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

Here we continue our investigation of  Tillman Andrew (See The Mysterious Tillman).

Tillman Andrew, and 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.