VAGABOND TRAVELER

FOLLOWING OUR CIVIL WAR ANCESTORS

By Mary Emma Allen

I've been fascinated with my Civil War ancestors ever since I discovered information about them in Grandma's trunk. Before that, her uncles were simply photos in her family album.  Utilizing the letters and memorabilia Grandma saved (collected by her mother, Olive Mathewson Banks), I began to trace these ancestors and desired to learn more about their role during the Civil War era.

My husband Jim and I have followed the uncles' marching routes on maps, visited battlefields, and found the grave of the one who died in the war, George Mathewson from Triangle. New York. He  succumbed to dysentery, not battle wounds, but left a void in the family's life.  He's buried in the Union Cemetery at Marietta, Georgia, and there's a marker with his name on it.

Recently, a previously unknown relative, Cousin Steve, contacted me.  He'd learned, via the Internet, that I was researching these Civil War uncles, too.  He was following the footsteps of Uncle Henry Ira Banks, who spent nearly the entire war, as a soldier in the Union Army.  Originally born in Patterson, New York, Uncle Henry Ira moved, with his widowed mom and brothers, to western Illinois.  There he enlisted in the army.

Cousin Steve, a descendant from one of Henry Ira's brothers (I'm descended from the eldest), first found reference to this uncle when he came across Henry's small Bible among his father's possessions.  His curiosity aroused, Steve began to search Henry Ira from his burial place in Baird, Texas.  So we've been exchanging information and rounding out Henry Ira's life, as well as his siblings.

Following Various Battles

Following Henry Ira's footsteps during the war years and writing a book about him has become a passion with Steve.  He plans to visit the battlefields in the near future and publish his book during the Civil War's 150th anniversary years (2011-2015).  I won't be able to travel to all the battle sites that Henry Ira and other uncles took part in, but I'm developing a map of their travels and will be giving talks to schools and historical groups about my research.

However, if you have ancestors who fought in the Civil War, whether the North or South, you may find you want to follow their trails or at least visit one or two of the battlefields.  Their lives and the war have much more meaning if you can relate it to a place and ancestor.  Then record these travels for family history.

Look for War Records

Often someone in individual regiments wrote a history of what he and the other men experienced.  Cousin Steve found this regarding Henry Ira's regiment, so has a detailed record of where he was when.  Some of these records you encounter are simply cut and dried figures and facts that at least give you information.  Others are diary type records that the individual soldier later published.  If you're fortunate, you may find letters written by your ancestor or those who accompanied him.

• You may find pictures of your ancestors in uniform.  There could be more in family albums.  (I had pictures of Uncle Henry Ira in Grandma's album that Steve had never seen.)  Perhaps there will be pictures in historical archives.
• Get maps of Civil War battle sites.  Follow your ancestor's progress as you take trips, as Cousin Steve is doing.
• Look for regimental histories.  Some are available online these days.
• Historical societies may have information.
• Researchers with web sites and blogs might provide insight into a region, battle or even a person.
• Plan a family trip to one or more of the Civil War sites.  One of my relatives was going to Gettysburg.  So she and her son looked up the monument that designated the regiment of our ancestors.
• If you collect enough information and photos, put together a booklet for family.  Give talks at family gatherings...and even to historical societies, schools, and other groups.