Ancestors versus 2nd cousins removed Civil War Relatives List

JD Mayo

Retired User
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Location
Greensboro NC
Would you doing research on your family specially from any background no matter where you came from. They had 2nd cousins your great great grandfather's would you be with your ancestor family if you agree with them or not or would you support your 2nd cousins who where into politics or pro government during the Civil War if your ancestor was for both would you be there to defended him? Not for your 2nd cousins or kin folk? That is if your ancestor was anti government to support there own cause etc? I think honestly I would stay with my immediate ancestors family if they weren't anti etc. I found out that Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton who is a character in the movie Gods and Generals. Is related to him threw my ancestor William H Gaines. I am glad now I can do side by side comparisons threw my ancestors with their relationship on Relatives List. Like which Relatives would you support if you where in the middle like a independent etc. Not Conservative or Liberal.
 
If I understand your question, JD, while I would fall into agreement with my Union ancestor(s), I would still honor my southern ancestors as folks who stood and fought for what they believed in. I doubt that my southern ancestors would've owned any slaves. Our economic history is definitely not built on capitol. But they probably would've fought for the very reason that Shelby Foote quoted on the Ken Burns series. When a Union soldier asked a Confederate soldier why they were fighting the war, the Confederate relied, "Because you'uns is down here!" If one can ignore the States' rights/Slavery issues today, there is nothing wrong with honoring your southern ancestors for defending themselves and their homesteads.
PS-I am not going to argue the States' Rights/Slavery issue. It is an old and thoroughly abused subject in which there are no winners or losers. Neither will I argue the CBF or statues issue. That is for another thread!
 
Would you doing research on your family specially from any background no matter where you came from. They had 2nd cousins your great great grandfather's would you be with your ancestor family if you agree with them or not or would you support your 2nd cousins who where into politics or pro government during the Civil War if your ancestor was for both would you be there to defended him? Not for your 2nd cousins or kin folk? That is if your ancestor was anti government to support there own cause etc? I think honestly I would stay with my immediate ancestors family if they weren't anti etc. I found out that Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton who is a character in the movie Gods and Generals. Is related to him threw my ancestor William H Gaines. I am glad now I can do side by side comparisons threw my ancestors with their relationship on Relatives List. Like which Relatives would you support if you where in the middle like a independent etc. Not Conservative or Liberal.
This seems like a really odd question. From my perspective at least, it's not my job to agree or disagree with my ancestors politics or actions, rather it's my job to learn from their achievements, and also learn from their mistakes and try not to repeat them. All that's left of my ancestors is what written in some books, a few photos, and a few scattered monuments here and there which are now endangered, but that's not what this thread is for....

At any rate, we shouldn't be judged for our ancestors actions, nor should we judge ourselves for our ancestors actions; rather, we should stand upon our own two feet upon the pillar of truth that we've built for ourselves. That is who we are. You might need to trade your iPhone in for a mirror to see it, but that's just life.
 
Sorry my grammar kind of sucks. Would you fight against your ancestor if you lived back then or with your kin folk if they joined for either of their rights? I wouldn't fight for the idea of slavery either.
 
Sorry my grammar kind of sucks. Would you fight against your ancestor if you lived back then or with your kin folk if they joined for either of their rights? I wouldn't fight for the idea of slavery either.
If your local family, your neighbors, your local town, your newspaper, your church leaders, and your state government supported a particular view, how can you say what you would have thought 150 years ago?
 
Sorry my grammar kind of sucks. Would you fight against your ancestor if you lived back then or with your kin folk if they joined for either of their rights? I wouldn't fight for the idea of slavery either.

Your question is clearer now -- thanks! I think @DaveBrt makes an important point: We're all influenced by the time and the environment we grow up and live in, so it's hard to say how we would have thought or acted back then.

My family on my mother's side is from South Carolina; on my father's side from New York. I would dearly love to be able to go back in time to talk with those folks. But my tendency is to try to get to know people and their point of view before making judgments. I'd like to think I would have been like that back in Civil War times as well.

Roy B.
 
Sorry my grammar kind of sucks. Would you fight against your ancestor if you lived back then or with your kin folk if they joined for either of their rights? I wouldn't fight for the idea of slavery either.
No problem, it's hard to formulate questions sometimes, thanks for clearing your question up!
 
I just believe we can't judge people back then as we think now. It was 150 years ago. We don't know how we would have thought. But people are influenced by family, friends in their area and would probably think like they did. Judging people of the past causes many problems. People want to put them in our world today. It was a different time and people thought differently.
 
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