Military Monday: Benjamin Ishmael's Revolutionary War Pension Application

I love researching my Revolutionary War patriots and learning about their lives during that important period of our history. Each of my patriots had different experiences. Some served for a short time, while others served for several years, even after the end of the war. Some didn't live long to see much action, while others fought in, and survived, many important battles. Fortunately, most of the patriots in my lineage lived through the Revolutionary War and were able to go home to their families. Each soldier has his own story to tell, and I'm proud to be able to share their experiences with you here.

Here's a small part of the Revolutionary War pension application for my paternal 6th great grandfather, Benjamin Ishmael (July 1736 - July 10, 1822). He served in Pennsylvania, but eventually migrated west to Kentucky, which is where he applied for his pension.

Here's the transcript (exactly as written, including grammar and run-on sentences) of the second document, which details Benjamin Ishmael's service in the Revolutionary War:

District of Kentucky (??)
On this 1st day of October 1818, before me the undersigned, one of the circuit judges for the Commonwealth aforesaid, personally appeared Benjamin Ishmael aged 82 years resident of Nicholas County, in the said District, who being by first duly sworn according to Law doth on his oath, make the following declaration in order to obtain the provision made by the late act of Congress entitled, "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the Land and Naval Service of the United States in the Revolutionary War" that he the said Benjamin Ishmael in the year 1776 enlisted Canegagig Settlement in the State of Pennsylvania in The Company Commanded by Captain Abraham Smith of the 6th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Line Commanded by Colonel Irwin a continental Establishment for one year and that he continued in the service for the term of one year in the Company Regiment and line aforesaid when he was discharged from service in Albany in the State of New York and that he again enlisted about a year afterwards at the place aforesaid under (??) Blueford [note: I think this may be Colonel Bluford] of the Cavalry and was transferred to Gen'l Count Pulaski's Independent Legion and continued to serve therin for more than one year that he belonged to his first troop under Captain Peter Bentlow when he was discharged at Williamsburg in Virginia and that he was in several skirmishes one at Eggharbour and he is in reduced circumstances and stands in need of the assistance of his country for his support and that he has no other Evidence now in his power of said services.

(??) to before (??)
sworn and declared before me the day and year aforesaid

                                                                                         John Trimble

After the Revolutionary War, Benjamin went back to being a farmer in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and was found on the 1780 tax records in that area. It is written that Benjamin Ishmael also received a land grant of 160 acres from Virginia for services rendered in the Revolution. By the 1810 US Census, Benjamin and his family appeared in Fleming, Kentucky. They were in Nicholas County, Kentucky, by the 1820 Census, which is where he died on July 10, 1822. 

Benjamin initially applied for his pension in 1818, but was not officially awarded it until January 15, 1823 -- about six months after he had died. Benjamin died in relative poverty, and wasn't able to enjoy the assistance of his country that was finally awarded to him. According to a transcription of his will, he left what very little he had to his wife, Jenny (I had always thought he was married to a different woman and will be researching this more!) and his many children. What he was owed for his pension was prorated to his date of application in 1818 and finally paid to his family.

While digging through Benjamin's Revolutionary War records, I found some other intriguing stories about this man and his descendants. One other researcher noted that he'd been sued for "Bastardy" and that the the document is on file in Nicholas County (yes, I'll be looking that!). A book has also been written about some of Benjamin's descendants who "were discovered in the slums of Indianapolis in the 1870s and became a symbol for all that was wrong with the urban poor." Yep, it's on my summer reading list!

Those Places Thursday: Joseph Rooks in Grundy Co., Missouri

Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks

I have a lot of pioneer ancestors in my family tree, and I admire their spunk and adventurousness. Joseph Rooks, my 5th great grandfather, was one such hearty soul who forged his way through the American wilderness, likely in search of good land and a better life for himself and his family.

Joseph was born in Kentucky in 1772. By 1807, he was in Highland County, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Jackson (1790-1880). While Joseph and Elizabeth were adding to their family of 14 kids, they migrated to Randolph, Indiana, where they can be found on the 1820 US census. According to the 1881 book, "The History of Grundy County, Missouri: An Encylopedia of Useful Information, And A Compendium of Actual Facts," Joseph and his brothers, Samuel and Uriah, had finally settled in Marion township by the Fall of 1838, and were some of the very first white settlers of Grundy County, Missouri. At around the same time, other names in my family tree, including two more of my 5th great grandfathers, Robert Ishmael and John Holloway, arrived in Marion township. The Brittain family started showing up in area by the 1850s, and my 3rd great grand uncle, Francis McGuire Brittain, is also featured in "The History of Grundy County, Missouri."

The Rooks, Ishmael and Holloway family ended up being somewhat intertwined as the generations progressed. Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks' grandson, Thomas J. Rooks, married Robert and Polly Ishmael's granddaughter, Serena Jane Ishmael -- they were my 3rd great grandparents.

Within a few years of settling in Missouri, Joseph Rooks was granted two land patents of just over 137 acres acres in Marion, Grundy County, Missouri. Below is one of two documents detailing the land granted to him on April 1, 1843. I found these with a very simple search on the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office website. The document refers to Livingston County: Grundy County was organized from part of Livingston County in the 1840s.

Click on image for larger view

I was able to enter coordinates from the land patents onto a site called Earth Point which then helped me to translate the information into longitude/latitude. From there, and with just one click of a button, I was able to view the exact location of the Rooks land via the wonders of Google Earth.

Section 18, Township 60, Range 22. The Rooks land was in the
NW 1/4 section, where the arrow is pointing. Theirs were Lots 3 & 4, but I
haven't yet found a map that breaks down the lots. The town of Laredo is just to the west
of this land, and that's where Joseph passed away on May 25, 1868.

Here's a close-up of what may have been the land belonging to
Joseph and Elizabeth Rooks in 1843 Grundy County, MO. I wonder if
that's their farm house up near the top?

Isn't it just gorgeous? Being a farm girl, myself, I appreciate the beauty of this land where my ancestors settled. One day, I'm going to win the lottery and take a road trip to visit all of the homesteads that were settled by my folks.

Finally, here's a map that shows the general migration path of Joseph Rooks: from Kentucky to Ohio to Indiana and then to Marion township, Grundy County, Missouri.

That last stretch, from Randolph County, Indiana (C), to Marion, Missouri (D), is roughly 500 miles. According to Google Maps, that would take about nine hours to drive by today's standards. It makes me wonder how long the journey took for the intrepid Rooks family in their wagons, and it makes me admire them all the more for their adventurous spirit!

Here's how I'm descended from Joseph Rooks:

Joseph Rooks (1772-1868) m. Elizabeth Jackson (1790-1880) in 1807 >
Samuel E. Rooks (1816-1876) m. Elizabeth Holloway (1820-1846) in 1835 >
Thomas J. Rooks (1837-1919) m. Serena Jane Ishmael (1845-1914) in1860 >
Mary Jane Rooks (1862-1904) m. Frederick Harmon Brittain (1859-1921) in 1879 >
Andrew Lee Brittain (1888-1954) m. Jessie Luetta Halstead (1898-1974) in 1919 >
Woodie Leroy Brittain (living) m. Edith Vivian Hunt (1920-1993) in 1938 >
William Lee Brittain (1942-2003) m. Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram (living) >
Me!

Military Monday: Honoring My Civil War Ancestors

Battle of Missionary Ridge, where my 3rd Great Grandfather,
James Monroe Purser, was captured by the Union Army

Tomorrow, April 12, marks the 150th anniversary of the start of America's Civil War. Hostilities officially began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumpter, South Carolina. The war lasted for four years, and claimed the lives of an estimated 620,000 soldiers and an unknown number of civilian casualties.

Studying the Civil War in school, I'd always identified as a Northerner, and cheered that President Lincoln's Union Army defeated the secessionist, slavery-supporting Confederate Army. I still feel that way, of course, but as I've learned more about my own family involvement in the Civil War, I've learned about good men on both sides who fought for their beliefs. 

Here are three of my known Civil War ancestors, both Union and Confederate:

James M. Purser
1843-1914

• James Monroe Purser (1843-1914), Confederate, 3rd Great Grandfather. On February 4, 1862, at at Murphee's Crossroads in Blount County, Alabama, Jim enlisted in the Confederate army. His brothers, Richard and Moses, also enlisted and fought in the war. Jim was promoted from Private to 2nd Corporal in the 28th Alabama Infantry, Company B, but his service in the Confederate army wasn't without its trials and tribulations. Jim became ill within just a couple of months of enlisting, and ended up in the hospital at Shelby Springs, Alabama, for a time. Shortly after that, he somehow managed to lose his "gun and accoutrements" somewhere near Tupelo, Mississippi. However, the worst was yet to come.
  
  On November 25, Union soldiers assaulted and captured the Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. Jim and his brother, Richard, were both captured during the Battle of Chattanooga at Missionary Ridge in November 1863. They were confined at Rock Island Prison, Illinois, on December 5, 1863. During the Civil War, more than 12,000 men were imprisoned at Rock Island, and nearly 2,000 prisoners died there. Both Jim and Richard Purser lived through their imprisonment, and were released in March 1865 as part of a P.O.W. exchange program with the Union army.
  

Benjamin F. Jaggers
1832-1862

• Benjamin Franklin Jaggers (1832-1862), Confederate, 4th Great Grandfather. Benjamin joined the Confederate Army, enlisting on July 21, 1862, and mustering in at Huntsville, Alabama, on August 18, 1962. He was 30 years old and a Private in the 1st Alabama Cavalry. Benjamin would not get to see much, if any, action during the Civil War. Less than two months after he joined up, he died on October 16, 1862, of measles in Hospital #14 at Nashville, Tennessee. He is buried at the Nashville National Cemetery in Section A, plot 4518.

• Solomon Ishmael (1817-1894), Union, 4th Great Grandfather. Solomon was a Private in the Missouri 23rd Regiment Infantry Volunteers, Company B, under Captain Nash. He enlisted on July 25, 1862, in Trenton, Missouri, and mustered in at Hudson, Missouri, on August 31, 1862. He was 44 1/2 years old (no spring chicken). Solomon contracted small pox in around February 1864, and was in the hospital in McMinnville, Tennessee, until at least after the muster roll dated January 14, 1865. He was mustered out on May 18, 1865, near Washington, D.C.

Solomon Ishmael's examination report

I'm still researching a couple more great grandfathers who I believe fought in the Civil War. I also have several uncles and distant cousins who fought for both sides. 

While I'm proud of my Union soldiers for helping to protect and preserve our country, I've also grown surprisingly fond of my Confederate soldier ancestors. I might not believe in the same causes that they fought for, but I'm proud of their bravery. They also fought for their own beliefs and to preserve what they felt was important to their way of living. I'm glad the Union army prevailed, and my heart goes out to all of the soldiers on both sides -- as well as their parents, wives and children -- who endured, in many cases, four years of hell. Some gave their lives, and all gave their hearts and souls, for what they believed. These soldiers, both Union and Confederate, helped to shape our United States of America.

Sunday Obituary: Thomas J. Rooks 1837-1919

Here's the obituary for my paternal 3rd great grandfather, Thomas J. Rooks. He died on June 25, 1919, and this appeared in the July 3, 1919, edition of the Humansville Star-Leader newspaper in Humansville, Missouri. Thomas and his wife, Serena Jane Ishmael, were the parents of my great great grandmother, Mary Jane Rooks Brittain.

Humansville Star-Leader,
Thursday, July 3, 1919

Thomas J. Rooks was born in Indiana, August 12, 1837, died at the home of his youngest son, F.M. Rooks, near Humansville, June 25, 1919, at the age of 82 years, 10 months, and 13 days. He was married to Miss Serena Ishmael Jan. 19, 1860, to them was born ten boys and two girls of which seven sons and one daughter are still living. His wife preceded him to the grave Oct. 3, 1914. He joined the Baptist church in 1906 but he had professed religion and been a member of other churches since young manhood.

Funeral services were held at the home Wednesday conducted by Rev. B.A. Hensley. Interment was the Burchett cemetery.

The Burchett Cemetery is also known as the Molder Cemetery. Both Thomas and Serena are buried there.

Here's how I'm descended from Thomas and Serena:

Thomas J. Rooks/Serena Jane Ishmael >
Mary Jane Rooks/Frederick Harmon Brittain >
Andrew Lee Brittain/Jessie Luetta Halstead >
Woodie Leroy Brittain/Edith Vivian Hunt >
William Lee Brittain/Rebecca Elizabeth Bartram >
me!