Who was Tillman Andrew/William Downs?

William Downs and Tilman Andrew lived near each other

We have concluded that Tillman Andrew of southern Illinois and William Downs of the Massachusetts 3rd Volunteer Cavalry were one and the same person, ? [See Sleuthing] but who was that person? Was he born “Tilman Andrew” or was he born “William Downs”? Which was the alias? Might they both be aliases? [Hope not!] The name “Tillman/Tilman/Tilghman Andrew/Andrews is relatively rare. With limited research one can eliminate, one by one. all individuals in the 1850 and/or 1860 censuses with one of those names and having an age corresponding to a birth year anywhere around 1844. On the other hand, several William Downs/Downes prove to be candidates.

The most likely is William, son of William and Caroline Downs, who was living in Sussex Co, Delaware, in 1850. Born in Maryland around 1844, the younger William cannot be located after 1850. Of course he could have died, but he also could have joined the Army and then changed his name. His Maryland birthplace matches that claimed by Tillman in federal censuses, and his Delaware childhood could explain the listing of Delaware as William’s birthplace in at least one Army record and as the father’s birthplace in some census records for the Andrews children. And there is a final indicator. Living in the same county as the William and Caroline Downs family was Tilman D. Andrew, born c1845. Tilman’s family lived in Northwest Fork Hundred and William’s family lived in Broad Creek Hundred, two townships (essentially what they were) only fifteen or so miles apart. William Downs may have chosen the name of a childhood acquaintance as an alias. 

The parentage of William Downs of Sussex Co, Delaware, and possibly of Tillman Andrew of White Co and Franklin Co, Illinois, is shown below. No documented research and few contemporary records are found for the family, which limited census data indicate may have been illiterate, fragmented, and low-income. And the father’s surname is said by some to have actually been “Thomas.” But that is just the sort of family that might include someone ready to take on an alias. Further investigation of this obscure family is a job for a better detective than I am, or at least one with a lot of time on their hands. Perhaps some of you Tillman descendants would like to take it on. And perhaps one of you male Tillman descendants with the name “Andrews” would like to take a yDNA test to confirm (or negate) “Downs” as the original family name. Don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss this.

Let’s end the Tillman saga with a bang.

In Nebraska, in the later part of the 19^th century lived Frank Allison, a Civil War veteran who had served in the Indiana Infantry. In 1890, Frank applied for a pension. Take a look at his pension index card and that for Tillman Andrews. See any similarity?

That’s right. Both show William W. Downs/Downes as an alias! Extensive research shows no connection with our Tillman.  But what are the odds?

Well that’s it for Tillman. Without yDNA results, we may never be certain whether Tillman’s descendants are Andrewses or Downses. But I must admit that I lean towards Tillman who married Lucinda Russel being a Downs, specifically the son of William and Caroline Downs of Maryland and Delaware.

Sleuthing

John Cozart’s 1895 application to the Bureau of Pensions for Tillman Andrew’s minor children kicked off an extensive investigation. The Bureau requested documentation that Tillman and Lucinda had legally married, that the children were theirs, that Cozart was the children’s guardian, that the children’s birthdates were correct, that Tillman was dead, that Lucinda's other marriages really occurred, and that Tillman Andrew and William W. Downs were the same person. Here, our primary interest is the last—evidence showing Tillman and William to be one and the same. Of course at least one bureaucrat had already made that conclusion since Lucinda received William’s arrears of Army pay as his widow on 25 Oct 1895, before the minor’s pension investigation had even begun.

On 12 Nov 1895 John Cozart, Lucinda’s third husband, received Franklin County court letters of guardianship for the two youngest of Tillman’s children, Nora and Anna Andrews. Within days, on 25 Nov 1895, Cozart filed for minor’s pensions for the two girls based on Tillman’s Civil War service. Nora and Anna Mae were the only two of Tillman and Lucinda’s six children eligible. The others were too old. The Pension Act of 14 July 1862 made Civil War pensions available to widows, children under 16 years of age, and disabled veterans. Widows who remarried, as Lucinda had, were no longer eligible. Evidence that Tillman served under the name “William Downs/Downes” (both names are seen) was provided by affidavits of four men: George T. Russell, B. F. Russell, John B. Flanigan, and A. U. Whiffin. All four claimed that they had personally known Tillman Andrews and that he told them that he had served during the Civil War in Co. A of the 3rd Massachusetts Cavalry under the name William Downs.

One witness, George Russell, claimed that in 1886 or 1887 he saw Tillman apply for bounty, stating that his military name was William Downes and that he had served in Company A, Massachusetts 3rd Cavalry. Of course, being illiterate, George could not have possibly read what was in Tillman’s application. Moreover, a bounty request makes no sense. Bounty lands were not awarded to Civil War veterans and William had already received his enlistment bounty. But even if misconstrued, an application like that would show that authorities knew of Tillman’s alias well before his death in 1892.

There are some suspicions about the affidavits of the four men. First, three of the witnesses were related to Lucinda, Tillman’s widow. Two were her brothers Benjamin Franklin Russell and George Thomas Russell and one was the husband of her first cousin Julia A. Russell. A daughter of both a Russell and a Funkhouser, Julia was Lucinda’s cousin by two different paths. And the family was obviously looking out for Lucinda. George Russell stated that his sister “owns 80 acres . . all very thin poor land” and that she had debts including an $85 mortgage on her property.

George and Benjamin, questionable                   A clean bill for John B.         

Of course, one would expect information about a person to best come from relatives. And British-born Whiffin had no known connection with Lucinda. But one must also be concerned about the characters of the witnesses. George was said to be “not verry good” and his brother B. F., only “some better.” On the other hand, John Flanigan was said to be “of good standing” and truthful.

Another concern is that the depositions of the four witnesses are too consistent. What are the odds that any of them would have remembered the exact name of the unit in which Tillman served from conversations at least ten years earlier? The consistency indicates that the witnesses had exchanged information before giving depositions. But that might be expected even if all was factual.

Eventually, probably in 1897, the claim was abandoned. The pursuit, which was complicated, time-consuming, and expensive, may have ended with Lucinda’s death and thus Cozart’s loss of interest. Besides, pensions would end when the girls reached sixteen. Nevertheless, despite some bothersome points, one must conclude from the investigation that

Tillman Andrews and William W. Downs were indeed the same person.

But who was that person? Our next blog will (hopefully) conclude with that. And don't hesitate to comment. Someday all of this will go into a book.

William Downs

It has arrived! The National Archives file for the Civil War pension application by John Cozart for support of Tillman Andrew’s offspring is here. And additional records for the Civil War veteran William Downs/Downes (both spellings are seen in documents and are used by me) have been obtained from Fold3. Perhaps we can begin to answer the question—Were Tillman and William the same person? [See The Mysterious Tillman.]

Enlistment.

Let’s first look at what we know about William's military stint.

In Holyoke, Massachusetts, on 22 June 1864, at age 21 (born c1843), William Downs, said to be born in Delaware, enlisted in the Union Army for three years. For signing up he received $25 of a $100 enlistment bounty, with $75 to be paid at a later date, plus $13 for one-month’s pay in advance. Bounties were given out to attract recruits by both the Union and the Confederacy. The original enlistment document shows that William Downs, like Tillman, was illiterate.

On 21 June 1865, after exactly one-year’s service as a private in Company A of the 3^rd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, William went AWOL in St. Louis, Missouri, while the regiment was enroute from Winchester, Massachusetts, to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where the 3rd Regiment was mustered out 28 Sep 1865. Might he have believed that he had only enlisted for one year?  The Enrollment Act of 3 March 1863 specified a bounty of $300 for 3-year enlistments, but William had been awarded only $100. Then, a month after going AWOL, William was declared a deserter. During the Civil War, desertion was rampant. Out of a little more than 2 million men, the Union Army had over 200,000 deserters, with some estimates going as high as 280,000. Ten percent or more of Union soldiers deserted! But despite the large numbers (or because of them), punishment could be severe with jailtime or even execution. That threat could certainly have caused the missing William to adopt an alias ("Tillman Andrew"?). 

On 5 Jul 1884, the U.S. 48th Congress passed a bill removing the charge of desertion for volunteer soldiers who had served until 1 May 1865 and had served for six months or more prior to that date. William's AWOL and desertion charges were removed and his discharge date was officially made 21 June 1865, the date he went missing.

AWOL, desertion                                             But all was forgiven

Someone decided Lucinda was William’s widow.

    On 25 Oct 1895, Lucinda Andrews, widow of “Wm. W. Downes,” received his arrears of pay to include the discharge date of 21 June 1865. We do not know the date she claimed the money, nor why the record shows her as “Lucinda Andrews,” not “Lucinda Summers” or “Lucinda Cozart.” Perhaps she applied for the settlement when she believed Tillman to be dead, but before she married James Jordan Summers. Death would have been difficult to "prove," explaining a long waiting period.

The payment record states “claim was allowed on satisfactory evidence of claimants heirs wife and soldier’s celibacy.” The phrase “soldier’s celibacy,” seen in a few other Civil War pension records, may mean that that William had no other wives who could be claimants. That there was “satisfactory evidence” that Lucinda was the widow of William W. Downes is startling. She received the back pay a month before 25 Nov 1895, the date that her third husband, John Cozart, applied for support of Tillman’s children. Nearly all the large file obtained from the National Archives concerns Cozart’s claim and documents the extensive investigation to prove that William Downs and Tillman Andrew were the same person, that Tillman was dead, that Tillman was actually Lucinda’s husband, etc. And that investigation was done after someone in Washington had already decided that Lucinda was William’s widow. But records of that inquiry (if there was one) have yet to be found.

The next blog will look at the investigation in support of Cozart’s claim for child support. In the meantime, if any of you would like a free no-strings-attached copy of the National Archive file just click on the link below. You don’t need the Dropbox app. If you get a "Log in or Sign Up" message just ignore it. Press the download button at the top right of the web page. You will then get (another) "Log in or Sign Up" message. Just click "Or continue with dropdown only" at the bottom of that message. You need not log in or sign up. It is not necessary to be a Dropbox user. Leave a comment or send me an email if you have problems.

Pension File Download

The Crabtrees: O What a Tangled Web

On 5 Feb 1911 at (more likely, near) the tiny community of Asherville, just south of Puxico in Stoddard Co, Missouri, John William Summers Sr and Verne Cumi Crabtree were joined in marriage. We know a lot about the Summers, but what of the Crabtrees?

The Crabtree family poses a difficult problem since few contemporary records are found for earlier members. “Betsey” (Betty Lou Jenkins Summers), wife of Michael Franklin Summers, son of Verne Cumi, “inherited” genealogical notes and trees from Verne Cumi, who had a great interest in the subject. And Betsey passed much of it on to me following the deaths of her husband and mother-in-law. Normally, I do not trust unsourced family history information, but I am making an exception in this case, at least for relatives closely related to Verne. Certainly, information on her parents, siblings, and probably grandparents, should be relatively trustworthy. Verne’s data on her great grandparents and further back, however, are more questionable.

John Adam and Talitha (Dillard) Crabtree, c1911.

John Adam Crabtree and Talitha Cumi Dillard, who married on 22 Dec 1870 in Gallatin Co, Illinois, are the forebearers of the Stoddard Co Crabtrees, at least those of interest to us. John Adam was born 28 Feb 1851 in Crittenden Co, Kentucky, to Timothy Franklin and Mary Ann (Lamb) Crabtree, their second and final child. A daughter, Rachel Ann, had been born earlier, 20 Jul 1849, also in Kentucky. It is claimed that John was born in Weston, a small Crittenden Co community on the Ohio River, and he may well have been born at that site. But the community was not officially “Weston” until 1877. Prior to that it was “Westonburg,” and even that name dates from just 1859, when the post office was established.

Rachel Ann Crabtree

Mary Ann Lamb

Timothy died on 24 Sep 1852, when Rachel was a little over age three and John was only a year and a half. His widowed mother married again, with Stephen  Boutwell Dillard, also widowed, on 3 Mar 1857 in Gallatin Co, Illinois, just across the river from what would one day be Weston, Kentucky, and then a little north.

And how did Mary Ann meet Stephen? It was easy. Stephen’s first wife, who died in 1850, was Anna Lamb, Mary Ann’s cousin. One day, Mary Ann’s son, John Adam, would marry Stephen Dillard’s grandniece, Talitha Cumi, daughter of Charles Dillard. Charles was Stephen Boutwell Dillard’s nephew and he was also Stephen’s first cousin once removed, through the Boutwell’s. Adding to the multiple connections, there is very strong evidence, though no absolute proof, that before he married Talitha, John Crabtree had an illegitimate daughter, Ava/Avery, with his stepsister Rachel Elizabeth Dillard. And as a final contribution to the tangle, Rachel Elizabeth’s second husband (her first was W. F. Philips) was James Madison Lamb, who was likely a brother of Mary Ann Lamb. (It was also James Madison’s second marriage.) Confused? Of course you are. I am. So let’s see if a diagram helps.

Well, I'm afraid the drawing is of little help. But we could have made things worse. In Gallatin Co, at least seven different Beans married at least seven different Dillards, all related to Rosa Bean and the four Dillards shown above. And there were even more Lamb/Dillard marriages, with a few Lamb/Bean marriages. Can you imagine cramming those connections into this diagram?

Wilson Family Cemetery Crittenden Co, Kentucky (Find A Grave).

From her first marriage, Mary Ann Lamb Crabtree Dillard had only two children, John Adam and Rachel Ann, but she had six children from her second, though some died young. Following the death of her second husband on 12 Jul 1876, Mary Ann, a progenitor of our Crabtree line, moved to Crittenden Co, Kentucky, where she was probably born and where Timothy Crabtree was likely buried. She died 18 Jan 1908 near Weston and was laid to rest in the Wilson Family Cemetery near Bells Mines, Crittenden Co, where she had lived out her life. It is a mystery, then, that Stephen Boutwell Dillard is buried in Rock Hill Cemetery, Stoddard Co, Missouri, the state where he likely died. Did Stephen and Mary Ann live there for a while?  Perhaps they went there with Stephen's nephew Charles Dillard and his wife Rosa Bean, Talitha Cumi's parents, since those two are also buried in the same cemetery as Stephen. Or perhaps with Mary Ann's daughter and son-in-law, Talitha Cumi and John Adam Dillard, who lived out their married life in Stoddard Co. And they may have all gone together. But that is the subject of a future blog.