A True Find

The picture above was among the ones inherited from my grandmother (Father's side). Imagine my excitement to turn it over and find in her mother's handwriting, "my Grandfather, Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Thurman". I looked him up. He fought in the American Civil War. If you had ancestors who fought in that war, and they later requested pensions, the Mother Lode of information about them is available on microfilm at your state archives, or maybe even your library. He was in Cook's 3rd infantry (TN) and fought at Donelson, Chickasaw Bayou, Chickamauga, Lost Mountain, Atlanta, and other battles. He was wounded in a Very Sensitive Place at Chickamauga, but he managed to sire four children afterward, so it must not have been too devastating. As he was being carried off the field, he was hit in the back by shrapnel, once again causing "flesh wounds", but that was not why he was claiming a pension. He was claiming the pension because of a 40-year case of diarrhea, which had recently gotten worse, to the point of disability ! A witness note dated 1905 (these microfilms really are fascinating) states that he was also taking care of his 90-year-old father! He owned no land, and made a living by share-cropping. If you think his life was easy, check out his wife's hands. The ragged child looks a bit like my great-grandmother, but is probably a cousin. When I look at these pictures, and read the bits of information about the lives of these ancestors, I am grateful for what I have, and that is good.