I very much agree that everyone should start writing family information down, beginning now. I started writing things down about 15 years ago, but by then my mother was the only old-timer left. I did tape record several conversations with her.
I have very little information about my dad’s family. For one thing, my grandfather was an only child, and was just a baby when his father died (more about that in a moment.) My grandmother was an orphan raised by relatives. It appears that both of Dad’s parents were illiterate (my grandmother signed legal documents with an “X”), so any history we have is oral.
I began wanting to learn more about my great-grandfather a number of years ago when an old family “treasure” was passed along to my custody and care. It was the shirt my GGF was wearing the day he was shot dead in the street of his (and my) hometown. The oral history said that GGF had gone into town on some errand when he got into a run-in with a belligerent drunk inside or outside a saloon. GGF was trying to quietly ride out of town when the drunk came out of the saloon and shot him in the back with a load of buck. This happened sometime in the late 1870s because my grandfather, who was only a toddler at the time, was born in 1876. The shirt, which I still have, clearly shows a tight pattern in the center of the back, and the bloodstains which would not rinse out. GGF was buried in the little cemetery back of the town, and when the Sabine River flooded in later years it reportedly washed his grave away.
I didn’t even know his name until I found him in the official Confederate enlistment records. He joined the 19th Louisiana Infantry Regiment in December, 1862 and was paroled out in May, 1865. During that time he and his regiment were at Shiloh (the Hornet’s Nest); Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta (and several battles on the way to Atlanta), Franklin and Nashville. He was wounded (slightly, apparently) the second day at Chickamauga. He spent the last few months of the war as a POW. I know all this by researching his records and his regiment’s records.
I consider it very ironic that he went through all that with little damage, only to return and be shot at home. I still don’t know who shot him, or what became of that guy .
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Today's Featured Article - Show Coverage: Godfrey, Illinois Country Days - by Cindy Ladage. Except for last fourth of July's Old Gold show in Springfield, Illinois, I don't remember when it was so hot. Nevertheless, the heat didn't keep vendors and visitors alike from enjoying the third annual Country Day's Event. Jane Elliott said the event was originally a one man show. "Barry Seiler, owner of Country Town Farm Supply store used to invite people up to the Johne Deere store. He would give hats and a free meal for everyone that brings a tractor." Elliott said while this
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