NGS 2011: Some stats

Tracing the Tribe spoke at the National Genealogical Society conference this year for the first time.

The NGS has distributed a short informational release with statistics pertaining to this year's event:

-- Attendance was 2,270 at NGS 2011 in Charleston, South Carolina.

-- More than 1,500 purchased full conference registrations, with more than 100 attending on daily registrations. Conference attendance included speakers, vendors, booth staff and volunteers from the South Carolina Genealogical Society (SCGS) and its local chapters.

--Ancestry sponsored a Saturday "Ancestry Day" program which brought in 575 people to the venue.

-- More than 2,000 meals were served at the convention center and social events sponsored by the SCGS.

-- Mark your calendars for the NGS 2012 Family History Conference (9-12 May 2012; Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio). The Hyatt Regency Cincinnati is the conference hotel; conference registration will open 1 December.

As a first-time NGS speaker, I found the experience excellent, and my DNA talk was well-received. A highlight of the week was staffing the MyHeritage.com booth, which provided an opportunity to meet with so many attendees and discuss matters of mutual interest.

On a personal note, it was enlightening to speak with numerous individuals who, while not Jewish today, know about their Jewish ancestry. Quite a few had only recently discovered that connection and needed guidance on where to go for more information.

If you haven't already visited Charleston, consider it for a vacation. It is a quaint town, with major Civil War history, Jewish history, very friendly people and fantastic food!

The only criticism pertained to the conference center's spotty internet connection and non-existent ATT cellphone signal. Other than that - and the $3.50 charge for a small bottle of water (there's nothing like a thirsty captive audience!) - things went swimmingly.

I'm looking forward to next year's edition.

NGS: "Where the Past is Still Present," May 11-14

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) 2011 event is set for Charleston, South Carolina, from May 11-14. This year's theme is "Where the Past is Still Present."

Tracing the Tribe is proud to be among more than 75 speakers presenting more than 180 programs at this year's event, and looks forward to greeting readers in Charleston.

NGS issued the following press release:

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) selected Charleston, South Carolina, for its 2011 Family History Conference in part to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War which began with Confederate artillery firing upon Fort Sumter 12 April 1861.

If a member of your family served for the Union or Confederate forces, the NGS 2011 Family History Conference will provide a number of lectures about researching Civil War records and learning more about the lives of your ancestors.

The four-day conference, 11-14 May 2011, will be held at the Charleston Area Convention Center, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, SC 29418.

More than 75 nationally recognized speakers will provide over 180 lectures on a wide variety of topics including research in South Carolina and the surrounding states, migration patterns, ethnic research, religious records, research methodology and problem solving.

Lectures about Civil War research will include: records of the Confederate conscription office, life on the battlefields, the service of Native Americans and African Americans, the Southern Claims Commission, confederate pardon and amnesty records, prisoner of war records, Civil War pension records, facilities for disabled soldiers, and analysis of photographs from the war.

Two lectures will also review many of the websites available for military research.

The NGS banquet on Friday night will feature Stephen B. Bacon, Major USAF (retired), speaking on “Separating Fact from Myth: A Look at the US Civil War from Both Sides.”

For more details and a copy of the conference registration brochure, click here.

An exhibit area with more than 100 exhibitors will be open and free to the public Wednesday through Saturday and will include the latest in genealogical software, online research providers and DNA testing services.

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation of genealogical records.

The Arlington, VA-based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact with other genealogists.

For more information, visit the NGS Pressroom.

Tracing the Tribe looks forward to greeting readers in Charleston.

Book: Jews and the Civil War

The New York Jewish Week book column spotlighted a book on Jews and the Civil War.

Sandee Brawarsky's column mentioned "Jews and the Civil War: A Reader," in addition to other books on different topics.

Civil war buffs are an insatiable crew, and here’s a new book that will appeal to them, as well as to others interested in American Jewish history, culture and identity.

“Jews and the Civil War: A Reader” edited by Jonathan D. Sarna and Adam Mendelsohn (NYU) is a collection of essays by noted scholars, edited by Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis and chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History, and Mendelsohn, a professor of Jewish studies and director of the Center for Southern Jewish Culture at the College of Charleston, in South Carolina.

The wide-ranging pieces describe how Jews experienced the war, in the North and in the South, and how the war divided Jews. Contributors take up the subjects of Jews, slavery and abolition; the role of rabbis; Jewish civilian life; Jews in the army — more than 8000 Jewish soldiers fought — and on the home front.

Also mentioned in the article:

-- “Blows to the Head: How Boxing Changed My Mind,” by Binnie Klein (Excelsior Editions).

-- “Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodox Women, Unorthodox Desires – An Anthology,” edited by Miryam Kabakov.

-- “Bedouin Law from Sinai and the Negev: Justice Without Government,” by Clinton Bailey (Yale University Press).

Read the complete column at the link above.

Washington DC: Civil War Jews, May 27

Are you familiar with Civil War General Ulysses Grant’s Order No. 11? It called for the expulsion of all Jews in his military districts comprising areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

On December 17, 1862, Major General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Orders No. 11. The New York Times called it "one of the deepest sensations of the war."

The order read:

The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.

Post commanders will see to it that all of this class of people be furnished passes and required to leave, and any one returning after such notification will be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of sending them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permit from headquarters. No passes will be given these people to visit headquarters for the purpose of making personal application of trade permits.

To commemorate Jewish American Heritage Month, a panel will discusses the contributions of Jewish men and women during the Civil War, including the infamous order above. Each panelist will discuss a key text, including documents and events.

The program takes place Thursday, May 27, at 7pm, in the William G. McGowan Theater

The moderator will be Dr. Gary P. Zola, executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institution of Religion.

Panelists:

-- Eli Evans, former president of the Revson Foundation and author of "Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate;"

-- Dr. Pamela S. Nadell, director of the Jewish Studies Program at American University and co-editor of "Women and American Judaism: Historical Perspectives."

For more information about the program, click here.

For more information on Grant's Order, click here for images of the document and here for the background and chronology of the order and its revocation.

Doing the happy dance!

We all like to read about genealogy "happy dance" moments!

From my dear friend Rosanne Leeson (Los Altos, California), comes this delightful email. She wants everyone to be as happy as she is now after watching the Matthew Broderick episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" and following a clue on the show to the solution to a Civil War family mystery.

Her family arrived very early in the USA (pre-Civil War) and she is an experienced and seasoned researcher of her Jewish family.

Wow! I am sitting here with tears in my eyes!

I have just had my first benefit from watching the "Who Do You Think You Are?" show!

Saw the last one with Matthew Broderick, when he finds his great-great's grave in the Marietta GA National Cemetery. I never even knew that such a cemetery existed, or that they had moved Union dead there from Atlanta.

I had been hoping for ages to find out what ever happened to my great-grandmother's youngest brother, who she had brought over to the US from Bavaria in the early 1860's. I had gotten his record from NARA, knew when and where he had died (in a hospital in Atlanta of miliary fever).

Had asked someone in Atlanta to try to find out what had happened to his body. The only answer I got was that they had probably thrown his remains into a common or pauper's grave. NICE!

He had only been in the US a short time, spoke very little English, but signed up to fight for the Union cause in NY, where my great-grandparents were living. He was 20 years old when he died. I always felt so sad that there was no closure for any of the family descendants.

Then I learned about the Marietta National Cemetery. Got online and found not only history of it, but a list of those buried there. BINGO! Great-Grand-uncle found!

I just called the cemetery and the gentleman was wonderful. They are sending out someone to see if he had a stone and, if so, to photograph it for me, and send in a week. He said that he thought there might be a stone or his name would not have been on the list. If not, I will order one. No fee for a picture! Their duty and pleasure to add closure after nearly 150 years!

WOW!

Rosanne, a semi-retired librarian, is a consummate genealogist, specializing in Romania (RomSIG) and Alsace (has translated many records and visited over the years). She's also vice president of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society.

What this points up is that even very experienced researchers can learn something every day!

We never know when a ray of sunshine will illuminate that lost record that has eluded us for decades. We never know when a resource may provide a missing link.

I'm sure all Tracing the Tribe readers join me in congratulating Rosanne on her achievement, and congratulating WDYTYA on providing the clue.

Our well-known colleague Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak noted this post in her most recent Huffington Post article. Thanks, Megan.

California: Jews in the Civil War, Feb. 22

The Jewish experience in the Civil War will be presented at the next meeting of the Los Altos branch of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society on Monday, February 22.

The meeting begins at 7pm, at Congregation Beth Am , Los Altos Hills; see the map.

"Jews in the Civil War: Answering the Four Questions" will be presented by Richard Ferman, assisted by his wife and son, who will all be in costume. He and his wife are members of a Civil War hereditary society.

The four questions to be answered:

-- Why did they join?

-- What did they do?

-- What happened afterwards?

-- What can we do to honor them?

A direct descendant of a disabled Civil War veteran, Ferman is a past president and program chair of the Santa Clara Historical and Genealogical Society. He holds a history degree and has taught at high school, college and SeniorNet.

For more information and directions, click here.

Florida: How Fort Myers got its name

Have you visited Fort Myers in Florida and wondered how it got its name?

The story has a bit of everything: Love, gossip, war.

Read all about it here.

It was the love of a woman that got Fort Myers its name, but that same woman's tart tongue effectively ended its namesake's career.

The name originated as sort of an engagement gift from General David. E. Twiggs, who in 1850, was in charge of a fort on the Caloosahatchee, yet the Jewish Confederate who received it never actually visited the place.

According to the story, Twiggs was not the kind of guy you'd like to invite home for dinner, but he commanded the respect of his men.

He did however like one of his staff officers. Abraham C. Myers, born c1811 in Georgetown, S.C.

An 1833 graduate of West Point and the scion of a prominent Southern Jewish family, Myers was the son of an attorney, and a descendant of Moses Cohen, the first rabbi in Charleston, S.C. He'd fought with distinction in the Seminole and Mexican Wars before becoming the Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Florida.

Twiggs' daughter was in love with Myers, having met him in Texas. In honor of his future son-in-law and to make his daughter happy, he named fort for Myers. The couple married in 1853 when she was 15 and he was 42.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis also liked Myers who had joined the Confederate Army in 1861. He appointed him the first quartermaster general and Myers remained in that post until 1853 when Myers had some "problems." That's the public story anyway.

The real story was that Marion caused the problem as she was "quite the gossip." Beautiful and with "a wicked tongue" she had her father's temperament.

The final blow to Myers' career came when Marion publicly described the olive-skinned Varina Howell Davis, the president's wife, as a 'squaw.'"

Historians didn't say whether the colonel apologized to Mrs. Davis, but Davis replaced him in 1863. In 1865, the Myers family left for Germany and returned in 1876.

If you're planning to be in Miami Beach in 2010, Myers will be featured in a Florida Jews in the Military exhibit, from February 23-September 12, at the Jewish Museum of Florida.

Read the complete article and related stories at the link above.

Videos: Writing an obituary, cemetery project

Tom Kemp at the GenealogyBank blog pointed to two good videos. Tom's views are always on-point, so I went over to take a look. I heartily second Tom's suggestions.

See this New York Times video on a volunteer effort at the historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, which honors some 3,000 Civil War veterans with new gravestones. It also indicates that an additional 6,000 soldiers' unmarked graves may be at the cemetery.

The other is by columnist Rick Koster of the New London (Connecticut) Day, who demonstrates "Righteous Rick's Obituary Service." Be patient as this video loads.




Thanks, Tom, for the head's-up on these!

Tom's blog on frequently updated GenealogyBank resources offers practical tips, searches and information to help readers learn more details about their ancestors.

Home Again: Whose Father Was He? Part 5

This is the New York Times' final installment of Erroll Morris's interesting look at the case of Amos Humiston, for which he has extensively interviewed author Mark Dunkelman and Humiston family relatives. This installment also offers many photographs, documents and letters.

There is historical information on the battle at Gettysburg, descriptions of the aftermath of war on battlefields, and of the monument to Humiston, bearing a bronze plaque with a depiction of both Amos and his children. Dunkelman says it is "The only monument to an individual enlisted man on the Gettysburg battlefield.”

The ending paragraphs are compelling to family historians who have photographs of their ancestors - with names and without. Those images represent a real person with a past and, as genealogists, we really want to recreate our past, our families. Sometimes we can connect with that particular person in the image, often we simply can't and can never identify the individual.

At the heart of this is the dream of defeating time and thereby achieving immortality, creating a past that can live on after we die. Mark Dunkelman and David Humiston Kelley were inspired by their grandfather’s stories and spent a considerable fraction of their adult lives sifting through evidence and compiling genealogies. They are placing themselves in the arc of first being inspired by the past and then creating their future place in it. But not everyone is like this. Ironies abound. What about the other Humiston descendants? David Humiston Kelley was obsessed with history, but Allan Cox, who inherited the letters, was much less interested in the past. Mark Dunkelman found the letters, but how many Mark Dunkelmans are there in our futures? How many future historians to lovingly research and recreate our past?

Morris writes:

Perhaps more than any other artifact, the photograph has engaged our thoughts about time and eternity. I say “perhaps,” because the history of photography spans less than 200 years. How many of us have been “immortalized” in a newspaper, a book or a painting vs. how many of us have appeared in a photograph?

The photograph of Amos Humiston’s three children — of Frank, Alice and Fred — allows us to imagine that we have grasped something both unique and universal. It suggests that the experience of this vast, unthinkable war can be reduced to the life and death of one man — by identifying Gettysburg’s “Unknown Soldier” we can reunite a family. That we can be saved from oblivion by an image that reaches and touches people, that communicates something undying and transcendent about each one of us.

The original ambrotype is still missing. Where could it be?

Dunkelman hopes that his book would draw attention to the story and someone would find the ambrotype. Writes Morris:

Perhaps it is displayed on a mantle or in an antiquarian’s shop or in an eccentric, personal collection of Gettysburgiana (like Edward Woodward’s poem).Where is it?Where is the ambrotype? The readership of The Times is respectfully asked to join in the quest. The promise of its return still remains unfulfilled.

Read the complete article at the link above.

Home Again: Whose Father Was He? Part 4

Part Four of this compelling and detailed story in the New York Times continues as writer Errol Morris gets into the not-so-nice happenings at the Homestead. This installment also includes many photographs, documents, maps and family trees.

There's Rosa J. Carmichael, whom he calls Cruella de Vil of the Homestead, of children being punished, of other children acting as informants. The horrible goings-on were exposed in an 1876 series of newspaper articles that detailed denying the orphans food, clothing and education; that they were beaten and subjected to leg irons and hobbling chains.

Dr. Bourns was charged with embezzlement in 1877, including mismanagement, waste of property and violation of trust. In 1878, the sheriff seized the property and the contents were auctioned.

Morris asks author Mark Dunkelman about Bourns' character, and Dunkelman points out what he calls "Jekyll and Hyde aspects to Bourns' personality," which included acts of altruism (reproducing the photograph, raising funds, establishing the orphanage), but then things seem to have gone wrong and he's not sure if it was greed or financial difficulties.

Amos Humiston's daughter Alice was quoted in 1914 in a story about her effort to recover the ambrotype from Dr. Bourns. He refused to return it.

Morris also talked to Amos Humiston's great-grandchildren: archaeoastronomy expert David Humiston Kelley and retired salesman Allan Lawrence Cox.

There's more on Kelley's claim about having traced some family branches back to King David, which will interest genealogists, as as well as the note that he's working with Bennett Greenspan of FamilyTreeDNA.com on this.

And Kelley chimes in with more on Dr. Bourns' personality, as well as a large portion on Kelley's own research of ancient peoples, research on the Mayans and their calendar, the date of the end of the world (in 1220) and the possibilities of recovering ancient history.

His conversation with Allan Cox concerned letters passed down by Humiston's widow Philinda to her son Fred, to Fred's daughter and then to Cox. The originals have vanished but photocopies exist. There are quotes from 14 of Humiston's letters to his wife.

Read the complete article at the link above, to make sense of this all.

Home Again: A faked photo, an orphanage, Part 3

Errol Morris' investigation of a photograph found on a dead soldier at Gettysburg in 1863 continues in the third installment here. In addition to the text, it is richly illustrated with photographs and documents.

There is something magical and sad about chronicling the history of a man who went more than halfway around the world on a whaling ship and then died (presumably alone) in a small town, a couple of hundred miles from his home.

Morris writes about a fascination with last words. In this story, it is all about last images - as Amos Humiston held the photo of his children. Morris asks:

By looking at the faces of the Humiston children, we can see what Humiston was seeing as he died. Or perhaps they can provide a glimpse of what was in his mind. Does linking his experiences with ours allow us to better know him or only to imagine ourselves as him?

As most genealogists and family historians know - and Morris reminds us - most historical mysteries stay in that state. What is fascinating is that although author Mark Dunkelman could learn so much about this one soldier and his family, there are so many about whom nothing is known.

Dunkelman writes about two cases of soldiers found on the same battlefield and how they were identified.

A Pennsylvanian was identified by a silver medal found clutched in his hand. Another soldier was found missing his hat, shoes, and socks, but inside one of his pockets the burial squad found a gold locket with a photograph of his wife or sweetheart, along with her name and address.

Others were identified by a letter, photo, diary, or other personal item. But it appears no other case resulted in such a major story.

Even before the days of PhotoShop, photos were altered. Through family members, Dunkelman found photos of Humiston before the war; one with a beard, one without, which Bourns had obtained from the widow. Dunkelman says Bourns wanted to issue a photo of him as a soldier, so he had a photo retouched, adding a beard and uniform. The possible reasons are revealed.

The carte-de-viste was sold and funds went to the Orphan's Homestead as explained on the back of the photo. Bourns wanted to raise money for an orphanage for the children of deceased soldiers. The article goes on to provide information on the Homestead Association, incorporated in 1866, three following Humiston's death. Bourns was the general secretary, while Humiston's widow Philinda was a housekeeper and the three children lived at the Homestead.

Philinda eventually married an older man in 1869, and sent for the children. Here, according to the author, the story takes a sinister turn. Stay tuned for Part 4.

Read the complete article at the link above and view the photographs and documents.

Home Again: Whose father was he? Part 2

Don't miss part 2 of Errol Morris's "Whose Father Was He?"

This installment includes an extensive interview with Mark Dunkelman, who wrote the book on Amos Humiston. There are extensive graphics, photographs, maps, letters and more.

How did Dunkelman, who has one of the largest collections of Civil War letters of a single army regiment, become aware of the story?

During my high school years, I became good friends with a neighbor, Christopher L. Ford, who had Confederate ancestors. We both shared this interest in the Civil War. So we would discuss the Civil War often. As a matter of fact, we used to hold sort of trivia contests to see who could stump each other on our Civil War knowledge. And at one point, Chris gave me a book that he had had for a while. It’s called “Gettysburg: What They Did Here,” by L.W. Minnigh.

In the back is a collection of human-interest stories relating to the battle of Gettysburg. The very first one is about John Burns, the elderly Gettysburg resident who took his War of 1812 musket and joined the battle when the armies arrived at his hometown. And the very second story is about the Humiston children. And it included a post-war photo of the three kids, a very brief description of the story and a copy of James Clark’s poem/song, “The Children of the Battlefield.” That was my first exposure to the Humiston story.

Among other resource, Dunkelman used Humiston's pension records, which held more material on his wife and children.

This story became notable because a Philadelphia doctor obtained a photograph from a tavern-keeper. It also illustrates the power of media - a story copied in many newspapers reached the right family.

The story is one of chance - and filled with "ifs." If the wagon had not broken down, if the tavern-keeper had refused to give the photo to the doctor, if the wife had not read the story in the paper ...

Dr. Bourns did not travel directly from Philadelphia to Gettysburg. Instead, he first went to Chambersburg, a designated rendezvous for civilian physicians heading to the battlefield. Had he gone direct from Philadelphia to Gettysburg, he would not have passed through Graeffenburg, as he did by approaching Gettysburg from the west. And he would not have stopped at Schriver’s tavern and would not have seen the ambrotype.

Dunkelman found a Humiston decendant -David Humiston Kelley - from whom he learned about what happened to Philinda and her three children. Says Dunkelman,

Now, David, in addition to his archaeoastronomy work, is a very avid genealogist. He’s traced branches of his family back to King David in the Bible.

Note please that I didn't say that, but Dunkelman says it about Kelley.

He found many letters in the possession of various family families. Several are imaged in the article.

Soldiers’ families saved their letters. They were writing letters all the time back then, but these were letters chronicling the most momentous events in their lives. Often they didn’t save the letters that the wife sent the husband. They saved the letters that were sent from the husband or son describing these great adventures.

Dunkelman also discovered that Humiston sailed on a whaler from New Bedford in 1850, with the help of a neighbor who was a librarian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

There's more to come in the next three installments. Read the complete post at the link above and view the images.

Home again: A Civil War photograph

More than a century ago, the lack of technology didn't stop this Civil War photo from finding the family of a soldier who died at Gettysburg.

Forensic photography, newspaper history and the Civil War make for a good story. Filmmaker Errol Morris posted this in the Zoom section of the New York Times today. "Whose Father Was He?" is the first of a five-part series appearing on consecutive days.

Morris is a filmmaker whose "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara" won the Academy Award for 2004's best documentary feature. He also directed "Gates of Heaven," "The Thin Blue Line," "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control,""A Brief History of Time" and "Standard Operating Procedure."

A dead soldier was found at Gettysburg with no identification except an early photograph (called an ambrotype) showing three small children. Tavern keeper Benjamin Schriver in Graeffenburg, 13 miles west of Gettysburg, somehow acquired it. Philadelphia physician Dr. J. Francis Bourns, on his way to treat the wounded, stopped in when his wagon broke down. He convinced the tavern-keeper to give him the photograph to try to locate the soldier's family.

Back home, the doctor had several photographers copy it and ordered hundreds of copies printed in carte de visite format (similar to an index card) . Back then, newspapers could not print photographs and there was no way of easily and widely transmitting this photo.

Three months after the photo was found, the important Philadelphia Inquirer printed the story on October 19, 1863, under the headline, "Whose Father Was He?"

After the battle of Gettysburg, a Union soldier was found in a secluded spot on the field, where, wounded, he had laid himself down to die. In his hands, tightly clasped, was an ambrotype containing the portraits of three small children, and upon this picture his eyes, set in death, rested. The last object upon which the dying father looked was the image of his children, and as he silently gazed upon them his soul passed away. How touching! how solemn! What pen can describe the emotions of this patriot-father as he gazed upon these children, so soon to be made orphans! Wounded and alone, the din of battle still sounding in his ears, he lies down to die. His last thoughts and prayers are for his family. He has finished his work on earth; his last battle has been fought; he has freely given his life to his country; and now, while his life’s blood is ebbing, he clasps in his hands the image of his children, and, commending them to the God of the fatherless, rests his last lingering look upon them.

When, after the battle, the dead were being buried, this soldier was thus found. The ambrotype was taken from his embrace, and since been sent to this city for recognition. Nothing else was found upon his person by which he might be identified. His grave has been marked, however, so that if by any means this ambrotype will lead to his recognition he can be disinterred. This picture is now in the possession of Dr. Bourns, No. 1104 Spring Garden [Street], of this city, who can be called upon or addressed in reference to it. The children, two boys and a girl, are, apparently, nine, seven and five years of age, the boys being respectively the oldest and youngest of the three. The youngest boy is sitting in a high chair, and on each side of him are his brother and sister. The eldest boy’s jacket is made from the same material as his sister’s dress. These are the most prominent features of the group. It is earnestly desired that all the papers in the country will draw attention to the discovery of this picture and its attendant circumstances, so that, if possible, the family of the dead hero may come into possession of it. Of what inestimable value it will be to these children, proving, as it does, that the last thoughts of their dying father was for them, and them only.

The best the newspaper could do was the word picture in bold above.

The article includes close-ups of the cloth in the two garments showing they are the same.

Writes Morris:

In the traditional detective story, someone asks around: Do you know the identity (or the name) of the people in this photograph? Here, the identification is not made on the basis of recognizing the people from a photograph. But by first “translating” the photograph into words and sentences. The ages of the children were estimated — as it turns out not far from the truth — but the telling details were their respective positions in the photograph, the fact that there were three of them, and the shirt and dress worn by the brother and sister flanking the brother in the middle were similar.

At that time, writes Morris, family photos were not common. It involved a trip to a studio or waited for a traveling photographer to come by.

Today, we are able to seamlessly integrate words and pictures — captions and photographs — but the Humiston story allows us to see how this was done beforethere were means to easily put the two together in a newspaper or broadsheet.

In Portville, NY, a woman saw the American Presbyterian story about the photo. She wrote to Bourns and requested a copy.

When she opened the letter from Philadelphia in late November of 1863, Philinda Humiston knew her husband, Amos Humiston, the father of her three children — Franklin, Alice and Frederick — was dead.

Mark H. Dunkelman wrote “Gettysburg’s Unknown Soldier,” to try to recover the man's identity.

Read the complete story at the link above. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

Footnote: Civil War widow's pensions

Footnote.com has released Civil War widows' pension records, and is also offering a special free seven-day trial with registration.

Jews fought for both sides - Confederate and Union - during this war. If your ancestors came to the US early on, you may discover important details relevant to your research.

Footnote also has the records of the Civil War Soldiers and the Southern Claims Conference and I have located Jewish records in that as well, such as that of Private M.J. Cohen of Georgia (left). Cohen enlisted April 1862 in the lst (Olmstead's) Georgia Infantry CSA, was transferred to the Confederate States Navy in August 1863, was 3rd assistant engineer on the steamer Drewry in June 1964, was captured April 1865 at Appomattox River and releasted June 1865 at Johnson's Island, Ohio after taking the oath of allegiance.

Searching for Cohen+civil war soldiers+confederate resulted in 1,624 items on this one name and historical period alone. There are 12 Levys in the Southern Claims Conference group, and 226 in the Civil War pension record group.

Civil War Widows’ Pension Now Available
On The Internet For The First Time

Lindon, UT – October 16, 2008 – Today, Footnote.com released the first digitized versions of the Civil War Widows’ Pension Files.

Through its partnership with Footnote.com, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and FamilySearch, Footnote.com has worked together to prepare, scan, index and now publish these highly popular original documents. “These are one of the most heavily used series of original records at the National Archives,” said James Hastings, NARA Director of Access Programs.

Having never been microfilmed before, the Civil War Pension Files were previously accessible only at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Now, through this project, anyone can access these records via the internet exclusively on Footnote.com.

“The significance to family historians is obvious,” says Cynthia Fox, a NARA Deputy Director. “However, these records offer much to the scholarly community as well. They document the lives of common Americans; people who rarely left journals or collections of letters. They often tell the life stories of people whose daily lives would otherwise be undocumented. Having these records online opens this virtually untapped resource for the study of social history in new and exciting ways.”

Footnote.com has additional paper-to-digital projects to the site including:
• The Southern Claims Commission
• WWII & Vietnam War Photos
• Homestead Records

“It’s crucial to preserve this information and make it available on the internet where more people can interact with these records,” explains Russ Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “At Footnote.com we believe it’s all about people connecting with history in a unique way and our goal is to make sure we provide the best content to help make that connection.”

Footnote.com now features over 45 million records ranging from the time of the Pilgrims and the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War. Millions of documents are added every month with increasing numbers of people adding their own piece of history to the Footnote.com site through photos, documents, letters and stories.

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Civil War: Confederate Jewish soldiers

The Jewish Magazine is a monthly online collection of articles. There's always something of interest to family historians. The May issue carries an article by Lewis Regenstein of Atlanta who describes his great-grandfather and his four brothers - all of whom fought for the Confederacy in 1865.

Regenstein writes about Joshua Lazarus Moses, brothers Horace, Perry and Isaac; his great-grandfather Andrew Jackson Moses, and cousin Albert Moses Luria. More than 24 members of the extended Moses family fought in the War; at least nine died.

Family members served and worked closely with legendary generals, such as Robert E. Lee. They fired some of the first and last shots of the War; fought on horseback and ships, in trenches and the infantry; built fortifications, led men in charges; one was responsible for provisioning an entire army corps of about 50,000 men.

Read more about this family history here.

Confederate Army Jews

For Jews interested in their Southern roots, there's a fascinating new article on Jews who served in the Confederate Army by Gary Ayres.

By 1861 a third of all Jews in America lived in Louisiana.
Some say that more than 10,000 Jews fought for the Confederacy, with 2,000 of them being officers or in the Confederate Government. Others say that only 6,000 Jews served in the Union Army and as few as 2,000 Jews in the Confederacy.

I believe the number of Jews in the Confederacy was more likely to have been between 6,000 and 10,000. I believe that to be more likely because the Jewish population prospered more in the South, and the South was more tolerant to their religion than in the North.

The author includes the personal account of Joseph Goldsmith, known as the Jewish Confederate "chaplain." Goldsmith was a contractor for sidearms and material.

Ayres also addresses Union General Ulysses S. Grant's belief that the cotton 'black market' was organized by Jews:

General Grant issued his "General Order Number 11". This order expelled all Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi.

The order said:
"The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department ('Department of the Tennessee,' an administrative district of the Union Army of occupation composed of Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi) within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.

Post commanders will see to it that all of this class of people be furnished passes and required to leave, and any on returning after such notification will be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of sending them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permit from headquarters. No passes will be given these people to visit headquarters for the purpose of making personal application of trade permits."

There was enough backlash from residents for Lincoln to make a decision to have General Grant to revoke the "Order".

The article has information on Confederate members of the tribe, including West Point graduate Abraham Myers, classmate of Robert E. Lee; Major Adolph Proskauer of Mobile, Alabama; and the six Cohen brothers of North Carolina. The first Jewish Confederate soldier killed was Albert Lurie Moses of Charlotte, North Carolina. All-Jewish companies reported from Macon and Savannah, Georgia, while three Louisiana Jews were made Colonel; Moses Jacob Ezekiel of Richmond, Virginia; and Prussian immigrant and physcian Simon Baruch, Surgeon General of the Confederacy.

Yale-educated lawyer Judah Benjamin of Louisiana served the Confederacy as Attorney General, Secretary of War and Secretary of State. Before the Civil War, he had been one of the first Jewish U.S. Senators, and had been offered a Supreme Court seat, which he declined.