Analysis of Letter from Hugh Blakeney to Elminey Guess Letter dated March, 1865

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1 Analysis of Letter from Hugh Blakeney to Elminey Guess Letter dated March, 1865 A transcription of this letter was found on the internet from multiple sources. The source of the first transcription and location of the original document are unknown. It is assumed the letter came from one of the descendents of Elmina Ainsworth-Guess- Stamps. The letter is particularly noteworthy because it was written during the closing days of the Civil War (Lee surrendered April 9, 1865) and because it lists the whereabouts of Hugh Blakeney s parents and all of his 6 living siblings. It is also interesting to note that most of the stated events seem to occur around The text of the letter is as follows: State of Mississippi Smith County March Dear niece I received your letter the 10 instant which gave me much pleasure to hear from you We are well at present hoping these few lines may find you in the same state of Health I am able to walk about the yard with my sticks. I am living on browns mill creek about two miles above the mill Jacob is living at the old mans old place and the old man is living at the poast oak thicket and Alvin is married to Lucy Ann Jernigan and is living with the old man Robert is living on the level land where bonny dyed Elizabeth benison as is living at her old place and is married to Emanuel Ainsworth. Elener and Matilda is married to Felix Blackwells too oldest sons and is living by him Samson Ainsworth is doing mity bad these times he has hardly bin sober since farvt(?) coart and in the time had his guts cut out by tom stringer but is now well the old man Shelby is dead, died last December the 26. times is verry hard here and provsion scarce I have rote to Arlow and Caleb but received no answer from them. Write as soon as you get this and direct your letters to Etehoma post office Jasper county Hugh Blakeney to Elminey Guess I am able to walke about the yard with my sticks It has been reported by others that Hugh was wounded in the Civil War and these wounds may have led to his early death in However, since Hugh Blakeney does not appear in any known Confederate war records and since he was 41 with 12 children when the Civil War started it is unlikely he served in the military. If Hugh was not wounded in the war he may have had a disability. I am living on browns mill creek about two miles above the mill The location of these 2 landmarks are unknown but his homestead was on a creek (with a mill) likely located in Smith Co and probably less than a half-day s walking distance from the old settlement of Etehoma (Etchehoma). Jacob is living at the old mans old place and the old man is living at the poast oak thicket Hugh s younger brother Jacob Blakeney ( ) is living at his - 1 -

2 father James Thomas Blakeney s ( ) old place and his father is living at the Post Oak thicket. It s uncertain where these 2 homes are located. Alvin is married to Lucy Ann Jernigan and is living with the old man. Hugh s younger brother Alvin Blakeney ( ) is married to Lucy Ann Jernigan ( ) and Alvin s father James Thomas Blakeney ( ) is living with them. Alvin (age 26) and his wife were living with his parents in but not in 1866 or Therefore Alvin and his family must have moved to another house shortly after this letter was written. Robert is living on the level land where bonny dyed Hugh s younger brother Robert Blakeney (born 1826) was originally believed to have died during the Civil War because he was not living with his family in either the 1866 Mississippi census or the 1870 Federal census. Therefore he probably died shortly after this letter was written. It is uncertain who Bonny is. Elizabeth benison as is living at her old place and is married to Emanuel Ainsworth Hugh s younger sister Elizabeth Blakeney-Benison-Ainsworth (1829 d aft 1870) and Emanuel Ainsworth ( ) were married about The 1860 US census shows Elizabeth and Emanuel Ainsworth in the same household. The 1866 Mississippi census shows Hugh Blakeney (age 46) living close to Emanuel and Elizabeth Ainsworth. Elener and Matilda is married to Felix Blackwells too oldest sons and is living by him. Eleanor Ellen Blakeney (1831 d aft 1900) and Matilda Blakeney (1829 d aft 1880) were Hugh s younger sisters. Eleanor married Wayne Wain Blackwell ( ) in 1853 and Matilda married Wade Waid Blackwell (1853 d aft 1880) in Both sisters lived in Jasper, County Mississippi in 1860 near their father-in-law Felix Blackwell and then both families later moved to Columbia County, Arkansas sometime between Samson Ainsworth is doing mity bad these times he has hardly bin sober since farvt(?) coart and in the time had his guts cut out by tom stringer but is now well. - The 1860 census shows Sampson Ainsworth (born 1794) from South Carolina living in Smith County, MS. He is the same age as Hugh s father James Thomas Blakeney ( ) and the 2 family seem to have been extremely close family friends. There is a Thomas M. Stringer (farmer, born abt 1816) living in Smith County during this period. the old man Shelby is dead, died last December the 26 A search of the 1860 census shows several Shelby families living in the Smith and Jasper County area. There is an Evan Shelby (age 75) living in Jasper County in 1850 and an Alfred Shelby (age 55) living in Jasper County in Hugh s brother Robert Blakeney (age 24) is shown living with John Shealby in Smith County in the 1850 census. Undoubtedly, the Blakeney and Shelby families were close friends but it is uncertain which old man Shelby this letter refers to. I have rote to Arlow and Caleb but received no answer from them. Arlow Ainsworth (1797 d aft 1880) was Elmina Guess father Hugh s brother-in-law and the - 2 -

3 husband of Hugh s older sister Matilda Arabella Blakeney ( ) who died many years previous. Caleb Patterson (age 29) seems to have married Elmina s sister Arthena Arsina (age 14) in 1850 since both Caleb and Arthena were living with her parents in Smith County, MS in However, Caleb apparently did not travel west with his wife and her family because he did not show up with the Ainsworth s in the 1850 Louisiana census. Arthena aka Arsina (age 24) was still living with her father Arlow ten years later per the 1860 Louisiana census. It is unknown why Hugh may have written Caleb. times is verry hard here and provsion scarce Hard times would be expected in March 1865 particularly for a family with 8 children under 10. Although most of the fighting in Mississippi ended a year earlier, production and transportation of goods was probably nonexistent since mid Just before the siege of Vicksburg that started May 1863, Grant sent Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson s 1 st Calvary brigade on a 800 mile 17 day expedition from La Grange, TN (near Memphis) to Baton Rouge through the middle of Mississippi to cut telegraph lines, burn supplies, and destroy railroads and bridges. On April 26, 1863 Grierson s Calvary probably passed within a few miles of the Blakeney homestead and camped in nearby Raleigh, the county seat of Smith County. Later on May 14, Grant captured the state capital in Jackson, also an important rail junction, on his way to Vicksburg (Jackson was abt 60 miles NW of the Blakeney homestead). After a long siege, Vicksburg was captured on July 4, The city of Vicksburg would not celebrate Independence Day for about 80 years as a result of the siege and surrender. Coincidently, Lee was defeated at Gettysburg, Pa a day earlier on July 3, 1863 both defeats marking the beginning of the end of the Civil War. After the fall of Vicksburg Grant sent Sherman to recapture Jackson, MS for a second time. Jackson was recaptured and then burned on July 16, About 7 months later, Grant sent Sherman to destroy another important rail junction further east at Meridian, MS on Feb 20, 1864 about 50 miles NE of the Blakeney homestead. During the campaign to capture of Meridian, Sherman destroyed 115 miles of railroad, 61 bridges, 6,075 ft of trestle work, 20 locomotives, 28 steam cars, and 3 steam sawmills. After the destruction of Meridian, Sherman is reported to have said; "Meridian with its depots, store-houses, arsenal, hospitals, offices, hotels, and cantonments no longer exists. Needless to say, these were hard times for area residents. Elminey Guess Elmina Guess (1841 abt 1880) was the daughter of Hugh s older sister Matilda Arbella Blakeney (1817 d abt 1850) and Arlow Ainsworth (1797 d aft 1880). Sometime in early 1850 the Ainsworth family moved over 200 miles west from Smith County, Mississippi to Rapides, Louisiana (near Alexandria) both the MS and LA census noted their residence during the same year. Elmina Ainsworth was 9 years old when the family moved to Louisiana in Elmina married Joseph Mark Guess in After Guess was killed in the Civil War, Elmina remarried Moses Stamp in

4 Hugh Blakeney Hugh Blakeney ( ) was the son of James Thomas Blakeney ( ) who migrated from Chesterfield County, SC to Mississippi around The 1860 Federal census lists 14 persons in the Hugh Blakeney household: Hugh Blakeney 40 Nancy Blakeney 41 Albert Blakeney 16 Elizabeth P Blakeney 14 William Blakeney 13 Alfred Blakeney 12 Mary A. Blakeney 11 Lovick Blakeney 10 Simeon Blakeney 8 Susan C. Blakeney 5 Martha Blakeney 4 Thomas L Blakeney 3 Jefferson D. Blakeney 2 Infant Blakeney 1 month (John) The 1866 Mississippi census lists 17 persons in the Hugh Blakeney household: Males 0-10 = 4 Males = 4 Males = 1 Females 0-10 = 3 Females = 3 Females = 1 Females = 1 The 1870 Federal census lists 9 persons in the Nancy Blakeney household Township 1, Range 8, Smith County, Mississippi. (Note: Son Alfred Blakeney age 21 is shown living with their neighbor James and Elizabeth Ainsworth. Son William Blakeney age 24 is shown living with neighbor Emanuel and Elizabeth Ainsworth.) Nancy Blakeney 51 Matilda Blakeney 15 Caroline Blakeney 16 Thomas Blakeney 14 Jefferson D. Blakeney 12 John Blakeney 10 Alabama Blakeney 7 Hugh Blakeney 6 Nancy A Blakeney 4 Etehoma post office Jasper county per USGS quad maps, Etchehoma (historical) was a populated place located at N W (copy-paste lat/lon to - 4 -

Google Maps to view). The site is located about 2 miles south of Bay Springs, Jasper County, MS and about 0.5 miles west of MS 15 at the end of Downs Rd and 1.25 miles east of the Smith County line.

5 Google Maps to view). The site is located about 2 miles south of Bay Springs, Jasper County, MS and about 0.5 miles west of MS 15 at the end of Downs Rd and 1.25 miles east of the Smith County line. Also, Etehoma Creek starts about 3/4 miles west of Bay Springs on MS 18, and flows to the South along and crossing Hwy 15 a couple of times toward Jones County line. Researched by Blake A. Cathey July 4, 2011 Aerial Photo of Etehoma (historical settlement), Jasper County, Ms - 5 -

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For more information, see: Wiley Sword, Mountains Touched with Fire: Chattanooga Besieged, 1863 (St. Martin s Griffin, 1997) and Arthur M.

For more information, see: Wiley Sword, Mountains Touched with Fire: Chattanooga Besieged, 1863 (St. Martin s Griffin, 1997) and Arthur M. MATHEWS AND KIN IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY The Civil War claimed five sons of Josiah Allen and Lucy (Martin) Mathews. One died from illness, Marion. The four others returned: David, Elijah, Joe (Josiah),