Civil War

  • Surviving during the Civil War

    Oct 21

    Our ancestors – not just the ones in the military – but those at home – North or South side, had to survive those four years of war at home (1861-1865). It was not easy, some areas suffered more than others. Here are some of the problems during wartime and how our ancestors tried to make the best of what was happening. With the needs of t...

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  • President Lincoln and others Hair Picture

    Oct 19

    There is a very unusual art piece held in the Onondaga Historical Associate (OHA) in Syracuse, New York – one very few people know about. Its name alone is strange “The Hairy Eagle”. As was once popular in the late 1800s, it is artwork made of human hair. Not just anyone's hair but that of President Abraham Lincoln, wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, ...

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  • Civil War – Sanitary Fairs

    Apr 7

    It was dangerous and hard for a few years during the American Civil War of 1861-1865 for our ancestors. Many families of Union soldiers in the northern states helped the Federal troops who needed additional assistance with medical care and nutritious food that maybe the military was not able to provide. Those families got together and came up with...

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  • Contraband Camps

    Jan 11

    During the American Civil War of the early 1860s, there were "contraband" camps. Such contraband camps were African-American refugee camps to which between 400,000-500,000 thousand enslaved men, women, and children in the Union-occupied portions of the Southern Confederacy states fled to escape their slave-holding owners by getting themselves ...

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  • Civil War Soldiers Dyed Their Hair

    Oct 29

    One of the most important invocations to come during the American Civil War was photography, the equipment could be hauled in a wagon and many photographers traveled from military camp to towns across America during 1861-1865. That is great because more than likely you might have a photo of an ancestor who served during the Civil War. Not on...

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  • 1910 Census Info about Your Ancestor

    Aug 21

    Each of the US Censuses has been unique, varying in what questions were asked, providing some important family information, not just names. Go over the 1910 census with a keen eye to look for the following items about your family – great grandparents and grand uncles-aunts. As in any census record, look at the top, above the listing ...

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  • Researching Union and Confederate Graves

    Jun 25

    As you have done your family history and tree, you may have located individuals that you for sure served in the US Union Army or Navy or with the US Confederacy Army or Navy. There may be some you are not sure if they with either side during the American Civil War 1861-1865. One method to learn more is to check if on their headstone there is...

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  • Civil War Wounds

    May 25

    As we remember this Memorial Day the countless Americans over the decades who have served in the military and 'gave their all' to this country, and as you examine your own ancestors, here is one event from the era of the American Civil War (1861-1865) not known as well. With the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, in April 1862, the battle p...

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  • A House Divided

    Apr 25

    Brother against brother, father vs. his sons; the divisions within families were numerous during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Even in the bounds of the Lincoln household on Pennsylvania Avenue, Abraham was from pro-Union Illinois and his wife, Mary, was from Kentucky, born into a family of slaveholders. She even had several relatives figh...

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  • Register of Military Volunteers in PA from 1861-1865

    Mar 5

    If you had ancestors who either lived in Pennsylvania or any of the neighboring states (Maryland, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia, New York or New Jersey) between 1861 and 1865 and who may have served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, you will want to check out this FamilySearch.org database. It comes from FamilySearch.org a...

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