The Mystery of Mildred

 

Growing up as a Thompson, a name that I frequently heard was ‘Cousin Mildred’. As a young child, this confused me, since I thought I knew all my cousins. Of course, I also thought all cousins were children. We would occasionally get gifts from Mildred, but if I ever met her, I don’t remember.

We would occasionally get gifts from Mildred, but if I ever met her, I don’t remember. I do remember asking Nana Thompson about her once, but I’m sure I didn’t get it. Talking with my father the other week, I realized he didn’t get it either. So who was ‘Cousin Mildred’.

Note – all relationships noted in the charts are shown in relation to Raymond Brooks Thompson, my grandfather.

Aunt Mildred

In the Summer of 1900, Sarah Thompson was a 50 year old single mother living in Boston with her Brother George, and her two small children, Frank (9) and Mildred (7). Ten years later the 18 year old Mildred was living with her brother and his new spouse. They were living in the house of Frank’s father-in-law William Brooks, and raising their first son, Raymond, then 6 months old.

(The house held four generations, including Raymond’s great grandmother, Francis “Fannie” Brooks, William’s mother).

But, an aunt is not a cousin, so let’s continue…

Cousin Mildred

Raymond’s aunt eventually married a Mylott and had twin daughters, Muriel and (you guessed it) Mildred. This makes Mildred and Muriel my grandfather’s cousins.

Mystery solved? Not so fast. My father said the Cousin Mildred we were looking for was Mildred Tyler.

“So Mildred Mylott married a Tyler?”

“No, Cousin Mildred was never married.”

Sigh…

Cousin Mildred Tylor

To solve the mystery of Mildred, we have to look at the OTHER side of the family, my great-grandmother’s side.

Dexter Nash married Annis Hunt and had at least 7 children, but only two girls; Georgetta was born in 1853 and Hattie in 1858. Hattie was to marry William Brooks and give birth to Gram, while her older sister Georgetta married a Tyler and had two girls, Annis and Mildred.

TADA! I now not only know who Cousin Mildred Tyler was, but also why to a young child growing up around lots of aunts, uncles, great aunts, and great uncles, understanding the identity of Mildred was so confusing – there was an Aunt Mildred and TWO Cousin Mildreds in the Thompson branch of the family tree.

I have heard from several family members that Hittie (Gram) and Mildred (Tyler) were very close growing up, and continued that friendship all their lives.

Here’s the whole picture:

Of course, I still don’t know which Mildred sent the gifts...

Where Were We in the War Between the States?

The most divisive conflict in our nation's history (except perhaps for Bush vs Gore of 2000). Where was our family during that contentious time? Right in the middle of it – well, some of us. Many of the Thompson-Hayward-Snypes-Moore ancestors were ‘tweeners’, too young or too old to participate directly in the conflict. Still, with all that fuedin’, there were bound to be a few.

What follows is a list of who was alive at that time, how old they were (in 1860, just before the war), and what part, if any, they played in this historic drama.

I have intentionally left out our female ancestors, not as a slight, but only to save time and space, since women could not serve in the US military until 

Oops, I stand corrected. OK, as soon as I find the women from our past who played an active role in the Civil War, I will update this page with that information. (Information, by the way, that is hard to come by!)

(As always, the relationship indicated parenthetically is to the grandparent listed, not to myself or Becky.)

Thompson

Ancestors of Raymond Brooks Thompson

• Charles H Thompson (GF) – Between 10-2 yrs old, living with his grandmother in Chicago
• Joel Raymond Jr (GGF) – Age 35, enlisted in the 5th Regiment, Massachusetts Infantry
• Joel P Raymond (GGGF) – Age 66, living in Charlestown, Middlesex, MA
• William Henry Brooks (GF) – Age 3, living in Abington, Plymouth, MA
• Henry Augustus Brooks (GGF) – Age 27, living in Abington, Plymouth, MA
• Theodore Brooks Jr (GGGF) – Age 54, living in Abington, Plymouth, MA
• Eleazer Dexter Nash (GGF) – Age 39, living in Abington, Plymouth, MA

Ancestors of Ellen Elizabeth Charles

• Joseph Charles (GF) – Age 22, living in Surrey, VA
• Thomas Charles (GGF) – Age 55, living in Surrey, VA
• James Preston Basham (GF) – Age 7, living in Mercer, VA
• William Blane Basham (GGF) – Age 32, Company I, 6th Regiment, Virginia Infantry

Hayward

Ancestors of Myron Esdell Hayward

• Edwin Sheldon Hayward (GF) – Age 8, living in Halifax Township, Plymouth,MA

Ancestors of Rosemarie Elizabeth Montuori

• The ancestors of Nana Hayward did not emigrate from Italy until the late 1800s or early 1900s

Snypes

Ancestors of Sherman Cleveland Snypes

• William Sherman Snypes (F) – Age ???, working on it.
• Asberry Snypes (GF) – Age 50, living in McDowell, VA. (died in 1861?)

Ancestors of Pearl Wing Willis

• John Willis (F) – Age ???, living?

Moore

Ancestors of William Henry Moore

• Alexander Moore – Age 29, 9th Infantry Regiment West Virginia

Ancestors of Susan Virginia Richardson

• Only the good die young. Needs more research.

I know I don’t have everybody, and some of the ‘primes’ (men of age to fight) MIGHT have fought, and I just haven’t discovered it yet. I am also missing brothers and uncles, but certainly, there is enough here to see we ALL had ancestors on BOTH sides of this conflict.

I learned a lot from this research. For instance, WV split from VA and was a 'Northern' state! William Basham, my GGGGF, lived in what is now WV but was part of the confederacy. Alexander Moore, Becky’s GGF, also lived in what is now WV, but enlisted with the North!

As always, I will update this page as more information is discovered. I invite you to help me discover!