Summing up my visit to the Library of Virginia in Richmond yesterday is easy: it was like unleashing an unsupervised child in a candy store for eight sugar-coma-inducing solid hours. Frankly, I think I was discovering new information about every 5 to 10 minutes as I worked my way around the local history and genealogical section of the 2nd floor. Late in the day, I got so tired of carrying armfuls of books back to my table, I decided it would be simpler if I just pulled my chair up to the bookshelves. So that’s what I did. No one seemed to mind as we were all doing the same thing: find a book covering a place where your ancestor lived, flip to the index in the back of the book and hold your breath. You could always tell when someone found something relevant as the sound of “shutters” opening and closing on iPhone and iPad cameras quietly signaled that a genealogical gem had been unearthed.
My day started in the microfilm section. I recently learned in a book about Revolutionary War veterans who settled in Kentucky that one of the Martin Tranthams served in the “Illinois Regiment” under George Rogers Clark. (My mother would have gone ga-ga over this revelation – more on that later.) I have very strong opinions about which Martin Trantham took up arms during and after our fight for independence. There were three men named Martin Trantham living at this time – father, son and grandson. I believe it was the grandson, my 5th great grandfather, who enlisted as a young man and continued serving after the war. This theory of mine is supported by Lewis Peach’s infamous 1884 letter in which he identified the “grandson” as the Revolutionary War soldier. It doesn’t make sense to me that the father and son, who were running plantations at the time, dropped everything to become soldiers. But I digress.
A few weeks ago, I emailed an archivist at the Library of Virginia and asked if they had any information about Clark’s “Illinois Regiment” which came out of Virginia. Surely, the list of soldiers that appeared in the book had to have been sourced from original documents. An archivist responded the same day letting me know that those documents were available on microfilm.
Document 28 on “miscellaneous” reel 1384 revealed that Private Martin Trantham served for a period of 14 months and 15 days commencing on April 29, 1779. For his service, he was compensated 29 pounds in “Virginia Currency”. He was discharged at the end of his service. That’s important to note because there are really only three outcomes – discharged, deserted or death.
I had a few serendipitous moments while researching Private Martin. First, my mother’s mother was a “Clark” whose ancestors came from Virginia. George Rogers Clark, also from Virginia, might be a relative. George’s younger brother was the “Clark” of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. One of the members of the expedition was Charles Floyd. A fellow Trantham researcher believes he might also be related and the inspiration behind the “Floyd” name given to her ancestor and to my 3rd great grandfather, Robert Floyd Trantham. Second, speaking of names, I have often wondered why Martin Trantham might have named his son and my 4th great grandfather, “Jesse”. Did this name have significance? Maybe so.
Document 28 contains the payroll records of the soldiers who served under the direct command of Captain Jesse Evans. Perhaps this officer made a lasting impression on the young soldier who was my ancestor.
Kenfolk: Tranthams
Relation: Ancestor
Common ancestors: Yes