Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It’s Saturday Night again –
Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!
Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.
1) We all find “fun” or “different” information about ourselves, our relatives and ancestors in our genealogy and family history pursuits. What are five “fun” or “different” facts in your life or your ancestors lives?
2) Tell us about your five fun or different facts in a comment on this post, or in a Facebook post. Please leave a link on this post if you write your own post.
[Thank you to Jacquie Schattner for suggesting this topic last year.]
Five Unique Facts from My Family History
When it comes to family history, “fun” can be subjective, so I’m focusing on unique or unusual facts from my genealogy research.
Fact One: Two Ancestors Survived Andersonville Prison
Two of my great-great-grandfathers, Washington Marion Crawford and Richmond Fisk Hammond, were prisoners of war at the infamous Andersonville Prison during the Civil War.
- Washington Marion Crawford lived in Warren County, Indiana, and served in Company H of the 2nd New York Cavalry Volunteers. He was captured at Liberty Mills in September 1863 and initially imprisoned at Belle Isle before being transferred to Andersonville in March 1864. He remained there until his release in November 1864.
- Richmond Fisk Hammond of Knox County, Illinois, was serving in Company D of the 14th Illinois Cavalry when he was captured near Atlanta in August 1864 and sent to Andersonville.
Both men survived the ordeal, returned to their home counties, and eventually moved to Dodge City, Kansas. Their children, Judson Crawford and Josie Hammond, later married—making them my great-grandparents.
Fact Two: A Man of Many Trades
My great-grandfather James Currey was a jack-of-all-trades. My grandmother, Winnie Currey Crawford, often referred to him as a carpenter, and a 1907 directory confirms that profession. However, over the years, various records list him as a farmer, magnetic healer, teamster, baker, and section hand—quite a diverse career path!
Fact Three: A Divorce with Drama
My great-great-grandmother Sarah Jane Thompson Briles went through a dramatic divorce in 1898. She married my 2nd great-grandfather Noah Briles in 1866, but after his death in 1879, she later remarried J.D. Davis in 1888.
Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last, and in 1898, Davis filed for divorce, accusing Sarah of:
- Neglecting her household duties
- Failing to prepare meals
- Being cross and abusive toward his children from a previous marriage
Davis even claimed that she drove his children away from their home. Given the social stigma of divorce at the time, this must have been quite a scandal!
Fact Four: Four Generations of Hiram M. Currey
The name Hiram M. Currey appears across four generations in my family tree:
- Hiram M. Currey Sr. – served as treasurer for the state of Ohio.
- Hiram M. Currey Jr. of Peoria Illinois – A lawyer, with records placing him in Illinois until 1849.
- Hiram M. Currey was born in 1835 in Peoria, Illinois. This Hiram married Angelina Burke in 1856 in Weston, Missouri and died in Leavenworth county in 1901.
- Hiram Miles Currey (born 1866, Leavenworth, Kansas – died 1943, Ford County, Kansas) – My great-grandfather.
This repeated naming pattern is a reminder of how family legacies endure through generations.
Fact Five: Deep Kansas Roots
Kansas is truly at the heart of my family history. Nearly all of my second great-grandparents ended up in Kansas:
- Washington Marion Crawford – Settled in Dodge City in 1884.
- Richmond Fisk Hammond – Filed for land in Pawnee County in 1885 and lived in Dodge City before moving to California.
- Hiram M. Currey – Purchased land in Leavenworth County in 1860.
- Albert Hutchinson – Moved to Doniphan County, Kansas, before his death in 1896.
- Noah Washington Briles – Settled in Coffey County, Kansas, by 1869.
- James Marshall Ricketts – Moved to Woodson County, Kansas, in 1879.
- George Mentzer – Arrived in Woodson County, Kansas, by 1871.
- Thurston Kennedy Wells – His son was born in Miami County, Kansas, in 1857, and his daughter was born in Woodson County in 1873.
With the exception of Richmond Fisk Hammond, all of my second great-grandparents were buried in Kansas. No wonder I feel such a strong connection to the state!
It’s fun to have one name continue on in future generations – I have 4 Joses Bucknams. It’s not so much fun when grandparent, parent, child and cousins all share the same name at the same time!
Yes – keeping track of those various Hiram Currey’s has been a challenge — especially when there is a cousin with same name. While I don’t have 4 generations of James Crawford ancestors, I’ve faced the same challenge seperating out the various James Crawford families in early Kentucky. Either way, same names are a challenge!
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