Last week we began examining the online military indexes located at the Tennessee State Library and Archives at www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/index.htm. This week continues that discussion.
6) The state of Tennessee opened its Confederate Soldiers’ Home in 1890 to care for its population of sick and elderly Confederate veterans. This home was on the grounds of the Hermitage, which had been Andrew Jackson’s home and plantation. Veterans wanting to move into the home had to submit an application to a review board which determined the applicant’s need for care. The Tennessee Confederate Soldiers’ Home Applications index lists the applicants’ name, county, unit, and date of application.
7) The Tennessee Confederate Physicians index is a list of medical doctors who served and supported the Confederacy, but are not necessarily listed as Confederate soldiers. The information was obtained from six separate sources: A Roster of Medical Officers in the Army of Tennessee, from Volume 22 (1894) of the Southern Historical Society Papers; John B. Lindsley’s Military Annals of Tennessee; Tennesseans in the Civil War, published by the Civil War Centennial Commission in 1966; the Register of the Adjutant General of the Confederacy from the National Archives; The Proceedings of the Medical Board of the Provisional Army of Tennessee; and Register of Physicians by Samuel H. Stout, the Director of Hospitals in the Western Department of the Confederacy.
8) The Index to Service Abstracts in Tennessee Volunteer Units During the Spanish American War lists the more than 4,000 soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tennessee Infantry who volunteered to serve in the Spanish American War (1898). The 1st Infantry saw combat in the Philippines, the 2nd and 3rd were discharged without being sent into combat, and the 4th Infantry occupied Cuba after the war. This index lists the soldier’s name, company, unit, and city and state of residence.
9) For those Tennesseans who died in World War I, either from wounds or disease, the Gold Star Records index lists the soldier’s name and the county from which he enlisted. Information in the complete gold Star Record can include: date of birth, occupation, names of parents, branch of service, date of death, and possibly letters, pictures, and news clippings. These records were compiled shortly after the Great War from information obtained from the deceased soldiers’ families. For that reason, they do not include the name of every Tennessee soldier who died in the war. The book History of American Legion, Department of Tennessee, 1919-1933, lists all of the war dead and can be accessed by e-mailing the TSLA.
10) The county index for Tennessee World War I Veterans was taken from Record Group 36, “the compiled service records of soldiers and sailors who served in the First World War from Tennessee.” A search of the index will show the person’s name, age, birthplace, additional notes, and the page number that the listing is on in the original volume. The index is arranged alphabetically by county and has to be searched that way. Note that this index and Record Group 36 is not a complete list of Tennesseans who served in WWI.
11) In 1919 the Tennessee state legislature passed a bill to “collect, compile, index and arrange all data and information of every kind and character relating to the part Tennessee has played in the Great War.” This resulted in 4,453 questionnaires being collected (representing less than 5 percent of the soldiers). The Tennessee World War I Veterans’ Questionnaires index gives the name and county of soldiers whose questionnaires are in Record Group 239. Ordering the entire questionnaire can yield the following information: name, date and place of birth, occupation, marital status and number in family, parents’ names and places of birth, next of kin, religion, schooling, and detailed service information.
History
Genealogy: A continued discussion of the online military indexes at the Tennessee State Library Archives
- History
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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GENEALOGY: BMD website great for tracing England, Wales
If you have ancestors who trace back to England or Wales within the past 175 years, then the Free BMD website at RootsWeb, at freebmd.rootsweb.com/, is the place to visit.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: WBOW introduced some fine Valley talent
When it first began broadcasting in 1927, station WRPI (Rose Polytechnic Institute) focused on educational programing.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Inventor John B. Deeds and highwayman William G. Murray
Among the many unsolved local history mysteries is the fate of master machinist and inventor John B. Deeds.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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Traveling Civil War exhibit makes history personal
Civil War history will come alive for visitors to the Sullivan County Public Library who experience “Faces of the Civil War,” a traveling exhibition created and managed by the Indiana Historical Society.
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GENEALOGY: Virginia Historical Society takes on ambitious project
Over the past few months, the Virginia Historical Society has launched an ambitious project to scrutinize more than 8 million 17th, 18th, and 19th century documents in order to identify the enslaved population of those times.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The Legacy of ‘The Old Silkworm House’
In 1837, and for several years thereafter, a gray sandstone obelisk was installed next to a one-story frame residence at the northwest corner of Sixth and Eagle streets.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A blast from valentines past
Valentine’s Day — it brings to mind simple paper valentines and the elaborate, fancy store-bought cards with multiple verses and glittery covers.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Flu outbreak forces Schulte closed
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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Original copy of 13th Amendment at Lincoln Library & Museum
A fully signed and recently restored copy of the Congressional resolution for a 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the official act that would abolish slavery in the United States, will be on display in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum’s Treasures Gallery.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
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GENEALOGY: SoCal Genealogical Jamboree coming up in June
The Southern California Genealogical Society announces its 43rd Annual Jamboree, to be staged for three days on June 8-10, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank, Calif.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: Disco Ernie featured on Maury
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Flashing the mayor's badge
This mayoral badge was presented to the Vigo County Historical Society by Elizabeth K. Schultz, the granddaughter of Samuel E. Beecher Sr., who served as mayor of Terre Haute from 1936 to 1940.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Deadly tornado devastates York in 1907
John T. Staff loved water and, particularly, the Wabash River.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Notorious Western desperado Ellsworth Wyatt captured in Clay County
In October 1892, Terre Haute police received a circular from the State of Kansas containing a description of Ellsworth Wyatt and offering a $1,200 reward for his capture.
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LOOKING BACK: 2002: ISU students honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: News letter filled with wonderful local news
We recently received five bound volumes of copies of the “Terre Haute Onizette,” the Owen-Illinois Glass Company news letter for the Terre Haute Plant.
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GENEALOGY: Peyton, Downey, Fifer queries and a plea for help from Scotland
This week, we have several queries.
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Extension plans seminar on land use
The Purdue Extension Land Use Team is hosting a video seminar titled “Welcome to the Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Kennedy, Camelot, and other myths
This week (Jan. 20) in 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as our 35th president, and his tragic death by assassination notwithstanding, his was a mediocre presidency that, undeservedly, became the stuff of legend — in part because of his assassination.
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Actor to portray Lincoln at dinner for historical society
A special program, “And Lincoln Wrote,” is coming to Harlan Hall in Marshall, Ill., with a featured presentation by Dick Benach as Abraham Lincoln and Chuck Hand as the publisher of the Prairie Beacon.
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GENEALOGY: Celebrate MLK Day with the Indiana Historical Society
On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Indiana Historical Society will offer free admission to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Light Guards savor military and social experiences
Never during the Civil War was there a time when the City of Terre Haute was in danger of hosting an armed conflict involving one or more armies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: 87 high school hoops teams compete in 47th annual Wabash Valley Tournament
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: A bottle of clove oil at the pharmacy
The Historical Treasure for today is a bottle of Clove Oil.
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LOOKING BACK: 1987: St. Mary’s Parish congregation celebrates 150th anniversary
Dorothy Jerse looks back at local history from 10, 25 and 50 years ago as reported in the Tribune and Tribune-Star.
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HISTORICAL TREASURE: Fire up the jukebox for a great night
The jukebox existed long before Glenn Miller’s “Juke Box Saturday Night” swing version.
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GENEALOGY: 1752 is one memorable year for genealogists
The year 1752 is one to remember if you have ancestors who lived in areas controlled by Great Britain; and this includes the American colonies.
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LOOKING BACK: 1962: Terre Haute Works of Allis-Chalmers closes








