Civil War tidbits...

In 1865 Abram Rosa was put in front of a military court and charged with "Conduct prejudicial to good order and Military discipline".

The result of which he ended up spending 3 months in a military prison in Florida. A true hellhole.

According to the charges he took offense at his superior officer, Major Thomas B. Weir's treatment and punishment of a fellow soldier threatening and insulting him with, “No God damned Officer shall abuse that man, “Look here,” God damn you, you have churned that man enough, “ I’ll show you, by God. He also removed his coat and shook his fists in a threatening manner towards, Major Weir  still using insulting and threatening language. All this happened near Eagle Pass, Texas about September 7, 1865.

While I knew the story, and was of course appalled by the verdict and punishment (nothing like good old military justice). I was interested in learning more about the story, or at least by researching the officers involved in the case maybe I might find something else out about the incident.

Major Thomas B. Weir

Well something interesting did turn up when I googled Major Thomas B. Weir the officer whom Abram threatened. This Major Weir is famous, as he was the same Major Weir who was involved with Custer and the massive defeat at Little Bighorn. 

Major Weir commanded Company D of the 7th Cavalry under Custer, and joined him in the attack on a large Native American encampment on the Little Bighorn River in Montana on June 25, 1876. Weir disobeyed orders to remain on what is now Reno Hill, and instead, moved north to attempt to support Custer, who had led a detachment to attack the encampment from that direction. The effort was too late and Custer and his soldiers were slaughtered. Weir himself survived the assault, but died later the same year, 1876, having drank himself to death. It is believed over his inability to save Custer, whom he greatly respected.

I doubt that Abram would have shown any sadness at his passing, maybe he even did a little jig when he heard the news. It is interesting that Weir allows Abram to be sent to hard labor in a horrible prison for three months, when he was only trying to protect a fellow soldier from over-enthusiastic punishment. Yet, Weir disobeys orders from his superiors, hoping to protect Custer from a disasterous attack, fails, and wasn’t punished in any way by the military.

But justice comes in many forms.

Volunteering is good for the soul

I have done a bit of volunteering over the years, some I have quite enjoyed, some has been a bit of a chore, but all of it was a result of my girl scout years and my mother's influence. I guess some of it stuck.

As a genealogist I have had many instances where someone who lives in another state has helped me find some wonderful genealogical record, or had photos that I had never seen, or volunteered to check out a cemetery for me to see if one of our ancestors was buried there. These are all acts of wonderful kindness. I have tried to reciprocate when I can, because I do believe in paying it forward.

There has been a lot of talk lately of several genealogical sites that have started big digital indexing projects and are looking for volunteers to help with the massive indexing that needs to be done, all from the convenience of your home. I was intrigued, but put it off for a while as I was a bit busy, but this last month I decided to dig a bit deeper.

At work we are currently assisting the Holocaust Museum in indexing it's millions of records of victims for the general public, this is through Ancestry.com

I decided to try my hand at indexing for the Family History Library. So I downloaded the software and dug right in. I have found that it can become quite addicting. But, I am really enjoying the process and they make it pretty easy to do. There is also the satisfaction of knowing that many people will find these indexes of immense value in their own research.

Back to work -- jen

Sad news for me today

I have been making the attempt to get out Christmas cards for friends and family this week, in the process I make a quick list to make sure I don't miss anyone. Last year I had sent a card to Robert Cain, a cousin of ours whom I met through a very helpful librarian in Oconto (after making inquiries about our Cain ancestors at the local library), and hadn't heard back from him.


Over the years I have stopped in to visit Bob with Dale, alone, and even with Mom and Dad on one trip. He was very helpful and generous with his time and information on our Cain relatives. Without his help it probably would have taken me much longer to break through the road block on this line.


With trepidation I decided to check the SSDI in an attempt to make sure he was still around to receive my Christmas card for this year. Sadly, I found his name listed in the updated database. He passed away September 30 of this year. I imagine that the reason he didn't send a card last year was he was too ill. Now I am sorry that I wasn't able to take the time to visit one last time this last year.

 

Robert S. Cain - I have included his graduation picture from the State Teachers College of Oshkosh, 1951
Here is his obituary edited by me. 

Born December 09, 1921 - Died September 30, 2011 

Robert Samuel Cain, a lifetime resident of Oconto died September 30, 2011. Robert was born December 9, 1921 in Oconto to the late James and Maude (Anderson) Cain. He attended Jefferson School and graduated from Oconto High School in 1940. He worked at the A&P Stores in Oconto, Green Bay and Marinette. Bob attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison until he joined the United States Army.  serving for three years and eight months in England and France as a Technical Sargent. Bob later attended Ripon College, and George William College in Chicago, finally graduating with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Oshkosh State College. After teaching elementary school for five years, Bob attended a Benedictine Monastery for a time. Eventually, he moved back to Oconto to the house he had grown up in, next to his brother Harold and his family, and spent many years taking care of his mother. A few years ago he retired to Bay Shore Pines in Oconto as his health was declining. Bob enjoyed reading, playing piano, gardening, and spending time with his family.

I remember his kindness and generosity. He was also a bit old-fashioned. In conversations about technology he definitely was a bit of a luddite. One amusing bit I recall is that he loved inviting the religious groups that knock on your door in to discuss their philosophy and other religious issues. Not a thing most folks would do, but he loved the conversations.

I am sad that he has passed.