The adventures of Uncle Lyman

Ye socks who are not already using Google's book search app are really missing out . . . for example, today I discovered this really cool, previously undiscovered biographical sketch of my great-uncle (brother of my Civil War ancestor Edson Blakesley):

Lyman Blakesley, a well-known citizen of Fort Wayne and one of the veteran passenger conductors of the western division of the P. Ft.W. & C. railroad, was born in Putnam County, Ohio, March 14, 1842. He is the son of J.B. Blakesley, who was a native of New York, but resided during the most of his life in Ohio, being employed as a railroad bridge contractor. He died in 1881 or 1882. Lyman was reared in Sandusky City, but when ten years of age left home and for five seasons was a sailor on the lakes, attending school during the winter months. At about the age of seventeen years he began railroading as a brakeman with the old Sandusky, Dayton & Cincinnati railroad. In June 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Seventh Ohio regiment, and served three years. At Cross Lane, WV, he was taken prisoner August 26, 1861, and for nine months was in prison at Richmond, New Orleans, and Salisbury, NC. He was honorably discharged at Cleveland in June 1864, and returned to railroading on the SD&CRR, where he remained until 1867, and then came to Fort Wayne and entered the service of the P. Ft.W. & C. RR as a brakeman. One year later, was promoted to freight conductor, and in 1872 he was promoted to passenger conductor, and has since been on the run between Fort Wayne and Chicago. The time covered by Mr. Blakesley's service in the P. Ft. W. & C. RR amounts to twenty-two years, and he is one of the oldest passenger conductors running out of Fort Wayne. He was married September 8, 1864, to Miss Mary J. St. John, who was born near Tiffin, Ohio, July 21, 1844; she died December 4, 1888. To their union three children were born: Harry A., Laura D., and Ralph. The latter died in infancy, and Laura D. died March 15, 1889. For fifteen years, Mr. Blakesely was a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, and he is the oldest ex-chief conductor in Indiana. He is a member of the Third Presbyterian church of which Mrs. Blakesley was also a member, and he is one of the executive committee of the railroad department of the YMCA.

[Excerpted from Valley of the Upper Maumee River, published by Brant & Fuller (1889), Volume 2, pages 77-78.]

Updated ahnentafel

For ye socks who have been keeping tabs on my never-ending genealogcial pursuits, I announce a significant revision to my ahnentafel:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~oldpinecastle/ahnentafel.html

The bulk of the revisions stem from new information that indicated yours truly had misidentified #141 on that table of illustrious ancestors. Hannah, the wife of Warren Blakesley of Marengo, Illinois, who died in January 1850, was NOT the daughter of Philo and Sarah Ann (Priest) Peck.

Rather, she was a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lighthall) Sponable (now properly identified as # 282 & 283).

While this revision eliminates some pretty interesting Connecticut lineages and a coveted link to Queen Anne Boleyn, it does add at least one more Revolutionary War veteran and an infusion of German and Dutch bloodlines.

Sorry if I've bored ye socks who do not share my genealogical addictions, but that's the big news out of this dryer this morning . . .

A pair of old family portraits

My cousin Patricia was kind enough to scan and forward these two old family portraits over the weekend, and I post them here for the enjoyment of ye socks who are not yet completely bored with my genealogical pursuits.



The first (rather faded) portrait is of my great-great grandfather (and namesake) William S. Morgan, and his wife Lola Blakesley Morgan. It was probably taken shortly after they were married in Kansas City, in 1889.




The second portrait is of Lola's parents Mary and Edson Blakesley. We still can't quite figure when the Unicorn-do was popular. The date on the photo says 1892. But, I must say that Grandpa Blakesley's mustache is ALMOST as hip as the one gracing the upper lip of yours truly.

Memorial Day observations

I had to interrupt my staycation to drive down to Orlando this morning to take care of some personal business anyway, so decided to use the opportunity to observe today's holiday at the old Greenwood Cemetery downtown.

The city was marking the occasion with a variety of events, including an address by Robert Stuart (who will be my city commissioner after I move, hopefully soon).

But, it was more important for me to pay my respects to the many veterans who are buried there.

They include my dad (Lt. Col. Skip Morgan, USAF) and my great-great-great grandfather (Pvt. Edson McClure Blakesley, Co. F, 145th Ohio Volunteers). Indeed, the cemetery is final resting place for many, many veterans of all the wars fought by our nation's armed forces since the Civil War. It is indeed hallowed ground.

It struck me as I was strolling beneath the moss-laden oak canopy at Greenwood, that it is really a very beautiful place.

The sexton, Don Price, informed me that he will be leading a moonlight walking tour of the grounds in just a few weeks. (June 20th, from 9 to 11pm to be precise.) He will be pointing out the graves of the famous, semi-famous, and infamous. (Including Francis Eppes, the favorite grandson of Thomas Jefferson; and baseball legend Joe Tinker.)

But, today was all about paying respect to the lesser known folks who humbly served in their country's uniform so that posterity might enjoy the many freedoms we have around here!

Take some time away from the BBQ to do a little of that yourselves, why don't ya?

Amasa Blakesley

That's the name of one of my Civil War ancestors.

I've known about him for awhile, having traced the old family tree for many years now. And, I even wrote a book about some of them who fought in the War-Between-the-States.

But, imagine my surprise when I discovered his name appears on the national African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC!

(If you're in the neighborhood, check out plaque #C-76.)

If you've ever watched the movie "Glory," you're probably aware the "all-black" regiments in the Civil War were not really "all-black." All of their officers and most of their non-commissioned officers were white. My Amasa fell into the latter category, serving for a time as the regimental musician for the 66th U.S. Colored Troops.

Apparently, in memorializing the "colored" regiments, the designers of the memorial made no distinction between the men and the officers, black or white.

And, that's appropriate, don't you think?

Dead Fred

Have you ever been to a rummage sale, flea market, or other such event and found those sad piles of discarded old photographs?

I guess, I just think it's sad because I'm such a passionate genealogist and cannot fathom the thought of being so careless with heritage.

Anyway, I can't afford to buy all those stray photos I encounter personally. But, sometimes, I'll write down the names and dates and post queries on the internet to try and track down a surviving family member who might treat these treasurers with the respect they are due.

And, I've had some successes with this method of reuniting people with their ancestors.

But, now, there is a website devoted to this awesome endeavor:

http://www.deadfred.com

Check it out. You can search by surname or location, and you might even uncover some of your own long-lost relatives!

I quickly located the above photo of my own kinsman Abraham Blakesley (1842-1923) who served in an Iowa regiment (the horror of it!) during the War Between the States. Check out the uniform on Abe, huh?!