A Tale of Two Pensioners

A little over a year ago (before NARA raised their prices) I ordered the Civil War Pension files for three of my relatives (my 2nd great granduncle Samuel Fisher, Aaron Conroy the husband of my 2nd great grandaunt Lydia Fisher, and for Eli Yarian who is my 2nd great grandfather). They all have lots of useful and interesting information.

One problem though. I ordered the file for the wrong Samuel Fisher ;-(

Of course, I didn't know that until I opened the package from NARA. I had searched the Civil War Pension Cards on Footnote. I saw the card for Samuel Fisher that had served in Co. A 9th Regiment, Kansas Cavalry and ordered the file.

Anyway, after I got the NARA package I located the pension card for the other Samuel Fisher, the one I really wanted. The weird thing is that at the bottom of both of their pension cards it makes reference to the "other" Samuel. I just didn't see it. Or else I ignored the information. Not only that, the one I wanted also included his date of death, which matched my information. Sure wish I had clicked through a few more cards though. . .

But the government got them mixed up back in 1894, so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad. The moral of the story is don't assume there is only one person with the right name in the right unit (even though its wrong), or in the right location. I still haven't ordered the file on the "right" Samuel Fisher, primarily because of the cost. (I wonder how long it will be before Footnote has the Civil War Pension files online?)

On October 5, 1891 the Samuel Fisher who resided at Alfred in Douglas County, Kansas (the one who is my relative) filed an application (1064047) for pension based on his service in Co. A of the 9th Regiment Kansas Infantry for which he received pension certificate 1028602. Card shown above, image from footnote.

On March 3, 1894 the Samuel Fisher who resided at Osceola, Missouri filed application 1260663 based on his service in Co. B 9th Reg't Provisional Mo. Mil. [Missouri Militia]. He received pension certificate 890462 that was based on the service of the Kansas Samuel. Image from footnote.

If anyone out there is related to the Samuel Fisher described below, I'd be happy to send the file to you. . . it's about 100 pages.

Samuel Fisher resided in Lowery City, St. Clair, Missouri when he filed his application in August 1894. He was 67 years old and asked for a pension due to rheumatism and general debility. He stated that he had served in three different regiments of Missouri Militia. His original declaration also stated he served in the 9th Kansas Cavalry though he later said he didn't know how that got included.

On June 7th 1900, Missouri Samuel was living in Trenton, Hitchcock county, Nebraska. A special examination was held on that date. In his deposition, Samuel states that he was 74 years old on the 17th day of last March. He is a farmer and resides about five miles southeast of Trenton. He was born in Montgomery County, Kentucky near Mt. Sterling. In the fall of 1859 he moved to Grundy County, Missouri. Twelve years ago he moved to St. Clair, Missouri and in January 1899 moved to Hitchcock County, Nebraska.

He served six months in Co. E 9th Mo. Provisional Cavalry. The regiment was on duty at Chillicothe, Missouri doing guard duty and moving around Missouri guarding block houses and rail roads. In 1863 he was called to duty in Co. D 2nd Batt'n Mo. S.M. Cav. and also served in Co. E 8th Reg't Mo. State Militia. He states that he never served in Co. A 9th Kansas Cavalry. On August 9, 1894 he received a pension of $10 and saw that his certificate was for Co. A 9th Kans. Cav. and thought it was just a mistake. It was noticed when he was changed to the Des Moines, Iowa agency a short time ago.

He goes on to say that he has been married twice. First to Mary Dennis in Bass County, Kentucky in March of 1853. He thinks she died in 1872 in Grundy County, Missouri. He next married his present wife, Elizabeth Blue, on January 20, 1880 in Livingston County, Missouri. She had been married once before to John Mason who "disappeared and never could be found and my wife obtained a divorce from him about 1878 or 1879".

Samuel and Elizabeth have three children under the age of 16 years (dates recorded in the family bible): Otto Fisher, born Oct. 9, 1884; Everett Fisher, born Oct. 9, 1886; Edna M. Fisher, born Nov. 20, 1890. Witnesses to the deposition were Elizabeth A. Fisher and Richard Fisher.

I wish my ancestors were as easy to find in the census records as this Samuel was. Of course, it helps to know where he was. . .

In 1850, Samuel Fisher was a 22 year old farmer living in Division 2, Bath County, Kentucky. In his household was Mary Fisher, age 20; Levi Fisher, age 3/12; and John J. Fisher, age 10. All were born in Kentucky.

Samuel Fisher was 32 years old and living in Trenton township, Grundy county, Missouri in 1860. He was a farmer with a personal estate valued at $250. In the household was Mary, age 30; Martha, 8; Lydia, 5; Levi, 10; Moses, 3; and Moses, age 44, a farmer with real estate valued at $4000 and a personal estate of $500. Everyone except Martha was born in Kentucky, she was born in Indiana.

In 1870, Samuel Fisher was found in Liberty Township, Grundy County, Missouri. He was 44 years old, a farmer, real estate valued at $1600 and a personal estate valued at $900. He had been born in Kentucky. There were six children listed in the household, no wife: Martha, age 18, born Indiana; Lyddia, 15, born Kentucky; Moses, 12, born Kentucky; Mary, 9; John, 6; and Jesse J., 3. The last three were born in Missouri.

Samuel Fisher, age 53, was found in Lincoln Township, Grundy County, Missouri in 1880. He was a farmer, born in Kentucky. Listed with him was his 19 year old daughter, Mary M. and two sons, John R., age 15 and Jesse J., age 12. Also a 13 year old female with no relationship given - Annie Mason, age 13. His children and Annie were all born in Missouri.

The 1900 census for Grant Precinct, Hitchcock County, Nebraska shows Samuel Fisher, age 73, born June 1826 in Missouri, married 28 years, his parents were born in Kentucky, and he was a farmer. Listed in the household are: Betsey R., wife, born June 1880, age 59, had 12 children with 7 living; Richard, son, born Nov 1882, age 17; Otto, son born Oct 1885, age 14; Everett, daugt [sic, sex is male], born Oct 1886, age 13; and Edna, daughter, born Nov 1889, age 10. Betsey and the children were all born in Missouri.

Now, back to the pension file: In the letter submitted by the special examiner it states that Samuel "is drawing pension based upon the service of another man, although it is the service stated in his original declaration. How he came to hit upon that service is not clear, but there is nothing at this state of the investigation that indicates design or criminal intent."

It was recommended that his claim should be put on hold until it could be determined if the pensioner "was in the U. S. Service or not." For possible use in identification, a tintype picture of the man, taken about 20 years ago, was obtained, which is to be returned to the claimant. The examiner goes on to say "I do not put much reliance upon some of his statements regarding his services as he seemed to be somewhat muddled on this question." The examiner also recommended that the files of the two Samuel Fisher's should be separated to help eliminate future confusion. (Duh!)

On November 17, 1900 a letter was sent to Samuel Fisher at Trenton, Nebraska informing him that he would be dropped from the pension rolls because he was not the same Samuel Fisher who had served in Company A of the 9th Regiment Kansas Cavalry. He was officially dropped from the rolls on January 7, 1901 though he continued his battle for another four years. On October 11, 1905 his application was rejected "for the reason that the claimant has no title to pension. . . he did not render ninety days military service during the War of the Rebellion."

Back from Cuba and meet ‘Coralia’!

I’m just back from Cuba and not sure yet if I will be suffering from the infamous transcontinental jetlag malady (we will see!) but I was able to sleep nicely on the plane. It was quite a packed flight but fortunately we had 2 empty seats beside us that we were able to take advantage of.

So yeah, I have gone in hiding for almost 2 weeks. Internet is sadly a rarity in Cuba, it is almost non-existent. The country is frozen in time and internet is only for the privilege few over there. Most hotels starting from 4 stars have internet access (there is no wifi) and apart from having slow connections, they don’t work most of the time, and when there is rain, the country’s telephony infrastructure shuts down. No kidding. Hence, the silence in this blog.

But before I start with my Cuba blog entries, let me introduce to you an important person in Havana: ‘Coralia’ (or Coralla, or maybe Coralya?)

Meeting Coralia was one of my beautiful experiences in Havana City. I personally think that she is a heroine of the city. In her own right of course. She is Havana’s famous and affable street sweeper and she does her job exceptionally with flair. Such enthusiasm, superb grace and flower fashion that I have never ever seen before. Not from someone who sweeps the city streets while singing the whole day every day.

Yup, those are real flowers on her hair (hibiscus and a few others). She plucks them fresh from the gardens of Havana Vieja (Havana’s Old Town). I reckon she does this tradition on a daily basis. She even gave Blondine and I two hibiscus flowers! That was soooo sweet of her.

Coralia is such a joy on the streets of Old Havana.

If you happen to be in the city, do look for her and compliment her of her great deeds for serving Havana in her own unique, flamboyant and passionate way.

Coralia here in action with her broom and dustpan, and of course when she sees a camera nearby, she poses right away!

Blondine and I with Coralia, the friendly and flower power street sweeper of Havana. She is definitely a Havana street icon.

More Cuba stories, lots of pictures (I have more than 1700!) and a few videos very soon =).
Besos mi amigos y amigas!

Monday Mailbox: Cycling with Men vs Cycling with Women

Monday Mailbox is a weekly post dedicated to questions received over email. Here is one that taps into a popular topic:

Until now I've been cycling on my own, but I am considering club rides. I see that most cycling clubs in my area offer women's rides in addition to their regular [mixed gender] rides, with the idea that this helps women feel more comfortable. [Also,] talking to women [cyclists] I get the sense that riding with men is not such a nice experience. What are your impressions of cycling with men vs other women? Is there an advantage to women only rides?

From personal experience (as opposed to stories others tell me), I have not formed any generalised impressions of gender as tied to specific cycling behaviours.




For background: I occasionally take part in women-only club rides, as well as in mixed gender club rides. I also do lots of informal riding with 1-3 cycling buddies at a time, and the gender split there is roughly 50/50 (meaning, roughly half of my cycling buddies are men and half are women).




Among the people I ride with, I cannot say I notice a difference in riding style based on gender. Possibly this is because other differences are more prominent. For instance, there are experienced riders versus inexperienced ones. There are competitive riders versus non-competitive ones. Some riders are aggressive and take risks, while others are mellow and risk-averse. There is a category of riders who only talk about cycling while they're cycling (technique, nutrition, bikes), versus those who talk about anything but (philosophy, politics, gossip). I can think of other classification systems before gender starts to seem relevant.




As far as advantages to women-only rides... As I understand it, the assumptions there are that: (1) women enjoy the opportunity to socialise with other women, and (2) women feel less self-conscious without men around. If this applies to you, then that would certainly be the advantage. However, it does not apply to all women, including myself. Men don't inherently make me nervous, and women don't inherently put me at ease, it's really more about the individual. I'll join a women's ride if I want to ride that day, but not because it's a women's-only ride.




Judging by how often this topic comes up, I recognise it as a serious issue and don't mean to be dismissive. For women who, for whatever reason, feel uncomfortable riding with men, women-only club rides are a valuable resource. In that sense, I am glad that more of them are appearing all over.




But me, I'll ride with anyone. As long as they ride predictably and I can keep up. Conversation optional.

Big Cloud

We saw this really big nice looking thunderhead cloud on our way home from the Jemez

Old Friends and Fond Memories

Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. This photo was taken in December 1973, just a few weeks before I left Reykjavik, Iceland. It's really hard to believe that it was 35 years ago! My one-year tour of duty in Iceland was made much more pleasant because of their presence.

We stayed in touch for a while. . . Bob was onboard a ship heading for Japan about the time I left there in May 1979. I saw Sandy a couple of times before I went to Japan. John and his wife met me at the airport in Hawaii when I was on my way to Japan in May 1977 and I visited them in Seattle after my return. I have no idea what happened to Gary and Smitty. As often happens, we lost contact after a few years. I often wonder what became of them and some of the other friends I had while in the Navy. Occasionally I Google their names, but haven't found anything on them yet. I did get a couple of emails earlier this year from two of the girls with whom I went through bootcamp. They had found the posts on my letters from bootcamp. It was nice because I actually remembered who they were!

As my contribution to the 8th Edition of Smile For The Camera :: Stocking Stuffer, I would like to stuff this picture into the stockings of Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. Thanks for the memories!

Aunt Leah and Tatting

Dave Tabler's post this morning at Appalachian History on Reviving the ancient art of tatting reminded me of my aunt Eva Leah Wiseman Shock (my Dad's sister). Beside Aunt Leah's chair at her home in Goshen, Indiana was a bag full of thread. As she sat there visiting with my parents she'd pull out some weird looking thing and start to work. We weren't allowed to touch anything at her house, especially that bag. And, at the time, we didn't even know what she was doing. Years later my mom would tell us about Aunt Leah and her tatting.

Aunt Leah was born on February 4, 1908 in Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana and was the second child born to Elsie Shuder and Charles Wiseman. The day before Leah's 18th birthday her mother died in a fire that destroyed the small house the family was living in, and from what I've been told, devastated the family as well. There were seven other children in the household with Perry being the oldest at 19 years of age, and my Dad being the youngest, just a little over 2 years old.

In the 1930 Federal Census (Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, E.D. 43-20, sheet 6B) the five youngest children are enumerated in the household of their grandparents, Samuel and Amanda Wiseman. I haven't yet found Grandpa Charlie or Perry and Leah in the 1930 census yet so I don't know where they were living. It's possible that Grandpa Charlie was in jail. Newspaper clippings show that he was arrested numerous times between 1909 and well into the 1930's for fishing with a net, bootlegging, and other minor infractions of the law. It's no wonder that Aunt Leah ended up in a mental institution for a while. She would somehow eventually be rescued from that place by her future husband, Ervin Shock (we always called him Shocky). They were married on April 13, 1941 in Elkhart County and made their home at 321 ½ First Street in Goshen. First Street was the first street to the east of the Elkhart River, hence it's name. When we were older, the first place we'd head for when visiting Aunt Leah was the river and the park on the other side.

The photograph of Ervin and Eva Leah Shock, with her nephew Bill Conrad, was probably taken in 1941.





Mom says that Leah learned tatting from her grandmother, Amanda Minerva Alexander Wiseman. The skill was not passed down to the younger generation and there are not many examples of Aunt Leah's work left that I am aware of, except for several items that my cousin Caroline was given. Those are shown above. Aunt Leah passed away on January 9, 1967 at her home in Goshen and is buried next to her parents in the North Webster cemetery.

Blue Morning Glories