Tennessee Genealogical Society Blog
Follow TnGenSoc on
  • TnGenSoc Blog
  • Home
  • TN Genealogical Society Photos
  • Tennessee Links to Places of Interest

​Remembering Freedom is not Free

5/30/2021

0 Comments

 

​Remembering Freedom is not Free

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, was a day set aside to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country. Decoration Day began after the Civil War to honor those who gave their lives during our country’s bloodiest conflict, and was proclaimed, not by the president, but by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.

“The 30th of May 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”

Many Americans have forgotten what the true meaning of the day is for. Most will celebrate the three-day “holiday” weekend by starting their summer – days at the beach or camping out, BBQs and enjoying family and friends. Not many will stop to reflect on the very reason they have the weekend to celebrate at all.

It seems as if Franklin D. Roosevelt’s prediction in 1941 has come to pass, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men died to win them.”

All weekend I’ve been the recipient of gratitude and well-wishes – and although I am very grateful and honored people have been thinking of me and my service to our nation – today’s not about me.

It’s not my day. I’m not dead.

Nor is it about any other living military person or veteran…. our day is in November and it’s called Veterans Day.
Picture
PictureSP4 Ronald Gordon Smith is buried in R.H. Munford Cemetery in Covington, TN
Tonight, I walked around my local cemetery looking at the numerous headstones, which had been decorated with American flags for the weekend. Many of the flags had been knocked down due to the wind and rain we had the night before, so I spent time righting flags, saluting fallen comrades and thanking them for their service and sacrifice. It also made me wonder, why we decorate the final resting places of our military heroes only for the weekend? Why we don’t ensure that the American flag, the very one they pledged to support and defend and the one, many died defending, is not permanently flown over their headstones?

As I walked between the rows of stones, drawn to those marked with flags, I stopped at each one I came across for a moment of quiet reflection. Not all had died in service for their country, but all had served.

​Tipton County has lost many young men who died while fighting for their county, just as many communities throughout West Tennessee have. Young men, like SP4 Ronald Gordon Smith, USARV, who was killed in Vietnam. He was 19 when he arrived in country on May 14, 1967, as a soldier with Co. A, 2nd BN, 1st Inf., 196th Infantry Brigade and celebrated his birthday a short 18 days later on the fields of the Republic of Vietnam. He drew his last breath at age 20 on Nov. 21, 1967 in a battle in the Quang Tin Province, six short months after arriving. He is remembered on panel 30E, line 60 on the Vietnam Wall and I came across this memory shared online on Memorial Day 1999 from one of his friends which shows he was very much loved and is missed.


“Dearest Smitty, in three days you could have been 52 years old-as I am. You could have had a wife, children, and a dog – a whole and complete life. Instead, you will always be 20 years old in my mind, driving a red Corvair, smiling and laughing. I still love you as my best high school friend. I think of you so often still and pray God’s blessings on you in heaven and on your family and friends left on earth. I love you, Judy.”

SP4 Odell Craig of Covington, Tenn.SP4 Odell Craig, eldest son of Andrew and Gertrude WIlliamson Craig, Jr. of Covington, Tenn.
Another of Tipton County’s lost sons of the Vietnam War was 20-year-old Odell Craig, who was just 15 days shy of his 21st birthday when he lost his life while on patrol with his unit in the jungles of the Bing Duong Province in Vietnam. His last letter home, written days before his death, spoke of being in the field for the first time since he’d arrived in Vietnam and that he’s out in the “boondocks for two weeks trying to fight the VC but I’m not scared though.” He wrote of the hardships of sleeping in the rain on the ground and of the mosquitos. He wrote that he was happy his brother, Lawrence, was thinking about going into the Navy if he got drafted, and that his prayers had been answered because he didn’t want him in Vietnam, going through what he was having to do. His family received that last letter on May 8, 1969, three days after he was killed on May 5, and just five months after he landed in Vietnam.
 
Since the dawn of our country, more than 42 million men and women have served to protect this great land of ours, and more than 1.3 million have died doing so. It seems the least we can do this weekend, is spend a few moments reflecting on those who have given their lives in combat so that we can live ours in freedom.

As the years pass, it becomes easier to forget the person behind the name, and so it falls on our shoulders – the legacy holders – the parents, spouses, children, siblings, and friends – to tell the story our soldiers can no longer tell.

​Today is the day to honor our war dead. Those brave men and women, who while answering the call of their nation, made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. They are who Memorial Day is for.

So, this Memorial Day, before you fire up the BBQ, take a moment to reflect on all of our fallen countrymen of all wars and the sacrifice they have made on our behalf and to remember that our freedom has never been free.
​
​Honor them.

Picture
0 Comments

Genealogy and the Civil War

6/25/2013

1 Comment

 
PictureDr. Lee E. Wilson, DDS / Author
Was My Great Grand Pappy Really a Civil War Soldier?   
                                                                                                 Carla Love Maitland 
As a native Memphian and a former history teacher, I’ve learned so much about the city of my birth over the years and at one time even developed and taught special interest courses about Memphis to middle school students. Nevertheless, I constantly learn new and amazing things about the city’s history. Since the beginning of the commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011, I’ve acquired even more knowledge about Memphis and the surrounding area. The involvement and significance of this area during the Civil War is so much more than most people realize.

I do know that my understanding increased tremendously after the presentation given to the Tennessee Genealogical Society by Dr. Lee Eugene Wilson on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Dr. Wilson, a dentist by profession, is a Civil War enthusiast and author of two published books* relating an ancestor’s story of love, war, and survival in the turbulent years in the Western Theatre of Operations in the Civil War. The stories are based on facts and documents passed along through his family. He has a third book in the series due to come out in July. The name of his presentation was "Genealogy and the Civil War - or Was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the Civil War and How do I Find Out?" 

Lee, as he asked us to call him, explained that he caught the “history bug” due to those many family stories told over the years. He is a native Mississippian, born in the small town of Duck Hill, who has lived in the Memphis area for around thirty years. The knowledge he’s gained of the history of this region is extraordinary. Lee described the numerous Union encampments that were established after the fall of Memphis to Union forces on June 6, 1862. He described the importance of these areas as well as the Confederate bases and forays into those Union forts, resulting in frequent battles in this area.  He used a series of modern-day photos to help the audience put into perspective exactly where those camps, forts and engagements took place, as well as other places of historical significance.

PictureDr. Jay Bobo; Shelby County Historical Commission / Dr. Lee E. Wilson; author* / Tina Sansone; Vice President, TN Genealogical Society
















As Lee said, most people who live in this area don’t realize how much activity actually happened during the 1860s around Memphis, Germantown and Collierville. In truth, most of us in attendance didn’t. He also brought with him a sampling of some of the sabers, swords, bayonets and rifles used during the Civil War. Even more interesting was his own family’s Bible and other memorabilia that were on display for people to look at and examine.
  
Lee’s presentation began with a chart showing what an incredible toll the Civil War took as far as the loss of population in the United States. Although around 650,000 casualties are the current numbers generally given, historians are increasing those numbers based on census records that continue to show the actual ‘missing generations’ of men after the 1860 census. 

Another part of Lee’s presentation had to do with the many websites, books, and other resources that he used to research his own family and that are available for anyone to use in order to find out if their own ancestor or ancestors participated in the Northern or Southern forces during that time period. He went into detail regarding a few of them, describing how to use them for the best research results.                                             

Picture
Lee told so many engaging stories that people were truly disappointed when his presentation ended. The time went by way too quickly. It is a certainty that Dr. Lee Wilson will be asked back soon to delight us with even more of his vast knowledge of this time period.  After all, the Sesquicentennial won’t end until 2015!

*Once a Southern Soldier: A Novel of the Civil War; Copyright @2011 by Dr. Lee E. Wilson.

Always a Southern Soldier
(The second book in the series Once a Southern Soldier); Copyright @2012 by Dr. Lee E. Wilson. 

Forever a Southern Soldier (The third book in the series Once a Southern Soldier); July 2013 release by Dr. Lee E. Wilson. 
                                                                                       Photos by Jim Bobo
                                                                                                                                                                   

1 Comment

June 2013 Events

6/17/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Unless otherwise noted, all classes and programs are: 1) free and open to the public, and 2) held in the Tennessee Genealogical Society lecture room in the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN 38138. For details call 901-413-7995 or email Tina Sansone: tinahsansone@gmail.com

Genealogy and the Civil War or . . . was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the War, or Not?

Dr. Lee Eugene Wilson ~ Saturday, June 22 ~ 10:30 am ~ TnGenSoc Lecture Room 

Dr. Lee Wilson will be the guest lecturer for the Tennessee Genealogical Society on Saturday, June 22 at 10:30 a.m. He will speak on the subject "Genealogy and the Civil War or . . . was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the War, or Not?" Wilson will look back at the Civil War and its effect on the United States as we know it today and also on the difficulties it creates for genealogists as they try to trace their families during this turbulent time in our history.

Wilson has just completed his third novel based on his family and their struggles during the Civil War years. He will explain how his genealogy research led him to write his series of novels Once a Southern Soldier, which chronicles his great grandfather, Bill Ayer, as a young newlywed going off to war and coming to grips with its horrors at bloody Shiloh. The story follows Ayer through the war and to his surrender at Greensboro, North Carolina on April 16, 1865. The books also show the reader the desperate plight the soldier's families faced on the home front.

Wilson says, "One of the first questions I have asked of me is 'How do I find out if my relative was even in the Civil War and then, what unit was he in?'" Wilson will explain his methods for researching his ancestors in the war by using the Internet, various military search sites, era newspapers, and the library. He will also discuss the many reasons that the Civil War was fought in the first place and the political climate that led to hostilities. His collection of Civil War weapons will be on display, and Wilson will explain why there was such a high rate of casualties in the war. He will also explain why some families 'just evaporated' between the 1860 and 1870 census.

"I hope that I can help people in their efforts to find out more of what our ancestors faced in one of our country's most difficult times. And you just might find proof that 'Yes, my Great Grand Pappy was indeed in the Civil War!' --Lee Wilson

Let's Discuss It (genealogy/computer discussion group)
Saturday, June 29 ~ 10:00 am to 12:00 n ~ TnGenSoc Lecture Room 
Participate in a genealogy/computer discussion group led by Debbie Atchley. Bring up your topic of interest and/or soak up the knowledge from the round table. No registration is required for this program. "Let's Discuss It" handouts available for download.
                                                                                                                                                             

1 Comment

Lessons in Civil War History            by Carla Love Maitland                                                                             

12/8/2012

0 Comments

 
As I watched the gentleman clad in Civil War costume lovingly hold each vintage weapon in his hand, the old phrase ‘going off half-cocked” came to mind over and over.  Although he never actually said that phrase, the reality of what it meant was brought to life as he cocked each weapon explaining how the Civil War soldier had to load it.  The first step in the ‘cocking and loading’ process was always the ‘half-cocked’ position, which was clearly demonstrated each time he handled a weapon. This is the ‘safety’ position in which a weapon would generally be loaded. Actually seeing that tedious procedure enacted brought home the veracity of that old saying.  If the weapon went off before being fully cocked, loaded, and ready, the soldier could lose valuable time and could most certainly put himself in imminent danger by not being ready to fire his weapon.

Civil War history buff, Rick Cohen, was the presenter I described above. He was giving his demonstration at a recent event hosted by the Tennessee Genealogical Society.  Rick is a native of Chicago who moved to Memphis about forty years ago.  However, he began collecting Civil War memorabilia back in the 1960s and made it clear to the audience that he only collected and spoke about remembrances of the Union forces. Just listening to his description of his own collection was delightful.  He personally owns a large number of Civil War guns, rifles and swords, as well as newspapers of that era, photographs - and even a canon!  Yes, he owns a ’12-pounder’ – the type that is called a ‘boat howitzer,’ much like the one used on the Monitor of the “Monitor and Merrimack Battle” fame.  He admitted that his main interest was in the Navy.

Rick brought a wonderful sampling of the various weapons used during the Civil War by the Union forces.  He showed a Springfield Musket, which he explained was standard issue for the infantry by the U.S. government.  It was a single muzzleloader (a holdover from previous wars) that weighed 9 ½ pounds, with each bullet loaded by being pushed all the way down the muzzle, or the open end of the barrel; not very effective, to say the least.

The Union Cavalry, on the other hand, had no standard weapons and used all types.  The carbine was a special favorite.  It was a short-barreled weapon that was also breech-loading, which means that a cartridge was loaded from the side or rear of the rifle and not directly down the barrel.

After showing a couple of swords, including a light-cavalry sabre, Rick showed everyone the pistols used during the war: the Colt 44, which was mostly used by the Army, and the Colt 36, mostly used by the Navy and seemingly favored by Confederate forces. The Colt 44 was the most commonly used pistol, and both were made by Samuel Colt and Company.

Finally, Rick brought out the ‘best of the best:’ the 7-shot repeater. This weapon (also known as the Spencer Repeating Rifle) included a 7-shot tubular magazine with the soldier carrying a cartridge block holding ten tubes.  Although the U.S. government issued very few of these to the Union forces, according to Rick Cohen, Colonel John Wilder purchased these weapons for his own unit, which became known as the famous “Lightning Brigade.”  Also according to Rick, if the U.S. government had purchased more of these weapons for the Union forces, the war would have ended much sooner.  He said, unequivocally, “Firepower could have shortened the war.”  (Somehow, this statement sounds very familiar.  It seems that some things never change.)

Rick peppered his ‘show and tell’ of weapons and also coinage used during the Civil War with wonderful bits of history.  Because most Confederate soldiers used their own weapons during the War, General Lee managed a negotiation with General Grant allowing those soldiers to take their weapons home.  After all, there was no truly functioning Confederate government around to collect those firearms.  It seems that the U.S. government didn’t complete a very efficient collection of weapons after the War either. There were no serial numbers on any of the weapons, many were lost in battle, and some just took their weapons home with them.  Rick was not sure about the ‘accountability’ issue.

Rick also deftly handled questions from the audience.  At one point, a gentleman, who had one of the most delightful Southern accents I’ve heard in quite a while, asked a question about what weapons the Confederates used. Rick conceded that the Confederate government was not able to supply their forces with weapons and most used their own rifles. Some picked up Union weapons from the battlefields, copied them, or purchased them from gunrunners from the North.  The ‘Southern Gentleman,’ who seemed quite knowledgeable himself regarding Civil War weapons, stated that the Confederate government had indeed purchased most of the weapons that they were able to purchase from companies, individuals, and even government sources in the North.

As a former history teacher and lover of all things historical, I will have to say that I was not very knowledgeable about or particularly interested in military weapons. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Rick’s presentation and have come to appreciate even more what those Civil War soldiers had to endure as they went into battle with weapons which seem so primitive to us now. It brought to mind the now-infamous statement of former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld: “You go to war with the Army you have.” 

Both the Union and Confederate forces certainly did that.

(DISCLAIMER: Any incorrect descriptions of the weapons that Rick demonstrated or in the stories he told are completely the responsibility of this author, who based this piece on notes taken quickly, but as accurately as possible during the presentation.)

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Michael Hait Guest Speaker / May 19, 2012

5/9/2012

0 Comments

 
Tennessee Genealogical Society Spring Lecture
Guest Speaker Michael Hait: 9:00 am to 3:15 pm — Saturday, May 19, 2012
Registration form available as PDF download /  Registration: $20.00 TGS members — $25.00 nonmembers 
See Lectures and Schedule details below: (1) What is a 'Reasonably Exhaustive Search?', (2) Your Civil War Ancestors: Beginning your Research, (3) Online State Resources for Genealogy, and (4) Reconstructing a Slave Community Using the Genealogical Proof Standard.   

Registration at door begins at 8:30 am
, Pickering Center, 7771 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN (see map below)
(Next to the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN)

Michael Hait, CG is a full time genealogist who researches, writes, and lectures professionally. His research specialties are African American genealogy, especially the periods of slavery through the Reconstruction, Maryland genealogy, and the US Civil War.

Michael is currently the Vice-President of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and was recently elected to the APG Board of Directors for 2012-2013. He has written articles on numerous topics for several magazines and journals. He has also self-published several books, and recently authored Genealogy at a Glance: African American Genealogy Research, published by Genealogical Publishing Company. In 2012, he will be an instructor for the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University and the National Genealogical Society’s annual conference. Visit his blog, "Planting the Seeds: Genealogy As A Profession" at http://michaelhait.wordpress.com. Michael will be selling some of his books during the breaks. 

Lectures and Schedule

1) 9:00-10:00 am — What is a 'Reasonably Exhaustive Search?':  Case study using the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS)

10:00—10::30 am Break (Refreshments)

2) 10:30-11:30 am —  Your Civil War Ancestors: Beginning Your Research

11:30 am-1:00 pm—Lunch Break  You can enjoy lunch at one of the nearby restaurants or you may bring a bag lunch.  Drinks will be furnished on site.

3) 1:00-2:00 pm — Online State Resources for Genealogy

2:00— 2:15 pm Break (Refreshments)

4) 2:15-3:15 pm— Reconstructing a Slave Community Using the Genealogical Proof Standard: Research on a slave community with several specific mini case studies involving specific individuals & families. The slaves were in both Maryland and Louisiana. The Louisiana slave-owning family has several connections to Tennessee and Andrew Jackson.

Registration form available as PDF download /  Registration: $20.00 TGS members — $25.00 nonmembers  
For more information, contact Tina Sansone at 901-413-7955 or email TnGenSoc@gmail.com


Tennessee Genealogical Society
Guest Speaker Michael Hait 
9:00 am to 3:15 pm — Saturday, May 19, 2012 

Registration form available as PDF download, or registration at door begins at 8:30 am 

Pickering Center 
7771 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN
(Next to the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN) 
0 Comments

TnGenSoc 2012 Spring Lectures

4/10/2012

3 Comments

 
The Tennessee Genealogical Society invites you to attend the free 2012 Spring Lecture Series:
Thursdays, 7:00 pm, Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN. 

          April 12:  Debbie Atchley: "Beginning Genealogy" / Jack Hampton: "African American Genealogy"
          April 19:  Thomas Jones: "Census Records" / Robert Cruthirds: "Genealogy and Google"
          April 26:  Jim Johnson: "Military Records" / Patricia Neeley-Dorsey: "Poetry and Family History"
           May 03:  Alan Hall: "Pitfalls" / Kelley Bobo: "Genetics and DNA"
           May 10:  Sid Witherington: "Civil War and Metal Detecting Discoveries"
           May 17:  Debbie Atchley: "Technology and Software" / Tina Sansone: "Genealogy Education"

Tennessee Genealogical Society
Germantown Regional History & Genealogy Center
7779 Poplar Pike
Germantown, TN 38138


The Tennessee Genealogical Society is located at 
7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN with office and lecture room in the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center. 


For more information, contact Tina Sansone at 901-413-7955 or email TnGenSoc@gmail.com

3 Comments

    Enter your email address to receive blog posts by email:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

     Subscribe in a reader

    Ansearchin' News 
    Home

    Tennessee Genealogical Society
    Germantown Regional History
         and Genealogy Center
    7779 Poplar Pike 
    Germantown, TN 38138

    Archives

    January 2023
    April 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    May 2021
    December 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    October 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    April 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    August 2015
    July 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Categories

    All
    African American Research
    Birth Records
    Boundary Changes
    Bounty Land
    Business
    Census
    Civil War
    Collierville
    Cordova
    Cordova Museum
    Counties
    Courthouses
    Davies Manor Plantation
    DNA
    Family
    Field Trips
    Fire
    Genealogical Proof Standard
    Genealogy
    Genealogy Education
    Genetics
    Germantown
    Google
    Land
    Lectures
    Maps
    Memphis
    Military
    Native American
    Newspaper Research
    Organizing
    Poetry
    Research
    Shelby County
    Software
    Spring Lecture Series
    Spring Seminar
    Technology
    Tennessee
    Tennessee History
    Vital Records
    Wills

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.