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Before I go further I want to list the order and sizes of the groups of soldiers I will be referring to.
(A-K, no I{it looked too much like a J in the script of the day})occasionally they were
named after their head officer, like Ward's or McCook's.
As the men were killed or captured numbers changed and groups (Brigades, Divisions, Corps and sometimes even the Armies) were combined or split off and reassigned or new groups were made. So when your reading about a battle you need to know what the name of Nelsons group was at that point. He was always in the
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The brand new unit was broken into the hardships they would face right away. They would march all day and not be fed supper, and left to find what they could for breakfast. They would be brought to the attention of President Lincoln later on as they were on the verge of starvation due to lack of supplies and the local food stuffs had been raided before their arrival. This group of men were highly praised and singled out to be mentioned in several articles I read and also in Official Reports from the time. They were led by several well known Generals: Buell, Rosencrans, and Thomas.
*Soon after its organization in August the corps was briefly assigned to Ward's Brigade, 12th Division, Army of the Ohio. They went into action marching from Dayton to Lexington, Kentucky to relieve Nelson's troops; retreating from Lexington to Louisville, Ky. then pursued Bragg in Kentucky. In October and November 1862 they were assigned to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Ohio.. They missed the Battle of Perryville, Ky by one day. Oct. 16th, 1862 Captain. Richards wrote home :
They marched to Nashville, Tenn. , and saw action at Kimbrough's Mills, Mil Creek and Antioch Church. They then had duty at Tenn. until December 26, 1862. December 1862 the regiment ** was reassigned to 3rd Brigade, 2nd Divison, Right Wing, XIV (14th) Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland. It was from Nashville,on November 9th, 1862 that Captain Richards of Nelson's Company wrote to his father:
Those were all last names, I checked the roster. Nelson was the only Parker (first or last name), so the comment was about Nelson. And the Ogg's were neighbors of the Joyce's always. In every census I found a Joyce family listed in there was an Ogg family close by.
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POST 5
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
The Army advanced on Murfreesboro, Tennessee. December 26-30, and on the 30th thru January 3rd,1863 they were in the Battle of Stones River. January 4th, 1863 Captain Richards wrote to his father about the battle at Stones River :
****
William Ogg was living in Coleraine Twnshp. Hamilton Co., Ohio in 1850-60. His family was neighbors to Robert Joyce and his stepfather and mother, the William Joyce family, Benjamin and Deborah, and Hiram Joyce. Every time I look up a Joyce in a census a Ogg is always living nearby. Richard D. Shaw was Catherine's brother. He would later die in the hospital. Henry closed this letter with:
"The rebels have gone, and our army follows in pursuit. They have been badly whipped. What our next step will be I don't know. Rations are scarce here. We had two ears of corn to each man issued on Friday last,that being all that could be got. We have neither blankets nor tents. It has rained two nights since we have been here, and no fires are allowed. So you see soldiering is not play. I am very well, however; not even a cold. We lost all our blankets the first day's fight. No more paper, so must stop. As ever, your affectionate son, Henry" ****
- It was while researching this battle that I had one of those "crazy dumb luck" finds I was led to. I went to the website of the Stones River National Park that is now where the battle took place. When you Google "Stones River" several links come up to National Parks Conservancy sites that cover all National Parks and the site they take you to for Stones River is just a basic information site about the services and activities. But down below is the government links, there is only one link that takes you to the web site run at the battlefield by the employees. There was a section to search the site so I punched in 93rd Ohio and up popped a link to the "Regimental Files" section with a hit on the 93rd. So I clicked on it and its a section where they list all the artifacts on display, donated by the public. There was a search button on this page too. So i thought why not punch in Nelson's name and see what happens. I did and up pops this link:
with this notation: "this (letter was ) written by nelson parker, a civil soldier, (fighting on the of the North). (to his) sister, louisa parker, on march 8, 1863. camp gill dear sister," *
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Boy did I squeal!!!!!How amazing! Crazy dumb luck again? It is an old faded typed copy of the transcript of the original letter. It was written March 8, 1863 from their Camp during the Duty at Murfreesboro. It as a good picture of his feelings about the war. I immediately contacted the park to see if they had records of where it had come from, thinking it might be a member of Nelson's family and might lead me to a current, live relative of this new branch to our family. The man wrote me back right away and was very nice. When he found out I had Nelson's records he asked for a copy of them to add to his file. Unfortunately he didn't have the original letter or the envelope. The copy was donated over 10 years ago, before they kept records of donations. But now I had the name of his sister which might help me verify that I have the right Parker's when I find records I think might be his parents. In it Nelson mentions Henry Richards, further verifying my conclusion that the families know each other.
Here is a transcript of the letter:
Near Murfreesboro, Tennessee
March 8, 1863
Dear Sister,
I once more embrace this opportunity to inform you that I am still
on the land and amongst the living and when these few lines come
to hand, I hope you will be enjoying the same great blessing.
There has been nothing of interest transpired since the battle (at
Stones River)to disturb the monotony of camp life except a slight
skirmish once in a while with these roving bands of guerrillas of
which this part of the state is full of. There will be a foraging party
starting out and they will not be gone more than an hour until we
hear the booming of cannons. But we have got used to it and it
does not startle us any more than a squirrel gun would in Ohio.
I would like to be at your wedding, but as it is, I shall have to
wish you much joy on this piece of paper. I hope you will get
a good husband and be successful though life. You must not be
too despondent about my never getting home. If it is the Lord's
will, I will pass safely through. May it be the Lord's will and
not mine be done. If I ever get home, I will be sure to come
and see my new brother-in-law.
If the people resist the Conscription Act in the North, I hope
they will have the war transferred to their own firesides, for I
think they are no better than the allies of Jeff Davis, himself.
As long as they can have a guard at their door, they are
well satisfied, but when they have to be the guard, they
remonstrate right away.,
Henry Richards and Morgan are still with us, but Arthur
was shot in the hand about the middle of last November
and has not seen duty since then.
I will have to send this letter without a stamp, for we have
never been paid as yet and we cannot get stamps here.
I will address this letter in the old way although I expect
that when this letter comes to hand, you will be Parker
no more, Direct your letters to Co. F., 93 O.P.G., 3rd
Brigade, 2nd Division, McCook's Corps, Murfreesboro,
Tennessee.
With these remarks, I close. From your brother,
N. Parker
Note the mention of Henry Richards! Back home in Ohio, Catherine would give birth to Nelson Jr. about 1 1/2 months later.
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* Copy is courtesy of Stones River National Battlefield Park, Stones River. Tennessee.
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POST 6
AFTER STONES RIVER
December 1862 the regiment ** was reassigned. The Regiment was a part of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Right Wing XIV (14th) Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863. After the battle at Stones River (December 30,1862 thru January 3, 1863) the regiment (93rd OVI) was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XX (20th) Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October 1863. They were on duty at Murfreesboro until June 1863.
It was during this time the baby was born. According to the Statement of the Midwife that was with the Adoption papers and Pension form:
Sophia McGuire was " present at the birth of Nelson the child of Nelson Parker......'
'...birth of said child occurred on the 27th day of April 1863":
"..birth of said child occurred out of wedlock."
"Nelson Parker father of said child married Catherine Shaw the 26th day of December, 1864"
"Catherine Shaw was the mother..."
"Nelson Parker acknowledges the paternity of said child and from the date of his marriage ....to the date of his death provided for and exercised a parental love over said child the same as if he had been born in wedlock."
The form is signed by her mark, an "X",witnessed and notarized on 30th of January 1874. I haven't found a reason for the form being filled out 10 years after the fact. Another mystery to work on! I was happy. When they got married in December I'm sure he got to see and hold the baby.
** The Regiment (still with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XX (20th) Army Corps, Army of Cumberland) left Murfreesboro, Tenn., and engaged in the battle at Liberty Gap June 24th-27th; the occupation of Middle Tenn. until August 16th; passage of the Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga, Georgia Campaign August 16- September 22nd, 1863. This included the Battle of Chickamauga September 19-20th of which McCook was in charge. He did a lousy job and was blamed for the disaster. September 28th, 1863 the XX Corps (McCook's) and the XXI (Crittenden's) corps were reorganized - combining the two and redividing by 3 to form an additional Corps, the IV (Nelson's) = 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, IV Corps Army of Cumberland. November 23rd they were involved in the Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., this included the reopening the Tennessee River October 26-29, and Brown's Ferry, October 27th. November 23rd - 27th they were in the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign, including the battle at Orchard Knob November 23rd-24th. The battles of the Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign ( Chattanooga , Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge) seemed to all run one right after another on November 23rd, 24th and 25th, 1863.
Missionary Ridge was, where Nelsons Regiment distinguished itself by it brilliant and successful charge up the heights". ** Their Corps alone totaled 2,370 killed, wounded and missing, accounting for more than half the total for the battle. Nelson was wounded in the hand and went to the hosptial, Nov.23rd, 1983.
This is the answer to the question - How did he get home to get married?
Muster Rolls track location. The hospitals had their own to account for their whereabouts. Then the Muster-Out Rolls gave a summary . The one shown below show Nelson's path back to his home area where he was able to get married to Catherine. He was moved from hospital to hospital until he got to Camp Dennison, Ohio December 21st; got married December 26th. He went on to another hospital in Lexington, Kentucky December 29th. He was there til he left and was AWOL from February 15th to the 23rd, 1864. I just imagine he had to go back home for one more visit. He returned to his unit March 8th, 1864.
Nelson was wounded on November 23, 1863 and was away from the action until March 1864. The only major battle he missed was Dandridge.
On November 28, 1863, the 93rd started for East Tennessee. "The campaign of the winter of 1863-64 was very severe, and one time the regiment was reduced to 4 officers and 90 men.
December 1862 the regiment ** was reassigned to 3rd Brigade, On January 16, 1864, 7 officers and about 80 men, who had been left in Chattanooga unable to march, joined the regiment at Strawberry Plains, making the effective force about 170 men. On the night on the 16th, the 93rd and the 1st Ohio were detailed for picket, and were posted about 2.5 miles north of Dandridge. On the 17th about noon, the Rebels attacked the line, but they were held in check until dark, when the line was withdrawn. In this skirmish, the 93rd lost 1 killed, 4 wounded, and 3 captured. The regiment with the army moved to Strawberry Plains and from there to Knoxville, and after remaining a short time the regiment, with a portion of the brigade, was stationed at Lenoir's, and was ordered to build winter-quarters. After remaining about 3 weeks the regiment again moved to Knoxville, and so it continued during the whole campaign, marching and counter-marching. For about a month it bivouacked at Blair's Cross Roads (I think this is where Nelson rejoined the 93rd-or what was left of it), making occasional trips to Rutledge. On April 3, it arrived in Cleveland and went into camp at McDonald's Station, 6 miles south of Cleveland, and for a month was busily in preparation for a new campaign, on Atlanta."***
We are drawing in on the last week of Nelsons's life. Captain Richards letter from May 20, 1864 sums up the conditions they endured:
May 20th, 1864 Cassville, Georgia
"I, with my company, was sent out on the skirmish line yesterday about noon. The forest was very dense. The undergrowth was so thick it was almost impossible to see a man until within a few paces of him, and seems to me a line of resolute and determined men could have killed or wounded every one of us; but we drove them nearly three miles without any loss,and finally charged them across an
open field with a yell,and drove them from behind a fence skirting the woods, just as night closed in. Many shots came uncomfortably close, but a miss is as good as a mile, and we are all alive and well this morning. Since the 7th of this month we have been in a state of constant excitement. Not a day has passed without bullets whistling about our heads. We were often called up at night to build breastworks, or repel a threatened attack upon some portion of our lines. Our men look haggard and worn-out. We have full rations of pork, hard bread, sugar- and coffee; nothing else. We have no clothing, tents nor baggage " nothing but what we carry, and as we are obliged to carry three days' rations on our person, it makes a good load for hot weather " though the nights are cold. I still carry my overcoat but will be compelled to throw it away soon if it gets warmer."****
Seven days after this letter was written was the battle at Pickett's Mill, where Nelson was killed. It was more of a massacre than a battle.
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POST 7
PICKETTS MILL
When reading about this battle keep in mind and look for mention of Nelson's group. When ever you see the following referred to these included Nelson and Company F. :
Wood's Division-made up of 9 regiments, each averaging only 200 men (approimatly 1800), reduced by injury and death from 8,000.
Hazen's Brigade ( a part of Wood's {2nd} Division)
2nd Division, 3rd({Hazen's} Brigade, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland
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The Generals in charge were Sherman-Union and Johnston-Confederate
The Campaign was the Atlanta Campaign
The war had taken its toll and the sizes of the groups were greatly reduced. The Regiments (including the 93rd OVI) down from 1000 to around 200 each. Captain Richards reported Company F went from 100 to 77 at the start of this Campaign to 18 at Picket's Mill.
General Sherman (Union) ordered his troops to attacked General Johnston's Confederate troops on May 27. 1864 at Pickett's Mill, Georgia. Sherman had just been defeated at New Hope Church. But he believed Johnston's right flank to be exposed so he ordered Maj. Gen. Howard to lead his Divisions to attack. But the Confederates were not only not exposed, they were ready for them. To matters worse Sherman's supporting troops didn't show up. This, coupled with the fact that General Hazen, in charge of Nelsons division ordered the to attack one at a time, resulting in the loss of 21,000 lives. It was such a massacre that Sherman left it completely out of his memoirs.
After the battle, there was almost an unspoken secrecy about not only the exact dead count but of the mistakes in judgement and the decisions of some of those in charge. The attack was ordered by General Sherman , yet was ignored in his memoirs. General Howard wrote only one sentence about in his account of the Atlanta campaign. Yet General Howard planned it, and it was fought as a battle of its own under his direction.
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from General Johnston (Confederate) account as quoted in "CRIME AT PICKETT'S MILL" by Ambrose Bierce :
"I must here quote again from General Johnston’s account of this engagement, for nothing could more truly indicate the resolute nature of the attack than the Confederate belief that it was made by the whole Fourth Corps, instead of one weak brigade:"
“The Fourth Corps came on in deep order and assailed the Texans with great vigor, receiving their close and accurate fire with the fortitude always exhibited by General Sherman’s troops in the actions of this campaign…. The Federal troops approached within a few yards of the Confederates, but at last were forced to give way...and fell back to the shelter of a hollow near and behind them. They left hundreds of corpses within twenty paces of the Confederate line. When the United States troops paused in their advance within fifteen paces of the Texan front rank [pg 290]one of their color-bearers planted his colors eight or ten feet in front of his regiment, and was instantly shot dead. A soldier sprang forward to his place and fell also as he grasped the color-staff. A second and third followed successively, and each received death as speedily as his predecessors. A fourth, however, seized and bore back the object of soldierly devotion.”
"Such incidents have occurred in battle from time to time since men began to venerate the symbols of their cause, but they are not commonly related by the enemy. If General Johnston had known that his veteran divisions were throwing their successive lines against fewer than fifteen hundred men his glowing tribute to his enemy’s valor could hardly have been more generously expressed. I can attest the truth of his soldierly praise: I saw the occurrence that he relates and regret that I am unable to recall even the name of the regiment whose colors were so gallantly saved."
That day, May 27th, 1864 the most damage was done in the face-to-face fighting. Lined up facing each other shooting. As the men in front fell, those behind stepped over them, slowing moving forward. Finally there were none left and a Dead Zone, a 10 foot wide stretch of land completely clear where no one ever reached. Edged with a mass of the dead and wounded.
In the words of Ambrose Bierce in his short story,"Crime at Pickett's Mill":
"Early in my military experience I used to ask myself how it was that brave troops could retreat while still their courage was high........ when hostile lines of infantry engage at close range and the assailants afterward retire, there was a “dead-line” beyond which no man advanced but to fall. Not a soul of them ever reached the enemy’s front to be bayoneted or captured. It was a matter of the difference of three or four paces—too small a distance to affect the accuracy of aim. In these affairs no aim is taken at individual antagonists; the soldier delivers his fire at the thickest mass in his front. The fire is, of course, as deadly at twenty paces as at fifteen; at fifteen as at ten. Nevertheless, there is the “dead-line,” with its well-defined edge of corpses—those of the bravest. Where both lines are fighting without cover—as in a charge met by a counter-charge—each has its “dead-line,” and between the two is a clear space—neutral ground, devoid of dead, for the living cannot reach it to fall there."
"I observed this phenomenon at Pickett’s Mill. Standing at the right of the line I had an unobstructed view of the narrow, open [pg 292]space across which the two lines fought. It was dim with smoke, but not greatly obscured: the smoke rose and spread in sheets among the branches of the trees. Most of our men fought kneeling as they fired, many of them behind trees, stones and whatever cover they could get, but there were considerable groups that stood. Occasionally one of these groups, which had endured the storm of missiles for moments without perceptible reduction, would push forward, moved by a common despair, and wholly detach itself from the line. In a second every man of the group would be down. There had been no visible movement of the enemy, no audible change in the awful, even roar of the firing—yet all were down. Frequently the dim figure of an individual soldier would be seen to spring away from his comrades, advancing alone toward that fateful interspace, with leveled bayonet. He got no farther than the farthest of his predecessors. Of the “hundreds of corpses within twenty paces of the Confederate line,” I venture to say that a third were within fifteen paces, and none within ten..............................."
........................."I witnessed the attack of the two brigades following my own, and none of these (troops) advanced nearer than one hundred yards of the enemy’s works. They went in at a run, and as organizations were broken in less than a minute..........."
"Nevertheless their losses were considerable, including several hundred prisoners taken from a sheltered place whence they did not care to rise and run. The entire loss was about fourteen hundred men, of whom nearly one-half fell killed and wounded in Hazen’s brigade in less than thirty minutes of actual fighting."
"I remember that we were all astonished at the uncommonly large proportion of [pg 296]dead to wounded—a consequence of the uncommonly close range at which most of the fighting was done."
It was this situation Nelson died in. After the battle the troops retreated and the bodies not retreaved during the fighting were left behind.
and read the complete short story "The Crime at Pickets Mill" by Ambrose Bierce. He was in the same division as Nelson and, as you can see from the above excerpt, gives a clear account of the carnage.
That day, May 27th, 1864 the most damage was done in the face-to-face fighting. Lined up facing each other shooting. As the men in front fell, those behind stepped over them, slowing moving forward. Finally there were none left and a"dead-line", a 10 foot wide stretch of land completely clear where no one ever reached. Edged with a mass of the dead and wounded.
It was this situation Nelson died in. The bodies of the dead, including Nelson, were left behind when the survivors retreated. Most were buried where they fell, some in mass graves at the main battle site. Some on farms and fields. Two years after the battle a reburial detail disinterred and relocated some of the bodies to formal cemeteries recently established in the area. The remains were transported to a new military cemetery on a hill east of downtown Marietta,Georgia.
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POST 8
LOST AND FINDING
There is a man who has taken on the daunting task of trying to identify the "Unknown"s. To locate where graves of some of the transferred. unidentified remains are and identify them. He takes the meticulous notes taken by the reburial corps, of any identifying features of a corpse, or items found on the`m (like wedding rings) or in their pockets (like pictures or letters), and matching them to the position their troops were in on the battle field (each officer filed a report after a battle). Also the many first hand accounts in various diaries and letters home from soldiers who survived. These were often very detailed as to where they fought.
This is over simplifying it, but with all the documentation he has been able to identify many of the remains that had been unidentified. His name is Brad Quinlin. bradquinlin@tolearnyourhistory,com I dont know if you have seen the TV show "Who Do You Think You Are" (WDYTYA) . It is a show where Ancestry.Com traces the family trees of some celebrities( Anderson Cooper, Kevin Bacon, etc.) There was one episode on Mathew Broderick that was on one night after I started this project. His great-great grandfather was also killed in the Civil War in Georgia, and body not recovered. The people from WDYTYA came to Brad with the information from the military file. He was able to identify one of the unknowns in the Marietta cemetery as Mathews Great great grandfather. I saw the episode and got excited when I realized he was working in the area Nelson died. So I went to the internet and found his website and saw the battle of Pickett's Mill mentioned.
Please go here and read the article on Brad and his research and his experience with Matthew Broderick and Who Do You Think You Are. It will help you understand when I report on his findings in his search for Nelson. You see, I was so bold as to contact him on finding Nelson's remains. He has been working on it.
With the documents he had he was able to narrow it down to 1 of 17 graves in a specific area of the cemetery. It was just another of those crazy dumb luck incidences in this whole search. He was ready to send me how far he had gotten on the search when he was notified approximately 1000 more records had been discovered and were on their way to him. So after the arduous task of transcribing all the records (Faded AND handwritten in that old-fashioned script) he will continue the search for Nelson's remains.
He has been very helpful and patient with me. I don't wait quietly, LOL. He gave me a special rate to get me the military files on Robert Joyce and to get me digital copies to replace the old, faded /photocopies of Nelson's records. Plus he got me a complete copy of both the Regiments Orders Books and Letters and Correspondences Book. These are the hand written log books that were filled out by hand in camp as life happened. I can see Nelson'signature where he signed that he received 1 pair of new Trousers.
Nelson's signature is first on the page,in the last column, and remember Samuel Pickens, Benjamin Joyce's hired hand? His is the 6th in that column. You haven't heard the last of him. He is a major player in this story after the war,
I can see where Nelson's promotion from Pvt. to Sgt.is recorded as assigned by Capt. Robert Joyce. Samuel Pickens was promoted also, further down.
All the records are on a CD he sent me, If you are family and are interested email me about a copy.
Here is the breakdown he sent me that shows the status of Nelson Parker presently among the dead at Pickett's Mill as of today.
There was a second "crazy dumb luck " ( or many guided?) incidents involving Brad. I was garage saling with a friend and at one house they had a box full of "CIVIL WAR TIMES MAGAZINE"s. There was most of 1966, a couple from 1967 and one or two others. I decided to buy them and just flip thru them for articles on Picketts Mill or the Atlanta Campaign. I had become interested in the Civil War with all my research. When I got them home I got started. About half way thru a Letter to the Editior caught my eye. It was about the group of reburial men and some mistakes that had just been discovered that they had made. It referred to an older article (several years older) that had been in that magazine prior that had been about that reburial and I. D. process. I thought, to bad I didnt have that article. I checked, and I only had one issue from that prior year - and , you guessed it - it WAS THAT YEAR! There was the article, it was very detailed on the process and the people who participated. I mailed both issues to Brad. I'm waiting to hear if they were of any help.
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A NEW DISCOVERY TODAY -THE LATEST DUMB-LUCK FIND/
I was researching the term "Butternut" because I want a good definition of the term to insert in the existing blog pages. Since I used the term in the title , you need to know what it means. In the middle of doing this I was in the Civil War Talk blog that I joined and saw a thread from a man who thinks he has a gun that may have belonged to Gen, Hazen (who was in charge of Nelsons Division at one point) I wanted to know for sure if I was thinking of the right person so I googled him.
I looked down the links that showed and for no particular reason clicked on the last one and the last link that showed up. It goes to a reader with a plain blue cloth covered folder showing. I click on it to open it. Amazingly it was the online copy of the short story, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 93RD REGIMENT OHIO VOLUNTEER INFANTRY of A. Demoret. He was from Venice, a small town in Ohio where our Joyce's lived and he was in Company F with Nelson. I had found excerpts from the story lots of places but couldn't find a complete copy of it. (I had spent an evening looking for one free online with no luck) I quickly paged thru til I got to May 1864 and the Pickett's Mills entry. There was Nelson's name!!!!
It says:
"by the 19th of May we had reached Cassville. By continual maneuvering andl skirmishing, on the 26th of May the union army were near Dallas. On the 27th our division (Gen. Woods') cut loose from the rest of the army and moved to the left for the purpose' of striking the enemy on the flank. They mere on the alert, however, and waiting to receive us, and when the charge was made it was a veritable slaughter-pen.
The division was compelled to fall back, sustaining a loss of 1700 men, the 93rd losing heavily. This was called the battle of Pickett's Mills. Company F lost in killed Nelson Parker, Benj. McCormick and Nicholas Goshorn, besides a number of wounded"
Its on page 42 here:
Im hoping the names of the other 2 deceased will somehow help Brad Quilin in his search for Nelson's remains. I have already sent him this information.
Thats my excitement for today!! Back to my research on Butternuts - Debbie
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POST 9
LIFE AFTER NELSON
So Nelson is gone. Killed at Pickett's Mill, Georgia. His body left behind by his retreating fellow soldiers. I can only imagine this means he was one of the ones who got really close to the enemy's side.
Back in Ohio Catherine is now Mrs. Nelson Parker, she is 17 or 18 years old. She applies for widows compensation December 27th, 1864, just over a year after marrying Nelson, March 23, 1865 she is granted $8.00 per month plus $2.00 per month for Nelson's child. The copies of these forms are among the papers in "the envelope". Catherine has signed the application. Her signature is firm and clear and shows she was certainly well educated and literate. Note: one of the witnesses to her signature was Minor Ogg. Neighbor and family friend from the way things look.
The next event I can find in Catherine's life is the death of her father, Elial Nathan Shaw on March 23rd, 1866 in Hamilton County, Ohio. Right after this, on March 29th was her re-marriage. Reenter into the picture , Samuel Pickens. (Remember him from the 1860 Census, living with Benjamin and Deborah Joyce in Colerain Twnshp,, Hamilton County, Ohio and in Nelson's Company?)
This in its self was unusual, to get married 6 days after your father dies. But also on this date the 3 page adoption agreement was written and signed for the adoption of baby Nelson by the Joyce's.
What was going on in this family?!?!?
The next two forms, in date order, are the forms signed May 20th, 1867, transferring the baby Nelson's "estate" (or the control of his pension - which is now the full $8.00 per month due to Catherine's remarriage) to Benjamin and his attorney. The second form was the copy of the marriage record of Nelson and Catherine that was already posted here.It was like a duplicate to be left for these court cases.
The above form also is a signed () statement by the new husband, Samuel Pickens, and another witness, Daniel Struble, It stated that the child is the only child of Nelson Parker, Sr and that they knew this due to their" long and intimate acquaintance with said Nelson Parker, Sr. and his family. (So why can't I find Nelson and his family in the 1850 census near Samuel? - I need to retry that).
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ANOTHER BOMBSHELL TODAY
Yesterday I was trying some different SEARCH methods to try and find Nelson Parker parents. I was doing the check out the neighbors of your family member in the 1840 CENSUS. Families back then used cluster together, the children moving close by when they married. The problem was in that census the only names recorded were the Heads of Households, everyone else was just a tick-mark in an age slot. Since Nelson was born in 1840 he may or may not be represented with a tick-mark in the "Under 5 Male" slot.
There was a Levi Parker who was a neighbor to Benjamin and Deborah Joyce (the childless couple who adopted the baby Nelson-my Great Great Grandparents). He was not in the 1850 census so I had a theory that perhaps something had happened to the parents and any children had to be taken in by others. The 1840 census showed 2 males under 5 (one could be Nelson) and 1 female under 5 (which could be Louisa-from the Stones River letter. and Levi was the right age to have been Nelson's father.
When I first started this project my printer was out of ink so many of my first finds are scribbled in a notebook which was laying open on the desk when I sat down to start yesterday. The name Levi Parker jumped out at me. I must have wondered about him earlier and done some checking because written under his name it said "Mary Parker Consort of Levi Parker, d/o (daughter of) G and C Struble Died July 17, 1844, 31 years 2 months 8 days, UB 34A". If she was Nelson Parker's mother that date of death fits in with my theory of something happening to the parents between the 1840 and 1850 censuses. I also recognized the last name of her parents - STRUBLE! Daniel Struble was the name of the man who, along with Samuel Pickens was a witness on the affidavit for the adoption declaration where it stated he had a "long and intimate acquaintance with Nelson Parker,died and his family". So that could connect some more dots. I also recognized then" UB 34A" - that was for United Bretheren Cemetery grave 34A, That information was from the "GRAVESTONES INSCRIPTION AND CEMETERY INFORMATION FOR COLERAIN\ TOWNSHIP, OHIO"*. I had found it online and it contained the information from the 31 cemeteries in the Township and directions to each one, a map with all the graves marked out and numbered to correspond with the 5000 or so people in the alphabetic list of all who died between 1744 and 1944. There were lots of Joyce's. Picken's, Ogg's, and Higgin's (Deborah Joyce's maiden name)and a one listing for Parker's. It was a gold mine. I had copied all the cemetery info, directions and maps that applied, and the pages of names that had any of those last names that were in my search. But I had not copied Mary's page. I just noted it for future reference since it was the only Parker on the list and I had not come across Levi in the censuses at that time.
Now that I was interested in Levi I thought I should add a copy of Mary's page and look to see if Levi was buried with her and I had just missed a Parker listing the first time. Also now I wanted to check out the Struble's and make a copy.
First I went to see if Levi's name was listed somewhere other than being referred to on Mary's tombstone. Mary was the only Parker on the list. She would be right above all the Picken's, I turned to the packet of my copies to insert Mary's page in it in front of Samuel and Catherine page. I glanced at Catherine's bunch the name Gennette Pickens stood out, I didn't recognize that one. The first time when I used and copied this book I was just starting this project and didn't know all her many children's names, Now I do and Gennette Pickens was not on my list or any of the existing family trees on Ancestry. Catherine and Samuel are on quite a few of other peoples (probably people who are going to end up being relatives of ours) family trees. BOMB SHELL!!!! I had found a new sister. From her tombstone I found out she was born January 27th, 1866, (before Catherine married Samuel, March 29, 1866), and baby Nelson was still at home with her! She died on December 1st, 1869 (after Nelson Jr's adoption March 29, 1866), She was almost 3 years old.
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* This publication will be referred to in the future as the GICRofCO due to the length of its name
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POST 10
NEIGHBORHOODS - ITS ALL RELATIVE
ALL the characters in this drama seem to be related to each other in some way or another. I think it would be helpful to you AND ME to lay out just how close the different groups were to each other and for how long.
Below you can see Butler and Hamilton Counties where most of this story takes place. Cincinnati is in the lower right corner of the county. That is where citizens had to go for official business. The map is from the Family Search.Org website:
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Right below Butler Co,Later family members will spread to Ross in Ross Township in Butler Co., on Hamilton Couinty's Northern border.
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1840 CENSUS COLERAINE TOWNSHIP, HAM. CO., OHIO
1840 William Joyce-SR.
MALES 1/16-20 1/20-30 1/50-60
FEMALES 1/16-20 1/20-30 1/50-60
1840 J M Joyce
MALES 2UNDER5 1/20-30
FEMALES 1/20-30
1840 William Joyce -JR
MALES 1UNDER5 2/20-30
FEMALES 1UNDER5 1/20-30
PARKER POSSIBILITIES FOR NELSONS FAMILY-ON SAME CENSUS AREA IN 1840
(ON NEXT PAGE)
LEVI PARKER 2 MALES UNDER 5 1 M 20-30 1 FEMALE UNDER 5 1 F 20-30
(C or O) PARKER 1 M 16-20 1 M 70-80
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The biggest group was in the 1850 U;S. Census, this was the first year everyones name was listed. Before it was just the head of household. We have every ones name, age, and where they were born (the state or country only) but not who they are in the household - son, mother-in=law, renter, etc. 1850 CENSUS COLERAINE TOWNSHIP, HAM. CO., OHIO
THEY ARE LISTED AS BEING DIRECTLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER:
DWELLING #/ WHERE
FAMILY # NAME AGE BORN OCCUP.
7/7 WILLIAM JOYCE -A* 63/1781 PA HATTER
MARGARET JOYCE -A* 63/1781
ROBERT JOYCE-A* 22/1828 OH FARMER
WILLIAM JOYCE-B* 24/1826 OH FARMER
8/8 JOSEPH JOHNSTONE 22/ OH
YSABEL JOHNSTONE
MIRANDA JOHNSTONE
J RADERHOFER
(NEED TO CHECK INTO YSABEL- SEE IF MAIDEN NAME JOYCE OR OGG)
9/9 BENJAMIN JOYCE 27/1823 OH
DEBORAH JOYCE 23/1828 OH
1O/1O HIRAM JOYCE 22 FARMER
PHEBE JOYCE 56 (MOTHER?)
ANDREW-17
THOMAS=19
SYLVIA - 15
ELY -2
(WHO WAS THE FATHER/ DIED ATLEAST 2 YEARS AGO)'
11/11 J C GLISSON-32 OH FARMER
MARY GLISSON-33 IND
WILLIAM-7
ELISHA-7
SARAH-5
DAVID-3
(NEED TO CHECK INTO MARY - SEE IF MAIDEN NAME JOYCE OR OGG)
updated 7-11-2015 ALSO CK PARKER AND STRUBLE AS WELL AS JOYCE AND OGG
DONE 7/11HER NAME WAS MARY CASE-ELIMINATED AS FAMILY
12,/12 Elyah Marsh-55-Male NJ farmer
Clark Marsh 30-M OH farmer
13/13 James McGuire 55 (illeg-KY?) Laborer
Sofia 49 (not stated but she is midwife who will deliver the baby Nelson)
(HULDY, DENNIS, ISAAC, SARAH AND WM POLLOCK)
,14 /14 Henry Williamson and Gitty NOT FAMILY NAMES
(NEED TO RECHECK NOW I HAVE MORE SUR-NAMES)
15/15 THE OGG FAMILY - INCLUDES RUEBEN-12 AND
WILLIAM - 10 WHO WERE IN CIVIL WAR WITH NELSON
16/16?Chas and Eliz Burreg(?) careful -many transcription errors on this census
66/Mass 51/ OH
NOT FAMILY NAMES
(NEED TO RECHECK NOW I HAVE MORE SUR-NAMES)
17/17 JOSEPH DANFORD-34IND FARMER
RACHEL DANFORD- 41 OH
AMOS DANFORD - 9
OSCAR REAS-14 OH
ROBERT JOYCE 19-CARPENTER (RACHELS SON - FATHER
THOMAS DECEASED/ROBT GROWS UP TO BE CAPT JOYCE 93RD OVI)]
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UPDATE 7-11-2015 ADDED 'A' AND 'B' BECAUSE LATER IT WILL HELP KEEP STRAIGHT WHEN I FIND MULTIPLES OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE WITH THE SAME NAMES. WHERE I ASSIGN A LETTER THE SPOUSE WILL GET THE SAME LETTER
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POST 11
Today is Sept. 8th, 2015Last nite I found the will of Benjamin Joyce!! I now know the names of 2 sisters and a niece He didnt mention Nelson P. \ Joyce?!
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Feb 2016
Its been awhile since I reported in. I have been working on the following:
I am still trying to find Levi Parker.
A will, grave, anything Operating on the premise that when Mary died Levi either soon followed her, or he remarried, possibly also moving. Or maybe just moved. I cant seem to find death info on MY LEVI.in Hamilton County Ohio.
I also need to find a brother for Nelson. If this is the correct family Ive been chasing there is another son, within 5 years of age to Nelson.
I also need to find out what happened to Louisa. There are lots of Louisa coming up when I look her name he
