Celebrating Confederate Ancestors

Not actually sure if this is
John Hansford Callway.

Do you celebrate your ancestor who was a Confederate Soldier? This is a question I'm wrestling with. To celebrate is to take pride in them, their beliefs and their accomplishments. It is to speak openly about them with a sense of dignity and reverence. When I'm discussing my ancestors among groups of friends and strangers, a confederate veteran isn't top of my list. From a 21st century perspective, I know my ancestor's beliefs are 'wrong.' I am not proud that he owned slaves, that he fought to keep slavery, that he fought to divide the country. Yet, I respect that he fought for his beliefs. It's a contrary place to be.

My ancestor, John Hansford Callaway was proud to have served in the Confederate Army. He mustered in on May 10, 1862 in Hamburg, Arkansas becoming part of Captain Bragg's Company, Arkansas Infantry. He served until May 15, 1866. His soldier's life was recorded in muster rolls and widow's pension records providing me with an unique insight.

• May 10, 1862 - Enlisted at Hamburg Arkansas by A.J. Greenwood
• May to June 30, 1862 - Present for Roll Call: "Pay and Bounty due from enlistment."
• Sept 1862 - "On detailed service"with 1st Regiment Trans-Mississippi Infantry
• June to Oct. 31, 1862 - Absent for Roll Call: "Detailed with Sappers & Miners, July 18, 1862"

• Oct. 31, 1862 to Feby 28, 1863 - Absent for Roll Call: "Absent without leave."

•  Feb. to April 30, 1863 - Absent from Roll Call: "Absent without leave. Said to have joined Parson's Texas Calvary"

•  April 30 to Aug 31, 1863 - Absent from Roll Call: "Sick in Hospital. July 18, 1863. Bounty due. He has only received $30.00 to service enlistment."

• Dec 31, 1863 to Feb 29, 1864 - Present for Roll Call.
• Feb 12, 1865 - Prisoner of War "belonging to the Rebel Army, in custody of Provost Marshal, Memphis, Tennessee... sent from Gaine's Landing"
• Mar 9 - Released from prison by Captain Wilson

Other than him serving in the Confederate Infantry, how do I know that John Hansford was proud of his service? With the help of HeritageQuest I've been able to scour old books, on of which was History of Ashley County, Arkansas (1959). From the appendix (p. xxvi-xxvii) is the following excerpt:

"The great day of 1889 was September 26th when 3500 to 4000 attended a barbecue and "dinner-on-the-ground-celebration" in honor of the veterans of the late war. It was held across the street from the Gus Norman residence which was located on north main street in Hamburg where George Etheridge now lives, the property formerly being known as the Dr. J.W. Simpson place. Great preparations was made for the event. At a mass meeting at the courthouse the following committees were appointed to solicit funds: ... Egypt: B.A. Tubbs, J.H. Calloway and R. M. Barnett...Committee on speakers: M.L. Hawkins, J.H. Calloway, W.A. Roby and T.J. Wells. Everyone performed his duty well. On the great day everything was in proper order. The speaker's committee had selected Colonel Slemons of Monticello to make the principal address. Prior to the dinner, a parade with Col. Slemons, riding a fine bay horse and escorted by 300 veterans marched from the courthouse square to the picnic grounds preceded by a marching band. The exercises at the grounds opened by the band playing the Bonnie Blue Flag. ... The latter received uproarious applause as he spoke of his presence at the surrender and heard General Lee make his farewell address to his army. After the speaking the band played Dixie and the crowd went wild. After the barbacue the three hundred old soldiers met at the courthouse and organized Camp Jim (James) Norris, united Confederate Veterans..."

John Hansford not only served, he celebrated his service. I've decided that it's important to remember that without our ancestors, without him, I would not be here. So, Yes. I want to celebrate my ancestor, recognizing that I don't celebrate his actions. Now I'll remember and respect him, John Hansford Callaway, my great-great-great grandfather.

Oh, Where art thou?

1860 was a turbulent year. People were split on slavery, the cotton market hadn't fully recovered from its 1850 crash, and John Hansford Callaway was nowhere to be found in the official records. His father, Jonathan Hosea Callaway, was in Arkansas but not John Hansford. In a fit of fustration, I decided to search for Irene Baker. This is usually a worst deadend because women were not considered 'valuable' (and I know that's open to debate, but for the sake of simplicity lets just move on). 

Surpisingly, Irene was in the records... just not where I thought she should be according to the family bible (read "Confusion is Good"). Once I found Irene's 1860 census, I then found the marriage license which just goes to show that you have to branch out into different search avenues.

Despite this fist-pumping moment, I was still confronted and confounded by the question, "Why did John go to Dallas County, Alabama to get married?" and "How did they meet?" The previous years records showed him well established in the areas of Dale, Coffee and Geneva County, Alabama. 

How did they meet?

After doing some land records search I found that Amelia Baker, Irene's mother, owned a good parcel of land in Coffee County. She had about 8 tracts of land all right together, two tracts were bought in 1853 and another six in 1858. However, the census shows her in Coffee County as early as 1850 then in Dallas County in 1860. Turns out, Jonathan Hosea Callaway bought some land less than a mile from them in 1858 and we know he was in Coffee County according to the Alabama State Census. Using the information available, here's what I think happened.

1845 - First tracts of land bought in Coffee County by Jonathan Hosea Callaway.
1850 - Both the Baker Family and Callaway Family are in Coffee County, Alabama according to census.
1853 - Amelia Baker buys land in Coffee County. 
1857 - Baker Family has probably moved to Dallas County, Alabama. Irene's sister, Dulcenia, gets married to Joseph Callaway (no relation that I can find at this time). In the 1860 census their daughter is 2 years old, putting their marriage about 1857. Irene would have been old enough to start teaching and her 2 older brothers remained in Coffee Co. on the census. Presumably, they are running the farm.
1858 - The Baker farm expands and Johnathan Hosea Callaway buys land less than a mile away. It was not an uncommon practice to send the oldest son out to get the land started. Therefore, John Hansford would have likely become friends with his neighbors, the Baker boys. It's also possible that John Hansford would have met Irene when her family came home to visit the farm. Courtship through letters was also common during this time. 
1860 - Jonathan Hosea Callaway packs up his family and sets out for Arkansas. Meanwhile, John Hansford travels to Dallas County where his future wife is finishing up teaching her school term. They get married, set off for Arkansas and made a family.

That's what I think happened.

Callaway Family (L-R) : Eli Elisha, John Hansford, William, Irene P., and John Hosea 

Confusion is Good

The 1860 census for Irene Baker did cause some confusion. The census was "enumerated to me on the 29th day of August 1860." Yet, the scanned pages of the Callaway Family Bible state "John Hansford Callaway Marry Irene Baker Jan. 15th. 1860." Why was Irene still with her Baker family in August?

Well, the first thing I wanted to do was see if I could verify the marriage date. A quick search on Family Search (see link on right) clarified another facet: John and Irene were married on July 4, 1860. Not January 15 according to Dallas County court documents. And remember what I said about taking that extra click to view the document. Here it is:

Aside from the date, what does this document tell me? For one, it tells me that they were married in Dallas County where the Baker family was living and where Irene was working as a teacher, possibly at the Centenary Institute. I find it interesting that John went to Irene's home to get married and not the other way around. Why? That's a question I'll pursue next time.

Anyway, to get back to the original question. Why was Irene still recorded as living at home if she was already married by July 4, 1860? And since she was married, why wasn't John recorded in the August 29, 1860 census?

Here's where a little knowledge of American History and Public Administration come in handy. It's that darned red tape. The procedure for the 8th United States Census (the 1860 one) was to inquire as to those individuals who lived in the household as of June 1, 1860. Even if census takers collected information well beyond that date, all information was collected from the June 1, 1860 date. This explains why the August 29, 1860 census records Irene living at home. As of June 1, 1860 she was still living at home. John and Irene married in July 4, 1860 after the school session had ended. So even though Irene was not physically in the home in August, she was counted because she would have been there in June.

Where did John and Irene go? That's a question for another article.