Some time has passed since I wrote the story about the Thomson Family Tree, a poster-sized circular document with some 1,500 names of descendants of James Thomson (my great+ grandfather), a man of Scots-Irish roots who emigrated with his family to America in 1771. (The Family Tree is pictured intact at the top of the last entry). I only had a copy of the tree that was drawn by hand in the late 1800's, and a rather poor one at that, and so spent a few months researching the wherabouts of the original. Thanks to the Internet, and to the LDS genealogical society, it only took me a month or two to find it. Unfortunately, the Tree, which was donated years ago to the Iowa Historical Society, was quickly turning to dust. A kind librarian photographed the Tree for me in pieces so that I could transcribe the information. This may seem like a daunting task with few benefits, but to me, the stories written in tiny, fine print were worth the effort to preserve. Here are a few of the intriguing family details of lives past:
"James Whitney Thomson, b. Feb. 13, 1830 Wagon maker. Went west. Supposed Killed by Indians."
"David McConaughy Russell, b. Oct. 9, 1831: d. Jany 19, 1871, Single. Was shot through the body at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. Lay in the field, 3PM till 10 AM next day & recovered; Fell through hatchway in Pitts & recov’d; mate of tug boat on Ohio River: died in Livermore of old wounds."
"Jenny McConaughy, b. Aug. 20, 1857: d. Nov. 5, 1858. Scalded to death by Cookstove upsetting."
These are stories normally lost to history. You won't find anyting like them in census reports or birth/death records. And, there are so many more on the Thomson Family Tree, such as a baby that fell out of a window, or remarks about singing voices, or lovely smiles. There are many Civil War stories and a few Revolutionary tales. James Thomson, along with his eldest son William (also my direct ancestor) were part of the Frontier Rangers in Pennsylvania.
For posterity, here are the photos given to me of the original Thomson Family Tree:
