Celebrating Civil War Soldiers

This weekend being Memorial Day, it seems fitting to blog about two Civil War veterans, one from my family and one from my husband’s. I’ve learned so much more about researching in an archive and also about the records held at the National Archives in DC! What a treat this has been to spend a day at the Archives. I am now an official archive researcher, with my own Research Card. It was a painless process, and now I can come whenever I’d like and research at ANY National Archives.

Earlier this year, I went to the National Archives in St. Louis, which holds the military records for 1917-present and was able to review my grandfather’s (Walter Elliot Tubbs) military records. The National Archives in DC holds the military records (CMSR) for those who served prior to WW1. My focus this week was on two Civil War veterans in our family.

Russel Ralph Pealer, Sgt. to 2nd Lieutenant

My husband knows a lot about his great-great-grandfather Russel Ralph Pealer (1842-1919), who was a member of the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry. He enlisted in October 1862 in Fishing Creek, PA as a 22 year old and was promoted through several ranks. He was wounded with a bullet (Minie ball) in his thigh but they were eventually able to remove it. After returning from the Civil War he would go on to become a lawyer and a judge, settling in Three Rivers, Michigan.

Henry Clay Stoddard, Musician–drummer

The second veteran is my great-great-grandfather, Henry Clay Stoddard (1841-1909), who was a musician (drummer) in the 24th Michigan Infantry, Company I. The 24th was part of what is known as the Iron Brigade of the West. They are known to be some of the most courageous men in the civil war. After returning from the war, he married and settled in Reed City, Michigan and opened a Hardware Store with his brother, Nathan Stoddard.

National Archives in DC

The National Archives in DC is in a beautiful building, even the elevators had amazing woodwork! If you are a researcher, you need to schedule an appointment and there is a separate entrance. Here’s a great video that introduces you to the process, if you would like to do research. 

The archivists are incredibly helpful and they do want you to find something! I had been prepared for the fact that the Archives does not index their items with genealogy in mind, it’s national records so they organize it by division and department. The archivists, though, are prepared to help educate you.

I wasn’t sure how much I would find and how long it would take, but I arrived by 8:45am and stayed through the “warning” call at 4:30pm. I enjoyed lunch in their basement cafe and it was a wonderful day!.

1. CMSR (Compiled Military Service Records)

These are a collection of cards associated with a soldier. Each card documents one date’s events. Whether it is a muster roll, payroll, or documenting a medical leave. These are requested through a form (like everything in the archives) but all you need is the soldier name and their state,  regiment, and the war. I had to wait for about 45 minutes while the archivists pulled the records but they have computers with access to a variety of databases in the research room and then you can go up to the reading room on the 2nd floor to retrieve your documents.

At first glance, the CMSR might not seem like much and certainly not something that would provide additional insight. For example, we had known that Russel Ralph Pealer was injured so I wasn’t surprised to find several cards that identified that he was “absent” for muster call because he was in the medical hospital. It doesn’t usually share a whole alot and for us, we pretty much knew everything on the cards.

But if you dig into them, you might be surprised. This is what happened for me with Henry Clay Stoddard. As I was looking through his muster cards (and there were about 20 of them), I learned that he was “absent” during the Sept./Oct. 1864, Nov/Dec, 1864, Jan/Feb 1865, and Mar/Apr 1865 Company Muster Rolls. The remarks stated “Nurse in Hospl City Pt. Va.”. At first, I was thinking that he had been wounded and sent to Hospital City Point, VA. I had no idea that he was wounded and I also wondered what “nurse” was referring to. Was this code for needing to be nursed back to health? So off to the search the Carded Medical Records!

2. Carded Medical Records for Soldiers in the Army, 1821-1912

I requested the Carded Medical Records for Soldiers in the Army, 1821-1912 for both soldiers, by a form–but a different one– in the archivists consultation room. The files are organized much like the CMSR records, there is a card for each entry on a date, but unlike the CSMR, they are not all clumped together into a folder and I had to sift through a section of the alphabet to find any cards related to HC Stoddard (and RR Pealer). I found three for HC Stoddard.

What I found for HC Stoddard clarified for me that he was NOT wounded, but instead sent to work in the Hospital. It was not clear if he served as a musician while in the hospital or as more like an attendant. These cards had been transcribed from the original records. I had been told by an archivist that I could request the original source, if I found an acquisition number, but he didn’t think that I would learn anything more from it. I decided I would try anyway.

3. Original Records

In the reading room,  other people had been brought a rolling cart of interesting things and I was a bit jealous. So I was excited when I learned that I would have a rolling cart, complete with 7 very old  ledger style books, most of which were sealed closed with a plastic protection. I was required to ask the archivist to remove the plastic when I was ready for each volume. They were in terrible shape, but I guess given that they are over 150 years old, I won’t hold it against them.

It was fun to look through these books and to find my ancestor’s name among the list of “nurses and attendants” or the page that showed “Names of musicians sent her for duty-Aug 1, 1864”. I really liked seeing the original documents because they provide the context and some background. I might have drawn different conclusions if I had not seen that there were 32 musicians from across various regiments that were sent there to help out. I have reached out to an expert on Musicians in the Civil War to ask what he knows about this type of reassignment but in the meanwhile I’m excited to learn a little more about his story of civil war service. I am not well-versed in Civil War history, so I was not aware of City Point Hospital in VA which was a huge Depot Field Hospital that references I read said that over 29,000 soldiers were served by the hospital.

(1864) City Point, Virginia. General Hospital. United States, 1864. Sept. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2018672432/.

4. Pension and Widow Applications

The true gem in the archives for me were the Pension and Widow Applications. These records are bountiful with possible new information and definitely interesting information to provide perspective and greater context. There were dozens of pages for each of the civil war soldiers I was researching, I scanned them but haven’t had the time to truly sift through them. I wil include here an example of a document enclosed that provided a little more depth to the story about Russel Ralph Pealer and intrigued me because it was from California. I have included the original and a transcription:

****

State of California

County of Los Angeles

In the matter of Original Pension Claim No 530583 of Russel R Pealer Lieut. Cos E and I, 16th Regt Pa. Cavalry [??].

Personally came before me, a Deputy County Clerk in and for aforesaid County and State, Lyman Stewart aged forty five years, citizen of the city of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, State of California, well known to me to be reportable and entitled to credit, and who being duly sworn, declares in relation to aforesaid case, as follows:

I was a member of Company E 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry and knew Russel R. Peeler lieutenant of said company, and I know of his being wounded at Hatcher’s Run, VA, Feb. 6th, 1865. I remember about the wound very distinctly. I was with said Russel R. Peeler at the hospital at City Point-the next day after the battle and also when the surgeons probed for the ball. The wound was in the left-thigh and was very severe. The surgeons probled down the limb fifteen inches-it was estimated at the time–without finding the ball. The ball was not found while he remained at City Point.

Lieutenant Pealer was a brave soldier, was activated by patriotic motives and was faithful in the discharge of his duties. As an officer he was capable and efficient and inspired the men of his Company with higher and nobler purposes.

I have not seen Lieutenant Pealer since my discharge from the service in June 1865.

He further declares that he has no interest in said case, and is not concerned in its prosecution.

***

What brave and courageous men, so proud to be a part of their families.

Happy Memorial Day, 2023!

The Stories Within the Documents

Family history is so much more than names and dates. While it is fun for me to track down the documents to verify births, deaths, and parentage, and find that next generation, it is truly the stories that matter. The mother in this photo is Antonia Mortellitti and I share a little of her immigration story here.

Farfalla family c. 1931 Antonia Mortelliti and Antonio Farfalla with 5 of their children (l to r): Joseph (b. 1904), Mary/Maria (b. 1910), Margaret/Domenica (b. 1906), Sarah/Santa (b. 1908), and Anthony (b. 1912). 

Sometimes when I’ve come across a new document (e.g., census, birth record, etc,)  I focus only on the names, dates, and vital information. Occasionally, I will take note of the witnesses as Lisa Louise Cook and others remind me how they might provide a helpful clue. (See this November 2022 webinar for more info about using witnesses). Rarely, do I take the time to mine all of the possible information. But I am learning this is where we can truly find the interesting stories and a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors!

Last week, I attended the Allen County Public Library’s weekly webinar titled “Mysterious Codes:  

What Do Those Letters and Numbers Mean?” presented by Christine Cohen. It was a fascinating hour-long presentation about the codes and notations made on the ship manifests of people traveling into the US. (I have the handout if anyone is interested.)

I have found many of the ship manifests for my ancestors and I would see “X”’s in places or check marks or random numbers and never knew there was a specific and known purpose. About a year ago, I learned about how to find the codes used on Census’--you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they have instruction manuals for Census takers so that there was consistency. For example, here is the cover to the instruction manual for the 1860 Census. Each mark is intentional, and the instructions for what to include is purposeful. But this is a topic for another blog! What I didn’t realize is that the same was true for Immigration Manifests!

This past week, I was focusing on my Italian family, so I looked through the ship manifests for my Italian immigrant ancestors. Most of them came prior to 1906, which is when a lot of changes took place in immigration policies in the US and there was more consistency, but you can start to see the markings appear prior. 

There were no special markings on the entry for my great-grandfather, Emanuel Antonio Mazziotti or his wife, Concetta Mortelliti, but I did find some on Concetta’s sister’s manifest and it has opened a new world to me. 

Concetta (1890-1971) was the youngest of 6 children born in Scilla, Italy to Giuseppe Mortelliti (1843-1915) and Santa Morabito (1857-1945). Giuseppe traveled from Scilla to the US a couple of times, but it appears in May 1900 that this was the one that finally stuck. This was the trip, also, where his future son-in-law and my great-grandfather Emanuel Mazziotti joined him. They traveled on the ship, Tartar Prince.

Source: https://deeproots.family/up/TartarPrinceVessel.htm

A year later, in June 1901, the 5 oldest children of Giuseppe Mortelliti traveled together on the Manila, with Antonia (1877-1967) the oldest of the five at age 23 caring for them all. (I couldn’t find a photo of the Manila.) They would first arrive to the immigrant landing station. It looked like this in 1905.

(ca. 1905) Immigrant Landing Station, N.Y. New Jersey New York Ellis Island, ca. 1905. Feb. 24. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/97502077

After exiting the ship, they would have had to be documented. This is what it looked like between 1902-1913.

Source: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1902 - 1913). The pens at Ellis Island, Registry Room (or Great Hall). These people have passed the first mental inspection. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-d778-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

This time looking at the manifest, I noticed an X in the first column before her and her sibling’s names. 

• This means that they were detained at Ellis Island!! 

• And there is a “Record of detained Alien Passengers” at the back of the ship manifest! (I have been looking at these for nearly 15 years and NEVER knew about the list of detained passengers!!)

This record provides information about why someone was detained, the disposition (information about where they will live), and which and how many meals they ate while being detained.

Antonia and her 4 siblings (2 brothers and 2 sisters) were detained for only one meal, a “supper”. According to the Ellis Island Immigrant Cookbook by Tom Bernadin and a 1906 communication it would have consisted of baked beans, stewed prunes and rye bread, tea with milk and sugar, and crackers and milk  for women and children. 

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-d817-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1902 - 1913). Uncle Sam, host. Immigrants being served a free meal at Ellis Island. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-d817-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Their father (and my great-grandfather) were living at 168 Elizabeth Street in 1901. This was in the heart of “little Italy” where there were thousands of Italian immigrants, mostly southern Italians. This was an apartment building that was built in 1900 and had 6 floors with 2 apartments per floor with a business at street level. Here’s how it looks now:

It was about 6 miles away to Ellis Island and I have no idea how Antonia would have connected with her father or how she and her siblings would have gotten to this building. I guess that’s research for another day. 

A year later, the entire family is now together, after Concetta and her mother made the journey from Scilla in July 1902 to Ellis Island on the Trave. They were not detained but the document also didn’t list what address they were going to. I guess a 46 year old mother and her 11 year old daughter heading to her husband did not raise questions.

Source: https://passengershipsandliners.fandom.com/wiki/SS_Trave

Within a year, Emanuel Mazziotti and his 1st wife, Maria Mortelliti (the older sister of my great-grandmother) would be wed in Pocantico Hills where several males of the family would be working at Rockefeller’s Estate,  Kykuit. She died along with their first born son. A few years later, Emanuel and Concetta are married. Another story for another time.

I marvel at the journey my Italian ancestors made in the 1900s traveling so very far from the only home they (and their ancestors) had known for hundreds of years. Their story inspires me and helps to put into perspective challenges in my own life.

Our Genealogy Angels

Helen Gould Tubbs Judson
(Aug 1947)

For anyone interested in family history, we all have genealogy angels. One type of genealogy angel were the people from counties all across the United States who created compendia of town histories that include biographical sketches. Most counties in Michigan have at least one of these thousand-page books and most include images of some of the most prominent people of the time. Just do a google search of “History and biographical record of” and you will see what I mean. They were sort of the “Who’s Who’s” books, where publishing companies were appealing to people’s desires to see themselves in print and knew that many of those included would buy the books, and I am so glad that they did!

 If you are lucky, you might have family members who stayed put long enough, were prominent enough, and of the right age to be included in one of these 1880 through 1910s books. Since I love photos, I am especially excited to find a family member with an image. In my husband’s family, we have two such examples. The first one I found was in the 1903 book Illustrated History and Biographical Record of Lenawee County, Michigan by John I. Knapp and R. I. Bonner. This is Jim’s maternal great-great grandfather, George Howell (1836-1909) who lived in Macon, Michigan. The second example is of George’s father-in-law, Jim’s great-great-great-grandfather, James Leonard Remington (1814-1894). I love that this second one is a pencil drawing and it includes his signature. (I’ve started collecting signatures in addition to photos of people because it seems to provide just a little more insight into their personality.) This came from an 1884 Atlas of Lenawee County. This is one of four drawings of men on the page called "Representative Men from Lenawee County Group No. 9".

My personal genealogy angel

We also have another type of genealogy angel. These were the individuals researching their families and who did the Herculean effort to write to towns, counties, and states for records
and waited weeks or months for a response to sometimes find nothing.

I have one of these in my family. She wasn’t just a family historian, she was truly a genealogist. This is my grandfather’s sister, my great-aunt Helen Gould Tubbs Judson (1904-1991). When I was growing up, I knew my aunt Helen, but never her genealogy work!!

Once I started doing family history seriously about 20 years ago, I learned that my aunt Helen was well-known in genealogy circles. She had written a book about the Tubbs genealogy and her book about the Orcutts is one of the seminal works that everyone cites. She was a librarian by training, so it was not surprising that she did excellent research that others depend on to this day, over 60 years later.

A page in the Orcutt Book!

It was really wild for me to go to Salt Lake City and to request from their vault her Tubbs book. I was both impressed and proud to be associated so closely with Aunt Helen. Last month, I contacted Aunt Helen’s granddaughter who has been the current keeper of her work to ask if this summer I might be able to visit the box of her things. This 2nd cousin did one better, she SENT ME HER original work on the Orcutts!! (Thanks Carol!) I am now the very proud (and nervous) owner of Aunt Helen’s work and hope to continue her work.

Bentley Library 

This brings me to today! I learned a few weeks ago that Aunt Helen made a donation to the Bentley Library at the University of Michigan about another line of my family tree. As a side note, I have heard back from the Mayflower Society and of the 30 documents I need to produce to prove my lineage, I already have 24 of them! In my search for the remaining 6, several are for Susan Ann Bailey. So off to the Bentley Library I went today to look at Aunt Helen’s book about the George Dolan Bailey’s (1805-1849) descendants in America (Call Number 88484 AA).

Aunt Helen wrote in her introduction:

“Rather then (sic) let my research notes lay unorganized and collecting dust in some dark corner of an attic with their final resting place being the nearest trash can (not that they won’t end there anyway) I have written this manuscript of the genealogy of George D. Bailey Family in America. It is my hope that some future generation may find it useful. The material in the following pages is as authentic as it is humanly possible to ascertain and if errors do exist they are of the mind and not of the heart. An old Chinese philosopher once said, ‘To know ones ancestors is to know oneself.’ ”

I’m not sure why this struck me so, but I sat staring at this first page. In this quiet beautiful space, my brain was yelling…”Yes, I agree and I appreciate you, Aunt Helen, and your work! Thank you!” This book is amazing! It was a beautiful collection of documentation AND photographs! I didn’t fill any blank photos on my wall, but I did get a much better and beautiful photograph of my great-great-great grandmother, Mary Ann Moshier (1810-1887), the wife of George Dolan Bailey.

While it didn’t provide the documentation within the manuscript, she did provide a few hints to where I might find the documents I need about Susan Ann Bailey. We’ll see if I can follow the breadcrumb trail.

Example pages from book

Thank you, Aunt Helen, you ARE my genealogy angel and I am the future generation that finds your work useful and inspirational. (As a side note, Aunt Helen did find her connection to join the DAR but I think she had no idea that she might be a Mayflower descendant. I hope I can make her proud and prove this line!)

Helen Gould Tubbs Judson
(Aug 1947)

I hope if you are interested in family history, that you find your genealogy angel!