Quakers!! Oh My!!

[lelliott19]

@Bruce Vail There are four men with last name "Vail" serving in CSA from NC:

Joseph Vail Pvt Co G 17th NC (2nd Organization)
Josephus Vail Pvt Co _ 1st Battalion NC (Miscellaneous File)
Henry Vail Pvt Co I 6th NC Infantry
Thomas L Vail 1st Lt Co H 1st NC Cavalry (9th State Troops) age 33 .......23 pages of records on him

One with last name "Vale"
Henry Vale Co D Clarks Special Battalion NC Militia (Jan 25, 1862 to Mar 19, 1862)

 

[Bruce Vail]

@Bruce Vail There are four men with last name "Vail" serving in CSA from NC:

Joseph Vail Pvt Co G 17th NC (2nd Organization)
Josephus Vail Pvt Co _ 1st Battalion NC (Miscellaneous File)
Henry Vail Pvt Co I 6th NC Infantry
Thomas L Vail 1st Lt Co H 1st NC Cavalry (9th State Troops) age 33 .......23 pages of records on him

One with last name "Vale"
Henry Vale Co D Clarks Special Battalion NC Militia (Jan 25, 1862 to Mar 19, 1862)

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a distant connection.

The original Thomas Vail emigrated from England to the Mass. Bay Colony in 1640. The main branches of the family are now in NY, NJ, Penn., and Ohio, but there were other outposts in several other states.

BTW - I find with this monograph that all the genealogy work for the Vail side of my family has already been done for me. The main sources cited are two other genealogical works that are rare, but apparently still available in specialized libraries.

Sometime later this year I'll start work on the Day side of the family. My Grandmother Day was said to be able to trace her line back to the Mayflower.

 

[lelliott19]

The original Thomas Vail emigrated from England to the Mass. Bay Colony in 1640.

Since the original Vail was named "Thomas" I just had to look into the service of "Thomas L Vail" 1st Lt, Co H, 1st NC Cavalry (9th State Troops) age 33.

Thomas Lodowick Vail enlisted Aug 12, 1861 into NC State Service; appointed 1st Lt May 16, 1861; and mustered into Confederate service Oct 21, 1861. He was admitted to Moore Hospital at Gen Hospital No 1 Danville, Virginia on Jan 3, 1862 with "pneumonia" and was sent to General Hospital Charlottesville. He submitted his resignation dated Sept 16, 1862, at Winchester Virginia, but it took a while for it to get through all the proper channels - signed by the Capt , the Col, Maj Gen Wade Hampton, and finally signed by General Lee Oct 9, 1862. Carded records say "resigned Oct 22, 1862 for disability." He appears on a "Roll of Honor" listed as County: Wayne. Another card in his file lists him as Vail, T L (Conscript light duty) and he pledged the Oath of Allegiance May 29, 1865 at Charlotte NC. So I assume he was conscripted after he resigned?

Thomas L Vail was enumerated in the 1870 US Census for Providence Township, Mecklenburg County, Post Office Charlotte: age 43 a Farmer - with wife Sarah J also age 43 Keeping House. (I think his wife's name was actually Smythia Jane Persons) Children: Jinnie F age 18 "at home" Sue age 16 "at home" Willis age 13 "at school" Cora age 10 "at school" and Ida age 9 "at school"
He died in 1908 and is buried in Charlotte. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=24832674

 

[Bruce Vail]

Since the original Vail was named "Thomas" I just had to look into the service of "Thomas L Vail" 1st Lt, Co H, 1st NC Cavalry (9th State Troops) age 33.

Thomas Lodowick Vail enlisted Aug 12, 1861 into NC State Service; appointed 1st Lt May 16, 1861; and mustered into Confederate service Oct 21, 1861. He was admitted to Moore Hospital at Gen Hospital No 1 Danville, Virginia on Jan 3, 1862 with "pneumonia" and was sent to General Hospital Charlottesville. He submitted his resignation dated Sept 16, 1862, at Winchester Virginia, but it took a while for it to get through all the proper channels - signed by the Capt , the Col, Maj Gen Wade Hampton, and finally signed by General Lee Oct 9, 1862. Carded records say "resigned Oct 22, 1862 for disability." He appears on a "Roll of Honor" listed as County: Wayne. Another card in his file lists him as Vail, T L (Conscript light duty) and he pledged the Oath of Allegiance May 29, 1865 at Charlotte NC. So I assume he was conscripted after he resigned?
View attachment 142218
Thomas L Vail was enumerated in the 1870 US Census for Providence Township, Mecklenburg County, Post Office Charlotte: age 43 a Farmer - with wife Sarah J also age 43 Keeping House. (I think his wife's name was actually Smythia Jane Persons) Children: Jinnie F age 18 "at home" Sue age 16 "at home" Willis age 13 "at school" Cora age 10 "at school" and Ida age 9 "at school"
He died in 1908 and is buried in Charlotte. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=24832674

Thomas Lodowick Vail was a grandson of one of the New Jersey Vails:

"Mr. Vail's father was the son of Thomas Vail, a native of New Jersey...who came from his native state to Washington County at an early age..."

https://books.google.com/books?id=w...MTAD#v=onepage&q=Thomas Lodowick Vail&f=false

The New Jersey Vails were very fertile. The Pennsylvania and Ohio Vails mostly from there.

 

[captaindrew]

I'm a little late to this thread but welcome to the Quaker club! My Great Grandmother was a Quaker from Chester Co Pa. That line of the family had been in Pa. right from the start. I knew of a couple of CW vets in that line of the family and at least one Rev War vet being my grandfather was in the Sons of the Revolution. What shocked me when I started working on my ancestry was how many more I hadn't known about served. They all had big families and I'd say about half of the men of military age served in some form in the Civil War, some having pretty interesting stories, and almost all the men during the Revolution served some time in the Chester Co Militia some seeing action in the Brandywine campaign and the British march on Philidelphia. Even found a couple 1812 vets and Mexican war vets. Can't say what their motivations were but I guess patriotism and call of duty trumped religion in a lot of cases.

 

[Southern Unionist]

Randolph County North Carolina which is right in the middle of what is known as the Quaker Belt

Guilford County was loaded too.

 

[MissREP]

My third-great grandfather up my mom's side was a Quaker...and one of my two Yankee grandfathers. He served (along with the other Yankee grandpa) in the 8th Indiana Cavalry (which ended up being the 39th Indiana Infantry if I recall correctly). I've wondered why a Quaker would join up...

 

[Southern Unionist]

Randolph County

Maybe that explains why Asheboro became such a haven for draft dodgers. Twice, the Governor sent a state militia unit to clean the place out, and twice they ran back to Raleigh in failure. He decided to give up, and from that point onward, refused to answer questions about what was going on in Asheboro, or what he planned to do about it.

I've wondered why a Quaker would join up...

They were pacifists but also abolitionists, so every individual had to favor one conflicting ideal or the other.

A couple generations later, they led the national fight for alcohol prohibition. Guilford County was a hotbed of activism for this cause.

 

[Bruce Vail]

"They were pacifists but also abolitionists, so every individual had to favor one conflicting ideal or the other."

I don't see any conflict, Southern Unionist. Neither did thousands of other pacifists.

BTW - There is a famous story that Gen. Nathaniel Greene of Revolutionary War fame was kicked out of the Quakers for embracing the war for independence.

 

[civilken]

I had a friend once who was a Quaker. I don't know about all of them but the ones I met were very nice people apparently your ancestors were very good people to.

 

[Nathanb1]

Daniel Boone's family were Penn. Quakers who moved to N. C.
My earliest Penn. ancestors were originally Quakers who later became members of the Church of the Brethren, or "Dunkers," which seems to me to be rather Quaker-like, but I don't know.

So in your ancestral quest, if you run out of Quakers, they may have done the same as mine.

Aha! That's the Boone connection to my family! I think you may have just made a crack in that particular genealogical brick wall.

 

[Booner]

Aha! That's the Boone connection to my family! I think you may have just made a crack in that particular genealogical brick wall.

Well, Ain't I something?
But seriously, how are you related to the Boone's?

I have a big interest in the Boone's, esp. their time in MO.

 

[Nathanb1]

Well, Ain't I something?
But seriously, how are you related to the Boone's?

I have a big interest in the Boone's, esp. their time in MO.

Not sure we are, but we followed right along with 'emu... and were Quakers. I've been trying to figure out this old family claim for 20 years... this is the first thing that makes sense.

 

[Booner]

Not sure we are, but we followed right along with 'emu... and were Quakers. I've been trying to figure out this old family claim for 20 years... this is the first thing that makes sense.

Well, I'm not sure how I helped but happy that you think so.
Did your family come out of Pn. To N.C.? And I think Daniel's father was kicked out of the Quakers for allowing a couple of his childeren to marry outside of the faith.

 

[spounds]

My third-great grandfather up my mom's side was a Quaker...and one of my two Yankee grandfathers. He served (along with the other Yankee grandpa) in the 8th Indiana Cavalry (which ended up being the 39th Indiana Infantry if I recall correctly). I've wondered why a Quaker would join up...

My g-g-g-uncle also was a Quaker that served in the 8th Indiana Cavalry. His name was Richard J. Ricks.

 

[Mike Serpa]

But it's a big clue to why my branch of the Vails doesn't have a military history to speak of, and that we all talk funny.

The Quaker gun was named after them.

 

[Zella]

I've found unexpected Quakers in my mom's family.

I was always told my mother's family were all German immigrants who came over in the late 1800s. Imagine my surprise when I figured out the "100% German side" of the family was more like 3/8 German. Of the non-Germans, I found both lapsed Mormons and Quakers.

The Quaker side has intrigued me quite a bit. From what I could tell, my great-great-great grandmother Eliza was from Baltimore, and her family became Quakers when she was a toddler. Eliza was kicked out when she married my great-great-great grandfather John.

I found meeting records that go into painstaking detail about all of the conversations and warnings she got about being terminated due to her marriage but no explanation for what the underlying objection to him or the marriage was. What's really odd is her sister had been married to his brother for a few years, and nobody seemed to care about that. The brother is buried in a Friends cemetery, so maybe he was willing to join the faith and my direct ancestor wasn't?

In any event, John and Eliza's son Samuel is one of my Civil War ancestors. He ended up serving under an alias in a Union Missouri cavalry unit. It's struck me as strange that he enlisted under an assumed name relatively late in the war, despite being of age for a couple of years before then, and that he enlisted so far from home. His own brother was also of age and doesn't seem to have served. I've wondered if his by then-deceased mother still believed in pacifism despite no longer officially being connected with the Quaker church and had taught her children along those lines while she was still alive?

 

[WJC]

the shocking truth -- in the old days, our family was full of Quakers!!

Thee are not alone! I am pleased that many of my ancestors were Quakers. That didn't stop a couple from fighting in the Revolution, though they were "condemned for being so far in the spirit of war" by their Meeting. They were later reinstated.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Thee are not alone! I am pleased that many of my ancestors were Quakers. That didn't stop a couple from fighting in the Revolution, though they were "condemned for being so far in the spirit of war" by their Meeting. They were later reinstated.

Same, from NC. It has to be a mistake to assume Quakers did not fight- ours left, fought in the Revolution and came back. It wasn't until the Civil War our ancestors left for good. Grgrgrandfather, 126th OVI, married a Methodist, whether because the sect wouldn't allow him back or the Methodist female decided the point isn't known.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

My mother's family was mostly Quaker here in NH which explains why they didn't go into CW service. I've been to the burying ground and it is most annoying. They put the family name of "Gove" on it but to not appear vain, they have no birth or death dates on the stones! So it forces ones to scrabble through old records looking for these dates. My mother could remember a couple of very old relatives saying thee and thou and "how be ye" instead of "how are you."

Yet some of these Quaker girls married into hot-blooded Revolutionary war types and that's how I got into the DAR.