Interesting find concerning my Confederate ancestor

[Doc Sportello]

6. You're right we don't get to pick our ancestors

That's why I don't really get why people are proud because they have an ancestor who accomplished this or that. For all we know they may have been successful in business but a horrible person otherwise. All we as descendants can do is try to understand history and keep on pointing the way away from racism, greed and dominion that many in past generations relied on to conquer and control. It's diffferent of course for more recent relatives who may have done good or bad, despite knowing much of what we know now.

I have researched my own patrilineal descent beginning in Gettysburg in the 1700s and found in his will that our first ancestor here bequeathed a "slave girl" to his wife. As the Scots-Irish so often did, the younger sons who didn't inherit much made their way south, where one fought for the Confederacy. Like your story the prospects declined over the centuries and most were working class or middle class. I haven't found evidence they owned enslaved people but if they didn't I would think that is more due to their lack of affluence.