Tennessee 5th Infantry in the Mexican War

It appears my trial of Fold3.com has paid off in finding my 4th great-grandfather Robert Thomas Jones Sr., his son Robert Thomas Jones Jr., and some others connected to the Jones family in Company G, Tennessee 5th Infantry. This Company was led by Captain John Reese, and mustered out of Knoxville in early December 1847.

The regiment traveled down the Mississippi River and arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, sometime before February 1848. According to the Company Muster Roll on Fold3, they did not muster out on 31 December 1847 "because the regiment was put on different vessels in the Mississippi River and was in the eve of going to sea consequently it was impracticable to muster them on that date."

They did eventually arrive at Puente Nacional (National Bridge), near Jalapa, Mexico, and were stationed there in March and April 1848. I'll have more on Puente Nacional and Jalapa in a future post. There is an interesting description of this area and the Mexican War in a book titled Service Afloat and Ashore by Lt. Raphael Semmes, US Navy (dated 1851, found on Google Books).

Company G returned to Memphis, Tennessee by 20 July 1848. I would be interested to know more about the journey from Tennessee, down the Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast to Mexico and back to Tennessee during this time period. I have seen reference to a book titled "Down The Tennessee" by Richard Mitchell Edwards, who served in the 5th Infantry during this campaign. I have not found a digital copy yet (if someone out there reading this has a copy, please send it along).

Grant Jones, who joined Company G at the same time as Robert Sr and Jr, returned to Jefferson County, Tennessee to marry Matilda Kerr by 31 December 1848. I don't know if he is related to my Joneses, but Grant, Matilda and family appear in the 1860 US Census in the Kansas Territory. Ewen J. Newman, another Jefferson County resident who served with Robert Sr and Jr, returned to Jefferson County to marry Caroline Jones on 15 February 1849. Caroline was Robert Sr's second daughter and sister to my 3rd-great-grandfather, Joseph Thomas Jones. At this point, I do not know if Robert Sr made it back to Jefferson County and died before the 1850 Census.

[This connection to this chapter of Mexican history is also interesting for me given my Mexican heritage from Mom's side of the family tree via my Granny, Lydia Campuzano Reid. I'll have more on the Campuzanos from Sonora in future posts.]

Jones Volunteers in the Mexican War

Robert Thomas Jones and several relatives served in the Tennessee Infantry during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. According to the Mexican War records for Tennessee on Fold3.com, Robert served in Company G, 5th Tennessee Infantry. His son, Robert Thomas Jr, also served in the 5th Infantry. The 5th was commanded by Col. George McClellan.

Robert Sr. mustered into service in Knoxville, Tennessee on 10 November 1847. He appeared on the muster roll from 10 November 1847 to 29 February 1848, on the roll for March and April 1848. He mustered out on 20 July 1848 in Memphis, Tennessee. The roll shows that he was last paid $21 for clothing through 30 April 1848.

Robert Jr. appeared on the roll as Thomas Jr., age 20. He also mustered in with the 5th Infantry in Knoxville on 10 November 1847. He accidentally drowned rowing through Muscle Shoals, Alabama on 17 December 1847.

I am still researching the service of the 5th Infantry during the War. I'd be interested to know if the company arrived in Mexico. There are other Jones names in the 5th Infantry, some of these could have been relatives of Robert Thomas Jones Sr & Jr.

Jones Family in Jefferson County, Tennessee

My Jefferson County, Tennessee Jones line will feature prominently on this blog. I'm starting off with a review of the family of my 4th-great grandfather on my Dad's side, Robert Thomas Jones. Robert was born in Jefferson County about 1806. It is unclear exactly where he died. He served in the Mexican-American War and was discharged from TN Company G, 5th Infantry on 20 July 1848 in Memphis, Tennessee. According to family lore passed down from Forrest Wayne Daniel, and from the Mexican War pension files, Robert Thomas Jones Sr fell off a boat and drowned in the Mississippi returning from the Mexican War on about 22 July 1848.

Robert married Elizabeth "Betsy" Thornhill in Jefferson County on 20 October 1824. They were married by their neighbor and pastor Duke Kimbrough, who was the pastor at Dumplin Baptist Church for 36 years.

[Source: Tennessee State Marriages: 1780-2002]

Robert and Elizabeth had at least the following children, all born in Jefferson County:

1.     Robert Thomas Jones Jr, born 1825, died on the way to the Mexican War, at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, on 16 December 1847.

2.     Catherine Jones, born 1826. Catherine married Stephen Murry on 5 June 1845 in Jefferson County.

3.     Margaret Caroline Jones, born 1831, died 8 February 1894 in Virgin, Kansas. Caroline married Evan J. Newman on 15 February 1849 in Jefferson County. Caroline remarried (after either divorcing or annulling her marriage to Newman) on 25 July 1865 to Anderson Walker.

4.     Emeline Jones, born August 1832. Emeline married Joseph Lampkins on 13 March 1859 in Jefferson County.

5.     Adaline Jones, born 1835. Adaline married James W Cline on 27 March 1859. She married James H Miller on 12 October 1865.

6.     Joseph Thomas Jones, born 1837, died in Boone County, Indiana. Joseph married Mary K. Green on 25 February 1856 in Jefferson County. My Jones line is descended from Joseph Jones.

7.     Mary E. Jones, born 1839, died about 1900. Mary married Isaac N. Rankin in Jefferson County on 26 October 1859. She married Charles Jolly on 29 February 1876 in Hamblen County.

8.     Martin Jones, born June 1842, died January 1918 in Jefferson County. Martin married Mary F Cusey in 1862.

9.     Francis Marion Jones, born 1844, died in the Civil War.

10.  Sarah Melissa Jones, born 11 August 1846, died 2 July 1888 in Boone County, Indiana. Sarah Melissa married William Gilbert Daniel on 23 October 1862.

In the 1830 US Census in Jefferson County, Tennessee, Robert (written as “Robt”) Jones appears in the census (approximately 20 to 30 years old). He was living with a son under the age of five (Robert T Jones), a daughter under the age of five, a daughter between the ages of six and ten, and his wife, who was listed as being between the age of 20 and 30. Later census records of his children show Robert as being born in Tennessee.

The 1830 Census also shows Robert Jones living next to Sarah Thornhill, Elizabeth’s mother. Sarah Thornhill was listed as Head-of-Household, living with a son between the ages of six and ten, a son between the age of ten and fifteen, a daughter under the age of five, a daughter between the ages of six and ten, a daughter between the ages of fifteen and twenty. Sarah was between 40 and 50 years old in 1830, putting her date of birth somewhere between 1780-1790. 

In the 1840 US Census for Jefferson County, Tennessee, Robert Jones appears as living in the Northern Division of Jefferson County (later Hamblen County) with one son under the age of five, one son between the ages of six and ten, two daughters under the age of five, two daughters between the ages of six and ten, two daughters between the ages of ten and fifteen, and his wife Elizabeth, who is listed as being between the age of 30 and 40.

I will have a separate blog post about Robert's service in the Mexican War. By 1850, Elizabeth appears in the census as head of household. She is also in the 1860 and 1870 US Census in Jefferson County, Tennessee. Elizabeth died on 8 February 1879 in Jefferson County.

At least 5 of Robert and Elizabeth's surviving children and their families moved from Tennessee to Indiana in the late 1870s. I'll follow their journey to Indiana and points beyond in future posts. In addition, I'll take a look back at Elizabeth's journey from Culpeper, Virginia to Jefferson County, Tennessee. 

A Family Mystery - the O'Brien girls

According to a story told to me by my grandfather Keith D. Jones, John O’Brien sent his daughters to a convent. In the 1860 US Census, six O’Brien girls appear in a convent in LaSalle County, Illinois. It is unclear if they are all related. I am still researching the O'Brien girls in this census record and looking for more information that might connect them to John O'Brien.

Mary Virginia Joyce – Superior of Convent, 30, born in New York

Martina Conley [Martina Connolly] – Sister of Charity, 25, Massachusetts

Mary Uda (or Ada) – Sister of Charity, 36, England

Mary Hough – Sister of Charity, 29, Ireland

Eliza Sanderson – Pupil, 22, Scotland

Margaret Sullivan – Pupil, 20, England

Bridget Woods – Pupil, 13, IL

Catherine O’Brien – Pupil, 14, IL

Alice O’Brien – Pupil, 8, IL

Mary O’Brien – Pupil, 12, IL

Ann Corcoran – Pupil, 19, IL

Anna Maria O’Brien – Pupil, 8, IL

Isabella O’Brien – Pupil, 7, IL

Agnes O’Brien – Pupil, 2, IL

Additional pupils listed

Using the information from the 1860 US Census, I wrote to the LaSalle County Genealogy Guild (lscgg.org). Ms. Jobst of the LSCGG provided me with information on the convent:

            Dear Patrick,

I think the convent was connected to St. Patrick’s Church. In the 1870 Census Martenas Conly age 36 Sisters of Charity was at St. Aments Asylum. The Sisters of Charity came to LaSalle in 1855 and opened a grade school. It closed in 2001. You might want to write to St. Patrick’s Church in LaSalle and see if they have any records. I hope this helps.

            Sincerely,

            Jean Jobst

           Corresponding Secretary

Ms. Jobst also provided me with a news clipping from The Catholic Post dated 7 April 2002 on St. Patrick’s Church in LaSalle:

St. Patrick’s, LaSalle

Founded: 1838; Families: 531; Pastor: Father M. Duane LeClercq

One of the oldest parishes in the diocese, St. Patrick’s was the first permanent Catholic parish established at LaSalle. Organized in 1838 by Vincentian Fathers, the parish also has the distinction of a church building that is 150 years old.

At the time of its organization, the priests of St. Patrick’s attended the Catholics of practically one-third of the state of Illinois, and many out-missions were formed from the parish. Later congregations were formed and temporary churches built at such towns as Virginia, Beardstown, Springfield, Peoria and Dixon.

The original St. Patrick’s Church, built of logs, was placed on Third Street. In 1846 the cornerstone of the present church was laid. Work was finished in the spring of 1851 and the church was consecrated in April 1853.

As the Catholic population increased around LaSalle and more parishes were founded, the activities of the priests at St. Patrick’s were gradually restricted. The grade school in LaSalle was opened by Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in 1855 and members of that order staffed the school until last year [2001].

…

             Following the revision of their mission assignments, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (based in Evansville, Ind.) ended 146 years of service to the parish at the conclusion of the 2000-2001 school year.

In 2006, I wrote to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, in the hopes of locating something on the O’Brien girls and the convent at St. Patrick’s Church. The Communications Director at the Daughters of Charity forwarded my inquiry to the Archives Department. Carol Will of the Archives Department replied that they had no records on individual students from the school, and she suggested I try the diocese in Peoria. The diocese was unable to locate records.

I did find a death record for Sister Martina Connolly in the Cook County, Illinois Death Records on FamilySearch.org. She died on 22 October 1908 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago.

Of the O’Brien girls listed in the 1860 Census, I have been able to locate information on Anna Maria O’Brien. In the 1870 Census, she appears as a domestic servant in the household of wealthy farmer William Longworth in Dimmick, LaSalle, Illinois. She appears as 16 years old, born in Illinois (both parents of foreign birth).

In the 1880 US Census, Anna O’Brien appears in Chicago, living with her sister Kate O’Brien (age 35). Both are listed as dress makers.

Anna Maria O’Brien died on 10 February 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. Her death certificate from the City of Chicago Department of Health states that she was approximately 55 years old and single.

The local Shelbyville newspaper included a brief obituary on Anna O’Brien on 11 Feb 1914:

            Sister is Dead

            John O’Brien Receives Message of Demise of Anna O’Brien

John O’Brien of this city received a message Wednesday morning telling him of the death of his sister, Miss Anna O’Brien, which occurred at the home of her half brother, Mike Dooner, in Chicago. Death came suddenly. Mr. O’Brien and his son, Henry O’Brien, left Wednesday forenoon for Chicago, and Mrs. Anna Stretch and Miss Rose O’Brien will leave for Chicago tonight to attend the funeral. Miss O’Brien was well-known here, where she has visited.

Anna O’Brien was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery on 13 Feb 1914.  

Some open research areas are to explore the relationship with Mike Dooner, and see if I can find them in the 1900 and 1910 Census. 
 

O'Brien Family Comes to America

On my Dad's side of the family, our O'Brien line came to America from County Clare, Ireland. Our known records on the O’Brien family begin with John J. O’Brien, who was born in County Clare, on 25 December 1793. He died in Middlesworth, Shelby County, Illinois on 29 October 1901. 

My grandfather Keith D. Jones painted this picture of John J. O'Brien in 1960, as a copy of an original painting by Shelbyville, Illinois artist Robert Root (1864-1937). On the back of the painting is a note about John O'Brien's lifespan covering three centuries and that the information appeared in Ripley's Believe It or Not.

A copy of John's obituary from the Shelbyville Democrat on 7 November 1901 is below:

In Memoriam.

In the spring of 1793, about the time that George Washington and John Adams were inaugurated for their second term as president and vice president of the United States, there was born, in a hut on the banks of the Shannon river, in the county Clare, about 10 miles northwest of Limerick, Ireland, a bright faced, healthy Irish boy. Wednesday last at his home near Middlesworth that baby, now long since a centenarian, passed from earth to the great unknown world beyond.

Uncle Johnnie O'Brien, probably the oldest man in Illinois, and one of the oldest in America, was a remarkable character. After the death of his parents, when he was but eleven years of age, he ran away to sea. From 1804 until 1831 he drifted from pillar to post, his life being that of a common sailor on the old wooden sailing vessels that were then in vogue, and many and interesting were the tales he could tell of his experiences on the water. His memory was very retentive. His first experience in naval warfare, though at that time he was only a cabin boy twelve years old, was in the great battle of Trafalgar, where on October 21, 1805, Admiral Nelson in command of the English squadron whipped the combined fleets of France and Spain, and the impression made on his young mind was never effaced. He well remembered the British chagrin over Perry's victory in which the English fleet was destroyed on Lake Erie in September 1813; their consternation over the results of the battle of New Orleans in January 1815 and their great rejoicing over Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in December of the same year.

In 1831, tired of the sea, he came to America to make his home and seek fortune among the pioneers of the middle west, settling near LaSalle [Illinois], where he was married and to this union four children were born, three of whom are still living, John O'Brien of this city and Mrs. Agnes Gillette and Miss Anna O'Brien of Chicago. These children were left motherless when quite young and just prior to the civil war Mr. O'Brien moved to Shelby county, later marrying Miss Margaret Fagan, sister of Andrew and Christopher Fagan of this city, who survives him.

In 1832 he exercised his right of suffrage casting his first vote for Andrew Jackson for president, and it was with great pride that Uncle Johnnie, only a few days before his death said: "I cast my first vote for Andy Jackson in '32 and I have never missed an election since and always voted the democratic ticket, and voted it straight."

A few weeks since he had the misfortune to fracture his hip and, although for a time he seemed to improve, the struggle was too unequal and on Wednesday the end came.

The funeral occurred from the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Washington street, of which Mr.O'Brien had been a long member. Friday morning at 10 o'clock Rev. Father Martin officiating, and was attended by a large concourse of friends to pay their last tribute of respect to this venerable citizen.

--
John appears in the 1840 US Census in LaSalle County, Illinois. He is also in the 1855 Illinois Census in LaSalle. By 1870, he and family had moved to Shelby County, Illinois. He is also in the 1900 US Census in Shelby County. More to be posted later.