Originally published March 25, 2014
It's been a while since I have had a chance to work on genealogy, but I hope to ramp up my old pastime this year and get a new website online. I've added quite a few tidbits here and there during the years since my last major update and I think it's time to get the new stuff out there.
This week, though, I had a pressing genealogical matter to attend to. Oddly enough, while Tom and I were in Italy earlier this month, we met a couple with the surname of Wheatley (this was an American couple, not an Italian couple). I mentioned that my great-great grandmother's sister, Margaret J. Ramey, had married a Wheatley, and since this couple was from Maryland, I wondered if there was a connection. Mr. Wheatley said he guessed probably not since he was originally from Wise County, Virginia.
Well faint, and fall over dead. Small world, indeed.
Although he wasn't familiar with my GGG Aunt's husband, John W. Wheatley, the Wheatleys are a relatively small family, so I thought I'd have another look at GGG Aunt Margaret's file and see if I could find out more.
A lot of new information has come online since the last time I worked on her documents, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that she was not the "late bloomer" I had assumed when she married John Wheatley at 38 - she was a widow with four children! And just to make the story even better, I had unknowingly duplicated her in my database. She was the Margaret Ramey ("parents unknown") who married my GG-grandfather Jonathan Corder's double-first cousin, Hiram Osborne, in 1854. How is that for a tangled web?
So in other words, double first cousins (Hiram Osborne and Jonathan Corder) married sisters (Margaret J. Ramey and Emily A. Ramey, daughters of Henry Ramey and Prudence Robinette Ramey).
Hello! "Merge documents!"
Hiram Osborne died in the fall of 1865. Although he was a confederate soldier, it is unclear to me whether his death was war-related since it came several months after the end of the war. Relatively little is known of their four children, Andrew J., Emaline, Winfield and Savannah. Savannah was living with her Ramey grandparents in Gladeville in 1880, and later she married Patrick Wells and had one daughter that I can find. Other than that, I have very little on these double-and-triple cousins of mine. If any of their descendants see this post, please provide what information you can.
The upshot of the pressing genealogical matter was that I got distracted from my original Wheatley mission, but I learned that my GGG Aunt Margaret was left a widow with three small children and an infant during the year the unpleasantness between the states came to a close. She remained a widow for nearly 10 years before remarrying to John W. Wheatley on 19 January 1875 in Wise County.
I will be updating a combined Person Sheet for Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley with additional details this year.
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Jonathan O. Corder, CSA, a Man of Many Battalions
Originally published June 6, 2011
Let's skip ahead more than 100 years and talk for a minute about Edward Corder Sr.'s great-great-grandson, Jonathan O. Corder of Scott County, VA, and his service during the American Civil War. Why? Because I am a non-linear researcher.
I have tried to untangle Jonathan's web of transfers and battalion splits which, when combined with the lack of accurate rosters from some of his units, were complex enough to cause even the pension office to challenge his claims of service. Add to this the fact that the Virginia Regimental Series mis-transcribed Jonathan's name as "Corden" (an easy mistake in days when spidery script made an "r" looked like an "n", and one that possibly appeared on the original documents), and all of that makes Jonathan a hard feller to foller. But here's what I've been able to make out...
Military Service - CSA
On the 21st of March 1862, at about the age of twenty, Jonathan O. Corder enlisted in the 1st. Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles in Dungannon, Virginia, near his home in Osborne's Ford (Scott County). His original pension application dates the beginning of his service as May1862 and adds that he enlisted in General Marshall [illegible] Regiment, Company E. His immediate superior officers were “Major Bradley” and “Captain Bob Stoner.” He mentions fellow comrades in arms Nathan Dickenson and cousin Stephen J. Osborne, who, when his pension application was challenged in 1916, later swore oaths that Jonathan did indeed serve with them during the course of the war. The challenge arose due to the lack of complete rosters for some of the units in which Jonathan served.
Jonathan was transferred November 20, 1862 from the Kentucky Mounted Rifles to Vinson A. Witcher's 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. The 34th cavalry performed more in the capacity of mounted infantry, riding in, dismounting and firing at an advancing line. The Virginia Regimental Series notes that:
“Early in the war, Witcher and the 1st Battalion Virginia Mounted Rifles (precursor to the 34th) developed a dual reputation. One Confederate officer commented that Witcher could not pass up a farm that had a fine horse in the field. Most disparaging remarks, however were initiated by the bitter John B. Floyd, a political general and past governor of Virginia. Merited or not, Floyd's use of polemics helped to establish a tainted reputation for the unit, that was perpetuated by Yankee officers. Witcher and the 34th Battalion were greatly appreciated by other Confederate officers though. The immortal J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee, each highly praised the unit, and Stuart wrote an enviable commendation for Witcher.”
The company of Captain Caldwell (including Jonathan) was withdrawn from Witcher’s battalion and divided between Captain Caldwell and Captain McFarlane. Jonathan was assigned to Captain McFarlane's Company of Virginia Cavalry, which was then split into Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen, and the 6th Battalion Confederate Cavalry.
Some sources say that Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen became the 6th Battalion Cavalry of the Confederate States. (Jonathan's gravestone bears an inscription attesting to his service in Company E of this battalion.) In May of 1864 Jesse's Mounted Riflemen and the 6th Confederate Cavalry became companies H, and I of Witcher's 34th Virginia Cavalry. Jonathan Corder's Company H, was commanded by Capt. Robert C. Boyd, formerly a second lieutenant in McFarlane's Company.
When asked on his pension application when and why he left the service, Jonathan replied “at the surrender, at home in Scott County, VA [illegible]” but when questioned later he responded that he was “unable to tell where I was in April ‘64.” He adds that he was in the Cavalry during his whole time in service, having joined under Major Bradley of Kentucky, with whom he served for twelve months before being transferred to a Virginia Battalion under Captain McFarlane. He then recounts that the battalion was divided, and he ended up under Captain Boyd. He ends “later, and for the rest of the War, I was under Col. Witcher. I do not now remember the number of this Battalion, but it was a Virginia Company.”
If you'd like to take a look at Jonathan's pension application and his subsequent correspondence with the pension office, you can download a PDF here from the Edward Corder Memorial Library. If you can make out the words better than I have, please correct my information in comments below.
Edward Corder I > Edward Corder II > Elijah Corder I > Elijah Corder II > Jonathan O. Corder
Let's skip ahead more than 100 years and talk for a minute about Edward Corder Sr.'s great-great-grandson, Jonathan O. Corder of Scott County, VA, and his service during the American Civil War. Why? Because I am a non-linear researcher.
I have tried to untangle Jonathan's web of transfers and battalion splits which, when combined with the lack of accurate rosters from some of his units, were complex enough to cause even the pension office to challenge his claims of service. Add to this the fact that the Virginia Regimental Series mis-transcribed Jonathan's name as "Corden" (an easy mistake in days when spidery script made an "r" looked like an "n", and one that possibly appeared on the original documents), and all of that makes Jonathan a hard feller to foller. But here's what I've been able to make out...
Military Service - CSA
On the 21st of March 1862, at about the age of twenty, Jonathan O. Corder enlisted in the 1st. Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles in Dungannon, Virginia, near his home in Osborne's Ford (Scott County). His original pension application dates the beginning of his service as May1862 and adds that he enlisted in General Marshall [illegible] Regiment, Company E. His immediate superior officers were “Major Bradley” and “Captain Bob Stoner.” He mentions fellow comrades in arms Nathan Dickenson and cousin Stephen J. Osborne, who, when his pension application was challenged in 1916, later swore oaths that Jonathan did indeed serve with them during the course of the war. The challenge arose due to the lack of complete rosters for some of the units in which Jonathan served.
Jonathan was transferred November 20, 1862 from the Kentucky Mounted Rifles to Vinson A. Witcher's 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. The 34th cavalry performed more in the capacity of mounted infantry, riding in, dismounting and firing at an advancing line. The Virginia Regimental Series notes that:
“Early in the war, Witcher and the 1st Battalion Virginia Mounted Rifles (precursor to the 34th) developed a dual reputation. One Confederate officer commented that Witcher could not pass up a farm that had a fine horse in the field. Most disparaging remarks, however were initiated by the bitter John B. Floyd, a political general and past governor of Virginia. Merited or not, Floyd's use of polemics helped to establish a tainted reputation for the unit, that was perpetuated by Yankee officers. Witcher and the 34th Battalion were greatly appreciated by other Confederate officers though. The immortal J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee, each highly praised the unit, and Stuart wrote an enviable commendation for Witcher.”
The company of Captain Caldwell (including Jonathan) was withdrawn from Witcher’s battalion and divided between Captain Caldwell and Captain McFarlane. Jonathan was assigned to Captain McFarlane's Company of Virginia Cavalry, which was then split into Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen, and the 6th Battalion Confederate Cavalry.
Some sources say that Jesse's Battalion of Kentucky Mounted Riflemen became the 6th Battalion Cavalry of the Confederate States. (Jonathan's gravestone bears an inscription attesting to his service in Company E of this battalion.) In May of 1864 Jesse's Mounted Riflemen and the 6th Confederate Cavalry became companies H, and I of Witcher's 34th Virginia Cavalry. Jonathan Corder's Company H, was commanded by Capt. Robert C. Boyd, formerly a second lieutenant in McFarlane's Company.
When asked on his pension application when and why he left the service, Jonathan replied “at the surrender, at home in Scott County, VA [illegible]” but when questioned later he responded that he was “unable to tell where I was in April ‘64.” He adds that he was in the Cavalry during his whole time in service, having joined under Major Bradley of Kentucky, with whom he served for twelve months before being transferred to a Virginia Battalion under Captain McFarlane. He then recounts that the battalion was divided, and he ended up under Captain Boyd. He ends “later, and for the rest of the War, I was under Col. Witcher. I do not now remember the number of this Battalion, but it was a Virginia Company.”
If you'd like to take a look at Jonathan's pension application and his subsequent correspondence with the pension office, you can download a PDF here from the Edward Corder Memorial Library. If you can make out the words better than I have, please correct my information in comments below.
Edward Corder I > Edward Corder II > Elijah Corder I > Elijah Corder II > Jonathan O. Corder
Jonathan O. Corder's Confederate Pension Application Posted
Originally published February 26, 2010
I've just added a new PDF to the "Original Documents" section of the Edward Corder Memorial Library. Jonathan O. Corder's Civil War pension application contains much valuable information to help us trace his service during the four years of the war. The pension application was made during the summer of 1916, when Jonathan was 73 (and earning only $20.00 per annum as a farmer). Due to a series of frequent and convoluted transfers and splits of command of his cavalry unit, the state of Virginia required some clarification from the applicant, so we're fortunate that there was some correspondence between Jonathan and Richmond wherein he explained a service record that would have otherwise been very difficult to follow. (Sort of like that sentence.)
Jonathan was one of the sons of Elijah Corder Jr. and Nancy Osborne Corder of Scott County, VA (and my gr. gr. grandfather).
You can find the PDF near the bottom of the page at this page.
I've just added a new PDF to the "Original Documents" section of the Edward Corder Memorial Library. Jonathan O. Corder's Civil War pension application contains much valuable information to help us trace his service during the four years of the war. The pension application was made during the summer of 1916, when Jonathan was 73 (and earning only $20.00 per annum as a farmer). Due to a series of frequent and convoluted transfers and splits of command of his cavalry unit, the state of Virginia required some clarification from the applicant, so we're fortunate that there was some correspondence between Jonathan and Richmond wherein he explained a service record that would have otherwise been very difficult to follow. (Sort of like that sentence.)
Jonathan was one of the sons of Elijah Corder Jr. and Nancy Osborne Corder of Scott County, VA (and my gr. gr. grandfather).
You can find the PDF near the bottom of the page at this page.
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