Between the Lines: Family History and Quirky Stories From Our Forgotten Past

  If you read any of the other “ Gleanings,” posts, you might recall that these “seen-around-town” sort of items were a regular column in the Coffeyville, Kansas newspapers, and many newspapers, in the 1870s and 1880s. I am compiling samples for each month. One change is that if I have commentary on an item, I highlighted it. 22 July 1875 Ten days without rain.  The “blue-tailed fly.” Cutting hay is in order. Wheat threshing everywhere. The mosquito is an impudent cuss.  One hundred two degrees in the shade Thursday. Thomas Jesson harvested a fine crop of barley. Complaints are being made that town cows are destroying neighboring corn. Either enforce the law or repeal it. Can’t this shooting at night be stopped? Why are people permitted to continue violating city ordinances and frightening women and children with impunity? An entertainment will be given the evening of August 2nd. A variety of excellent vocal and instrumental music, select readings, tableaux , etc. will be...

  They were Charles and Myron, Milo Jr. and Calvin, and Sylvester, George, Edwin and Theron. The eight sons of Milo Roswell Barber and wife Miranda Orilla Butler were born over a span of 24 years, from 1833 to 1857. There were two sisters, too; Abi, the oldest child, and Sophronia, increasing the span to 26 years.       Of course, in their era, a large family like theirs wasn’t unusual at all. One could say they were ordinary people, average, perhaps. But what is an ordinary life? Our lives are shaped by the place and time we live in, and national events can have life-changing effects. Six of the brothers served in the Civil War. That was an extraordinary event, of course, and it profoundly marked the lives of each one. It wasn’t common for one family to have six sons serve, and all came back alive. Six sons were also pioneers. That too was a unique event in American history. One other son was knifed to death; one lived nearly the last twenty years of ...

  Death At the Spelling Bee 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge Story No. 4 -      A Northern Indiana night in January. There was a spelling bee at the schoolhouse in Silver Lake, a small town in Kosciusko County. George M. Barber was ready.      Things happened fast in George’s life. He did things in a hurry; waiting around was not his style. He joined the Union Army in February 1864 when he was only 15. He served with the Indiana 128th Infantry, Company G, organized in Michigan City, with a number of other Kosciusko County boys. The army had an enlistment age of 18, but there were a number of ways around it. There were no official documents such as birth certificates and social security cards to prove one’s age. Maybe he looked older than his age; maybe some Kosciusko men vouched for him. Maybe the recruiter was anxious to meet his quota.       George had five older brothers serving in the Civil War....