Thank you; maybe we will end up solving two family mysteries.I contacted a Buchanan descendant through Ancestry and invited him to look at the thread and tell us what he thinks!
Thank you; maybe we will end up solving two family mysteries.I contacted a Buchanan descendant through Ancestry and invited him to look at the thread and tell us what he thinks!
So I ask myself, "why" would Buchanan's letter wind up in Depew hands? Where's the Venn Diagram overlap?Just running down Thomas Buchanan - he was reported sick in the January muster roll - which also fits with the letter. Here is a brief list of facts on him -
Born 1825 Tennessee
Married Letitia "Letty" Greene
Lived in Whitley County, Kentucky <- overlap in location?
5 children - Nathan, Judia, Lewis, Henry, Sarah Debby
Interesting, thank you. Pre-War, Depews were in Tennessee counties of Sullivan, Greene & Washington where Isaac as well as James Depew descendants lived.So I ask myself, "why" would Buchanan's letter wind up in Depew hands? Where's the Venn Diagram overlap?
Googlefingered "Depew" and "Whitley County".
Depews did live in the county, but seem to be mostly post-war.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial...=&datefilter=&orderby=&includeMaidenName=true
Interesting, thank you. Pre-War, Depews were in Tennessee counties of Sullivan, Greene & Washington where Isaac as well as James Depew descendants lived.
There are a few, plus some others who have been pointed out by @east tennessee roots. I will check those more broadly, now that details are questionable, having rejected those who didn’t fit dates or serviceCan you place any Depew in your family tree with Civil War service?
The cross may be lower too, a Buchanan daughter's daughter, for instance, so the name is not there for an obvious connection. We might could find it but we'd have to do all the lines down.For anyone with a newspapers.com account, a useful Venn Diagram type search would be "Buchanan Depew" for KY papers 1850-1890.
Good point. Thank you.The cross may be lower too, a Buchanan daughter's daughter, for instance, so the name is not there for an obvious connection. We might could find it but we'd have to do all the lines down.
So true.(As @7th Mississippi Infantry recounted his family’s 35 year efforts because of typos & misunderstandings as to ranks and regiments and @Reconstructed Rebel noted the perils of deciphering the curly-cues in single digits and letters in company names.)
So true again.Given that the letter was transcribed, it's possible, I suppose, that the 7 was actually a 1. Or F was an E or some such mix up. They put a lot of curly-cues on letters and numbers back then....
Thank you for the Marilda Buchanan census entry. True, not a common first name, and Relda could be her nickname to match the letter. She is tho not a “dear sister” (as mentioned in the letter) to anyone named Thomas Buchanan. But Marilda is a good clue for searching in place of my previous attempts at finding a Relda. Thank you for your suggestion.Just to muddy the waters a little more, there was a Marilda Buchanan, age 2, birth year about 1858, POB Kentucky, living in District 1, Pulaski, Kentucky, Somerset Post Office, listed on the 1860 Federal Census. Rilda, Relda, Esmarelda, and Marilda don’t appear to be particularly common first names on the 1850 or 1860 Federal Census. Based on some family trees, it appears that Mary (nickname Polly) Depew (b. 1798, Sullivan County, TN; d. 1835, Sullivan County, TN) daughter of Isaac Depew and Jane Jones, married George Rhea Cox (b. 1789, d. 1844) in 1814 in Hawkins, TN. Was the family bible the Depew family bible? Not having a copy of the original letter or any real provenance for the letter it becomes very difficult to associate it with certainty to an individual.
Name: | Marilda Buchanan | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age: | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Birth Year: | abt 1838 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||||
Birth Place: | Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||||
Home in 1860: | District 1, Pulaski, Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||||
Post Office: | Somerset | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dwelling Number: | 1546 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Family Number: | 1491 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Name: | Thos Buchanan | ||||||||||||||||
Age: | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
Birth Year: | abt 1826 | ||||||||||||||||
Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||
Birth Place: | Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||
Home in 1860: | Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||
Post Office: | Williamsburg | ||||||||||||||||
Dwelling Number: | 327 | ||||||||||||||||
Family Number: | 314 | ||||||||||||||||
Occupation: | F | ||||||||||||||||
Real Estate Value: | 400 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal Estate Value: | 200 | ||||||||||||||||
Attended School: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
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Name: | Thomas Buchannon | ||||||||||
Gender: | Male | ||||||||||
Age: | 24 | ||||||||||
Birth Year: | abt 1826 | ||||||||||
Birthplace: | Tennessee | ||||||||||
Home in 1850: | District 2, Harlan, Kentucky, USA | ||||||||||
Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||
Industry: | Agriculture | ||||||||||
Line Number: | 14 | ||||||||||
Dwelling Number: | 11 | ||||||||||
Family Number: | 11 | ||||||||||
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Name: | Lettice Buchan[Lettice Buchanan] | ||||||||||
Age in 1870: | 43 | ||||||||||
Birth Date: | abt 1827 | ||||||||||
Birthplace: | Kentucky | ||||||||||
Dwelling Number: | 32 | ||||||||||
Home in 1870: | Martin Springs, Whitley, Kentucky | ||||||||||
Race: | White | ||||||||||
Gender: | Female | ||||||||||
Post Office: | Bark Camp Mills | ||||||||||
Occupation: | Keeping House | ||||||||||
Personal Estate Value: | 200 | ||||||||||
Real Estate Value: | 400 | ||||||||||
Inferred Children: | Lewis G BuchanHenry H Buchan | ||||||||||
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Name: | Lutty Buchhanan | ||||||||||||
Age: | 52 | ||||||||||||
Birth Date: | Abt 1828 | ||||||||||||
Birthplace: | Kentucky | ||||||||||||
Home in 1880: | Martins Springs, Whitley, Kentucky, USA | ||||||||||||
Dwelling Number: | 252 | ||||||||||||
Race: | White | ||||||||||||
Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||
Relation to Head of House: | Self (Head) | ||||||||||||
Marital Status: | Widowed | ||||||||||||
Father's Birthplace: | Kentucky | ||||||||||||
Mother's Birthplace: | Kentucky | ||||||||||||
Occupation: | Keeping House | ||||||||||||
Neighbors: | View others on page | ||||||||||||
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Name: | Lettie Buchanan[Pettie Buchanan] | ||||||||||||||||||
Age: | 73 | ||||||||||||||||||
Birth Date: | Nov 1826 | ||||||||||||||||||
Birthplace: | Kentucky, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
Home in 1900: | Rockhold, Whitley, Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||
Sheet Number: | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 211 | ||||||||||||||||||
Family Number: | 211 | ||||||||||||||||||
Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||
Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||||
Relation to Head of House: | Mother in Law (Mother-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||
Marital Status: | Widowed | ||||||||||||||||||
Father's Birthplace: | Kentucky, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
Mother's Birthplace: | Kentucky, USA | ||||||||||||||||||
Mother: number of living children: | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mother: How many children: | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
Attended School: | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Neighbors: | View others on page | ||||||||||||||||||
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Just a thought, but my brother Tom ended up taking into his family the son of his wife's cousin when the cousin abandoned him...and to this day has always been referred to as his son and as the brother of Tom's children, even though Dwight has a different last name. I think this practice of taking in children from other families, without legally adopting them, was pretty common in the 19th century. If no one knows Tom Buchanan's parents, is it possible he was taken in by your family? And maybe even referred to himself as an honorary Depew? A reach, I know, but it might explain some of the facts here.Thank you for the Marilda Buchanan census entry. True, not a common first name, and Relda could be her nickname to match the letter. She is tho not a “dear sister” (as mentioned in the letter) to anyone named Thomas Buchanan. But Marilda is a good clue for searching in place of my previous attempts at finding a Relda. Thank you for your suggestion.
While the Mary Depew you cite is my ancestor, and Mary is the grandmother of the woman whose Bible contained the letter (Maria Theresa Cox Williams), it’s true that we only know it was from “her Bible,” yet not whether it was Maria’s originally or whether it came from the Cox family or Depews (her father, Mabry Tucker Cox, the son of Mary Depew). Yet, why would she have this letter, if she were not a relative through the Depews. While Thomas Buchanan ( cited by @lupaglupa ) matches regiment, company, rank, location and death year, I’m still looking for a connection of Buchanan with Depew or Cox.