13 January 2013

Torn and Ragged

About a week ago, I got the email that every family historian dreams of. 


It happened. It really happened.



A man in Illinois (for privacy reasons, I will simply refer to him as Mr. Illinois) had discovered a piece of my history, a piece of my family; one we did not even know was missing. He found it in his Grandmother’s attic, in a trunk, with a few other odd items. No one in his family, not his mother or any of her siblings, had any idea why Grandma possessed these items. No one knew they were there. No one knew that she had held onto them, carefully wrapped, gently placed. How did she obtain them? Why? The answers are still to be discovered, perhaps we’ll never know.


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Torn and Ragged
The Bible that originally belong to
Adam and Carrie (Brown) Carlyle of
Orting, Washington. 
It came to me torn and ragged. It felt I was living out some kind of alternate space. It all happened so quickly!

You see, Mr. Illinois found part of the answer to his many questions on his search engine. A quick look at the oldest name in the Bible sent him to my blog, to this very site, to me. He realized that he needed to contact me, to find out about Oscar F. Brown. Yes, my Oscar. My most challenging brick wall ancestor. The one I have written about over and over. The one I will continue to write about until some of the mysteries are solved. 

(Tell me again that genealogy blogs do not need to utilize search engine optimization! He found me easily and quickly!)

So, that phone call came. A conversation of discovery, matching names, dates and locations. Enough that both of us were satisfied: yes, it’s a match.

What he found in his Grandmother’s attic was a collection. Two Bibles, a letter with photographs, and a photo album of Civil War soldiers; all members of the unique Mississippi Marine Brigade. In one evening, I went from hopeful to elated: the family in Illinois had decided to send me the Bibles. The photo album will be copied professionally, then sent on to the Civil War Museum in Virginia. Where it belongs, because, truly, the collection is a national treasure. It is not just for my family alone. That is very satisfying.

Back to the Bibles. One was property of Carrie (Brown) and Adam Carlyle, my great aunt and uncle. The other belonged to their eldest son. Their descendants are my 2nd cousins, and after a few years of research in their own right, they have passed on their own family collection of letters, photos and other heirlooms to me. I have referred to this vast collection before, and have coined it, "The Carlyle Collection."  The decision was made that I should receive the treasure, and that I did.

Surprisingly, Mr. Illinois sent it rather quickly, in a simple U.S. Post Office box. He had either had it long enough that his curiosity was sedated or was ready to get rid of them. Either way, within a week, they were sitting on my dining room table. It is not lost on me that the table belonged to my own Grandparents originally, and here I am, using its surface to photograph the penmanship of Grandpa’s aunt. Oh, how the wheel of life turns…

I am sure that future posts will detail all I learn from these precious gifts. For now, it is enough to say that my family is incredibly grateful to another family in Illinois. We have regained a piece of us; we have been able to connect with another part of us that makes us who we are. For that, Mr. Illinois, I will never forget you.



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Both Bibles, side by side.
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The inside cover of the oldest Bible, belonging
to Carrie (Brown) and Adam Carlyle. The writing
lists the lineage of Adam.
The copyright is 1895. 

29 comments:

  1. So cool Jen!! Congratulations on receiving these exciting family heirlooms.

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    1. Thanks Jana! Although I haven't had a chance to really dig into the data part of it yet, just holding them in my hands is really amazing. They are the only family Bible's that I know of in my paternal line. Pretty incredible. As always, thanks for reading! ~ Jen

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  2. What a treasure, Jen! And so neat that they found you! I have dreams of something like this happening to me. Maybe one day...

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    1. Thank you, Shelley! It was an incredibly exciting week. May the genealogy force be with you. :-) Jen

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  3. You just lived out every family historian's dream, Jen! Congrats. And what a testimony to the power of the family history blog. Treasures, to be sure.

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    1. Nancy, thank you so much for reading. I agree, it is an example of what a blog can do for you in research. I started my blog journey for numerous reasons, but am so glad that Oscar has proven to be a challenge I find worthy of writing about, for it really has been that struggle that led Mr. Illinois to me. A reason for the frustration? Certainly makes some of that frustration worth it. ~ Jen

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  4. Spine tingling. How wonderful for you, Jen.

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    1. Thank you, Jill. My hands were shaking when I opened the box.

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  5. Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. It is also causing me to consider the best place for some of the items that have found their way to me.

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    1. Mary, you are so right. Storage is a big piece of this, and something we as a family are considering very carefully. I can't just throw them on a shelf, can I? I am grateful that my husband and my extended family all see these are priceless, certainly makes the "expense" of the right storage materials easier. Thanks for reading! ~ Jen

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  6. Fantastic! I remember the excitement of getting my grandfather's bible and all the joy it brought. Hopefully it helps with the brick wall associated with Oscar! Congrats!

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    1. I'm hoping so, too, Jen. Perhaps the stars will finally align in my research on him. Thanks for reading! ~ Jen

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  7. Oh wow! I have a couple of lines that I would very much like to have that happen for!!! I am so excited for you and did my happy dance in your honor!

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    1. Cheri, let me know when I can return the favor! I love doing the happy dance for others! Thanks so much for reading, and the comments. I am ever so grateful to Mr. Illinois, and as I'm sure he'll be reading through all of this sometime, its nice for him to see all these great comments too. ~Jen

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  8. Oh my goodness Jen! How wonderful! I can just imagine how thrilled you were to receive the phone call. I sure hope this is a key in your research of Oscar. Good luck and if the genealogy gods are listening I'd love to have a Lowery, Van Meter or Williams Bible come my way!!!

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    1. Cindy, we'll all be pulling for you on that! I hope it leads to more for Oscar, too, so we shall see! As always, thanks for reading. ~ Jen

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  9. So very, very excited for you. Best of luck with your preservation and analysis of these treasures. One day, someone will write a blog post about receiving this amazing gift from you, too, and the wheel will turn again.

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    1. Rorey, you are so right, and that was something that had not occurred to me... but yes, some day I will hand them to a family member of the next generation, and it will bring tears to my eyes when I do. Thank you for that. ~ Jen

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  10. That is awesome! It gives us all hope :)

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    1. Thanks, Jodi! It was certainly astonishing to realize it was truly our family Bibles... my 2nd cousin even warned me against a scam. So happy that Mr. Illinois was genuine. Thanks for reading! ~Jen

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  11. How exciting for you! I too have a MMB ancestor and was doing a little research today and came across your post
    http://ancestralbreezes.blogspot.com/2012/06/mississippi-marine-brigade-review.html

    My ancestor, John Richardson, with his common name, is my brick wall. He was a private in Company E, Mounted Infantry, Mississippi Marine Brigade. He was an older soldier and was about 36 when he joined the MMB at Benton Barracks in 1863. He first enlisted in Co. E, 77th PA Volunteer Infantry in 1862 and suffered from chronic illness. His widow received a pension for his service in the 77th PA.

    I'd be interested in learning more about the photo album of soldiers of Mississippi Marine Brigade that you mentioned.

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    1. Margaret, how wonderful of you to connect with me! I hear so little from other MMB connected folks.
      I don't have much on the photos, yet. Mr. Illinois thinks they are post-war, perhaps passed around at a reunion of some sort. I have no knowledge of Oscar ever attending one of these, but of course it is possible he did so. Unfortunately, I think I will have to wait until I get my copies, but you can bet I'll be blogging about it when I do.
      Oscar originally was in the Missouri Cav, before MMB. It's funny that they asked for the "best recruits" for this unit, and most sent the trouble makers and rebel rousers. Would love to share MMB notes with you, if you are interested. I'll have to dig out all my stuff...
      Thanks for reading! Glad we were able to find each other. ~ Jen

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    2. Jen, thanks for a reply! I have a feeling the photo album may be, like you said, from a reunion and possibly those photos used in the book you mentioned in another post:
      Google Books: History of the Ram Fleet and the Mississippi Marine Brigade in the War for the Union on the Mississippi and its Tributaries: The Story of the Ellets and Their Men. 1907, Warren D. Crandall and Isaac D. Newell,
      http://books.google.com/ebooks/reader?id=rl0tAAAAYAAJ&num=10&authuser=0&printsec=frontcover&output=reader.

      Your guy, Oscar Brown photo is in the book,on page458/485, in group 2, # 7. Since my guy, John Richardson died in 1888 I don't think he made it to a reunion and he's not in the photos in the book.

      John was one of the marines who refused to leave the service in August 1864, as described in this record:
      http://www.brownwaternavy.org/mmb/or-mmb-4.htm
      John's muster roll info lists him as in "Confinement, Military Prison, Vicksburg, Miss., Since August 27, 1864." So I guess he was one of those trouble makers!

      Definitely would like to share info, although it's been awhile since I've looked at my notes and stuff. I'll figure out how to contact you privately to send you my contact info!

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  12. Okay, you so had like the best genealogy day ever. Wow! Just wonderful that these treasures made it to you.

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    1. Your comment is, just. plain. awesome.
      Thank you so very much, Andrea.

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  13. A truly blessed family treasure to cherish for the rest of your days. This is WONDERFUL news indeed!

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    1. Thanks so much, Liv! It's been an exciting process, as I have now received the items and have started to examine them for clues and share them with my family. Even my 11 and 9 year old nieces recognize the importance, the treasure we can now hold in our hands. Thanks for reading, and commenting! ~ Jen

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Please comment! I would love to hear your thoughts!