Jesse's Civil War Pension Claim

Family lore has it that after the Civil War, Jesse Clark Osgood was never the same physically. He was described by family members as being frail afterwards.

Jesse volunteered for service in Company A of the 26th Massachusetts volunteer infantry and was enrolled in the unit on September 30, 1861. He served throughout the war and was discharged in Savannah, Georgia on August 26, 1865. One of my research interests is what happened to my great-great grandfather in between.

I recently received from the National Archives Jesse's pension file. It is a treasure trove of facts and information about his service, as well as his wife's widow's pension. There is too much to put into one post. So I will start with a transcription of his original declaration for an invalid pension, signed in 1883 and filed on September 8, 1883:

State of Kansas, County of Marion. On this ___ day of ___, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, [For some reason the exact dates are left blank in the document.], personally appeared before me, the clerk of the District Court, a court of record within and for the county and State aforesaid, Jesse C. Osgood, aged 46 years, a resident of the City of Florence, county of Marion, State of Kansas, who, being duly sworn according to law, declares that he is the identical Jesse C. Osgood who was ENROLLED on the 30 day of September, 1861, in Company A of the 26 regiment of Mass, Inft. Vol. commanded by Col. Edward F. Jones, and was honorably DISCHARGED at Savannah GA on the 26 day of August, 1865; that his personal description is as follows: Age, 46 years; height, 5 feet 6 inches; complexion, Light; hair, light brown; eyes, hazel.

That while a member of the organization aforesaid, in the service and in the line of his duty at Forts Jackson & St. Philip in the State of Louisiana on or about the 19 day of April 1862, he took cold from wading in the swamps at the Quarantine station near Fort Jackson which brought on an attack of asthma of a severe and malignant character. That he was treated as follows: in camp; and at the regimental hospital at New Orleans by the Surgeon of the regiment Dr. JG. Bradt between the 25 of July and through the 30 of September 1862. That he has not been employed in the military or naval service otherwise than as stated above.

That since leaving the service this applicant has resided in the town of Greenville in the State of Illinois, and at Florence, Marion County, Kansas, and his occupation has been that of a Dentist. That prior to his entry into the service above named he was a man of good, sound, physical health, except slight asthmatical affection from youth, being when enrolled as a farmer. That he is now three fourths disabled from obtaining his subsistence by manual labor by reason of his injuries, above described, received in the service of the United States; and he therefore makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed on the invalid pension roll of the United States.

He hereby appoints, will full power of of substitution and revocation, W.F. File of Florence, Marion County, State of Kansas, his true and lawful attorney to prosecute his claim. That he has not received nor applied for a pension. That his Post Office address is Florence, County of Marion, State of Kansas.

The document is signed by Jesse C. Osgood with two witnesses.

This first claim for a pension was rejected because he admitted to having some slight asthma from his youth. This is great for those of us who are interested in Jesse's service, because he then had to go get multiple declarations from individuals who would attest to his health problems being related to his service. The file contains declarations from fellow soldiers, doctors, and friends who knew him before and after the War. There is also a more detailed declaration from Jesse about the experience he had wading in the swamps that led to his physical disability. Stay tuned, readers!!

In the meantime, you can read up on the battle he was involved with. The battle of Fort Jackson & Fort St. Philip was fought officially from April 25 through May 1, 1862 in New Orleans. This link will take you to a description of the battle, along with a map of the Mississippi River where it was fought.

A History of "Pioneer Sarah" - Part One

For some time, I have wanted to share about Pioneer Sarah. She is an ancestor who has inspired me, even though I know very little about her. Over the next couple of blog posts, I'm going to transcribe an article written by my grandmother, Lucile Fox Osgood's, third cousin, Vida Soyez Vinduska. I hope other descendants of this great lady find the story interesting. This photo of Sarah's final resting place actually was something that inspired me while in labor with my daughter, Isabelle. Knowing I came from such strong stock helped me through the difficult times!

The beautiful tribute to "Pioneer Sarah" in the Marion County Record of May 25 is greatly appreciated by her family, and, though it is wished that her grave could have been surrounded by kinfolk, she has always been in their hearts as is exemplified by the stone erected to her memory by her great-grandchildren, among whom are the children of Miles Elsworth Sampson and John Wesley Sampson. The stone was especially the project of William Thomas Sampson who supervised its production and installation.

For more than twenty years I, Vida Soyez Vinduska, have periodically worked at learning the history of Rachel/Sarah, and about five years ago two cousins joined in the search. Beulah Fisher Boyer and retired Lt. Col. Edward E. Sampson, an excellent researcher, have helped to gather some interesting lore.

Over the years, we have puzzled over how she became known as "Sarah." Col. Sampson found her in an Indiana (1850) census as Rachel, 53, born in West Virginia. her husband, Henry Fordyce, was listed as aged 49, born in New Jersey. her children at that time were listed as Jane, 20; Mary, 18; Mahala, 14; and William H., 12; all born in Ohio. Also living in the household were a daughter, Ann, and grandchildren, Elvira Allen, 4; and Emore (Elmore?) Allen, 3.

A Kansas death record for her daugher, Mahala Fordyce Sampson, who died in 1931, gave her mother's maiden name as Clark. In the Kansas census of 1870, she is listed as Rachel, 71, born in West Virginia. On a recent (April 1983) visit to the Mormon Archives in Salt Lake City an 18 Jan. 1838 birth record for William Henry Fordyce gave his parents' names as Henry Fordyce/Rachel Stackhouse.

Family tradition has it that Rachel was married twice, but we have not been able to find her marriage records which would help sort out which name, Clark or Stackhouse, was her

maiden name. Mrs. Grace Soyez of Marion remembers her grandmother, Mahala Fordyce Sampson, telling her that her mother was married twice, having had 15 daughters during her first marriage, and that Mahala and William Henry were born to the second, or Fordyce, marriage.

A descendant of Rachel/Sarah Clark Stackhouse Fordyce, whose name was Rebecca Fordyce Deardorff of Ellendale, North Dakota, and who was a granddaughter of Rachel/Sarah wrote a Fordyce family history which gave the information that Henry Fordyce married Rachel Clark, of Dutch descent. She had no information on the possibility that Rachel/Sarah was married twice, but did relate that she had 17 children, 16 daughters and one son, William Henry Fordyce, born 1 Jan 1838 in Clinton Co., Ohio. The daughters she named were: Betsey, b. 15 March 1821; Jane, b. 5 Oct. 1829; Mary b. 1 June 1833; Mahala b. 18 Feb. 1836,and she gave Sarah, Ann, and Annie, whose birth dates she did not know. Rebecca related that the other nine girls died in childhood.

In 1847, Henry Fordyce and his brother James decided to move their families from Ohio to Indiana, and in oct. of that year the two families arrived in Wabash County, Indiana. The trip, made in oxen-drawn covered wagons, had been slow. There were no roads. Often they had to cut down trees to make a road so they could get through. At their destination in Wabash County, they had to cut down trees to build a small log cabin where both families lived until they could build a second cabin...

Life could not have been easy for Rachel/Sarah. Born on the frontier of West Virginia in 1799, she was to make homes in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, possibly Illinois, and Kansas before she died. She had buried nine little daughters by the time she was 32. In all she bore 17 children. The last was her only son, William Henry, born Jan 1. 1838, when she was 40. When she was 62, she saw both her handsome young son and her husband, aged 60, march off to fight in the Civil War. Henry was enrolled as a private in Company C, 40th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers at Peoria, Ill., on the 13th of Nov. 1861, by Capt. Leaming and was mustered into the military forces of the United States at Lafayette, Indiana in December 1861 for a period of three years. His physical description: eyes, grey; hair, grey; height, 5 foot 8 1/2 inches; complexion, light. His nativity, New Jersey, Essex County, occupation, farmer. He was discharged at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March 17, 1863. Reason: disability.

The son, William Henry, told of a severe eye infection he himself contracted during the

war. The best the medics could do was to tie him hand and foot to railroad rails so they could pour a solution of lye into his eyes to fight the infection. There was some damage to his eyes. But, still sighted, he wrote a letter to his sister, Mahala Fordyce Sampson, in 1915.

The photo here is of Rachel/Sarah's son, William Henry in his military uniform. Much thanks to Loretta Klose (another descendant) for this picture.

Stay tuned to my next post for the continuation of the story!

A Sampson Story...with a picture!

I'm thrilled to get some new photos of some of my Sampson ancestors. A recently found cousin (2 times removed) has shared them with me on Facebook. I'm loving seeing these pictures-its like a holiday gift! This photo is of Miles Ellsworth Sampson and his wife, Caroline Kline Sampson, with their three eldest children. The picture was probably taken around the turn of the century. The oldest daughter, Lillie Pearl, is my great-grandmother. Since I don't want to just throw up a picture without a story, here is one that happened a few years before this photo was taken.

Lillie Pearl Sampson was born near what was Elk, Kansas, on the Stowers place on Middle Creek in December 1894. The next year she and her parents Miles Ellsworth and Caroline Julianne Kline Sampson traveled by covered wagon to homestead newly opened land in Arkansas. Baby Lillie rode for 5 weeks on the dusty trails to her new home. Her father built a cabin and cleared new land. The future looked promising for this young couple who homesteaded in this new state. But they soon found out "Yankees" weren't welcome in Arkansas. So after approximately four years of hard work Lillie awoke one morning to the sounds of angry "neighbors" cross plowing her parents beautiful crops and abundant garden. The civil war had left hostile feelings and they were told to get out. So the family with five year old Lillie and her baby brother Albert William who was born in Arkansas in 1898 returned to Kansas.

Back in Kansas, Miles and Caroline went on to have six more children.

Stay tuned for more on the Sampsons!

John N. Osgood....who are you?

Ebay struck again. Now I have another Osgood mystery on my hands.

I bid and won a photo of a "John N. Osgood." I don't think he is a direct ancestor of mine. The last John Osgood in my direct line died in 1725. But I went ahead and bid on the item, thinking that if I did win it, perhaps I could find out who he was. At the very least, I could upload the photo to DeadFred.com and hopefully help another family researcher out there.

I have a book on CD-Rom entitled, "A Genealogy of the Descendants of John, Christopher, and William Osgood." It was compiled by Ira Osgood and tracks the descendants through 1890's. It's a pretty good resource, but I find it a little difficult to navigate as a PDF document. Being over 500 pages, its hard to quickly browse for specific information.

Be that as it may, I looked "John N. Osgood" up in the index. There is one listed, born on 26 March 1843 in Bradford, Maine. He was a soldier in the Union army and died in a hospital in Hampton, Virginia on 15 Sept 1864. (Interesting side note--this John's brother in law died of starvation at Andersonville prison).

Could this be that John? I don't know much about dating photographs. (Perhaps I need to contact the Photo Detective, Maureen Taylor.) It may be that this photo was taken prior to 1864.

There were three original Osgood immigrants to the New World in the 1630's: John, Christopher, and William. All Osgood's in this country can trace their ancestry back to one of these three men. John's family and William's family both came to America aboard the same ship, "Confidence" in 1638. They were probably related, although there are various explanations as to exactly how. The John N. Osgood in the book was a descendant of William Osgood. I am a descendant of John Osgood. Even if we assume this John and the John in the book are the same...the exact relationship is still unknown since the relationship between the immigrant John and William are not known.

Of course, I am very open to other identifications of the man in this photo. Do you know who he is?

Who was Jesse Clark Osgood?

I'm a loyal listener of Lisa Louise Cooke's genealogy podcast, Genealogy Gems. In one of her past episodes, she interviewed certified master graphologist Paula Sassi. I was intrigued by how much information Paula was able to glean about Lisa's grandfather by looking at some of his letters written during the great Depression. So I just had to take the plunge and see what Paula might show me about an ancestor that I have some writing samples from.

His name is Jesse Clark Osgood. He was born in March 1837. His mother died when he was a baby, and his father remarried several times. From what I've learned, he was very close to his mother's family, and they took care of him as he grew. The 1860 census lists him living with his uncle and his occupation as a farm laborer.

He was a soldier for the 26th Massachusetts infantry during the civil war. One of my aunts located four of his letters written to family members that are held in a special collection at the Louisiana State University library. If you've read this blog from the beginning, you'll know this is one of the things that lured me into the exciting world of genealogy.

I sent Paula the letters and here is what she says they reveal:

"The following report is based upon the handwriting of your great-great grandfather, Jesse Osgood.

His writing shows that he was schooled in the typical copybook writing of the time and the form level indicates that he was a traditional person who adhered to the standards of his generation. He functioned at an above average level of intelligence and was logical and future directed in his thought process. He was motivated by both business and social interaction and had very good manual dexterity. His energy and drive improved with time. [Note: this is from the 4 Civil War letters analzyed.]

It is interesting to note how he developed during his time as a Union soldier. In his letter dated June 22, 1863, he speaks of not feeling well and his writing reflects this in the smaller size and tension evident in the script. However, as he gained in experience and improved in his health, he actually developed into quite a vital man. His letter from Morganza, dated June 18, 1864, shows that he had good energy and probably enjoyed staying busy. He could be a very reliable and hard working individual who took his responsibilities seriously. His writing shows both dominance and care and I believe these are the two words that best describe him. He was working as a nurse and could be firm, yet understanding in the way that he administered to the seven men assigned to him.

His writing also shows some stubbornness and a tendency to be opinionated, but this could also be the natural formations of the writing of this period. He was an extrovert by nature and could gain in energy by interacting with people. His letter hints at this because, even though he could not be with his family, he mentions everyone each time he corresponded. He also provides evidence of the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” He talks of the fruit quite often and his writing shows that he maintained his energy and zest for life even during wartime. Other words that describe him are friendly, outgoing, energetic, assertive, caring, proud and honest.

Overall, he was quite traditional and both proud and humble with the ability to move forward in his life and take things as they came. He probably was pretty easy to get along with, but could take a stance if he felt he was right. He also was able to take people under wing and most likely grew into an admirable patriarch of your family."

From what I know about him, Jesse continued in the health care field by becoming a dentist after the War. He was the first dentist in Florence, Kansas, when he moved there in 1872 with his wife and son, Clark. (My great-grandfather). He later took up a 'tree claim' southeast of Florence and West of Cedar Creek. Later he bought a farm southeast of Florence, most of his time was spent at his profession of dentistry. He would often load his equipment in his buggy and go to his patients, often times getting paid in farm produce. He died in May 1918 of chronic Bright's disease.

I know there are diaries kept by Jesse that are in the hands of some of my Osgood relatives. I'm not sure who has them, but hope someday to be able to learn more about Jesse through these later writings. If you are the Osgood who has the diary, I hope you would please consider sending them to me. Even a copy is okay. I want to transcribe them and share them with the rest of the family. I encourage any Osgood's out there to share anything you know about Jesse in the comments section.

I hope you all have found this handwriting analysis as interesting as I have. I think I may have Paula look at some other ancestor's handwriting too...

Karl Kline...the mystery continues

I blogged earlier this month about my 3rd great grandfather on my mom's side, Karl Gottlieb Kline. Specifically, I am on a hunt to track down his military record.

If readers recall, Karl had a G.A.R. emblem next to his headstone. This would indicate Karl's membership in the "Grand Army of the Republic," a fraternal organization of union veterans of the Civil War.

I learned of a book that could help me in my quest: "Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska Civil War Veterans: Compilation of the Death Rolls of the Departments of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, Grand Army of the Republic, 1883-1948" by Dennis Northcott. I looked for it in vain to be available in full text online. With a 2007 publication date, I shouldn't have been suprised not to find it. I also checked the library catalog of the Carlsbad library, but they did not have the book. According to World Cat, the closest library that held the book was in Los Angeles.

That led me to my first attempt at an interlibrary loan. I've never done this before, but the reference librarian at my local San Diego County branch library was very helpful. I went through the steps to make the request, but it came back in the negative. Apparently, the book is in the reference collection and not loaned out. Was I going to have to drive up to Los Angeles??

My genealogy angel friend, (I'll call her my geneangel from now on, because she is!), googled it for me and found that the Southern Orange County Genealogical Society had the book in their collection, held at the Mission Viejo library. Last Sunday, I convinced my hubby to hang out with the kids for the afternoon and I was off! This was my first trip to a library for family history research. Up until now, I've been able to do it all online. I'm not against library research, quite the contrary. It's just hard for me to get to a library with a 14 month old who thinks he is the center of the universe.

I found the book and copied the "Kline" page. Here is what I found.

Drumroll please.....

When I saw the name "Carl Kline" my heart leapt. This Carl was with a Wisconsin regiment, but his death date was listed as 1891. That couldn't be MY Carl, because we believe he died in 1907. Plus, I have a photo of the Kline family and the youngest daughter, Daisy, appears to be at least five. Daisy was born in 1887. When In looked in the death date column, there was a Kline who died on July 9, 1907. The headstone photo I have says my Karl died on July 7, 1907. That's pretty close. But the name of this Kline is PETER KLINE. He served with Company E, 40th Iowa. Peter Kline's death was reported in the Journal of the 34th Encampment of the Department of Iowa, published in 1908.

Could this be my Kline?

First the name issue. I've seen records with him listed as Gottlob, Gottolob, and Karl. But Peter is a new one. I'm not an expert in German, but I don't think "Peter" translates into Karl/Carl or Gottlieb. Any German experts out there, please feel free to educate me on this point.

Secondly is location. Iowa is not a state I would associate my Karl with. If it had said Pennsylvania, Ohio or Kansas, I would feel better about it. But I have no records, evidence or even family lore that would put Karl in Iowa. But who knows? I definitely have had trouble tracking down any records for this family. I do know Karl lived at least since 1880 in Kansas, and is buried in Marion County. Family lore says the family lived in Wellsville, Ohio prior to that. So Iowa is out of the blue.

I'll keep this nugget in my Kline file. But I don't think this Kline is my ancestor. So, for now, the search goes on.

Robert B. Graham and the 7th Cavalry, Missouri State Militia

I have a few "saved" searches set up on Ebay that alert me when an item of interest may be available. This morning, one of my saved searches pinged me. The search was "7th Cavalry, Missouri State Militia." The item is a really neat collection here. (I don't know how long that link will work) For me, the best part of the offering is this photograph:


This picture is a 1/2 plate partially hand colored ambrotype image of six soldiers from the 7th Cavalry, Missouri State Militia during the Civil War. In their hands are playing cards and they have cigars in their mouths.

My great-great grandfather, Robert Barnett Graham, served with Company A of the 7th Cavalry in Missouri during the Civil War. Prior to that, he had served in the

Enrolled Missouri Militia under Captain Cunningham.

Could one of these six men be Robert?

I have a muster and descriptive roll card for Robert Barnett Graham. He mustered in on November 7, 1863 to the 7th Cavalry. He is described as 6 feet tall, light complexion with dark hair. His horse was valued at $120 and his horse equipment valued at $25. Admittedly, it is a pretty vague description and not enough to verify or identify him as one of the men in the photo.

Even if Robert is not among them, (and chances are he is not), it gives me a glimpse into how he may have looked, the uniform he wore, and the guys he served with.

I've started reading about the Civil War in Missouri with a book called "Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri." One of my research goals is to someday dig into the unit history for Company A and try to retrace some of Robert Barnett's actions during the war. His obituary says that he did indeed see a lot of action, and had some narrow escapes.

In the meantime, I can gaze at this photograph and imagine what it must have been like for these men. Fighting a war where you didn't know exactly who or where your enemy was. Chasing guerrillas into Kansas and defending the homesteads. Fascinating!

Anyone wanna give me $2,500 to buy it on Ebay??

On the Homefront-Sarah's Memories of the War of the Rebellion

Sarah Warriner Hamilton, my great-great grandmother, was born in March 1843 in Greenville, Illinois. Her mother died three weeks after giving birth to twins when Sarah was no more than 5 years old.

Sarah attended Montbello College at Alton, Illinois and taught school for a number of years. According to a family history, Sarah could have been an author if time had permitted. She wrote a number of short stories and also wrote the lyrics to a hymn after hearing a sermon on John 3:1-2. It's called "My Advocate" and I'm pleased to have a copy if it. I look forward to having my son learn it.

It is my understanding that Sarah kept a journal. I have yet to locate it in its entirety, but have a copy of a few pages that capture her reminiscences of the Civil War. Enjoy

Part of a writing by Sarah Warriner Hamilton Osgood

To go back to the time, when our boys marched away. I am surprised now, when I remember the erroneous ideas, we entertained (that as we young people), of war. We supposed they would be taken right to the seat of war, in a very few days, and lined up in battle, and that all was needed, to make soldiers out of them was a “suit of blue” a sword and gun; little dreaming of the days of drill and dull routine of camp life, they must go thro(ugh) ere they are ready to meet the foe.

So when it came to pass our soldier boys found themselves settled in camp, not far from home, our hearts began to settle back into their normal condition; and life to move on in something of the old routine, only we missed them so. Buying, and selling. Sowing, and reaping, must still go on, tho hearts are breaking.

Now our boys are sent to the front, their furloughs become fewer, life takes on more, and serious phases, varied with letters from the front, and now and then a visit, of a few days from someone of them.

One, what a happy go-lucky fellow he was—and such extravagant stories he told of life on the Gun Boat Fleet on the Mississippi river. While he was at home he conceived the happy idea of taking all his girl friends to the artists-for their pictures to take back with him. There must have been near a dozen, who, sat for a picture. Between two of the prettiest, he managed to seat himself. They had on those ugly shaker bonnets, the fashion of that time. I could not see the roguish face, trying to peer into the demure face of the girl on his left. It made a very comical picture indeed. After he returned to duty he wrote what fine parties they had, with the girls’ pictures in places of honor. He was another of the heroes that died.

I was in the long, long funeral train, that bore him to his last resting place. I heard the ministers voice as in a dream say, his sun has set while it is yet day.

As the stress of those days grew upon us my father, (than whom a greater Patriot never lived), grew haggard, and old, fast. His great anxieties, for his country, caused him sleepless nights. One incident will take to illustrate his tender heart, for the soldiers. It was during the early days of the war, that the papers chronicled the event, of a young soldier found asleep, while on duty and sentenced to be shot. We all felt greatly exercised over it, but, particularly so, was my father. I never shall forget how earnestly he prayed for the life of that young soldier; as tho he were his own boy. And when news came of the reprieve, there was at least, one heart, full of gratitude.

With what intense anxiety we all awaited news, from the front; and especially if a battle were imminent. In order to facilitate the spreading of the news, a tall flagstaff was raised in my uncle’s yard, in sight of all the county about. Whenever there was news received of a battle the flag was run up. If won by Union forces, it proudly floated from the top of the staff; but if the Union suffered a defeat, then it was run up at half mast. How the whole region watched, for the sign of that flag, and could hardly wait the return of the swiftest messenger, to learn the particulars. Were any of our boys in the engagement? Were they killed or wounded? Were questions we tremblingly asked ourselves. And when our brothers were finally engaged with the enemy, and received severe wounds, and came home to us, we began to feel somewhat relieved from the pressure borne so long.

And so the weary months rolled on, the sky growing darker. And then, the clouds began to lift a little, and then to roll away, and Peace has come again. Our old friend, the flag, that has been a sign, to us all thro(ugh) these trying days---now floats from the summit, we fondly said, never to be raised at half mast again, and we are wild, wild with joy.

But how soon, as our joy turned into mourning. Only a few days, and our flag is floating, at half mast again for our beloved Lincoln lies dead. Dead, did they say? We cannot will not believe it, and that was the way we felt in those dreadful days.

Well my butter has come.