Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War – 1861-1865

I am a member of the Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War- 1861-18654 by vertue of my Great-Great grandfather, John Wesley Duart.  Today I attended my first meeting and was astounded that although I had researched my family for some 40 years, I never really looked that deeply into John Wesley’s Civil War history, other than to prove his lineage.

My quest now is to change that and find out as much as possible about his 7th Regiment Company C of the Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Bob Watson, friend and re-enactor spoke at this DUVCW meeting about the common soldier of the Civil War.  Whoa! What a statement, “common soldier” when they all showed such uncommon valor for gr. gr. grandfather, John, to march from Tennessee to Alabama without proper food and water, let alone any other “creature comforts” we now have grown to expect.

Stay tuned to this quest and I’ll let you know what I find.

The Countdown Continues – 13 days

Ladies and Gentlemen, only 13 days until the release of the 1940 United States Federal Census records.  There are many options to help index these records, so join up through the Associate of Professional Genealogists or FamilySearch or Ancestry.

If you are from Pennsylvania, this is a really big year.  The Bureau of Vital Statistics released birth records from 1906 and death records 1906-1961.  With this and the 1940 census, this could advance some of your research a few more generations.

And don’t forget to watch Who Do You Think You Are? this Friday at 8 pm.  Helen Hunt is the featured descendant.  This is a great show, but it isn’t as easy as it looks.  I’m always surprised when they bring out the really old southern records.  I thought they were all burned in the war.  It is mostly knowing where to look.