Wow.
Check this out.
My poor, well-meaning great-great-great grandfather had an article written about him in 1935.
"Indiana Evening Gazette", Wed, June 26, 1935 (Indiana, Pa.)
Civil War Veteran, at 90, Recalls Fall of Richmond, Aaron Kanarr Enlisted as Boy of 19; Regiment Highly Honored, Picnic For Birthday.
INDIANA, PA June 26--Aaron Kanarr, one of the few survivors of Company F, 206 Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, lived over again the fast moving days of 1864-65 as he told of some of his Civil War experiences on the eve of his 90th birthday anniversary last Friday. Mr. Kanarr, who has lived the past 12 years at 125 North Second street, has shown gratifying improvement after a serious illness. As a boy of 19 he enlisted at Indiana in August, 1864, serving in Company F until two months after the close of the war. His regiment, passing the winter in quarters near Richmond, was the first to enter that city when it was captured April 3, 1865.
'When we were mustered out at Richmond June 26, 1865, our commander, General Dandy, paid us high tribute as the first regiment to display the Stars and Stripes in the 'City of Traitors,' as everybody knew Richmond in those days,' comrade Kanarr reminisced. 'The scenes as we entered the capitol of the Confederacy are still fresh in my mind. A large section of the city had been burned by the enemy in its evacuation and bridges had also gone up in flames in their attempt to stay our progress. Part of our force was immediately put to work to quell the fires and part of it was assigned to guard the ammunition. I was assigned to the latter duty but got ample opportunity to look around. I remember going into the smaller of two mills where wheat for the Rebel soldier's wheat had been ground. It was a large place, with nine water wheels, but a man at the mill told me that a larger one, then in ruins, had had double the capacity of the one left standing. The people were friendly enough, considering that we were a triumphant foe.'
Settling in the eastern part of the state after the war, the Indiana veteran worked for a number of years at Lancaster and Carlisle. Disappointed in a business venture, the manufacture of bed springs in accordance with patent rights he had purchased, he turned to carpentry and devoted most of his life to that trade.
Mr. Kanarr's wit and philosophy leave a delightful impression. 'Even as a boy,' he says, 'I made it a point to be observant and to get the other fellow's point of view. So, when we got to Richmond, I talked with a number of Negros to learn what they thought of the freedom ahead of them. Most of them were overjoyed, but I met up with one old darkey who, with sad eyes, said his lot couldn't be better than it was under his master. It seemed to me that it wasn't any different than the way people handle their horses; some by kind treatment get many years faithful service, and others, who aren't so kind, get little in return.' His wit bubbled forth when he remarked that he was 'born on the longest day of the year and grew to be quite long--almost six feet tall.'
Mr. Kanarr's birthplace was Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, three miles from Greensburg. He is a son of John and Annie (Bender) Kanarr, who reared a family of seven children. Of the seven, the only one living besides Mr. Kanarr is Mrs. E. L. Stapleton, Wayne, O., who was 80 last month. His wife, the former Susan Ruffner, died in 1888. He has three children-- Mrs. Minnie Stephens, Pittman, N.J.; Josiah H. Kanarr, Honolulu, and Rev. J.E. Kanarr, Boise, Ida. Five other children are dead. Mr. Kanarr has 14 grandchildren, and the same number of great-grandchildren.
Voting for Lincoln in 1864, he followed Republican convictions except on two occasions when he voted for 'middle of the road' candidates for president.
Mr. Kanarr was agreeably surprised on his anniversary by a number of relatives and friends who gathered for a picnic dinner.
Present were Mrs. Minnie Stephens, who came from her home in New Jersey; Mrs. Nancy J. Kanarr and Arron, Paul, and Norma Jane Kanarr, near Cherry Tree; Charles Kanarr and Charles, Jr., James and Billy Kanarr, near Hillsdale; Mr. and Mrs. James Biss and Lois Ruth Biss*, near Hillsdale; Mrs. Martha Kanarr of Indiana*; Rev. and Mrs. J.F. McKnight of Cookport and Miss Margaret Taylor of Bowdertown."
*In the article there, Martha Kanarr and the Bisses are my great aunts. My grandmother and great-grandmother didn't celebrate birthdays, so hence they were not in attendance.
Of course, I don't exactly approve of him using the words 'darkey,' but I have a feeling it was more a symptom of the times, rather than being a racist. The meat of what he's saying is probably sadly true. He sounds like he was probably a pretty cool person.
I come from a line of bed-spring manufacturerers. Yes.
My poor, well-meaning great-great-great grandfather had an article written about him in 1935.
"Indiana Evening Gazette", Wed, June 26, 1935 (Indiana, Pa.)
Civil War Veteran, at 90, Recalls Fall of Richmond, Aaron Kanarr Enlisted as Boy of 19; Regiment Highly Honored, Picnic For Birthday.
INDIANA, PA June 26--Aaron Kanarr, one of the few survivors of Company F, 206 Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, lived over again the fast moving days of 1864-65 as he told of some of his Civil War experiences on the eve of his 90th birthday anniversary last Friday. Mr. Kanarr, who has lived the past 12 years at 125 North Second street, has shown gratifying improvement after a serious illness. As a boy of 19 he enlisted at Indiana in August, 1864, serving in Company F until two months after the close of the war. His regiment, passing the winter in quarters near Richmond, was the first to enter that city when it was captured April 3, 1865.
'When we were mustered out at Richmond June 26, 1865, our commander, General Dandy, paid us high tribute as the first regiment to display the Stars and Stripes in the 'City of Traitors,' as everybody knew Richmond in those days,' comrade Kanarr reminisced. 'The scenes as we entered the capitol of the Confederacy are still fresh in my mind. A large section of the city had been burned by the enemy in its evacuation and bridges had also gone up in flames in their attempt to stay our progress. Part of our force was immediately put to work to quell the fires and part of it was assigned to guard the ammunition. I was assigned to the latter duty but got ample opportunity to look around. I remember going into the smaller of two mills where wheat for the Rebel soldier's wheat had been ground. It was a large place, with nine water wheels, but a man at the mill told me that a larger one, then in ruins, had had double the capacity of the one left standing. The people were friendly enough, considering that we were a triumphant foe.'
Settling in the eastern part of the state after the war, the Indiana veteran worked for a number of years at Lancaster and Carlisle. Disappointed in a business venture, the manufacture of bed springs in accordance with patent rights he had purchased, he turned to carpentry and devoted most of his life to that trade.
Mr. Kanarr's wit and philosophy leave a delightful impression. 'Even as a boy,' he says, 'I made it a point to be observant and to get the other fellow's point of view. So, when we got to Richmond, I talked with a number of Negros to learn what they thought of the freedom ahead of them. Most of them were overjoyed, but I met up with one old darkey who, with sad eyes, said his lot couldn't be better than it was under his master. It seemed to me that it wasn't any different than the way people handle their horses; some by kind treatment get many years faithful service, and others, who aren't so kind, get little in return.' His wit bubbled forth when he remarked that he was 'born on the longest day of the year and grew to be quite long--almost six feet tall.'
Mr. Kanarr's birthplace was Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, three miles from Greensburg. He is a son of John and Annie (Bender) Kanarr, who reared a family of seven children. Of the seven, the only one living besides Mr. Kanarr is Mrs. E. L. Stapleton, Wayne, O., who was 80 last month. His wife, the former Susan Ruffner, died in 1888. He has three children-- Mrs. Minnie Stephens, Pittman, N.J.; Josiah H. Kanarr, Honolulu, and Rev. J.E. Kanarr, Boise, Ida. Five other children are dead. Mr. Kanarr has 14 grandchildren, and the same number of great-grandchildren.
Voting for Lincoln in 1864, he followed Republican convictions except on two occasions when he voted for 'middle of the road' candidates for president.
Mr. Kanarr was agreeably surprised on his anniversary by a number of relatives and friends who gathered for a picnic dinner.
Present were Mrs. Minnie Stephens, who came from her home in New Jersey; Mrs. Nancy J. Kanarr and Arron, Paul, and Norma Jane Kanarr, near Cherry Tree; Charles Kanarr and Charles, Jr., James and Billy Kanarr, near Hillsdale; Mr. and Mrs. James Biss and Lois Ruth Biss*, near Hillsdale; Mrs. Martha Kanarr of Indiana*; Rev. and Mrs. J.F. McKnight of Cookport and Miss Margaret Taylor of Bowdertown."
*In the article there, Martha Kanarr and the Bisses are my great aunts. My grandmother and great-grandmother didn't celebrate birthdays, so hence they were not in attendance.
Of course, I don't exactly approve of him using the words 'darkey,' but I have a feeling it was more a symptom of the times, rather than being a racist. The meat of what he's saying is probably sadly true. He sounds like he was probably a pretty cool person.
I come from a line of bed-spring manufacturerers. Yes.