A Fabulously Fantastic Surprise ~ Iver's Letter

Last Thursday, I received a fantastic surprise. A very nice man named Carl sent me an email. He said he's been researching the 21st Iowa Infantry for over twenty-five years. That happens to be the regiment that my 2nd great-grandfather, Iver Iverson, was a member of during the American Civil War.

It turns out that Carl found me because I'm a contributor on Find A Grave. I maintain Iver's memorial page. Carl said that he checked on Iver because he has a copy of a letter that Iver wrote to the Adjutant General dated 23 January 1873.

Wow!

I replied to Carl and said I'd be very interested in seeing this letter and asked if he could email a copy to me. Friday morning I had another email from Carl, which contained a pdf copy of Iver's letter! Carl also sent a transcription of the letter, which was very kind of him. The letter is difficult to read and appears to be faded in spots. But, that's okay. I'm just so thrilled to have a copy of Iver's letter! It's a very special family history treasure.

Here's Iver's letter.



The letter really is quite faded in areas and is difficult to read, so I tried to adjust it using Photoshop. It helped a bit as you can see in the image below.



Thanks to the helpful transcript that Carl sent to me, I think I can try and read Iver's letter. This is what I believe it says:

Franklin Jan 23/73

Adjutant General
of the State of Iowa

I have lost my Discharge from the Army and I hope you will give me another Discharge or certificate. I enlisted in the 21st Regt of Inft. Iowa Vol. and was Discharged in the 34th Regt. Inft. Iowa Vol. I hope to hear from you as soon as posabel. [sic]

Very Respectfully

Iver Iverson

Franklin P.O. Renville
County
Minnesota

I have Iver's Civil War pension file, but this letter wasn't included in it. So, having a copy of this letter is really amazing.

I'm so glad Carl contacted me and shared this very special family history treasure with me. Thank you Carl!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The Photo Album of a Civil War Veteran's Wife – Cynthia Maria Waterman – Part 2

Cynthia Maria Waterman was my maternal 2nd great-grandmother. Her husband, and my 2nd great-grandfather, was Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was a Civil War veteran.

Not too long ago, I shared pictures of Cynthia's photo album. In that post, I shared photos of the first half of her album, which included the album's front cover. I also shared a photo of Cynthia as well. If you'd like to see these photos, click HERE.

Today, I'm sharing the second half of Cynthia's album. At the bottom of this post you will find a photo of the back cover of her album. It's a pretty album and the front cover is quite ornate.

As I mentioned in Part 1, I'm not too sure who wrote the names at the bottom of these pages.



But, I wouldn't be surprised if this is Lura Webster's handwriting. I gave my reasoning in Part 1. Lura was married to Paul A. Hammett. Her sister, Lillie Dell Webster, was married to James Perry Burket.



It looks like the page on the left in the photo below, held a photo of James and Dell (Lillie Dell Webster) Burket.



The page on the left in the photo below says "Lura Webster" and "Ella Engle." Ella was the daughter of Sarah Amanda (Waterman) Engle and Richard Engle. The page on the right says "Myra Chamber" and "Lura Webster." I don't know who Myra Chamber was.



The two pages in the photo below held pictures of Mary Boggess and Ella Engle. Mary (Crary) Boggess was a niece of Cynthia Maria Waterman.



It's amazing that there was a picture of "Grandpa Webster" in Cynthia's photo album. Grandpa Webster was Moses Augustine Webster, who was born in 1811. He was the father of Cynthia's husband, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster.

The fact that "Grandpa Webster" was written underneath this photo provides further proof that Cynthia Maria Waterman didn't write these names in her album. She would not have written Grandpa Webster. She didn't have a Grandpa Webster. But Lura Webster, Cynthia's daughter, did.

Homer Waterman was Cynthia's brother. He was a Civil War veteran.



Hmm. Nothing is written underneath the photo on the left page in the photo below. Either there wasn't a photo there, or the person who wrote these names in the album didn't know who this person was. Jessie Reno is written underneath the right page. I don't know who Jessie Reno was.



These last pages of Cynthia's album have Watson Webster and Malinda Webster written at the bottom of the pages. Watson Webster was Cynthia's brother-in-law. He was Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's brother. Malinda was Watson's wife. Her maiden name was Eavey.



Here is the back of Cynthia's photo album.



It's amazing to me that Cynthia's photo album has been kept all of these years. I'm so grateful that it is still here for her descendants to enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #6 ~ The Photo Album of a Civil War Veteran's Wife – Cynthia Maria Waterman – Part 1

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

In a previous post, I shared pictures of the photo album that belonged to my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was a Civil War veteran. If you missed that post, click HERE.

In that post, I explained how I was able to take pictures of Ebenezer's album during a visit with my 3rd cousin, who owns this precious album. I also mentioned that Ebenezer's wife, Cynthia Maria Waterman, also had a photo album. My 3rd cousin inherited Cynthia's amazing photo album as well. And during our visit, I was able to take pictures of this fascinating photo album too.

Today I'd like to share photos of Cynthia's album with you.

This is the front of Cynthia's photo album. Isn't it pretty? It's quite ornate compared to Ebenezer's photo album. It's also larger than Ebenezer's album.



I love that the first pictures in the photo album are of Cynthia's husband, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster, and herself.



And here is the photo of Cynthia Maria Waterman that was on the right side of this first album page.



Cynthia Maria Waterman was born on 21 May 1836 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio and passed away on 22 September 1895 in Marysville, Marshall, Kansas. She was the tenth of twelve children born to Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk.

Unfortunately, I don't know who's handwriting is at the bottom of these pages.



It wouldn't make sense for Cynthia to have written "Aunt Amanda" in the photo above, because Amanda was Cynthia's sister.

Amanda's full name was Sarah Amanda Waterman. This name may be familiar to my regular readers because of an exciting adventure I've shared recently. It has to do with vintage postcards from the early 1900s that were written to Sarah Amanda Waterman and her husband, Richard Engle. These postcards were discovered in Ireland in a second-hand shop by a sweet woman named Ann. And because of Ann's kindness, I am now in possession of many of these postcards. If you'd like to read about what I call "The Engle Family Postcard Adventure," click HERE.

Okay, back to Cynthia's wonderful photo album.



So, who did write on these album pages?



I asked my 3rd cousin, Norma, if she knew who wrote on these pages, but she didn't know for sure. She did say that it was among her grandmother's things and thought that perhaps it had belonged to Lura Webster, who was one of Cynthia's daughters. Perhaps Lura wrote on these pages. That would probably make sense because Sarah Amanda Waterman was Lura's aunt. And, that would explain why "Aunt Amanda" was written under Sarah Amanda Waterman's picture.



You can see Lura's name written at the bottom of the right page in the photo above. She was married to Paul Anderson Hammett. That's what the P. A. Hammett stands for at the bottom of the left page in the photo above.

I'm grateful to Lura or whoever did take the time to add names to these pictures.



As I said, Cynthia's photo album is larger than Ebenezer's photo album. And there are more pages in it as well.



Because I don't want this post to be too long, I decided to share Cynthia's photo album in two posts – Part 1 and Part 2.



I will be sharing Part 2 of Cynthia's photo album in a future post. It won't be part of the 52 Ancestors blog challenge though.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

52 Ancestors: #4 ~ The Photo Album of a Civil War Veteran – Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster

This is part of the "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" Challenge begun by Amy Johnson Crow, author of the blog No Story Too Small.

This is the front cover of Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's photo album. The album belongs to my 3rd cousin, Norma.



I first contacted Norma in January of 2001. I sent an email to her regarding some information she had put on the Ancestry World Tree about a relative of mine. I also asked Norma if she and I were related. It turns out that we are. And as I mentioned, we are 3rd cousins.

She and I descend from our common ancestors, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster and his wife, Cynthia Maria Waterman. Ebenezer and Cynthia are my 2nd great-grandparents.

Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster was born on 11 August 1838 in Racine, Meigs, Ohio and passed away on 6 May 1915 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. He served in the Civil War in Company E of the 74th Illinois Infantry. I've written two blog posts about Ebenezer previously. If you'd like to read them, please click the links below.

Wordless Wednesday–E.P.C. Webster circa 1856

Tombstone Tuesday–Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster

Ebenezer was the father of my "Traveling Dentist" great-grandfather, Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. My regular readers are probably very familiar with Frederick, because I've written many blog posts about his life and travels. If you're new here, and would like to read about him, I've created a landing page dedicated to him here on my blog. Here's the link for his landing page –

The Traveling Dentist

Now, back to my 3rd cousin Norma and Ebenezer's amazing photo album. Norma and I started corresponding after I first contacted her and we have shared photos and information. Norma not only inherited Ebenezer's priceless photo album, she also inherited Cynthia Maria (Waterman) Webster's photo album as well.

Our family visited Norma once many years ago, and in July of 2012, our family had the great pleasure of visiting Norma again. When we visited Norma in the summer of 2012, I took pictures of these incredible photo albums. I'd like to share pictures of Ebenezer's photo album with you today.



Norma had already removed the photos from this album some time ago. I was able to scan them when we visited her.



It's extra special to see Ebenezer's own handwriting on the pages of this album.



I'm grateful to him for labeling these precious photos.



It's remarkable that this photo album is still around for Ebenezer's descendants to enjoy!



It's also amazing to think that this photo album is likely over 100 years old. And even if Ebenezer put this album together the year he died, which was 1915, that would mean this photo album is 99 years old.



This is the back cover of Ebenezer's photo album.



This photo gives you a sense of the size of Ebenezer's and Cynthia's photo albums.



I'm so grateful for the opportunity our family had to visit my 3rd cousin Norma. She was very gracious. And I'm also very grateful that we were able to see and take pictures of these remarkable photo albums.

I'll be sharing Cynthia's photo album in a future post.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Military Monday ~ Dr. Homer Clark Waterman – Assistant Surgeon in the Civil War

This is a photo of Dr. Homer Clark Waterman, my maternal 2nd great-granduncle. He was born on May 18, 1827 in Troy, Athens, Ohio to Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk.

Homer married Sarah Ann D. Rathburn on October 6, 1850 in Meigs County, Ohio. They were the parents of four children:

1. Lillian F. Waterman (1854-1931)
2. Helen M. Waterman (1860-1930)
3. William Rathburn Waterman (1867-1946)
4. Mary E. Waterman (1869-1893)

On October 15, 1862, at thirty-five years of age, and with a wife and two young daughters at home, Homer entered the Civil War. He had recently graduated from a medical college in Ohio.

Homer started his Civil War service as 2nd Assistant Surgeon in the 4th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered into duty as Assistant Surgeon in the same regiment on January 24, 1863. He served in this regiment until October 8, 1864, when he was honorably mustered out at Wheeling, West Virginia.¹

I assume he went home at this point. I can just imagine the joyous reunion he had with his wife Sarah, and two young daughters, Lillian and Helen.

But he wasn't home for very long, because on January 4, 1865, he was commissioned by the Governor of West Virginia to serve as Assistant Surgeon of the 2nd Regiment West Virginia Veterans Volunteer Infantry. He served in this regiment until the end of the war. He was mustered out of service at Clarksburg, West Virginia on July 16, 1865.¹

Interestingly, Homer's grandfather, and my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War. Both Luther and Homer must have beheld horrific scenes while serving on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

According to the United States, 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War,² Homer served in the Civil War for two years, nine months, and nine days.



Not only was Homer a physician, he was also elected Coroner in two different counties. He also served as the Treasurer and Justice of the Peace of Salisbury township and served as School Examiner of Meigs County for six years. Homer was also a Mason.¹

Dr. Homer Clark Waterman passed away on March 5, 1893 in Zanesville, Muskingum, Ohio.

More about Dr. Homer Clark Waterman's life in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

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1 Dr. Homer Clark Waterman's Civil War Pension File ^↩
2 "United States, 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K835-65L : accessed 28 Jul 2013), Homer C Waterman, 1890. ^↩
3 Obituary from Zanesville Daily Courier, dated March 6, 1893. Transcription courtesy of Rootsweb.com - Meigs County News For The Year 1893 – As stated on the website, "These pages contain transcriptions of news items published in Meigs County newspapers. They were transcribed from microfilm copies of the originals or from the originals themselves." ^↩

Military Monday ~ Iver Iverson – A U.S. Civil War Soldier from Norway

I'd love to visit Norway someday.  That's where my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Iver Iverson, was born - Marteplads, Nes, Buskerud, Norway, to be exact.  He was born on August 2, 1827 and passed away on January 1, 1895 in Glenwood, Pope, Minnesota.  His parents were Iver Stenersen and Guri Olsdatter.

Nesbyen, Nes, Buskerud, Norway
Photo by John Erling Blad
Wikimedia Commons
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license

Isn't Iver's birth country gorgeous?  It's just so picturesque.  If this photo (above) looks anything like where he lived, I have to wonder why Iver would have ever wanted to leave his beautiful homeland of Norway.  Please don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful Iver did decide to immigrate to the U.S.A so I could be born here.  But I've still wondered why he decided to emigrate from Norway.  What were the driving forces behind his decision to leave?

The following paragraph regarding economic difficulties in Norway could explain the reason why Iver and many other Norwegians left Norway.

The website "intro" states,¹

"....In the last half of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s, about 800,000 Norwegians emigrated to the USA.  Norway's economy was poor and it was difficult to find work.  Many people dreamed of starting a new life in the USA.  They had heard that there were many opportunities there.  Many people found life in this new country difficult at first, most did well."

The information I have states that Iver and his brother Ole immigrated to the United States in April of 1858, and that his parents and another brother, Christopher, immigrated in April of 1861.  I'd love to find proof of this someday.  Years ago, my paternal grandmother, Ingrid Anna (Gillberg) Iverson, hired a professional genealogist in Salt Lake City to research our Scandinavian roots.

Following the death of my Grandma Ingrid, my father, Jan Iverson, inherited her family history stuff.  My father was involved in researching his Norwegian and Swedish ancestry and for many years I've been researching my mom's ancestry.  Since my dad's death, I've felt the need to continue researching his ancestry as well.

The immigration dates I have for Iver, Ole, Christopher, and their parents are from my dad's records.  Perhaps he got this information from my Grandma Ingrid, who got this information from the professional genealogist.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate the professional genealogist's report or source materials regarding these immigration dates.  And so far, my research hasn't produced any immigration information for Iver, his brothers, or his parents.

I know that Iver immigrated to the United States before February 23, 1860, because on this date Iver married Marit Thorsdatter in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  In the United States, Marit went by Mary, as you see her name listed as Iver's widow in the pension file page above.

Four years after Mary and Iver were married, Iver enlisted in the U.S. Civil War.  By then, Iver and Mary had one child and another one on the way.

Iver's enlistment date was February 19, 1864.  He was involved in the Siege of Spanish Fort and Battle of Fort Blakely, Mobile.  He was transferred to the 34th Iowa Infantry on July 12, 1865. Iver was honorably discharged on August 15, 1865.

By the time Iver enlisted, the war had been going on for three long years already.  I have some questions. 

• Assuming that Iver's immigration date of April 1858 is correct, what were Iver's thoughts and feelings when the war started only three short years after Iver arrived in the U.S.A.?
• How well did Iver speak English by the time he enlisted in the war?
• What was his citizenship status when he enlisted?

I can't help but wonder if Iver ever longed for the beautiful scenery of Norway as he faced horrific and terrifying scenes like this during the Civil War.

Battle of Fort Blakely
Wikimedia Commons
Public Domain

I'm grateful for Iver's service.  He suffered long-term health problems from his service in the Civil War.  I'm also grateful that he stayed in the United States after the Civil War ended so his many descendants, myself included, could enjoy the blessings of living in the United States.

I have Iver's Civil War pension file, which is very interesting.  I will be sharing information from it in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

© 2013 Copyright by Jana Last

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1 "Norwegian History: Immigration and Emigration." Norwegian History: Immigration and Emigration. Intro Student Book. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.^↩

Tuesday’s Tip ~ Three Awesome Websites for Genealogy…Found on Pinterest!

I have three awesome websites to share with you today.  And, yes, I found them on Pinterest!  So, thank you Pinterest for helping me expand my Genealogy Toolbox.

This first website is great for those of us who have Civil War ancestors, or for those who are simply interested in Civil War history.

 
Battlefields of the Civil War is a very cool website.  It's a map and chronology showing the major battles of the Civil War.  It even has an animation feature.  Press the play button to see what happens.

Here’s a screenshot of the website’s start page.



There is a slider bar at the top.  You can even grab the left and right slide handles to narrow down the dates enabling you to see what battles were fought within a specific timeframe.

Hmm, I didn’t know there were Civil War battles fought in New Mexico.



Let’s click on one of those battlefields.  The Battle of Glorieta Pass has a link to the Civil War Trust website.

And after clicking on the Civil War Trust link for this battlefield, this is what you see.  There is information about that specific battle.

Mapping the Emerald Isle:  a geo-genealogy of Irish Surnames is another awesome website for those who are researching Irish ancestors.  This website shows birth surnames by county from an 1890 census.

Here’s the start page for this website.

Simply type or search for a surname on the dropdown menu at the left.  Here’s what I found with the Jennings surname.

Timeline of the Revolutionary War is a helpful website for those wanting to learn about the Revolutionary War.

Here’s the start page for this website.

Let’s say you want to learn more about The Sugar Act.  Just click on the link in the timeline, and this is what you will find.

Well, that’s it for today’s tips.  I hope these three websites will be helpful to you in your genealogical pursuits.

And thank you Pinterest for making me aware of these awesome websites!

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Military Monday–Veterans Day Edition

Source:  Lipton Sale Wikipedia.org
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

In commemoration of Veterans Day, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of the members of the military who have selflessly served their fellowmen and this great country, the United States of America.

I also wanted to list my ancestors who have contributed to keeping these United States a free nation.  There may be some I missed because I am not aware of their service at this time.  If that is the case, I hope to update this list later.

Revolutionary War

Luther L. Waterman – (4th Great-Grandfather) Surgeon

War of 1812

Asher Waterman – (3rd Great-Grandfather) – Capt. Nehemiah Gregory’s Company, Ohio Militia Regiment.

Civil War

Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster– (2nd Great-Grandfather) – Co. E, 74th Illinois Infantry Volunteers.

Watson Emery Webster – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Co. E, 74th Illinois Infantry Volunteers.

Homer Clark Waterman – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Assistant surgeon of the 4th West Virginia Infantry and in the 2nd West Virginia Infantry.

Charles Wesley Waterman – (2nd Great-Grand Uncle) – Co. I, Ohio 116th Infantry.

Lawrence C. Crippen – (Husband of my 2nd Great-Grand Aunt Lucy Mae Waterman) – Co. A, 92nd Ohio Infantry.

Richard Engle – (Husband of my 2nd Great-Grand Aunt Sarah Amanda Waterman) – Co. G, 63rd Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Korean War

Jan Albert Iverson – (My Father) – SP4 U.S. Army.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Wednesday’s Child x 2–Lewis Asher and Frederick G. Engle

I feel for my maternal 2nd great-grand aunt Sarah Amanda Waterman.  Two of her children died at a very young age:

• Lewis Asher Engle – Born 10 February 1861, Died 7 February 1862.
• Frederick G. Engle – Born 20 February 1876, Died the same day.

I can’t even imagine how painful this must have been for her.  She and her husband, Richard Engle, were the parents of seven children, all of whom were born in Ohio:

1. Ella Eliza Engle (16 Jun 1858 – 10 December 1951)
2. Lewis Asher Engle (10 February 1861 – 7 February 1862)
3. Charles Albert Engle (20 June 1864 – 20 September 1946)
4. Mary Albertina Engle ( 20 June 1864 – 13 January 1885)
5. William Barker Engle (23 September 1867 – 1 Jun 1950)
6. Edwin Caleb Engle (8 November 1869 – 18 May 1943)
7. Frederick G. Engle (20 February 1876 – 20 February 1876)

Richard Engle served in the U.S. Civil War.  I have his pension file (I love pension files, by the way!  They are amazing genealogical resources.)  Here's a page from Richard’s pension file listing his children.  Surprisingly I found a child from a previous marriage that I didn’t know anything about.



I was also unaware of Richard's first marriage.  His first wife, Eliza Dunbar, and daughter, Morandia Jane Engle, both died in November of 1855 within days of each other.  So very sad!

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Tombstone Tuesday–Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster

Photo by Dave Avery 2010 from Findagrave.com

This is the tombstone of my 2nd great-grandfather, Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster. He was born on 11 August 1838 in Racine, Meigs, Ohio and died 6 May 1915 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Ebenezer's parents were Moses Augustine Webster and Amanda Melvina Carlisle.

Ebenezer married Cynthia Maria Waterman on 25 July 1858 in Athens, Ohio. Cynthia was the daughter of Asher Waterman and Bathsheba Paulk. I first introduced you to Asher Waterman in my post Sunday's Obituary - Asher Waterman.

Ebenezer and Cynthia were the parents of six children, one of whom was my "Traveling Dentist" Great-Grandfather Watson (Frederick) Emory Webster. I introduced the rest of Ebenezer's and Cynthia's children in my post The Webster Brothers.

Ebenezer served in the U.S. Civil War in Company E of the 74th Illinois Infantry. He didn’t serve for very long and was discharged due to health problems.

I found this interesting document on Ancestry.com. It's a page from the U.S. Civil War Draft Registration Records.  Ebenezer is listed on line 18.  It states that Ebenezer had six months of former military service. This reflects his previous service during the Civil War. He first enlisted on 7 August 1862 and was discharged for disability on 18 February 1863.



Source Citation: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 2 of 3.

Source Information:

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

I have Ebenezer’s Civil War Pension File and will be posting more about him in a future post.

Ebenezer Perry Carlisle Webster's FindaGrave Memorial

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012