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I will attempt to caption the many pages at some date ;)

Although for the last few years I havent done a lot of research , I have been working on my roots for nearly 20 years now and was at a end of finding anything else substantial. I knew very little of my father’s family as my parents were divorced when I was only young. But as soon as I got my subscription back I was delighted to find a census record that showed my great fandfather Pierce “Perceval or Percy” Weikel! And on that record was his father and mother, Isaac and Amanda Weikel. Again I have to thank my wonderful wife for her help in “decodong” the writing, as some of these census takers back in the day had terrible handwriting! She was able to figure out his name was Isaac and from there it opened up a great deal of info eventually leading to the finding of my 10th great grandfather Hans Wageli (1610-1663) born and died in Lampertheim, Bergstrasse, Hessen, Germany! I’ve got so much information now that it is a bit overwhelming trying to add it all in to my genealogy program, but I do enjoy it immensely. I’ll be posting much more of this info as soon as I can, including some photos I’ve managed to find of some of my ancestors,

Maude_Pierce Weikel grave in Sunnyside Cemetery in Lavelle, Pa

I often find some very interesting things I wasnt expecting as well, but they always bring a smile to my face, esepcially when its something like this… I discovered that it was my 6th great grandfather, Johan Christopher Weigel,  who immigrated to the US in 1736 with his father John Michael Weigel. The info I found on him was that he was born in Pfungstadt, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hessen, Germany. I was curious about where this was in Germany so a quick search of it found me this map. Aside form seeing the genral location the next thing I noticed was a town just to the west of Pfungstadt… Hahn. It wouldnt mean so much to anyone else, but for me it brought a huge smile to my face and my heart. Why? Because my beautiful Alison’s family name is… HAHN! :)   click the image below to view full size

Perhaps just a coincidence in the end, but to me just one more sign in a long list of coincidences that Alison and I were destined to be together since the dawn of time :) Love you wife!

I’ve been on the BBC Radio again ths year as well! another two minutes of fame for this year. lol I replied again to a story on the hurricane on their site and they contacted me requesting an interview. I did one last night for one of the local radio stions, can’t remember now which one, but just a quickie. Then this morning was contacted by BBC Radio Wales requesting one early this afternoon, which was fun to do, and just now got a call from the BBC London requsting one for this evening for one of their main news programs, or should I spell it, programmes!? I won,t bother trying to record it though. so don’t worry you will have to listen to the audio file! ;)

Back after a while for another update, long as we have power, Peace out from Grandy, NC Hurricane Central

We’re settled in and have made all our preparations, just a bit more tidying up of the yard to do this morning. Forecast calls for the outer bands of the storm to be moving in the area around midday. they have just reached the Cape Hatteras area this morning aound 5:30 am. Conditions will go downhill from there through the night bringing tropical storm force winds and heavy rain. Hurricane conditions are expected early Saturday morning. Anxious time now just waiting. You dont think about it so much when you’re busy doing things to get ready, but when the prep is all done and you’re just watching the news and weather, it gets to you a bit. To all our friends in the area, stay safe and pray for things to pass over without any major damage. More as it comes

We’ve been lucky in the sense that this is the first hurricane of the season, unlucky in that it’s looking as it may head our way. We DO need the rain though! very badly , it has been very dry this summer. We’ll keep you udated as things progress.

In memory of Nicos and Gretchen

A small Confederate cemetery at Appomattox National Historical Park contains the graves of eighteen Confederate soldiers who died in these battles, the last men to give their lives in combat under Lee’s direction. Also buried there is a single Union soldier who was found buried in an unmarked grave some years after the war.

All but seven of the soldiers buried at the Appomattox Confederate Cemetery remain unknowns to this day. Among those who have been identified is Private Jesse H. Hutchins from Company G, Fifth Alabama Infantry. His story is particularly telling.

Hutchins enlisted in Alabama only five days after Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumter, igniting the war that would continue for four long years. His regiment, the Fifth Alabama, was mustered into Confederate service in May of 1861 and initially served at Pensacola under General Braxton Bragg.

Sent to Virginia, the 5th Alabama took part in the Battles of Seven Pines, Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Winchester and Petersburg. Jesse Hutchins, ironically, survived all of these horrible battles only to die at Appomattox Court House just hours before General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

Hutchins was killed in a sharp skirmish with Union cavalry on the evening of April 8, 1865. Like the others now buried at Confederate
Cemetery, he was initially interred nearby. In 1866, however, the remains of Confederate soldiers were gathered from their resting places around Appomattox Court House and brought here through the efforts of the Ladies Memorial Association of Appomattox.

It is thought that as many as 100 Southern soldiers may have died in the fighting at Appomattox Court House, but only these eighteen could be found.
The Union dead from the battles at Appomattox were later exhumed and taken to Poplar Grove National Cemetery near Petersburg, Virginia. One exception was the Union soldier who now lies buried by his former enemies at Confederate Cemetery. His body was found some years after the war
and moved to the small burial ground.

Known soldiers in the cemetery are:
John William Ashby – Co. I, 12th
Virginia Cavalry.

Oscar Demesme – Donaldsonville
Artillery (Lousianna)

J.W. Douglas

Alanson B. Hicks – Co. D, 26th
Virginia Infantry

John A. Hogan – Co. E, 26th Georgia
Infantry.

Jesse. H. Hutchins – Co. G, 5th
Alabama Infantry

Miles Cary Macon – 38th Batt. Virginia
Artillery.

Francis M. Winn – Co. E, 9th Georgia
Artillery.

McLean House

We had the pleasure of visiting the Appomattox Court House National Park a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been a civil war history buff for a long time and was glad we got to see this. We wandered around on our own for the most part and bypassed some of the tours they had as we didnt have too long to stay there, but the rangers were very glad to give us all the info we wanted at the various spots. The fees were really in our budget as well, 5 bucks for the both of us :)  Can’t beat that for great day out!  A few of the buildings are mostly original, but many have been restored or reconstructed including the McLean home where the surrender took place. Still they are done to perfection in representing the original.

Below is from the Appomattox National Park Service site.
On April 9, 1865 after four years of Civil War, approximately 630,000 deaths and over 1 million casualties, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, at the home of Wilmer and Virginia McLean in the rural town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Lee arrived at the McLean home shortly after 1:00 p.m. followed a half hour later by General Grant. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half. There are 16 people that are known to have attended at least part of the meeting as shown in Keith Rocco’s painting (shown above). The participants are:

CSA
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Lt. Col. Charles Marshall
USA
Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
Lt. Col. Ely Parker
Lt. Col. Orville E. Babcock
Maj. Gen. Edward O. C. Ord
Lt. Col. Horace Porter
Lt. Col. Theodore S. Bowers
Maj. Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan
Brig. Gen. John Rawlins
Brig. Gen. Rufus Ingalls
Lt. Col. Adam Badeau
Brig. Gen. George H. Sharpe
Brig. Gen. Michael Morgan
Brig. Gen. Seth Williams

The terms agreed to by General Lee and Grant and accepted by the Federal Government would become the model used for all the other surrenders which shortly followed. The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia allowed the Federal Government to redistribute forces and bring increased pressure to bear in other parts of the south resulting in the surrender of the remaining field armies of the Confederacy over the next few months.

On April 26th General Joseph Johnston surrendered to Major General W. T. Sherman near Durham, North Carolina (now Bennett Place State Historical Park); on May 4th General Richard Taylor, the son of 12th President of the United States, Zachary Taylor, surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama; on June 2nd General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate Department of the Trans Mississippi to Major General Canby; and on June 23rd General Stand Watie surrendered Confederate Cherokee Indian forces in Oklahoma.

Appomattox Court House

The first stop in the park is to the reconstructed courthouse itself, which also houses the visitors center/ museum. Nice exhibits as well as a small theater, and very informative park rangers. Living History programs are offered every day during the summer months, and occasionally on weekends in the spring and fall. Actors portray historical figures from the 1860s. We arrived there a bit early and nearly missed one of the actors. This fellow was portraying one of the union soldiers.

actor at courthouse in Appomattox

He was really “in the moment” and we had a rather lengthy talk with him. He also played a jaw harp and kindly took requests as well.

Inside the museum were many displays of artifacts from the site, as well as a wall of photos of some of the soldiers who were at the battle. There were also exhibits of some of the stories of the day and many artifacts from the McLean House. Among the more interesting things was the pencil used by Robert E Lee to make corrections to the original draft of the Surrender Terms

Another item we found of interest was The Silent Witness

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his once formidable army of Northern Virginia to three Federal armies turgid with men and materiel under General Ulysses S. Grant. The terms of surrender were set during a one and a half hour meeting between the two generals in the parlor of the McLean Home.

The McLeans, an upper middle class family, had moved to Appomattox Court House as refugees during the war. Wilmer and Virginia McLean had five children – four daughters and a son. Sometime before Lee and Grant met that Palm Sunday afternoon, seven-year-old Lula McLean had left her favorite doll in the parlor. The little rag doll was apparently left on the horsehair sofa that her sister, Nanny McLean Spillman would later donate to the National Park Service.

“I have heard Mrs. McLean say frequently that the Union troops not only stole the tables and chairs besides other small furniture, but even took the childrens’ play things…” – H.E. Spillman, Wilmer McLean’s Son-In-Law-

While the generals met, and the room was packed tightly with the entourage that was Grant’s staff, the rag doll remained in the room where Lula had left it. When the meeting ended, Union officers – anxious to obtain souvenirs of the event – plundered the McLeans’ parlor appropriating items including Lula’s rag doll.

Colonel Horace Porter of General Grant’s staff, wrote: ” A child’s doll was found in the room, which the younger officers tossed from one to the other, and called the ‘Silent Witness’.”

One of the cavorting Federal staff officers was Captain Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the President of the United States. The doll was taken from the home by Capt. Thomas W.C. Moore, of Major General Sheridan’s staff. For well over a century, the Moore family kept the doll as a “war trophy” of sorts. Poor Lula never saw her beloved rag doll again.

Lula’s descendants remembered the doll as “…lovingly handmade by a doting mother”.

The body of the doll was made of coarse unbleached cotton and stuffed. Inked on the simple, round face were eyes and nothing more. Printed cotton fabric was stitched together to fashion a bodice, skirt and leggings.

The doll was donated to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park in December 1992, and is now on permanent exhibit at the park.

More to come from the other areas of the park in the near future.

For a link to all our photos from the visit to Appomattox, check out Alison’s Picasa Album

Appomattox , 23rd May 2011