CIVIL WAR - 2nd great-grand-uncle

 

William Young - 2nd great-grand-uncle

BIRTH  14 JAN 1814 • Roane County, Tennessee, USA

DEATH 14 MAR 1909 • Milwaukie, Clackamas, Oregon, USA

It was just a regular day of working on my family trees - updating and such. 

I had requested a photo of his grave on Find-A-Grave. Within hours I was notified that the photo request could not be fulfilled because there was no marker. 

Later I received an email from the pioneer cemetery in Milwaukie, Clackamas County, Oregon, stating they wanted to provide him a military marker since he was a veteran who served in the Civil War. She said they did a brief check on NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) but couldn't find "my William Young." 

Any chance to do a deep search is always invigorating, never knowing what I'll find, or if I will find anything. The search could take days or 2 years. 

I looked and looked - this was the first time I have done such a search - I joined Fold3. I looked at Tennesee Gen websites on military soldiers during the Civil War.  After a couple of days, I started getting a headache and decided I needed a couple of days of rest so that when I could come back, with fresh new eyes - which worked because within the first hour, I found him, serving in the US Army Tennessee Company B  5th Calvery. 

I have since talked with the Pioneer cemetery in Oregon and I will download the documents I have found for them. They still have to get "the official permission".

I was warned of a lot of bureaucratic red tape and that it might take a few months. She also said they will contact the Sons of the Civil War Veterans to officiate at the service, with honors and place the cement marker, honoring his service. 

I'm in Northern California - this cemetery is just 12 miles south of Portland. I told her we would drive up (a 6-hour drive) to be part of it. 

HOW COOL IS THAT????

And to think there are those, who think Genealogy is boring. HA! 

Don't get mad - request military records

 

This handsome young man is my Grand-Uncle. I have always been curious about him - He served in the US Army from 1910 to 1914 so he was not in WW1. Perhaps Spanish American, The Mexican Border War, or The Philippines. 

It starts out with his birth in 1893, born in Scott County, Tennessee. He's in one census - 1900. I can't find him in any 1910 census. I checked his mother (my great grandmother and his siblings) Only one of them has a 1910 census - the sister who married. I'm thinking, these are country folk - in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee - a fiercely independent bunch. It's quite possible, they just didn't do a census that year - too busy making some good old moonshine! 

On Ancestry, information keeps popping up that he was murdered in 1918 in Oklahoma on an Indian Reservation. As I said yesterday, bad information skews the algorithms on Ancestry - When I took the time to go over the 512 family trees that copied this bad information, over and over again - they have no sources, no documentation. 

I took it upon myself once again, to search out someone with a name similar to my Grand Uncle and came across a native American with a similar name to his, that was a troublemaker - and finally was whacked on the reservation. It's NOT my Grand Uncle who served in the US Army and he doesn't deserve to have his name trashed or connected to this. I need to prove it though. 

My husband tells me I can't fix it - the bad information is just too big for me. But what I can do, is REQUEST from the US National Archives his military records. 

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

I admit, without a social security number (they didn't have them at this time) it will be hard for them to locate anything on him. I don't have a birth date only his birth year and even that is questionable. I do have his honorable discharge date - June 1914. 

I look into this young man's eyes which were blue according to his enlistment record - and I have to find out or at least do everything I can, within reason. 

Knowing how S L O W the government moves - it will no doubt take weeks/months. 

Back to the drawing board

I freaking GIVE UP! I really thought I had found my Mom's birth father in Leach. But as I went through the DNA matches, there was not enough significant DNA with those I matched with, for Leach to be my grandfather. 

I am utterly confused. I do not have the money to pay for someone to help me. Nor would I ever pay what Ancestry wants. That's crazy. I guess it's not that big of an issue - I mean I do want to know before I pass but I guess I will live if I never find out. All I can do is wait for a closer DNA match to come forward. 

It just bums me, that my family tree is all set except for one whole branch of the family that I know nothing about. Maybe it's my OCD but it does really get under my skin. Just so many twists and turns. 

At least, for one thing, I know Hasenstab isn't my bio grandfather. At least I found that out and should be grateful I guess. 

Back to the drawing board...

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Take one step forward, 2 steps back

I pretty much went through 655 pages of DNA matches on Ancestry. Seems 99% of my matches are from my dad's side of the family. What a chore. The only matches on my maternal side, are 4th cousins and beyond. I finally decided I would write a snail mail to my only first cousin, alive from my mom's side asking him if he would PLEASE (I do recall begging him, with a PRETTY PLEASE) to take a DNA test for me. It would help me. He wrote back and said he would but to not bug him about it. He also said he is "not impressed with DNA."

OKAY, that tells me a lot. He may, or may not do it.  I should know in about 6 weeks. He said he would do it when Ancestry had that special in August. I'm on pins and needles.

My maternal side continues to be a mystery. When I think I am on to something, I hit a wall, or it just doesn't make sense. My dad's side is awesome. I have cousins by the dozens, that keep submitting their DNA and confirming we are cousins! In fact, the more I match with someone from my dad's side, the more discouraged and angry I get when dealing with my mom's side - like why is it so hard to find them?? Why won't their descendants, do family trees or DNA? It's like they are in some witness-protection program.

My mom once told me, that her bio dad was an Irishmen in the IRA and was wanted by the FBI. She later denied telling me that. I think she had one too many glasses of wine with her meds that evening, but now, it does make me wonder...

So this is where I am at. I'm frustrated - confused.

I want to find new stuff on my maternal line - Is that too much to ask for?








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I found Philomena!

Philomena is my great-grandmother on my mother's side. I had been searching for her, close to 10 years and at times, it drove me bat-crazy.

How I found her is that I never gave up. You can't. I had to take a break from it but it wasn't that long of one because I was determined to find her and a bit obsessed. She once existed and I was going to find her! 

One day, I was going through the names of the 1860 census for an uncle of my great-grandfather and noticed they had a Philip Nann living with them. I had remembered that I found the birth record saying that a Minnie Naun was the mother of my grandfather. Knowing how many misspellings are found in the US census, I ran a check on Philip Nann and sure enough, he had a sister named Philomena and then I found other documents, showing her and my grandfather as a married couple. How cool is that?

Many European immigrants knew each other from the old country and it pays to check out the other people on the census and the neighbors listed.

I have a huge family to research and have already matched shared DNA to 3 Nann's on Ancestry to confirm I am on the right track. It feels so good, to finally break down that one, stubborn brick wall.

See BRICK WALL - Philomena Hasenstab

WTH?



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BRICK WALL - Philomena Hasenstab

I wish I knew her. My great grandmother on my mother's side. The only thing I have, is her name on my GGrandfather's death certificate, as his wife. She was already deceased.

She was born approx. 1860
and died August 14, 1898. She was 38 years old. 1900 Census shows her husband, Michael a widower. He had a 65 yr old housekeeper or nanny living with them. Francis Gangshril and 2 young children. Caroline age 4 and Edwin. age 2.

What was her maiden name?
Her Birthdate?
Was she born in the USA or Germany? 
Did her Parents name her after St. Philomena?

I do know, she is listed as Minnie - on some city directories from Dayton, Ohio. I doubled checked nicknames for Philomena and yes, Minnie is a common one.

That's it. I can't go any further without beating my brains out.

It's sad really - She was born - and once had a loving family however there is no record that I am able to find. It's not right- not to be remembered. I feel a closeness to her for some reason. Probably because her history eludes me at this time.