Justus Enlists to Fight in the Civil War

Justus Cheney
Born: May, 11, 1835; Hopkinton, New York
Died: June 3, 1864; Cold Harbor, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

Although there is conflicting information on the exact date, the records agree that Justus Cheney enlisted and mustered into the army to fight in the Civil War around this time 150 years ago (December 1863 / January 1864). As you remember, Justus's service was short; he died at Cold Harbor in June of 1864.

The exact enlistment dates are unknown; one record says he enlisted on December 18, 1863 and mustered in on December 29, 1863. Another record says he enlisted on December 29 and mustered in on January 19, 1864. I think the former record is more accurate.

Justus Cheney mustered in and joined the 7th NY Heavy Artillery (and here). The regiment started as the 113 NY Infantry Regiment in August 1862. It was reorganized in December of 1863 into an artillery regiment and two additional companies were organized - one in August of 1863 and the other in January of 1864. I am assuming that Justus's Company G was the one organized in January, 1864. Since this is an Albany regiment, it is unclear how exactly Justus joined the regiment.

The regiment was assigned to garrison duty in defense of Washington, DC. So I assume that Justus traveled from Hopkinton to Albany to Washington, DC. In May of 1864 the regiment leaves garrison duty and joins the Army of the Potomac, and in so doing joins the horrible carnage of the summer of 1864 in Virginia.

Black Friday and the Depression

Bruce Judson Cheney
Born: October 28, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather

Today marks the 84 year anniversary of Black Tuesday - the day the stock market lost the most value and signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. Half of my ancestors were in upstate New York working as dairy farmers. The other half were in New Jersey. My grandfather (aka PopPop aka Bruce Cheney) often talked about the depression. This quote from a Daily Record article in 2000 is similar to what I often remember him saying to us:

“We had a great generation,” Bruce Cheney said. “We went through the Depression. My mom and dad never had a car, but we didn’t know we were poor. We didn’t have much, but we had pride."

He often talked about how his parents never talked about the depression and often hid from him how hard those times were. Black Tuesday was the day after Bruce's 12th birthday, so he spent his teens in the great depression and his early adulthood was spend in World War II.

As you might guess from the quote, Bruce was a fan of Tom Brokaw's book The Greatest Generation (which had been a gift from my brother if I remember right).

Paulus and Williams: A Match Made in Scranton: Updated

Frederick (Friedrich) Paulus
Born: June 30, 1886, Pennsylvania
Died: March, 12, 1934, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather

Margaret (Margarite) Williams
Born: November 4, 1887, Neath(?), Pennsylvania
Died: March 4, 1972, Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother

Updated with New Information!!!
I found the 1900 Census for the Williams family, which allows me to add some missing information. 

My great grandfather, Frederick Paulus, was the son of German immigrants. My great grandmother, Margaret Williams, was the daughter of Welsh immigrants. Frederick and Margaret married in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where both families lived.

Since starting this project, I've wondered where in Scranton the two families lived and how Margaret and Frederick met. Census records tell us which wards in Scranton the families lived in and the map at bottom shows us where this was.

The Paulus family - father Christian Paulus, mother Charlotte Paulus, and 5 children - lived in ward 19 (bottom left - purple-ish color) in 1900 and 1910.

The Williams family - father Robert Williams, mother Elizabeth Thomas (married name Williams) and 7 children* lived in ward 1 (right - green) in 1900 and ward 2 (upper right - same purple-ish color) in 1910.

With the Paulus family on the south of the city and the Williams family in the north, it makes you wonder how two people, with different family histories and living in different neighborhoods (and probably not of the same religion) would have met, fell in love, and married.

So we don't know why or how they met, but we do know when the married. Margaret and Frederick married on May 31, 1910 (now over 103 years ago) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. They were married by R.J. Rees - Minister of the Gospel - and witnessed by August Engel and Louise Schneider.

The notes I have on the marriage say that Frederick was living in Wharton, New Jersey at the time and Margaret was still living in Scranton, Pennsylvania (1910 census records confirm this). So apparently Frederick had gone ahead to New Jersey to work.

By 1920, Frederick and Margaret had moved from Wharton to Roxbury / Kenvil, NJ and they had four children - Edna, Frederick, Alvin, and Elizabeth.

* Among other changes, the previous post said the Williams family had 4 children. After finding the 1900 Williams family in the census, it turns out there were 7 children living with the family at the time. By 1910, three are only four listed in the census - and the three missing names would have been 19 or older in 1910 so I assume they moved away.

A Trip to Europe!

Helen Leary (married name Keenan)
Born: November 4, 1909, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: May 1, 2004, Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence County, New York
Relation to Author: Grandmother

Catherine Leary
Born: October 7, 1907, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence, New York
Died: February 29, 1988, Plattsburgh, Clinton, New York
Relation to Author: Grand Aunt

A ship record that I found on Ancestry.com says that Helen and Catherine Leary arrived back in New York on this day, August 7, 1933, (70 years ago today) on a boat from Havre, France. My very educated guess, and my mother has confirmed this, is that they were in Europe visiting with their brother Arthur, who was studying at the American College, Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Arthur Leary was at Louvain from 1929 - 1934 (Louvain closed its doors in 2011).

Although I don't know their full itinerary, my mother (one of Helen's daughters) says they did travel around Europe, including Paris and Rome. If I get more information, I will update it. And if I find any pictures, I will definitely publish them.

I do find it remarkable that Helen and Catherine, from a small town in the North Country of New York, went so far away. I love traveling and I love that even back then they were able to travel.

By the way, the records say Helen and Catherine's address at the time was 15 Fairemount Blvd, Garden City, New York. Garden City is on Long Island, and so the two were at that point living together and teaching.

Alvin Paulus: WWII

Alvin Paulus
Born: September 17, 1915, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: October 6, 1995, Succasunna, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grand Uncle
Brother of Elizabeth Charlotte Paulus (married name Cheney)

On this date (July 20) 70 years ago Alvin Paulus enlisted in World War II. He enlisted in Newark, NJ, at the age of 27 (enlisting for the duration of the war plus six months). His enlistment came in the middle of America's involvement in the war - a year and a half after the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's declaration of war on Japan (December of 1941), but one year before D-Day (June 4, 1944) and two years before Japan surrendered (September 2, 1945).

In July of 1943, the course of the war was favoring the Allies in the Pacific - with the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal behind them. However progress was difficult and slow.

Alvin served through January 18, 1946. He served on the Pacific front as a journal clerk and later duty sergeant, working for the Chief of Section. He received the Bronze Star Medal - the fourth highest combat award of the US Armed Services - on August 6, 1945 for, "performing his duties in an outstanding manner," in support of the Chief of Section.

His Bronze Star document says, "During the period Technician Fourth Grade Paulus developed from a state of complete ignorance of army and office procedure to become a thoroughly competent and responsible non-commissioned officer in the 24th Division Intelligence Section." He apparently had no office training (his enlistment form says his civil occupation was in, "Semiskilled occupations in production of industrial chemicals") but seemed to pick things up very quickly and help out the last two years on the Pacific front.

He served at the following operations: Hollandia; Dutch New Guinea; Leyte; and Mindanao, Philippine Islands. He would later serve in Japan during the occupation. He achieved the rank of duty sergeant / staff sergeant - a non-commissioner officer (NCO). 

I have a copy of a history of the 24th Division. The history tells a lot about the military campaigns, particularly Leyte. However, I don't think it is particularly relevant and worth publishing any of here because I don't think Alvin saw any action and instead was doing office work. That's not to diminish his role, as the Bronze Star shows how important it was, but a book about combat history wouldn't show how a non-combatant spent time.

Remembering PopPop (Bruce Cheney)

Bruce Judson Cheney
Born: October 28, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather

Here are the remarks from Bruce's funeral - one year ago - given by his son Barry.

Bruce Judson Cheney was born October 28 1917 at the Cooper family home at 8 Lawrence Street. His father, William Judson Cheney, was a Semi-Pro Baseball Player who had come to Dover in 1906 to play, and was also a Post Office Clerk. His mother, Leila Horton Cooper, was a homemaker.

Bruce was an only child so he got lots of attention, especially from his Mother. He grew up on Ann Street. He was focused on sports in his youth and young adult years. In high school they did not have interscholastic basketball or baseball so he had to settle for intramurals winning championships for the Southside teams. He received his only Varsity letter for tennis. After high school and while working at Picatinny he played hardball and then softball usually as shortstop.

He was a passionate fan of the NY baseball Giants and could recount in vivid detail exactly where he was (work at Picatinny) and how he reacted when Bobby Thompson hit the “Shot heard around the World” in 1951 to win the NL pennant defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1992 I played a trick on him and enticed him to come with his grandson Brendan and I to a baseball card show. He didn't know that the show was attended by Bobby Thompson. At the card show, he got to sit and talk baseball with Bobby Thompson. He left walking on air in disbelief.

He met Betty at Picatinny in 1941. She was a typist and he was in Stores which included making routine deliveries to her building. It got to the point where he was hanging around so much talking to her that it was interfering with her work and she was afraid of getting in trouble. At some point he got the nerve to ask her out. Since he didn’t drive he had to take the trolley to Kenvil to pick her up for a date. There wasn't much to do in Kenvil, so they would usually take the trolley back to Dover.

They married May 23, 1943. Their first child was born with a congenital heart defect and lived only months. I arrived next followed by my brother Brian

Dad was never one to go far from home. After marrying they lived in Mine Hill for a short time, moved to Kenvil and in 1956 had the house built in Mt. Fern - always staying close to family.

Everything revolved around the family. It seemed that almost every Sunday was dinner with the Nanas and often times a “Sunday drive”. 

Dad’s five cousins were for the most part distant from Dover but he kept up letter correspondence throughout the years. His cousin Joyce and her family were in Pequannock and visits with them were enjoyed.

He adored his grandchildren and tried to spend as much time as possible in Warwick attending Church children’s choir, pageants and picnics, and their baseball and soccer games. He followed them closely thru college, writing occasional letters in the days of email. He would urge them to marry and have children so he could have great-grandchildren. He finally got his wish and although we don’t think he knew they were his he never forgot how to hold a baby and was happy and relaxed when they were in his arms.

He was a gentle, caring man who in addition to baseball loved to garden, vegetables and roses, and invariably carried with him a big welcoming smile. He kept that smile throughout his dementia years whenever he went out or received a visitor.

He was my coach, encourager, provider and friend.

His dementia over the last 2.5 years required continuous care. I am grateful that my brother Brian was willing to be the caregiver on a 24/7 basis over that time. I thank you for your dedication and compassion. It provided Dad with a familiar setting in which he was able to be comfortable. [Editor's note: Barry was in Dover almost every weekend to help with the care.]

Gettysburg: Judson Far Away

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On this date 150 years ago - and the succeeding two days (July 1-3) - the Battle of Gettysburg was fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It is considered the turning point of the Civil War, marking the "high water mark of the rebellion" and ending Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the north. There were an astounding 51,000 casualties.

Fortunately for Judson, at least for the time being, he was far away from the fighting. On this date, he was still in Beaufort, North Carolina. Although this is a turning point, the war will drag on for almost two more years. So there are many more very bloody battles to come, and Judson and his regiment will play their part.

Arrival: Christian Paulus

Christian Paulus
Born: June 28, 1851, Germany
Died: January 12, 1937
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather

Christian Paulus arrived in America from Germany on this date 133 years ago (June 18, 1880). The ship "Main" left from Bremen, Germany and landed in New York, New York. He did not go through Ellis Island because it did not open until 1892.

Two years after arriving, Christian married Charlotte Poelger (?) and two years after that their first child was born (Wilhelmina Paulus; 1884-?). Next came my great grandfather Friedrich Paulus (1886-1934), then William (1889), Louisa (1892), and Emilie (1894). By 1892 they were living in Scranton, PA, though they were probably there all along, since Friedrich's birth location in census records is listed as Pennsylvania.

For some context, when Christian arrived, Rutherford B. Hayes was finishing his presidency. James Garfield then won the 1880 presidential election (nominated by the Republicans over Ulysses S. Grant who was seeking a 3rd non-consecutive term) and is sworn in in 1881. Garfield was assassinated in 1881 and was succeeded by his vice president Chester A. Arthur. Then came Grover Cleveland followed by Benjamin Harrison, then Grover Cleveland again ... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

All kidding aside, Christian was arriving at a time where we don't remember much about the presidents or the politics (a big debate over the gold standard or free silver), but it was a stable time in America. The Civil War is 15 years behind us and we know now that the first World War is almost 30 years away.

In fact, the 1880s were one of the best times to come to America. Notice in the chart above that immigration in the 1880s (bar in orange) was the highest it had yet been and the third highest between 1820 and 1924. Not only was there no war, but the economy was stable, at least compared to the depressions of the 1890s.

In Immigration studies, people talk about push and pull. What conditions in the home country encouraged immigration (push) and what countries in the new host country encourage emmigration (pull). The relative stability in America during this time was an attractive pull.

We'll look at conditions in Germany in another post and see if there was any push.

Joseph Eisenberg and the Cossacks

Joseph Eisenberg
Born: 1875, Mizheric, near Vilna, Eastern Europe (Lithuania or Ukraine?)
Died: January 23, 1941, Brooklyn, NY
Relation to Author: Great Grandfather-in-Law

The NY Times had an article a little while ago about the return of the Cossacks. To me the interesting part of the story isn’t the scary ultra-nationalism hiding behind a thin vale of pride in their heritage. Instead, I was more interested in the history of the Cossacks as described in the article - especially because it is a much more helpful history than I had found on Wikipedia.

The history of the Cossacks is important to our genealogy research because the oral history of the Eisenberg family says Joseph was in a Cossack army. This new article could help us with our mystery about where Joseph and his family were from. In the article, it looks like the Cossacks were mostly in Southern Russia. This would put them, and therefore maybe Joseph, closer to Ukraine. So this puts doubt into the Lituania thesis.

This whole discussion though about Joseph Eisenberg's origins brings up two interesting points. First, it sheds some light on the reliability of oral histories. Any oral or written history should be taken with a grain of salt, especially third person (here Meyer is writing about his father's experiences). However, sometimes these oral histories are the only information we have.

The second point this discussion highlights is the existence of mysteries in genealogical research. To be sure, I am quite the novice when it comes to actual genealogical research. So hopefully with time and experience, I can figure this out. I might find out that the assumption everyone has been holding all along is true - that Joseph is in fact from Ukraine. Although hopefully I'll be able to put a thumbtack on a map with an actual location - which has been my goal all along. But I might not. This might remain a bit of a mystery.

The Vassarion!

Katharine Place (married name Adams)
Born: October 3, 1893, New York, New York
Died: July 3, 1983, Albany, New York
Relation to Author: Great Grandmother In-Law
Mother of Jean Place Adams

I love doing genealogy research and writing. But I will admit, so far I am mostly using information that my uncles and my grandfather in-law have already found. Every once in a while though I find something that no one else seems to have found. And those are my favorite things to share.

So behold Katharine Place's Vassar yearbook: The Vassarion.

The yearbook is from 1916 and her address is listed as 268 West 77th Street in New York City (a mere 35 blocks from where I sit right now). I gather this is where she was living with her parents, Ira Place and Katherine Burritt Gauntlett (married name Place).

The most curious thing about the yearbook though is the text that accompanies the photos. Katharine's says: "K is the pink of perfection when it comes to neatness - but what will she do with the dirt of Pittsburgh and vicinity?"

I haven't the slightest idea what that means. Maybe she had plans to go to Pittsburgh after Vassar? If so, I have no evidence (yet) that she ever went there. She was born and raised in New York City. She want to Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York. She married James Fairchild Adams in the fall of 1916 in New York City. And by 1920, she is settled in Albany with James.

My real question though is who wrote these strange little lines? The next person's doesn't seem very nice ("How to avoid academic work is an art with Babs"), which suggests the students were writing them for each other.

Anyway, it's a fun find, especially since it includes a picture. Enjoy!

The Big Painting

Ella Eudocia Flynt (married name Dewey)
Born: July 7, 1861, Monson, Massachusetts
Died: June 10, 1919
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandmother In-Law

The large oil painting pictured above hangs in the dining room in the house my wife grew up in. The oil painting is from 1909 and is of Ella Eudocia Flynt. I have had trouble remembering her name, maybe because it is often a name without context. So here is some context.

Ella Eudocia Flynt is my wife's 2nd great grandmother and the maternal grandmother of John Ballard Blake. Her parents were William Norcross Flynt (1818-1895) and Eudocia Carter Converse (married name Flynt, 1822-1906).

She was born in Monson, Massachusetts in 1861 - the year the American Civil War began. This means that she was 48 when she sat for the painting. And she died in 1919, just as World War I was ending, at the relatively young age of 57.

The 1880 census has her as a student in Northampton, Massachusetts (30ish miles northwest of Monson). My first guess was that she was attending Smith College.  This was confirmed by a quick Google search,  which turned up an Annual Register of the Alumni Association of Smith College with Ella's name listed. She attended Smith nine years after it was chartered and five years after it opened its doors. The census record has 56 people listed, four or five of which are likely teachers. Wikipedia says that when Smith opened in 1875 there were 14 students and six faculty.

Ella married William Child Dewey on October 3, 1883 (age 22) in Monson, Massachusetts. The alumni association book from 1917 says she was living at 236 Union Street in Springfield, Massachusetts (the 1910 census has the family at 240 Union Street in Springfield).

I don't know where Ella died. In 1910 and 1917 she was living in Springfield, Massachusetts. But in 1920, her widower William Dewey was living in Manhattan (at 105 East 15th Street). It is unclear whether they had both moved to Manhattan or whether he went there alone after her death.

I also don't know where she sat for the painting. I cannot find her or William Dewey in the 1900 census. We might guess that she was in Springfield in 1909 as she was in 1910 and 1917, but I don't want to assume that.

The Little Battle of Little Washington

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On this date, 150 years ago, Judson's 98th Regiment was involved in the Battle of Washington. This was a very minor engagement. There were fewer than 100 casualties on both sides.

William Kreuzter does not tell of this action, since he wasn't with the 98th regiment at the time. So I cannot provide any colorful details of the engagement. But I can tell you the general story.

After the failed attack on Charleston, many of the units returned to North Carolina. During that time, Judson's regiment and some others were called to support a 1,200 man garrison in Washington, North Carolina. The garrison was being besieged by a confederate force. The siege bad been going on since March 30th. Judson's regiment and others arrived by steamer from New Berne on April 19 to resupply and reinforce the town.

Since the confederates were unable to prevent the resupply and reinforcement, they abandoned the siege soon after. By April 21, Judson was back in the Beaufort area.

Judson and the Failed Attack on Charleston

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On this date, the union army attempted and failed an attack on Charleston, South Carolina.  Judson and the 98th Regiment had been stationed in St. Helena Island, South Carolina (just north of Hilton Head). Then, on April 5th they sailed to Edisto Island near Charleston.

As other brigades landed on Stono and then Folly Island, preparations for the land attack were made. On the 7th, the naval attack began. The attack was to begin with eight* or nine** ironclads (or monitors). The boats had no success damaging Fort Sumter and instead took heavy damage. They then retreated and the attack was ended without the army ever getting involved.

There were almost no casualties. Following this failed attack, the 98th New York returned to North Carolina in the Beaufort / Morehead City area, which is where they had been in January.

McPhearson gives some more context to this battle. Charleston, as the origination of the rebellion, held more symbolic than strategic value. So the failure to capture it at this point in the war was bad for morale, but otherwise was less important. He also says that this battle showed that the iron-clad boats could withstand quite a beating but were offensively weak. They got off only 140 shots and inflicted limited damage, compared to the 2,200 from the rebel bases directed at the boats.


* Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Ear, by James M. McPhearson. p 646
**The Civil War Battlefield Guide, p 191

An Update on Judson and the Autumn of 1862

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

I just updated a previous post about Judson's time at Yorktown to include what he missed while his regiment stayed behind after the Seven Days Battles. I think it is worth mentioning here in a new post because you might not have noticed the update.

In the fall of 1862, while Judon's regiment stayed at Yorktown (remember - the Elysian Fields as Kreutzer called them), the rest of the Army of the Potomac under McClellan moved back up the Chesapeake Bay with the intention of joining Major General Pope in Virginia, halfway between Washington, DC and Richmond, Virginia. 

During the rest of that summer and fall, those troops fought two major battles (and should have joined at Second Manassas), both really bad for the Union: Antietam (12,400 Union casualties, though a victory of sorts - or enough of one for Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation), and Fredericksburg (12,600 Union casualties).

I think what we'll see as we continue to follow the Cheneys through the war is how luck and randomness affect their lives. The chances of survival change depending on where your army is stationed, what tasks are asked of it, and more importantly, where on the battlefield are they located. Judson Cheney was lucky to be located away from fighting during the fall of 1862. But he eventually rejoined the Army of the Potomac and his luck ran out. Justice Cheney was very unlucky to be stationed on the front lines at Cold Harbor.

Although looking at these two examples, it feels that luck just meant when you died, not if.

The League of Extraordinary Dairymen

Hubert Keenan
Born: March 20, 1907, St. Lawrence, NY
Died: November 14, 1984, North Lawrence, St. Lawrence NY
Relation to Author: Grandfather

My mother grew up on a dairy farm. I have been asking her what she remembers about it. Since they sold the cows when she was around 10 years old (after Hubert's heart attack), she doesn't remember a lot. I'll need to get more info from her siblings. But one thing she does remember is that her dad belonged to the dairy cooperative in New York State.

That dairy cooperative is Dairylea, which started as the Dairymen's League. Dairylea started in Orange County, New York in 1907 and they claim it was one of the first cooperatives in America.

In order to obtain fair pricing and guarantee a market for all of its members' milk, the Dairymen's League Cooperative Association, Inc. began operating its own processing and manufacturing plants. 

They sold the milk they processed under the label Dairylea.

Dairylea fought for better prices and conditions for its dairy farmers. They had milk strikes in 1916 and 1919. In 1922 they helped write the Capper Volstead Act - referred to as the Magna Carta of cooperatives. The law exempts cooperatives from certain anti-trust laws. And in 1926 they helped get another law passed that strengthened USDA support for cooperatives.

Hubert wouldn't have been involved in Dairylea until after the milk strikes and Capper Volstead. But he might have been involved in 1937 when, 

"The League-sponsored Rogers-Allen Bill is approved by the New York State Legislature. The new law permits farmer co-ops to act together to bargain for higher milk prices. This led to the formation of the new Metropolitan Cooperative Milk Producers Bargaining Agency with 100 co-ops."

The James Sisters

Grace Fairchild James
Born: October 6, 1864, New York
Died: January 24, 1944
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandmother In-Law

The genealogy site Ancestry.com has its strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't have a lot of actual obituaries, birth certificates or death certificates. But it is great for census records and some military records. It also has a lot of ship arrival information. And once in a while, it can be a good source of pictures shared by other users.

The picture in this post is one good example. It is a picture of Grace Fairchild James and her sisters. This picture hadn't been in my wife's family that anyone can remember. Now it is. Enjoy.

From left to right (according to the user who shared this picture) are, Ida (born: abt 1872), Grace (b 1864), Gertrude ("Ted" - born: abt 1867), Alice (born: abt 1864), Mary ("Belle" - born: abt 1862) and Ethel (born: abt 1877), the youngest. Note that Grace and Alice both have 1864 as their birth year. They are not however twins. The 1880 census is not precise enough to give us birthdays but it says that Alice was 16 and Grace 15. 

The picture was taken in 1889 - the year that Grace married William Crittenden Adams. I don't know though whether the picture was taken before or after her marriage. 

Judson's Trip South

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On this date, 150 years ago, Judson Cheney was stationed with the 98th Regiment on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The last time I wrote, he was still in North Carolina, in a hamlet called Carolina City near Morehead City. Before that he was still on the Virginia Peninsula. In this post, I will take you with Judson from Virginia in late December to North Carolina for 20 days then down to South Carolina.

On December 27th, the 98th NY left Yorktown, Virginia on a side-wheel steamer called the New York City.  That steamer was found to be unfit while they parked at Fortress Monroe, after which they boarded the Cahawba. They sailed under sealed orders which were to be opened only after being 30 miles south of the Cape. The orders instructed them to report to New Berne, North Carolina, via Beaufort harbor.

Unfortunately for the troops, the weather was bad and the trip was difficult. Kreutzer, mentions how few of his troops were used to life on the ocean, especially stormy seas, and I can't help think that he includes Judson in that description - having grown up in the North Country of New York State.

The other boat in the consort "floated away into the ocean" though it would make its way safely to Beaufort Harbor and join the 98th only a few days late.

That night, while making their way down the coast, the 98th NY saw the iron-clad Monitor being towed and "rocking in the waves." The crew on board the Cahawba watched the Monitor anxiously, worried for its safety. They were right to be concerned, the famous and first Union iron-clad sank later that night in the storm killing some of its officers and crew.

Kreutzer, always the poet, says of the trip,

Of our brigade no living thing was lost; but one mule jumped overboard, and sacrificed himself to Neptune, the ruler of the sea. The sacrifice worked like a charm; the offended deity was appeased.

Arriving at Beaufort, they marched up the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad and went into camp in "Carolina City" just three miles from Morehead City, never going all the way to New Berne. There they stayed for 20 days, where it snowed a little and the temperature was near the freezing point. But camp duty was light, as there was no need for guards, picket-duty was light, and there was no drilling. In fact, life was so easy these 20 days that the 104th Pennsylvania glee club put on a musical.

On the afternoon of January 29th, after days waiting for good weather, and more days before that waiting for all of the boats, the 98th sailed south, again under sealed orders. There were 30 vessels and steam-transports and over 12,000 men.

When it grew dark, the expedition presented one of the most charming sights we ever beheld at sea. Each vessel carried at its masthead a light, and their long line, following behind us [the 98th was on the Cahawba, which was the flagship], formed an illuminated avenue on the wild waste of waters. 

They arrived at Hilton Head on January 31st. They remained on transports until February 9th when they began to move ashore to St. Helena Island, South Carolina.

The vessels anchored near shore; the men went off in scows and surfboats, and reched the land after wading in sand and water. In that way, having no wharf, it took all day to unload a vessel of its men, baggage, and stores. At night, the troops stacked arms in line of battle and lay down on the ground to sleep.

Port Royal harbor at the time of their arrival was serving as a marine depot for the Union. St. Helena Island, 16 miles long by 3 miles at the most wide, was previously about 300 plantations. Kreutzer tells us that the Southern plantation owners were not industrious and since being taken back by the Union, northerns had moved down to take over the plantations.

With the Union troops now added to the island, the scenery included slaves moving around mixed with troops wandering, men on drill and march, and at night a thousand camp-fires and many thousand men on the ground sleeping and boat-lamps gleaming from the masts of dozens of boats.*

During this time, Kreuzter also tells of a seemingly petty but drawn out squabble over chain of command. It is too confusing to recount or even understand, but also sad to see such behavior during such an awful war. 

Judson and the 98th will spend the rest of the winter here. Since Kreutzer tells us that it wasn't a secret at the time, I won't keep it a secret from you now. All the troops and boats around Hilton Head were waiting and preparing for an attack on Charleston, South Carolina in the spring. In April, we'll see how it turned out.

Works Cited
*Notes and Observations Made During Four Years of Service with the 98th New York Volunteers in the War of 1861. William Kreutzer. 

Bruce Cheney: I Worshiped Baseball

Bruce Judson Cheney
Born: October 28, 1917, Morris County, New Jersey
Died: July 16, 2012, Morris County, New Jersey
Relation to Author: Grandfather

I recently remembered seeing an article featuring my grandfather, Bruce Cheney, and his baseball playing days. I found the old story - from April 3, 2000 in the Daily Record with the headline "Back in the Heyday of Morris Baseball". The author of the article has a blog with the full article.

It is worth reading in full for a long description of baseball in the early- and mid-1900s. The article also talks about Bruce's father, William Cheney, (and in the future I hope to have a long series of posts on his baseball career). But I will highlight the parts that feature Bruce. 

“I worshiped baseball,” Bruce Cheney of Randolph said. “I played so much that one night my mother came into my room and said, ‘I’m taking this glove out of here.” A game between Victory Athletic Club and the East Dover Field Club at the old field on South Salem Street could draw a couple hundred fans, Cheney said, recalling the 1930s and 40s.

[Edit]

“I was a good glove man,” he said about a career that included stints with the Picatinny team, St. Mary’s, Alan Wood, Victory Gardens and a tryout with the Hilltop Athletic Club of Dover.

In 1946 or 1947, he said, a friend told him the Hilltop club needed a good infielder, so he tried out.

“He told the manager I was a good glove, and wouldn’t you know, at the plate I hit the ball all over the place, but in the field, I couldn’t catch a ball,” he said.

What is interesting is realizing that Bruce and the others in the article were playing in well-attended, competitive, town baseball leagues for grownups. We don't have anything like that anymore. Now, high school and college sports attract widespread fans and interest, as do the professional leagues and to a much lesser extent, their minor league affiliates.

But try to imagine a baseball league that is not affiliated with any professional teams, features local athletes, and where the local residents follow the results and go to the games. Sounds like fun!

Grand Central Was Born: Thanks Ira Place

Ira Adelbert Place
Born: May 8, 1854, New York, NY
Died: January 24, 1928, New York, NY
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather In-Law

On this date 100 years ago, Grand Central Station opened. Grand Central was built by New York Central and Harlem River Railroad, where Ira Place was a vice president.

Grand Central station is proudly celebrating this anniversary with advertisements around the city, TV programs on the history, and information and history on its website. You can go through the timeline on the website here. The description of the opening says:

Grand Central Terminal officially opened to great fanfare at 12:01 am on Sunday, February 2, 1913, and more than 150,000 people visited the new terminal on its opening day. Although construction was not yet entirely complete, Grand Central Terminal had arrived and New York City would never be the same again.

The timeline further says that the new station was constructed to expand and upgrade the lines to electric (the announcement of the new station came in 1902, one week after a deadly collision between steam locomotives) and would feature a double level terminal.

Ira Place was not a vice president during the entirety of the development and construction but based on his positions would likely have been involved. According to his obituary in the Cornell Alumni News, he became General Attorney at Hudson River Railroad Company (a part of Vanderbilt's New York Central and Hudson River Railroad) in 1902. In 1906 he became a vice president of New York Central.

In addition to his titles at the railroad, we have another piece of evidence that he likely had an important role with the station's development. In 1910 Ira sent a letter to the New York Times with details about the station as it was being constructed, which led to an article in the Times describing his letter and the plans.

So while everyone is celebrating this historic and beautiful station, we can also celebrate Ira's role.

Lincoln the Movie: Cold Harbor Reference

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
Born: May 11, 1835, Hopkinton, NY
Died: June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, VA
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle
Brother of 2nd great grandfather, Jesse Cheney

Two weeks ago I went with my father to see Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. During the movie, there is one scene that brings the Civil War home to me, because it mentions the battle where one of my ancestors died. As you'll remember, I wrote in a previous post that Justice* Cheney died at Cold Harbor. During the very powerful scene where the President and First Lady are fighting, Mary Todd Lincoln references Cold Harbor (here is a link to the script):

MARY: The war will take our son! A sniper, or a shrapnel shell! Or typhus, same as took Willie, it takes hundreds of boys a day! He’ll die, uselessly, and how will I ever forgive you? Most men, their firstborn is their favorite, but you, you’ve always blamed Robert for being born, for trapping you in a marriage that’s only ever given you grief and caused you regret!

LINCOLN: That’s not true -

MARY: And if the slaughter of Cold Harbor is on your hands same as Grant, God help us! We’ll pay for the oceans of spilled blood you’ve sanctioned, the uncountable corpses we’ll be made to pay with our son’s dear blood -

- Lincoln rises from the window seat, angry. -

LINCOLN: Just, just this once, Mrs. Lincoln, I demand of you to try and take the liberal and not the selfish point of view! You imagine Robert will forgive us if we continue to stifle his very natural ambition?!

MARY (with a mocking smile): And if I refuse to take the high road, if I won’t take up the rough old cross, will you threaten me again with the madhouse, as you did when I couldn’t stop crying over Willie, when I showed you what heartbreak, real heartbreak looked like, and you hadn’t the courage to countenance it, to help me -

What this highlights to me (once again) is how bloody that battle was perceived to be and how much that blood was blamed on Grant. So when Mary Lincoln talks about the blood spilled, she is talking about Justice Cheney, among many others. 


*The original version of this post incorrectly had Judson's name here.  

Judson in North Carolina

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

On this date 150 years ago, Judson Cheney and the 98th NY regiment were stationed in North Carolina at Carolina City. He wasn't here long. He left Virginia on December 31 and will leave here for South Carolina by January 20th.

In a future post, I will report on the journey to North Carolina and the subsequent journey to South Carolina. But since I am short on time and Judson wasn't in North Carolina long, I at least wanted to check in so you knew where he has been the past few weeks. 
View Moorehead City - Judson in a larger map

Judson Cheney: Elysian Fields

Judson Cheney
Born: May 11, 1838, Hopkinton, St. Lawrence County, New York
Died: September 29, 1864, Chaffin Farm, Virginia
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle

When we last saw our hero, he was with the Army of the Potomac, running away from Richmond by way of the Seven Days Battles. The battles were done and the armies separate by July 4th and the Union army found itself in Harrison's Landing. On July 7th, President Lincoln reviewed the army there. If Judson was with his regiment that day, he would have seen the president. Kreutzer describes Lincoln this way:

Every one who has seen Mr. Lincoln has remarked the "dejected 'havior of his visage," the thoughtful cast of his countenance, recalling forcibly the picture of Don Quixote, the Knight of the Rueful Countenance. To us he appeared that day "drooping, woful, wan, like one forlorn, or crazed with care."

Kreutzer tells us that the colonel of the 98th forgot to instruct his men to cheer as Lincoln passed, so McClellan, who was riding behind Lincoln, had to remind them. Whereby the men overdid their cheer a bit to make up for the lapse.

While at Harrison's Landing, "Our quarters had never been so comfortable, and our duty on picket never so light," said Kreutzer. The army didn't stay long at Harrison's Landing - on August 4th McClellan was ordered to leave the Virginia peninsula. On August 17th, the army moved out. The hardest day of marching, at least for the 98th New York was the 19th - they marched 21 miles. Kreutzer he says it was the hottest hardest march they ever made. On August 22nd they arrived at Yorktown, where they 98th stayed, while much of the rest of the army boarded boats and moved back up the Potomac with plans to join Major General John Pope's army in northern Virginia.* 

Again, I'll let Kreutzer tell us about life at Yorktown:

On the high bluffs of the York, we have a splendid cam, we have rest and ease, the necessities and the luxuries of life. The river supplies us with fish and cansvas-backs and the best oysters. The markets of Fortress Monroe, Norfolk, and Baltimore are at our command. We have Northern papers and a daily mail. We say, "The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, eat drink, and be merry." While we breathe, let us live.

...

The garrison remained at Yorktown until the 28th of December, and was engaged in drilling, leveling the old fortifications, and making forays into the enemy's country towards Fredericksburg. The object of these was to capture horeses, grain, stock, and to destroy some salt-works along the shore of the Chesapeake.

...

There sitting in our tents during the quiet, still days of August, we fancied that we heard in the air, along the ground, dull, heavy sounds coming from Pope's artillery fighting between Germantown, Sudley Springs, Gainesville, and Manassas junction, the battles of Bull-run, nearly one hundred miles away.

Although picket duty was said to be tough during the colder months, it was otherwise a relatively easy time for the NY 98th. As they leave on December 28th (150 years and 8 days ago), Kreutzer, ever the poet, says:

York River, Chesapeake bay, and Hampton Roads were like the Elysian Fields to us. Happy with every want supplied, on them we idling dreamed the autumnal days of 1862 away. Farewell happy field, where joy forever dwells: "In dreams, I revisit thy sea-beaten shore."

So Judson and the 98th say goodbye to relative peace and quiet at Yorktown and board a steamer for North Carolina.

Update:
One thing I really neglected to mention here is what Judson and his regiment missed while staying behind in Yorktown. The rest of the troops that were part of the penninsula campaign under McClellan - the Army of the Potomac - went back up the Chesapeake with the intention of joining Major General Pope in Virginia halfway between Richmond and Washington, DC.

During the rest of that summer and fall, those troops fought two major battles (and some it seems some should have participated in Second Manassas**), both really bad for the Union: Antietam (12,400 Union casualties, though a victory of sorts), and Fredericksburg (12,600 Union casualties). So while Judson was relaxing in the Elysian Fields, his fellow soldiers on the east coast were fighting in very bloody battles and losing. He was lucky.

But we know that his luck didn't last forever. By June of 1864 if not sooner, his regiment was back with the Army of the Potomac and participating in the major battles against General Lee's army of Northern Virginia. 



*An earlier version of this post had said Washington, DC (?). I hadn't made time to find out where the rest of the army had actually gone. 

** I published this update before realizing that McClellan's troops never made it in time to join Pope before Second Manassas.

I'll be honest, tracking the armies isn't as easy as I think it should be. I still am not quite sure where McClellan's troops went from the peninsula - Washington, DC? Alexandria, Virginia? Did they make it to the Rapahannock River? We do know that after Manassas, the Pope's army and McClellan's were joined and they moved north to meet Lee's invading army.