As I look at photos of men who fought in the Civil War, many of them are wearing beards in their photos as older men. I am not sure if it was a sign of service, or a fashion of the times, but there were many men who had beards for some reason or another!
The man I will talk about this week is my 2nd great grandfather, Robert Springer.
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| Robert Springer, scan of a tintype photo |
Robert was born July 3, 1842 in Lawrence County, Tennessee to Jonas and Annie (Brashears) Springer. He was the 5th of 13 children and the 2nd son, although Ananais, his older brother, had died in March before Robert was born.
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| Blair Cemetery, Lawrence County, Tennessee |
When Robert was just 17 years old, he married Elizabeth Jane Kelly on January 5, 1860. She was just 14, having been born on August 5, 1845.
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| Elizabeth Jane (Kelly) Springer, scan of a tintype photo |
Robert and Elizabeth are found on the Lawrence County, Tennessee 1860 federal census living in the 15th Civil District with West Point as the nearest Post Office.
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Year: 1860; Census Place: District 15, Lawrence, Tennessee; Roll: M653_1260;Page: 494;
Family History Library Film: 805260 |
Their first child, Mary Elizabeth, was born October 21, 1860. According to his military record, on February 9, 1863, Robert enlisted in Company B, 23rd Regiment of the Tennessee Infantry in the Confederate Army as a Private. He enlisted for 2 or 3 years with Col. R. H. Keeble in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He was present for the Jan-Feb, Mar-Apr and May-Jun Musters, but on the Jul-Aug Muster, he is listed as "Deserted at base of Comberland Mountain July 2, 1863. Dr. C. S. A., 1 Enfield Rifle and accouterments, 1 Knapsack, 1 Haversack, 1 Canteen and strap. That is the last record in the military record file that I was able to find.
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| https://www.fold3.com/image/74844967 |
By the 1870 census, Robert, and Elizabeth Jane had 5 children, Mary Elizabeth "Mollie", George Andrew (my great grandfather) born July 17, 1864, Jonas A., born about 1866, Sarah Ann "Sallie", born January 21, 1868, and Martha Amanda "Mattie", born January 11, 1870.
Citation Information: Detail Year: 1870; Census Place: District 15, Lawrence, Tennessee;
Roll: M593_1543; Page: 103B; Family History Library Film: 553042 |
Robert and Elizabeth Jane's youngest son who lived past childhood, Walter Kelly Springer was born January 13, 1873. Jonah A. was born May 22, 1876. There is a Memorial on FindaGrave, Memorial No. 171216420, i
n the Blair Cemetery, where others in this family are buried, for a Jonas A. born July 7, 1882 with no death date (no photo on the site), but I have (from some source?) that Jonah died July 2, 1882 at the age of 6. Then, they had twin sons, who were born July 16, 1878 and died shortly after.
Mary Elizabeth, also known as Mollie, married George W. Dixon on December 10, 1879. George died between September 27, 1900. Mollie moved to Texas between 1910 and 1920, probably at the same time as Elizabeth Jane and Robert.
So, in the 1880 census, George A. age 15, Sarah A. age 12, Martha A. age 10 and Walter K age 8 are living in the home with Robert age 37 and Elizabeth J age 34.
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Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: District 15, Lawrence, Tennessee; Roll: 1266;
Page: 216D; Enumeration District: 105. Description: ED: 105; Description: Fifteenth Civil District |
The last child was born and died November 15 or 16, 1880. According to FindaGrave Memorial 171216044, this last child was a boy, also.
So, there is some confusion about the dates for these last infants born to Robert and Elizabeth Jane, but we know there were several. It appears that all of these infants are buried in Blair Cemetery in Lawrence County, Tennessee.
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| Robert and Elizabeth Jane (Kelly) Springer |
George Andrew married Lizzie Louella Busby in Wayne Station, Lawrence County, on December 22, 1886, and they moved to Texas about 1891.
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| George and Ella about 1900 in Texas |
Sarah Ann married David Munroe Johnson on January 11, 1880, and moved to Texas between 1893 and 1900.
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| Sarah and David Johnson, 1890's |
Martha Amanda "Mattie" married George W. Price on July 20, 1892 and move to Texas after 1910.
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Robert and Elizabeth Jane and 3 of their children and grandchildren about 1904.
Including George and Mattie (on right) (See Key below) |
And finally, Walter Kelly Springer married Addie Pearl Gabel on October 24, 1897. Walter and Addie moved to Texas between 1912 and 1914.
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| Walter and Addie and first 3 kids, about 1904 |
By the Lawrence County, Tennessee 1900 census, Robert and Elizabeth Jane were living alone, ages 57 and 54, and married 40 years, but they are next door to their daughter Mattie Price and her family.
Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Civil District 15, Lawrence, Tennessee; Page: 11; Enumeration District: 0059; FHL microfilm: 1241584. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls. |
By 1910, some of their children had moved to Texas, but Mollie had been widowed and was living with Robert and Elizabeth Jane, and Mattie and Walter were still in the area. I often wonder if any of the families who had moved to Texas ever went back for visits, or if any of the Tennessee cousins came to Texas to visit.
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Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: West Point, Lawrence, Tennessee; Roll: T624_1509;
Page: 3A and 3B; Enumeration District: 0087; FHL microfilm: 1375522. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. |
I am not sure exactly when Robert and Elizabeth Jane moved, but sometime in 1910, soon after the census, they finally moved to Ellis County, where on April 14, 1914, Elizabeth Jane (Kelly) Springer passed away of Glandular Tuberculosis and was buried in the Midlothian Cemetery, Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas.
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Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA
Source Information: Title: Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982. Author: Ancestry.com; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013, Provo, UT, USA |
The Death Certificate states that she had lived in Texas 4 years.
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| Midlothian Cemetery, Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas |
So, in the 1920 census, Robert and daughter Mollie Dixon were still sharing a home.
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| Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Midlothian, Ellis, Texas; Roll: T625_1800; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 143. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. |
Robert died of Nephritis on July 31, 1929 in Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas. Walter was the informant on the Death Certificate.
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Source Citation: Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA
Source Information: Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982 [database on-line].
Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. |
He is buried next to Elizabeth Jane in Midlothan Cemetery.
So, I am not sure when Robert decided to grow his beard, but all of the photos I have seen, he has a beard!
'Til Next Time!
#52Ancestors
So, I am not sure when Robert decided to grow his beard, but all of the photos I have seen, he has a beard!
Madison Golman Breshears fought of the Union Army at the Battle of Booneville, in Missouri. He lived in Hickory County, MO around present day Hermitage. Son of Henry Alexander Breshears Jr. , son of H.A. Breshears Sr. of South Carolina, son of Middleton Brashear, son of Basil Brashear and Anne Belt...(this is important as there are 3 Basil Brashear) 7 families of Brashear, and Breshears left Lawrenceburg , TN in 1820's to go to Missouri Pomme de terre Valley. They took with them a young slave girl named Roda. She became a member of the Family and earned the moniker "Aunt Roda" . Her story is on the internet. Upon her "owners/sisters) demise, and after the war, Aunt Roda stayed with the family who built her a Log Cabin on the property where she had helped raise 11 children and 4 Grand Children. The name "Aunt" Roda was bestowed upon her as a sign that she was not considered to be "chattel" or "property" but as a part of the family, staying/living and loving the only family she ever had. She is buried in the Breshears Family Cemetery in Hickory County next to her loved ones.
ReplyDeletePaul, thank you for sharing this great story. I will check out "Aunt Roda"!
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