Research Prevails for Margareth Guilroy
See previous post about her original headstone. The Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC) recently ordered a replacement headstone for “Margaret Gilroy” (1830-1915), because her original headstone had been damaged last winter. In response to my suggestion (and extensive supporting research), the CWVMC agreed to order a headstone with the corrected spelling of her name: …
Should a 100-Year Misspelling Continue Because It Is “Historical” ?
Margareth Brennan emigrated from Ireland to the United States about 1861, at the age of 31. Nothing else is known about her early life in Ireland nor her first 10 years in the United States. On 7 May 1872 in Red Wing, MN, she married a Civil War veteran named James Guilroy. He had served…
A Georgia Rebel Goes AWOL and Joins the Union Army
The Confederate Congress passed a conscription law in April 1862, which made all men aged 18 to 45 eligible to be drafted into the military. One way to escape the draft was to find a “substitute” – a man to take your place and serve in the military in your place. Substitutes had to be…
Confederate Cavalryman Mis-Identified as Union Casualty for 150 Years
Cullen Britton Private Company C 12th Kentucky Cavalry Confederate States Army CIVIL WAR On a sunny November afternoon that was described as an “Indian summer day”, over 20,000 Confederate troops lined up against a force of 25,000 Union soldiers, who were outside of Franklin, Tennessee. The battlefield was wide, open ground; but the Union forces…
“Interloper” Buried Between Somebody’s Great-Grandparents
When Rebecca (Burdick) Carley died at the G.A.R. Veterans Home in 1914, she was buried next to her husband of 55 years, Milo Carley. Milo and Rebecca were married about 1857, probably in Winnebago County, WI. Milo had recently arrived in Wisconsin from Oswego County, NY; while Rebecca was born in Wisconsin. Her parents were…
Eternally Apart – CWVMC Spouses Buried Separately
A total of nineteen (19) Civil War veterans are buried separately from their spouse at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC). This total does not include the twelve (12) couples who were buried next to each other – only later to have an “interloping” burial made between them (the subject of the next post).…
Mismanagement of CWVMC Burials and Burial Records
Each burial at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC) has been assigned a “burial number”, starting with burial #1 – Isaac Baker in June 1888. The original burial records (pre-1955) have disappeared from the cemetery; discarded by State of Wisconsin employees. In 1995, a concerted effort by CWVMC staff was made to identify anomalies…
Typographical Error Creates a New Person – Complete with Burial and Headstone
My extensive research has identified no less than four (4) burials at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC) in which each “decendent” was created whole-cloth from a typographical and/or transcription error. To be clear: these four individuals never existed; and, yet, the CWVMC maintains a complete burial record for each of them. And each…
Peter Steinebach Has Two VA Headstones – Each in a Different Cemetery
Peter Steinebach was born in May 1840 in Germany and arrived in New York City on 11 May 1846 aboard the SS Emma. He was 6 years old and traveling with his parents and three siblings. In 1850, they were living in Polk, WI; but by 1860 Peter was living with his older brother and his…
Barney McBrarty – Buried in a Wisconsin State Veterans’ Cemetery – In an Unrecorded and Unmarked Grave
I studied the state veterans’ cemetery in King, WI, for over 9 years – and I’m still at it. It was originally known as the “Home Cemetery” as it first served the burial needs of the Wisconsin Veterans Home across the street; it is now known as the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery (CWVMC). From…