Conference smurf::civil_war

It turns out that many of those ancestors were pretty proud of their service.
If you can located their graves, many are marked with the name of their units.
Many others have GAR flags on them.  It is not clear to me whether there is
anyway to get information about graves that have become unreadable if they
are marked with GAR flags.  Tom?

Dick

    
    re: .0 & .1
    
    	The CW registry will be initially tested at Antietam National
    Battlefield and Shiloh National Military Park starting sometime
    this fall. I have the AP news story clipping and time permitting
    will post it here.
    
    	If you're refering to soldiers buried at a National Cemetery
    you should have no trouble finding the grave. Each grave is numbered
    and master lists of the soldiers and the graves are available.
    Each National Cemetery should have a list of who is buried at
    their respective cemeteries, and a 'master list' must exist 
    somewhere [ National Archives?  US Army ? I've never had to 
    send for that info myself so I'm not sure who has custody of
    the records - I'll look into it..] so if you know a soldier's
    name you can look up his grave number.
    	If a soldier is buried at a non-National cemetery, such
    as a local/town/church/township cemetery, it may be harder
    to find the grave because not all cemetery records are archived,
    maintained, kept, or even compiled. 
    	Just about every cemetery has a 'plot map' which shows where
    each numbered grave is located.  Once you've identified the grave
    number, you cross-reference it to the plot map of the cemetery.
    	As to unreadable and unknown (to you) graves which still
    receive flags every Memorial Day, etc., usually the local VFW or Amvets
    or some other group or combination of fraternal societies are the
    ones responsible for placing the flags & flag holders. They would
    be the ones to contact to find out who is buried under that stone.
    They work from a list of some sorts so the grave and its occupant
    should be identified in their list.
    
    Tom
    
    Tom
    

CIVIL WAR REGISTRY COMPILED


Park Visitors Search For Soldier Relatives


	Sharpsburg, Md. (AP) - Visitors to Civil War battlefields soon will be
able to ask a computer if their ancestors were Yankees or Rebels.
	The National Park Service has begun to make a computerized directory of
all 3.5 million Civil War soldiers. Historians estimate that at least half of
all Americans have relatives who fought.
	"It's going to change the way we look at the war. It's going to per-
sonalize the battles, the struggles that went on," said Rich Rambur, superin-
tendent at Antietam National Battlefield, one of two places where the computer-
ized directory will be tested come fall.
	"We've spent decades in the preservation of Civil War land and
artifacts. Now, we're preserving the names."
	The computers are expected to provide names, home states, regiments,
soldier's ranks, and whether they fought for the North or South, said John F.
Peterson of the park service's computer division in Washington.
	It won't prove that your great-grandfather fought at Gettysburg, for
example, but it will tell you what regiment he was in and it will tell you that
that regiment fought at Gettysburg," Peterson said.
	Knowing the person's regiment, middle initial or home state would help
narrow the search for common names such as Smith and Lee, Peterson said.
	The computers will provide brief information on the 7,000 Civil War
regiments and units, and inforamtion on many of the 10,500 battles, skirmishes,
and engagements, he said.
	"We're also going to be able to track where Civil War soldiers are
buried at our 11 Civil War cemeteries within the park system," Peterson said.
	Computers are to be installed at all 28 Civil War sites that the
National Park Service operates in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
	About 11 million people visit the sites each year. Peterson said the
most frequently asked question is: "Did my great-great-grandfather fight here?"
	To answer the question, park historians now must research pension and
service records, state rosters, census and war records, and county histories.
	Visitors will be given information on other sources of information,
and they'll be encouraged to continue their research at the National Archives
in Washington.
	Increased interest, a recent public television series on the war and
Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan's call in July 1990 for a public-private part-
nership to save America's battlefields helped push the project forward.
	The Genealogical Societies of Utah, affiliated with the Mormon Church,
and the Federation of Genealogical Societies intend to enter the names on
computer. Otherwise, it would cost the government $4.5 million to hire a
company to computerize all the names.
	"The park service has been using computers for administrative matters
for years. What excites me is that here will be a way to take some of this
technology and put it in the hands of visitors - to let everybody be their
own historians," said Woody Harrell, superintendent of Shiloh National Military
Park on the Tennessee-Missippi border, the other Civil War site where the
computer system will be tested.

                         from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.
                                                                  July 16, 1991

    First of all, it will be impossible to get information on any
    Confederate soldier in a National Cemetary. Confederates were
    considered traitors and, hence, were not extended the "privilege". If
    any of you have been to Shiloh, you have seen the National Cemetary
    containing the graves of the Union soldiers who died in that terrible
    battle complete with headstones. However, you will also recall the
    severall mounds surrounded by red cannon balls which contain the mass
    graves of the Confederate dead.
    
    I also believe that Confederate record keeping was inferior to that of
    the Union. Hence, tracking down soldiers' names from the Southern cause
    will be difficult. 
    
    When one considers the ferocious loyalty a Southerner had for his/her
    state then and their distrust of a centralized government, it is not
    difficult to imagine the lack of a centrailzided Confederate Armed
    Forces roster of servicemen.
    
    Rich
    

    
    I would be very interested in contacting this service because I've 
    traced my ancestor's back to their original outfits.
    
    On my mother's side, my great, great grandfather fought with 57th Mass.
    Regiment from the Fitchburg, Mass. area. There was an recent book 
    written about the Regiment. I've got an original tin type photo of him
    and his war and medical records. And he is buried in Ashburnham, Mass.
    
    On the other hand, on my father's side of the family, its a little more
    sketchy. My father's decendants were from Maine. We're sure he fought,
    but, what exact Regiment we're not to sure. We have a family history
    written up, but no exact number of which outfit, division,
    regiment,etc. They didn't seem to think it important enough to write
    down. Shame.
    
    
    					The Alabama Slammer 

    
    	I have been looking for where my Great Great Uncle died.  We no
    my Great Great Grandfather died of typhoid in May of 1964 and is
    buried in Alexanda VA VETS cemetary but we do not know were and
    how his brother died.  We think he served for a while then came
    home.  He went back and was captured and died in one of the Southern
    POW Camps.  It will be interesting to get this solved.  I will be
    very interested when a program is ready to search for this information.
    
    				Dave

    
    re. 6
    
    What was your Great Great Uncle's name?  and what state did he come
    from?
    
    I have a copy of the Atwater List for those who died in Andersonville
    and will gladly check for you.
    
    Jeff
    

My mother died last year.  Lately, I've finally gotten down to the layer
of personal possessions that prompts this note.

My uncle Benny died in the early 1940s.  Among the family possessions was
a pretty nice watch fob, Victorian-ish, with the initials B.F.B.  Uncle
Benny's full name was Benjamin Franklin Butler.  My uncle was obviously
not the Union general with the reputation for cruelty, because my uncle
was born around 1870.  However, it is equally obvious that he might have
been named in honor of the general, given the timing.

It is known that the general had interests in Massachusetts, specifically
on the North Shore, and either owned an estate on Cape Ann or visited
there frequently.  My mother's family came from Ireland around the time
of the Potato Famine and settled in Massachusetts.

Am I related to the old butcher?  Outside of the usual birth/death/marriage
records, are there any Civil War references that would shed additional
light on the life of General Benjamin Butler?

Paul Butler Moccia

    Just to add my history to this notes file
    
    My Great Great Grandfather was from Worburn Ma. he was 24 and had 
    two children when he joined up with his three brothers. His name 
    was George Washington Cobbett. He marched and fought with the 
    22d Mass Regiment
    1st Div. 5th Army Corps Co. F Army of the Potomac
    
    What follows is the list of battles he and his regiment were involved
    in during the war. On May 10th 1864 he was wounded at Laurel Hill Va.
    he lost his leg the next day. He survived. 
    
    One of his brothers came home without a nick, one other was seriously
    wounded on the right side of his head, but survived, the third died
    at Andersonville.
    
    My travels take me to DC often, my sister has moved to Winchester Va.
    and because of this I have found myself in the area of many of these
    battles. My goal is to find Laurel Hill, Va.
    
    
    Battles
    1861
    Hall's hill, VA.
    1862
    Seige of Yorktown, Apr 6th
    Hanover Court House
    Chickahominy
    Mechanicsville, June 26th
    Gaine's Hill
    Malvern Hill
    2nd Bull Run, July 4th
    Antietam, Sept 16th
    Shepherdstown
    Fredericksburg, Dec 11th
    1863
    Chancellersville, May 3rd
    Aldie
    Gettysburg, July 1st
    Wapping Heights
    Rappahannoc Station
    Mine Run
    1864
    Wilderness
    Laurel Hill  (wounded)
    Spottsylvania
    Tolopotomy Creek
    Bethesda Church
    Shady Grove Church
    North Anna River
    Seige of Petersburg
    Weldon Railroad
    Puble's Farm (sp)

    RE .9:
    
    Well, it seems as if there are at least _three_ Laurel Hills in
    Virginia.  I checked my Civil War atlas, and the two I could find don't
    help you - one is southeast of Richmond, and the other is over near the
    junction of the Richmond & Danville RR and the Southside RR.
    
    I'll double-check the date, but there was an engagement between the V
    Corps, AoP, and the ANV (Longstreet, I think) during the "race" from
    The Wilderness to Spotsylvania CH.  The reference I had gave no name to
    this battle, but I think your date of May 10, 1864, fits.  It is
    probably the "Laurel Hill" you refer to, which would put the site
    somewhere near Spotsylvania Court House, off to the west/northwest.
    
    I'll see if I can dig up any more over the weekend.
    
    MikeR

    
    'The' Laurel Hill is at the junction of Va. SR 648 and SR 613,
    one half mile southwest of the Muleshoe (aka Bloody Angle).
    They are all part of the Spotsylvania Battlefield.
    
    Tom
    

    Thanks for this great information, I will be in DC for a week in June
    to support the AFCEA show, I think I may just have to wander out to
    Spotsylvania.
    Oh pardon my ignorance, but what do SR 648 and SR 613, map references
    perhaps?
    
    Thanks again,
    
     Andy

    
    I believe SR = State Road
    
    Enjoy your visit.
    
    Scott

    
    SR = State Route (as opposed to a US Route nn). 
    
    The Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park has a
    Visitor's Center on Layafette Boulevard (U.S. Route 1), which is
    about 5 blocks south of, and parallel to, William St. (Va. S.R. 3).
    Be sure to stop in and pick up a free map of the NMP, and they also
    have a number of free folders for the various Walking Trails
    at the various sites. The NMP covers the Chancellorsville,
    Wilderness, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania battlefields,
    all of which are within 17 miles of Fredericksburg.
    
    Tom
    

For more info, get _Bloody Roads South_, a recent publication detailing
the AOP's campaign of the summer of 1864.  I looked briefly in the
index for Laurel Hill, and found that there were two actions there,
on May 8th and 10th.  They are considered part of the larger struggle
known as Spottsylvania.


Ben

    
    Anyone have any info on Stonewall Jackson?  He is my third great uncle
    on my mother's side.  Please let me know.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Jill

I believe "Stonewall" Jackson is buried on the grounds of Virginia Military
Institute (VMI) which is somewhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains :-).

And if I'm wrong, I will be corrected.


dave

    RE .83:
    
    Can you be more specific as to what you would like to know?  There are
    several biographies of Jackson available, plus large sections of some
    "general" histories that deal with him, all of which runs into multi-
    thousands of words!  If you'd like recommendations on a good biography,
    I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions... ;^)
    
    MikeR
    

    RE .17:
    
    If I remember correctly, Jackson was buried in his family plot, which
    was somewhere in the Valley.  He might, however, have been moved later
    to VMI.  I can check and let you know.
    
    MikeR
    

    REGARD .16
    
    Jill,
    	I see you are located in CXO. I don't know if they have either
    SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) or UDC (United Daughters of the
    Confederacy) there, but if they do, either would be a good source
    of info about ole "Stonewall". If all else fails, I am sure that
    the library there would have several books about Thomas Jonathan
    "Stonewall" Jackson. Also If you would like, drop me an A1 and I
    could probably go through my library at home and pick out what I
    consider the best references and let you know their titles.
    
    Dave E.
    "Reb from Indian Terr."
    

    RE .16, .17, .19:
    
    	Stonewall Jackson is buried in Lexington, Virginia.  He was
    originally buried in his family plot; in 1891 his body was moved to a
    new vault nearby.  My source didn't say if this was on the grounds of
    the Virginia Military Institute or not.
    
    	I suspect a AAA guide book for Virginia will mention Jackson's home
    and burial place under "Lexington".
    
    MikeR
    

    
    
    Thomas Jonathan Jackson
    Born: dd-mmm-1824,   Clarksburg, West Virginia.
    
    Attended U.S. Military Academy, graduated 1846, 17th in class of 59 -
    	-specialty: Artillery
    
    Service in Mexican War.  Part of Magruder's battery. Won two brevets
    
    1851 - Resigned from active service to teach at the VMA (Virginia 
    		Military Academy)
    
    1852 - Resigned from the Army but remained at the VMA as an instructor.
    
    Married (date-?)(name-?) she died 14 months later.  He remarried a
    second time to (name-?) two years later (date-?).
    
    From 1851 to 1861 he lived in Lexington, Virginia
    
    He commanded a company of Cadets who were present at John Browns
    hanging - 1859.
    
    He left the VMI in 1861 to support the southern cause.
    
    April 21, 1861 - He took his company of cadets to Richmond, VA, where
    they were used as Drill Masters for the newly forming troops of
    Virginia..
    
    He earned the name "Stonewall" at the Battle of Bull Run(Yank) (also
    known as 1st Manassas (Reb)) for standing like a 'Stone Wall' according
    to a colleague of his, Colonel Bernard Bee.
    
    May 2, 1863 - Mortally wounded by his own men - HE died 8 days later of
    pneumonia resulting from his wounds.
    
    Freeman writes in 'Lee's Lieutenants, Vol.I,section 42.
    
    ".. almost 6 feet in height and weighing about 175lbs, he has blue
    eyes, brown beard and a commonplace, somewhat rusty appearance..."
    
    "..never smoked, was a teetoler, never touched a card, ..was a zealous 
    presbyterian..  (which he became during his stay in Mexico)..."
    
    
    
    Reference: 
    Freeman - Lee's Lieutenants, Vol.1,xlii(42)
    Mark M. Boatner III - Civil War Dictionary (T.J.Jackson)
    Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia(ed.1962), V14.p5136-5137 (T.J.Jackson)
    
    
    
    
    -John
    
    
    
    

>    Born: dd-mmm-1824,   Clarksburg, West Virginia.

    Minor nit... This should be Virginia (now West Virginia) - West
    Virginia didn't exist prior to the WBTS.

	Mike

    An excellent book that has references to the Jackson family history
    is "The History of Randolph County, West Virginia" by Hu Maxwell. It
    was originally published in 1898, the copy I have is the fourth 
    printing of the book and was published in 1991 by the McClain
    Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va.
    
    The book is in three parts. Part One deals with West Virginia State
    history, Part Two deals with Randolph County history and Part Three
    deals with family histories. Part Three has about three pages that
    discusses the Jackson family; Thomas Jonathan Jackson (Stonewall)
    was born in Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) July 21, 1824.
    His father was Jonathan Jackson, son of Edward and Mary (Haddan)
    Jackson. His mother was Julia Beckweth Neale, a daughter of Thomas
    Neale, a merchant of Parkersburg.
    
    I was interested in his genealogy as well, since I am a direct
    descendant of David Haddan, his daughter Mary Haddan was the 
    grandmother of T.J. Jackson (Stonewall).
    
    
    Regards
    
    Mike

    re: 11.0+
    
    Has anyone tried this database yet? If so, what were the results?
    
    The base note said "combatants", my father-in-law had a relative
    that was a cook.  Unless he had to slay what he served-up, I guess
    he would not be listed anayway ; ).
    
    I am trying to isolate what unit he was with to see if anything turns
    up.  I think this will be a long term project.
    
    
    r�

    re: 11.24
    	
    	Just a minor correction. All the bio's I have on Stonewall Jackson
    list his date of birth as January 21, not July.

    re: 11.26
    
    The date of birthday was taken directly from the book, this date
    was supplied by the Jackson family to the author of the book. Since
    they were closer to him than I was and the book was published in 1898,
    I take it to be correct.

    I'm trying to assist a friend who's "abroad" with some genealogical
    research.  I've found that his grandfather was in the Sons of Union
    Veterans and I would like to look up his great-grandfather, whose name
    was Sanford L. Oxton of Camden, or maybe Rockport, Maine.  Is there
    anyone with access to information on Maine veterans or regiments who
    can take a look and see if there's a Sanford L. Oxton listed?
    
    When I say "abroad", let me assure you that he could not me more
    distant from the State of Maine and still be on this planet.
    

    re: 11.26
    
    I've just read in another county history, "The History of Harrison
    County, West Virginia" that Thomas J. Jackson was born on January
    21, 1824. It appears that the dates vary according to whoever wrote
    the biography!

    I had a chance to get over to Shiloh Monday, but when I got on the one
    computer terminal, none of the three civil war vets that I have records
    for were listed. Wm. H. Mumford, 3rd Mo Vol Inf, 1864-65, Charles S
    Mumford, ? Illinois Cav, and Joseph Page, ? Mo. Cavalry. Does anyone
    know if the listings are complete, still being entered, strictly local,
    ie, only Shiloh vets at Shiloh, or any other reason they weren't listed?   
    
             Thanks, RM

    RE: .30 by TMAKXO::RMUMFORD 
    
    >Does anyone know if the listings are complete, still being entered,
    >strictly local, ie, only Shiloh vets at Shiloh, or any other reason
    >they weren't listed?   
    
    I don't know, but I did discover that the National Archives in
    Washington, DC has Confederate service records on microfilm and they
    are indexed.
    

    I've spent a couple of years trying to track down a brother of my
    great-grandfather who supposedly served in the Civil War.  His widow
    was listed in the 1890 veteran's census, but there was no John Ahern in
    the National Archives pension rolls that fit.  
    
    During the depression, a WPA project compiled the service records of
    men who had served from Arlington, Mass. [formerly West Cambridge], but
    the manuscript was in storage while the public Library was undergoing
    renovations.  When I finally got hold of this book, I quickly found
    that there were NO Aherns listed, but in reading the whole chapter on
    the Civil War veterans, I found this:

                John O'Harran, farmer, resident of Arlington en-
                listed 17 Sept. 1862, aged 22 years and was mus-
                tered in Company D, 42nd Mass. Vol. Inf. Septem-
                ber 20, 1862. Arrested by the Civil Authorities at
                Readville, Mass. October 18, 1862 and did not join
                regiment.

                - Arlington War Records, Vol. I W.P.A. typescript
                pub. 1937

    Knowing the regiment and company, I then looked in an old book that
    listed all the men from Massachusetts who served in the Civil War, and
    in the copy in Arlington's Robbins Library, on the page for Co. D of
    the 42nd, someone had written in pencil the name John Ahern next to the
    entry for O'Harran.  Someone knew.
    
    Very interesting.  Arrest by the Civil Authorities?  I checked with the
    Somerville Public Library, which has an extensive collection of Mass.
    regimental histories and came up with this:
    
                Life in camp at Readville was by no means
                monotonous. During August, September, and part of
                October, the men were under canvas. Regular rou-
                tine duties of camp were performed, and the hours
                after duty were passed in social pleasures, which
                only those who have a natural taste for the life
                of a soldier, or young novices in camp life, know
                how to enjoy. The weather for a large portion of
                the time, was glorious. The surrounding scenery at
                Readville is very fine, as any person who has vis-
                ited the ground can testify. As the facilities for
                visiting from Boston were very good, via the Boston
                and Providence Railroad, also by splendid drives
                over excellent roads, all of the troops concentrated
                there, over three thousand men, had many visitors
                to while away the time when off duty, causing the
                various camps to have a gala appearance at all pa-
                rades of ceremony, such as guard mounting, dress
                parades and reviews. Bands of music were specially
                engaged at various times to assist in these parades,
                much to the gratification of the men. All day long
                the rat-a-tap of the drums was to be heard, as the
                newly-organized drum corps attached to the regi-
                ment went on with their practice. It was a continual
                scene of excitement, without danger, until orders
                came for the various bodies to move.

                There were left behind, in the State, the following
                officer and enlisted men, on detached service, sick,
                or in jail [12 men, including]:

                Private John O'Harran, Company D - Confined in
                Dedham jail on sentence for manslaughter; killing a
                citizen in a drunken brawl at Mill Village, Dedham,
                Mass. Never rejoined his company.

                Private John Nolan, Company D - Confined in Dedham
                jail as a witness in O'Harran's case. Released and
                joined the regiment February 4th, 1863.

                - History of the Forty-Second Regiment, Mass. Volun-
                teer Infantry, by Charles P. Bosson, 1886

    Oh wow.  He couldn't even wait to march South before killing somebody. 
    Next it was off to the Boston Public Library, where I found this:
    
                On Friday, the 17th [October], three soldiers, named
                John O'Hearn, John Nolan, and Thomas Burns, all be-
                longing in West Cambridge, but forming a portion of
                Company D, of Roxbury, in the 42nd Regiment, sta-
                tioned at Readville, obtained two hours' furlough
                from the commander of their company, and started
                for Mill Village. Arriving there in the afternoon,
                they went into Johnston's saloon, on High street,
                and got something to drink, and found a man named
                Riley, who worked in Blackstone, but whose wife and
                two children lived in Mill Village, in the saloon.
                The parties drank together and then separated, but
                afterwards met, when Riley began to abuse the sol-
                diers, and at last struck O'Hearn a severe blow in
                the face, which drew blood. He then rushed into a
                house near by, where he procured a club and attacked
                the soldiers, when a scuffle ensued which resulted
                in Riley being knocked down with a billet of wood
                in the hands of O'Hearn, which rendered him sense-
                less, in which condition he remained until his death
                on the following afternoon.

                On hearing of the disturbance, Constable Charles
                Coburn, Jr., of Mill Village, proceeded to the scene
                of the assault, when the soldiers stated that they
                had been engaged in a row, and gave themselves up.
                Mr. Coburn at once conveyed them to the Provost
                Guard at the camp, where they remained until the
                death of Riley, when they were taken to the jail.

                The Selectmen, on being notified of the homicide,
                proceeded to Mill Village, and after investigat-
                ing the circumstances attending the death of Riley,
                decided that the case should be passed upon by a
                Coroner's Jury. John Cox, Jr., a Justice of the
                Peace and Acting Coroner, thereupon issued his war-
                rant, and a jury was summoned and sworn on Saturday
                afternoon. The following gentlemen comprise the jury:

                Charles Coburn, Jr., Foreman, Jeremiah Crehore,
                Reuben S. Thompson, James Trefry, Nathaniel S.
                Shephard, and Henry Bottomley.

                A part of the Jury's investigation was conducted
                in the Dedham Jail, where Nolan and Burns were
                examined. The evidence was somewhat conflicting.
                After a full and patient hearing of quite a number
                of witnesses, the Jury terminated their labors by
                rebdering the following verdict:

                "That said William Riley came to his death about
                half-past one o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday,
                now last past, from the effect of a blow upon the
                head, inflicted with a billet of wood, between
                three and four o'clock on Friday afternoon, now
                last past, at Mill Village in Dedham aforesaid.
                - said blow causing a compound fracture of the skull.

                "And the jury do further find that said blow was
                inflicted at the hands of John O'Hearn, a soldier,
                in a drunken brawl in the public streets. And the
                jury do further say, that the existence of numerous
                drinking saloons in a populous village, within one
                mile of an encampment where between three and four
                thousand soldiers were stationed, is a fruitful
                source of rioutous and lawless proceedings, and a
                nuisance which at ought at once to be abated. And
                we respectfully commend the matter to the immediate
                attention of the town authorities."

                The deceased enlisted in the quota of Dedham for
                nine months' service in August last, and was round
                there some time, almost always intoxicated, and
                when the men were ordered to camp, he refused to
                go. He had the reputation of being one of the most
                abusive and violent men in the neighborhood, and
                very little regret is felt at his untimely end.
                The three soldiers are between 19 and 22 years old,
                and appear to be smart, intelligent young fellows,
                all having been employed on farms in West Cambridge
                prior to their enlistment.

                Drs. H. F. Aten and J. F. Higgins, of this town,
                made a post-mortem examination, and found that death
                resulted from a compound fracture of the frontal
                bone. The body was taken to Blackstone for burial by
                the brother of the deceased.

                In connection with the above affair, we cannot
                refrain from expressing our hearty thanks, as a
                citizen of Dedham, to the Jury of Inquest, who have
                called the attention of the town authorities to the
                open and unrebuked violation of the laws aginst the
                sale of liquor. It is disgraceful that this inhuman
                and illegal traffic should thus be tolerated in a
                decent community, and it is quite time that this
                growing evil should be stopped. We hope, however,
                that the town authorities, if they do anything,
                will not confine their researches to Mill Village,
                but will at least look at establishments within a
                stone's throw of their own homes.

                - Dedham Gazette 25 October 1862

    Smart, intelligent young fellows eliminate druken deserter, maybe get
    commendation?
    
                John O'Hearn of West Cambridge, indicted for
                manslaughter of William Riley, in this town, on
                the 17th of October, plead guilty, and on motion
                of his counsel, his case was specially assigned for
                consideration at 9 o'clock A.M., on Monday next.

                - Dedham Gazette 20 December 1862

                John O. Hern, late of Cambridge, indicted for the
                manslaughter of William Riley, of Dedham, plead
                guilty and was sentenced to three years in House of
                Correction.

                - Dedham Gazette 3 January 1863
    
    In checking the "hometown" paper I found no mention of these events,
    but did find in The Cambridge Chronicle of 3 January 1862 that there
    was an unclaimed letter for Dennis Ahern at the West Cambridge Post
    Office. Could it be from his brother John, languishing in jail?
    
    In an oral history that was taped in 1975, my Aunt Fran tells a story
    of going to the cemetery when she was a little girl to place flowers on
    the grave of John Ahern on Decoration Day.  When she told the cemetery
    attendant her name he praised Ahern as having been a grand fellow and
    directed her to the grave of an unrelated Morris Ahern who had
    distinguished himself in the War.  My great-granparents had a good
    laugh over that when she came home and told them about it.