By Alison Gibson –

Thanks to everyone who came to the Kilee Brookbank event last week. I am pleased that we had such a great turnout.  If you missed it, we did purchase a couple of signed copies of the book “Beautiful Scars” that are available for purchase.
Next Tuesday June 21st at 7:00 p.m. we are looking forward to the genealogy program provided by Melody Kokensparger. As a professional genealogist, Melody knows the ins and outs of the courthouses, cemeteries, libraries as well as a wealth of databases now available.
She will be talking about some of the resources both print and online as well as start everyone off with a few ancestry sheets. Since she will be discussing some of the online databases,  if you want to bring your laptop or tablet along, please feel free to do so. This is a free program and everyone is welcome.
I couldn’t decide what little history tidbit to write about this week, so I used the random method of opening a drawer and pulling a file out. This week will be a few Civil War veteran obituaries.
Some are quite lengthy, so here are some abridged obits:
John B. Gaddis, son of Rev. John Gaddis, died in hospital near Farmington, Army of the Mississippi July 23 (1862). Born in 1834, John was a teacher of common schools. For more than ten months he labored and suffered as a soldier, during which time he was wounded in three different engagements, the last being so severe he was removed to hospital, and contracted fever.
Napoleon Shackelford, colored, died last Sunday evening (April 14, 1906) at his home in the West End of town after a long illness. He served as a soldier in the Civil War.
Fred Rutz, native of Germany born in 1835, came to America when he was 15 years old. He was a shoemaker by trade as well as a large retail dealer in boots and shoes. He was a Union soldier in the late civil war (sic) and was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. (Ripley Bee July 3, 1889)
Battle At Pittsburg Landing! The German Band! Death of Lieut. Henry Sacher. Capt. Cockerill’s Battery. (Long article on the battle in the April 17, 1862 Ripley Bee) “Nearly all the officers were killed and wounded, among whom is Lieut. Sacher, of Ripley, who was killed while making a gallant charge and encouraging his men.”