Writing stories has always been
an important part of my life. I became enamored by the history of England and
France as a young girl, and made up characters who played out their lives
against the backdrop of Renaissance Europe. It was fascinating to learn of the
high life, war, and melodrama that concerned kings and queens and the upper
classes, about whom much history is written. But, I was always more curious about
the every-day real lives of women and children, farmers, shop keepers and
craftspeople. How did they dress? What did they eat? What were their customs?
What was life really like living as a boatwright’s wife in Southampton, England
in 1790, or as an enslaved man outside of Savannah, Georgia in 1840? What were
their stories? What were their names?
One of the things that I am
passionate about, now that I am finally and firmly immersed in genealogy, is
telling those stories, writing down the names of those who have, historically
speaking, lived in the shadows. There are people who catch my eye in passing as
I research that I become a little obsessed with. The unnamed beloved wife in a
will, or an ornate miniature child’s gravestone at a cemetery, can spark
impromptu research projects. Suddenly, I have to know more about them. I have
to tell their story, even if there isn’t much to tell. Even if I am the only
person who ever reads it. Over the past few years two people have particularly
caught my eye and my heart.
 |
| High Street Cemetery (Circleville, Pickaway, Ohio), Caswell Briggs marker, Civil War section, facing High Street, image by researcher, 20 December 2016. |
The first is a Civil War
veteran named Caswell Briggs. I came across Caswell in the 1870 U.S. census living
at New Lexington, Perry, Ohio. He was 23 years-old at the time, and lived with
another man, 60-year old, Charles Hill. Both worked as barbers, both were
married and both were enumerated as mulatto. Charles Hill had been born in
Virginia, but Caswell Briggs was born in Ohio.[1] Since I lived in Perry
County at the time, I was intrigued and wanted to know more about Caswell
Briggs.
What I’ve discovered about
Caswell thus far shows that he was born a free person-of-color, probably in
Circleville, Ohio. He was found with his parents, London and Susan Briggs, and
siblings in the 1850 and 1860 U.S. censuses in Circleville. Caswell was
probably the eldest child, born about 1846.[2] In 1864, when he was 18,
Caswell agreed to join the U.S. Army for one year, serving as a substitute for
one D.B. Wagner. “Form No. 40, Substitute Volunteer Enlistment,” described
Caswell Briggs: “This soldier has black eyes, black hair, mulatto complexion;
is 5 feet and 6 ¼ inches high.”[3]
Caswell must have served with
some distinction, because he was mustered out of Company E, 27th regiment of
the U.S. Colored Infantry, 30 April 1865, as a corporal. His record card notes
that he was promoted to corporal on 2 November 1864, just two months after he
enlisted.[4]
Apparently, Caswell was
married twice. The first time to Ann Eliza Martin in Greene County, Ohio, 16
September 1869.[5]
He married the second time 17 May 1875, to Anna “Annie” Bagley at Perry County,
Ohio.[6] The couple apparently had
one child, Maggie, who was born about 1876. Maggie was enumerated in the 1880
U.S. census with her mother, Annie Briggs, in the household of Will. H. Mumma at
Union, Champagne, Ohio. Anna Briggs was a 27 year-old widow in 1880, who worked
as a domestic servant. Maggie was only three.[7]
Caswell Briggs had died in
1879 and was buried at the High Street Cemetery in Circleville.[8] I visited his gravesite near
Christmas-time in 2016. This cemetery particularly honors those who have served
in the military. Caswell’s grave sits alone in the middle of a field, far from
anyone else’s stone. Someone had placed a wreath, flag, and a G.A. R. star on
his grave. Standing there I thought about Anna and Maggie Briggs. So far, I’ve
found very little about them after 1880. Anna was a young woman with a toddler
when her husband died. Maggie may not have remembered her father. I wonder how
the death of their son, still a young man, affected Caswell’s parents, London
and Susan Briggs? I’ve worked on different questions pertaining to Caswell
Briggs and his family ever since. Something about Caswell, wife, Anna Bagley,
and his daughter, Maggie Briggs, compels me to learn everything I can about
them and to tell their story. I can’t let go.
My second obsession is my
second great-uncle, Birta Speake. I don’t really think of Birta as a
great-uncle. He will always be a little boy to me. Birta is one of those people
that no one would know ever existed, if not for one little record: He appears
with his mother, Nancy Speaks, and siblings M. J. (Melinda Jane), Robert,
Daniel and my great-grandfather, Jeptha, in the 1875 Kansas territorial census
taken 1 March 1875.[9]
In this census “Birta” a male,
was two years old on his last birthday. He had been born in Kansas. Nancy’s
husband, Jeptha, had died sometime in 1871.[10] The chances are that
Nancy, who had a total of eleven children, only five of whom survived to adult
hood, was pregnant when her husband died. I have come to believe that Birta’s
name was probably Albert or Bert, and he was enumerated with a nickname. Since
Birta does not appear in another census or any other record, it is probable
that Birta died before 1880. No grave has been found for him.[11]
There is no family tradition
of a Birta Speaks in my family. He’s not noted in a family Bible. I had never
heard or seen the name before I found my great-grandfather, Jeptha, listed on
the 1875 Kansas territorial census. But, once I saw Birta’s name, I couldn’t
forget him. I know that there may not be another piece of paper, a grave stone,
death or birth record, that will offer more evidence that he ever existed. But,
once I saw his name, I felt a responsibility to tell his story. Even if it is a
story told with little evidence to support it; told with qualifiers such as
“possible” or “highly likely.” Even if it is a story that is just a theory.
I think it is important to
say his name, to write it down, to consider the implications of his existence. It’s
important to think about my great-grandmother and how Birta’s birth after she
lost her husband affected her. How the loss of this last child may have
devastated her. How did my great-grandfather feel when his baby brother died? Jeptha
was just a little boy of four himself at the time. The birth and death of Birta
Speaks must have affected my family in ways I will never be able to imagine or
understand.
I don’t really want to write
about fictional people any more. I am more interested in telling the stories of
real people. People who lived short but meaningful lives, serving others, like
Caswell Briggs. Or people like Birta Speaks, a young child whose existence is
documented by only one line in a census role. These stories personally connect us
to the backdrop of history. They make history our story. These are the stories
I want to write now.
I’d love to hear about who
has caught your eye while you were researching someone else? Who captured your
heart? Leave a comment below.
[1]1870 U.S. census, Perry County,
Ohio, population schedule, New Lexington, p. 21 (penned), p. 133 (stamped),
dwelling 165, family 165, Caswell Briggs; “1870 United States Federal Census,”
database with images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 20
September 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1255.
[2]1850 U.S. census, Pickaway County, Ohio, population
schedule, Circleville, p. 201 (stamped), dwelling 497, family 494, London
Briggs; “1850 United States Federal Census,” database with images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 20
September 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 720. Also: 1860
U.S. census, Pickaway County, Ohio, population schedule, Circleville, p. 10 (penned),
dwelling 70, family 74, London Briggs; “1860 United States Federal Census,”
database with images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 20
September 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication M653, roll 1023.
[3]Military, Compiled Service
Record, Caswell Briggs, Cpl, Co. E., USCT, 27th Infantry, Substitute
Volunteer Enlistment, Circleville, Ohio, 10 August 1864; “Compiled Military
Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States
Colored Troops; Miscellaneous Personal Papers,” database with images, Fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com/ : accessed 20 September 2018); citing NARA, “Carded
Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer
Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890-1912, documenting
the period 1861-1866,” roll RG94-USCT-MISCPP-Bx13
[4]Military, Compiled Service
Record, Caswell Briggs, Cpl, Co. E., USCT, 27th Infantry, page 10, Detachment
Muster-Out Roll card, 9 September 1865; “Civil War Soldiers-Union-Colored
Troops 26th-30th Infantry,” database with images, Fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com/
: accessed 20 September 2018); citing NARA “Carded Records Showing Military
Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American
Civil War, compiled 1890-1912, documenting the period 1861-1866,” RG94, roll
0018.
[5]“Ohio,
County Marriage Records, 1774-1993,” database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/
: accessed 20 September 2018), Greene County, Ohio,
p. 471 (stamped), Caswell Briggs-Ann Eliza Martin, 16 September 1869; citing Family History Library (FHL) film 000535125.
[6]“Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993,” database with
images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 20
September 2018), Perry
County, Ohio, p. 436
(stamped), Caswell Briggs-Anna Bagley, 20 May 1875; citing FHL film 000910671.
[7]1880 U.S. census, Champaign County, Ohio, population
schedule, Union, enumeration district (ED) 32, p. 14B (penned), dwelling 93,
family 98, Will. H. Mumma; “1880 United States Federal Census,” database with
images Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 20
September 2018), citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 998.
[8]“Ohio, Soldiers Grave
Registration Cards, 1804-1958,” database with images, Fold3.com (https://www.fold3.com/
: accessed 20 September 2018), Briggs, Caswell, born 1846, Co. E, 27th
U.S.C.T. Also: High Street Cemetery (Circleville, Pickaway, Ohio), Caswell
Briggs marker, Civil War section, facing High Street, read by researcher, 20
December 2016.
[9]1875 Kansas Territory census, Montgomery County, population
schedule, Fawn Creek, p. 13, lines 1-6, Nancy Speaks; “Kansas State Census
Collection, 1855-1925,” database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com/
: accessed 20 September 2018); citing Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka,
Kansas, 1875 Territory Census, roll ks1875_14.
[10]“Obituary.,” for Nancy Hold, The Coffeeville Weekly
Journal, Coffeeville, Kansas, 7 August 1914, page 4, column 4; database with
images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/
: accessed 20 September 2018). Also: 1875
Kansas Territory census, Montgomery County, pop. sched., Fawn Creek, p. 13, lines
1-6, Nancy Speaks.
[11] Searches for Birta
(Albert/Bert/Bertie etc) Speake (Speeks/Speaks/Speak, etc) in Montgomery County
and Kansas in the 1880 U.S. census, 1900 U.S. census, 1885 Kansas State census,
and 1895 Kansas State census. Searches for Birta or other Speake child of
correct age in Montgomery County and Kansas: FindAGrave.com, Billion Graves.com, “Kansas Deaths and Burials,”
Family Search.org.
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