Genealogy Revisited

I continue to spend far more time than I should working on genealogy.  Every morning the computer gets turned on (electrically, of course) and Family Tree Maker is loaded.

Someone asked me the other day if I had found anyone famous in our family tree.  About the most famous relative I've found is Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee.  I did work on the trail of a link to the 12th President, James Polk, but I finally convinced myself that there was no link there.  There were several Alexanders who were instrumental in the American Revolution but they weren't famous, or at least they aren't well known today.

We haven't discovered anyone famous on Louise's side either.  We did, however, discover that my ham radio friend, Dave, is my wife's fourth cousin through a guy up in the Joplin, Missouri area.  That was a surprise!

What is as fascinating as finding famous people is examining how someone in your family fit into the grand scheme of things 100 or 150 years ago.  For an example, look at the story of my great great grandfather, Greenberry Stephens.

Greenberry was born in 1830 in Benton County, Missouri, the second oldest of a family of six boys and three girls.  His father was a farmer as was Greenberry.  In fact, looking through older censuses, most people did list their occupation as farmers back then.  What a change from today.

In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, Greenberry was 31 years old and, being a good southern man, joined the Confederate Army.  Missouri was split on the allegiances of its citizens; some favored the North but many were Confederates.  At any rate, Greenberry was captured by the North and was sent to an unnamed prison.

Many southern soldiers captured during the war were allowed to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States and then return to their homes.  One thing you did not want to do was sign an oath and then get caught again, which Greenberry did.  He was charged with the crime of "bushwhacking" and convicted.

This time, Greenberry was sent to the Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis, and then later transferred to Camp Morton in Indianapolis.  We know how poor conditions were in these prisons and, if you were unlucky enough to be in one of them, your chances of surviving were pretty bad.

Greenberry did not survive Camp Morton; he died there on February 26, 1864.  We have found a couple of letters explaining this event - the first is from Greenberry (while he was still at Gratiot Street Prison) to his wife, Nancy,  where he knows that he might not ever see her again.

The second one if from someone in charge at Camp Morton informing Nancy that her husband had died.

While his death was a tragic event for the family, it was an indicator of all of the tragedy of the Civil War and it makes one realize what a horrible period that was.

It is also what makes me get up early in the morning and load Family Tree Maker!

The Cattle Baron

My siblings and I were raised on a farm where we always had cattle.  Dad had been raised on a ranch and so it was natural for him to have cows and calves.  In fact, this was a labor of love for him.  After I left home, I never got involved with them again while I was working.

About two years ago, though, I decided that buying some calves in the spring and letting them eat grass all summer was preferable to mowing.  I bought four, kept them for the summer, and sold three of them for a considerable loss.  We had the other one processed and I must tell you that the meat from this calf was far better than you can buy in a store.

The deep freeze is almost empty now and the grass is growing so I, along with my friend Dave, went to the sale barn in Bristow today to buy some more calves.  I decided I was only going to get two this time.  However, there was a puny little calf which went through the sale and no one bid on her so I bought her as well.  I have decided to call her "Knothead", which I will explain in a minute.  At any rate, the going price for calves her size (270 pounds) was about $1.80 to $2.00 per pound.  I bought her for $.93 per pound!

We got the three calves home and had no problem unloading them into the little pasture I have.  After Dave left to go home, I was standing there admiring them when Knothead decided to go for a swim in the pond.  She bailed off into the water and swam to the other side which is completely inundated with cattails.  She fought her way up into the cattails to the point where I couldn't even see her.  I was dumbfounded and wasn't sure what to do!

I waited about thirty minutes and still no sign of Knothead.  I decided to go into town to run an errand, which I did, and when I returned, there was still no sign of her.  I finally decided that the only solution was to put on my swimming trunks and get in there and see if I could find her.  The thought of snakes and other critters in there didn't make the task seem very appealing but I was convinced there was no other way.

I started wading into the cattails with a pair of hedge trimmers, cutting a path as I went.  After a few feet, sure enough, there she was, totally trapped in all the growth.  I got around behind her and started to push her toward the bank.  After she made a few leaps, the cattails thinned out and she could see daylight.  She scrambled out onto the pond dam with me right behind her.

Here is the part that is hard to believe but I swear its true.  As I waded out from the pond behind her, she turned and tried to butt me back in to the pond!  I hope she fattens up good so I can extract my revenge!  By the way, she is the black calf, second from left, with her head down.  She didn't pose well but I've had all of her I can stand for today.