Great4
Grandfather James McIntosh was born in Scotland. We don't know where, but the McIntosh
Clan originated near the city of Inverness in the Scottish
highlands. Scottish immigration to the Americas is overlooked in American
history books, but can be read in books like Born
Fighting. Most were “Scots-Irish”; people from Scotland lured
to work on English "Ulster" plantations in Northern Ireland, but found
themselves in the midst of an Irish-English conflict. They had left Scotland
ravaged by fighting with English soldiers only to find the same problem in Ireland, so most
left for the prospect of free land in the Americas. MacKintosh families
simplified their surname to McIntosh after arriving in America.
The English land barons along coastal America had troubles
with Indians in the forested inlands, so they granted the rugged land in Appalachia
to groups of Scots so they could fight the Indians. The Scots became
frontiersmen and key players in the American Revolution. When English colonists
squabbled with the King of England, he sent troops to restore order. That was
successful until troops ventured inland and clashed with independent Scottish
communities who hated English soldiers.
Who Were Charles Parents?
The
parentage of Great2 Grandfather Charles C. McIntosh (1858-1943) is
misleading. In the 1860, 1880, and 1920 censuses, Charles (pictured) states both
his parents were born in Kentucky and he was born in Indiana. His great grandson
Bill Tharp (my mother Carmen's first cousin) thought his parents were
Archibald (b. 1813) & Tabitha McIntosh and the 1850 census
shows them living in Kentucky. But it shows Archibald was born in Tennessee, not
Kentucky, and
there are no census records of them having a child named Charles or living in
Indiana because they don’t show up in any later census. Note that census records show each person’s age,
so a person’s birth year may be a year earlier or later.
In 2010
Bill Tharp co-authored a book
about his colorful Great Uncle Eppenetus McIntosh (pictured)
who became a Civil War POW held at the Confederate Andersonville Camp and later survived a
ship sinking. Bill now thought that Eppenetus and his Great Grandfather Charles were
children of John and Margaret McIntosh, but no census confirms that claim. A great, great grandson of Eppenetus noted
the 1860
census shows a 17-year old “Epwetus” McIntosh living in
Illinois with Joseph McIntosh (b. 1809)
and Margaret (b. 1820). They also had a three
year old Charles C McIntosh living with them. But the census notes that Joseph was born in Pennsylvania
and Margaret born in Indiana, not Kentucky. I spent hours trying to sort out
this confusion until I discovered this notation
from a book published in 1883:
Ref: William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas
Shawnee County - Part 29
Published in 1883 by A.T. Andreas, Chicago, IL
DR. J. McINTOSH, optician, was born July 26, 1809, in Huntingdon County, Pa., where he resided until twelve years old. His father having been killed in the
war of 1812, his mother removed with her children to Owensville, Bath Co., Ky., where he resided until about twenty-three years old, working at shoemaking.
He went to Terre Haute, Ind., working at his trade; was there married in
November, 1837, to Miss Margaret Bond, who was born in Sullivan Co., Ind. They
have six children living. In 1852 he moved to Bloomington, Ill., working at his
trade until 1868. He then began the study of medicine, making a specialty of the
diseases of the eye, taking a course of two years.
In
1870 he moved to Kansas, locating first at Humboldt, afterwards residing in
Emporia, Independence, and Parsons; engaged in the practice of his profession
until 1881, when he removed to Topeka, where he has since resided. At the
breaking out of the civil war he enlisted as a private in Company F,
Thirty-ninth Illinois Infantry serving in the Army of the Potomac, and taking
part in the battles of Winchester and Fair Oaks. He was detailed as Regimental
Ward Master and afterwards transferred to the General Hospital at Woodstock,
Shenandoah Valley, remaining in that position until his discharge, in 1862, on
account of disability brought about by exposure during the winter. He and his
family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
That link in ancestry.com
reveals Joseph McIntosh's parents, my Great4 Grandparents James and Elizabeth
McIntosh. Another website
has details on his brothers and sisters to include a photo of his sister-in-law
Rebecca. Most of them migrated from Kentucky to Northern California.
Joseph McIntosh
Father: James
McIntosh
Mother: Elizabeth
Unknown b: ABT. 1768 d: Feb 10, 1824
Joseph Marriage #1 Nancy
Beach
- in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana
Children
JOHN
Westley McIntosh b: MAR 1836 in Bloomington, Indiana
Joseph Marriage #2 Margaret
Bond b: ABT. 1820 in Indiana
- Married: 5 NOV 1837 in Terre Haute, Vigo County, Indiana 5
Children
Eppenetus
W. McIntosh b: OCT 1845 in Indiana
James
W. McIntosh b: NOV 1844 in Indiana
Georgeanna
McIntosh b: ABT. 1851 in Indiana
Charles
C. McIntosh b: ABT. 1857 in Illinois
Lovejoy
McIntosh b: 1860 in Illinois
Sources:
- Title: Federal Census, 1860, Illinois, McLean County, Bloomington Twp.
Page 724
Repository:
Media: Book
Text: Age 53. Born in Pennsylvania. Occupation shoemaker.
- Title: Federal Census , 1870, Kansas, Allen County, Town of Humboldt
Repository:
Media: Book
Page: P. 4
Text: Age 61, Shoemaker, Born in Pennsylvania.
- Title: Cemetery Record. Topeka Cemetery
Repository:
Media: Book
Text: Statistics No. 4548
Date of birth: July 6, 1809
Where born: Pennsylvania
Date of death: December 26, 1886
Relative: Margarett McIntosh
Cause of death: Consumption
- Title: Nancy McIntosh Bible
Text: Joseph McIntosh born July 26, 1809
- Title: Pension Application, Union Army, Joseph McIntosh
- Title: Cemetery Record. Topeka Cemetery
Repository:
Media: Book
So John W McIntosh was not Charles' father, but his older half
bother. Bill Tharp was probably confused since John was much older than his half
brothers and Joseph was old enough to be their grandfather. Joseph was not born in Kentucky, but he grew up there before moving to
Indiana. Ancestry.com
has some interesting information about Great2 Uncle John's
Civil War service and family.
The
1860 census shows Joseph, and sons Eppenetus and Charles living in Bloomington, Illinois, which is the
hometown that 52-year old Joseph, John W, and later Eppenetus listed
when they joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Joseph mustered in as a
private on October 11, 1861, and discharged at age 53 as a private on May 17,
1862. He was a medic for Company F., 39th Illinois, Infantry and fought with the
39th Illinois Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Winchester, Action at Kernstown,
and the Battle of Fair Oaks.
The 1870
census shows Joseph, wife Margaret, and 13-year old Charles in Humbolt,
Kansas and by 1875 they lived in Emporia, Kansas. In the 1880
Census they are living in Parson, Kansas near the Oklahoma border,
and shows 71-year old Joseph was born in Pennsylvania. It notes 21-year old
"Chas" worked in Parson in "lathing." That Census shows that
Joseph's father James was born in Scotland and his mother was born in Pennsylvania.
Joseph was buried
in 1886 at the Topeka cemetery, Shawnee County, Kansas (pictured) probably
because it was a free benefit for Civil War veterans.
Family Summary
All this information is confusing, but I want it noted in case
future family researchers encounter these contradictions. In short, Great4
Grandparents James and Elizabeth were the parents of Great3
Grandfather Joseph, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1809. James was killed in
the War of 1812 and in 1820 Elizabeth and nine
children moved to Bath County,
Kentucky where a sister lived. At age
26, Joseph moved to Indiana and married Margaret Bond, whose family origins are
unknown except the 1880 Census notes that her mother was from New York and her
father from Canada. They had five children including Charles, moved to Illinois, and
then to Kansas. Charles married Jennie Day in Kansas in 1882 and eventually settled
in Oklahoma.
The
Caldwell Family of Oklahoma
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