Where science meets family history

Have you read about genetics in the news? Ever asked yourself, "How does this apply to me?"

The study of genetics and DNA testing in particular has now become not just a newsworthy topic, but a practical and meaningful tool for personal use. Family historians, in particular, stand to benefit greatly from the use of DNA testing.

Now a simple cheek swab test can be used to provide information that can confirm previous family history research or provide new clues to a family's heritage, both familial and geographical. On the flip side, genealogy is aiding the study of genetics by providing an avenue for further study of current findings.

If you are interested in getting an introduction to DNA testing and genetics and how they apply to genealogy and perhaps your own family history, check out the Carnival of Genealogy: 35th Edition. Hosted by Blaine Bettinger, otherwise known as the Genetic Genealogist, this "blog carnival" is a series of articles posted on various blogs about the topic of genetics and genealogy.

Included in the series of carnival posts are my own entries:

• Mr. Tierney, I presume? at A Light That Shines Again
• A rose by any other name at 100 Years in America
• Bad genes - discovered! here at Small-leaved Shamrock

Also check out:

• Calling all Ó Cobhthaigh, Cowhey, Coffey cousins! just before this post here at Small-leaved Shamrock
  

Happy reading! As I learn more about DNA testing and its application to the Cowhey family's heritage and that of other related families, I will post more information.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy a little introduction to genetic genealogy thanks to the 35th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

Calling all Ó Cobhthaigh, Cowhey, Coffey cousins!

Thanks to my discovery of the original Gaelic version of the Cowhey surname and a link on the Coffee/Coffey Call genealogy blog, I've found the DNA project for the Ó Cobhthaigh surname and all of its derivations.

Knowing that Cowhey was such an uncommon name, I never thought I'd find a group like this, yet here it is!

Why am I so interested in this project?

As I mentioned on a A Light That Shines Again, a blog about the related Tierney family's genealogy, I've been tracing the various branches of my family tree for a long time. My efforts, however, have gotten me back only a couple of centuries. Genetic genealogy, however, offers the opportunity to learn about a family's deep ancestry, and enables others who share the same surname within their genealogy to determine just how they might related.

A simple cheek swab test can provide information about your patrilineal family tree many generations back, particularly with regard to where the family originated. It can also provide you with connections to other descendants of the same family line that are living today - distant cousins who share the same heritage. This information can be shared with others through a Y-DNA surname project like the one mentioned above.

Because of the nature of patrilineal genetics (identical genes passed down from the father to son, father to son, father to son, and so on...), you must be male to test Y-line DNA. (The other type of frequently used DNA test is matrilineal or mitochondrial DNA, otherwise known as mtDNA. For more information see the Ireland Heritage mtDNA project.)

Take a look at the frequently asked questions section (under the For Newbies tab on the left sidebar) on the International Society of Genetic Genealogy website for more information about how DNA testing works and what information it can provide.

If your name is Mr. Cowhey or Mr. Coffey (or if you use the Gaelic surname Ó Cobhthaigh), and you are interested in learning about your genetic heritage, contact the Coffey/Coffee Y-DNA Surname Project.

Similar projects are available for other Irish surnames (not to mention surnames of other backgrounds). You can find more information on some Irish surname projects at Irish Heritage DNA Project and the Ireland Heritage Y-DNA Project Family Tree DNA, although the list is by no means exhaustive. (Tierney and Kennedy, for example, surnames for which I know that there are projects available, are not listed on Irish Heritage.) It's exciting to be researching family history now that technology is aiding us in so many amazing ways, including the area of genetics. Genealogy has never been as easy or as rewarding.

For further information about genetic genealogy see the Carnival of Genealogy on genetics at The Genetic Genealogist.

Is this where my love of poetry comes from?

I was excited about my discovery that Cowhey derives from Ó Cobhthaigh, the Irish Gaelic surname which is most often anglicized as Coffey. It appeared that our Cowhey branch of the family was more than likely from County Cork, according to Irish Families: Their Names, Arms, and Origins.

Now a new discovery, thanks to a Griffith's Valuation index in the Irish Ancestors section of The Irish Times website: County Cork is only one of several places to look for our Cowey/Cowhey ancestors.

According to the site, Griffith's Valuation, published in between 1848 and 1864 to provide accurate information for tax purposes, lists every landholder and householder in Ireland. Supposedly Patrick Cowey arrived in the United States before this, around 1820, but relatives that he left behind in Ireland would more than likely be listed.

According to The Irish Times' index of the Cowhey surname in Griffith's Valuation, there were 10 total Cowheys at the time in Ireland - 1 in Cork and 9 in...Limerick! That's right, the birthplace of the famous satirical Limerick poetry, and also a place well-known for love of poetry in general. (You've got to love a place that loves poetry this much!)

Looking down the list of similar surnames, I learned the following about residences of possible related families in the mid-nineteenth century in Ireland:

• Cowhey - 10 total households (1 in Cork, 9 in Limerick)
• Cowey - 4 total households (1 in Clare, 3 in Galway)
• Cowhy - 18 total households (14 in Cork, 1 in Limerick, 1 in Limerick City)
• Cowhig - 20 total households (17 in Cork, 3 in Cork City)
• Couhig - 5 total households (5 in Cork)

So it looks like the origins of our Cowhey family will most certainly be found in Munster, the southernmost of the four provinces of Ireland. An Old Gaelic dinnseanchas poem poetically describes Munster and the other kingdoms of Ireland (the dinnseanchas genre is poetry about Irish place names). Here is the English translation of the description of Munster in the poem Ard Ruide (Ruide Headland):

Munster in the south is the kingdom of music and the arts, of harpers, of skilled ficheall players and of skilled horsemen. The fairs of Munster were the greatest in all Ireland.

A wonderful place to claim as an ancestral home!

Breathing a sigh of relief for Great-Great-Grandmother

Margaret (Foley) Cowhey's husband had died in a train accident and she was left with finding a way to care for and support their seven youngest children. Why had she or William not applied for a military pension for his service in the Civil War? I couldn't understand why I could not find a pension file for William. His brother Thomas had one, and I'm sure that he appreciated the income, even though he had no wife or children. It perplexed me that I could not find any proof of William's pension.

Now, thanks to Footnote, I've found it. And I breathed a sigh of relief for my great-great-grandmother Margaret. Thank goodness she had at least one source of income to help support her large family.

It's interesting how different databases and other indexes can turn up different information. I had looked several places before - who knows why I never found this information? But there it was this time - William Cowhey's pension file information.

Another lesson learned about the search for family history - a lesson that surely Margaret (Foley) Cowhey could relate to:

Never give up.

Victorious!

After many years of researching our Cowhey family heritage, one thing is very clear to me: it is a very uncommon name. I have often wondered where the name originated and why so few Cowheys exist. I also wondered, having seen similar last names in English families, if possibly Cowhey could have originated as an English last name. Vaguely I remembered reading somewhere that the Cowheys were related to another larger family branch of Ireland, the Coffeys, but could not remember where I had seen it.

Thanks to an old book I picked up, Irish Families: Their Names, Arms & Origins by Edward MacLysaght (1957), I have the answer. (Cover of current edition at left.)

MacLysaght, at the time of publication, was the Chairman of the Irish Manuscripts Commission and also formerly Chief Herald of Ireland. MacLysaght's book is very well researched and indexed.

As I often do when I find a book on Irish surnames, I opened immediately to the index in the back, bracing myself for the fact that my Cowhey surname wouldn't be there. (I've had this experience many times.) But, surprise, there it was! One small page reference, but happily, Cowhey was mentioned in the index.

I turned to the page and found the following:

O'COFFEY, Cowhig.

In Irish this name is Ó Cobhthaigh, pronounced O'Coffey as in English: it is probably derived from the word cobhthach, meaning "victorious". Coffey is one of those surnames which have not resumed the prefix O, dropped during the period of Gaelic submergence. Several distinct septs were prominent in mediaeval times, of which two are still well represented in their original homeland. These are O'Coffey of Corcalaoidhe in south-west Co. Cork, where local pronounciation often makes the name Cowhig or Cowhey, as in the place name Duncowhey, called after them. This sept is the same stock as that of the O'Driscolls...

So Ó Cobhthaigh it is! Below is the family's coat of arms, bearing a green background and three Irish cups.

After finding the Cowhey family in Irish Families, I found another source with similar information. According to The Surnames of Ireland, Cowhey is Gaelic for "descendant of Cobhthach (victorious)". Our particular Cowhey branch is probably a sept of Corcu Lóighdhe in west Cork related to the O’Driscolls. The family was seated at Dun Ui Chobhthaigh (Duncowhey) in the barony of Barryroe.

After so many years of wondering, it is a good feeling to have an indication of the area in Ireland where the Cowhey family probably originated: County Cork.

But as all new family history discoveries do, this one opens up a whole new set of questions. Where in County Cork did our Patrick Cowey come from? What records would have this information? I need more information before I can determine our own Patrick Cowey's connection to the county. And before I can plan that trip to Ireland...

Bad genes - discovered!

As I mentioned earlier, my daughter and I went on a Civil War treasure hunt for documents in our ancestor's file at National Archives in Washington D.C. Not only did we find family history treasure about my Great Great Grand Uncle Thomas (a huge file of his paperwork circa 1890's), but we also made an interesting discovery. Thomas, whose life and times were so far removed from our own, shared a familiar characteristic with his modern-day relatives: bothersome varicose veins.

It looks like this one particular little health concern is nothing new to Cowhey descendants. Thankfully, not all of us have inherited these bad genes. However, for those who have, they can be quite an annoyance.

My question for The Genetic Genealogist during the Carnival of Genealogy with a genetic twist:

Knowing that you descend from a family with a certain type of ailment (whether it is varicose veins, more serious heart problems, a type of cancer, etc.), what are your options with regard to knowing what the chances are that you have inherited the wrong family gene?

Thomas Cowhey never married and had no children. His brother, William Cowhey, on the other hand, fathered at least twelve children. And they had lots of descendants - a family reunion for this tribe would be a large event. Although I've have not found any of William's medical records, my assumption is that he, too, may have shared the same "bad gene" that his brother did, and therefore many of his descendants are probably suffering from the same ailment or may unknowingly be awaiting its arrival into their lives.

"The War to End All Wars": Cowhey draft registration

After doing the research on William and Thomas Cowey's contribution to the Union forces during the Civil War, I wondered if any descendants of William in later generations had served time in the military.

The answer that I found: apparently not.

I did, however, find some interesting documents during my search. It turns out that all men of appropriate age were required to register for the draft during World War I. Whether or not they ended up serving or not, they filled out some paperwork for the government. The forms filled out by the men who ended up not serving may not have had too much value for the military in the long-term. However, thankfully, these documents were filed away for safe-keeping. Now researchers like me have another bit of family history in their hands.

In this case, I found the World War I draft registration cards for Charles William Cowhey and his brother Ambrose Paul Cowhey. Here is my great-grandfather Charles' card:

It is difficult to read, but I was able to decipher the following information about Charles (much of which I already knew):

• He resided at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania
• He was born on August 21, 1887 in East Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania and was 30 years old at the time this document was filled out in 1917
• His occupation at the time was Foreman for the Atlantic Refining Company, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
• He was married and had one child (we know that this was his wife Agnes and their daughter Annie, age 3 at the time of this document)

And perhaps the most interesting information on the card, Charles' physical description:

• Short
• Medium-build
• Gray eyes
• Dark brown hair

Charles' brother Ambrose' World War I draft registration card was also interesting to find. Here it is below:

Ambrose' card states:

• He resided at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania (He shared a home with Charles, Agnes & little Annie, and his sister Blanche - hopefully a happy arrangement)
• Ambrose was 34 years old at the time this document was filled out in 1918 - his birthdate was September 22, 1884
• His occupation was Flagman for the Pennsylvania & Reading Railroad Company, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
• Nearest relative: Blanche Cowhey (his sister), also residing at 68 Main Street

Ambrose' physical appearance is described as follows:

• Short
• Medium-build
• Blue eyes
• Light brown hair

Probably my favorite part of these documents is seeing each man's signature at the bottom. It makes me wonder when I see their names scrawled at the bottom of the forms if they knew that they would not be drafted into military service, or if they were concerned about the possibility of going overseas to fight for their country.

Either way, I'm sure that they probably kept a close eye on The Pottsville Republican and the news of world events that were transpiring so far from their close-knit community in Mount Carbon and Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

What's new at Small-leaved Shamrock

I've added some new features to the sidebar of Small-leaved Shamrock. If you are a regular reader and don't scroll down the page every time past the most recent post, you might want to take some time to do so now.

If you don't want to miss a new post, don't miss:

• The opportunity to subscribe to new posts via email


• The opportunity to subscribe to new posts in a reader (RSS feed is the term, if you want to get fancy)


• The opportunity to bookmark this site (Heard of del.icio.us?)

Also take a look at:

• The new surname list, Our Schuylkill County Surnames (thanks to the reader who suggested this - hopefully it will help new readers to quickly determine whether or not they have a connection to our family)

If you want to learn more:

• Check out the Related Reading sidebar, with links to books of interest about Ireland, Pennsylvania, the railroads, the coal mines, genealogy, etc.

I'm glad to see that many of you are enjoying Small-leaved Shamrock. If you are a regular reader and you are enjoying this blog, please drop me an email if you get a chance. I'd like to hear your comments and suggestions.

In the meantime, here's an Irish blessing for you...

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door.

Two, four, six, eight!

Remember that "motivating" chant?

Two, four, six, eight!
Who do we appreciate?

I guess it's goal is to remind someone that they are well, appreciated. Along the same lines is today's official "holiday": Ancestor Appreciation Day.

I haven't been able to determine who set today's date as Ancestor Appreciation Day, or even how long it has been on the calendar. But since I'm always looking for excuses to encourage others to dig into their family trees, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to celebrate and mention it to you.

Just what should we make of Ancestor Appreciation Day? Well, according to the National Genealogical Society, working on a family tree is the 2nd most popular hobby in the U.S. (It comes in right behind gardening, which reminds me, when was the last time I put the genealogy aside and did some weeding?)

One website that mentioned Ancestor Appreciation Day suggested taking some online genealogy classes such as Beginning Genealogy at Genealogy.com. For those new to family history, here's my suggestion: start at the beginning with yourself and go back from there. There's no telling what you might learn when you begin with your own history and go from there to your parents, then to your grandparents, your great-grandparents, etc.

We'll just need to change the chant:

Two, four, eight, sixteen...

Little Lena

As I mentioned in the previous post, Margaret (Foley) Cowhey lost two babies in their infancy that we know of. Baby Lena Cowhey was born January 7, 1891. What a large family celebrated her arrival! She must have gotten lots of attention from her many brothers and sisters. The family celebrated her Baptism at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville.

Only nine short months after her birth, however, the family suffered the sad loss of little Lena Cowhey. Her obituary in the Pottsville Republican newspaper on October 8, 1891 does not list the cause of her death. Here is a copy of that obituary:

It states:

Lena, the infant daughter of William and Margaret Cowhey, of Mt. Carbon, died yesterday. The family have the sympathy of their neighbors at East Mt. Carbon. The interment will take place Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock.

A sad loss for the Cowhey family. Little did they know that the following year they would also lose their father and another baby girl. Tough lessons in life for the many young Cowhey siblings and their heartbroken mother...

Source: Lena Cowhey obituary, “Deaths and Funerals,” Pottsville Daily Republican, October 8, 1891, p. 4, col. 2.

A "working" mother in the truest sense of the word

I'm a week late, but I wanted to mention the birthdate of a woman that I know very little about, yet I admire very much: my great-great-grandmother Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.

One-hundred and fifty-two years ago, on August 19, 1855, a baby girl was born to Patrick & Margaret (Graham) Foley in Port Carbon, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Little Margaret Foley was, according to the hand-written Cowhey family tree that I received, the first child of Patrick and Margaret, but she had an older half-sister (Bridget T. Byrnes, daughter of her mother Margaret by an earlier husband).

I have had difficulty learning much about Margaret's childhood or her parents' lives, but I do know about Margaret's adulthood. It was remarkable. Not remarkable in the sort of way that would make news headlines, but amazing from the standpoint of her day to day life. Margaret went on to become the mother of ten children of her own. But before her own children were even born, she had gained four (possibly five) children by virtue of her marriage to her husband, William Cowhey.

After spending her childhood pretty much as an only child (her half-sister Bridget was born in 1843 and was twelve years her senior), Margaret lived her adulthood with a house full of children.

Here's a timeline showing what I have learned about her life:

• 1855, August 19 - Baby Margaret born to Patrick & Margaret (Graham) Foley in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania


• 1870 - Margaret, age 15, attended school during this year according to the U.S. Census; may have also worked as a domestic in the home of a provision store keeper in Pottsville (there are two entries for Margaret in this census)


• 1878, February 23 - William & Margaret (Foley) Cowhey marry at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Pottsville, Pennsylvania - Margaret (only age 22 herself) gains four (possibly five) children through marriage: Annie, age 11; Margaret, age 9; William, age 6; John Joseph, age 3 (baby Richard is mentioned in the family tree, but I have found no records about him yet - he may have passed away as an infant)


• October 14, 1878 - Birth of Mary Cowhey


• About April 1880 - Birth of Ellen Cowhey


• 1880 - Resided with her family in East Mannheim, Schuylkill County according to the 1880 U.S. Census


• November 17, 1881 - Birth of Elizabeth Cowhey


• March 24, 1883 - Birth of Thomas Patrick Cowhey


• September 22, 1884 - Birth of Ambrose Paul Cowhey


• July 1, 1886 - Birth of Clara Cowhey


• August 21, 1887 - Birth of Charles Patrick Cowhey (later called Charles William Cowhey)


• December 18, 1890 - Birth of Blanche Cowhey


• January 7, 1891 - Birth of Lena Cowhey


• October 7, 1891 - Death of baby Lena Cowhey


• February 20, 1892 - Birth of Isabella Cowhey (called Bella)


• November 14, 1892 - Death of husband William Cowhey in train accident at Connor's Crossing
  
• After November 1892 - Death of baby Bella Cowhey

By the time Margaret was 37 years old (in 1892) she had raised or was raising at least fourteen children, had experienced the loss of two babies in their infanthood, lost her husband to a train accident, and now was on her own to support and raise her remaining seven young children.

Although I have found her brother-in-law Thomas Cowhey's pension files, I have never found an indication that Margaret or her husband William ever applied for pension, despite the fact that William qualified as a volunteer of the Civil War. Did Margaret not know about her option to file for pension? Or, instead, was she supported financially in other ways? I have never seen an indication that she married again after her husband's death. William's obituary indicated that he was a "prominent member" of the Gowen Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Perhaps she found financial help from William's fellow veterans. Maybe she was supported by the grown children that she had helped to raise. I wonder... It must not have been an easy life, no matter what help Margaret received. [Correction: I finally did find William's Civil War pension and Margaret's widow's pension file.]

According to the handwritten Cowhey family tree that I received, Margaret, a resident of Mount Carbon, died in October 1913 at the young age of 58. She had lived a short but very full life. We, her descendants, are the benefits of the fruits of her labor. When I have a difficult day as a mother, I remember Margaret and the incredible challenges that she faced. Her life is truly an inspiration.

Knock, knock...

Two-hundred and seventeen years ago yesterday, on August 1, 1790, census-takers went door to door knocking on homes in the young United States of America and the first official U.S. Census of the United States was completed. If you're old enough, you may remember participating in one or more yourself. (The last U.S. Census was completed in the year 2000.)

The U.S. Census is a goldmine for family history researchers and it was one of the first places I started when I began looking for information about our family. At this time, the most recent census information available to researchers is the 1930 census, and I started there and went back each decade as I learned more about different branches of our family.

Each census year provides a little bit different information, including home addresses, family members' occupations, ages, birthplaces, and more.

Below is an image from the 1920 Census showing Charles & Agnes Cowhey and their young daughter Annie and Charles' sister and brother Blanche & Ambrose residing at 68 Main Street, Mount Carbon, Pennsylvania.


If you are interested in taking a look at original census records yourself, you can access them free via Ancestry.com at most local libraries. If you have a library card, you can access the census records from your home computer via most local library websites' connection to Heritage Quest online. (Unfortunately, Ancestry.com does not allow remote access for library users, and their subscription prices are pretty steep.) Some census records are also available online at the LDS Family Search website. Each site has a different search engine so sometimes you can find your family census records on one site when you can't find them on others.

Family Tree Magazine's website has some easy to use downloadable forms for the U.S. Census and other family history purposes. Print out a stack of these for each census year that you are taking a look at and it will make it easier to understand what you are reading. I hope you'll enjoy trying your hand at a little family history research yourself. Please let me know if you make any exciting discoveries!

"The world is a book...

...and those who don't travel read only a page."
~ St. Augustine

I've been busy on a wonderful family trip to a place with lots of rich heritage and beautiful weather. I'm looking forward to getting back to blogging now that I'm back from traveling.

Check back soon for some new posts!

A baby girl in the family

Ninety-three years ago in 1914 baby Anne Elizabeth Cowhey was born to Charles & Agnes (Donnelly) Cowhey. She was their first-born child. She was baptized at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville with the name Anna, and would be called Annie as a child (per the 1920 U.S. census), but later revert back to the more formal Anne.

This beautiful baby portrait is the only picture that I have seen of her as a child, with the exception of a group photo at her First Communion that was kindly sent to me a couple of years ago.

Fifteen years after this baby portrait was taken, Anne married her husband George Roger McCue, a young businessman from Quincy, Massachusetts. She became a mother and grandmother and was affectionately known as Nana.

I couldn't pass up the chance to share this beautiful baby photo of Anne on what would have been her 93rd birthday.

She never liked others to know her age. Hopefully now that she has passed to the next life , it doesn't bother her anymore. May she rest in peace - even though I told her birthdate!

...or railroad men or miners...

"The Irish - be they kings, or poets, or farmers,

They're a people of great worth,

They keep company with the angels,

And bring a bit of heaven here to earth."


~ Irish Saying

GAR episode on PBS' History Detectives

An episode of PBS' History Detectives show being broadcast this month features the Grand Army of the Republic. The story, describing a search for answers about this Civil War veteran's group photo depicting black and white men together, turns out to be a New York post of the GAR.

History Detectives' search for answers determines that the GAR was one of the first national groups to allow integration in the nation. They explain this occurrence to be a result of the comradeship developed between veterans of the war that transcended current racial attitudes. See the transcript of the show at this site.

The Grand Army of the Republic

William Cowhey's obituary mentions that he was "a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. [Grand Army of the Republic]." The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was an organization of Civil War Union veterans. It was formed as a fraternal organization to further the interests of the men who had served the Union. This Library of Congress webpage explains what the G.A.R. was all about:

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) quickly became the preeminent veterans' organization formed at the close of the Civil War. Membership reached its peak in 1890, when over 400,000 members were reported. By then the GAR had well over seven thousand posts, ranging in size from fewer than two dozen members in small towns, to more than a thousand in some cities. Almost every prominent veteran was enrolled, including five presidents: Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and McKinley.

The GAR uniform was a double-breasted, dark blue coat with bronze buttons, and a black wide-brimmed slouch felt hat, with golden wreath insignia and cord. A bronze star badge hung from a small chiffon flag. The star in relief depicted
a soldier and sailor clasping hands in front of a figure of Liberty. Members wore these insignia in their lapels, so they could be easily identified. This led to them being sarcastically termed "bronze button heroes." They referred to each other as "comrade."

I'd like to find a photo of the Gowen Post members all dressed up in their finery, if one exists. The photo at left is George B. Kiehl, another prominent member of G.A.R. Gowen Post #23 at Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

Now for some more explanation of what types of activities in which the G.A.R. was active:

The organization of the GAR was based upon three objectives: fraternity, charity, and loyalty. The first ideal was encouraged through regular, locally scheduled meetings and joint gatherings with members from other posts. Their "camp-fire" was the most popular activity. Here, a group of comrades sat in their hall or around dinner tables, singing old war songs, recounting wartime experiences, and swapping accounts of their deeds. The annual state and national meetings, called encampments, attracted thousands of members. Cities in twenty-two states from Maine to Oregon hosted the veterans. Railroads offered special discounted rates and scheduled special trains. Many members who wished to relive their war years found quarters in tents.

To promote its second objective, charity, the veterans set up a fund for the relief of needy veterans, widows, and orphans. This fund was used for medical, burial and housing expenses, and for purchases of food and household goods. Loans were arranged, and sometimes the veterans found work for the needy. The GAR was active in promoting soldiers' and orphans' homes; through its efforts soldiers' homes were established in sixteen states and orphanages in seven states by 1890. [Including the home where Thomas Cowey lived in Dayton, Ohio.] The soldiers' homes were later transferred to the federal government.

The GAR also had a number of auxiliaries: the Woman's Relief Corps (organized on a national basis in 1883); the Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic (1896); and the Sons Of Union Veterans of the Civil War (1881). These three organizations along with the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the Auxiliary to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War still carry on the work begun by the GAR in establishing and improving veterans facilities.

I am currently in the process of applying for membership to the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUVCW). It has been an interesting process to gather all the applicable records in order to prove my relationship to my great-great-grandfather.

More on the activities of the Grand Army of the Republic:

Loyalty, the third ideal, was fostered through constant reminders to those who had not lived through the war of the significance of the GAR in reuniting a divided nation. The organization spent much of its time soliciting funds for monuments and memorials, busts and equestrian statues of Union soldiers and heroes, granite shafts, tablets, urns, and mounted cannon. The GAR also encouraged the preservation of Civil War sites, relics, and historic documents. Cannons and field-pieces were placed in many towns or courthouse squares and parks. The members also gave battle-stained flags, mementos, and documents to local museums.

In its early days, the GAR limited its activities merely to fraternal activities. But soon, members began discussing politics in local gatherings. A growing interest in pensions signaled the beginning of open GAR participation in national politics. The rank and file soon realized the value of presenting a solid front to make demands upon legislators and congressmen. The GAR became so powerful that the wrath of the entire body could be called down upon any man in public life who objected to GAR-sponsored legislation. In 1862 President Lincoln approved a bill granting pensions for soldiers who received permanent disability as a result of their military service. An 1879 act was liberalized to include conditions of payment. After that, the GAR became a recognized pressure group. The fate of some presidential elections was dependent upon the candidate's support of GAR-sponsored pension bills. President Grover Cleveland was defeated for re-election in 1888 in large part because of his veto of a Dependent Pension Bill. President Benjamin Harrison was elected because of his definite commitment to support pension legislation. The Disability Pension Act of 1890, insured a pension to every veteran who had ninety days of military service and some type of disability, not necessarily incurred during or as a result of the War. Since most ex-soldiers were at least middle aged, the act
became an almost universal entitlement for every veteran. For many decades the federal Government paid claims to all Union veterans of the Civil War and their survivors. [Including a pension to Thomas Cowhey. I have not been able to find any records of pensions paid to William Cowhey or either of his wives, however. April 2008 update: William Cowhey's pension file found October 2007!]

The GAR's principal legacy to the nation, however, is the annual observance of May 30 as Decoration Day, or more recently, Memorial Day. General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the GAR, requested members of all posts to decorate the graves of their fallen comrades with flowers on May 30, 1868. This idea came from his wife, who had seen Confederate graves decorated by Southern women in Virginia. By the next year the observance became well established. Members of local posts in communities throughout the nation visited veterans' graves and decorated them with flowers, and honored the dead with eulogies. The pattern thus set is still followed to the present day. It was only after the first World War, when the aged veterans could no longer conduct observances, that the Civil War character of Decoration Day was replaced by ceremonies for the more recent war dead.

A tribute to all who served

All soldiers who served Pennsylvania in the Civil War have their names listed on this monument at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Called simply the Pennsylvania State Monument, it is dedicated to all troops of Pennsylvania that fought on the battlefield, including my ancestors William Cowey and his brother Thomas Cowey, I believe. (I have not yet visited the monument and seen their names.) The bronze plaques around the base of the monument contain the names of all the Pennsylvanians who fought in battle.

If you are ever in the area, the monument is located on Cemetery Ridge, about half way between the town of Gettysburg and Little Round Top.

Go to this webpage to see a map of the area that saw action on day 3 of the Battle of Gettysburg (including the location of the Pennsylvania Monument). Here's a small version of the same map below. Notice the Pennsylvania Monument's image on the bottom right.

More on the Union soldiers of Schuylkill County

If you'd like to learn more, take a look at Penn State's Digital Library Collections online. The site provides access to the Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County in the American Slaveholder's Rebellion. Long title, but well worth reading if you're interested in the contributions of the Cowey brothers and their friends and neighbors during this crucial time in American history.

An old soldier

As you know (if you've been reading this blog) William Cowey and his brother Thomas Cowey served as Union volunteers in the Civil War for 3 months in 1861. (See Thomas' clickable military record of service above.)

If William and Thomas were here they would probably correct me. They did not call it the Civil War, instead it was known as The Rebellion. Even as late as William's obituary in 1892, the phrase The Rebellion is used instead of Civil War.

Reading textbook descriptions of the Civil War (or The Rebellion, if you prefer) just can't compare to the experience of my 11-year-old and I at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. After doing a little research I had learned that Thomas Cowey had applied for and received a military pension for his service.

While on our family vacation to Washington, D.C. we took a little detour from the traditional tourist attractions. In between our trips to the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, and just after standing in line to view the Declaration of Independence in the other section of the National Archives building, my daughter and I walked in and applied for research I.D. cards in order to take a look at Thomas' pension file.

We were able to see the real heart of the archives building. We checked out Thomas' pension application file. (One page of many is shown above. Click on it for a larger view.) We found ourselves transported back in time as we carefully leafed through brittle, yellowing pages - an amazing historical treasure. Here before us, probably hardly touched since they were last filed in the 1890's, were records including descriptions about his health, his occupation, his Civil War service for the Union, and more.

The file indicated that Thomas received $10 a month in pension for "partial inability to earn a support by manual labor". Probably the most unexpected surprise of this experience was the discovery that one of his three predominant medical reasons for applying for military pension was the same trouble that many Cowhey descendants of later generations still suffer from: circulation problems. Yup, he was a relative for sure.

Thomas' file indicated that he was raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He never married or had children. His application indicates that he was an iron worker, and was injured on the job one day in Pottsville in December of 1882 (or May 1884 or December 1878, depending on which date indicated in the file is accurate, if any). As a laborer in the coal and iron yards working for the Philadelphia Reading Coal & Iron Company, he had gotten his "foot smashed while at work". A more detailed description is listed on another page of his file:

He was working in a machine shop at Pottsville Pa. called the eading Coal and Iron shops and was engaged in assisting to carry a screen shaft. Then the carrying stick broke and the shaft fell upon his right foot, inflicting the injury for which he claims pension.

Thomas' file also indicated rheumatism and varicose veins as cause for pension, and is careful to explain that "they are not due to vicious habits, but to heavy lifting and straining and being continuously on his feet while working in the yards, which he did continuously for about 10 years."

In 1892 Thomas moved to the National Military Home in Dayton, Ohio. In 1895, at the time of his application for pension, he lived in Ward 6 of the hospital. The soldiers' home was the largest of three such institutions in the country designed for the retirement of men injured during military service.

The 627 acres of the Dayton facility (seen above in an image from 1898) is described as follows by Henry Howe in his Historical Collections of Ohio:

It is a unique place; a small city mainly of graybearded men, few women, and no children, excepting those of the families of the officers. It is a spot of great beauty, from its location, its fine buildings, its green-houses, flower beds, and for the display of the triumphs of landscape gardening. These features render it a great place of attraction in summer for visitors, who come by thousands in excursion trains from all parts of Ohio and the adjacent States of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, etc.

The Soldiers' Home (an 1885 aerial view of its gardens and lake is seen above) was ahead of its time, giving the soldiers opportunity for exercise, reading, music, healthcare, and occupational training so that some might be able re-enter society. The Dayton facility, originally called an asylum but changed because of negative connotations, was a beautiful environment designed to improve the health and wellbeing of the veterans under its care. It even had steam heat, indoor plumbing and elevators. Nice place.

A photo of the dining room in 1902 (seen above) had the following description of life at the Dayton facility printed on the back:

Old Soldiers at Dinner, National Home, Dayton, Ohio, 1902

Nearly seven thousand men were members of this big family last year, including over one hundred who fought in the Mexican war. Less than three hundred were regulars – almost the whole number were volunteers in the great struggle of the sixties, and almost every state in the union is on record among the places of their original enlistment…

The bill of fare here is simple, wholesome and homey; the establishment includes a farm that furnishes abundance of milk and eggs. Some of the men busy themselves in the tin shop, carpenter-shop and other departments, helping provide necessaries for the running of the Home itself, others lend a hand in the details of the daily housekeeping; still others have infirmities that force them altogether into leisure. There are frequent dramatic entertainments here, and band concerts galore. The men play billiards and pool; cards, chess and checkers have their devotees. Last year the library records show the reading of over forty thousand books, besides larger numbers of papers and magazines. The Home receives in one year over 275, 000 letters and postal cards. The boys in Blue are not being forgotten either by their old friends or by the younger people who have taken their places in the busy ranks of civil life.

Interesting reading about the Dayton Soldiers' Home can be found within this 1891 guide to the facility, this NPS study guide and this genealogy site.

Thomas Cowey died on March 25, 1899 and was buried in the Dayton National Cemetery near the Soldiers' Home. He was interred at plot L, 15, 23, in case you are interested in visiting his grave, if you ever make it to Dayton. Having no descendants of his own, I don't think he gets many visitors or is remembered by many people. My daughter and I will certainly remember him. We know relatively little about him, but had a glimpse into his life and the times in which he lived thanks to our day as researchers at the National Archives. We had touched a bit of history - our country's history and our own family's history.