A declaration of citizenship

 

FamilySearch. Vanderburgh County, Indiana. 1882.

The record above shows the moment Christopher Kuester became a United States citizen on 11 October 1882. He was Allison's 3rd-great-grandfather. For the moment I'm shifting from my side of the family tree to hers, to follow the stories on two branches of the family who immigrated from Germany and settled in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.

FamilySearch. Vanderburgh County, Indiana. 1906.

Another third-great-grandfather, William Henry Koehler, received his citizenship on 26 September 1906. I previously wrote about him in January 2016. His application for an emergency passport in 1914 referenced his declaration of citizenship. A copy of this document is now digitized on FamilySearch.

At the Buck Tavern, 1850

 

Marianna pouring a pint at the Buck Tavern. Made in Ideogram.

Courtesy of Ideogram, a possible scene of my 3rd-great-grandmother Marianna Haiss Oyler, working in the tavern of her father-in-law, George Oyler Sr in 1850 Hamilton County, Ohio. We know George imported and bred Kent buck sheep, and had a public house called the Buck Tavern.

The image below shows young butcher Samuel Oyler in the Buck Tavern, serving a lamb stew. This generated image had some similarity to photos I have of his sons, Charles John Oyler (my 2nd-great-grandfather) and Samuel Oyler Jr. I tried to create other versions but opted for this one as the others got increasingly more ridiculous.

Samuel in the Tavern, 1850. Made in Ideogram.

Dance by Candlelight

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Belfast, 27 June 2025.

Belfast is an amazing city for street art. I caught this 2012 mural by Irish artist Conor Harrington in the Cathedral Quarter during our recent stop in the city. The work is titled the Duel of Belfast, Dance by Candlelight, interpreted as a metaphor on the city's past and present.

I had a free afternoon to capture some of the well known murals in the Cathedral Quarter. The Visit Belfast street art map (linked above) was really helpful for spotting some of these during my walk.

One other note, riding Irish Rail from Dublin's Connolly Station to Belfast was super easy and I'll definitely think about doing that again on a future Ireland trip.

Hints of Residence

 

FamilySearch. Frederick County, Virginia tax list.

John McIntosh appears on the personal property tax list for Frederick County, Virginia (1782-1789). I have a query to the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society archives to see what else might be available on John.

From Andrew McIntosh's account, John and family were not living in Frederick County for very long, as they packed up for new opportunity in Kentucky in Spring 1784. Before departing Virginia, John and wife Sarah had their first of ten children, James McIntosh. He was born in May 1783 in Winchester.

Battle of Cowpens, 1781

 

Battle of Cowpens by Don Troiani.

One of the worst losses by British forces during the American Revolution occurred at the Battle of Cowpens on 17 January 1781. This influential battle set up the victory at the Siege of Yorktown later in September-October 1781. In the McIntosh family story, our ancestor John McIntosh was in the Battle of Cowpens as part of the cavalry of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton.

According to Andrew J. McIntosh (John's grandson), John was trapped under his horse after it was shot and was captured by American General Daniel Morgan as his personal prisoner. Morgan's after action report mentions a list of the captured men, but I have not yet located this. Perhaps this is at the Library of Virginia in the Daniel Morgan Papers or the Daniel Morgan Collection at the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. Lt. Col. John Moncure's 1996 publication from the US Army's Combat Studies Institute provides a thorough review of the battle in The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour (link, pdf).

Andrew's telling of the story says that Morgan spared John's life and he followed him to Winchester, Virginia. There's so much unknown and lost to time on what contributed to sparing John's life and his fresh start in Virginia.