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Armchair Genealogy

By Melinda Cohenour

Memorial Day Memoirs: History of Military Service Among
The Carroll-Joslin Extended Family


      Memorial Day weekend has just been celebrated by Americans across the continent. It is a time set aside for family reunions among many, certainly a time of celebration, good food and festive activities. More importantly, it is a time to remember the sacrifices of those who enlisted in the various branches of military units through the ages to ensure our freedom. For many, that sacrifice was the extreme one, for others it cost greatly in loss of limb and the bitter experience of battle.


      Our family tree is graced by many who offered up their time, surrendered their welfare, lost friends and family in battle, and – for those so lucky – returned to their homes and families changed in dramatic and sometimes tragic ways. For others, their loss carved out a lifetime of absence and grief for their survivors. For all, we honor them for their service.


      This month of June is also reserved for the remembrance of our fathers as we celebrate that priceless and unique bond between father and child. My own father, along with my mother, served during World War II in the shipyards, working long and hard days to equip our service men and women with the ships that would carry them to the shores of distant lands. It was a time of tremendous sacrifice, bravery, courageous acts, and historic change.


      Your author has researched various individuals profiled in our family tree and devoted prior columns to the story of their service. For brevity in this column, links will be provided to those articles for readers who wish to explore their story in depth. Some of the research resulted in stories of their military service, but some resulted in exploration of their life and times. The earliest known military service among our ancestors goes back to the time of the Crusades, to my 23rd Great-Grandfather Hugues dePayens (DuPuy). That is mentioned merely for the rarity of tracing any branch back that far!

Military History of the Carroll-Joslin Extended Family

The Crusades

Hugues De Payens (Du Puy) b. 1055, Château Payns, about 10 km from Troyes, in Champagne, Dordogne, Aquitane, France; d. 1136, Jerusalem, Palestine (in 1120 – founded Knights Templar, died 1136)


      Hugues Du Puy I, Lord of Pereins, of Apifer and of Rochefort. He went to the conquest of the Holy Land with three of his children and his wife, Deurand de Poisieu, in 1096. He founded the Abbey of Aiguebelle, order of St. Bernard, diocese of St. Paul-trois-Chateaux. He was one of the gallant generals of Godefroi de Bouillon (*), and was in many brave encounters, so that this prince gave him the souverainte of the city of Acre. His son, Raymond DuPuy, founded and was the first grand Master of the Military Order of the Knights of St. John, of Jerusalem (1113). This military order was afterward styled the "Knights Templars" in 1121; also the Knights of Malta and acquired much wealth and wielded much power.

Histoire Genealogique des Famille de Dupuy – Montbrun, Guy Allard, a Grenoble, Bibliotheque Nationale, 1662, Paris, France

* Godfrey of Bouillon: Godfrey of Bouillon (French: Godefroy de Bouillon, Dutch: Godfried van Bouillon, German: Gottfried von Bouillon, Latin: Godefridus Bullionensis; 18 September 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a Frankish knight and one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until its conclusion in 1099. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087. After the successful siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He refused the title of King, however, as he believed that the true King of Jerusalem was Christ, preferring the title of Advocate (i.e., protector or defender) of the Holy Sepulchre (Latin: Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri). He is also known as the "Baron of the Holy Sepulchre" and the "Crusader King". (SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_of_Bouillon

French and Indian War – 1754 to 1763


      The final Colonial War (1689-1763) was the French and Indian War, involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden called the Seven Years War it was the beginning of open hostilities between the colonies and Great Britain. It ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, signed 3 November 1762; however, various tribes of Indians continued with attacks on colonists, extending America’s battles. Unresolved issues would ultimately lead to the Revolutionary War.


      Joseph Bullard (5th Great-Grandfather on my maternal line) Joseph Bullard fought alongside his good friend and famous American, John Sevier, in the clashes with the Native Americans before the Revolutionary War. His story has been told in prior columns, the one concerning the French and Indian Wars at the link below:

Armchair Genealogy (Who Were the Cherokee?)

Revolutionary War – 1775 to 1783


      The first shots fired 19 April 1775 at Lexington and Concord, official declaration of war signed 4 July 1776.
      On the 3 September 1783, the Treaty of Paris is ratified, officially declaring the 13 colonies of America an independent nation, with Canada continuing under British rule.


John Hambler (6th Great Uncle, son of Father-in-law of Johanes Jacob Howdeshildt)


Joseph Alexander (His story appeared under your author’s byline, below)
Armchair Genealogy (The Story of Joseph Alexander, An American Patriot)


Richard Malone (5th Great-Grandfather and his son, same name, a 4th Grand-Uncle on my paternal line).


      Richard Malone, the father, came to this country from Ireland as an Indentured Servant to Isaac and Isabella Wilson, arriving 30 October of 1772 along with his wife, both of whom paid their debt of passage by two years and 10 months each servitude. (The cost of their passage? Difficult to say with exactitude; however, this calculation is offered online: £1 in the year 1776 is equivalent in purchasing power to £158.93 in 2018. Therefore: £158.93 would be equal to $211.15 in 2018.) Thus, four years after his arrival and mere months following his repayment of the cost of passage to the new land, he enlisted to fight for continued freedom.


George Hempleman (5th Great Grandfather, paternal line, and his brother, Adam Hempleman (4th Grand-Uncle)


      Revolutionary service: George was a private, 1781, in Capt. William Johnson's company, 10th battalion, Lancaster Co., PA [p.173] militia. He was born in Germany; died in Charlestown, Ohio. Profession: Weaver, owned 342 acres in Vance twp in 1814, which was later Mad River twp of Clarke Co., Ohio.
(Sources: Robinson's History of Greene Co., OH, Broadstone's History of Greene Co., Vol. I, p. 203, Early Clark Co. Families, Vol. I, p.149, D.A.R. Patriot Index, p. 321, History of the Hempleman Family in America, By Geo. Whitely, 1912, Northumberland County Muster list of 1776)


      Adam Hempleman’s closest brush with death may have occurred just after Cornwallis had surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown in 1781. However, the official end of the War was not complete until the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During that time, in Pennsylvania, many Indian combatants had not yet laid down their arms and continued to assault the hamlets and villages of the newly victorious patriots. In one such battle, known as the Battle of Bald Eagle Creek, our Adam is mentioned as having survived but the story documents a harrowing experience. Adam was a part of a group called a “ranging company” which meant part of the time they ranged over their area of command, freely, to protect their families. At other times, they were directed to specific duties at the command of their military authority: The Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army.


(Source: The information provided below is the work of Ted Bainbridge, PhD, and has been summarized or extracted by your author from the website:
http://www.clintoncogensociety.org/BattleBaldEagleCreek.htm
NOTE: The pages referenced in the text below by Dr. Bainbridge are from his extensive list of source documents shown on that website. )


      The referenced battle needs a bit of background: In March of 1782, Adam was attached to Capt. Thomas Robinson’s company. Late in that month, while rebuilding a fort at Muncy, under the leadership of Lt. Moses Van Campen, their unit requested by a “Mr. Culbertson” (whose brother had recently been killed by Indians in that area) for an escort to the area of Bald Eagle Creek. The assembled company was comprised of 26 men. On the evening of April 15th, they beached their boat and made camp. Early in the morning, having discovered the undisguised boat, a party of some eight-five Senecas attacked. The fight was described by Van Campen and documented by his grandson as follows:


      “... by the morning light, concealed by the bushes, [the Indians] approached very near to the sentries, and burst so unexpectedly upon these, that they had only time to run to the camp, crying, “The Indian, the Indian,” before the savages were in their midst, with the tomahawk and scalping knife. Van Campen and his men started upon their feet and in a moment were ready for action. The enemy had a warm reception. The combat was at first, from hand to hand, and so well sustained was the resistance that the Indians were obliged to retire; but they came up on all sides, and one after another Van Campen’s men were cut down with the rifle. Perceiving that the party of warriors was so large as to offer them no hope of escape, and beholding their number every moment growing smaller, they determined, though reluctantly, to surrender themselves to the enemy, under the belief that their lives would be spared.”


      They surrendered to Lieutenant Nellis, the British officer who commanded and led the Indians. Of the twenty-six men in the expedition; three had escaped (Esquire Culbertson and two others), nine had been killed, and fourteen had been captured. Some of those captured had been wounded and some had not.


      Jonathan Burwell, Leonard Croninger, James Dougherty, Private Ebenezer Greens, Adam Hempleman, Michael Lamb, William McGrady, William Miller, Joshua Nap, Jonathan Pray, and Moses Van Campen lost their weapons during the fight.


      The Indians took possession of the prisoners and their weapons. Wallace and Stewart, who had been wounded, were tomahawked. Craton, who also had been wounded, was shot by four or five Indians who, “all aiming their rifles at his head, fired at once, and with their balls tore the top of his skull from his head. Poor Craton fell over, and his brains rolled out and lay smoking upon the ground.” As an Indian approached to tomahawk Burwell, who had been shot during the battle, Van Campen hit him so hard he fell down, “like one dead.” Some Indians moved to tomahawk Van Campen for this defiance, but the majority protected him because of his display of courage and strength. As a further tribute to Van Campen’s courage, Burwell’s life was spared. The life of Henderson, who also had been wounded, was spared. (12 at pages 247-249, 13) Burwell’s wound was described in detail at (8) and (12 at page 248).


      The remaining prisoners were stripped of all their clothing except their pantaloons, then seated on the ground in a circle. The Indians surrounded them with rifles and tomahawks in hand, then solemnly brought forward five Indians who had been killed in the battle and placed them within the circle. A chief spoke at length, ending with a smile which was the sign of mercy; the remaining captives would not be killed. The Indians buried their dead by rolling an old log from its place, laying the body in the hollow of the ground, then piling some earth on the body. The prisoners were divided among the captors, with Van Campen assigned to Lieutenant Nellis’ group. Nellis told Van Campen what the chief had said: Their dead demanded that the whites be killed, but many more whites than Indians had been killed in the battle and that was enough. Instead, the prisoners would be adopted into the families of the slain warriors to replace the lives they had destroyed. (7, 12 at pages 250-253)


      The whimsical nature of the Indians is shown by the manner in which they treated their captives following their surrender. There was a forced march, where food was hunted, prepared by the Indians, and shared with their prisoners. It appears they killed more of the prisoners, at random and upon their whim of the moment. It is well worth my readers’ time to link to the original story for the complete story. I found it fascinating! For our purposes, your interest should be whetted; however, I shall not leave you wondering – Adam Hempleman survived this harrowing experience. Hardy stock.


      The story of the Hempleman brothers and how they came to migrate to America’s shores (along with another ancestor’s tale) was documented by your author and can be found at the link shown below:
Armchair Genealogy (Romance Is In Our Heritage) Stories of Romance: Bartholomew DuPuy and George Hempleman, our Ancestors


David Motley Ellington (5th Great-Grandfather) (Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Yorke Town PA)


      This revered ancestor was present at key engagements, including the surrender of Cornwallis to General Washington. His story can be found at the two links shown below:
Armchair Genealogy (The Story of David Motley Ellington, An American Patriot – Part I)


Armchair Genealogy (The Story of David Motley Ellington, An American Patriot – Part II)


Joshua Logan Younger (5th Great Grandfather, paternal line. Served with Washington at Brandywine and was at Valley Forge as well) His story:
Armchair Genealogy (Joshua Logan Younger - An American Patriot)


Peter Gilstrap, Jr. (5th Great Grandfather, paternal line)


      Peter Gilstrap, born in England about 1735, immigrated to America. He was a private with the North Carolina Militia, serving under Capt. Frances McElwain’s Company, in Johnston County, North Carolina, from 1754 then served from 16 October 1781 through August of 1783 in the Revolutionary War. His service earned him pension and land warrants.


      It is believed four Gilstrap brothers, the sons of Thomas Gilstrap, came from Scotland (under the English crown). They were James, John, Peter and Isolet, all settling in Craven County, North Carolina about 1752. All were Revolutionary soldiers. Our line descends from Peter who left a will and Revolutionary War records and other documentation that is simply treasure for a family historian


Richard C. Wright, Sr. (6th Great Grandfather, paternal line and father of Benjamin, Pvt. NC Militia)


      Richard Wright, Sr. served in 1776 as a Private in the Revolutionary War for the North Carolina Militia. His son, Benjamin saw distinguished service as shown below.


Benjamin Wright, Sr. (5th Great Grandfather, Paternal line)


      Benjamin was a Private in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War. He fought in the battle for Guilford Courthouse. His youngest son, Adam Wright (1804-1851) was the first Federal Judge at Indianapolis.


Jacob Peter Copple, Sr. (5th Great Grandfather, b. 1757 Schwarzwald, Altotting, Bavaria, Germany, d. 14 Nov 1821, Bethlehem Cemetery, Bethlehem, Clark, Indiana)


      Grandfather Copple (originally, perhaps “Kepple”) served in the Revolutionary War and was named in a petition, 12 Dec 1809, to Congress by citizens of Clark County, Indiana, asking that the right to vote be given to all males over 21 who "done milita duty & paid taxes".


Martin Davenport (4th Great Grandfather, Maternal Line, b. 17 Jun 1745, Culpeper County, Virginia, d. 10 Oct 1815, Avery County, North Carolina)


      The exploits of Martin Davenport are numerous, with your author having found it appropriate to document his story in more than one column. One of those stories tells of the chance of fate that bound two heroes’ descendants by the quirk of love.


One Hundred Years before the Marriage


      The subject of Chance, Fate, or Divine Intervention in our lives is pursued further as your author noted more coincidental links binding not only her ancestors’ but her own heart through the ages. Capt. Martin Davenport was one of the heroes of King’s Mountain, NC and his story is bound together with the next ancestor whose exploits are shared next.


Capt. Joseph Lindsey Bullard (5th Great Grandfather, Maternal Line, b. 1732, North Carolina; d. 20 Sep 1788 in the Battle of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee.)


      Joseph Bullard was also a Mountain Man and, as mentioned early in this column, fought for many years alongside his fellow frontiersman and illustrious friend, John Sevier, who would become the first Governor of the State of Tennessee and who shared such a resemblance to our grandfather they were mistaken for one another. His story and that of fellow Mountain Man and King’s Mountain hero, Capt. Martin Davenport was shared in the following article:


Armchair Genealogy (Lives Intertwined, Roots Buried Deep) The story of love and romance and the mysteries of ‘coincidental’ relationships

War of 1812

Joseph Alexander (II) (Great Grand Uncle)

Spanish-American War – 1898 to 1901

Everett Marion Carroll (Grandfather, Paternal Line)
Russell Gordon Kendrick (Step Grandfather, Paternal Line)

Civil War – 1861 to 1865

William Henry Joslin (Great Grandfather, Maternal Line, b. 11 Apr 1837, Kane County, Illinois; d. 29 Mar 1921, Pineville, McDonald County, Missouri)


      William Henry joined the Northern Army in the Civil War from Nodaway County, Missouri, and served the entire four years under General A. J. Smith. When the War closed, he returned to North Missouri for a short time and then came to Jasper County, Missouri, where he met and married Sarah Jane Godwin in Carthage in 1866. They lived in Jasper and Lawrence Counties for about eight years and then moved to McDonald County. They both lived near Pineville until their death. (These notes were taken from the family notebook of Carrie Joslin in 1946.)

William Henry Bullard (Great Grandfather, Maternal Line, b. 14 Dec 1842, White Rock Prairie, McDonald County, Missouri; d. 14 May 1911, Pineville, McDonald County, Missouri)


      Grandpa Bullard was born in Dog Hollow near Pineville, Missouri, He lived there until he was three months old, then his family moved to Benton County, Arkansas (in 1843). They lived there until the Civil War. When he was eighteen (18) years old he was converted and joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He volunteered for service in the Confederate Army when the first call was made. Great Grandfather and Grandmother Bullard owned slaves and Grandpa often spoke of his love for his old Negro nurse, Mammy Em. He fought the four (4) years of the War seeing service in the following battles: Helena, Arkansas; Pea Ridge, Arkansas and Bunker Hill. He crossed the field in the famous Picket's Charge in the Battle of Gettysburg. He would choke up and cry when he talked about this bloody siege. When the children would fail to obey orders of their parents, he would refer to Picket's Charge and what happened there because others did not carry out their orders. He fought the entire four years and was never wounded; however, at the close of the War, his health was bad. Some doctor said he was about to develop tuberculosis. With Mr. Wright, he began cutting pine in Northwest Arkansas, getting the tar and hauling it in wagons to Springfield, Missouri. The pine smoke was thought to have improved his health. (Told to Linnie Jane Burks by her mother, Carrie Bullard.)

Capt. Joseph Dawson Jagger – (Enlisted 1861, Company A, 6th Volunteer Infantry,

Col. John A. Martin, (1861-1863); 1863, promoted to Capt. 12th Reg. U.S. Colored troops)

Jeremiah Milam Gilstrap, Jr. – (Enlisted 20 Aug 1864 – Discharged 25 Apr 1865, Pvt., Company E, 46th Missouri Infantry.)

Ephraim Triplett – Sgt. Union Army, Battery L 2nd Missouri Light Artillery

Aaron Giles Barnell, son of Elizabeth Joslin and Aaron Barnell enlisted 25 Aug 1862, Enlisted 8 Dec 1862 as 5th Corporal, Company I, 20th Iowa Regiment, honorably discharged with rank of Sergeant after 3 years service. Mustered out: 8 Jul 1865, Mobile, AL.

Elmore Barnhill – son of Rachael Joslin and John Barnhill (Barnell), Enlisted as a Private 15 Aug 1862. Enlisted in Company F, Illinois 112th Cavalry, Infantry 26 Sep 1862, died from wounds received in battle 21 Jan 1864 at Knoxville, TN. Buried at Knoxville National Cemetery, 939 Tyson Street, N. W., Knoxville, TX 37917, Section C, Site 354.

World War I – 1914 to 1919


World War I (WWI) was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand in 1914 and ended with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

World War II – 1939 to 1945


World War 2 (WW2) was a long and bloody war that lasted for six years. Officially beginning on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, World War 2 lasted until both the Germans and the Japanese had surrendered to the Allies in 1945

A. G. Adair
Jack Oakley Joslin

Korean Conflict – 1950 to 1953


The Korean Conflict began when North Korea crossed the 38th parallel, invading South Korea. It ended with the signing of the Peace Treaty at Panmunjom on 27 Jul 1953.

Johnny Robert Crowson – US Army, Military Police

Viet Nam – 1955 to 1973


      America’s involvement began in 1955 as military advisors to President Ngo Dinh Diem. It ended with the signing of the Cease Fire in Paris and withdrawal of the last of US troops and release of our POW’s.

Roderick W. Cohenour – USMC
Christopher Cohenour - USN
Johnny Raymond Bradshaw - USAF
Clyde R. MacGibbon - USAF

Military Service Records:

Simon Noel “M” Dalton; Pvt. (Hospital Company)
Company A, 36th Infantry,
US Navy, Phillipine Islands 1900
Rex Edward Joslin, United States Navy (Japan)

Iraq

Sgt. Clyde Blake Bostick – (also Pyongyang, Korea 2007) – Mosul, Iraq – 2008-2009


      The stories from the time of the Civil War forward will be saved for another time. Many of the brave exploits of our more recent servicemen and women are yet cloaked in the veil of secrecy required for certain military purposes.


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