Man Overboard

Benjamin Amos "Bennie" Jackson
February 2, 1885- January 12, 1913

The few people I've talked to recently about genealogy work all have one thing in common: they have that one ancestor they seem to have a fascination with.  While I admit that I seem to have a fascination (some might say obsession) with nearly all my ancestors and their mysteries, I do have one ancestor in particular that for reasons unknown by me, I was always sort of drawn to.

Benjamin Amos "Bennie" Jackson was born on February 2, 1885 and died January 12, 1913.  He is my second great uncle; the son of John Aaron Jackson and LuElla Daniel and brother to Ralph Monroe.  As a child, I saw his grave in the cemetery in Deltaville, VA.  Bennie was and oysterman by trade, and one day in January while out on his boat he fell overboard.  When I was young I remember my grandmother saying that he had drowned.  More recently, I found his death certificate that lists tuberculosis as a contributory factor in his death.  Further discussion recently revealed that he did in fact fall off the boat, but he didn't die immediately.  I imagine the cold waters of the Chesapeake mixed with a case of tuberculosis was more than his lungs could withstand.
I never knew what Bennie looked like until recently.  My cousin and I are fortunate to have a large number of family photos that have been scanned and store on computer.  However, I have no idea who many of the people in the images are.  Luckily my aunt is able to name some, and my cousin adds them to the tree as she gets the information.  Just a few days ago, she uploaded a photo of Bennie.  It was a photo I have myself, but never knew his name.  It is thrilling to finally put a face to a name for someone who last lived over a hundred years ago, especially for someone you've always wondered about.

Grave of Bennie Jackson

The Family Witch

Today I'm shifting gears a bit and highlighting my paternal grandmother's grandmother (that would be my great great grandmother) Johanna Wilhelmina Fangmann.  Johanna Fangmann was born on August 19, 1874 in Germany, possibly in Lower Saxony.  At the age of 8, she traveled with her family from the port of Bremen, Germany to the Port of Baltimore, MD in the United States.  On September 19, 1890, she married William Henry Scheufele and she died December 15, 1954.  She is always referred to as "Grandmother Scheufele" within the family. 



Grandmother Scheufele has rather interesting stories associated to her.  Growing up, I would hear my dad and his sisters talk about Grandmother Scheufele's crystal ball that they were never allowed to touch.  As a fan of anything even remotely paranormal, I became fascinated by her, and by her house that was within walking distance of my childhood home.  I often walked by it wondering what secrets it might hold.  My cousin often told me that there was a picture of the devil hanging in the basement of the house.  The idea of having a photo of the devil hanging in your home was scandalous.  Many times I would stand outside the old house wishing there was a way into the basement.

While I was in college taking an Anthropology course, I spoke to my grandmother about potential family stories that might have a paranormal twist to them.  I knew we had some family ghost stories (what family doesn't?), but I was hoping for something more.  And that's when I learned some information about Grandmother Scheufele that makes her a really cool Great Great Grandmother.

Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele nee Fangmann
in her church room

Apparently, Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele would hold "church meetings" at her home in a room she called the "church room".  She would wear robes, and welcome people into her house.  What my grandmother described sounded more like a seance than a church meeting.  During the few times my grandmother was allowed to attend these meetings, she said Grandmother Scheufele  would go into a trance and would speak in a voice that was not her typical voice and share information.  My grandmother said that the voice was definitely someone else's and didn't sound anything like Johanna's, and it didn't sound like Johanna was trying to disguise her voice either. After these meetings, Grandmother Scheufele would be physically exhausted. In occult circles, this is known as Trance mediumship where the medium allows a spirit to connect directly through their physical body.  Like Whoopi Goldberg's character in the movie Ghost.

My grandmother also shared a story about a time, as an adult, that she was very sick.  She had been ill for days without a known cause.  Her mother Emma Marie, Johanna Wilhelmina's daughter, took her to see Grandmother Scheufele and hopefully find out what was going on.  Grandmother Scheufele instructed them to cut open my grandmother's pillow and inside they would find a hard lump of feathers.  She told her daughter Emma Marie to take that lump outside and burn it in the yard while saying some type of incantation (sadly the incantation wasn't remembered).  Grandmother Scheufele told my grandmother she had been cursed by none other than her mother-in-law.  When they went home, they did actually find the hard lump of feathers just as described. Once the lump was burned and the incantations said, my grandmother began healing.

There was one other story that was told to me regarding my grandmother's cousin Will who lived with Grandmother Scheufele for a time.  One evening, Will was down in the basement when Grandmother Scheufele heard him holler right before the sound of glass breaking.  When she went to see what was going on, she found Will with a look of terror on his face and the basement window shattered.  Will told her that the he saw the face of the devil looking at him through the window and so he threw a hammer at it.  Grandmother matter-of-factly explained to Will that his step-mother had sent the devil after him.  This story was apparently the basis for the whole "picture of the devil in the basement".  There was no actual photo, just the actual devil sent to get young Will.

Grandmother Scheufele with crystal ball on the table.

While the title of the post refers to Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele nee Fangmann as the "family witch", I'm not talking about the crushed by a house crushed, water melted, child eating witch.   She was a healer and a medium and nothing more.  She used her knowledge of the old healing ways to help others and share messages from loved ones who had crossed over.  Without a doubt, she is one relative I wish I had the ability to know personally.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Deltaville Ballpark aerial view 1952

Ralph Monroe Jackson
Builder of Ballfields

Deltaville is a small town on the Chesapeake Bay in the Tidewater region of Virginia, an area much of my Jackson family tree- past and present- comes from.  Years ago it boasted the claim of being the "Boat Building Capital of the Chesapeake", but boat building isn't its only claim to fame. 

It's also home to the Deltaville Ballpark. 

The Deltaville Ballpark was originally built in 1948 and hosted its first game in July of the same year.  Ralph Monroe Jackson, my great grandfather and a carpenter, helped with the construction.  Over the years, there have been a few renovations to include upgrading the grandstands, the wall, the bathrooms and most recently replacing the roof.

The grandstands are wide planked wood structures and hold about 300 spectators.  The wire protecting the fans is the same wire used to make crab pots for the local watermen.  No where in the world is there a ball park like this.  It's a place that takes you back to when baseball truly was America's past time, and ball players played for the love of the game and not the love of their wallet. It's a family place where the kids play together, people chat with their seatmates even if they're supporting the rival team, and you find your cousins sitting a few rows behind you.

My grandson enjoying the game.

You can read more about the Deltaville Ballpark in my other blog:
The Deltas
If You Build It
Buy Me Some Peanuts and Crackerjacks

Tombstone Tuesday

Each Tuesday, I'll try to highlight a family tombstone.  

This week's tombstone is John Aaron Jackson's tombstone.  It's the tallest monument in the cemetery.

John Aaron was born December 10, 1861

and died July 4, 1948.

He was knocked down by a heifer and 

knocked into a metal drum. 

The heifer also stepped on him and cracked some ribs.

That coupled with an existing heart problem

was the cause of his death. 

The Bonus Army

Ralph Monroe Jackson
March 12, 1894 - November 10, 1949

Back in the summer of 1932, Ralph Monroe Jackson, who went by the name Monroe, asked his brother Wallace Hugh Jackson to drive with him in his Model T to Washington, D.C.  Monroe, who served in WWI, wanted to travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Bonus Army rally. They left their home in Middlesex County, Virginia on roads that were nothing more than dirt.  Two weeks and 18 flat tires later they arrived in DC, and Wallace said he was never happier to arrive late to an event.

So what was the Bonus Army you ask?  

At the end of WWI, veterans were given Adjusted Compensation Certificates or bonuses that were to be paid out to them in 1945.  But because of the hardships brought about by the Great Depression, the veterans wanted their bonuses paid right then.  In the summer of 1932, the Bonus Army, which consisted of  12,000-15,000 veterans and their families, converged on the Capitol to demand their bonuses be paid.  Upon their arrival, they set up a shanty town below the Capital.  When the bonus bill was defeated in Congress, most members of the Bonus Army or Bonus Expeditionary Force as they were also called left.  Approximately 2,000-5,000 members stayed to protest.  The near riots that ensued created a restlessness that had the local authorities asking President Hoover to intervene.  He sent troops led by General Douglas MacArthur and Brigadier General Perry L. Miles used tanks and tear gas to destroy the camps and drive off the members of the Bonus Army.  Several veterans were wounded and one was killed.

In 1933, another Bonus Army traveled to Washington, D.C. and was greeted by the new president's wife Eleanor Roosevelt.  No bonus legislation was passed this time either, but the Civilian Conservation Corps was formed which allowed many veterans to finally find employment.  Later in 1936, Congress passed legislation to disperse $2 Billion in veteran benefits.  This all laid the groundwork for the GI Bill of Rights in 1944.

Ralph Monroe Jackson
with 2 unidentified females

Wallace Jackson
September 1, 1914- January 23, 1999

Definitely one time when it was better to be 2 weeks late showing up.

Tulip James

James Robert Jackson
August 21, 1829- November 11, 1864

     In honor of Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would introduce one of the members of the Jackson family who served his country and gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedoms.  James Robert Jackson, or "Tulip James" as we have come to call him, served as a pilot in the Union Navy during the Civil War.  He enlisted in the Union Navy on March 29, 1864 and served on his first vessel until July 17, 1864.  He then served on the Commodore Reed until August 18, 1864 and eventually served on the USS Tulip which proved to be disastrous.  On November 11, 1864, the USS Tulip exploded in the Potomac River off of Ragged Point.  The Tulip had a faulty starboard boiler and, fearing attack by Confederate snipers on shore, the Captain went against orders, fired up the boiler causing it to explode.  James, who served as Pilot, was one of 49 men killed out of 57.

USS Fuchsia sister ship to the USS Tulip

     In Virginia, where James was born and raised, most men chose to serve in the Confederate military to protect their home state.  I remember my dad asking Zelia "Sissy" Jackson, who was James' daughter-in-law, about James and why he served in the Union.  When she eventually decided to discuss James (most times she wouldn't), she stated he had no choice but to serve with the Union Navy because "the Confederates didn't want him".  This statement was rather absurd because the Confederates didn't turn anyone away.  It is possible, however, that James was forced to serve with the Union.  According to Dr. Bruce Thompson, an archaeologist who has done several dives on the wreck of the USS Tulip, pilots were extremely valuable to the Union Navy in the area of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries because the Confederates destroyed all the navigational aids in the area.  Pilots were sometimes forced by gunpoint to join the navy and pledge allegiance to the Union.

     It is unknown exactly how James Robert Jackson came to join the Union Navy.  In 1860, the census listed his occupation as oysterman. In 1861 at the start of the Civil War, he moved his family to Maryland.  Was the move a career change to become a pilot or was he really secretly a Union sympathizer?  Unfortunately, those questions will most likely remain unanswered.  

     Today the U.S. Navy still holds a memorial service for those men who were lost on the USS Tulip back on November 11, 1864.  At the small memorial along the Potomac and St Mary's River in St. Inigoes, MD, sailors from the Patuxent Naval Air Station gather with members of my family to pay their respects to the 49 lives that were lost all those years ago.  The memorial is still listed as the smallest US Federal cemetery.

     So on this Memorial Day weekend, when you're off work and enjoying your parades and BBQ's, take a moment to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country whether it was in the painful birth of our Nation in the 1700's and 1800's or conflicts of today.