While this is part two of Joseph's story, I do want to mention his brothers. Alexander died at the age of about 10. Brother William was Sheriff during the Civil War in Morgan County, West Virginia. Brother John Wesley Fleece Flinn took his mother's maiden name when he moved to Ohio and served in the Union Army. The story of the three living brothers will be a future blog...
It will probably be a life-long endeavor to find the real answer. The first avenue to research (IMO) is whether Stonewall Jackson (see previous blog) actually was in the area before Joseph packed up his family and moved to Ohio.
As a matter of fact, he was. So while I scour local sources such as newspapers, and Civil War histories to see what he was doing there, I also need to:
(1) Contact descendants of Joseph and his siblings to see if anything of interest came down through their branch, ()and also to see if anybody has his picture since he died in 1899 - plenty of time for photography.)
I look at online trees regularly, but to do it justice, one should actually contact the tree owner to see if there is unpublished information available. This is generally hit or miss but. I will continue down this path though...
(2) County biographies. I know these are poo-poo-ed by a lot genealogists and outright dismissed by others but I always look for them. (a) they contain clues, not proof (b) there are often stories that are nearly impossible to document: multiple wives with the same first name who died early in the marriage, or children born and died between census years (c) they are clues (d) they are clues...I cite the source then try some way to back it up.
None of the mentions of Joseph Fleece in any county history I have located contains information about Civil War involvement.
(3) Obituary. Obituaries in the 19th century (remember, that is the 1800s) were not the detailed biography they are today. In the rural areas where I tend to research, they started in the early twentieth century, peaked about Y2k, and are waning now to the point where some only appear on the website of the funeral home responsible for the remains. This is because newspapers, due to the heavy loss of revenue from internet competition, are charging obituary fees. In some areas, those fees are quite hefty and charged per word.
While Joseph did not have a full-blown obituary, the mention of Stonewall Jackson is sending me on a merry chase! One question I wish I knew the answer to: who provided the information to the "not-local" newspaper? And what are in the other three possible newspapers in his area (not digitized).
(4) Federal Records (Confederate & Union). Well, Civil War records are part of an ongoing digitization project at Fold3.com which is available with a discounted membership if you are also an Ancestry.com member.
The Fold3 search of both Confederate and Union soldiers was negative but the digitization project is not yet complete so one needs to also check the National Archives, pricey whether I hire a researcher, or drive there.
(5) State Records (Confederate). Because the Confederate states were not part of the United States during the Civil War, any pensions for these soldiers were granted on the state level. Some states were poorer than others. This website describes the stipulations and he did not qualify. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Civil_War_Pensions
West Virginia information about Confederate pensions are here: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/West_Virginia_in_the_Civil_War#Confederate_Pension_Records and states: "West Virginia did not grant pensions to confederate veterans. Some confederate veterans may have received pensions from Virginia." Confederate records as a whole are incomplete.
West Virginia became a state in 1863 - the middle of The War; while there are records at the West Virginia State Archives, it wouldn't hurt to research Virginia's also.
However, he doesn't appear to have met the criteria for Virginia.
(6) The OR or officially titled, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records The Official Records are compiled in 127 volumes, plus a general index and an atlas.
Fleece, while an uncommon surname, is NOT an unusual word so searching can sometimes be tedious (but not nearly as bad as slogging through the 127 volumes EEEK!!!)
At any rate, Joseph Fleece was not found in my search of the online OR and I only searched using the surname Fleece, not his entire name.
(7) 1870 Census - I found an intriguing note in "About Ohio, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890" (Ancestry.com): "Beginning in 1870, the enumerators asked questions regarding Civil War veterans and lists were compiled from these records." I can find nothing more about this other than this information was listed on the back of the census forms, even with a Google search. Another hint I read about the Civil War and the 1870 census turned out to be something along the lines of: if you can't find your ancestor in it, he may have died in the war. Well duh!
If anybody has any information, please share!
(8) 1890 Special Census. From the FamilySearch Wiki: Along with the 1890 census, separate schedules were made of Union Civil War veterans or their widows. Confederate veterans were mistakenly listed as well. The "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) (118 microfilm rolls).
My search of only using "Fleece" (no first name, no state, ancestry.com), only turned up a Joseph Flise in Missouri.
Other Fleece men were:
James W Fleece, Veteran, Louisiana, Pike, Missouri
Albert Flisa, Veteran, York, York, Pennsylvania
Henry J Flies, Veteran, Mansfield, Richland, Ohio
(9) General internet searches. Using the search terms "Joseph Fleece" and "Civil War" did not produce any usable results. "Stonewall Jackson" and "Morgan County" did. While there is a lot of flack about the validity of Wikipedia, I do use it as a jumping point for more thorough research.
http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38646
At dawn on New Year's Day, Confederate Major General Thomas J. Jackson, already known as "Stonewall," marched a large force north from Winchester, Virginia with the aim to cut the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and clear the Union forces from the area. Three days later, he occupied Bath in Morgan County (now part of West Virginia) and the federal forces withdrew across the Potomac into Washington County, Maryland. Jackson's artillery shelled Hancock, Maryland across the river the next day but did not follow. (By John Osborne)
How to Cite This Page: "In western Virginia, the Confederate "Stonewall Brigade" occupies Bath in Morgan County," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38646. (I just LOVE it when the page says "How to Cite This Page" lol!)
Because I'm somewhat of a Civil War geek, and a 19th century farm geek, I plan to see how close Stonewall Jackson actually came to Joseph's farm.
(10) Probably most important of all: Joseph D Fleece in the Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations, 1804-1958 notes: "Service suspect. Veteran metal marker on grave."
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations, 1804-1958 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. Original data: Graves Registration Cards Collection, Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio. Description: This database contains grave registration cards for soldiers from Ohio who served in the armed forces, mainly from the time of the War of 1812 up through the 1950s.
CONCLUSION: Joseph was probably not a soldier in the Civil War. He may have possibly picked up arms to defend his property as one side or the other came through the area, and it may be, in part, a reason for leaving for Ohio in 1864. This thought comes from the county historian, Fred Newbraugh, who I interviewed in person in 1978. I tend to agree with him. No record has yet come to light.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Here is the question I am researching: Did Joseph Fleece serve in the the Civil War? And if so, which side? Either or both? His obit states Confederate, artifacts at his cemetery plot says Union.
Cemetery plot of Joseph and Rachel Dyche Fleece, Roundhead Cemetery near the tiny village of Roundhead in Roundhead Township, Hardin County, Ohio (named for Indian Chief Roundhead). The cemetery is east of the small village and a mile west of the farm my Fleece grandparents used to own. I walked the cemetery with my grandfather in my early teen years and while he showed me this plot of his grandparents, he did not mention a Civil War connection back in Morgan County (which he did talk about, often.) (Photography by author when she lived down the road, 1998.)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +It will probably be a life-long endeavor to find the real answer. The first avenue to research (IMO) is whether Stonewall Jackson (see previous blog) actually was in the area before Joseph packed up his family and moved to Ohio.
As a matter of fact, he was. So while I scour local sources such as newspapers, and Civil War histories to see what he was doing there, I also need to:
(1) Contact descendants of Joseph and his siblings to see if anything of interest came down through their branch, ()and also to see if anybody has his picture since he died in 1899 - plenty of time for photography.)
I look at online trees regularly, but to do it justice, one should actually contact the tree owner to see if there is unpublished information available. This is generally hit or miss but. I will continue down this path though...
(2) County biographies. I know these are poo-poo-ed by a lot genealogists and outright dismissed by others but I always look for them. (a) they contain clues, not proof (b) there are often stories that are nearly impossible to document: multiple wives with the same first name who died early in the marriage, or children born and died between census years (c) they are clues (d) they are clues...I cite the source then try some way to back it up.
None of the mentions of Joseph Fleece in any county history I have located contains information about Civil War involvement.
(3) Obituary. Obituaries in the 19th century (remember, that is the 1800s) were not the detailed biography they are today. In the rural areas where I tend to research, they started in the early twentieth century, peaked about Y2k, and are waning now to the point where some only appear on the website of the funeral home responsible for the remains. This is because newspapers, due to the heavy loss of revenue from internet competition, are charging obituary fees. In some areas, those fees are quite hefty and charged per word.
While Joseph did not have a full-blown obituary, the mention of Stonewall Jackson is sending me on a merry chase! One question I wish I knew the answer to: who provided the information to the "not-local" newspaper? And what are in the other three possible newspapers in his area (not digitized).
(4) Federal Records (Confederate & Union). Well, Civil War records are part of an ongoing digitization project at Fold3.com which is available with a discounted membership if you are also an Ancestry.com member.
The Fold3 search of both Confederate and Union soldiers was negative but the digitization project is not yet complete so one needs to also check the National Archives, pricey whether I hire a researcher, or drive there.
(5) State Records (Confederate). Because the Confederate states were not part of the United States during the Civil War, any pensions for these soldiers were granted on the state level. Some states were poorer than others. This website describes the stipulations and he did not qualify. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Civil_War_Pensions
West Virginia information about Confederate pensions are here: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/West_Virginia_in_the_Civil_War#Confederate_Pension_Records and states: "West Virginia did not grant pensions to confederate veterans. Some confederate veterans may have received pensions from Virginia." Confederate records as a whole are incomplete.
West Virginia became a state in 1863 - the middle of The War; while there are records at the West Virginia State Archives, it wouldn't hurt to research Virginia's also.
However, he doesn't appear to have met the criteria for Virginia.
(6) The OR or officially titled, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records The Official Records are compiled in 127 volumes, plus a general index and an atlas.
Fleece, while an uncommon surname, is NOT an unusual word so searching can sometimes be tedious (but not nearly as bad as slogging through the 127 volumes EEEK!!!)
At any rate, Joseph Fleece was not found in my search of the online OR and I only searched using the surname Fleece, not his entire name.
(7) 1870 Census - I found an intriguing note in "About Ohio, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890" (Ancestry.com): "Beginning in 1870, the enumerators asked questions regarding Civil War veterans and lists were compiled from these records." I can find nothing more about this other than this information was listed on the back of the census forms, even with a Google search. Another hint I read about the Civil War and the 1870 census turned out to be something along the lines of: if you can't find your ancestor in it, he may have died in the war. Well duh!
If anybody has any information, please share!
(8) 1890 Special Census. From the FamilySearch Wiki: Along with the 1890 census, separate schedules were made of Union Civil War veterans or their widows. Confederate veterans were mistakenly listed as well. The "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) (118 microfilm rolls).
My search of only using "Fleece" (no first name, no state, ancestry.com), only turned up a Joseph Flise in Missouri.
Other Fleece men were:
James W Fleece, Veteran, Louisiana, Pike, Missouri
Albert Flisa, Veteran, York, York, Pennsylvania
Henry J Flies, Veteran, Mansfield, Richland, Ohio
(9) General internet searches. Using the search terms "Joseph Fleece" and "Civil War" did not produce any usable results. "Stonewall Jackson" and "Morgan County" did. While there is a lot of flack about the validity of Wikipedia, I do use it as a jumping point for more thorough research.
http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38646
At dawn on New Year's Day, Confederate Major General Thomas J. Jackson, already known as "Stonewall," marched a large force north from Winchester, Virginia with the aim to cut the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and clear the Union forces from the area. Three days later, he occupied Bath in Morgan County (now part of West Virginia) and the federal forces withdrew across the Potomac into Washington County, Maryland. Jackson's artillery shelled Hancock, Maryland across the river the next day but did not follow. (By John Osborne)
How to Cite This Page: "In western Virginia, the Confederate "Stonewall Brigade" occupies Bath in Morgan County," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/38646. (I just LOVE it when the page says "How to Cite This Page" lol!)
Because I'm somewhat of a Civil War geek, and a 19th century farm geek, I plan to see how close Stonewall Jackson actually came to Joseph's farm.
(10) Probably most important of all: Joseph D Fleece in the Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations, 1804-1958 notes: "Service suspect. Veteran metal marker on grave."
Source Information
Ancestry.com. Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations, 1804-1958 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017. Original data: Graves Registration Cards Collection, Ohio History Connection, Columbus, Ohio. Description: This database contains grave registration cards for soldiers from Ohio who served in the armed forces, mainly from the time of the War of 1812 up through the 1950s.
CONCLUSION: Joseph was probably not a soldier in the Civil War. He may have possibly picked up arms to defend his property as one side or the other came through the area, and it may be, in part, a reason for leaving for Ohio in 1864. This thought comes from the county historian, Fred Newbraugh, who I interviewed in person in 1978. I tend to agree with him. No record has yet come to light.
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