The day I almost got locked in jail.

Back in early 2000 our family took a vacation to a small town in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. We stayed in a small family cabin, and when I say cabin I'm not talking about a modern cabin, I'm talking about an all wood cabin with an outhouse. But, it is a beloved cabin situated on acres of wooded land and a stream that flows through it. It has been passed down through the generations and many happy memories for generations have been made at the cabin.

The Cabin in Pennsylvania

During this vacation, I of course drove to the cemeteries, churches, and courthouses to do research on my husbands side of the family. The family went with me to the cemeteries and churches but stayed at the cabin when I went to the courthouse.

So one morning I drove the 30 miles into town to do research at the courthouse. It was a very productive day and I found many land, marriage, and court records. Later in the day I asked about tax records and was told those records were stored in the old jail house. It was late in the day and so I quickly drove to the jailhouse to get some research done before they closed.

The old jail house is in the middle of town. It has been called a "Welsh Castle." It is a large stone building built in 1872. Inside the stone building is a three story "bird cage", the black metal cage that housed the inmates. It has now been turned into a museum. I was in awe of the building; for a jail it was beautiful.

I only had about 45 minutes till closing time so I had to hurry. (I came back another day with the family and we got a tour of the "dungeon" that was below the prison.) The lady in charged showed me some records in file cabinets but I did not find any thing of interest. She then showed me where the tax records I wanted were located. They were stored inside the birdcage. The records I wanted were on the third level of the birdcage towards the back of the jail. It was really neat to walk up the birdcage stairs and think about all the people who had walked there before me and how many hands must have touched all these bars. Each cell  had shelves with large books on them. She took me to my cell and I pulled down the large books I needed and started transcribing them. I found a lot of tax records for my husband's family so I was quite busy for a while. I lost track of time and when I looked at my watch I noticed it was five past closing time. I put the book back and gathered up my stuff and started walking down the catwalk to the stairs.

As I rounded the corner everything went black. Completely black, I could not see a thing. I was too surprised to do anything so I just stood there in the dark. Then I see a light, it's the door opening and the light was coming from outside and the lady who worked there was leaving! I yelled "Wait!" and startled her. She looked up in surprise and said, "OH, I had forgotten you were here. I almost locked you in." I said, "Oh please don't do that." I quickly but carefully walked down the dark stairs and she let me out the door.

The cabin does not have a phone and we did not have a cell phone then. Had I been locked in I would have had to use the phone on the desk to call 911, and how do you tell a 911 operator that you are locked in the jail and need to be let out?

I had wanted to post a photo of the jail but apparently I did not take any while I was there. To see old photos of the jail click on Cambria Co., Pennsylvania.

Civil War Ancestor - Galttana

I have already posted on Curtis Alexander Galttana and his Civil War Record.

See this post to read about him. Curtis Alexander Galttana in the Civil War

Civil War Ancestor - Hardee

Another Civil War Ancestor of mine is William Thomas Hardee. He was born in 1836 in Coosa County Alabama. Two of his brothers Samuel and Thomas Hardee may have died during the Civil War. I need to do more research on them as well as two of his other brothers who would have been the right age to fight, James Edward and Bryant Stidwell Hardee.

This is the only photo I have of William T. Hardee.

In 1860 William was living in Coosa County Alabama with his wife, Frances and four children. Frances' sister Jane Lee was also living with them.

William T. Hardee Enlists
William T. Hardee (sometimes indexed as Hardel) enlisted on April 1, 1862 at Coosa Alabama., by Capt. Walden for 3 years. He served with Company B 2nd Battalion Hilliard's Legion, Alabama Volunteers, (Confederate). That company  later consolidated to Company K, 59th Alabama Infantry.

Sites about the battles
Look at these sites to read more about Hilliard's Alabama Legion and Hilliard's Legion and the battles that were fought.



Served in Hospital

William served for 24 days as a nurse in a Hospital at Catoosa Springs, Georgia by order of Surgeon R. C. Foster. He served from March 1 to March 24, 1863.

See information on Catoosa Springs Hospitals at The Historical Marker Database.
To read more about male nurses during the Civil War read Hospitals, Surgeons, and Nurses.

William is Captured
He was captured near Petersburg on March 25, 1865 and became a prisoner of war on March 27, 1865 and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland. I had never heard of this prison so after researching it I found out that it is on  the southern tip of Maryland in St. Mary's County on the coast surrounded on three sides by water. It was the largest Union prison camp for Confederates. Like most POW camps it had deplorable conditions.

For a History of Point Lookout Prison read Descendants of Point Lookout POW Organization.


The Oath of Allegiance to the United States
He took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States and was released June 13, 1865.

According to Wikipedia: "During the American Civil War, political prisoners and prisoners of war were often released upon taking an "oath of allegiance". Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction featured an oath to "faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of the States thereunder" as a condition for a Presidential pardon."

William's Release Record
Williams record on his release states:
"Place of Residence: Coosa Co., Alabama,
Complexion: Light,
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazed
Height: 5 ft., 8 1/2 inches
Note: Released at Point Lookout, June 13, 1865, by G. O. No. 109 A.G.O.
Number of roll, 23, sheet 6"

The Trip Back Home

I checked the map and it is over 800 miles to Coosa County, Alabama. I wonder if they were helped back or if each person was left to his own to return home. I would assume William was not in good condition after almost three months in prison. An 800 mile trip would have been hard for anyone but especially hard for a person in bad condition.

Served Three Years
He served his full three years in the civil war. The longest of all my Civil War Ancestors so far. Which proves to me that the Hardee's really do come from a Hardy Stock!

Civil War Ancestors - Alverson

In recognition of April 12, 2011 which marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in South Carolina I will be posting about my Civil War Ancestors.

Henderson B. Alverson
My first ancestor to join was Henderson B. Alverson also know as H. B. Alverson.

In 1861 at the age of 44, H. B.Alverson decided to join the civil war. I don’t know why he decided to travel from Texas to Mississippi to join, but he enlisted in Corinth, Mississippi on May 28, 1861. He joined Capt. O. R. Singleton's Company, Company C, 18th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers as a private for a period of 12 months. The unit was ordered to Virginia, and fought at First Manassas under D.R. Jones, then was engaged at Leesburg. On September  21, 1861 H.B. was discharged.

His Certificate of  Disability for Discharge states:

“…H. B. Alverson, Private of Captain O. R .Singleton’s Company (C) of the 18th Regiment of

Confederate States Misp Vols, was enlisted by Capt. Walker at Corinth, Misp on the 28th day of

May, 1861, so serve one year; he was born in Surry Co., in the State of N. Carolina, is forty-five

years of age, 5 feet, 7-1/2 inches high, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, sandy hair, and by

occupation when enlisted a farmer. During the last two months said soldier has been unfit for

duty 10 or 12 days. He ought to be discharged on account of his family. He has a wife and eleven

children (nearly all small) upon the frontiers of Texas, poor, sick, and defenseless since the war

broke out in the west. Common humanity requires his presence at home.”

This document was signed near Leesburg, Virginia on September 21, 1861. He was allowed travel expenses for 1000 miles from Manassas, Virginia to Corinth, Mississippi. He was paid $29.70 for two months and 21 days service and 50 rations at .22 ½ for $11.25 for a total of $40.95. It would be interesting to learn H.B.’s method of transportation back to Corinth, Virginia. Did he travel the 1000 miles on foot, by horse or by railroad? We may never know, but whatever the method I'm sure it was a long and arduous trip. When he did finally make it back to Corinth, he still needed to travel 700 miles back to Texas. During this time there were no railroads to Texas so he would have to travel by foot or by horse or wagon. Let’s hope he had a horse.

Interesting to note he served four month before being discharged. I would love to see his pension record but don't have $75 to order it. So if anyone has H. B. Alverson's pension record I would love to see it.

He Served Three Times

This was H. B. Alverson's third time as a soldier. He served in the 1836 Creek War for about three months and he served almost five months as a Texas Ranger in 1860.

My Good Deed for the Day

I went to an estate sale this weekend and while looking through old books found an old paper folder. When I opened it, it had about 50 original documents in it from the 1960's. Typed letters, original photos and a fold out paper with about 50 original signatures on it.

It was about a post office opening and dedication dated 1960 in a town  named Williston, Florida. I asked what would happen to the folder and they said they would throw it away at the end of the day.

I asked if I could have it and get it to a historical society and they said yes. They told me they throw tons of stuff like that away and old photos too. Makes me so sad.

So I looked up the town and there is no historical society so I called their city hall and told them what I have. They were very excited and said they would love to have it.

So I am going to mail it to them. So happy to get it back to where it should be and not in a trash pile.

What about other stuff getting thrown away?

My husband and I were talking about how sad it is that so much historical stuff could be thrown away at estate sales. We wished we had talked to the person about going through any items after the sale to see if we could get it to the right place where it would be appreciated.

So next week my husband is going to go to some estate sales listed for next week and talk to them and I will be calling a friend who use to do estate sales to see if she can help us.

Would love to hear if this has happened to anyone else and what they did.

A Texas Ranger in the Family?

According to Henderson B. Alverson's Obituary it stated: "Mr. Alverson saw service as a Texas Ranger in the frontier days, and also served in the Confederate army from the beginning to the close of hostilities between the states."

I had found his record for the civil war and knew he only served from May 1861 to September 1861. Only a few months, not quite till "the close of hostilities between the states."

So I wondered if the Texas Ranger story was true. I searched online but found no information. I then wrote to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Research Center in Waco, Texas. I paid my fee and waited. I few weeks later I got my proof.

Information printed in a book called: Texas Ranger Service Records 1847 - 1900, "A" "B" "C", Volume I
By Frances T. Ingmire showed that:
H. B. Alverson joined as a private on May 15, 1860 in Belknap (Texas) under Captain T.J. Johnson as a Mounted Ranger. He was discharged October 10, 1860 after serving 4 months, 26 days at $25 for a total of $121.66. He owed $30 for a pistol and was paid $91.66 for his service.


 So I now have the honor of saying that I had a Texas Ranger in my family, even if only for a few months.

New Records for Curtis Alexander Galttana Part 3

Read Part 1 of Curtis Alexander Galttana
Read Part 2 of Curtis Alexander Galttana

My next great discovery
I had visited the Fort Worth Archives and a lady there pulled up my ggg grandfather's H.B. Alverson's civil war record from Footnote.com. When I got home I decided to subscribe to Footnote and started searching. Bingo, I found civil war records for Curtis A. Golttana. I was on a roll now and felt pretty confident that this was my Curtis Galttana.

Curtis A. Galttana Enlists in the Civil War
He enlisted April 13, 1862 at Granada, Mississippi. He served as a private in Company I, 30 Mississipi Volunteer Regiment.  If this is the same man as Alexander Goltana in the 1850 census then I wonder what brought him to Mississippi? Did he float down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River to get to Mississippi?


As the above record shows he was "Detailed as Teamster Jany 12, 1863 By order Col. G. F. Neill."

What is a Teamster and a Drayman
A Teamster in the Civil War was someone who drove a wagon with a team of horses, oxen or mules. This is interesting because the Alexander in the 1850 census was a Drayman. A Drayman is someone who drives a dray, which is a low, flat bead wagon with no sides usually pulled by horses or mules. Interesting.

Curtis A. Galttana Goes Missing
But, then on the night of August 22, 1863 Curtis Deserted. He "Left his command ... at Chattahorsckee Bridge, Ga."  He then "Joined from desertion December 29, 1863." Where did he go for four months? I know many men would desert for a few months to check on family and get their farm/house in order. This was common. Did Curtis have family in the area? What was he doing?


Also interesting to note, is if Curtis Alexander was born in Ohio or Indiana then why would he fight on the Confederate side and not the Union side?

I wish I knew the answer to this.