I had a conversation with my dad on Friday about his ancestors who fought in the Civil War.  I thought it would fun and interesting to put together a list, with a summary of each person’s military service.  I’ve also included each person’s relationship to my dad (as opposed to me, which is my usual practice.)

James B. Butler, my dad’s great-great grandfather – Prior to the Civil War, James served in the U. S. Army, fighting in the Second Seminole War in Florida.  He enlisted on October 5, 1837 for a period of six months.  He served as a Private under Captain Abram Chastain in the 1st Regiment of Georgia Mtd. Volunteers, commanded by Col. E. W. Chastain.

James enlisted in the Confederate Army on June 17, 1861 in Adairsville, GA. He was mustered in at Camp McDonald as a private in Colonel Wofford’s 18th Georgia Regiment, Company F. He spent at least 60 days in the hospital for nephritis and bronchitis. Due to these illnesses, he was declared unfit for duty and was discharged on November 6, 1861 at Camp Goldsboro, North Carolina.  James re-enlisted and served in the 18th GA Infantry, Company H. On September 2, 1864, he was at Jackson Hospital in Richmond, VA and given a 30-day furlough to go to Atkins, GA. He was captured in the hospital at Richmond, VA on April 3, 1865.  He was transferred to Libby Prison in Richmond, then to Newport News, VA, where he was released on June 15, 1865.

Benjamin Burgin Hemphill, Dad’s great-great grandfather – Ben enlisted in the Confederate Army on March 10, 1862 at Spring Place for a period of 3 years or until the end of the war.  He was a 5th Sergeant in Company A, 39th Georgia Infantry.  He was captured at the Siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 and paroled “according to the terms of capitulation entered into by the commanding Generals of the United States and Confederate forces July 4, 1863.” He signed his oath of allegiance to the United States on July 8, 1863.  He appears on a list of men of the 39th Georgia regiment who were furloughed at Enterprise, Miss about July 22, 1863.  He appears on the muster roll of officers and men “paroled in accordance with the terms of a Military Convention entered into on the 26th day of April, 1865, between General Joseph E. Johnston, Commanding Confederate Army, and Major General W. T. Sherman, Commanding United States Army in North Carolina.”

Francis Marion Kendrick, Dad’s great-grandfather – Francis served as a Private, then a Sergeant, in Company B, 29th Tennessee Infantry in the Confederate Army.  He was captured in Murray County on January 21, 1864 and sent to the Union prison at Rock Island, in Illinois, on January 31, 1864.  Francis spent nine and a half months as a prisoner at Rock Island.

On October 13, 1864, in exchange for his release from Rock Island, Francis enlisted as a private in the 3rd U. S. Volunteers, Company A for a period of one year. The company arrived at Fort Kearny in Nebraska on April 9, 1865. Francis spent his time in the U. S. Army as a stock hand. He mustered out of the U. S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on November 29, 1865.

William West, Dad’s great-grandfather – William served as a private in Company D, Lillard’s 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry, Confederate Army.  He enlisted on March 1, 1862, in Benton, Tennessee, for a period of three years or until the end of  the war.  He spent several months as a patient in the hospital in Meridian, Mississippi in 1862 and 1863, returning to active duty on March 5, 1863.  He was captured at the seige of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.

In addition to these ancestors, my dad (and I) have other, more distant, relatives who fought in the Civil War, mostly on the Confederate side, but at least one who fought in the Union Army.

Hemphill is the most common surname in my genealogy database for good reason.  I descend from Hemphills on both sides of my family and through multiple lines with all lines leading to the same common ancestor.  Today, I’m going to work my way backward through Hemphill ancestors (using Ahnentafel numbers) to the first common ancestor, identifying some of the multiple ways that they are related to each other and to me.

Ahnentafel #6 – John Edward HEMPHILL (1916 – 2004) is my maternal grandfather.  He drove an ambulance in Europe during World War II, was a farmer, and school bus driver.  He loved children and children loved him.  He was one of my favorite people and I still miss him.  He is also my 2^nd cousin 3x removed, 3^rd cousin 3x removed, 3^rd cousin 4x removed, and 4^th cousin twice removed.

Ahnentafel #12 – John Edward’s father (my great-grandfather) is James Alexander HEMPHILL (1879 – 1936).  He is my first Hemphill ancestor to be born in Murray County, GA and lived here most of his life.  In 1919 or early 1920, he rented a rail car, packed up his entire family and farm (including the livestock) and moved south to Fitzgerald, GA for a few years.  J. A. is also my 1^st cousin 4x removed, 2^nd cousin 4x removed, 2^nd cousin 5x removed, and 3^rd cousin 3x removed.

Ahnentafel #21 – Malinda Josephine HEMPHILL (1860 – 1933), my first Hemphill ancestor on the paternal side of my family, is my great-great-grandmother.  She and J. A. (#12) were (half) first cousins, which makes her my first cousin three times removed on my mother’s side.  She’s also my 2^nd cousin 3x removed, 2^nd cousin 4x removed, and 3^rd cousin twice removed.

Ahnentafel #24 – James Young HEMPHILL (1835 – 1890) is J. A.’s (#12) father.  He is my great-great-grandfather on my mother’s side.  He was born in Burke County, North Carolina and moved to Murray County between 1850 and 1860.  He had three children with his first wife, Rhoda McEntire.  When Rhoda died, J. Y. married her sister, Mary Elizabeth, and had six more children. I descend from Mary Elizabeth.  J. Y. was also my third great-grand uncle and first cousin five times removed.

Ahnentafel #42 – Benjamin Burgin HEMPHILL (1826 – 1909) is Josephine’s (#21) father and J. Y.’s (#24) half-brother.  He is my great-great-great-grandfather on my father’s side.  Ben also came to Murray County between 1850 and 1860.  I think he came to Murray County first, because J. Y. and Rhoda were living with him in 1860.  Ben fought in the Civil War and was captured at Vicksburg.  Ben is also my second great-grand uncle and first cousin five times removed.

Ahnentafel #48 and #84 – Thomas McEntire HEMPHILL (1796 – 1874) is the first common ancestor.  He was J. Y.’s (#24) and Ben’s (#42) father.  Ben was born to his first wife, Malinda Burgin.  And then we have:

Ahnentafel #49 – Margaret HEMPHILL (1799 – 1862) was Thomas Mc. Hemphill’s second wife and J. Y.’s mother.  She and Thomas were first cousins, once removed.  This makes Thomas my third great-grandfather and fourth great-grandfather, as well as fourth and fifth grand uncle.  Margaret is my third great-grandmother and 2^nd cousin 4x removed.

The Hemphill line can be traced back several more generations.  I’ll write about those Hemphill’s in a later post.

More about the Hemphill family:

• A complete list of deceased Hemphill’s in my genealogy database.
• Posts about Hemphill ancestors and relatives on this blog.
• Hemphill documents, photos, and headstones.

If you have additional information (or corrections) on these Hemphill lines, comments are most appreciated!

This post is part of an ongoing series focusing on specific surnames. To see all posts in the series, click here.