*SatNiteChat

Start: 21:09:21
End: 22:32:14
Chatters: alt, AmosNY, AYWalton, Khathu, Selma, Spivey, vkn

Khathu: Hello Spivey

Spivey: Hi Khathu! Did you get a message about the chat room floating Khathu?

Khathu: no i did not spivey

Selma: Evening Khathu and spivey

Spivey: Hi Selma!

Khathu: Hello Selma

Selma: Evening alt...

Spivey: Selma, I today I received a transcript of the article that was supposed to have been written about Lewis Kelsey who served in the Civil War.

alt: Hello Khathu,Selma & spivey

Selma: What is floating spivey? Who is Lewis Kelsey

Khathu: Hello alt and AmosNY

alt: Hello AmosNY

Selma: Evening Amos

Spivey: Hi AmosNY!

AmosNY: Hello alt,Khathu,Selma,Spivey!!

Spivey: The chat screen enlarged, Selma, then went blank. I received a message that the room was 'floating' and instructing me to click on an icon there. When I clicked the icon, the room returned to normal.

Selma: Oh?

AYWalton: Hello alt, AmosNY, khathu, Spivey, Ms. Selma. I hope everyone is doing well this evening.

Selma: Who is Lewis Kelsey Spivey?

Spivey: Very well, thank you AYWalton and yourself?

AmosNY: I'm having a problem with my printer.

AYWalton: pretty good.

Selma: Finally got some Fall weather and the rain has ended..so doing better AY

AYWalton: sorry to hear about the printer problems, AmosNY. yes, that rain has passed through, finally.

Selma: It was like a monsoon here the other day..

alt: Printer, Selma .. you got your printer problem solved?

Selma: Yes..it appears so..but I can't remember how I fixed it.. LOL

Spivey: Lewis Kelsey is an ancestor Selma, in my grandmother's line. Her great uncle I believe.

alt: turned it on maybe LOL

Selma: Don't be a smart mouth alt.. LOL

alt: hehehehehehe

AmosNY: Selma, my printer keeps returning a message to reload my paper but there is nothing wrong with the way paper is loaded.

Selma: So did the article provide you with any new and or interesting infor spivey

Spivey: The fact that I might have an ancestor who served in the Civil War is new to me Selma.

Selma: Amos I am the LAST person to give any one computer or printer info If he did Spivey thats great..if he survived to receive a pension or apply for one that is even better

AYWalton: try canceling the print command and then try again. There might be several print jobs in the queue.

Spivey: He did survive if he indeed served, Selma. The article says he was wounded, but I have history on him after the Civil War.

alt: dunno AmosNY.. access printer and look at 'printer set-up' and paper configuration.

AmosNY: Thanks alt. I will try that.

Selma: Where did he serve Spivey, have you looked for a Service Record

alt: CWSS site has 3 Lewis Kelsey's .. none with a USCT unit... is your ancestor european Spivey?

Spivey: I received the transcript of the article today, Selma. I will look, but I have examined some pension records at the Georgia Virtual Vault in the past and found nothing relating to Black Kelseys.

Selma: Did the article identify him as black

Spivey: He was Black, alt, probably a slave. Yes it did Selma.

Selma: Who wrote the article? Did it say what Unit he served with?

alt: oh, he might have 'served' as a 'companion' to a slave owner with a confederate unit, huh?

Spivey: The article says he fought and recuperated in South Carolina where he fought at the battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina.

alt: the 3 on the CWSS site were with the 10th MI, 36th IL, & 13th MO all 'white' unit's

AYWalton: Spivey where did this ancestor live?

Selma: Does the author cite the source of her information?

Spivey: The article also mentions that he was one of 200,000 African-American men who enlisted with the Union. He lived in Millen, Georgia, AYWalton.

Khathu: hello vkn

Spivey: !

Selma: He could have enlisted using another name...and used Kelsey after the WAr

alt: did he serve under the name of Lewis Kelsey or under an alias?

AYWalton: there was a Louis Kelsey in the 54th Mass Colored.

Selma: Evening Vkn

vkn: hope yall be doing good

AYWalton: doing pretty good, vkn.

vkn: grrrrrrrrrrrreat

Selma: I try vkn..but its hard.. LOL

Khathu: i'm surviving

AYWalton: BRB I shall try to help a visitor come in. I guess they left.

Spivey: Sorry, alt. It is spelled Louis at times. You found a Louis Kelsey alt? Welcome back AYWalton.

alt: yes, with the 54th Mass as AYWalton stated

AYWalton: of course we all know that Spelling "dusn't kownt"! lol yes, that is what I said, Spivey---Louis is in the 54th. Now the question is---was your ancestor near an area where he could have enlisted? Where was he before the war?

Spivey: According to the rest of the article, that is him alt and AYWalton. The article goes on to say he 'moved' to Millen Georgia.

alt: if he was with the 54th would he not have gone to Massche (sp) tho enlist?

Spivey: The family lived in Millen, Georgia AYWalton. Millen was the location of a confederate hospital. Millen, Georgia was burned to the ground by the Union troops as they passed through.

AYWalton: alt, many enlisted in the 54th and 55th, when the regiments moved southward.

alt: I see, wasn't aware of that fact.

vkn: Spivey is this a new find

Spivey: Yes it is vkn.

AYWalton: spivey what was his wife's name?

Selma: So he "moves" to Millen GA after the War spivey?

vkn: congratulations

Spivey: An answer to a query I posted more than two years ago.

Selma: Did this article appear in the magazine or journal spivey?

AYWalton: what was Louis's wife's name?

Spivey: It was presumably from a newpaper article Selma. And, yes, it said he survived, married and later 'moved' to Millen Georgia.

AYWalton: and his wife or widow?

alt: not sure of where all of the 'action' by the 54th took place, but wasn't aware of them being in GA.

Spivey: We have two possibles AYWalton. Louises that is.

AYWalton: Louise? oh you mean Louis Kelsey. What was his wife's name?

Selma: Was the article specifically about him, or about black soldiers in the area

AYWalton: or was it Louise, as in "Louise and Shirley"? lol

Spivey: The article says the Battle of Honey Hill [South Carolina?] involved Black troops from the Massachusetts 54th USCT alt.

alt: So if he was with the 54th @ Honey Hill in SC then he would have been located somewhere in eastern SC?, or at least on the eastern seaboard, huh?.

Spivey: alt, I don't know. As was said here previously, many Blacks joined the Union forces on their march through Southern states and 'enlisted' in the Union army.

AYWalton: The 54th did fight in the south and down the eastern seabord. they were at Honey Hill, Ft. Wagner, Olustee, and much more.

Selma: Just goggled..it included members of the 54th

AYWalton: oh yes, they were at Honey Hill.

alt: I was aware of former enslaved person persons mustering into units that wer formed in the South, but not those that were formed in the North.

AYWalton: alt, the war was fought in the South.

alt: really AYWalton

AYWalton: the Mass Colored, 54th and 55th and the 29th Connecticut all fought in the south.

Spivey: ROTFL at you two.

AYWalton: that is why the south is still so mad----they haven't gotten over it. Sherman leveled everything in his path. there were no Civil War Battles in Boston. or New York, or Buffalo.

Selma: Hey the Confederates burned Hampton..so the Union Army couldn't get it Although the Union Army was already there at Fort Monroe

AYWalton: don't forget they burned Atlanta.

Spivey: The Confederate prison built in Millen, Georgia held the overflow from that infamous Confederate prison. I can't think of the name of it offhand.

AYWalton: Andersonville.

alt: I'm saying the units (USCT & State units) that were formed in the North, I wasn't aware of them taking in (mustering in) troops from the South, perhaps they dd

AYWalton: oh gracious yes. don't believe that movie, alt. the folks at the Afr. Am Civil War memorial have to correct so many things made in error about the Mass 54th. and most were not killed at Ft. Wagoner, either.

alt: I'm not basing it on the movie AYWalton... I read also

AYWalton: lol I knew I would get a rise out of you.

alt: you did LOL

AYWalton: tee hee hee!

Spivey: lol

AYWalton: Bennie would be smiling. (and chuckling, too.)

Selma: Well if that is indeed your relative Spivey..its great news and gives you new avenues to persue

vkn: wupps

alt: I'm sure he would, he enjoys a 'good' discourse "give & take"

AYWalton: still trying to find out Louis's wife's name, spivey.

alt: yes it is a good find Spivey

Spivey: It does indeed Selma. The article says additional information was submitted [at] the Library Museum in Savannah Georgia. The article is based on letters Louis Kelsey wrote that were found years later by a couple remodeling their home.

Khathu: interesting Spivey

Selma: Good grief..thats wonderful Spivey

alt: wonderful Spivey.. you should be able to get a service packet on him even if didin't actually get a pension... that would explain where he was mustered in.

Spivey: However, here is the catch and I don't know if I can get past this brick wall. I find nothing about my family during the Civil War years. The article says Louis Kelsey was in a reform school in Detroit, Michigan. Maybe that's why the article went on to say he 'moved' to Millen Georgia after his discharge.

alt: but the article stat e that he 'convalesed' (sp) at a confederate hospital, right?

Selma: When was he in this reform School?

Spivey: I would have to go back to see if the article mentions where he convalesced alt. But, perhaps you and Selma can help me here. He was sentenced at 15 and released 3 years later. He would have been about 18 at the time of joining the Massachusetts 54th then. Does the information you have mention his age when he enlisted?

AYWalton: well folks, I have to run.

alt: he was in Detriot prior to the Civil War?

vkn: and spivey what is the source of the article

Khathu: goodnight everyone

Selma: He was in a reform school?

Spivey: A Washtenaw County article vkn. I don't know where Washtenaw County is and I think when I brought this subject up here before I was told there is no Washtenaw County. BUT, I think we were looking at Ohio.

vkn: spivey that is Ann Arbor MI

alt: that county is in MIchigan Spivey.. Ann Arbor is there and it is near Detroit.

Spivey: Aha! He was sentenced to the Michigan State Boys Industrial School.

Selma: In the 1860

vkn: in what year

Spivey: That's not in the article that I can find vkn.

alt: from the AA filter on ancestry there were AA Kelsey's in MI in 1850

Selma: Honey Hill was Nov 30, 1864

Spivey: I am just thunderstruck that I might just have found where the Kelseys were during that period.

alt: 1860 has a Lewis Kelsey born 1844 in PA living in Lansing Michgan as a 16 y/o

vkn: and alt I think Ypsilanti is in Washtenaw Cnty which borders Inkster an all Black town

alt: Lansing is where the State Penal Inst. for Michigan was located at the time.

Spivey: The one we thin was him was born in July 1846 Alt. That's the date of birth we have, but it may not be correct. We also have one born in 1856 and one born in 1865. I think we can discount the latter two.

alt: look at where Lewis Kelsey is located in the 1860 census .. a penal intitution in Lansing Michigan as a 16 y/o born ca 1844

Spivey: Ypsilanti is also mentioned in the article. It was another battle field for the Massachusetts 54th wasn't it?

vkn: wow seems close

Spivey: alt, I never looked at, or thought about, Michigan in relation to the Kelseys.

alt: this is "A" Lewis Kelsey.. may not be the one we're looking for , but it sure fits with him going into the 54th Mass FROM MI and not from the south.

Selma: When you find him after the War..is he with other family members, mother, father, brothers etc..

vkn: MANY Georgians migrated to MI spivey

Selma: But this is a migration from MI to GA vkn

Spivey: He's back in Millen, Georgia Selma. I have him in 1920 living in Screven County, Georgia.

Selma: You don't find him before that, 1910, 1900, 1880

alt: the 54th & 55th Mass recruited FPOC AA's from all over the Noth.. including my parts of Ohio ... Joshua Dunbar, the father of Paul Laurence Dunbar enlisted from Troy, Ohio 15 miles from here.

Spivey: The whole Kelsey clan that I found is also living in and around Screven Georgia Selma.

vkn: okies also Many Black Canadians migrated to Ypsilanti so go figure

Spivey: Thank you all. Now, I have more than I had before we started this conversation. Now I know it's possible my KELSEYs were in Michigan during the Civil War. Possible, just possible. Welcome back alt.

alt: ty there are AA Kelsey's in MI in the 1850 census MaComb County.

vkn: wow

Spivey: I don't know what to do with this article. It was done as a Power Point presentation and I don't really work with Microsoft products.

alt: those in 1850 have a birth location of Canada. except the patriarch of the family James L.Kelsey born 1799 in NY State

Spivey: I have to look there, alt to see if any names match. The one we think is him was the son of James and Chaney [?] Kelsey.

Selma: What place of birth do they give when you do find them on the census spivey

Spivey: All born in Georgia Selma.

Selma: Do you find him immediately after the War in 1870? Is he with the family?

Spivey: Let me check Selma to see if I have a copy of the census record for his father. The first census I have him on is 1880 Selma.

alt: I think this Lewis/Louis Kelsey is from MI and he went with recruits from the Midwest to join the 54th Mass.

Spivey: The whole Kelsey clan lived in close proximity to each other in 1880. Okay alt. So, probably not the Lewis Kelsey in my tree.

Selma: Yes, all those Kelsey's are together in 1880...

alt: not saying that Spivey, could still be, if this one who served with the 54th stayed in the south following the CW.

Selma: That Lewis appears to be living with his brother

Spivey: In Michigan or Georgia Selma?

Selma: in GA

Spivey: What was the name of the brother?

vkn: I would check for Kelseys in PA

Spivey: Pennsylvania too, vkn?

vkn: yuppers

alt: there are also many AA Kelsy's in the 1860 Census all with Northern State birthplaces

Selma: Zack or Jack..Easter is identified as the wife of Zack

Spivey: Will do. The names and approximate dates of birth should be a clue if they are the ones I'm looking for.

alt: Yes vkn, there are quite a few Kelsey's in the 1860 census with PA birthplaces

Spivey: Selma, that's the one. His brother Jack Kelsey was married to Easter Jackson.

Selma: Jack is 51 and Easter is 50...did you check for them in 1870

Spivey: Yes. I have not found them in 1870 Selma.

alt: the Kelsey surname with Southern birthplaces do not appear in the census until 1870.

vkn: Kelsey Edward 27 Warren, New Jersey PA Philadelphia 1864 25th United States Colored Infantry

Spivey: Lewis Kelsey was married twice: to Lizzie Wadley and to Lavinia Barnes.

alt: this is very interesting Spivey

Spivey: I have an Edward Kelsey born Aug 1885 vkn.

vkn: most interesting needs to be fully developed

Spivey: I can see that, vkn. It looks in all probability that the family was not in Georgia during those years.

alt: 2 AA Lewis Kelsey's appear in the 1870 census, both in Burke co., GA one born in 1835 ,the other born in 1856

Spivey: alt, I can see a sleepless night coming up!

vkn: I see 7 Kelsey in 1860 PA Black and only 1 in 1870

alt: 1835 would have been 16 y/o when the CW broke out... not likely he could have been with the 54th Mass in the CW

Selma: I think you will have to get additional info before you can determine if the Lewis Kelsey in MI is yours Spivey

Spivey: Yes I do Selma.

alt: the lewis Kelsey in MI was born ca 1844-1846

Selma: When he marries does he identify his parents Spivey

Spivey: Not on the record I have Selma. I have an index from the Burke County marriage book.

Selma: That is the index...does the actual document provide additonal info

Spivey: alt, the Lewis Kelsey we think this is was born in July 1846.

vkn: Excellent for a case study

Spivey: I don't have the actual document Selma. Now I see where I need it though.

vkn: yall be good

alt: okay then Spivey, this could be the MI Lewis Kelsey, but it is unlikely that he is a member of the GA Kelsey lines. even with the same surname

Selma: Yep...10:30 pm time for me to go.. Nite all

Spivey: Thanks Selma.

alt: laters Selma quittin time for me too

Spivey: alt, the other researchers in the family have taken it on as gospel. I would rather do some further research myself. Thanks for all your help.