What happened to "them"?

English: View into Depot Town in Ypsilanti, MI, from the Cross St bridge over the Huron River, looking down Cross Street to the River St intersection and beyond. This was taken in October 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I knew something had happened to them. At first I thought the "them" was made up of three, then after finding the youngest of the "them" alive and well as a married adult, I sighed with relief.

Only 2 of "them" missing.

I've written about the name "Alice" being used in my family before. My Gran and her mother, my "Boo", were both named Alice, and I have some cousins named Alice as well. So when I traced back Boo's father, Daniel Rook Vaughan, to the 1850 census and found him with his parents, Benjamin Brown & Susanna Vaughan, and his 2 sisters, Prudence and Alice, I thought to myself, "Huh. So this is the Alice whom everyone is named after." {The Alice who my daughter wishes I had named her after.} {And Vyla's -- one of my Boo's younger sisters -- middle name is Prudence.}

By the 1860 census, part of the family seems to fall off the grid. Daniel is living with his grandmother, Margaret Barbara Rook, a couple of aunts, and an uncle there in Ypsilanti. His older sister Prudence is living across the border in Ohio with a family that seemingly has no connection to her {I've looked. But don't you go look because I'm not done trying to figure it out. I'm stubborn like that.}, but she's about 18 miles from her uncle, her father's brother -- Harmon Vaughan.

No Benjamin. No Susanna. No Alice.

Or so I thought. I did some census voodoo and traced all of the people named Alice I could find born in Michigan in about March of 1850 with a mother born in New York and a father born in Canada. {On the 1850 census, they list her age in months.} And I found one who seemed to move around a bit because she was married to a preacher -- an aptly named man by the name of Almond Parsons --  who must have traveled a circuit of some kind in lower Michigan where Ypsilanti is located. After skippity-doo-dahing across southern Michigan, they settle in Kalamazoo, Michigan {which is almost as fun to say as Ypsilanti, Washtenaw, Michigan where Alice was born}. Finally, she is found in the 1940 census living with her daughter Nellie and family at the age of 90, and Alice Barbara Parsons passes away 4 years later in 1944. I did discover her and the Reverend's other child as well, but I'll save that story for another day. {I'm evil like that.}

So I found Alice. {Of course, that begs the question, "Who was this Alice named after?" A relative, a friend, a pet cat? I'll keep my suspicions to myself for now.}

But what happened to Benjamin Brown & Susanna (Rook) Vaughan -- Prudence's, Daniel's, and Alice's parents? I consulted The History of Ypsilanti by Harvey C. Colburn at The Clayton {Amy Coffin's nickname for the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research}, and in it I found the Hawkins family mentioned. This was an important clue because my fourth great-grandfather's second wife in Ypsilanti was a Hester A. Hawkins and they live near a Hawkins family in Ypsilanti in a couple of censuses. {And Ypsilanti is a wee town -- then and now.} I then found a John Vaughan mentioned in the book as a vestry member and as a sexton for St. Luke's Episcopal Church there in Ypsilanti which is still open today. {In fact, I started following the church's Facebook Page because there's something about following your 4th great grandparent's church on Facebook, especially since I'm Episcopalian too.}

Finding a John Vaughan mentioned as a member of the Episcopalian Church was another important clue because I had already found Benjamin's baptismal record near Iberville, Quebec in Anglican records in Caldwell's Manor (Foucault) and Christie's Manor (Noyan) naming his parents as John T. & Prudence (Brown) Vaughan. I knew my John had been an Anglican/Episcopalian. Had he remained in the same denomination after they immigrated to America?

So I emailed St. Luke's and asked where their church records for the 1800s were archived, and they said they were located at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. So I had a look-see at their website and found, at the time, all lookups needed to be in person. Then I checked the catalog on FamilySearch.org, but they hadn't been filmed. So I put it off, and then picked the trail back up when I decided to apply for Daughter's of the American Revolution membership and United Empire Loyalist membership through Daniel's maternal and paternal lines, respectively. At the same time. {There's just something about a Civil War musician's mother's line being a Patriot line and his father's line being a Loyalist line, no?}

I thought perhaps I'd need to hire someone to go through those church records because I couldn't figure out how to convince my family that a family vacation to Michigan was a fabulous idea. They tend to like the Gulf Coast beaches in the summer. Go figure.

But then I checked FamilySearch.org again -- about two years later -- and found they'd been filmed. Well, at least the parish records containing baptisms, confirmations, burials, etc., had been filmed. The vestry minutes have not been filmed. But a girl can't be picky, right? {And all of  this is why I don't really think I have too many research brick walls. Many times -- for one reason or another -- I just haven't looked everywhere yet.}

So I ordered/rented the film for St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan from the FHL {Family History Library} and had it sent to my local library, MCML, {My nickname for the Montgomery County Memorial Library System.}, which recently became an affiliate of the FHL. 

Had my 4th great grandfather, John T. Vaughan, been on the vestry at St. Luke's? Had he and his family worshiped there? Had Daniel been baptized there? More importantly, would I finally have my answers to what happened to my 3rd great grandparents, Benjamin Brown & Susanna (Rook) Vaughan?

Would my answers be on that microfilm roll tucked in a little white box?

Would I find out what happened to "them"?

~Caroline

Note: Sources available upon request because if you think we're related, then contact me and we'll figure it out together. My email is up at the top of this blog page sort of on the right side in the Nav Bar.

DAR, Some Secrets, Brother Ed, and the Mayans

US Navy 060417-N-8157C-162 The American flag flies prominently during the World Patriot Tour performance at Hickam Air Force Base (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every time I go to a DAR event [and I'd say even the meetings are events...pomp and circumstance...which is a very nice surprise amidst my usual days filled with mediocrity] and every time I go to my GenSoc meetings, I feel the pressure to get my DAR app completed.

It's not a bad kind of pressure, and it certainly comes from myself. So while working on several app reviews for my 4YourFamilyStory.com site and while monitoring the new Google Plus Communities that Kenneth R. Marks [from TheAncestorHunt.com blog] and I created and while Christmas shopping, I've been going over my research plans trying to figure out what I need to do so I can get my DAR [Daughter of the American Revolution] and my UEL [United Empire Loyalist] applications completed.

And then I got my 23andMe DNA results and I was sidetracked for a while. {And, no, the results won't help me with this research problem. That would have been nice though.}

But now I'm back.

So. I thought I'd list what I need to do next. {And, no, this is not my research plan, my research plans, or my research log. This is a very informal update of where I am and what I plan to do next and some of the reasons why. My formal research plans and research log are located in OneNote in table and narrative formats.} 

After consulting with my DAR Chapter's Registrar by phone a month ago, I found that I don't need to take my supposed Patriot line back to my supposed-but-proven-for-others-Patriot, Melchior Stock because his son, who is my proposed ancestor, Matthias Stock is also a proven-for-others-Patriot. [That's right 2 of them are proven Patriots.] But? I don't even have to prove Matthias' relationship to his son Michael Stock/Stuck [my ancestor] because it's already been done via another descendant of Michael's, through one of his sons.

Now, I don't descend through that same son of Michael's. Nope. I descend through one of his daughters, Margaret Barbara Stuck who married a Mr. Rook and their daughter, Susannah Rook married Benjamin Brown Vaughan, and it's through their son, Daniel Rook Vaughan, that I descend.

Well, him and the very Catholic Annie J. O'Brien from Ireland.

{As a sidenote, my cousin who descends from Daniel and Annie & who found me through this blog, is coming to Texas in January to photograph tombstones, including Daniel's and Annie's. And since I think I found it last year, but it's broken and was too heavy to turn over and verify, we're looking into identifying it and getting it repaired. So we've been collaborating on family info and such via email. Bonus!}

Anywho. My work was lessened somewhat by my local DAR Chapter's Registrar and I found a cousin and I got my DNA test results back. It's raining genealogy here, no?

Oh, and I checked with my local DAR Chapter's Regent about my grandfather. {We're in the same GenSoc and I strategically sat by her at the Christmas Party a little over a week ago, which was a blast, BTW.} Anywho, I told her about my grandfather probably not being divorced before he married my Gran, and she asked if they'd married, and I said yes, and she said no problem. So. My wayward grandfather isn't going to be a stumbling block on my road to DAR membership. {At least, not yet.}

So. Here's what I still need to get and what I have for each generation:

My Birth & Marriage: No prob. Got those.

My parents BMDs: No prob. Got those. [Well, it is a problem that I have their D's, but there's not much I can do about it.]

My Mom's Parents:

Mary Alice Velda Truitt Blacketer {or my Gran}

Death - Can I order a copy of my Gran's death certificate? No. Her death occurred less than 25 years ago here in Texas and for recent deaths {less than 25 years} only immediate-to-her family members can order them. So. I have one aunt and a couple of uncles that could order it, but I'm not close to them nor in touch with them. However, I do have an aunt-by-marriage that I am in touch with so I can ask her if she happens to have a copy. If not, then I'll need to turn to some secondary documentation. An obit would be nice and since I was there at my Gran's funeral and know that my Mom created the obituary, I happen to know my Gran had one. So I need to look for that. She does appear in the Texas Death Index as well as the SSDI. So once I get a copy of her obituary, I can send off for a copy of her Social Security Application. Also, when I go to San Antonio, I need to visit Gran and snap a photo of her tombstone. {Of course, tombstones can be wrong and not very reliable information-wise - especially for birth info - but I'd like it for my records. And I'll be there, so why not?}

Birth - The problem with her birth is that it seems to vary by 1 or 2 years in the census records {which is not unusual, but in her case it doesn't make sense because of her birthday versus the date of enumeration on the census records} and is {maybe} unclear on her U.S. Passport Application. And I'll write more in detail later after I try to obtain some better documentation, which brings me to her Good-Better-Best documentation options for her birth event.

Best case scenario would be a copy of her birth record. However, according to The Family Tree Resource Book for Genealogists: The Essential Guide to American County and Town Sources, edited by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Erin Nevius, statewide birth recordings didn't start until 1914 in Louisiana; Rapides Parish is an original Parish; and there is no information listed for birth records in the Parish at all (pp.282-283 and pp. 293-294). And further general information about birth records is given for after statewide recordings began and Catholic church records are suggested for before (pp.282-283). Additionally, a survey of Clayton Library for Genealogical Research's Microprint Collection and their online card catalog yielded nothing for finding birth records before statewide recordings in Louisiana around my Gran's birth year. And a look at FamilySearch.org's online databases as well as their online card catalog yielded nothing as well as for birth records for Rapides Parish, Louisiana before statewide recordings of births and for around the time she was born. So, unless someone out there knows of anything else, I'm going to say - right now - that it probably doesn't exist.

St Mary's Catholic Church, San Antonio (Photo credit: Rennett Stowe)

Better case scenario would be her baptismal record. I found on an index on FamilySearch.org that she was baptized in San Antonio, Texas in 1913 at St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown. So after such a resounding success with obtaining my Boo's {Gran's mother} baptismal record from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archives, I thought this might not be as difficult as I once thought. However, I talked to a very over-worked Brother Ed at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, and they're understaffed. 

In fact, it's just Brother Ed. 

Archiving all by himself. 

And he's 'swamped'.

And he informed me it'd be quicker if I could just come down there and do it myself. 

Challenge accepted, Brother Ed. 

So. A trip to San Antonio {3 hours away} to rummage around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives looking for my Gran's baptismal record is now on my agenda.

Good case scenario would be a copy of her Social Security Application, it should have her birth date and place and her parent's names, but depending on when that was applied for, this will more than likely be a secondary document for her birth information and second best to her baptismal record, in my opinion, even though she would probably have needed her birth certificate {which I think doesn't exist}or an affidavit to apply for it, but it's direct because it should answer the question of her birth event. 

And this is the thinking behind my opinion: If her 'later' baptism was in 1913, then her baptismal record would be preferable because that would have been created closer to the event of her birth. And would clear up {or maybe not} her birth year.

squared circle - mayan calendar (Photo credit: Thom Watson)

But then what evidence did they provide for her Social Security Application and what, if any, did they provide for her baptism? Thus, I'm gonna try to get both. So, we'll see what we can get. And we'll see what we can see with what we get. {And perhaps her SSA is the better case scenario and her baptismal record is the good case scenario.}

{My suspicion is that my Gran was born before my Boo and Claudius were married and my very Catholic Boo tried to keep this under wraps. {And may be the reason my Gran was born in Cheneyville, Rapides Parish, Louisiana while the rest of the family was in Texas.} So, through trying to find evidence, I'll be exposing her secret, which I'm sure I'm going to hear about it from her in the After Life, which may be tomorrow, according to the Mayans.

So I need to collect what evidence I can, and write a proof argument for her birth based on the evidence and my interpretation of the evidence. {But not before tomorrow because I may not have to do the work.}

Marriage - Speaking of rummaging around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, I might as well look for my Gran's and my naughty grandfather's {James Wesley Blacketer} marriage record, or blessing, or whatever. From the various indices found on FamilySearch.org, I've {intelligently, I think} guessed {and maybe incorrectly} that they had a civil marriage that was later blessed by a Father So-n-So at St. Mary's Catholic Church, downtown San Antonio. {More on my  guess below.} 

And then I'll go downtown to the courthouse and look for their civil marriage record and their divorce record. {Thanks to my Big Paw Paw's, my Dad's Dad, penchant for women and lawsuits in Bexar County, I know where to go for divorce records.}

Ironically and coincidentally, the courthouse is right next door to...

 {wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...} 

...St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown San Antonio. So. I'll snap a pic of that. {And perhaps I'll partake of some Holy Water on the forehead, some prayer, and maybe even light a candle. Lord knows my family lines and research need it, eh?}

James Wesley Blacketer {My naughty grandfather. The naughty one that is NOT Big Paw Paw, who also happens to be quite naughty in his own right and lived in San Antonio as well.}

Death - I have his death certificate compliments of FamilySearch.org and I already visited him at his grave located at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio and snapped a photo of his tombstone. {But his birth date is off by 2 years on his tombstone.} Oh, and I have his 2 obituaries, which the second has proven to be quite enlightening on some future stories of him, but nothing I need for my applications.

Birth - According to all documentation that I've collected on him, he was born in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Now, according to Iowa, I can order it as long as no one really dwells too much on the 'legal' part. {You know, that part where I'm not quite too sure he ever divorced his first wife before he married my Gran.} But while searching in FamilySearch.org, an index indicates that he was baptized a month after his marriage to my Gran at St. Mary's Catholic Church downtown San Antonio. 

Now, why would he do that? Simple. {I think.} To get the marriage blessed by the Catholic Church. Because if you don't think that my Gran's Gran, the very Catholic Annie O'Brien from Ireland and her mother, my very Catholic Boo {Alice Florence Vaughan Truitt} weren't fit to be tied when they found out about my Gran entering into marital bliss with James via a civil union, you're just plain crazy. Well, that's my {maybe intelligent but could be very wrong} guess anyways. 

So. While I'm rummaging around the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives for my Gran's baptismal record and their marriage blessing, I'll have a look-see for James' very-late-but-very-necessary-to-my-Gran {and her mother and her Gran and the Catholic Church} baptismal record as well. At the same time, though, I'll order his birth record from Iowa. It's $15 and what's the worst they can say? No? And why would they? He was born in Iowa and grew up and married the first time in Missouri. {Not that he actually told anyone that. I've just dug around a lot for that info. And wouldn't you know? That marriage record was much easier to get.}

Alice Florence (Vaughan) Truitt {my Boo; my Gran's mother}

Death - I have her death certificate, and while I'm in San Antonio tracing her daughter's records, I'll have a visit with her at graveside and snap a pic of her tombstone for my records.

Birth - I already obtained her baptismal record. And many thanks to the not understaffed Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archives for that. 

Marriage - Boo and ol' Claudius Roy Truitt {a.k.a., The Jerk} were married in San Antonio, or so says a book of San Antonio marriages in the genealogy department at my local library {15 minutes away.}, Montgomery County Memorial Library. And? Because the lovely local library is in possession of  the microfilm that contains their marriage record in Bexar County, I need to go snap a copy of that. {It's there. I've seen it. I just didn't get a copy at the time.} But? My Boo divorced 'The Jerk' in San Antonio, so while I'm at the courthouse in San Antonio, I might as well snag that record too, no? {'Cause I've learned from Big Paw Paw that sometimes divorce records are boring and sometimes they're not, but they're always full of info and stories.} And maybe I'll even look for their marriage record at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives. 'Cause why not? {Of course, they may not have married there. But I'll be there right next to the very over-worked Brother Ed. So why not look?}

Claudius Roy Truitt

Death - I have his death certificate via FamilySearch.org, and I hunted down his tombstone here in Houston and snapped a photo of it already.

Birth - I have a copy of his birth record compliments of Ancestry.com. {Thank goodness because he was born in Kentucky.}

{So. Basically, 'ol Claudius was reportedly a jerk in real life, but so far, he's not been a jerk to me and my research. So there's that.}

Daniel Rook Vaughan {my Boo's dad}

Death - I have his death certificate via fold3.com back when it was still footnote.com. And I may  have located his tombstone and {hopefully} on this same research trip, I can visit him gravesid

English: Plaque on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Building in Washington, D.C., denoting the founding of the Knights of Pythias at that location in 1864. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

e {with my newly-found cousin} and verify that and snap a photo of his tombstone located in the Knights of Pythias cemetery. And speaking of the Knights of Pythias, I have his membership record from the San Antonio Chapter, and they recorded his death in his membership record. So I think I'm squared away on the evidence of his death. The former is direct and primary and the latter is not as primary and may even be secondary, but it is direct.

Birth - Daniel was born in 1847 in Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co, Michigan. And because his father's line is the Loyalist line, and because his father was baptized in the Church of England up in Noyan, Quebec, and because I have a suspicion {Thanks to a published history of the wee town of Ypsilanti.} Daniel's grandfather was the sexton of the still-open St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti and may be buried in the church's cemetery, I think Daniel's - if he was baptized and his family was Episcopalian {like me} like I suspect, baptismal records just might be there. I've already contacted them and they informed me that their records are archived in Ann Arbor which at the time didn't take email or snail mail lookup requests. But according to a recent search in FamilySearch.org, they've microfilmed them since the last time I searched. So I'll be placing a rental order. Of course, I could be wrong about their church membership, but I'll deal with that when I have to, if I have to. {His mother's line was decidedly Lutheran and Ypsilanti is a wee town.} So, on second thought, maybe I'll order the microfilm of the local Lutheran Church's records too.

New Orleans - French Quarter: St. Louis Cathedral (Photo credit: wallyg)

 Marriage - According to a book of New Orleans' marriages located in my local library, Daniel and Annie were married in 1874. So, I need to locate where the information came from. Further, it's indexed on FamilySearch.org so I'm going to need to do some digging around on that. And? Would Annie have insisted the marriage be in a Catholic Church or, perhaps, had it been blessed in one? Of course, that brings up which Catholic Church in New Orleans? {Am I allowed to *snort* at this question?} So, I need to do a more thorough survey of the available records and the locations of said records.

Also, note that Daniel was in the Civil War and received a pension that his widow, Annie, later collected. So. That's a good avenue for information as well for a whole lot of events. Hopefully. So that's going on order as well. But when I'll get it and what's in the pension file, I don't know. 

Annie J. (O'Brien) Vaughan {my Boo's mom}

Death - I have her death certificate via FamilySearch.org. And like I mentioned above, I'm pretty sure of her tombstone. The former is direct and primary for her death event. The latter is for my records.

Birth - I've written about this. And the closest document to the occurrence of her birth that shows her place of birth is her first child's baptismal record created in 1876. As far as the date is concerned, that's going to be the very secondary Death Certificate and her tombstone, once I snap a pic of it. Plus, there are the various census records she appears in which silently indicate she never became naturalized citizen. I'll need to write a proof argument explaining the places I've looked for her birth record information {and not found it}, and lay out the case for the secondary and indirect evidence supporting her birth event at the time of the writing of the proof argument.

And here is the Loyalist-Patriot split. Daniel's paternal line is the Loyalist line, and his maternal line is the Patriot line. But? I'll save that for another time. {And if you've made it this far in my ramblings, you should receive a reward from me, like me stopping for now.}

So. Me and some cemetery visits, some picture-taking, a new cousin, some microfilm ordering and reading, another visit to the Bexar County Courthouse, a visit to St. Mary's Cathedral, a visit to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, and Brother Ed are all on the horizon. 

Unless the Mayans were right.

San Antonio Texas Alamo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Other folks go to San Antonio for The Alamo. I'm going for some naughty ancestors. Again.  

~Caroline

Note: If you have some recommendations of places to look for those Louisiana records or any others, please let me know in comments below. However, please refrain from doing the actual research yourself. I know it's tempting and I appreciate the gesture, but I'd like to do it myself unless it's totally impossible for me to do it. And this is partly why I didn't give full dates even though I am aware of them and they are in my research plans. And I'm sure I glossed over a bunch of stuff including my complete thought processes, so if you're confused or have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in comments below.

What Thanksgiving Looks Like

Remember the episode of Friends where Joey gets the turkey stuck on head, and Phoebe tries to help him get it off. Then Monica walks in & freaks out. Has that ever happened at one your family's Thanksgiving Dinners?
 

Or maybe it looks a little more like this:

I know my family's Thanksgivings varied from year-to-year.  No, no one wore the turkey on their head [O.K.  maybe they drank a little Wild Turkey, but definitely no turkeys on the head...]  Most years ours resembled the picture above, but we are an Aggie family.  My dad, brother, and I are all graduates of Texas A&M University.  When I say I'm an Aggie, I mean I bleed maroon [our colors are maroon and white].  It's a way of life.  Anyways, our rival here is that "other" school in Texas, and as per a longstanding tradition we have usually played them in football on Thanksgiving Day.  I and my family have spent many a Thanksgiving on the road on our way to the football game and eaten dinner at a hotel buffet.  Now, let me just say that as the person who always had to set the table "just so," and was also in charge of helping with the dishes, I cannot express enough what an awesome idea the Thanksgiving Day buffet at a hotel is.  No, there are no leftovers, but truth be told, there are only so many meals one can stomach in a row that involve turkey.  Admit it, at some point in the weekend [if you aren't a vegetarian], your body "screams" for beef.  [Well, at least mine does.]  So, we didn't always have that traditional Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving meal, but we were together giving thanks for all the blessings that we had.  And really, that was our family tradition at Thanksgiving.

What Is the Tradition?

This got me to thinking about what the tradition of Thanksgiving really is.  Most would say pilgrims and Native Americans were the ones who started the tradition.  Well, if they had a meal together and they gave thanks for it, they certainly didn't call it "Thanksgiving."  The term "Thanksgiving" wasn't coined until 1863 when Lincoln, on the encouragement from Sarah Josepha Hale ~a magazine editor~ and her readership, signed a Proclamation making Thanksgiving a federally observed holiday.  He did so in hopes of unifying a divided country in the midst of the Civil War.  That first Thanksgiving in 1863 was not really officially celebrated by the troops.  There were some who did what they could with what they had wherever they were.  When I first read this I immediately thought of my own ancestors that I knew had been in the Civil War.  So, I looked them up to see where they were exactly when they may have celebrated the first Thanksgiving as a federal holiday.  After all, it became a federal holiday for them.  I already knew where their families were, but where were my Civil War soldier ancestors on Thanksgiving Day in 1863?  A Thanksgiving meant to ease the suffering of all who were involved in the war ~ those fighting, those being fought, and those being fought for. 

Look 'Em Up

I did this by looking up my ancestors in Ancestry.com's, Civil War Research Database.  It has a link to the regiment and company that they served in.  The regimental history is in chronological order and includes the movement of the regiment and companies as well as the battles they engaged in.  This can give you an idea of where they were at particular times.  I have quite a few Civil War ancestors, but to give an example, my 2nd great-grandfather was a musician in the Civil War for Company G, Michigan 1st Infantry Regiment [Union], having stretched the truth by 2 years when he signed up indicating he was 17years old when he was only 15 years old.  According to the regimental history, Daniel [when he was actually 17yo] and his regiment arrived in Gettysburg 2 Jul 1863, and they were heavily involved in the Battle of Gettysburg as well as many squirmishes and fighting in the surrounding areas until Feb 1864.  Doesn't exactly give me where he was Thanksgiving Day, 28 Nov 1863, but it gives me an idea that if he did celebrate it, it wasn't much of a celebration.  I'm pretty sure, though, he was giving thanks that he was still alive after the Battle of Gettysburg, unlike so many of his fellow soldiers.

An Appeal For Thanks

Then in 1864, under the direction of the Union League Club of New York City, many donations came from all over in abundance, and the Union troops were fed a Thanksgiving meal in the middle of a war that had grown weary. Here was part of the Union League Club's public appeal for donations:

"We desire in the twenty-fourth day of November there should be no soldier in the Army of the Potomac, the James, the Shenandoah, and no sailor in the North Atlantic Squadron who does not receive tangible evidence that those for whom he is periling his life, remember him..."

Captain George F. Noyes from General Phil Sheridan's Army of Shenandoah had this to say about the 1864 Thanksgiving feast:

"The want of proper appliances compelled most of the men to broil or stew their turkeys, but everyone seemed fully satisfied, and appreciated the significance of the sympathetic thank-offering of the loyal North.  One soldier said to me, "It isn't the turkey, but the idea we care for,' and he thus struck the keynote of the whole festival."

My, How Things Have Changed, But the Sentiment Remains the Same
In contrast, today's troops are fed in a whole different way on Thanksgiving.  Take a look at how we give thanks to our soldiers today for their unfailing service and unselfish sacrifice on our behalf: 

So on this Thanksgiving I have many blessings to be thankful for, but I'd also like to say thank you to all of our troops who keep us free and safe, and to their loved ones who sacrifice their families for our families.  May God bless you all for the sacrifices that you make on our behalf.  May we always remember and never forget all that you do for us:

Credits and Sources: 
Friends Thanksgiving 1992. Digitial Video. Qukez, 2008. You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJY6L52RhUs : 2009.

Kurtz, Nick., narrator. Thanksgiving in Iraq. Digital Video. AirForceDJ, 2007. You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqFlrwzhFM4 : 2009.
Thanksgiving. cpmsglife, 2006. You Tube. Digital Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reDiz5nkxK8 : 2009.

Peacock, Tom and Roxanne. "Thanksgiving 1863-1864." Civil War Reenacting and Cooking Blog, 15 Nov 2009. http://civilwarcooking.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-1863-1864.html : 2009.

Thanksgiving Over There - The Civil War. Pilgrim Hall Museum. http://www.pilgrimhall.org/thot-cw.htm : 2009.

United States Pennsylvania Lancster County Neffsville. FSA/OWI Black-and-White Negatives. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Thanksgiving_grace_1942.jpg : 2009.

National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/>, acquired 2007. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?ti=0&indiv=try&db=nps_civilwarsoldiers&h=3777104 : 2009.

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