Wanted: A Brush with Greatness!

[Robin Evans]

In studying the history of the war or your own genealogy, have you ever had one of those EUREKA! moments? One of those jaw-dropping discoveries about a fact, an event, or an ancestor that you never expected to find? An ancestral brush with greatness?

Tell me about one of those special finds that left you positively gobsmacked!

 

[Deleted member 8452]

Found a Map made in 1864, that showed an exact location of part of my family's farm in Southwest Mecklenburg County, VA. All the men in that family either served in the 14th Virginia or 56th Virginia of Pickett's and Armistead's Brigades.

 

[Robin Evans]

Found a Map made in 1864, that showed an exact location of part of my family's farm in Southwest Mecklenburg County, VA. All the men in that family either served in the 14th Virginia or 56th Virginia of Pickett's and Armistead's Brigades.

WOW! How cool is that! Did your heart beat a little faster when you figured out what you had? That's what usually happens to me.

 

[Deleted member 8452]

WOW! How cool is that! Did your heart beat a little faster when you figured out what you had? That's what usually happens to me.

This is the map http://sovahomefront.org/images/Gilmer Map.jpg
Yeah it was pretty neat, was better when I traced back to a Jamestown settler. Had a lot of those moments through all my genealogy research.

 

[Robin Evans]

This is the map http://sovahomefront.org/images/Gilmer Map.jpg
Yeah it was pretty neat, was better when I traced back to a Jamestown settler. Had a lot of those moments through all my genealogy research.

Oh, we definitely need to talk. We'll take it off the forum since it's not related to this era. I've already sent you a PM. But relative to your map, that is quite a find. Did the surveyor list the land owners on it?

 

[Deleted member 8452]

Oh, we definitely need to talk. We'll take it off the forum since it's not related to this era. I've already sent you a PM. But relative to your map, that is quite a find. Did the surveyor list the land owners on it?

No Official list of owners, but could look at the census, if your looking for a certain surname or person, just see what township they lived near and look for it on the map.

 

[Robin Evans]

No Official list of owners, but could look at the census, if your looking for a certain surname or person, just see what township they lived near and look for it on the map.

I just wondered if those names on the map were villages or surnames. I'm sorry, I don't know much about that area. I've seen maps from that era and before that actually list the settler's names. It is a really interesting piece.

 

[Deleted member 8452]

I just wondered if those names on the map were villages or surnames. I'm sorry, I don't know much about that area. I've seen maps from that era and before that actually list the settler's names. It is a really interesting piece.

Those are all surnames of every main household owner, every black dot is a house.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Well I can't say I was gobsmacked , but I was surprised to find my GG Uncle had been ordered to General Bragg's Headquarters on two occasions. Once to serve as an officer on a court martial jury . . . the other to discuss the consolidation of the 7th & 9th Mississippi Infantry Regiments.

Another surprising find was that I had a direct ancestor in the Colonial Assembly of North Carolina during 1760.

 

[Robin Evans]

Those are all surnames of every main household owner, every black dot is a house.

Ahhh. That's what I thought. I imagine my Pace/Pierce family were mostly gone by then, but I'll look for them on your map. Newsome Pierce, son of Josiah Pace, removed to Nottoway County from Goochland by about 1810.

 

[Robin Evans]

Well I can't say I was gobsmacked , but I was surprised to find my GG Uncle had been ordered to General Bragg's Headquarters on two occasions. Once to serve as an officer on a court martial jury . . . the other to discuss the consolidation of the 7th Mississippi & 9th Mississippi regiments.

Another surprising find was that I had a direct ancestor in the Colonial Assembly of North Carolina during 1760.

Very good! General Braxton Bragg . That is certainly a brush with greatness. The General spent a little piece of time in Chattanooga, TN. My husband's cousin, Lt. Thomas Fletcher Ragland, Company D, 9th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry fought with his forces at Perryville where he was wounded (broken arm). He later had his leg broken at the bloody battle of Chickamauga and died a few days later.

And to have an ancestor in the Colonial Assembly of NC is quite a distinction. I, too, had an ancestor who served in the NC Colonial Assembly just prior to the Revolution. We must compare notes! Congratulations on your illustrious heritage!

 

[unionblue]

In studying the history of the war or your own genealogy, have you ever had one of those EUREKA! moments? One of those jaw-dropping discoveries about a fact, an event, or an ancestor that you never expected to find? An ancestral brush with greatness?

Tell me about one of those special finds that left you positively gobsmacked!

My wife and I were absolutely shocked to find out that my direct ancestor, Jacob Lee Hambleton, owned seven slaves. The astonishment was in our gut feeling of discovering such a fact and that his father had owned 200 slaves.

Then we discovered that Jacob and his three brothers joined the Confederate Army with Jacob joining the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, the Nelson County Grays, and that he was captured at the Angle at Gettysburg during Picket's Charge.

Definitely some 'gobsmacked' moments there.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

 

[Robin Evans]

My wife and I were absolutely shocked to find out that my direct ancestor, Jacob Lee Hambleton, owned seven slaves. The astonishment was in our gut feeling of discovering such a fact and that his father had owned 200 slaves.

Then we discovered that Jacob and his three brothers joined the Confederate Army with Jacob joining the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, the Nelson County Grays, and that he was captured at the Angle at Gettysburg during Picket's Charge.

Definitely some 'gobsmacked' moments there.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

I can relate. My Cribbs family had brothers who fought on opposite sides. There are so many myths about the war and I'd always heard about that type of thing, but to know it happened in your family, well, it's different. I had a really sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, just wondering what kind of agony my g-g-grandparents must've gone through, not knowing what to hope for except that both of their boys come home safely.

Alas, that was not to be. And Aswell Preston Cribbs of the Tennessee Sixth Cavalry died May 7, 1864 - a soldier. He answered the call to serve his country and did so honorably, as did soldiers on both sides.

Peace be to all soldiers who have died in the service of their country.

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Although it remains in the zone of "possibility," rather than being certain, the fairly recent discovery that one of my ancestors may have been a longbowman in one of King Henry V's French campaigns left me pretty close to "gobsmacked." Henry V is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (and the Kenneth Brannagh version one of my favorite movies)... although I'm almost positive that my direct ancestor was not at Agincourt itself, but rather a later campaign, his older brother might have been at Agincourt.

 

[Robin Evans]

Although it remains in the zone of "possibility," rather than being certain, the fairly recent discovery that one of my ancestors may have been a longbowman in one of King Henry V's French campaigns left me pretty close to "gobsmacked." Henry V is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (and the Kenneth Brannagh version one of my favorite movies)... although I'm almost positive that my direct ancestor was not at Agincourt itself, but rather a later campaign, his older brother might have been at Agincourt.

A brush with English Royalty. That is certainly impressive! Have you studied more about that era and Henry V's reign since you made this discovery? Have you ever wanted to go to England and walk in the steps of your ancestor?

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Someday! It's actually not too far off from where member alexjack lives, actually, in southeastern Wales, between Abergavenny and Monmouth (Henry V was actually born at Monmouth Castle, hence Shakespeare having him call himself 'Welsh,' though he wasn't really; just was born nearby). My wife and kids visited near there last summer, but I couldn't be there for that part of the vacation. (I didn't know till too late in the planning stages...) But I keep doing my homework and someday I'll make my visit.

 

[Robin Evans]

Someday! It's actually not too far off from where member alexjack lives, actually, in southeastern Wales, between Abergavenny and Monmouth (Henry V was actually born at Monmouth Castle, hence Shakespeare having him call himself 'Welsh,' though he wasn't really; just was born nearby). My wife and kids visited near there last summer, but I couldn't be there for that part of the vacation. (I didn't know till too late in the planning stages...) But I keep doing my homework and someday I'll make my visit.

I hope you do. How cool would that be! My sister-in-law attended the University at Oxford.
So many of our ancestors were Scots Irish and Welsh, certainly on both sides during the war. My plans are to visit Scotland next year. Great story!

 

[southern blue]

When I discovered several of my ancestors were at Plymouth Colony. They arrived after the Mayflower but they knew all the famous historical people and one...Deacon John Doane has his own wiki page.

Civil War related...that my great grandfather not only knew William Holland Thomas of the Thomas Legion...they were friends and that friendship apparently endured despite their political differences.

 

[Robin Evans]

When I discovered several of my ancestors were at Plymouth Colony. They arrived after the Mayflower but they knew all the famous historical people and one...Deacon John Doane has his own wiki page.

Civil War related...that my great grandfather not only knew William Holland Thomas of the Thomas Legion...they were friends and that friendship apparently endured despite their political differences.

It's really nice to be able to trace your ancestry back to one of the earliest settlements, isn't it.

As far as the relationship between your grandfather and W.H. Thomas, perhaps they realized that the cause of the war was laid in the basis of the government itself, going back to those earliest days in colonial America. Wars are waged by the powerful to maintain or grab more power. The common man does the dirty work.

 

[peteanddelmar]

We were all privates and apparently saw no one important . LOL