A Sergeant From Michigan

"For the first day or two after our arrival at Castle Morgan it was moderately cool, and at that time fresh beef was supplied instead of the usual bacon. When the weather was cool the beef did not become offensive by the time it was brought into prison, but as it was usually exceedingly hot, especially during the middle of the days of the summer and early fall months, sour, nauseating beef was more often the rule than the exception."

Cahaba River In Alabama - Confederate POW Site

"The aroma perceived while cutting it was not like that of the new-blown rose, so I sought among the men of my company for one whose stomach would not easily revolt. I found a sergeant of a Michigan regiment — one who declared that nothing could make him sick — and persuaded him into relieving me from the duty of dividing the beef among the different messes." [Source]

Nickajack Expedition

"Maj. Ore, who had been detached...to protect the frontiers of Mero District, opportunely arrived at Nashville as the troops were concentrating for the Nickajack expedition... .

Upon the arrival of the Kentucky troops, Col. Whitley was given command of the entire force, and Col. Montgomery of the volunteers raised within the Territory."

"...[on September 7th] the army set out upon its march. It crossed the Barren Fork of Duck River near the Stone Fort, and arrived at the Tennessee on the night of the 8th. Of the individuals present at this expedition were Joseph Brown, son of Col. James Brown, whose melancholy fate is elsewhere recorded in this work; William Trousdale, afterward governor of Tennessee, and *Andrew Jackson.

Partial 1795 Map Including Nickajack (Source: LOC)

The troops having the next morning crossed the river, penetrated to the center of the town of Nickajack, a village inhabited by about 250 families. In this village the troops killed quite a number of warriors...".

*The author of the book, Life of Andrew Jackson, disputes that Jackson participated in the Nickajack expedition

Lord Stirling Captured

"Sir Henry Clinton made a night march surrounding-and capturing-General Sullivan and Lord Stirling...".

Life And Service of Major-General William AlexanderAlso Called Earl Of Stirling

"In the same year, Lord Stirling, (who had been exchanged ), resolved to entrap General Rogers, the Tory and renegade, who had command of a Royalist corps called the "Queen's Rangers." [Source]

Dred Scott Historical Marker

*Portrait Of Dred Scott - St. Louis, Missouri

An April, 2013, newspaper article about the Dred Scott and the Blow Family historical marker can be found here.

The marker is located in Southampton County, Virginia, "[at the] intersection of Route 58 and Buckhorn Quarter Road near the Blow Plantation where he [Dred Scott] grew up."

Note: We saw this marker while driving south from Virginia Beach, but did not get a photo of it.

*The Dred Scott case was held in St. Louis.  It was described by the National Park Service as follows: "One of the most important cases ever tried in the United States was heard in St. Louis' Old Courthouse. The Supreme Court decided the case in 1857, and hastened the start of the Civil War." [Source]

Black Citizens Of West Simsbury

Now Canton, Connecticut.

Source

See the link for biographies of James Baltimore (Jim Balt), London Chester (known as Governor), Charles Prince, Simon Fletcher, and Caesar Wilcox.

McCulloh Land To John Trousdale

The papers of Archibald D. Murphey...:

....land on the Haw River...sold to John Trowsdale....

See related material at my In Deeds blog

Margaret Acklin Mentioned

Tennessee, Probate Court Files, Franklin Probate Court, Wills 1812-1918:

Margaret Acklin mentioned [Image 2034]

According to this document, Margaret Acklin was the daughter of Peter Embry, but belonged to Thomas Howard*.  She was freed by "The War."

There was a Thomas Howard mentioned in this Franklin County, Tennessee, Deed.

From Ansearchin News:

81 - Bond of James CAMPBELL, James H. BRADFORD, James WOODS and Rolla P. RAINES to the county to assure that in emancipating a slave, Peter, lately conveyed to them by Jessie EMBREY of Franklin Co, TN, they 'ViII prevent Peter from ever becoming chargeable to the County." Peter, by his own industry and good conduct has acquired enough money to liberate or purchase himself. County Court granted the petition 27 May 1830 - Justice who signed were: Wallis ESTILL, John DOUGHTERY, A HENDERSON, William LASETER, Thomas HOWARD, Charles DUNCAN, Sam'l NORWOOD, John W. HOLDER, James SHARP.

Mathilda Gouin of Ste. Genevieve

House In Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Michigan, Probate Records...:

Wayne County, Michigan, Probate File# 738

Gouin, Mathilda, Widow And Executrix

Ste Genevieve, Missouri [Image 4750]

1836

Early Counterfeiters In Canada

Source

From Life in Canada


"...the Spanish milled dollars in which military services were paid for. Mexican dollars were also in vogue, and a few years previous to the American War of 1812, some enterprising New England counterfeiters, fancying the densely-wooded portion of Lower Canada, near the state lines, would afford a secure base for their operations, emigrated to our lower province.

"So expert had they become at the business that paymasters in the American army actually crossed over the lines by stealth through the woods and bought these Mexican dollars from the counterfeiters to pay the American troops with."

"...they ceased to produce the Mexican dollars for fear they might be traced out. Counterfeiting bank notes was what they next turned their hands to."

Joseph Clovese, Michigan's Last Man Standing

Source: Fold3

(Also see this card at FamilySearch)

Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States Colored Troops: 56th-138th USCT Infantry, 1864-1866

Content Source: NARA

Co. C 63rd USC Inf

Vicksburg, MS, Where Mr. Clovese's Unit Was Stationed

Joseph Clovese's military record indicated that he was born in New Orleans, [St. Bernard Parish] Louisiana, and that he was 18 years old, 5'2".  

From the Farmington [Michigan] Library's Regimental Roundtable organization:

"At 9:40 A.M., July 13, 1951, Joseph Clovese, age 107, died in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan."  "Clovese continued to live in the South for many years after the war, working as a laborer along the Mississippi and as a deck hand on steamers running between New Orleans and Biloxi.  In 1948 he moved north to make his home with his niece, Mrs.Valerie Daniel, in Pontiac."

A civic observance was held in Pontiac in honor of Clovese’s 107th  birthday on January 28, 1951. Tributes were paid him by his fellow townsmen, and he received a warm letter from President Truman...". Serenity was one of Joseph Clovese’s notable attributes.  “Ever since I can remember,” Clovese told an interviewer a few days before his death, “every time I sit down to eat I say, ‘Thank God and bless the cook.’ ”


Mr. Clovese became Michigan's "Last Man (Civil War Veteran) Standing."

United States Census, 1940

name: Joseph Clovis

Ward 3, New Orleans, New Orleans City, Orleans, Louisiana

gender: Male

age: 96

marital status: Widowed

relationship to head of household (standardized): Lodger

estimated birth year: 1844

residence in 1935: Slidell, St Tammany, Louisiana

Household Gender Age Birthplace

head Peter Daniel M 40 Louisiana

wife Valerie Daniel F 40 Louisiana

son Monroe Daniel M 17 Alabama

daughter Gloria Daniel F 14 Pennsylvania

brother-in-law Charles Giles M 38 Louisiana

lodger Joseph Clovis M 96 Louisiana

United States Census, 1930

name: Joseph Cloviest

St Tammany, Louisiana

age: 87

estimated birth year: 1843

relationship to head of household: Head

father's birthplace: Louisiana

mother's birthplace: Louisiana

Household Gender Age Birthplace

head Joseph Cloviest M 87 Louisiana

wife Mary S Cloviest F 42 Mississippi

Louisiana, Deaths Index, 1850-1875, 1894-1956"

name: Mary Smith Cloavice

death date:  21 Mar 1922

death place:  Slidell, , St. Tammany, Louisiana

gender:  Female

race (original):  Colored

race (standardized):  Colored

age:  56

estimated birth year:  1866

birth place:  New Orleans, Louisiana

marital status:  Married

spouse's name:  Joseph Clovese

My Encounter With An Icon, James A. Hood

Mr. Hood was a Civilian Deputy Chief who briefly occupied an office adjacent to mine on the second floor of the Detroit Police Department Headquarters building.  If I remember correctly, he given that office space to work on his own projects and wasn't part of our chain of command.

Like his fellow Detroit resident, Rosa Parks, Mr. Hood's claim to fame occurred during a famous civil rights incident in Alabama.  Details were found at the blog, The '60s at 50, Tuesday, June 11, 1963: The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.  C-Span also commemorated that day.

From this blog:

It was on June 11,1963, that Mr. Hood and Malone, accompanied by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and federal marshals, attempted to register for classes at Foster Auditorium. Flanked by state troopers and in the face of national media, Wallace stood at the doorway of the auditorium to block the students' entry.

President John F. Kennedy then federalized the Alabama National Guard and instructed guardsmen to remove Wallace.

That afternoon, Brigadier General Henry V. Graham told Wallace that it was his ''sad duty'' to tell the governor to step aside. Wallace made a final statement and complied, and Mr. Hood and Malone were allowed to enroll. 


His New York Times obituary (20 January 2013) mentioned his time in Detroit:

He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit and a master’s degree from Michigan State, concentrating in criminal justice and sociology. He was a deputy police chief in Detroit and the chairman of the police science program at the Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin.

African-American Biographies

"Men of Maryland", published in 1914, focused on the biographies of African-Americans, including Harriet Tubman as well as Frederick Douglass.