Fantastic Find! US Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors Database

If you've ever researched an ancestor who fought in the Civil War, you're probably familiar with the Soldiers and Sailors Database of the  National Park Service (NPS). Now there's a new source of information for an earlier conflict, the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).*

[B.W. Kilburn Company. (ca. 1873) Monument over the remains of 750 U.S. soldiers, who fell in the valley of Mexico during the Mexican War. Mexico Mexico City, ca. 1873. Littleton, N.H.: Photographed and published by B.W. Kilburn. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2005693423/.]

Last week the NPS and the  Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announced the launch of of the U.S.-Mexican War Soldier & Sailor database:

This online, searchable database contains information for over 85,000 U.S. and Mexican veterans who served in this war. Many records include personal details, such as hair color and occupation. 

The database allows descendants of these soldiers and sailors to connect to their personal history and helps Palo Alto commemorate and tell the stories of those who served. This invaluable research tool benefits genealogists, historians, as well as people who may have never known they are related to a U.S.-Mexican War veteran.

 This project started in 2007. Progress was extremely slow until 2015 when FGS joined forces with the NPS. FGS offered their expertise and numerous volunteers. 

Patricia Rand, the FGS contact, recruited and trained volunteers who spent over 17,000 hours doing the tedious task of inputting data. Their dedication makes it possible for future generations to learn about those who served in the U.S.-Mexican War.**

Although the database is up and running now, the virtual launch will take place at 3:00 pm (Central) on Monday, January 27, 2020 live on-line or in person at the Palo Alto Visitor Center.

I don't have any direct ancestors who were participants but Joshua Butler Walsh, the second husband of my maternal great great grandmother Mercy Ann Darling, was. We know more about Joshua than is listed in this database so I've contacted them (via their link) offering to share our information. I'll let you know how that turns out.


*I learned about this from a post by Judy G. Russell (The Legal Genealogist)
**From the FGS press release dated 14 Jan 2020.

© 2020 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

My Great Grandparents Visited the St. Louis World's Fair - 1904

St. Louis celebrated the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase by hosting an international exposition* which was officially opened by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 30, 1904.**

[1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition poster showing area covered by the purchase-image found at Porter Briggs.com]

Before it closed on December 1st, nearly 19.7 million people visited the site, including my great grandparents Lewis Logan Slater and Rufina Ellen Tomlinson accompanied by their 14-year old daughter Opal. 

[13 Oct 1904, 8 - Democratic Messenger at Newspapers.com]

Since the railroad line goes right through Severy I'm sure they traveled to St. Louis by train.

[Kansas railroad map - Kansas Memory. Kansas Historical Society]

The Exposition fairgrounds sprawled over 1,270 acres:

[Panoramic aerial view of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair) held in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. View was probably made from a tethered balloon at the Aeronautic Concourse in the northwest corner of the fairgrounds, looking roughly southwest. Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]

[Ground Plan Of The Louisiana Purchase Exposition St. Louis, Mo. 1904. Buxton & Skinner Stationery Co. Publishers, Fourth & Olive St. St. Louis, Mo. Copyright, 1904 By Parker Eng. Co. Source: Davis Rumsey Historical Map Collection]

This daily program for the Exposition dates from a few days before the Slaters arrived, but it gives us an idea of the kind of event to be seen by visitors.

[An Official Daily Program from the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition for Saturday, October 8th

found at the National Park Service-Gateway Arch site.]

[Order of the day from an Official Daily Program from the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition for Saturday, October 8th

found at the National Park Service-Gateway Arch site.]

I wonder if they brought home one of these?***

[Souvenir book of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, © 2017 The Wolfsonian—Florida International University]

*Here's a French poster:

[Poster for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, painted by artist Alphonse Mucha.

Wikimedia Commons]

**And a bust of President Roosevelt sculpted in butter was a featured exhibit.

[Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print]

***You can see the rest of the pages of this book here.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Gone for Soldiers? Sailors? Marines? William T. Slater (About 1794 - 1847)

This morning the Library of Congress* reminded me that today is the 202nd anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans. Family history gives this date (or sometime near it)** as the moment when one of my maternal third great grandfathers Yorkshireman William T. Slater*** decided he didn't want to be English any more.

[Battle of New Orleans…the 8th of January 1815. William Edward West, artist; Philadelphia: Published and sold by J. Yeager, engraver, [1817]. Popular Graphic Arts. Prints & Photographs Division]

Three years later he was applying for citizenship in Jefferson County, Indiana.

*Through their Digital Collections' Today in History which is my home page.
**You can find an excellent overview of the War of 1812 leading up to the two-month long campaign now known as the Battle of New Orleans here. I had never considered the terrain my great great great grandfather faced upon leaving his post, but this National Park Service photo of a Louisiana bayou included by the author makes it clear that it must have been daunting--even without taking into account the wildlife that's found there.

[Alligator crossing the road, Jean Lafitte National Park

Both photos courtesy of the National Park Service]

And he wouldn't have had the benefit of the safety information currently distributed by the Park Service--an example:

Think like an alligator. Alligators are surprisingly fast: on land they can move quickly over short distances and in the water they're unstoppable. Remember to keep your distance and stand tall. Alligators judge their prey by its size, and if you are kneeling down to take a picture, you're a much more tempting target than if you're standing up.

***Allegedly part of the British invasion forces, you can read more about William T. Slater in my original post and see what more Christine was able to find out about him here.

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.