Mailing List:2006-09-27 02, Re: WHITNEY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 19, by Whit Mcclelland

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Mailing List Archives > 2006-09-27 02, Re: WHITNEY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 19, by Whit Mcclelland

From: "Whit Mcclelland" <whitmcclelland -at- webtv.net> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 19 Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 10:48:33 GMT James I am a third generation U.S. Marine officer from the Vietnam era. My father was the same during WWII. Similiarly my grandfather in WWI. My son is in OCS in Quantico and will be the fourth generation of officers in the USMC. So much for that issue. I believe you read something in my post that wasn't really there. Have a good day! Whit McClelland Ponte Vedra Beach FL -----Original Message----- From: whitney-request -at- rootsweb.com Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:50 PM To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com Subject: WHITNEY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 19 Today's Topics: 1. WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (Whit Mcclelland) 2. DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart (James Whitney) 3. Re: WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (ALLAGREEN -at- aol.com) 4. Re: WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (joewhitney -at- aol.com) 5. Re: WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (Ngigi616 -at- aol.com) 6. Re: DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart (Lori Callaway) 7. Re: DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart (Ken Whitney) 8. Re: WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (Ken Whitney) 9. Re: WHITNEY Civil War afflictions (Ken Whitney) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:00:49 GMT From: "Whit Mcclelland" <whitmcclelland -at- webtv.net> Subject: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: WHITNEY -at- rootsweb.com Message-ID: <BAY115-DAV69EB58FD412ED764636F8D4250 -at- phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain Over the past 6 months I have read multiple postings of Civil War pension requests by various and sundry members of the extended WHITNEY clan who, by and large, were certainly not in the higher social strata and became draftees or enlistees who rarely made it above buck private in the Union Army prior to discharge. My further reading shows that "chronic diarrhea" (among other assorted maladies)was persistently one of the main reasons for discharge from service and the pension applicants subsequent lifelong inability to rise in status and being forced to beg for a meager pension just to get by while living a wretched and tortured hardscrabble life. Talk about "Litanies of Woe!" Let's hope these souls DNA didn't travel far or we, their survivors, would be dining at our local soup kitchen for the homeless and chronically infirm and collecting welfare and food stamps. Whit McClelland Ponte Vedra FL ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:08:37 -0400 From: "James Whitney" <jameswhitney1716 -at- comcast.net> Subject: [WHITNEY] DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart To: "'Whitney Group'" <WHITNEY-L -at- rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <000001c6e175$43693770$68083847 -at- mediacenter> Content-Type: text/plain;charset="us-ascii" Dear Whit: As a descendant of a Civil War pension family, I do not see things the same way you do. When I see the faces of the homeless in the shelters, I see hope caused by people helping people. When I see food stamps used in the grocery store I see people helping people. When I see the rows of graves in the local Veterans Cemetery, I see a grateful nation of people helping people. When my great, great Granny accepted the $9 a month to feed a widows' 4 children she did not beg. The Whitneys are too proud to beg. She was accepting help from a grieving nation trying to rebuilt the broken families from a war. And if the US government sees fit to help a wife who lost her husband in this latest war, I will say that is good. And I will be proud to lay beside that fallen soldier at the Veterans Cemetery when I am laid to rest. James E. Whitney,II I am a veteran and thankful to God for all the people who helped me in my life- I am NOT a self made man. I ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:20:23 EDT From: ALLAGREEN -at- aol.com Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com Message-ID: <388.bb3193f.324a9f37 -at- aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Dear Whit: With regard to the "chronic diarrhea" you mention, and with a clear proviso that I am not medically trained, to the best of my understanding this condition stems from a horribly debilitating disease caused by the extremely unsanitary conditions in the field and in the camps. I think I read somewhere that dysentery (the name of this disease) killed more soldiers than bullets. Thus, I don't think that the number of Whitneys who suffered from this condition over the remainder of their lives were necessarily representative of a lesser genetic heritage. I would welcome further commentary from a WRG member with medical training. Happy Hunting! Allan E. Green ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:45:50 -0400 From: joewhitney -at- aol.com Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com Message-ID: <8C8AF99FA350BA6-900-2B2A -at- mblk-r12.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed You need to look at the condition of Civil War Whitneys in the overall context of the times. The vast majority of the troops were privates, just as the vast majority of the general population were in what we today consider a lower social strata. Popular culture always concentrates on the lives of the one percent of the rich, famous or powerful through history, while overlooking the vast majority of people who were extremely poor and unhealthy. It wasn't until the rise of the middle class in the 20th century, due to the Industrial Revolution, education, social programs and labor laws, that the majority of people in the West began to enjoy relatively healthy and prosperous lives. However, since 2000 we've started sliding backwards a bit, as the poverty rate (or what we today consider poverty) has increased and average household incomes stagnated. But by any measure the lives of the poor of today are far superior to the average person of the 1800's. There were no universal "safety nets", and the average lifespan was less than half ours. In the general population, due to poor diet and lack of sanitation stomach ailments were probably the most common health complaint, commonly referred to by the catchall phrase "dyspepsia". As for "chronic diarrhea", it was epidemic in both armies, afflicting privates and the highest generals alike. This was due to general ignorance to the fact that germs cause disease in preparing meals and deciding where to put latrines; and to poor diet, consisting in the Union army mainly of (salted) "blue beef" and hard flour crackers (the infamous hardtack), and in the Confederate army salt pork and cornbread. Intestinal diseases were rampant, killing more men than bullets and cannonballs ever did. But in war this was nothing new. One of the reasons Robert E. Lee was defeated at Gettysburg was his health. Due to dysentery he had suffered from diarrhea for an entire week, which he called the "old soldier's disease". If it continues for a week or more or is reoccurring, it can cause severe dehydration and become debilitating, even life-threatening. It could debilitate an entire army. Today it's the number one cause of death in infants worldwide. Keep in mind also that claiming chronic health problems was a common way to try to get out of the army. We always like to think the best of our ancestors, but after many years of marching, camping and fighting, it's hard to blame them for using any means they could to get back home again. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:16:09 EDT From: Ngigi616 -at- aol.com Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com Message-ID: <313.c53def2.324aba59 -at- aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Alan, you are absolute correct. [Source: Atlas Editions; Civil War Cards] "The number of soldiers who died of loose bowels is staggering. According to Union Records of the 1,739,135 cases, 57,265 Yankees died of dysentery or diarrhea compared with 44,238 men dying in battle," The reasons for this were given as over crowded living conditions, poor diet, communal use of cooking and eating utensils, and latrines placed usually upstream from camps. Other dreaded diseases were smallpox, yellow fever, pneumonia, malaria, and I am sure that I forgot a few. I do not have any statistics on these diseases, but I am sure that they would be equally staggering. Smallpox raged across North Alabama and Mississippi, in 1863, with devastating effects on the military and civilian population. The point here is that a virus or bacteria , even today, attacks the human organism at will, irregardless of socio-economic status. The difference is that today we do have medicines. Jeanne Neilon GG Granddaughter of Captain Isaac Marion Whitney 22nd Alabama Infantry, Company I Confederate States of America ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:18:42 -0700 From: "Lori Callaway" <callaway525 -at- msn.com> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com Message-ID: <BAY112-F2936FBB79B8BA8D9206B13FB250 -at- phx.gbl> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed What a great way to look at things ! Very nicely done ! Lori Callaway ----Original Message Follows---- From: "James Whitney" <jameswhitney1716 -at- comcast.net> Reply-To: whitney -at- rootsweb.com To: "'Whitney Group'" <WHITNEY-L -at- rootsweb.com> Subject: [WHITNEY] DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:08:37 -0400 Dear Whit: As a descendant of a Civil War pension family, I do not see things the same way you do. When I see the faces of the homeless in the shelters, I see hope caused by people helping people. When I see food stamps used in the grocery store I see people helping people. When I see the rows of graves in the local Veterans Cemetery, I see a grateful nation of people helping people. When my great, great Granny accepted the $9 a month to feed a widows' 4 children she did not beg. The Whitneys are too proud to beg. She was accepting help from a grieving nation trying to rebuilt the broken families from a war. And if the US government sees fit to help a wife who lost her husband in this latest war, I will say that is good. And I will be proud to lay beside that fallen soldier at the Veterans Cemetery when I am laid to rest. James E. Whitney,II I am a veteran and thankful to God for all the people who helped me in my life- I am NOT a self made man. I ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WHITNEY-request -at- rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Add fun gadgets and colorful themes to express yourself on Windows Live Spaces <a href="http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://www.get.live.com/spaces/features">http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http://www.get.live.com/spaces/features</a> ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:26:03 -0400 From: "Ken Whitney" <ken.whitney -at- comcast.net> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart To: <whitney -at- rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <001e01c6e1cb$90b7c090$6500a8c0 -at- Whitneycomp> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original James, I apologise if in any way a bias has appeared in my abstracts. I do not wish to convey any opinion about any person whose pension I have abstracted. It is beyond the pale that I would think that these people were less than anyone else in society. I had hoped only to provide information that people could use to connect to the Whitney family. I have been a member of this list for many years, and am quite taken back that anyone would think that I am picking on the poor. It certainly is not my fault that these natives of the State of Maine were victims of a harsh society. It had been my hope that people would realize the great debt that we owe to our ancestors though the lens of these pension file abstracts. I would like to remind you that one of the prerequisites to obtaining a pension was poverty. If you have found through your own pension file research that I am incorrect, and wealthy people have received pensions, them I again apologise. In that light, maybe my selection of files to be abstracted is biased. I await your reply with examples of wealthy pension recipients. I'm sure it will be enlightening. Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Whitney" <jameswhitney1716 -at- comcast.net> To: "'Whitney Group'" <WHITNEY-L -at- rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 10:08 AM Subject: [WHITNEY] DNA Does Not Measure the size of the Heart > Dear Whit: > > > > As a descendant of a Civil War pension family, I do not see things the > same way you do. When I see the faces > > of the homeless in the shelters, I see hope caused by people helping > people. > When I see food stamps used in the grocery store > > I see people helping people. When I see the rows of graves in the local > Veterans Cemetery, I see a grateful nation of people helping people. > > When my great, great Granny accepted the $9 a month to feed a widows' 4 > children she did not beg. The Whitneys are too proud to beg. > > She was accepting help from a grieving nation trying to rebuilt the broken > families from a war. > > > > And if the US government sees fit to help a wife who lost her husband > in this latest war, I will say that is good. And I will > > be proud to lay beside that fallen soldier at the Veterans Cemetery when I > am laid to rest. > > > > James E. Whitney,II > > I am a veteran and thankful to God for all the people who helped me in my > life- I am NOT a self made man. > > I > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WHITNEY-request -at- rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:27:22 -0400 From: "Ken Whitney" <ken.whitney -at- comcast.net> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: <whitney -at- rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <003201c6e1cb$c218be50$6500a8c0 -at- Whitneycomp> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Whit, Your conclusion is not really one that I had thought of. I guess that I didn't realize that poverty is genetic in origin. I will have to give that some thought. I hoped through the presentation of these pension file abstracts that people would be able to connect with their roots. I also hoped that people would realize that we owe a great debt of gratitude to our forefathers, who sacrificed a chance to better themselves in order to fight for their country. I also realize that they were not all atruistic. They needed the money. Those were tough times, especially for the folks in Maine. Sort of like today, only worse. My family spent over 250 years in Maine before we went "away". My family has never had a lot of money, but we have fought in every war in which this country has become engaged. I guess my branch must be genetically thawed, but I hope that some of my ancestors were altruistic, and did the right thing. I'll give it a bit of thought. I realized long ago that every one of these soldiers who applied for a pension was suffering in the depths of poverty. Everyone who has gained knowledge from the contents of these applications of their connection to the family, and I will tell you that there are quite a few, has probably considered themselves lucky that their ancestor made application. My hope is that they also realize the poverty in which they lived, and are grateful for their own circumstances today. I have a number of pension files left to be abstacted, and there are more to be obtained. If I have offended anyone, I apologise, and will cease and desist. I will leave it up to my fellow list members. Please let me know whether I should continue or desist. I guess I could just collect pension files and publish the results for a profit. I guess that's what it is to be an American today. Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: "Whit Mcclelland" <whitmcclelland -at- webtv.net> To: <WHITNEY -at- rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 9:00 AM Subject: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions > Over the past 6 months I have read multiple postings of Civil War pension > requests by various and sundry members of the extended WHITNEY clan who, > by and large, were certainly not in the higher social strata and became > draftees or enlistees who rarely made it above buck private in the Union > Army prior to discharge. > > My further reading shows that "chronic diarrhea" (among other assorted > maladies)was persistently one of the main reasons for discharge from > service and the pension applicants subsequent lifelong inability to rise > in status and being forced to beg for a meager pension just to get by > while living a wretched and tortured hardscrabble life. > Talk about "Litanies of Woe!" > > Let's hope these souls DNA didn't travel far or we, their survivors, would > be dining at our local soup kitchen for the homeless and chronically > infirm and collecting welfare and food stamps. > > Whit McClelland > Ponte Vedra FL > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WHITNEY-request -at- rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:37:35 -0400 From: "Ken Whitney" <ken.whitney -at- comcast.net> Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions To: <whitney -at- rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <005301c6e1cd$20c22ee0$6500a8c0 -at- Whitneycomp> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Jeanne, Another thoughtful reply. Thanks a lot for your contribution. Ken Whitney Silver Spring, MD ----- Original Message ----- From: <Ngigi616 -at- aol.com> To: <whitney -at- rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 1:16 PM Subject: Re: [WHITNEY] WHITNEY Civil War afflictions > Alan, you are absolute correct. > [Source: Atlas Editions; Civil War Cards] > "The number of soldiers who died of loose bowels is staggering. > According to Union Records of the 1,739,135 cases, 57,265 Yankees died of > dysentery or diarrhea compared with 44,238 men dying in battle," > > The reasons for this were given as over crowded living conditions, poor > diet, > communal use of cooking and eating utensils, and latrines placed usually > upstream from camps. > > Other dreaded diseases were smallpox, yellow fever, pneumonia, malaria, > and I > am sure that I forgot a few. I do not have any statistics on these > diseases, > but I am sure that they would be equally staggering. Smallpox raged across > North Alabama and Mississippi, in 1863, with devastating effects on the > military > and civilian population. > > The point here is that a virus or bacteria , even today, attacks the human > organism at will, irregardless of socio-economic status. The difference > is that > today we do have medicines. > > Jeanne Neilon > GG Granddaughter of Captain Isaac Marion Whitney > 22nd Alabama Infantry, Company I > Confederate States of America > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WHITNEY-request -at- rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------ To contact the WHITNEY list administrator, send an email to WHITNEY-admin -at- rootsweb.com. To post a message to the WHITNEY mailing list, send an email to WHITNEY -at- rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to WHITNEY-request -at- rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of WHITNEY Digest, Vol 1, Issue 19 **************************************

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