Historical Insights -- Virginia during the Civil War
March 1860
These three documents are simply the same deed naming Harvey Scott. I haven't looked closely at them to say what they are right away, so we will explore it together. Let's get started, shall we? I got the copy of the deed in my hand in April of 1987.
Harvey Scott, 1860 Deed first half
Know all Men by these Presents, that We Elbridge F. Greenough of Salisbury in the county of Merrimack and state of New Hampshire and Elisabeth, wife of the said Elbridge for and in consideration of the sum of two hundred dollars to us in hand, before the delivery hereof, well and truly paid by Harvey Scott of the county of Merrimack aforesaid, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, have granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents do give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, enscoss, convey and confirm unto the said Harvey Scott his heirs and assigns forever, A certain tract of land situated in Salisbury aforesaid, founded & described as follows to wit --, commencing on the South Road so called in said Salisbury at the south easterly corner of land to Ezekiel Woodard, thence running northerly on said Woodard land twenty eight rods to a stake? & stands thence easterly eight rods to a stake & stones, thence southerly twenty rods to the south road, thence by said road eight rods to the bound first mentioned being the same land conveyed to me by James H. Heath? & wife by deed dated August 4, 1839 with the buildings thereon.
Harvey Scott, 1860 deed lower half
To have and to hold the said granted premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances to the same belonging to him the said Harvey Scott and his heirs and assigns, for his and their only proper use and benefit forever. And I the said Elbridge F. Greenough and my heirs, executors and administrators, do hereby covenant, grant, and agree to and with the said Harvey Scott and his heirs and assigns, that until the delivery hereof, I am the lawful owners of the said premises, and am seized and possessed therof in my own right in fee simple: and have full power and lawful authroity to grant and convey the same manner aforesaid; that the said premises are free and clear from all and every incumbrance whatsoever; and that I and my heirs, executors and administrators, shall and will warrant and defend the same to the said Harvey Scott and his hairs and assigns, aganst the lawful claims and demands of any person or persons whomsoever. And I Elisabeth Greenough wife of the said Elbridge in consideration aforesaid, do hereby relinquish my right of dower in the before mentioned premises.
And we each of us do hereby release, discharge and waive all such rights of exemption from attachment and levy or sale on [illegible] other rits whatsoever, in said premises and in each and every part thereof as our family homestead, as are reserved or secured to us or either of us by the Statute of the State of New Hampshire, penned July 4th, 1861, entitled "An Act to exempt the homestead of families from attachment and levy or sale on execution" or by any other statute or Statutes of said State.
In Witness Whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this fifteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty
Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of us: Charles E. Foote; J.K. Clement; Elbridge F. Greenough [his mark]; Elisabeth R Greenough [her mark]
State of New Hampshire, March 13, 1860. Personally Appearing the above named Elbridge F. Greenough acknowleged the foregoing instrument to be their voluntary act and deed before me [undated] signed J.K. Clement.
Harvey Scott 1860 Deed
This is what the whole document looks like. Now you can see why I cut out the middle man, right? So, to translate the deed, it looks like Elbridge and Elisabeth Greenough sold their property which is described by using a landmark and walking around the perimeter of the land pointing out the corners at Woodard's place, and then two Stakes and Stones as markers. Did it say how many acres this was? I don't think so. As far as I can tell, it is about 28 rods on one side, about 462 feet on that side. This looks to be just under 5 acres. But he paid 200 dollars, which is more than $5,000 as of 2014.
1861 -- Abraham Lincoln becomes the sixteenth President of the United States
Virginia ratified their articles of secession on May 23, 1861. The next day Union troops captured the city of Alexandria. 1863. Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesHarvey Scott
HISTORICAL INSIGHTSVirginia during the Civil War
Virginia during the Civil War
Its location and industry made Virginia key to both the Union and the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Virginia’s role in the American Civil War cannot be underestimated. The state was home to Richmond, the Confederate capital: a symbol of pride for the South and a symbol of resistance and treason to the North. The state was also a center of industry, agriculture, and transportation, making it a rich target for Union forces and a desperately needed resource for the South. Virginia’s rivers, valleys, and mountains were the scenes of several important military actions at Chancellorsville, Manassas, and, finally, the surrender at Appomattox. 155,000 Virginians served the Confederacy, including raw recruits from the Virginia Military Institute and Emory and Henry College, who formed their own units such as the Richmond Howitzers and the Stonewall Brigade. The state also provided the Confederacy with some of its greatest military leaders, including General Robert E. Lee, Lt. General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Major General J.E.B. Stuart, Lt. General A.P Hill, and General Joseph E. Johnston.
Media Gallery
Union shelling and fires heavily damaged a number of Virginia towns and cities during the Civil War. 1861. Credit: Otto Herschan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Throughout the war, the cry of “On to Richmond”—the Confederate capital—was regularly chanted by Union troops. 1860s, Richmond, Virginia. Credit: Mathew Brady/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
On April 9, 1865, the formal surrender ending the war took place at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/UIG via Getty Images
This is one of those documents that split the family up. The first part, you find Harvey on the very last line. The numbers preceding his name are Dwelling number and Family number. Sometimes separate families live in the same house, so the census takers make that distinction. He is 33 years old, and a farm labourer who actually has some monetary worth. He has land valued at 200$ and personal property valued at 150$. His land would have been worth over $5,400 as of 2014, and his personal property worth over $4,000. That's not too bad! It indicates he was born in Vermont.
Harvey Scott family 1860 Census Part 2
On the next census page for Salisbury, Merrimack County, NH, we find the rest of the family on the first four lines. Mary J. Scott is 28 years old; Marshall W. Scott is 3, and Adela G. is less than one year. Lucretia M. Scott is Harvey's 31 year old sister. I don't have much information about her other than this census. [UPDATE] Because I added her onto my Ancestry tree, I found the 1850 census for her, including her brother. The index had him as "Henry" rather than Harvey. You can't always trust the index, you have to lay eyeballs on the documents themselves. Lucretia and Harvey were born in Vermont, while Mary Jane and the kids were born in New Hampshire.
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Below is infromation from Ancestry.com's Historical Insights: Southern Life in the Civil War
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesHarvey Scott
HISTORICAL INSIGHTSSouthern Life in the Civil War
Southern Life in the Civil War
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images
For American Southerners, 1861 to 1865 were long and difficult years that saw families uprooted and women forced to head households as more than a million men marched off to fight in the Civil War.
Sarah Morgan Dawson, a child of the Confederacy, recounted the nights during the Civil War as “faint with hunger, dizzy with sleeplessness.” For all Southerners, 1861 to 1865 were long and difficult years—families were uprooted and women forced to head many households as more than a million men marched off to fight. Primarily on Southern soil, the battles left behind a wake of destruction: barren cupboards and entire cities burned to the ground. In a decisive move, the factory-heavy North withheld vital goods like clothing and munitions. Simultaneously, Union forces blocked Southern ports from exporting cotton, virtually shutting down the already crumbling Confederate economy. The home front and battlefront became one and the same: civilians, like soldiers, faced hunger, violence, and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. When the war finally came to a close, Southerners struggled to adapt to a new way of life as they rebuilt their devastated hometowns.
Media Gallery
Women waved to Confederate troops as they recapture Jackson, Mississippi, in August of 1863. August 8, 1863, Jackson, Mississippi. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
This photograph, taken by the famous Civil War photographer Matthew Brady, shows Rose O'Neal Greenhow and her daughter, who were imprisoned for espionage for almost five months in Washington, D.C. 1862, Washington, D.C.. Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com
Most of Charleston, South Carolina, was decimated following a Union attack. 1865, Charleston, South Carolina. Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Harvey and Mary Jane Bacon Scott Marriage Certificate 2 January 1855
You've heard of WYSIWIG? It is an acronym that means What You See Is What You Get. It usually is used when talking about computerized fonts. Sometimes fonts are "translated" by the printer and don't print exactly as they appeared on the computer. Others are printed exactly the same. In this case, it applies to the paucity of information found on this marriage document. Names of bride and groom, they lived in Franklin NH, date of marriage and officiant. Nothing about the family on the back (so I didn't even include that side). No information on the front. It is very disappointing, to say the least. You can't get any new information other than the day and month of the wedding, and proof that they were, indeed, married.
11 October 1856, age 30
Birth of son Marshal Winfield Scott, Salisbury, Merrimack NH
Ad from The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois) 6 April 1883, page 4 downloaded 21 March 2017 from Newspapers.com
1857 -- James Buchanan becomes the fifteenth President of the United States
Here is a new document for me, I just found because I was researching for this particular blog. I have to be careful with my assumptions. Harvey is indexed as Henry age 24, born about 1826. He works as a Mason with three other men, David Scott who might be his father, age 52; Marshall Scott age 18; Philo Scott age 26; then Lucretia age 22, all are born in Vermont. They apparently share a house with a Tailor Alvin Quinly and his wife Ednah A. You can tell by the numbers preceding their names. They all live in dwelling 104, and the separate families are enumerated.
So, the question I must research is, is this David his father? The age is correct. I don't recall seeing the occupation of Mason in Harvey's repertoire before, but that isn't unheard of. Why did Lucretia move in with Harvey 10 years later?
Although this is about Harvey, I have to include here that I searched for Lucretia and found a tantalizing death certificate. I was very close to loving it until I compared the birth date. It was about 10 years off. Must always compare everything, because a wrong document in one place can screw things up in a lot of other places. ESPECIALLY when searching for common names.
1853 -- Franklin Pierce becomes the fourteenth President of the United States
Harvey Scott 1826-1865, is Norm's Great, Great Grandfather. He lived through the Civil War, died just before it ended that same year. He fought for the Union, which does NOT automatically make him a racist.
Vintage Image, Baby Girl with Cap from AntiqueClipArt.com
While I know she is born in this year, it is only because of the census records so far. I still know nothing about her parents.
Democratic Party Created, A faction breaks off from the older established Democratic-Republican Party to become the Democratic Party. In the 1828 Presidential Elections opponents of Andrew Jackson told all who would listen that Andrew Jackson was a "Stubborn Jackass" Jackson was proud of his reputation for stubbornness and even wanted to use it as a good quality, so started using a donkey on his campaign posters . Democrats have been using the symbol of the Donkey ever since. -- The People History
1829 Andrew Jackson is elected the seventh President of the United States
I don't [yet] have any record of his childhood and young adult life. I can make some assumptions. If David is his father, he taught him how to be a mason, to lay bricks. Some things that happened in these two decades are as follows:
Michigan Became the 26th state, Michigan became the 26th state in The United States on January 26th , 1837. -- The People History
Wagon Trains Start The Journey To California, Covered Wagon Trains took immigrants on a journey from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. The trip was about 2,000 miles and each night the Covered Wagon Train would form a circle for shelter from wind and extreme weather, they would put all the animals in the center to prevent them from running away or being stolen by Native Americans. -- The People History
Massachusetts Child Employment Laws, Massachusetts became the first state to pass laws limiting how many hours a child laborer could be forced to work. The new laws limited a child under the age of twelve's workday to a maximum of 10 hrs. -- The People History
In this time, six men became President of the United States: Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Knox Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore. Next up: Harvey Scott, 1850s or so, I may change my mind about the title. Is this YOUR Scott ancestor? What would you like to learn more about? Let me know by commenting below or contacting me using the form on the right.
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Below is information from Ancestry.com's Historical Insights: Establishment of County Poorhouses
I thought it was relevant because I think several of the Scott people were in either poor houses, or placed their children in orphanages because they were unable to properly care for them.
One observer noted that many people, “sought to die in starvation rather than
submit to what they regarded as the shame attending
their admission into almshouses.” 1876, Binghamton, New York.
Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images
HISTORICAL INSIGHTSEstablishment of County Poorhouses
Establishment of County Poorhouses
“Going to the poorhouse” was not just a fear for many 19th-century Americans, it was a reality.
America was not the land of milk and honey for everyone during the Industrial Revolution. Countless thousands of people were forced into poverty and homelessness. Such unfortunates could even be sold at public auction to provide labor in exchange for room and board, a system called “outdoor relief.” Often, homeless Americans suffered from mental illnesses or disabilities that prevented them from working. With no public support, they relied on charity. Officials hoped that the creation of a tax-supported poorhouse, also known as almshouses or “poor farms,” would be a more humane—and cheaper—alternative. Most New England towns had at least one poorhouse, while cities such as Boston had several. The Massachusetts state almshouse sheltered almost one thousand people. One report found that the residences “are not at present well adapted to modern ideas of comfort and convenience,” and reports of meager food and conditions were not uncommon.
Media Gallery
Some workers took advantage of the poorhouse system to secure housing when their industries were in the offseason or did not have work. About 1800, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Credit: W. Birch & Son/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Josephine Shaw Lowell, sister of Civil War hero Robert Gould Shaw, was a reformer who reported on conditions at poorhouses. 1863. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Competition for jobs among immigrants, housing shortages, and the unstable nature of industrial work contributed to homelessness in urban areas. About 1872, Five Points, New York, New York. Credit: Interim Archives/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Approximately 12 percent of all school-age children were homeless in New York City during the 1870s. About 1881, New York, New York. Credit: Stock Montage/Archive Photos/Getty Images
