William Orlando Tarvin, Co. F 53rd Kentucky Infantry

An unexpected aspect of my quest to identify as many Campbell County Civil War Soldiers and  Sailors was the discovery of more of my distant relatives who served in the war. The first one of these soldiers who I realized was related to me was William Orlando Tarvin.

Orlando, as he went by, was born on May 11, 1841 in Campbell County, probably Carthage. He was the son of Thomas Floyd and Winifred Gholson Kercheval. William’s great-grandfather was Reverend George Tarvin, my sixth-great-grandfather, making us second cousins, five times removed, a distant relationship, but still a relationship.

The 1860 census listed him as Orlando Tarvin and reported that he lived with his parents and eight siblings. He had no occupation listed at the time.

 Orlando joined company F of the 53rd Kentucky Infantry, signing up in December 1864 in Newport, along with many other Campbell County men. He joined as a private and eventually was promoted to sergeant.

 

 The 53rd Kentucky had formed late in the war and missed out on the most famous battles and campaigns but it did help guard the Kentucky Central Railroad which ran south from Covington and through Lexington. It also protected areas in Kentucky against guerilla attacks. Its most noteworthy service was as part of the Saltville Raid into southwestern Virginia in December of 1864 when it helped destroy Confederate salt  works and several of the unit's men were wounded, killed or captured. 

 

One early 1865 story in the Cincinnati Enquirer listed Orlando among a group thought to have been captured by the Confederates during that campaign, but it was a  mistaken report regarding him, though others on the list did become prisoners of war.

 

After the war ended, Orlando, who was listed as 5 feet 7 inches tall, with blue eyes, sandy hair, and a florid complexion when he enlisted, transitioned back to civilian life. In 1870 he lived with his parents and three sisters while working as a cooper. He then married Sarah Lee Nelson on November 29, 1876 in Carthage, with Reverend James Jolly officiating the ceremony.

Four years later, the 1880 census listed Orlando as a farmer living with his wife and two daughters and, according to a family history report one of his descendants assembled, became a busy citizen in Campbell County. He served multiple terms as postmaster at the Flagg Spring Post Office, from 1890 to 1895 and from January of 1900 until that office closed in 1906.

On July 19, 1897, Governor William Bradley gave Orlando another responsibility, appointing him Justice of the Peace for the Sixth Congressional District of Kentucky. 

In 1900, the census listed his name as Orlando W Tarvin, and showed that he lived with his wife, five children and his wife’s aunt, quite a large household. He was still a farmer.

On September 9, 1907, Orlando’s life came to an end. The Kentucky Post reported that Orlando, who was also a Mason, had just attended the Alexandria Fair before his wife discovered him dead in his bed that fateful morning. His funeral was “the largest ever witnessed in that section of the county” and he was buried in Grandview Cemetery in Mentor.

On of his direct descendants forwarded me some of these details and I thank her for the assistance. Before then, I knew he was on the list, but her email made me realize he was probably related to me and from that point on, I uncovered the same about his cousins - more Civil War ancestors for me!

A future post may explore the careers and lives of his brothers and their five second-cousins who served in the Civil War  

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.

Benjamin McIntosh 14th KY Cavalry

 Another Civil War ancestor recently came to my attention, this time my 3rd great-granduncle, Benjamin McIntosh, the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather Nimrod McIntosh, who served in the 7th Kentucky Infantry and the Veterans' Relief Corps. A third McIntosh brother, Richard, was injured while also serving in the same company as Benjamin. Here is a post I made about those two McIntoshes a few years ago.

Benjamin was born in the mid-to-late 1840s, as records shows his birth date anywhere from 1843 to 1847. He signed up as a Private in his unit, enlisting on December 18, 1862 in Irvine, Kentucky. 

 His service records show him present on all the available muster rolls, but he did have some of his salary deducted to pay for replacement equipment such as bridles, a halter, spurs, a cartridge box and a waist belt.

A note found in some family  papers claimed he had been with General U.S. Grant's forces at Vicksburg, but that appears to be a myth, as the 14th Kentucky remained in Eastern Kentucky while he was in the service. 

In one of those coincidences that make genealogy - and history in general - more complicated - another man with a similar name- Benjamin E. McIntosh - was in compamy H of the same 14th Kentucky Cavalry.

"My" Benjamin eventually mustered out at Camp Nelson on March 24, 1864.

He did marry and have a family. The 1870 census shows his wife as Louisa (her name is illegible on the 1880 record) and as of the 1880 census, the couple had seven children

Benjamin died on April 23, 1930 in Stanton, Powell County, Kentucky, and he was buried in Stanton Cemetery.

 Rest in peace, uncle. 

Michael Gabbard Part 2: A Deeper Look

Concluding the series on Civil War soldier Michael Gabbard and his wife Mary Ann, this post will explore the story of his service on the honor guard that escorted Abraham Lincoln’s body from Chicago to Springfield following Lincoln’s assassination.

As I read the story about his presence on Lincoln’s honor guard, it intrigued me more and more. How cool would it be to find a soldier who had such a role in a hugely important moment of American history? 

Soon, however, I began to wonder how true it was. History is full of myths, often to benefit a person’s reputation, which probably is the source of my skepticism, so I decided to look into it a little more before posting it.

I found the honor guard story in a 1979 newspaper article called It Happened Here (see the previous posts), on family history sites, and on a findagrave page that lists a family newsletter as a source. Even with my uncertainty about how true the this entire story is, I find it to be an interesting tale, a combination of history, memory, and family oral tradition.

It Happened Here provided some information about Michael’s military service, including the honor guard story in italics below:

It is one of my hobbies to look for common everyday events that are linked to history. Today I discovered one that links the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865, to the fact that when our members or visitors come into the Co-op office, the first person they usually see...is our receptionist...Mrs. Marjorie Mullins, an Owsley County McIntosh.  Her mother was a Gabbard. 

Per this article, Mrs. Mullins’ aunt Nell typed a twenty-four page “family history from their oral tradition” (emphasis added.) This article reprinted part of that history.

The article started with a mention of Michael Gabbard’s wound, as the previous post discussed. Then, He was sent to a prison at Rock Island, Illinois to guard the southern prisoners. While (he was) here, President Lincoln was killed. The body was brought to Chicago. Grandpa was chosen as one of the honor guards to accompany the body from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois and help bury it. In Chicago he met and married Mary Ann Manguin from County Cork, Ireland in the spring of 1865 (Note: “Mangan” is the correct spelling of her name, and they actually married in September 1864 ) 

Michael Gabbard and Mary Ann Manguim lived on Indian Creek in Owsley County (Kentucky.) They had a son, Stephen, who had a daughter, Edna (sister to Nell) that married Charley McIntosh. (Edna was the mother of the Mrs. Mullins mentioned above.)

When your great grandparents married and he was mustered out of the army, they came to Kentucky and built two rooms of the house on Indian Creek where your mother and dad first started housekeeping and where your sister Geneva was born.

His wife's story indicates he spent time at Camp Douglas not Rock Island, but he may have been at both. Both locations are only mentioned in one source each, neither on Fold3.com.

I found similar stories about his presence on the honor guard online, first on findagrave.com, where his page states: Michael was a member of the honor guard that accompanied Abraham Lincoln’s body by rail from Chicago to Springfield Illinois for burial. All information from the Gabbard family Newsletter. Article by John Gabbard June 1995.

I also found this story and genealogical information on a family/military history site. The key section indicated: 

Michael Gabbard - Private   Michael 'Drunk Mike' Gabbard was chosen to escort President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train from Chicago to Springfield, IL.

After the Battle of Perryville, Michael was attached to Camp Chase Ohio to guard Confederate Prisoners.  

Michael and his 8 brothers served within the 8th KY INF.  

This next site tells a similar tale. I suspect each one shared a common source for the honor guard story, but here are the relevant lines from this site:

Four of the sons of Isaac and Jane were in the Union Army during the Civil War: George W., James, Jacob and Michael. James was killed in the battle Lookout Mountain; Michael was wounded in the same battle. Michael was an Honor Guard for Abraham Lincoln's body when it was transported by rail from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois. [Actually 5 sons served - Abel served, too, because he applied for his pension.]

(Note: A quick search indicates that George and Jacob were in the 47th Kentucky Infantry and that Abel joined Michael in the 8th Kentucky. James, however, died in 1859, before the war even began. Still, a family having four brothers in the war is a fascinating story itself (though I don’t know where the previous site got the “8 brothers” figure.) Maybe researching the other three will make a good future project.)

These stories are fairly consistent, and that made me more interested in finding other sources about it. I admittedly did all my research online, and realize I may have missed published works that provide more information, but I thought the search was as thorough as I could reasonably do for this blog. Maybe someone who knows more about the honor guard or other sources will stumble upon these words and help uncover more about this story. I will gladly post corrections of any errors made herein.

I searched under terms like “Lincoln’s honor guard,” “Lincoln honor guard Chicago,” “Gabbard, Lincoln honor guard,” and similar phrases and did find some helpful information. 

One website indicates:  Biographer and friend Isaac N. Arnold wrote: Non-commissioned officers of the Veteran Reserve Corps were detailed to act as a body-guard, and major generals of the army were directed to attend the train and keep watch, so that at all times during the journey the coffin should be under their special guardianship.”

Gabbard was in the Veteran Reserve Corps (VRC,) but was a private, not a non-commissioned officer such as a sergeant. 

Another site provides a list of individual names on the honor guard. Gabbard is not on that list, nor is any member of the 8th VRC. 

I did find an image of the program from the public viewing of Lincoln’s body in Chicago, and the website’s description caught my attention: This program for the Chicago funeral includes the names of pall bearers, a mounted honor guard, and general processors. Unfortunately, the list of honor guard members is not legible, even when I save and enlarge it. (Other pages, including Pinterest, show this same image, without the tassels, but are no more readable than this one.) I am not sure Gabbard would have been on a “mounted” honor guard, but I would like to see those names anyway.

Here is the artifact: 

No source I found listed Gabbard as part of Lincoln’s honor guard, other than the genealogy websites and the newspaper article. It seems likely that these may have all been based on family oral history like the article mentioned. 

This contrast between family history and official public records leaves me with a few theories as to how this story developed.

1. Michael witnessed the transportation of Lincoln’s body and later described it to someone who shared the story. Over time and many retellings the story mistakenly evolved to include Michael as part of the honor guard.  

2. He did view the honor guard at work, but as time passed and his memory faded, he unintentionally and honestly started believing he was part of it and communicated that to others. He lived until 1902, and memories do fail over time, especially decades.

3. He was part of the honor guard, unofficially or in a small role that went unrecorded. He was in Chicago as part of the VRC, during the right time period. Moving Lincoln’s body was a big deal and possibly required many additional workers beyond the official guards. In that case, the family story could be correct even if no “official records” ever existed to confirm it. 

One message board mentioned a similar possibility: ...as I understand it, each city which had services for Abraham Lincoln had its own set of honorary pallbearers. The honorary pallbearers walked on either side of the coffin as it was carried by the men listed above. I realize this is not the most scholarly source, but the thought was similar to (and more detailed than) mine, so I am sharing it for consideration.

4. He was part of the honor guard, but any records proving so have been lost, destroyed or misplaced over time, or they still exist to prove it, but I have simply not found them.

5. He was not part of the honor guard, but at some point he told someone he was (perhaps to counter his reputation as “Drunk Mike,” or maybe he created this tale while drinking and perhaps bragging about his service) and it became part of family history over time.

6. Someone else created the idea, either intentionally or not, perhaps to help his reputation or to create family pride.

Let me note here that the family history excerpt in the newspaper article  was incorrect t when it claimed Michael was injured at Lookout Mountain as well as with a couple other details, so that leads me to question the accuracy of the rest of it. 

If this is just family legend, many legends do have some basis in truth, even if small, and that may be the case here, despite the apparent lack of other documentation. Perhaps future research (or luck) will uncover further evidence or sources someday.

Overall, the stories of Michael Gabbard and his wife fascinate me and show how family lore can intersect with history.Even if the legends are not always completely true, they are important, especially to that family. Many families likely have their own oral histories whose only sources are the retelling of stories from previous generations. My own family has an undocumented story about  Civil War veteran Henderson Turner walking hundreds of miles home after leaving his regiment, but we cannot even find his name in any records other than the 1890 Veteran’s Census, though he received a veteran’s headstone. 

Michael Gabbard died on August 22, 1902 and was buried in the Esau-Gabbard Cemetery in Owsley County. 

Rest In Peace, soldier. 

Pictures from findagrave