Civil War Pension File of John Mix

Earlier this summer I acquired a copy of the civil war pension file (No. 442032) for my great-great-Grandfather, John Mix.

It was not a cut and dry request - the file was 89 scanned pages! I spent time transcribing the pages because the files were all out of order.

I then created a spreadsheet and put in a line entry by date for any kind of tidbit of information I came across, for instance, on 24 April 1882, John Mix sent a letter to the Pension Office stating that the doctor he was directed to go see in Owego, NY wasn't home the day he went to see him and it would be a lot easier if he could see a doctor in Ithaca.

So I was then able to sort and see the actual order of events:


So here is the scoop of Great-Great-Grandpapa:

John Mix
b. 09 Mar 1830, Tioga Co., NY
d. 1906, NY

2nd marriage was to my great-great-grandmother, Mary E., and they had 6 children.

1. On or about Feb. 9, 1864, John enlisted into the Union Army at Candor, Tioga Co., NY. John was 34 years old and a blacksmith. At home in Willseyville, Tioga Co., he has 3 young daughters, aged 5, 3 and 6 months. He also has an 11 year old son from a previous marriage.

2. His company is Unassigned, and he is in the 16th Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery.

3. On 10 May 1864, he is transferred to Company I, 6th Regiment, New York Heavy Artillery.

4. John says that his Descriptive List is lost and because of that, he isn't receiving his pay. A descriptive list is a form that lists vital info on a soldier, like name, rank, physical description, and any other remarks.

5. On or about 10 July 1864, in Petersburg, VA, John says that he fell into a rifle pit while carrying timber to be used for construction of breastments.

6. U.S. Pension Office records state that on 06 October 1864, John is considered to have deserted the army. John states he had no choice but to leave, and told his Colonel he would be leaving if he didn't receive any pay because he had to take care of his family.

7. In some, but not all records, John states he received an honorable discharge on 01 December 1864 at Harper's Ferry, WV.

8. On 27 February 1882, John, aged 51, submits a petition to receive a pension due to his being an invalid as a result of his war-time injuries. He states he suffers from rheumatism and weakness. He's living in Willseyville, Tioga Co. "Rheumatism" was a term used for any pain or stiffness in the back or extremities. (I've decided to start using it again - as in when I stand up after sitting at the computer for many hours - I'll say: OH, my rheumatism! Then I'll cackle and take a "remedy" like, oh, say, a gin and tonic. Or something like that.)

9. On 02 June 1882 John is examined by Dr. Lucius Allen. Dr. Allen states that John is 6 ft tall, weighs 152 lbs, has a light complexion, has a pulse of 80 and respiration of 18. John himself in other examinations states that he is 5 foot, 6 inches tall.

10. On 05 February 1883 John is deposed.

11. On 13 June 1883 John is again examined by a doctor. This doctor states that his pulse is 84, respiration is 24 and temperature is 99 and 1/8. The doctor finds "some tenderness" and a "slight internal curvature of 3 lower lumbar vertebra". The action of heart is "hard and vigourous". The doctor finds that John's disability entitles him to 3/4 total for rheumatism rating.

Unfortunately for John, the Pension Office can find no record of an honorable discharge. Due to that, his petition is rejected.

But that didn't stop John from continuing to try:

12. On 03 November 1890 John (aged 60) made another petition stating he was an invalid due to injuries received in the war, specifically: rheumatism, phthisic, and injury to back. By now, John was living in Union, Broome Co. "Phthisic", pronounced TIZ-ic, is any wasting disease of the lungs.

He was again rejected.

13. On 20 November 1904, John's wife Mary wrote a letter to the Pension Office referring to a newly passed law that all soldiers over the age of 70 should have a pension. She refers tot he fact that his Descriptive List was lost and he had a young family to take care of and wasn't being paid. She also states that John's health is very poor (he's 74 now). Their address is Ithaca, Tompkins Co.

14. On 27 February 1905 Mary writes again, repeating many of the same statements. However, she now adds that John had a shock last Fall (1904) and has been sick every since.

15. According to my records, John passed away in 1906. I don't have a gravestone or death certificate yet. He would have been 76.

16. On 21 February 1914, the Pension Office writes Mr. Underhill (a congressman from NY) that there is no claim pending for John Mix because he was never discharged. Mr. Underhill wrote on behalf of John's widow Mary. Mary is now 74 and living with her son Wesley Mix.

17. On 04 March 1923, Mary writes the Pension Office for what will be the last time. She repeats the same information she provided in earlier letters and states that she was 83 years old as of February of that year. She's living in Union, Broome Co, still with her son Wesley. The Pension Office writes her back stating that she cannot receive the Widow's pension because John was never discharged from service.

18. According to my records, Mary passed away in June of 1925, aged 85.


Conclusion:

Well, it looks like John had legitimate injuries from the fall he sustained while in Virginia, but without an honorable discharge, he just wasn't eligible for any kind of pension. The loss of his Descriptive List seems to be the worst tragedy, since the lack of pay appears to be what prompted him to desert in October of 1864.

One really cool thing to come out of having this pension file are the copies of hand-written letters from John and Mary to the Pension Office.

Now I have their handwriting, in all it's inconsistent spelling and punctuation-less glory. I won't lie, some of it is hard to follow - the letters (especially Mary's) can be like a stream of consciousness.

Here's John's signature to a letter:


and here is Mary's:



I'm grateful to have these!

Death Certificates In My Mail Make Me Happy

It's true, genealogist's love death certificates!!

So, you poor souls who are loyal readers know that sometime last winter I sent away to the New York Department of Health for death certificates. Silly me!

Although I read this text:


It never occurred to me that they were telling the TRUTH? How is it possible for anything to take that long anymore? Yes, I realize that I'm totally ruined for patience and all that thanks to immediate gratification in every other area of my life, but really????? I had only a general idea where the one death took place, and no idea where the other, but from now on I'm totally going through the local clerk! I learned my lesson!

And sure enough, mid-March I sent the letter, mid-June they cashed my check, and here we are, the beginning of September and I get my certificates. Five AND A HALF months. The "half" hurts. I'm just sayin'.

Don't get me wrong now, I'm happy that New York makes these available and I know they are understaffed and under-budgeted. Oh well. One day it will be better!!!

:-)

Love yoooou NY Department of Health! :-)

So anyway, back to my wonderful new certificates!

1. Hattie Allen

She's my maternal great-great-grandmother. I was looking to see how her parents were filled out because Hattie was the offspring of Laura Kirby and Laura's sister's husband. Yes, sad but true. At least according to family lore.

Hattie's daughter Cornelia was the informant and she listed Hattie's parents as "Samuel Kirby" and "Laura Kirby".



So, a couple things from this. Samuel Kirby is Laura Kirby's dad. Laura died not long after Hattie was born (she was still quite young), and Hattie was raised by her grandparents (Laura's parents), Samuel and Lucinda Kirby. I have Hattie in census records living with her grandparent's.

Looks like Cornelia was being discreet when asked about her mom's parents and listed mom's mother (Laura Kirby, no married name), and the man who raised Hattie, Samuel.

Oh well. Back to the drawing board to get some proof of this family legend!

2. Charles Francis Akins

This is Hattie's son Charles. He died at a relatively young age, only 39. A story has come down through the family that (allegedly) his wife might have had something to do with his early death. They say soon after Charley died, she had taken up with a man. Certainly these are all just allegations, I had no idea of his wife's name much less whether she might have encouraged an early demise for Great-Uncle Charley. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the hurt and grief the family of Charley felt that caused them to think not-so-nice things about Charley's widow.

Well, the good news is that homicide is not listed on the death certificate. In fact, they did not even perform an autopsy, so there must not have been anything suspicious to the authorities about Charley's early demise. His death is listed as being due to "cholycystitis". This is a mis-spelling of "cholecystitis" which is inflammation of the gall bladder. I read up on it, and it could be that maybe he had gallstones that blocked the bile from getting out of the gall bladder and maybe it got inflamed and burst, like an appendix. Of course, now I'm the person guessing, but it's a possibility.

The doctor who signed the death certificate attended Great-Uncle Charley from Nov. 1 through Nov. 13, 1928, so he was sick for two weeks before he died.



Also, now I have the name of his wife! Yay! Her name was Ethel Mae. AND, for some reason he was way up in Wayne County NY when he passed. My family typically stuck to the south in Tioga, Tompkins and sometimes Seneca counties, so that was new to me.

So anyway, what a relief to finally receive these, I'm so happy!

I have to admit, I hesitated about sharing the family lore about Charley's wife. But I decided to share as part of the process of debunking it and showing the natural cause of Great-Uncle Charley's death.

When I look at my ancestors during my research, I always hope that they had a happy life, filled with people they loved and who loved them back. I know that realistically, that is not always the case; children die, spouses divorce, natural and man-made disasters happen. But that still doesn't stop my hope that while they were alive, they had happiness in some form.

So no matter what happened between Charley and Ethel, I like to believe there was some point when they grinned at each other over a shared joke, held each other in a hug, or felt joy over their baby's first step.

And that's what keeps us all going, isn't it?

:-)

In Praise of Out-dated History Books

One of my favorite things to do is seek out old history books at used book stores. One of the first one's I ever bought was a history of Europe that was written pre-World War I. I learned so much that helped me in researching my Domelle line (they come from what is now Romania, but what was the Austro-Hungarian Empire when they emigrated) that from that point on I always kept my eye out.

On that same line, I also like when I find books that are very local - not the books that so many people write about counties and towns around the turn of the 19th century, but the one's that were written about people's customs and local stories.

Here's a few I've found over the years:

"Home Life in Colonial Days", by Alice Morse Earle, published 1898

"The Cultural Life of the American Colonies", by Louis B. Wright, published 1957

"Landmarks in the Old Bay State", by William R. Comor, published 1911

and the latest one I just finished reading:

"It's an Old New England Custom", by Edwin Valentine Mitchell, published 1946

Edwin had a great writing style - very informal - as if he was in the room telling you the cool stuff he found out.

Two things from this book really made an impression on me - one chapter was on eating pie for breakfast. Yes, pie! And cake too! Apparently people used to be way more flexible in what was considered an appropriate breakfast food. Edwin lamented the habit of a continental breakfast, brought back by people traveling in Europe. And let me tell you, Edwin knows how to turn a phrase, tell me you aren't hungry after reading this:

"Gone are the great juicy steaks, the red-hot chops, the vast platters of smoking ham and eggs, the hashed-brown potatoes, and the steaming stacks of buck-wheat cakes brought on in relays and eaten with maple syrup from the Berkshires or the Green Mountains."

He also quoted from an account written by English traveler John Lambert, who stopped in at a Vermont farmhouse after having troubles with his boat. He and his traveling companion just busted into this guy's farmhouse at like 4am and woke up the farmer. And he welcomed them! Boy have times changed. Anyway, John Lambert wrote:

"The master of the house, with two of his sons, were soon up, and, having put the kettle on the fire, made preparations for breakfast. About six o'clock, his wife and daughters, two pretty little girls, came into the kitchen, where we were assembled, and in the course of half an hour we had the pleasure of sitting down to a substantial American breakfast, consisting of eggs, fried pork, beefsteaks, apple-tarts, pickles, cheese, cider, tea, and toast dipped in melted butter and milk."

Now THAT'S a breakfast! Especially the cider part. I think I would like to bring back drinking hard-cider all hours of the day.

I consider all these little tidbits so interesting, it really rounds out your knowledge when you are researching ancestors to know a little bit about what their life was like when it comes to the mundane stuff.

One other really cool thing I came across in the book was an awesome turn-of-phrase. He has a chapter on epitaphs found on grave-stones across New England, and in describing how sometimes crimes were recorded on the gravestone, instead of the phrase " old cemetery" he uses:

"old skull orchard"

Come on, how awesome is that!!!!! What a great phrase, I am totally using it from now on.

So anyway, if you come across an old local history, or book on customs or folklore for your area of interest (I also have some old books on New England folklore), I suggest you grab it, you never know what you'll find!

A Little Time to Smell the Roses

So anyway, yeah, it's been a busy summer, to say the least. I won't launch into a bunch of excuses as to why I haven't been writing much - it's all due to a massive project at work finally winding down after 2 years. Man oh man, I sure do miss reading genealogy blogs and researching! Hopefully, the next few weeks will see things winding down.

But that's all besides the point for today!

So I had this doctor's appt and usually they take forever because I have an AWESOME doctor that I love because she spends time actually talking with you. Unfortunately, she does it with all her patients so she is always running really really late. Her office is right near a place that makes delish pad thai, so I figured I'd go to the appt, and then grab some pad thai on the way home for dinner.

Ah yes, the best laid plans!

Naturally, today was like I was in bizarro-world, I'd never gotten in and out of there so fast, and there I was, wanting my pad thai but the restaurant didn't open for dinner for another hour!!!

Spur of the moment I decided to take a little drive into a state park that was just 2 minutes down the road while I waited for the restaurant.

It was the best decision I've made in months!

It's Ridley Creek State Park, that I've been in dozens of times before, but apparently have always managed to miss some really important aspects of it!

Right at the center there is a huge U-shaped mansion that the park office is now in. It was built in 1914 around the original 18th century farmhouse. Surrounding it are gardens that are in just exactly the perfect state of not quite being kept up.

It was hot and very humid, a real summer's day. Blue sky, trees all around, and every once in a while, a wonderful breeze would come through, interrupting the hot sun. There wasn't anyone else around.

The cicadas in the trees were absolutely deafening.

I couldn't hear any road noise, just the cicadas.

I got to be reminded of how huge really really old trees can be.

I saw a butterfly and a big fat bumblebee duking it out for this one flower, which must have been the best tasting one of all of them.

I found an old greenhouse in the woods, broken glass, trees growing out of it.

I found a door on an outbuilding that clearly had not been opened in years.

I found a secret garden!!!

In short, I found bliss! It was a wonderful little 60 minute interlude. I got to be reminded of how beautiful nature is.

What a great day.

:-)

Sentimental Sunday - A Genealogist's Favorite Kind of Gift

What could be a genealogist's favorite kind of gift? Well, I can't speak for all genealogist's, but for this one, it's when someone happily shares their hard work and research with you.

A couple months ago I got a surprise package in the mail, a manila envelope from my Aunt Becky.

It was filled with 53 pages of paper, some hand-written, some type-written. She had written out a history of our family based on her own memories and conversations she had over the years with her parents. She had made copies of everything and mailed it to me.



I had no idea she had done this! Truly, what a gift!! In the note she sent with the pages, she made the statement that it wasn't "hardcore genealogy" but she hoped it would add to the family history I'm doing.

What I hope she realizes is that what she gave me is the most valuable part of doing a family history. Names and dates and number of children is fun for filling in a database. My OCD loves filling in empty fields in a software program.

But a database is not a family history. The stories she captured - THAT's what's important.

What's important are little tidbits like this about my grandfather William as a young boy in Indiana:

"Tony, Peter and some friends went in the woods and found a whisky still. They came back and got William to show him. William was around eight years old. The still was covered with a tent, around six by eight feet, that was painted green to camouflage it in the woods. A revolver was hanging inside. The boys swiped the tent and left everything else. They came back about a week later. Everything was gone. This was during Prohibition."

Or this tidbit about my grandmother Ann:

"When Ann was born, her mother told her there was a snow storm which dropped 2’ of snow and she had jet black hair which curled around her finger and hung down. She looked like a little doll."

Or even this, a wonderful little tidbit about my mom:

"Once during a hot summer day, Deborah and Maria Capp began to fan themselves and each other with some pretty green leaves. The leaves were poison ivy. They were covered in poison ivy. The girls were liberally covered in calamine lotion. They then ran after the other neighbor children to scare them."

So, thank you Aunt Becky!! These pages are priceless and I am very grateful to have them!