Two chances to hear lecture on solving a family mystery

Military Pension files can hold a wide variety of information.  The files you want to uncover, however, are the ones where the individual had to prove to the government that they really did qualify for the pension.  These files are large, extensive, and where the most interesting genealogical finds are made.

One of my favorite family history cases was also one of the first large research projects I took on, so it makes it that much more special.  The joy the research and discovery brought me from being able to shed light on a 100 year old family mystery was indescribable.  My only regret was that my husband's grandmother could not hear the story as well.  She died 15 years ago this month, and at times I swore I felt her guiding me.  Meme was a firecracker and I just know she would have been fascinated by her ancestor too.

I am giving two lectures this fall about solving this family mystery. If you have read this blog, and the FTU Family Tree Firsts blog, you know a little bit about my husband's ancestor Harry Coad.  His story was amazing and unbelievable on so many levels that I felt his story needed to be told.

Lies of a Soldier: The True Identity of Harry Coad will be presented twice this fall.  I hope that you will be able to come listen and learn about Harry's life, love, heartbreak, and mystery.


Presentation 1:
Second Life APG Chapter
8:30pm Thursday 14 August 2014


Presentation 2:
Fredericksburg Regional Genealogical Society
7:30pm Wednesday 12 November 2014
Salem Church Library
Fredericksbrug, VA

Week 42 of Abundant Genealogy

Harry Coad:  picture from his Civil War
Pension file located at NARA

Week 42: Biggest Genealogy Accomplishment. What do you feel is your biggest genealogy accomplishment? What were the steps you took to get there, and what was the end result?

My biggest accomplishment was figuring out the true story of my husband’s 3^rd great grandfather, Harry Coad aka Henry Thompson.  This mystery had nagged at me since I heard it and once I saw the opportunity to track it down I jumped on it. 

My husband had told me the story several times over the years, as he remembered it from his grandmother.  After I started delving into our family histories I cornered my father-in-law and asked him what he remembered of the story.  Tracking down the hints, clues, and leads on-line lead me to the National Archives in D.C. and to the amazing story of this man.

You can read about my discoveries here on this blog as well as on the Family Tree Firsts blog at Family Tree University.  Just click on “Coad” or “Family Tree Firsts” under the tags section to see what I have to say.



Post at Family Tree Firsts

My next post for Family Tree Firsts is up over at Family Tree University.  It is a follow up on Harry/Henry and what he did after the war.  As always I hope you enjoy it.

Many of you may be curious about how his wife finally find out that her husband was living under an assumed name.  Especially since I wrote that she did not find out for well over two decades.  I always find reading statements very interesting, and thought you might too as fellow researchers.  Below are a few excerpts from depositions that tell the story of how the truth was finally known.

Before we begin, there are two societies mentioned in the depositions that I had never heard of.  They are the Epworth League and Young Peoples Society of Christian Endeavor.  Doing a quick search on it I discovered that they were both groups for young Christians to help them with ministries and service through their faith to the community.  The Epworth League, through the Methodist Church, is still active today.

Beginning with the testimony of his wife, Nancy, the story unfolds on how she discovered the truth.  On June 24, 1918 she told the special examiner:

I never knew that Harry M. Coad was not his correct name until we had been married 26 years, I think about 26 years.  There was an Epworth League convention at Marshall, this Co. and I saw in the program the name of Edward Altemus as a delegate.  I had heard my husband mention that he had a sister who had married a man named Altemus.  I thought this Edward Altemus might be related to my husband so I wrote to him and through that correspondence learned that Edward Altemus’s mother was in fact the sister of my husband and also that my husband was not named Harry M. Coad, but Henry Clay Thompson.  At first my husband denied that his correct name was Henry Clay Thompson, then a nephew named Frank Maple wrote he was coming to visit us and then my husband confessed he had deceived me as to his name; that his correct name was Henry Clay Thompson.

Lucky for me, and my husband’s family, they were able to collect depositions from his two nephews, Frank and Edward.  Edward’s testimony dated May 31, 1918 was a genealogical treasure trove.  It listed married names of his aunts as well as names of all the cousins he knew, and last known residences around the country of the family.  Until he had correspondence from Nancy, Edward had not seen or heard from his uncle since he was a small child.  Edward stated in his deposition:

I was State Secretary of the Young Peoples Society of Christian Endeavor and was living in St. Louis.  I received a letter, in which inquiries were made about my family, this letter came from either the daughter or wife of my uncle Henry Clay Thompson.  She had seen my name in a paper and saw my photograph in a paper and that was why she wrote me.  This letter said uncle Henry Clay was living.  I was then living in St. Louis.  I answered the letter and uncle Henry’s daughter, don’t recall her name, came to St. Louis to see us and later on uncle Henry came.  That was somewhere around twenty years ago. 

Frank Maple, whom I also quoted in the Family Tree article, has a very animated and descriptive telling of the discovery in his deposition taken on February 13, 1918.  He tells the special examiner:

About 26 years ago a convention of the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor was held at Marshall, Saline County, MO., and Mr. Edward Altemus of St. Louis, MO., my first cousin, was the States Secretary.  A short time later a letter was received to Altemus from a Mrs. H. M. Coad, of Saline Co., MO.  In a writeup of the Convention in a Marshall paper she had noted the name of Edward Altemus, Secretary, and she then recalled that her husband had once upon a time told her he had a sister, Harriet Frances, who married a man by the name of Altemus and naturally her curiosity was aroused and she ventured a letter of inquiry.  Several letters passed back and forth until it finally became a matter of conviction with Mrs. H. M. Coad that the wife of Mr. Altemus, Sr., was her husband’s own sister.  Harriet Frances Altemus, my mother’s sister, finally wrote Mrs. Coad as follows in substance – I remember this as the final message that settled the matter – “Your husband is my brother and his name is not Coad, but Henry Clay Thompson.”  … I know Mrs. Coad told me that the night before my arrival on the visit to their Home that she and the rest of the family has confronted the husband and father again with these evidence and implored him to make a full breast before his young nephew arrived and this save all of them an embarrassment.  This he did.  She his wife, said that he covered up his eyes and said that he had married her under his brother-in-law’s name, Coad, and not under his right name, and that his correct name was Henry Clay Thompson, that he assumed the name Coad sometime after the close of the Civil war.

Call it genealogical serendipity if you will, but if it was not for curiosity, tenacity, and a little luck on the part of Nancy we may never have known the whole story of Harry/Henry.  Thanks to her efforts in connecting him his family it made it a little easier for him to prove who he was later when applying for pension.  As well as letting his mother see him one last time before her death.

*Image Library of Congress: Study of a mule team and wagon, with driver
*Images of Depositions loacted in pension file of Harry M Coad / Henry C Thompson, NARA

Hary Coad to the Commissoner of Pensions 1916

Letter from Harry Coad to the Commissioner of Pensions
Located at the National Archives, Washington, DC
Harry Coad / Henry Thompson Pension File

Grand Pass MO

June 26, 1916

Comissioner of Pensions.

Dear Sirs:

You request of 19 inst, at hand, in reply to your request.  My comrads and officers were: Capt W.S. Boyd, 1^st Leiu Orbriek, 2^nd Lieu Davidson, Orderly Sargt Claghorn, 1^st duty Sargt Balenger, Private Soldier’s Geo Frisby, Sam Gaty, Al Olinger Hunter, W Chamberlain, Batss, and Pete Edwards, Shultz.  I am sorry but I do not know the address of any of  my old comrads.  I went to Kansas in 1866, and settled down, and never have seen one of the old boys since I was mustered out.  I was in the battle of Springfield MO when gen Lyons was killed in 61.  Next was Battle at Fort Henry.  Then Pittsburge Landing, then Shilo next Corinth, Kenesaw Mountian, Snake Creek Gap, Dalton Peach Tree, Sand Town, where gen McPherson was killed, Lays Ferry, Mary Etta, Siege of Atlanta, skirmished all the way from Atlanta to Savanah.  Then fought the siege of Savanah.  Golds Burroh NC in Shermans March to NC and in the grand review.  Hoping to get the pension soon.  Respectfully.

H.M. Coad

Links to the places mentioned in letter:
The First Battle of Springfield (or Wilson's Creek)
Battle of Fort Henry
Battle of Pittsburgh Landing, Shiloh
Siege of Corinth
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Atlanta Campaign
Savannah Campaign
Carolina Campaign
Grand Review

Harry Coad to John McElroy, Editor National Tribune 1916

Letter from Harry Coad to John McElroy
Located at the National Archives, Washington, DC
Harry Coad / Henry Thompson Pension File

Grand Pass MO

6 / 6 / 1916

Mr. John McElroy

Editor Natunal Tribune
Washington, DC

My Dear Sir.

Will you try to assist an old soldier, who is in great need of help. 

I am sevety six years old, and not able to work anymore.  My wife is an invalid and can’t work, and we are in destitute circumstances, and now appeal to you for our much needed help.

I served in the rebelun from beginning to the end of that great strife, and now I am asking you to assit me to get a pension, which I am in great need.

Last Aug I sent for application blanks, got them, and fill them out and returned them, and in Sept I rec, a registered card and a note saying every thing is OK, and I really thought I would rec my first pension about now, but the rest of the old comrads have all received their payment and I have not.  Will you ples lend me a much needed helping hand and see if you can get my claims in order for me.

This is the numbers on my card Co B, 5 Reg, MO inf
IO.1H215HH
GM Saltzgerber, Com.

Keeping and praying that you will do all you can for me, and that I will very soon, get the pension that I so much need, I will thank you in advance and aniously wait.

I served as a soldier
H.C. Thompson
Please address me,
H.M. Coad
Box 21 Grand Pass, MO

Harry Coad Pension Letter May 1916

Letter to the Bureau of Pensions from Harry Coad
Located at the National Archives, Washington, DC
Harry Coad / Henry Thompson Pension File

Grand Pass MO

May 31, 1916
Bureau of Pensions.
Washington DC

Gentleman:

Yours of May 25 at hand and I will say, I lost my discharge, and do not know where any of my comrades are, but can give you names of half the company I was in if that will do any good.  Was born August 31, 1840, Springfield, Sangamon Co., Ill but I know of no way to prove it as my father, mother, sisters, and brothers are all dead except my youngest brother, and first now I don’t know if address, but will make an effort to get it if it is necessary.

Lived in St. Louis, during the summers of 1850-1868.  My father’s name was Geo. Washington Thompson.  My mother’s name was, Sarah D. Thomspon, (nee McChesney).  My Sisters, Margaret, Harriett, and Elisabeth were alive in June 1850 1860.

Resptbly,

Harry M Coad alias
Henry Clay Thompson

*Note: in his later depositions he states he can no longer write, nor sign is name.  It is my feeling (as the handwritting does not change in all the letters) that this is his daughter Ida, whom lived close by, writing his letter for him.

New Post at Family Tree

My latest post if up over at Family Tree Firsts.  Bring a box of Kleenex if you are a crier.

I have read this file twice now, and will probably go through it one more time.  Every time I read through a page something new jumps out at me.  I am sure that I will never truly know all the secrets that lie within its pages.  By the way, I have nicknamed this ancestor Harry/Henry.  That way I, and everyone else, will know who I am talking about.

The image shown here is the reason I stood up in the archives and squealed.  It is an enlarged paper copy, taken in 1919, of the tin type that Harry/Henry sent to the government with his pension request.  That rare find of a picture in a NARA file! 

The name of the Mississippi River boat, Adelia,  intrigued me and I wondered if I could find anything else out about it.  A Google search lead me to a book that had an appendix that listed all the steamboats from 1823-1863.  First name in it was the Adelia.  (Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot From 1854-1863.  by George Byron Merrick U of Minnesota Press, Sep 4, 2001 ).  From it I learned the ship was built at California, Pennsylvania in 1853, had a stern wheel, and weighed 127 tons.  In fact, the Google search turned up quite a few accounts of large on board parties, goods carried, and even a couple law-suits that happened well after the time Harry/Henry stopped working on the boat.

I will be posting more soon about what happened to him during and after the Civil War.  Keep your eyes out for it.

Adventures at the Archives FTF Post is up!

My next Family Tree Firsts post is up, and you can read all about it here.

It was the most incredible experience, and I had the best time.  Yes, I have always found being locked in a room with a stack of dusty papers and books a grand adventure.  Its true, I do.  You should have seen me wandering around Europe looking at museums, castles, and historic sites.  My husband thought he was going to lose me at the V&A once. He did almost lose me in Salzberg, Austria when I was on a quest to find Paracelsus's Tomb.

Now I have gotten off topic again...easy to do.

I have over a thousand images that I am going through.  Yes, a lot of images.  One thing I have been taught about doing research (from my mother, my mother-in-law, my husband,historian friends, and my college mentors) is that you copy everything.  Absolutely everything.  Never leave a page un-copied, and never just copy part of the page.  You never know when you will need information from another section of the document, or that date stamp on the back as proof of when it was created.  All records are important, you just may not know it right then.

In a past post I talked about preparing for my research, and then my experience at the archives.  Over the next few weeks I hope you all enjoy my tales of what I have found.  I have records on the following people to look through:

Anna Combs, widow of Charles Combs (the senior), War of 1812 Pension File
Theresa Arvin, widow of Henry Arvin, War of 1812 Pension File
Henry Arvin Land File
Polly and Nettie Cody, widow and minor of Button Cody, Civil War Pension File
Mary and William Combs, widow and minor of Charles "boy" Combs, Civil War Pension File
Harry Coad aka Henry Thompson Civil War Pension File
Lemuel Kelley, father of Lemuel Kelley, Civil War Pension File
Julia Bartlett, widow of William Bartlett, Civil War Pension File

Wish me good digging!

New post at Family Tree Firsts

My next post is up over at Family Tree Firsts.  I have to admit, my husband had told me the story of how there was a possible connection between their family and Buffalo Bill Cody since we met.  No one was sure how exactly, but it was a family legend none the less.  Thanks to the published genealogies from the Cody society, I know how they are possibly connected now.

Harry Coad / Henry Thompson has been an enigma ever since I found him.  One those nagging puzzles that you just can't stop thinking about.  It has become almost an obsession to be able to figure out who he is.  I have been desperately trying to piece together his life before the Civil War.

Several family trees over an Ancestry have listed George and Sarah Thompson as his parents.  Unfortunately I have not been able to get any of them to write me back about why they think this.  All I know about him (mostly from census and death records) is the following:

Harry M Coad
Born:  31 Aug 1840 Springfield, Illinois (one census lists Virginia)
Died:  15 June 1920 Grand Pass, Missouri
Married: Nancy Ann Cody, 12 May 1867 in Kansas

I did find a Henry C Thompson on the 1850 Census in Oquawka, Illinois with parents GW and Sarah Thompson.  They were born in Virginia and Kentucky respectively.  When I discovered the 1890 Veterans Census, I secretly hoped I would learn more.  Below is what I got:

Harry M Coad
Miami Township, Marshall, Saline, Missouri.
Private

So the quest to discover him continues...

*Image by liberalmind1012

Civil War Research

This morning a simple search out of curiosity has turned into another marathon reading session.  How does this always happen?

I am currently enrolled in a class through Family Tree University called “Civil War Research: Find Your Ancestors in the War Between the States.”  It is two weeks into the four week class and I am quickly filling in the holes of my education on this subject.  Of course my eldest child (who is fascinated with the Civil War) is just in awe that I am taking a class on this subject.  We do homework together at the dining room table each night; I think purely so he can watch me and ask questions.

In the class we are introduced to the National Park Service site “Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System” as well as several other excellent resources.  My husband and I have five known direct ancestors that fought in the Civil War.  There are several other uncles and cousins, but I haven’t got to all of them yet.  Out of pure and simple curiosity I started to one by one enter their names into the database…and whoa!  I spent the next several hours running back and forth between the CWSS, Fold3, and Ancestry checking, double checking, and looking for various ways to prove and validate what I was seeing. 

It ended in a decision that I have to make a trip up to NARA… sooner rather than later. 

**I found out there is a problem with the CWSS links below. It will take you to the database but I can not link directly to each of the regiments histories. If you want to read about the history of these regiments, I encourage you to explore the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors site.**

Here is a summary of what I found today: 

·        Harry Coad aka Henry C Thompson (husbands 2^nd great grandfather):  His middle name is most likely Clay.  I found information on the 5^th Missouri and 66^th Illinois infantry regiments he fought in.  No information for the 14th regiment that he served in.

·        Kelley Family:

o   I found the following names at Find-a-Grave:

§  LA = Lemuel A Kelly

§  JH = James H Kelley

§  WH = William H Kelley

§  These are ½ brothers of my 2^nd great grandfather Charles Morgan Kelley

o   They were all in the 14^th Indiana Infantry Company C

o   There were several other Kelley/Kelly’s that similar names (even Lemuel) that may be related.

·        Combs Family:

o   Charles Combs Jr:  70th Indiana Infantry, Company C and possibly the 27^th regiment, company B.

o   Found the draft books for Charles’s Brothers Silas, Byrd, James (my 3^rd great-grandfather), Pleasant, and John Joseph.  (US Civil War Draft Registration Records, Ind 7^th, vols 1 and 3)

        o   Silas was in the 145^th Indiana Infantry, company I.

·        Francis Marion Bline (3^rd great grandfather) was in the Harrison Cavalry, Mounted Hoosiers 6 Regt, Indiana Legion.

      ·        I learned what the three regiments Button Gwinette Cody (husbands 3^rd great grandfather) was assigned to participated in.  8^th Indiana Cavalry (Private), 6^th Indiana Infantry (Captain), 10th Indiana Cavalry(Quartermaster Sargent). 

I would say it was a productive day yes?


*Image is that of Charles Combs Jr, provided by Cousin Debby.