It started with a revisit to my Kelly roots and ended with a fascinating look into the records of the Andersonville Civil War prison camp. In the September 16th article I wrote on search tips, I mentioned that I thought I may have found James Kelly in 1860, with the entire family enumerated with only initials in place of given names. While I was off last week I spent a little time tidying up things around the office and ran across that record. It reminded me that I had never followed up on his son James. (Yes, those Kellys were a creative bunch with names. His son was actually the third in the succession of Jameses that I know of. If I had to guess what the elder James’s father’s name was, I’d put my money on James.)
A Kelly Family Story
An old letter from my mother’s aunt that dated back to 1974 said, “I believe [James Kelly] lost a son in the Civil War. He died on a prison ship in the South.†When we obtained a listing from the family plot in Calvary Cemetery, among the family members we knew of, the first entry was for a James Kelly; date of burial, 26 April 1865; age at death, twenty-five. He appears to be the right age to have fought in the Civil War.
However, it’s really important that I look at each piece of information separately and not assume that the date of burial was near the time of death. Although the burial took place after the war had ended, we’re not clear on when he actually died. While the war was still raging it might not have been possible for the family to bring the body home for burial (assuming that this is indeed our Civil War soldier). He could have been relocated and buried in the plot well after he had died. Also behind this theory is the fact that there are actually four members of the family who were buried in that same plot on that date, one of whom we now know died in 1852.
Searching Ancestry Databases
For years I had scanned Civil War indexes looking for a James Kelly from New York, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I could never find a match. That census entry gave me an idea though. James’ occupation was listed as seaman. Did he perhaps serve in the Navy? How would that affect my search?
I decided to review my options at Ancestry. I clicked through to the Military Records and specified the Civil War to narrow my search. I had been through pension records before, so I was looking for something different. I spotted a database titled Civil War Prisoners of War, 1861-65, and remembering Aunt Olive’s reference to him being a prisoner, gave it a shot.
Because the letter said, “prison ship in the South,†I went with the assumption that he fought for the Union and specified that in my search. Other than that I only included his name. There were twenty hits for James Kelly fighting for the Union, and the first one I checked was a hospital register. (Accompanying this blog post is a sample from that image. Click on the image to enlarge it.)
I found two references on that page for James Kelly, one a “seaman†on the “U.S.S. Underwriter,†and the other was also listed as “seaman, U.S. Navy.†A few hits later, another entry matched the dates of admission to the hospital to the latter, but this time gave the ship name also as the “U.S.S. Underwriter,†leading me to believe that they were the same person being admitted to the hospital at different times for “dysenteria†[sic] and “diarrhea.â€
A couple things I noticed:Â
~ I found many names abbreviated or only with first initials. While most abbreviations will show up as matches at Ancestry (e.g., Jas. for James, Thos. for Thomas, etc.), initials will not and should be searched for separately.
~ I checked through all twenty of the references to James Kelly and found that there were only three or four different individuals that these records pertained to. As I found a new person, I would print the record and then using regimental information and dates to identify each man, add link numbers to the other images that also pertained to that person.
~ In this database, it’s a good idea to check the image that follows your find by clicking the “Next†button. Some of the records in this collection have multiple pages. On the page following the entries for James Kelly, I saw his death date, 1 June 1864. Putting the various entries together with information I found on the Web about the “U.S.S. Underwriter,†I was able to put together a timeline of events for the seaman.
The “U.S.S. Underwriter†was docked on the Neuse River where it was defending the Union stronghold at New Bern, North Carolina, when Rebel forces raided the ship took control of it, capturing the crew, and killing nine during the night of 1-2 February 1864. James Kelly ended up in the prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia, where he was admitted to the hospital on 13 April 1864 with “dysenteria,†[sic] and returned to prison on 21 April 1864. He was again admitted on 6 May 1864, this time with the reason stated as “diarrhea†and returned again to prison on 17 May 1864. On 22 May 1864, he returned to the hospital for the last time with “dysenteria†[sic] and he died there on 1 June 1864–four months after his capture.
~ Each index entry at Ancestry includes the NARA microfilm roll information (if applicable). To get a better feel for what I was looking at, I went to the website of the National Archives and clicked through to a page for microfilm research and requests. I then searched the microfilm collection. This led me to a page with the publication title. On a subsequent page I was rewarded with a PDF file of a sixteen-page pamphlet describing the collection. In addition to describing the records on each roll and how they were created, the early pages of the pamphlet also gave background information on the prison at Andersonville.
Follow-Up
I still don’t know whether this is indeed our James Kelly or not, and proving whether he is or isn’t related needs to be my first priority. I’m looking into Civil War Naval records at the National Archives and found reference to several collections that may help in that direction through my copy of the “Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States.â€
I also want to find out whether there were prison ships that were used in the South during the Civil War. I checked around online and could not find reference to any, but I did find a publication that looks interesting. Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War, by Lonnie R. Speer (Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Stackpole Books, 1997.) may yield additional information and a quick check of WorldCat told me that a library five minutes from home has it among its collections.
With Veterans’ Day coming up it’s particularly fitting that I work on this case. I would like to share his story with my family if we can make a connection. Perhaps you have a veteran in your family tree whose story is waiting to be told. There’s no better time than the present to honor the veterans in our family history.
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Juliana Smith has been an editor of Ancestry newsletters for more than nine years and is author of “The Ancestry Family Historian’s Address Book.” She has written for “Ancestry” Magazine and wrote the Computers and Technology chapter in “The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy,” rev. 3rd edition. Juliana can be reached by e- mail at [email protected], but she regrets that her schedule does not allow her to assist with personal research.
We have a military veteran friend who was honorably discharged during the Vietnam era. He served in the US Navy while having dual citizenship (Canadian/US). He was born in Canada and his family moved to New York when he was a child and became dual Canadian and US Citizens.
After discharge my friend worked in the US for over 3 decades, paying US taxes and Social Security. When it came time to retire and apply for his pension he was informed that the US Department of Homeland Security had revoked his US citizenship and did not recognize his Canadian citizenship.
The Social Security Administration will not begin his pension payments until his citizenship issue is resolved. He has been trying to work this matter through the VA, his local representatives in government (congressional level) and directly through the Social Security Office. No one seems to know what to do, who should take action and who has responsibility. The DHS will not reply to his inquiries. Any ideas?
One of my ancestors, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland and was a southern sympathizer, was captured by Union soldiers, along with three of his friends, while they were ferrying money, letters and possibly some supplies from Baltimore to Richmond, Virginia in March of 1863. One of the men later wrote an account of their capture in Northumberland County, Virginia, saying that they were first taken to General Hooker’s headquarters, which was then in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and kept in a tent on the grounds* and then transferred to a prison ship in Aquia Creek harbor. No mention was made of the name of the ship. The account says that they were “court-martialed”, sentenced to hang and sent to the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC. Before the sentence could be carried out however, “President Davis notified the Northern Government that he held three officers as hostages, who would share a similar fate if our sentences were enforced. In the latter part of May we were returned to Richmond.”
*The old farmhouse where General Hooker was headquartered is still standing in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, but it is now almost surrounded by a new home development.
My ancester John C Clark was also a prisoner at Andersonville. A visit to the prison site, now a national park, produced documents on his death and burial site which were not available anywhere else. I was able to connect family, where captured, date of death, and burial.
Congratulations on your progress, Julianna. My great-grandfather, Joshua Bair, spent time in Andersonville Prison; he was one of those lucky enough to survive. He returned to Andersonville in December, 1905 to participate in the dedication ceremonies for the Pennsylvania Monument at the prison site. (I found his name in a list of those traveling there using a government voucher for the train fare, in a book about the dedication of the monument that I purchased on Ebay!) I went to Andersonville in December, 2005 to represent him in the rededication of the monument by the Sons of Union Veterans. It was a very moving experience that indelibly connected me to the great-grandfather I had never met.
One fact struck me in your story. I am not aware of any men who were moved from a grave at Andersonville to a private grave up north. Thanks to the efforts of a soldier at Andersonville, Dorence Atwater, all the names of the dead were recorded. The published list is scanned on Kevin Frye’s website: http://www.angelfire.com/ga2/Andersonvilleprison/ Kevin will also do gravestone photos for a small fee. Follow the links at the bottom to find the Atwater list. I looked in the easy to read version, but the link for Navy deaths is apparently broken as it brought me to a page for Indiana soldiers. I looked on the scanned pages of the Atwater list, and there were a couple of James Kelleys, but none had a death date that matched yours (not necessarily surprising since dates often varied among records). Kevin is a great guy, very helpful, and so knowledgeable about Andersonville. He might be able to give you some insight.
I am assuming that your James Kelly was unmarried? Have you checked the pension records to see if his mother or father received a parent’s pension? My great-grandfather’s brother died unmarried in another prison camp, and his father applied for and received a pension. The information I found there is precious, and available no where else.
Please keep us updated on your search for more information about James Kelly!
Your comment about finding several people buried at the same time but they died and were buried somewhere else.
I have the same problem. Did you find out where they were originally buried? If so, what was your technique!
Thanks
Not sure if you are kin to an R.V. Kelly who lived in Kentucky but since I knew he had a farm and family there back in 1968 I thought I might mention this to you as I Knew R.V. Kelly. We attended the same church. He was a very active man and raised goats. He put on a goat roast for the brethren of our church. It was the first time I had eaten goat meat and it was sweet.
Let me know if any kin to him.
I have just finished reading an account of the New Bern, NC Raid by the confederates on USS UNDERWRITER. I searched the ame of the ship and came up with WIKIPEDIA taking me to HISTORYNET.com and showing the story from Civil War Times.
This is a paragraph from the article that applies to my family research. Below that is my comment added. Your James Kelly was unfortunately taken to a southern prison while my ancestor, his shipmate, was fortunate to have survived.
“In the haste to load the boats for the escape, one of the small cutters took on eighteen or twenty prisoners and only two guards, one in the stern steering and one in the bow. Realizing that they could not make headway with this heavy load, one of the guards called out to a cutter about fifty yards ahead that they needed to discard some of the prisoners and take on a stronger guard. Seizing this unexpected opportunity, U.S. Engineer Edgar Allen grabbed the stern guard’s cutlass and shouted for the prisoners to pull for shore with their lives. Instead, some of them, along with the bow guard, leaped overboard. But Allen and the remaining Yankees saved themselves from a Confederate prison, captured a cutter, and took a Rebel prisoner to boot”
One Comment to “American Civil War: The New Bern Raidâ€
I have read this article with great interest being a family researcher because my Great Grandfather, Peter Gilligan,at the age of 18,was one of the Union sailors aboard USS UNDERWRITER and was one of the “prisoners†in the small cutter that was overcome and, fortunately for our family, did not jump overboard but made it to the Union lines. He and one other sailor were the two wounded in the boat and were hospitalized. The other man died, Peter Gilligan recovered and later was assigned to the USS HULL. I found most of this information in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in The War of The Rebellion, May 5, 1863 to May 5, 1864. This was in Series 1, Volume 9, library code, E591.U56. which was in the repository of the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
By JKBarry on Aug 22, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I just posted a note about an ancestor on USS UNDERWRITER and I did forget to mention that my maiden name happens to be
Kell(e)y. My Granduncle, in Massachusetts, changed the spelling. Perhaps there is more of a connection with your research than shipmates.
Your research is really remarkable!