Stuck in the middle ages

It's amazing how quickly a human can adapt. I've been borrowing computer time for a couple weeks and it just seems so normal. Honestly, I don't miss it as much as I expected. I do miss y'all, really, but not the overall computer usage. Maybe God's trying to tell me it's time to replace Monday Morning Mystery. Or maybe I just needed a break.

The other day, I went cemetery hopping in Suwannee County. I found a few family members' sites at one, nothing at the next. When I got home, I discovered it was the wrong cemetery. I had driven past the road to the right one. So now I have a really good excuse to go back soonly. 8-}

It's been really great to get back into digging my roots. I've gotten back to early 1700s in the US and early 1500s in England. And I've learned that my g-g-g-g-g-g grandfather's nephew (sister's son) was Thomas McKean. Now there's a little mystery for y'all. Anybody know who he was?

Roots

Are y'all into genealogy at all? As an adult, I've learned that history really IS interesting! It's all in the details. The stories behind all those boring dates and places. In high school, they didn't tell us about how Francis Marion led the redcoats on merry chases through the swamps of South Carolina, earning him the nickname Swamp Fox. Or how Rose O'Neal Greenhow toured Britain and France, hobnobbing with nobility, to muster support for the Confederacy. In all fairness, given they had less than an hour a day to cover thousands of years, anything more than the bare bones just wasn't feasible. Home schooling SO rocks!

I'm not sure if my fascination with history led me into genealogy or vice versa. It was such a kick to learn that one of my ancestors rode with Marion, but learning that he (Marion) had once fought against the Cherokees put just a bit of a damper on that enthusiasm. And to obtain copies of Confederate pension records for 2 of my great-great grandfathers. One was wounded at Olustee and sent home, temporarily, to recuperate. He was actually at Appomattox in April of 1865.

I think, for me, there is a deeper motivation for researching my ancestors. There's a part of me that needs to know that I am related to some 'good' people. Growing up, my immediate family personified the term 'dysfunctional'.. and then some. I sometimes wonder whether others are likewise - or otherwise - motivated. Just my curious nature. 8-]

Olustee

With the annual Olustee battle re-enactment going on this weekend, it seems the perfect time to make mention of my great-great grandfather who fought there.

In October of 1861 - 3 different records, 3 different dates; this one seems to be the most likely - Thomas J Mitchell enlisted at Blounts Ferry in Company D, 9th Regiment of the state of Florida. He served in Finegan's Brigade under Captain John Bryant and later under Captain J. F. (?) Tucker. On or about the 20th day of February, 1864, he was 'wounded by a gun shot, on the top of my skull' at Olustee and was sent home on furlough. He later returned to his Company and was honourably discharged at Appomattox Court House at the end of the invasion.

As a result of his service, Thomas suffered chronic rheumatism in his right hip and chronic dysentery 'from exposure and having to eat unholdsome food during the war in Virginia.' The doctor who signed one of his pension applications wrote 'that he is suffering from Chronic Dysentery and from the effects of a gunshot wound of the head. Ball striking on top of head, at the union of the parietal & accipital Bones, Fracturing the skull, resulting in partial paralisis of right hip & leg, rendering him unable to Earn a livelihood by manual Labor.' I really admire this man, who returned to duty for another year, in spite of his 'partial paralysis'.

Another great great grandfather, who was born in Jackson County, FL, in 1837, enlisted on 17 March, 1862, at Marianna, FL, in Company D, 6th Regiment. He was discharged near Chesterfield, SC on 5 May 1865. In 1906, he was granted a pension of $96 per year. This was increased in 1909 to $120 per year.

Some of the old writing is hard to read. Very frustrating, as this is all totally fascinating for me. And I was never very good at sorting out all the Company, Regiment, Brigade stuff, so I may have gotten things out of order. Feel free to correct me if that's the case.

Hurricane Teen, stay warm out there this weekend... and keep your powder dry! 8-]