Cemetery had been on left side of road near intersection. Photo from Findagrave.

An article in the local newspaper, the Princeton Daily Clarion on July 27, 2019, provides more details, as does a GoFundMe page Mr. Colbert set up to help fund the exhumation and reburial of his ancestors. The farm, including the cemetery, was put up for auction in 2006. In the years following the sale, the headstones were desecrated—they were knocked down, broken, and moved from the graves. The entire site was then plowed over and farmed. The callousness of this farmer is shocking, especially since he was aware of the cemetery when he purchased the land. He would have known exactly how many acres of farmable land he was buying and the price would have reflected that a parcel of the land was not farmable.

When the desecration became known, the county prosecutor’s office became involved. According to the news article by Daily Clarion editor Andrea Howe, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor eventually brokered an agreement between the landowner and the Calvert descendants to “have the location and exhumation of the Calverts” funded. “An Indianapolis firm was commissioned to perform an archeological dig at the property. Colbert said cadaver search dogs were used to help identify the location of the bodies since there was no visible sign of any grave.”

Mr. Colbert’s photos of the archeologists’ work are both heartbreaking and fascinating. Mr. Colbert also prepared a diagram showing the location of the graves and where the broken headstones ended up. George was Burial No. 8. Mr. Colbert wrote: “The Calvert Family Farm Cemetery plotting map of the exhumed 15 bodies. The green circles represent the fence boundaries. The Blue represents the location of the unearthed desecrated tombstones. The Red represents the burial site of each person.”

The following photo shows some of the stones as they were reassembled from the shattered pieces.

Photo by Ken Colbert, from Findagrave. 

The archeologists were able to recover George’s body. Although this photo may seem a bit grisly, I think it is important to include it. George was a person who was loved by his family. His remains deserved more respect than they were given by a farmer eager for an extra acre. George’s profile on Findagrave also includes a page from the archeology report describing his gravesite, noting that nails, bricks, coffin screws and buttons were found along with his remains.  

According to the news article, the archeology team was able to extract DNA samples from some of the exhumed remains, with the hope that the DNA profiles will be uploaded to GEDMatch. Since George’s body was fairly intact, perhaps his DNA will eventually help other genealogists trace their family lineage.

While Calvert Farm Cemetery no longer exists, George Calvert, his grandparents, and the other twelve people long interred on the Calvert farm now have a new resting place in Calvert Chapel Cemetery, named for another Calvert ancestor. Ken Colbert and other Calvert descendants are owed thanks for their dedication and hard work that led to the recovery of the remains and the headstones. Thanks is also owed to the firm that handled the exhumation—they showed the remains of these Indiana pioneers the respect they deserved.

Sources:

Findagrave entries on the Calvert Farm Cemetery and on George Calvert, all written by Ken Colbert. Photos of archeologists’ exhumation by Ken Colbert. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2705359/calvert-farm-cemetery

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209620211/george-calvert

GoFundMe page on reburial effort, prepared by Ken Colbert. https://www.gofundme.com/f/calvert-chapel-cemetery

“New Resting Place: Pioneer family remains to be reburied after cemetery destroyed”, by Andrea Howe, Editor. Princeton Daily Clarion, 27 July 2019.

Something Alive in There: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Bearded”

The Beard that Housed A Squirrel?

William H. “Captain Billy” Smith: 1841-1925 (Second Cousin 3x Removed)

 

When I saw this month’s prompt was “Bearded”, I remembered reading this charming story about my husband’s 2^nd cousin 3x removed, “Captain Billy” Smith, that mentioned his amazing beard. The story was originally posted on Ancestr,y on 10 Apr 2010 by Barbara Westrich:

Westrich writes:

“William H. Smith was known in our family as Captain Billy. My mother, Mary Elizabeth O'Neal (Sakal) used to tell stories about how surley Captain Billy was. He walked with a stick/cane after his injury in the Civil War and my mother tells about how he used to hit the small children with his stick. She also tells the story of how he kept a pet squirrel in his very long, thick beard.”

After reading about the squirrel, I had to search for photos of Captain Billy and his amazing beard. Luckily, his descendants had posted some amazing photos of him, both pre- and post-beard.

William Henderson Smith was born in Ohio County, Kentucky on September 30, 1841 to parents Leonard Smith and his wife Mary Elizabeth. He was their only son. His father Leonard Smith was the son of Aaron Fairfax Smith, brother of my husband’s third great-grandfather Elias Guess Smith.

William was twenty years old when the Civil War started, and he quickly enlisted in the Union Army, serving in the 11^th Regiment of the Kentucky Infantry. He began his military career as a 2^nd Sergeant in G Company in October 1861. He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh on April 7, 1862, and was sent to Simmonds General Hospital in Mound City, Illinois to recover from his wound. This injury was probably the reason for his use of a walking stick as mentioned in the Westrich story. The photos below, taken in 1862, show just how young William was to be an officer. These are the only photos I have found that show him clean-shaven.

Following his recovery, William returned to his unit and was promoted to 1^st Sergeant June 19, 1863. In March of 1864, he was sent to back to his home county of Muhlenberg, Kentucky to recruit more soldiers in the Paradise area. He then returned to battle, and was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant on June 17, 1864 in Georgia. William was discharged from the Union Army in December 1864 at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Despite never rising above the rank of Lieutenant, when he returned home to Muhlenberg County, he became known as “Captain Billy”. He married Marieta Isadora “Dora” Mason on February 12, 1865. 

William and Dora Smith

They settled on a farm near Paradise, Kentucky and had twelve children. Photos of the family can be seen below. William’s beard was already long, thick and very dark.

William's mother at far left, William and Dora near center, surrounded by ten of their twelve children

William and Dora with three of their daughters in front of their home

William took pride in his military service, and was active in Union Army veteran groups. He organized and hosted a reunion of 15 Civil War veterans on his farm on May 11, 1912. Some of his fellow veterans had even more impressive beards than William did, although their beards had now turned white.

William is the first person in the back row--1912 Civil War Veterans' Reunion at Smith farm

William and Dora had a huge extended family—not all that surprising since they had twelve children. They are posed in front of the family home, now showing its age.

Another interesting photo shows five generations of the Smith family—William’s mother, daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter.

Dora died in September of 1916. William lived until 1925, dying on July 6 at the age of 83. He was still living on his farm in Paradise with one of his sons, Carlos, and his youngest daughter Rosa Bell “Rosey” at the time of the 1925 census. William was buried in the Smith-Yonts-Nourse Cemetery in Paradise, where many of his family members are also buried.

While I have found no evidence to support the story of William keeping a pet squirrel, much less one that liked to hide in his beard, photos do verify that he had a long, thick beard for the latter half of his life. It is fun to imagine the face of a little squirrel peeking out.

 

Sources:

Story by Posted 10 Apr 2010 by Barbara Westrich. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/81812584/person/262470443623/hints

Photos posted on Ancestry.com courtesy of Barbara Westrich and Chocochip_the_third.

Details of William H Smith’s military service was taken from a biography posted on Findagrave by Dorann Lam. Service and rank at muster out confirmed by Fold3, the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm ) and http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/military/rosters/union/11rega-k.txt

An Easter Story: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Begins with a Vowel”

A Girl Called Easter: Unusual Name for a Spring Baby

Easter Brumley Vanlandingham Kimbley: 1782-1847 (Maternal Third Great-Grandaunt)

 

Easter Brumley Vanlandingham was given a striking, unusual first name—a name that was often misspelled and misrecorded as “Esther” on documents and records. Her name begins with two vowels (corresponding with this week’s prompt), and evokes positive energy that seems to promise new beginnings.

Easter Vanlandingham was born April 30, 1782 in St. Stephen South Parish in Northumberland, Virginia. According to my research, the holiday of Easter fell on March 31 that year. Did her parents, Ezekiel Vanlandingham and Elisabeth Oliver Brumley, name her Easter due to her spring birth date, just 4 weeks after Easter Sunday? Had they perhaps expected her to be born on Easter, and were surprised that she didn’t arrive when expected? Did they choose the name as a reminder of the Easter story’s message of rebirth and renewal? We will never know.

Easter appears to be the oldest of their three children. I have found no primary source materials that provide Ezekiel and Elizabeth’s wedding date; some secondary sources gave a marriage date for the fall following Easter’s birth, which is incorrect. The record of her birth is contained in Virginia Colonial Abstracts, and lists her parents as husband and wife. Easter’s siblings, Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Vanlandingham, were born in 1785 and 1788.

In 1796, the Vanlandinghams joined a group of pioneers headed for the newly opened Kentucky territory. Ezekiel died during the journey, leaving his wife and three children to continue to Kentucky without him. A history of  Muhlenberg County, Kentucky reported that:

“After burying her husband Mrs. Vanlandingham and the other members of the party resumed their trip and finally arrived near Paradise where she procured some land. There she and her…children worked hard and soon placed themselves in comfortable circumstances. She was a well-educated woman, and up to about the time her children were married devoted practically all her evenings to their education.”

Easter was 14 when she arrived in Kentucky. Her youngest sister was only 8, so Easter probably helped to care for her. In addition, her mother remarried and had other children. Easter was probably a vital member of the household, providing support for her mother.

This probably explains Easter’s late marriage. She was 30 years old when she married Francis Kimbley on February 14, 1813.  He was only twenty at the time of the marriage, so she was a full decade older than him! Some later documents shave a few years off her age—she probably didn’t want to admit how much older she was! Her younger sister, Elizabeth, married the same year.

Francis Kimbley was a farmer and slaveowner. His property was mostly in Ohio County, Kentucky, but Easter and Francis’s children were born both in Ohio County and neighboring Muhlenberg County, so I expect the Kimbleys had property in both counties.

Easter gave birth to their first son, Oliver Christopher Vanlandingham Kimbley (named for Easter’s brother) on December 23, 1813—ten months after their marriage. Daughter Elizabeth was born two years later, followed by sons Ezekiel Vanlandingham Kimbley in 1817, Andrew Jackson Kimbley in 1819, Francis Edward Kimbley in 1822, and John Franklin Kimbley in 1823.

Easter died on Christmas Day, 1847 at the age 65. She was buried in Nellie Davis Cemetery in Ohio County, Kentucky. Her husband Francis lived another fourteen years, dying in 1861 at age 70.

Easter’s children went on to raise families of their own in the Ohio and Muhlenberg County area. The 1860 census shows son Ezekiel, his wife and three children living next to Francis, and son Andrew Jackson Kimbley, his wife and three children farming on the other side of Francis’ property. 

Son Francis Kimbley a few farms from brother and father--1860 Census

Ezekiel Kimbley family, and father Francis on the 1860 census

Two properties away was the farm of Oliver Kimbley’s widow Elizabeth and their four children.  A few farms away, son Francis lived with his wife and children.

Andrew Kimbley family at top, Oliver's widow Elizabeth Kimbley and family below

Interestingly, Easter’s only daughter, Elizabeth, married John Everett Vaught Smith, brother of second-great-grandfather Elijah Smith, so the two ancestral lines crossed. Elizabeth and John had several children and lived in neighboring Mclean County, Kentucky.

Easter’s final child was the most well-known, and the only one who didn’t go into farming. John Franklin Kimbley became a doctor, and he served as a Union physician during the Civil War. He returned to Owensboro, Kentucky following the war to practice medicine. He married Sarah Lucetta Ray, the daughter of Indiana Governor James Ray. The couple had two children.

Easter’s name was carried on to the next generation. Easter’s daughter named one of her children Easter, but the name was often misspelled as Esther—even her headstone reads “Esther Smith Kirtley”. 

Easter Smith Kirtley misspelled as Esther

Son Ezekiel gave his daughter Susan the middle name Easter. Son Francis Kimbley named his eldest daughter Easter Ann in honor of his mother.

I wonder how these women felt about sharing a name with a religious holiday. I love the name, and enjoyed writing about Easter Vanlandingham Kimbley just in time for Easter 2023. Easter is a name rich both in vowels and in meaning.

Sources:

Abstract of Birth Record from “Virginia Colonial Abstracts. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/340765:48429?tid=81812584&pid=262448858851&hid=1037581386036&_phsrc=Jng22546&_phstart=default

A History of Muhlenberg County by Otto A. Rothert. John P. Morton & Company. Louisville, KY 1913. Accessed through Google Books

Findagrave photo by Anita Austill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109614346/esther-elizabeth-kirtley?_gl=1*27c0ny*_ga*MTQ5MDkwODUzMi4xNjI2MjI0NDE0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MzY4MzVkNTItZThlYy00MDE3LWE0M2MtNDY3ZDFiNzg2MzJmLjQ3NC4xLjE2ODAzMDU3NTIuMjQuMC4w

Murdered By Her Husband: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Light a Candle”

 

A Vicious Crime Destroys a Family: The Murder of Lydia Smith Calvert

Lydia Jane Smith Calvert: 1807-1840 (Maternal First Cousin 4x Removed)

Late in June of 1840, George Rudolphus Smith (Third Great Granduncle) was near death. He was almost seventy years old—not a great age, but he may have been feeling ill for some time since he had made his will some months previously. He was confident that his children would be provided for once he had died. One of the heirs named in his will was his daughter Lydia. George probably had no idea that Lydia, a mother of five who was only 33 years old, would be murdered by her own husband just weeks after George’s death. Not only were her five little children suddenly left without their mother, but they also lost their maternal grandfather, and their paternal grandmother, who died right after Lydia did. And they also lost their father after he was indicted for Lydia’s murder.

So what led up to this tragedy? Lydia Jane Smith was born January 6, 1807, the fourth child of George Rudolphus Smith and his first wife Lydia “Jenney” Tait Smith. Lydia’s life began with tragedy as well—her mother died giving birth to her. George R Smith remarried three years later, and little Lydia soon had eight half siblings.

Lydia married Robert Patrick Calvert on May 3, 1827. They were both twenty years old. Robert had a farm in Posey County, Indiana where they lived. Their first child, Eudoxy, (also known as Emily) was born in 1829. Two little boys, Patrick and George, were born in 1830 and 1832. Daughter Elizabeth was born in 1835, and their final son, Jordan, was born in 1838.  

Lydia’s death was brutal. A descendant has posted the handwritten murder indictment the Posey County Grand Jury brought against Robert. The indictment stated that on August 10, 1840, Robert Calvert:

“with force and onus in and upon one Lydia Cavett wife of said Robert Cavett feloniously, willfully and with malice aforethought did make an assault and that said Robert Cavett then and there felonious, willfully and of his malice aforethought did strike, beat and kick the said Lydia Cavett with his hands and feet in an upon the belly, breast, sides and other parts of the body of the said Lydia Cavett and did then and therefore feloniously willfully and his malice aforethought cast and threw the said Lydia Cavett down with great force and violence…”

This attack caused “several mortal strokes wounds and bruises in and upon the belly, breast, sides and other parts of the body of her said Lydia Cavett to wit one mortal bruise and wound on the belly of her the said Lydia Cavett between the left nipple and navel…”

First page of Grand Jury Indictment

It took her a day to die of her injuries. I have to guess that at least some of Lydia’s children witnessed the assault, as the details about him kicking her and throwing her forcefully onto the ground sound like eye-witness testimony. Given the brutality, it is likely that this attack was but one of many she suffered over their thirteen years of marriage. Men generally don’t commit murder the first time they beat their wives. He seems to have been a violent person from childhood, as another descendant posted a story about young Robert attacking a child his father was caring for with an axe, cutting off the boy’s foot. I shudder to think of the horrors Lydia suffered over those long years, and the terror her children experienced.

Calvert was arrested in August of 1840 and was fortunate that his father, Patrick Calvert, chose to post the huge sum of $5000 bond to get him released.

Father Patrick Calvert puts up bond for son

Robert came to trial in March of 1841. Despite the Grand Jury report and the efforts of the prosecutor,

“twelve good and lawful men who being elected tried and sworn upon their oaths do say ‘We the Jury find the Defendant not guilty.”

Not guilty verdict document

Of course the jury was composed only of men, since women had no rights in the 1840s. Apparently those supposedly good and lawful men believed Robert Calvert was perfectly justified to beat his wife to death.

Luckily for Lydia’s five traumatized children, they were not sent to live with their father, the murderer. Instead, Robert’s father Patrick took them in and raised them. Robert seems to have disappeared from records following his acquittal. I believe he left Posey County and may have died in the 1850s, but I have no records to verify this.

Robert’s father Patrick died in 1861. Four of Lydia’s children—Eudoxy, Patrick, Elizabeth and Jordan survived at that time and were beneficiaries in Patrick’s will, each receiving $244.57. The remaining child, George, died at age 23 in 1855, and was buried near his grandfather Patrick on Patrick Calvert’s farm. I will write about George and Patrick’s graves in a future post.

Section of Patrick Calvert's will dealing with Lydia's surviving children

As for poor Lydia, she was laid to rest in the Smith Cemetery in Posey County where her parents and other relatives are buried. Sadly, the cemetery is on private property and is inaccessible. Her grave is unmarked.

Smith Cemetery in Posey County--courtesy of Findagrave

Lydia never received justice. Her killer, her own husband who had taken--and broken--vows to protect and honor her, went free despite strong evidence that he beat her to death. She deserves to have candles lit in her memory, and to have prayers offered up that she can somehow rest in peace.

 

Sources:

Posey County documents posted on Ancestry.com.