Sunday, November 22, 2020

The Bridge to Serendipity

Burnside Bridge - photograph in personal collection

Growing up, our family traveled to many historical sites in the region. Mainly, Civil War battlefields in Maryland and neighboring states. My father was a huge history buff. At the time I don't believe I appreciate the visits to the spots. As a child I would run around in the open fields. As a teenager, take along a book to read under a shady tree.

Didn't I go and marry someone with the same interests! My father and husband would have in-depth conversations about history. And most of the time, I would leave them to their confabs.

Once our children came along, there we were, driving those same roads. Visiting those same sites. But, something interesting happened. Once I started researching family history, history itself became extremely important. I wanted to know the whys, hows and whens. 

One spot we visit is Antietam National Battlefield. More that forty times over the years. Every season brings a different feel. Each visit, we always walk across the Burnside Bridge.

Hubby standing on Burnside Bridge - November 2020

This month, hubby and I traveled to the battlefield and did just that. Walked Burnside Bridge. Here we see the bridge ... now for the serendipity.

I have been tracing hubby's Finney line. His 4th great-grandmother was Lucinda Finney. She was born January 28, 1763 in Litchfield, Connecticut [1]. Lucinda married Platt Starr on November 28, 1782 [2]. Thus, beginning the Starr line, which lead to my mother-in-law, Rachel Elizabeth Starr.

Yesterday I came to Helen Clarissa Finney, She was hubby's 2nd cousin 4x removed. Helen was born June 10, 1828 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [3]. She married Jacob Dolson Cox on November 29, 1849 [4]

On Ancestry.com, there was an abundance of information about Jacob. He had a distinguished career in the Union Army during the United States Civil War. In fact, he attained the rank of Major General [5].

A hint for Jacob was his Find A Grave memorial page. A very impressive biography was posted on the site. Reading I discovered the following:

"he served as a division commander in the subsequent battles of South Mountain (assuming command of the IX Corps after Major General Jesse Reno was killed) and Antietam (where his Corps fought to take what was to become known as "Burnside's Bridge)" [6].

Doing additional research on Jacob, I discovered he wrote two books. I located both on the Project Gutenberg website.

Military Reminiscence of the Civil War, volume 1 : April 1861-November 1863 by Jacob D. Cox; published 1900 by C. Scribner's sons

Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, volume 2 : November 1863-June 1865 by Jacob D. Cox; published 1900 by C. Scribner's sons.

Jacob Dodson Cox
photograph from Military Reminiscenes of the Civil War
by Jacob Dolson Cox, published 1900

In each volume we find this wonderful image of Jacob Dodson Cox.

What an interesting piece of family history! The same bridge hubby and our children walked many times. Love placing ancestors in time and place. Then connecting them with our lives.
______________

Sources 

[1] Connecticut, U.S., Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), Kent Vital Records 1739-1852, p. 76 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 21 November 2020)

[2] Connecticut, U.S., Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), Kent Vital Records 1739-1852, p. 76 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 21 November 2020)

[3]  Find a Grave, database and images (https://findagrave.com) : accessed 21 November 2020), memorial page for Helen Clarissa Finney Cox (8 Jun 1828-7 Jun 1911), Find a Grave Memorial no. 34521649, citing Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA: Maintained by Janet Potts (contributor 46842861)

[4] "Governor Cox's Widow: died at Oberlin and Will Be Buried in Cincinnati", The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, 8 Jun 1911, Thu, p.16, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://newspapers.com : accessed 21 November 2020)

[5] U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA,  Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 21 November 2020)

[6] Find a Grave, database and images (https://findagrave.com) : accessed 21 November 2020), memorial page for Jacob Dolson Cox (27 Oct 1828-4 Aug 1900), Find a Grave Memorial no. 4443, citing Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA: Maintained by Find a Grave

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