The only thing on my list...

This year, my wish list for the holiday is pretty short. 

Every year around this time, the internet fills up with articles and stories about the "best gifts for genealogists." All of those shiny tech toys, subscriptions to pay sites, trips to distant courthouses, education programs and attendance at various events are appealing to me, and to many of you. But this year, there is only one thing I want. 

This year for Christmas, I want to preserve history. 

That's it. Simple. Straight forward. And actually very easy to do. 

The best part is, we can all be a part of it. We can all contribute to this great effort, we can all take pride in the fact that we helped to save page after page of these original records. 

Asking for donations to the War of 1812 Preserve the Pensions effort is easy; and I'm not above begging. Really. Making a donation is easy too; I've got it set up to make a monthly donation automatically on a day, and for an amount, that works for me. 

So what's stopping you? Make a donation today. Save history. Save it for researcher's everywhere now, and for future generations. Save it for historians and military enthusiasts. Save it for teachers and educators that rely on historic records to bring history to life. Save it for every one of us, forever. 

$45 saves 200 pages. 

That's it. Pretty simple. Make a donation, take part in this historic effort, and give the gift of history for generations to come. 

Frankie's Letter: From a Widow to the Pension Board

Last in three posts dedicated to the military personnel in my family, a Memorial Day tribute of sorts.

As any genealogist would know, pension files can be an incredibly illuminating resource. Several years ago, we obtained the file for Capt. Oscar F. Brown and his wife, Frances (Lawrence) Brown. Frankie's file was considerable in size, having lived several more years after her husband, and petitioning repeatedly for increases in her widow's pension.

Oscar & Frances Brown, seen with unidentified children.
Private holdings of author.

Included is a copy of a letter, written by Frankie, dated 31 Oct 1928. By this time, Oscar had been gone 22 years, and she was living with her youngest son, Warren, in Orting, Washington. She turned 75 the previous July and was expecting a higher monthly sum, due to the change in her age. This excerpt in particular caught our attention as a family:

"... I am a soldier's daughter, a soldiers' widow, and a soldier's mother and think I am entitled to at least $40 a mo., and a soldiers sister [to] 3 brothers."

Although she didn't know it at the time, she is in fact:

the daughter of a soldier
the sister of soldiers
the widow of a soldier
the mother of a soldier
the grandmother of soldiers
the great-grandmother of soldiers
the great-great grandmother of soldiers

We Are Not a Military Family

Many moons ago, my Grandmother Elsie started a family tradition. Each year, we would all gather at Uncle Boone’s house on Memorial Day for a potluck and visit to the local cemetery. My paternal side is well represented in that cemetery, and she felt it was incredibly important to remember those people. I agree. We would all bring flowers, clean up the headstones, and enjoy the peaceful serenity of that place. This is where my love of cemeteries first developed.

My favorite spot here is a small section, downhill from the main part of the property. If you sneak down this hill, you are right on the edge of the beautiful Pacific Northwest forest, and there is an older tree next to a row of Brown’s. It’s a fantastic little spot, and I couldn’t think of a better place for those relatives of mine to rest.

Even though Grandma has been gone some time, the tradition lives on. I now live four states away, and unfortunately cannot participate each year as I once did. But, my family and I carry on, visiting our local cemetery, leaving flowers for the veterans and cleaning their headstones. It’s still an incredibly important day on the calendar.

When I started my genealogical journey over a decade ago, I would have told you, “We are not a military family.” Yes, my father was in the Navy, and my brother in the Army Reserves. Yes, I have a handful of cousins that were, or are, active duty in one way or another. But we really aren’t a military family.

I realized pretty quickly how wrong I was.

Capt. Oscar F. Brown
Private holdings of author.

My great-great grandfather, Capt. Oscar F. Brown, served in two units during the Civil War, most notably, the Mississippi Marine Brigade, which served on board ramming vessels patrolling the Mississippi River. They would try to outrun, blockade and preferably sink Confederate ships by crashing into them. The Marine unit, of which my ancestor was a member, would most often disembark onto the banks prior to the engagement, then travel by foot to the action and shoot from shore. They did, upon occasion, stay on the boat and fight from the water. They were a unique unit in many ways, and quite obscure among Civil War researchers. They were also one of the only units during the war to act under federal jurisdiction, rather than a state.

After his discharge, Oscar homesteaded in Nebraska, where he married and raised his family. He died there, but after his death, his wife, Frances, followed her children to Washington State. She is buried in the Orting Soldiers Home Cemetery as a veteran’s widow.  Of their six descendants, only one, Warren, the youngest, served in the Armed Forces. Like his father, he was on boats, but during World War I, he enlisted in the Navy. We know he was a Machinist, and he probably served on submarines, based on our photo archives. Surviving the war, he lived out his later years in Oregon and California, and died in 1945. He is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery, and I hope that one of these years I can get there for Memorial Day.  

2nd Lt. Robert L Brown
Private holdings of author.

The next generation brought a new war, of course. My grandfather wanted to enlist very much, but was turned away from the Army. His brothers, however, both joined, one in the Merchant Marines and one in the Army Air Force. My father’s uncles carried on this unknown tradition. 

Maybe it was known to them?

Author's father, as a young sailor.
Private holdings of author.

Then my father. He served 18 years for the United States Navy during the Vietnam period. In the Navy, he learned his lifelong craft of photography, met my mother, and had their first three children. I am the last and the only one who cannot claim to be a “Navy baby.”  His service stories I can recite to you verbatim, we’ve heard them so many times over our lifetime, but I still never thought of myself as a veteran’s daughter growing up.

Author's brother, US Army.
Private holdings of author.

My brother enlisted in the Army Reserves the summer before I entered the sixth grade.  When he left, I was shocked and saddened; I just did not understand that he wasn't going to be a part of my day to day life anymore. I still have the letters he sent home from boot camp and that first year of training. During the first engagement in Kuwait in the early 90’s, I was petrified he was going to be called to Active Duty, and he came very close from what I was told. I also had one paternal cousin that enlisted, and still have a couple on my maternal side that are serving.

We know with certainty that we have five generations of military service in my father’s line.  There are four theories as to who Oscar’s Dad was, and that is my biggest brick wall at this time. Two of those possible men were also veteran’s, both having served in the War of 1812. If one of those turns out to be his father, then we really have six generations. If my great-great-great grandfather turns out to be the man I think he is, than our family goes back to the Revolutionary War. I'm sure we're not the only people in this country that can say we've served in nearly every major conflict fought by American forces since the Civil War. We are lucky enough, however, to have not lost anyone to these engagements. So, on this Memorial Day, I will take time to remember, and I hope you will too. I will continue my grandmother's tradition, I will ensure that my three year old daughter lays flowers on the grave of a veteran. 

I am proud to say, we are a military family.

The headstone for Frances E. (Lawrence)
Brown, widow of Civil War veteran Oscar
F. Brown. Buried in the Orting Soldiers Home
Cemetery, Orting, Washington.
Photo: Private holdings of author.

Silent Saturday: Remembering what Memorial Day is really about.

Grave site of Robert A Carlyle, my first cousin, 2x removed.

All week I've been updating my cover photo on Facebook with military images from my family tree. A reminder of what Memorial Day truly stands for. Here are some of those images, and more.

John H. Lawrence, Jr.
Ohio Cavalry, Civil War.
Two of his brothers served as well.

The USS Coral Sea, on which my father served in the US Navy.

William J. Brown, WWII

William "Bill" Brown and wife, Stella.

Warren Brown, WWI Submariner

Los Angeles National Cemetery.
Warren Brown's final resting place.

Capt. Oscar F. Brown
Mississippi Marine Brigade, Union
Civil War

Their descendants, participating in the annual family Memorial Day
celebration at the Orting Cemetery, Orting, Pierce County, Washington.
This one is from 2008.

Mortimer J. Lawrence

The Lawrence family was essentially split in two, financially speaking. One side had siblings that were farmers, nearly destitute, with several children to each family and visibly struggling. On the other was Uncle Mortimer, or "Mort" and Warren. Together, they owned, operated and edited The Ohio Farmer and other monthly publications.

Mortimer liked to travel, and there are several surviving letters and postcards from his journeys in the family archives today. There did not seem to be any tension between the farmers back in Nebraska and the well to do Uncle, at least none that is obvious from their correspondance. Mortimer especially kept in touch with his niece, Carrie Brown, daughter of Frances (his sister) and Oscar. 

Front Image

Postcard from Brazil

Mortimer James Lawrence was born 8 Dec 1843 in Springfield, Pennsylvania to John Horatio Lawrence, Sr. and Sarah Evans. By the 1860 census, the family was residing in Ohio, and this is where he enlisted for service in the 3rd Ohio Cavalry, Co. B. He was captured and served time as a POW in Andersonville Prison. In 1866, after the war, he attended Bryant & Stratton Commercial College in Oberlin, and spent several years working in the news industry in the Cleveland area. By 1887, he owned a home in Denver, Colorado, which had running water and electricity, and he was the President & Owner of the People's Savings and Deposit Bank.

On June 25, 1888, the Charter was issued to the thirty ninth Shrine Temple, the El Jebel Shrine, in Denver. During their first meeting, Mortimer suggested the name, "El Jebel", meaning "The Mountain" in Arabic.

On 20 Dec 1866, Mortimer married Hellen J. Mattison, of Cleveland, and they had four sons: M. Lyman, George Stone, Mortimer William, and Paul Terry.

Throughout his life, he resided in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Washington D.C., New York, and Florida, and had traveled to Brazil, the Bahamas, Europe, and sailed extensively throughout the Atlantic on his yacht. A few days before his death, his former business associate, W.W. Porter, dreamed of it happening. Mortimer passed away on 30 Nov 1922 in Washington, D.C. 

Mississippi Marine Brigade ~ Civil War

Early in my research journey, I learned about the Mississippi Marine Brigade, thanks to my 2nd great grandfather, Oscar (you can read about him in earlier posts). The unit was relatively obscure, and it appears to have been that way both during the war and in the multitude of historical texts since then.

There are few reference sources, two of which are invaluable resources on this federal unit. Notice I said federal; the majority of the men and women fighting at this time were organized by state. The MMB was one of the few units designated under the federal government. Essentially designed to counter attack the ram fleet of the Confederacy, protecting the valuable Mississippi River corridor. Although largely considered to be reckless and "of little use", it was one of the first operations to essentially carry land units on boats within the confines of the US military. Oscar was a Captain in the MMB.

Chester G. Hearn produced Ellet's Brigade; The Strangest Outfit of All (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 2000). A well researched text, it provides a wonderful look into everyday life in the brigade, including this:

[describing an event on 22 March 1863 with "widespread dissatisfaction"]  "... When the officer of the day, Captain Oscar F. Brown, Cavalry Company C, attempted to stop the riot, one of the men punched him in the face. Captain Calvin G. Fisher, commanding Adams, distributed revolvers and with help from Brown subdued the troublemakers. Ellet arrested four of the ringleaders and placed them in leg irons connected to 20-pound balls. 'It was a severe lesson,' Captain Crandall recalled, 'but a salutary one to the entire command.'" (page 147-148).

The other, available on 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. Not only is this a rich historical text, and necessary reading for anybody interested in the MMB, it includes numerous photos and illustrations of members of the unit and their leadership.

Online resources are also available, and easy to find with a standard search engine. I will leave that to you.

Examples of MMB uniforms on models.