Civil War Pension File Received!

I'd waited MONTHS for this, and the day finally arrived. I received my ancestor Ezra Wilkinson Nichols' Civil War pension file!!

First though, a bone to pick, and then a sincere thank you to the folks at NARA. I received the *wrong* pension file TWICE in a row before finally getting the right one on the third try. It would have seemed more understandable to me if they had gotten the name only slightly wrong, or been off by a number or two. Instead though, it was as if someone had picked out a file at random, stuffed it into a big envelope with my original request, and sent it off on its way. I still do not understand how this occurred, or how it happened not once, but TWO times. Each time, I emailed customer service to tell them of the error. The first time they asked that I send the file back (at my expense I might add). The second time, in my complaint message I demanded that they send me the correct file and I refused to send the new one back. I had wasted a good $10+ on sending the first one, and it had been their mistake after all.

To the folks at NARA's credit, my second complaint was handled *personally* by the gentleman receiving and answering these correspondence. He went to the files personally, secured the copy, and got it ready for shipping to me, and then sent me a personal apology and note. So THANK YOU to him. He has proved that there are some great, competent folks there, and I'd like to think I just got a bad apple or two the first two times.

I still have the pension file for one mistaken person. It is at my mother's place now, but when I go back to visit - probably this summer or spring - I will post the name in appropriate message boards and offer to send it just for the cost of shipping, to any descendant or researcher of his line.

But now for the correct file. The file was IMMENSE. Possibly 1.5 inches thick! I believe I would have been required to send additional payment for the whole thing normally, but due to NARA's first few mistakes, they didn't ask me. (Thanks NARA!) I've skimmed the whole thing and taken some notes. It didn't give me the answers I was hoping for on Wilkinson Nichols' ancestry, however it did give me a whole lot of answers I wasn't looking for. It confirmed some family connections and migrations I hadn't been able to confirm by any other sources except for censuses. And it painted a wonderfully detailed story of the personalities of some my ancestors, and their trials and tribulations navigating multiple, perhaps bigamous marriages.

In my next post, I'll talk a bit about just what is in a Civil War Pension file, and what you might find.

Top Ten Reasons Our Ancestors Came to America

I didn't write this one, but it was too good to resist re-posting here:

Top Ten Reasons Our Ancestors Came to America

10. Took wrong turn at Bering land bridge.

9. Slavers seemed pretty insistent.

8. Sought religious freedom and the right to disembowel Quakers.

7. Nothing good to watch on BBC.

6. Took their orders from Neil Diamond.

5. Potato famine put big dent in profits from Irish fish-and-chip franchises.

4. To oppose anyone else being allowed to immigrate to America.

3. Sick of having unpronounceable names.

2. Wanted the right to vote on behalf of their wives.

1. Hoped to one day be listed on Ellis Island website.

I stole this (rather shamelessly) from The Genealogue, who publishes all kinds of other "Genealogy News You Can't Possibly Use". He has an excellent and highly entertaining blog filled with news that you can definitely use, or at least get a laugh from. Check him out at:

http://www.genealogue.com

And for ALL of his "Top 10" lists, visit:

http://www.genealogue.com/2005/05/top-ten-list-index.html

Thomas Jefferson's Mac & Cheese... Your Ancestors' Recipes

I came across this video recipe, which is supposedly the former American President Thomas Jefferson's favorite "macaroni and cheese". Now, I don't believe that this is actually Thomas Jefferson's recipe, as there is no historic proof of this, but it did get me thinking about the very cool legacy we are left in the recipe cards or informal cooking lessons we get from our mothers, fathers, their mothers and fathers, and so on.

How cool is it that we can bake a batch of cookies the same way our great-grandmothers did? Or whip up a casserole in the same way that an ancestor in England, France, you-name-it, did? It makes me feel closer to those people, though they've lived and died long, long ago.

I have several recipes which were my great-grandmother Isabelle's.  Her parents were English immigrants, so it's possible that some of them were old English recipes, or ones adapted for life and the ingredients commonly found in the US.  

There is one recipe in particular for a "drop" sugar cookie made with soured milk and a bit of nutmeg.  Unlike most sugar cookies, you don't roll the dough and cut them out.  Instead, you "drop" a bit of the cake-like batter onto your cookie sheet with a spoon, and they come out of the oven, soft, white, and almost like small cakes.  These are my very favorite cookies in the world except for my Mom's oatmeal raisin, or her datenut cookies -- supposedly a recipe given by an Eastern European friend to my grandmother years ago.

I've sort of guarded this recipe for years, but have thought I should start sharing it - at least with distant cousins, Isabelle's other descendants.  I suppose I don't want people NOT to see it.  It's just that I don't feel right about posting that "treasure" out there online and having it passed anonymously around. :)

In lieu of Isabelle's sugar cookies, here is Thomas Jefferson's Mac & Cheese.  I think you'll appreciate Chef John's other recipes at foodwishes.com as well!