Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Or, Subtitled: “May her soul rest in peis.” This posting tells a story. It tells a story about a story, one told to me in my formative years. It also tells a story about how sudden genealogical surprises can either confirm or disprove our long-cherished family traditions. So that we do well to keep ourselves … More Family Stories and Surprising Ways New Documentation Can Confirm Them: The Story of Robert Allen Sumrall and Margaret and Catherine Ryan

Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (9)

This will be my final posting in this series about Patrick Ryan (1846-1893) and his Civil War pension file. If you’re just discovering this blog, you may want to read the whole series of which this is the final piece. What I want to do now is provide some footnotes to  previous postings in the … More Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (9)

Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (5)

I’d like to begin winding down my series of postings about the Civil War pension files of Patrick Ryan and his wife Delilah Rinehart Ryan of Grant County, Arkansas, by tying up some loose ends I’ve left dangling in my four previous postings about these genealogically rich documents. As I do so, I’m fully aware … More Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (5)

Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (4)

You obtain an unexpected new treasure trove chock full of genealogical goodies, as I did last year when, at long last, I thought to look for a Union service record for my grandmother’s uncle Pat Ryan and discovered he and his widow Delilah Rinehart Ryan had filed pension applications for his Civil War service. You … More Prob. Died Young, Or How Pat Ryan Lost His Eye (As a Union Soldier) (4)