Just found out that an ancestor testified in the Salem Witchcraft Trials

[csziggy]

10. Quite a few of my ancestors fought in the Civil War

Some of them did not own slaves, though most did. All of Mom's family were Southerners from before the Revolutionary War, Dad's lived in New York and Michigan. None of Dad's family were of the right age - his great grandfather is listed in the draft list, but he had a family and was never drafted.

But Mom's great great grandfather enlisted along with his brothers. He died of pneumonia six weeks after his only son was born and never got to see his child. Some of his brothers died, too. His father enlisted at the age of 62 but I don't know if he ever actually fought.

On another branch, her great great great grandfather ended up with one surviving son, two widowed daughters and a widowed daughter in law with all their children living with him after the war. In his petition for restoration of rights, he claimed he was supporting fourteen grandchildren. He also claimed to have fought in the War of 1812, to never have supported secession, and to have never paid to support the Confederacy. He's interesting in that he also has a link to the Revolutionary War - he gave an affidavit to help a neighbor get a pension for his service in that war.

It's no wonder that Mom's family never glorified the Old South - they lost too many family in the "War of Northern Aggression".