6th Ohio Cavalry Ancestor

[Snowbound]

I'm a new member and this is my first thread. I'm seeking advice and/or opinions on the below ancestors. They are third great grandparents. I'm not as familiar with Fold3 Union records as I am with the records of my CSA ancestors. Pvt James Morgan Day was married to Minerva (Barker) Day. Both were from Gallia County Ohio. He was born in 1830 and died before the 1880 census. Can I consider his service and dates fairly accurate? The application numbers appear to match husband and wife.

According to this site, James Day was 22 when he enlisted. I feel this is could be an entry error to the roster and a two should be a three. By 1861 he already had 8 children and was 31/32. Three more were born after the war. rostehttps://civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/6th_oh_cavalry_roster.pdf

Is it possible to request more accurate records from the National Archives? All advice is most welcome.

 

[Taylin]

This is probably a different James Day, I found a James M Day in Gallia Ohio, aged 33 and married but not in the service in the 1863 draft record. Also this pension file was filed by this James in 1890.

Draft Record

 

[Snowbound]

I saw the draft record and am sure this is the same James Day. Along with the age disparity it certainly contradicts what's on the Pension cads. He is shown as Morgan Day on 1850, 60, and 70 census. His marriage records and birth records of children show his name as James M Day. All records show his wife as Minerva Barker. She died in 1922. Still trying to fully understand the two cards above. There would have to two couples named James and Minerva Day for the above to not be my ancestors. Thanks for input Taylin

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina. Just jump right in and enjoy.
Just wait a little while and someone will be along to answer your questions. Paging @Zella
@east tennessee roots

 

[Taylin]

http://www.galliagenealogy.org/cemeteryrecords/cem_dav_day.htm

A Morgan Day with no dates or headstone is buried in Providence Cemetery, however he's listed as a civil war veteran and "G.R.C."

My suggestion to you is to order the pension files for James, I'm not sure if this will include his wife's pension application or not, if not you might have to order that as well. It's an $80 fee for up to 100 pages, it's then, I believe, slightly over a dollar for each additional page. I have only ordered 1 pension file so far and I can say that it was well worth it (for me) the amount of information and fire hand accounts / testimonies was more than I could have ever asked for. Hopefully doing this might put to rest your quest, additionally if it could be confirmed one way or another (through his wife's pension) that he is indeed the the Morgan Day buried at Providence Cemetery would have the opportunity to get him a headstone assuming his burial lot is located.

 

[Belle Montgomery]

I found this - James M.- age 33 and married (4th name down) - the upper left says Harrison Twnp. -Gallia County

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

I'm a new member and this is my first thread. I'm seeking advice and/or opinions on the below ancestors. They are third great grandparents. I'm not as familiar with Fold3 Union records as I am with the records of my CSA ancestors. Pvt James Morgan Day was married to Minerva (Barker) Day. Both were from Gallia County Ohio. He was born in 1830 and died before the 1880 census. Can I consider his service and dates fairly accurate? The application numbers appear to match husband and wife.

According to this site, James Day was 22 when he enlisted. I feel this is could be an entry error to the roster and a two should be a three. By 1861 he already had 8 children and was 31/32. Three more were born after the war. rostehttps://civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/6th_oh_cavalry_roster.pdf

Is it possible to request more accurate records from the National Archives? All advice is most welcome.


View attachment 314787
View attachment 314788

Welcome. At the bottom of the first card, in remarks, is listed Caleb Arthur, Co.G, 2nd WV Cavalry. He was 31 years old when he enlisted. 8/21/1861. He mustered out 11/29/1864. In the same Company G 2nd WV Cavalry is a James Daily. That puts us back to square one, Daily is listed as only 22 when he enlisted 9/1/1861. He mustered out 6/30/1865. On 11/23/1864 he transferred from Company G to Company E. Caleb Arthur was Quartermaster Sergeant. Maybe some sort of conflict with the names ?

 

[Belle Montgomery]

There also is an Iowa Judge James M. Day in 1870 who was born in Ohio and his wife's name was Minerva too and served in the Union.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

He is shown as Morgan Day on 1850, 60, and 70 census.

 

[Belle Montgomery]

There is also a Supreme Court Judge James M. Day who was born in Ohio and his wife's name was Minerva too (1870 census) . The record I posted has James M. as a farmer.

 

[Snowbound]

Thanks for everyone's input. Pretty sure now there were two James and Minerva Day. Mine was a farmer before the war (Belle's list) and coal miner after. He died young in his forties.

 

[Taylin]

There also is an Iowa Judge James M. Day in 1870 who was born in Ohio and his wife's name was Minerva too and served in the Union.

Believe this is the James you're referring to: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36201996/james-gamble-day

 

[Belle Montgomery]

Believe this is the James you're referring to: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36201996/james-gamble-day

You are correct! All I read was the 1870 census with no middle initial and his wife was Minerva

 

[Deleted User CS]

Welcome from Harrisburg Pennsylvania.

 

[WJC]

Welcome! As you can see, there are many here eager to help in genealogy searches. I look forward to your perspective in our discussions! Enjoy!

 

[Zella]

Thanks for the heads up, @Seduzal!

And, @Snowbound, it looks like you're getting some great info here. To answer your original question about ordering from the National Archives, you'll probably have to do that for his service records since Ohio does not have theirs uploaded on Fold3 yet. The service record sometimes is pretty barren, but other times, it has a wealth of information. I definitely agree with @Taylin about ordering the pension record too--those often have way more information. I have not actually ordered from the National Archives yet, but I know a lot of folks on here have and could help walk you through that process.

 

[Snowbound]

Thanks Zella, but Looks like the 6th Ohio James Day is not my ancestor. I was hoping to find a direct Union ancestor. As close as I come is a distant 1st cousin. Will definitely try the ordering process in the future. Thanks again for the expertise of others on the forum.

 

[RhinehartRoots]

Will definitely try the ordering process in the future.

It looks like you may have this figured out now. If you run across any files that you need, let me know. I'm at the National Archives on a regular basis and can get these pension files for you at a cheaper rate than what the National Archives charges for the same thing. You've gotten a lot of good advice here already, so let me know if I can help you find anything else.

 

[privateflemming]

I see you've realized this probably isn't your ancestor.

I also suspect I probably have some Union 3rd great-grandfathers but I haven't been able to confirm it because they had common names, or at least common enough names that there were always multiple people living in the same state who were the exact same age. A while ago I thought I had found one of my 3rd great-grandfathers was in the Union cavalry in Missouri during the Civil War because there was someone who was the same age with the same first and last name. It also made sense because he had a daughter (my 2nd great-grandmother) born in 1862 who was given the middle name Lincoln despite it not being a family name. But I eventually realized they couldn't be the same person because my 3rd great-grandfather was born in Missouri while this other person was born in Tennessee and I then found out he had a different wife and children and was actually born one year apart (just close enough to be the same age in a given year). The search continues.

 

[Snowbound]

That's a very kind and generous offer Rhinehart. Ill try to get off message. How is the quality of copies when done on site? I'm amazed at what the National Archives have on Revolutionary war records, especially soldier and widows pensions. Some of my ancestors are 60 pages plus.

These gentlemen have done an amazing job with their site. Its a great starting point. http://revwarapps.org/

I have created extensive trees for the wife and I on Ancestry. The problem is so many people simply copy from others without verification. I always felt this one was suspect, thus the inquiry.