My Genealogical Connection to Dr. Samuel Mudd

The most surprising find I have (I started to say recently, but maybe I should state ever)  made in my family history research, especially as it relates to the Civil War, is a distant tie to a (rightly or wrongly) infamous person of the era, Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was convicted for helping John Wilkes Booth after the actor had assassinated President Lincoln. Mudd escaped the death penalty by one vote and some of his descendants are still fighting to clear his name today, believing he was not part of the conspiracy to kill Lincoln.  

When looking back at my family tree, I found an Eleanor Mudd, from Maryland, as one of my great-grandmothers, so I decided to explore that a bit more and found the connection to the doctor.  A relationship this distant is not easy to explain, but I've tried to list it below as straight-forward as I can. "X," of course, means "times," and some of the birth dates may be approximate as different sources show different years, especially farther back in years, decades, and centuries.

From drmudd.org

Dr. Samuel Mudd, born December 20, 1833 in Charles County, Maryland.

Henry Lowe Mudd, born in 1798, was his father. 

Alexius Mudd, born in 1765 was his grandfather.

Henry Mudd, born about 1730, was Dr. Mudd's great-grandfather.

Thomas Mudd, born about 1707 was his  2x great-grandfather

Hezekiah, "Harry" or "Henry" Mudd, born about 1681-1685 was Dr. Mudd's 3x great-grandfather.

Thomas Mudd, born about 1647 was Dr. Mudd's 4x great-grandfather.

That Thomas Mudd, whom I’ve seen called “Captain” Thomas Mudd, was our common ancestor, the source of the relationship. 

His son Thomas Mudd (I'm not sure if he as a "Junior" or a "II",) born about 1679, was my 8x great-grandfather. He was the brother of Hezekiah mentioned above.

 

Eleanor Mudd, born 1709 (I've also seen 1723), my 7x great-grandmother.

 

Eleanor married George Tarvin. Their son, also George, born about 1744, was my 6x great-grandfather

George's son, Joseph Tarvin, born about1773, was my 5x great-grandfather.

 

Joseph's daughter Rachel Tarvin, born about 1800, was my 4x great-grandmother.

 

Rachel married George Painter, and their daughter Mary Ellen Painter, born about 1832, was my 3x great-grandmother.

 

Mary Ellen married Oliver Moore and their daughter Rachel Moore, born around 1857, was my 2x great-grandmother.

 

Rachel married John Diesel and their daughter Violet Diesel, born in 1894, was my great-grandmother.

Violet married Oscar McCormick and their son Orville McCormick, born in 1912, was my grandfather.  2 generations later, I came along.

Alexander McCormick, Co. B 9th MN Infantry, my 3x great-grand-uncle

My most recent genealogical find confirmed that John Fleming McCormick of Pennsylvania was my 4th great-grandfather, the son of John McCormick who had been born in 1748 in Ireland and died in Pennsylvania in 1844. The elder John, my 5th great great-grandfather, was apparently a Revolutionary War soldier. One report I saw claimed he was an ensign in the 4th company of Pennsylvania militia, Colonel Plunkett's 3rd battalion, 1776. I am not overly familiar with the Revolutionary War military, so that will have to be part of my further research on this piece of family history.

One of John Fleming's sons was William Taylor McCormick, my 3 times great-grandfather and another was Alexander McCormick, my 3 times great-grand-uncle. I surprisingly found that Alexander was a private in company B of the 9th Minnesota Infantry in the Civil War. Finding another Civil War soldier in my family tree was a fun surprise, but in Minnesota? Wow - double shock. 

Alexander was born on November 25, 1817 in Lock Haven, Clinton County, Pennsylvania.

On November 25, 1858, he married Drucilla Perkins in St. Anthony, Minnesota. The 1860 census showed that they had two daughters, though one was thirteen years old, so perhaps he had had a previous marriage. It showed his occupation as minister.

 Alexander then enlisted in the 9th Minnesota on August 20 1862 in Minneapolis. He served a three-year term and mustered out on June 7, 1865

The 9th Minnesota was not a regiment familiar to me, so I looked it up, wondering if it had been at any famous battles - maybe I had a second family member at Gettysburg or perhaps one at Vicksburg? - but I found out that its service was not like that of the regiments other of my ancestors had joined.

In its early existence, its companies spent time at various frontier posts in conflicts against Native Americans. According to one source, Alexander's Company B participated in campaigns against the Sioux in Minnesota in August and September of 1862. 

In late 1863, the regiment began being part of the war against the Confederacy, spending time in Missouri and throughout the Western Theater of the Civil War. One article describes their service, including their combat in two battles against the men of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate victory at Brice's Crossroads and then a Union success at Tupelo. 

In December of 1864 these men fought during the Union's smashing victory at Nashville. Alexander and his comrades then aided in the capture of the city of Mobile,Alabama  in early 1865 and mustered out of the service in August of that year.

Alexander passed away on January 14, 1877 in Knob Noster, Missouri, but I have not yet found where he is buried.