Spiritualism and John Alexander

 

John H. Alexander was my second great grandfather. He was born in 1842, the son of John H. and Mary Frances (Carter, Lucas) Alexander.  At the time this article was written, he was about 36 years old and married to Amanda Atkins. They had 3 children at this time, Sarah, Charles aka. Ed, and John Everett. They would go on to have 3 more children, my great grandfather being one.

I was delighted and really amused when I found this. Particularly when you know the smorgasbord that is my family.

To start with, Spiritualism has existed for thousands of years, but the modern spiritualist movement in the U.S. began in the 1840s in New York. Indiana has had a large community of spiritualists since the very early days. New Harmony, Indiana and Camp Chesterfield, Indiana are still going strong. The article below is self-explanatory. Transcription below the clipping.

Modern Spiritualism.

Our good friend, JOHN GORBET, sent us the particulars of discussions which came off at the Gorbet school house on Thursday and at the Hays school house on Friday, upon the proposition that "Spiritualism is the work of the devil." John Gorbet and other advocated the affirmative and John E. Murphy and others the negative. At the first meeting, Chris Runger presided, while George Weddle and Joseph Banks officiated as Judges. At the second meeting, John Alexander was called to the chair, and Michael Isaacs and Wm. Hays chosen as Judges. In both cases, the Judges decided unanimously for the affirmatives. Mr. Gorbet also sent numerous scriptural references upon which his arguments were based, thus showing that he was well fortified with biblical authority to sustain the affirmative proposition. 

It sounds like they were having some fun with it, at least I hope so. I would have loved to be in the debate! I love 'poking the bear'. I'd have been on the losing side, though perhaps it would not have lost if I had been there. 

Little did John know his grand-daughter would come to be very close to her father-in-law who was a Spiritualist, Medium and Table-walker, and still be a very devoted Christian.  

This is not the first time John Alexander and William Hays were mentioned in an article. They were often together. I believe they were good friends, though that can never be carved in stone. My great grandfather was born in 1880. His name was William Hays Alexander. It can never be 'set in stone' sure, but I bet I'm right.

Source: Newspapers.com; Modern Spiritualism. Jackson County Banner, Brownstown, Indiana; Thursday, February 7, 1878; Page 4.

An Explosion of Death

 

This is just another GenWeb story.  I've been trying to get new data on my newest adoption, Leslie County, Kentucky. The first thing I decided to tackle was the Leslie County Mine Fatalities. So, I always take a peek at how I did it in the other counties so that things stay uniform. First discovery of the day is: I misspelled fatalities on the other two sites. So, I was ready to begin after I fixed that dumb mistake.   

Coal was called "Black Gold". Leslie County is deep in Appalachia, real coal country. It really is "black gold" only to the mine owners. To the miners it was "black death".  If you could live to retirement age, there was the looming diagnosis of Black Lung.  At least 16% of miners suffer from that in their retirement years.  Most of the time mining was the only job around. 

I transcribe from the government list the names of the men that died in mine accidents up to about 2005 or 2006, date of death and cause of death. When I got to December 30, 1970, I just kept typing a different name, same date and same cause. Explosion. It went on for 38 entries. I could not leave that. I just googled December 30, 1970 mine explosion, not even saying where.  It was the Hurricane Creek mine disaster just outside the town of Hyden, in Leslie County, Kentucky. The mine was inspected in November and found to have so many problems it should have been shut down. But, jobs, you know. The inspector told the owner that it would be shut down if they did not have everything fixed by the December 22nd inspection. I could just imagine a wink, wink, nudge, nudge. That inspection did not happen. Not enough inspectors, of course. The men knew it was going to be a disaster at some point. They had etched their social security numbers on their belts so they could be identified. In the end, for most of the bodies, that was exactly how they were identified. In a court of law, the owner, Charles Findley, was found guilty of the deaths in the mine. He paid a fine and walked. There is a lot on the Hurricane Mine disaster online and it is easy to find, so I won't go on and on.

Sometimes, what I do is so emotionally exhausting. This was one of those days. The men are aged from 16 to 60. Several sets of brothers, including a set of twins. 

In some cases, and this was one, I make it a point to read aloud each name, so that for a moment they live again, and know they are not forgotten.

Walter Bentley

Billy J. Bowling

Grover Bowling, Jr.

Teddy Bush

Fred Collins

Kenople Collins

Lonnie Collins 

Alonzo Couch 

Holt Couch 

Howard Couch

Carl Ghent

Alfred Gibson

Lawrence Gray

Theo Griffin

Lester Harris

Delbert Henson

Price Henson

Walter Hibbard

George Holland

Ben Hoskins

Frank Hoskins

Kermit Hubbard

Jim Jones

Rufus Jones

James C. Minton

Lee Mitchell

Russell Morgan

Earl Phillips

Stanley Roberts

Arnold Sizemore

Wilbert Smith

Jeffie Spurlock

Albert Wagers

Armond Wagers

Arnold Wagers

Elmer White

Andrew D. Whitehead

Denver Young 

We're all family, really.

The Character of Samuel Allman

 I write this time about my fourth great grandfather, Samuel Allman. He was the son of Philip Jonas Allman and Lucinda VanDeveer. He was born in Virginia.

He first married Rebecca Ann Hatton in 1835 in Bartholomew County, Indiana. Together, they had 6 children: Mary Ann, aka. Polly Ann, John William, Minerva, Nancy Ellen, Philip and Rufus. Mary Ann is my third great-grandmother. Rebecca died in 1851. He then married Mary Jane Hall in 1852.  They had 6 children as well: Sarah, Pernette, Samuel A. Jr., William Riley, Joseph and Lucinda. I grew up and had relationships with the descendants of William Riley Allman. Oddly enough, I did not know how we were related until I began researching. My mom and dad were married by the son of William Riley, and I was first married by his grandson. I know, it's a "strange but true" thing. It was a small town. Even more strange, his grandson was a new preacher, and we were his first marriage, and of course, failure. Hope we didn't dent him. 

Any-whoooo, this is about Samuel, well, actually Sam. He was an extremely interesting man. Ancestry has his dates a mess and a photo of his grandson, Samuel Martin in place of an actual photo of Sam Allman. Sam Martin was the son of Mary Ann Allman, Sam Allman's daughter. and again, my third great-grandmother. I'd love to sit and listen to her father tell his stories. I bet he had good ones! This article will give you a sense of who he was. I have transcribed it below the clipping.

Unfortunate Sam Allman. (January 29, 1873)

The cabin of Samuel Allman, on the other side of the river, took fire one night recently, and burned to the ground, together with all the furniture and bedding in the same. with nowhere else to go, Sam turned his live stock from his rude stable, and with his family has occupied it ever since. A subscription paper was passed around last week for the relief of the distressed family, and quite a number of our citizens contributed liberally. Sam Allman is a poor man, but his character for honesty is above reproach. With his unshorn face and unkempt hair, Sam presents an uncouth appearance. "Too proud to beg and too honest to steal," "his rags and tags" he does not "try to conceal," and it may truthfully be said of him that he "belongs to the shabby genteel."

As illustrative of the character of Sam Allman, we will relate a little anecdote. One day a few years ago, before the jail on Walnut street was destroyed by fire, as Sam was passing that edifice, some of the prisoners ventured to tantalize him. Sam felt that he was insulted, and pausing, he looked up to the grated window, and thus addressed himself to his deriders: "Boys," said he, "poverty is no crime, else I expect as how I mought be peeping through iron bars myself. I tell you what it is, I'd rather be a mighty sight poorer and worse off than I am, and go to bed hungry every night, with an honest conscience to make me sleep sound, than swap places with the best one of ye - ye trifling spalpeens and dishonest vagabonds. The next time I come along this way, I shall bring my rifle, ready cocked and primed, and I'll tell you what it is, the first one of you that opens his mouth at me will drap, and the coroner's jury will give a verdict, 'shot plumb through the right eye by Sam Allman, who never misses his mark.'" Sure enough, Sam carried his trusty rifle the next time, and walked slowly past the jail, taking the middle of the street that the prisoners might have a good view and that he might have a good range; but no taunts greeted his ears, and therefore Sam was not compelled to shoot a prisoner "plumb through the right eye," which he undoubtedly would have done had he been again insulted. 

Sam was listed as a farmer in every census. The bottoms are still the most fertile area of the county. The yearly floods enrich the soil. I think he was a very rich man. His children were all devoted to him, all 12 of them. Mary Ann had 2 children with her first husband, and she named them Samuel and Rebecca. He was respected in that small town, and many of his descendants are still there, living good lives.

Transcription of his death notice.

Death of Samuel Allman. (November 16, 1876)

It is with regret we chronicle the death of SAMUEL ALLMAN, who for many years resided in the bottoms on the west side of the river. In appearance he was a perfect picture of the original back woodsman. His rifle and his dog were his inseparable companions. As a marksman he was the equal of David Crocket or Daniel Boone, and it was but seldom that his game did not drop at the pull of the trigger of his faithful gun. Throughout life, he remained a poor man, and a rude log cabin has been all the home he and his family have ever known. Yet he was happy and contented, perhaps far more so than many who fared better in this world's good. He was a strong Democrat, and it grieved him that he was not able to come to town on election day to vote for Tilden and Hendricks. He was possessed of a good disposition and was strictly honest. He was about 60 years of age.

Just for the record, I love Perry Mason. You know, the early black and white show. There is this one episode which always makes me think of Sam. I don't know the name of it, but it has a character that is like what I imagine he was. He has his rifle ready, his dog Hardtack at his side and is very honest and 'old world'.  Of course, Perry was his lawyer, so he did not do it. Just funny how sometimes a character in a movie, tv show or book reminds you of an ancestor. Well, it does me. I might be nuts, though. 

-A little explaination:

spalpeen:  Irish word, means a rascal.

Tilden and Hendricks ran against Hayes and Wheeler in 1876. Didn't go well for them. 

Sources:

Newspapers.com; Unfortunate Sam Allman: Jackson County Banner, Brownstown, Indiana; Wednesday, January 29, 1873; Page 5.

Newspapers.com; Death of Samuel Allman: Jackson County Banner, Brownstown, Indiana; Thursday, November 16, 1876; Page 5

Why Family History?

 I am the coordinator of 5 USGenWeb sites.  Basically, I am a web mom. I try to get new data up as I can. Submissions are few and far between. At least a year ago I added Find-A-Grave, Gold Star Veteran, and sometimes other links to the list of WWII casualties on one of my sites. I had started on the second county list some time ago, and I finally got back to finishing it off. 

It is harder to do right now, as my feelings are raw and painful, even full of fear, knowing how things may soon be. We are standing at the precipice. Do we continue to soar, or do we take a step off the steep cliff into chaos and darkness.  We have choices, one choice does not understand freedom or making a sacrifice for the freedom of ourselves or others, the other choice is service, respect and the fight to stay free. One wants to jail or kill those who disagree, the other is freedom to disagree and still be friends or family. Democracy in fact. But the friends and family thing has disappeared, the circles have been broken. Can we fix it?

I have several ancestors that fought (for the right side) in the Revolutionary War. You know the one? People with a dream of freedom, throwing off that suffocating kingly blanket, standing free, on their own. They did this without a standing army, having faith that their descendants would live free. They fought valiantly, not even sure that they would live to see the results of their actions. But they had faith that they were fighting for a just cause. If the dream had failed, the Revolution lost, we would never have known having choices.

All of the wars we have fought were for the same reason. In hindsight some were indeed sketchier than others. But our boys went in fighting to keep us or others free from tyranny. Today it suddenly occurred to me that if we step off that precipice, they all will have died for nothing. They just postponed the darkness, that's all. If WWII had been lost, if our boys had said, nope, not gonna fight, life would be different. The enemy would have come here. Its goal was the world.  Its darkness is slowly seeping into our bright future, it takes a little freedom here and a little there, dimming the light of freedom. 

 Every family is touched by war at some time. Being a family historian, you can see the broken branches that war caused. You know the struggle so many went through to get here, to be free to make their own choices, to bring light to the darkness of their lives. You've recorded the sacrifices families made because they believed in the dream of democracy. All people need to know their family history. It's very important, now more than ever. 

The Good and the Bad

 I've come to one of those things I've seen people ask if they should record or not. I've always thought that it should be recorded, whatever it is, because it is truth. You record the good things, why not the bad.

I've been transcribing obits and articles from the newspapers. It is a great way to "flesh" out the people so that they are more than just the names. I have a collection of 'real' clippings plus a lot of digital clippings from newspapers online. I usually put them in a Surname folder, or in some cases, a folder specifically for one person.

I finally decided to get this one folder that I had been putting off transcribing, done. The folder was full of articles about the life of a cousin who died some years back. My thought was that I could not be fair or be so angry and upset that it would show in my handling of his entries. I did not clip all of them, as there were so many over the years, most just repeats of the time before. He got a lot of 'press'.

He was 7 years older than me, so cute and nice when he was little. Everyone loved him, including me. He was just a kid, no different from any of us. No hints of what was to come.

It seems to have started when he was 17, at least it was the first time he was caught. Illegal possession of alcoholic beverages. Next, he had to be patched up after a big fight. Then reckless driving.

He married the first time at 19. It was the end of August, and they had a beautiful wedding. September, he had a hit and run, he pleads guilty and is fined. Same month they have a huge, post-nuptial shower. Lovely. Then in early October he is arrested and charged with public intoxication, minor in possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, minor entering a tavern, fake ID, carrying a deadly weapon and malicious trespassing. Released on bond, and before November he is arrested for reckless driving and auto theft. They gave him a choice; go into the military or go to jail. So, 2 charges dismissed, the others will be here waiting, and he's now a private. The army will straighten him up, right?

December brings his first divorce.

So, cousin is so nice, charming really, he's smart, quick-witted. The army knows his record and why he is there. At this time Vietnam is going on and our young men are fighting and dying. What do they do with him? Well, they make him the big guy's personal driver. Yea, well that didn't go so well. He spent some time in the brig, if it is called that. Then a dishonorable discharge. In April, less than 2 years after his entering the army, he is here at home and again arrested for intoxication, stealing a car, reckless driving. A month from this, he'll be 21. He will also serve time.

This was his life, from age 17 to the day of his death. He had several wives, I only know the names of the first and last one, whom he spent a couple of decades with. He became toxic, everyone avoided him if they could. He had the last laugh, though I don't know of anyone that thought it was funny. People were quite angry. His wife told them he was in the army during the Vietnam War. You can guess what happened. He did not deserve the honor he was given. Perhaps his wife did not know, and knowing him, he probably had "war stories".

How does this happen to a person? He had an older sister, who is still alive. She's fine. His parents did not drink, and they tried to help him. He was a wonderful young person, you always hoped he'd be there, until one day you had to avoid even saying hello to him.

These two days of transcribing his folder has been full of both loving and painful memories, leaving me with such sadness. Every family experience the good and the bad but seeing it all laid out in black and white, mingling with memories, it's a journey that leaves a mark. I've finally felt grief, not for his passing, but for the life he didn't get to live.

His name is not mentioned here. If family reads this, they will know who I am speaking of. His articles will be locked away in my program for descendants to find sometime in the future. They would find them anyway, but without the knowledge that he was loved. I hope by that time addiction is no longer a problem families must live with. Is it nature or nurture? I don't think it's either. Is there a lesson to be learned? I don't know. I know it is just luck that the only person he hurt was himself.

Medical researchers keep coming up with a pill for just about anything. Ridiculous things. Do they address addiction? Nope. Maybe because alcohol is a multi-billion-dollar business. Addiction needs to be addressed now. 

Relationships

 I've always kept Legacy on my computer. I like it for some things, for others not so much. But, I did buy the full program when 9 came out. Now it has upgraded to Legacy10, It's FREE! I could not believe it. I thought it had to be a trial or just part of the program, but no. It is the full program! It is also great. I think I know the 2 programs I will be working in now.      

Legacy10 sent me an exciting "Tip 1". You can turn on relationships. Just like that! You can see below how they display. It also lists my brother's wife as "sister-in-law".  It also will list "Stepfather" and "Stepbrother". None of the others do that. Perfect.

Family Historian is the program I am using now, and I am very pleased with it. In it, relationships are just part of the work. You will see them in the Individual Record list. Didn't have to set it up, it was just there. How good is that?! It lists my brother's wife at just that, brother's wife. Very good.

RootsMagic 7-Click Tools, then click Relationship Calculator, click to find the person1, then click to add Person2, click Calculate.  You will see the relationship between the two. It will only list blood relatives, blank for in-laws.

RootsMagic 9- It would seem that RM9 is actually set up to be a scavenger hunt, you know what you want, now go see if you can find it.  I couldn't find it so it took me at least an hour of reading the "not so helpful Help" and user groups. Finally found it, may never be able to find it again. Pull up Relationship Calculator, click to find the person1, then click to add Person2, click Calculate.  You will see the relationship between the two. It will only list blood relatives, blank for in-laws. Same old.

Click - click - click - click - click - click - click. . . sorry. I'm being a jerk but it feels right. I'm old. I don't want complications. I hate scavenger hunts. They give me a headache. Get off my lawn. I just want to work.

Trials and Tribulations

 I don't use RootsMagic 9 for much of anything, but I bought it and I keep thinking I might find something useful about it.

I had an error problem in RM9 some time back. I went to the user group and posted it. I was given help to fix the problem. It did go away. At least until I closed it and went to bed. Next day, same error. I spent days reading everything I could find about the error as I had time. Must have spent a few hours over all. One guy had said remove the program and download a new copy. So I tried that. I wiped it off my computer. Cleaned it off completely. Downloaded a new one and added my GedCom.  Photo below shows what it looked like shiny and new.

 

Right. The little photos are gone. There are photos in Media. When you click on the person, and go to their Media, you can see them. They just don't show on the Person or Pedigree. After at least an hour of reading and trying to get them back, I quit. The RootsMagic Help seems to be talking about a different program.  It is not talking about the one I have.

So, I don't know if the error would come back or not, since I did not add anything to anyone, and have no plans to do so. 

I don't think I can take RootsMagic serious at all anymore. I am old. I don't have time for this. Good thing I have been working in my newest app. It had a learning curve. Everything is right where you expect it to be. I spent less time learning it than I spent looking for answers to fix the problems in RM9.  Also, I've almost gotten all my digital files organized nicely. I'm down to transcribing obits and articles. Feels good.