The current trend in family history is to include social history with your genealogy. It adds personality and life to your pedigree and family history charts.

Social history is the study of the times when your ancestor lived. It provides answers to all kinds of questions; such as, why did they have so many children or so few? Where did they ever gfind the name for that poor child?

A wealth of historical information can be found right at home—in family Bibles, keepsakes, photographs, and personal correspondence. For instance, we have a letter written from St. Louis, Missouri, on October 26, 1864 by a Civil War veteran to his future wife:

"I received your always welcome letter today. I was happy to hear from you, and that you were well. I have been sick for a week back, could sit up but a little and then back to bed. But I am getting better fast. Shall try and get a Pass next week to go home. They are going to take names for Passes tomorrow. I think I shall gain faster at home. It is raining now on the roof making lonesome music. It is a dark lonesome day, which makes me feel sad. I wish you were here an hour, how much better I should feel.

"I was just a talking with a young fellow who just came here to day. He had a 30 day furlow and when it was gone he went to a Citizen Doctor and got a paper from him saying he was not able to travel, and he took the paper to the Provost Marshal and he signed it, and sent it to the surgeon of the Hospital, and they extended his furlow 30 days more. Well it is getting most dark, and I will have to close this short letter soon. I hope it will be fair weather when I get home for I hate mud so bad. But is getting too late in the fall to expect good weather.

"How I would like to have a sing with you and dear sister Libbie tonight But I can't. But I can think sing if that will do. Some time I burst out singing — can't help it."

What a wealth of information we have in the letter. We see into his personality, and we see how soldiers dealt with boredom and sickness. The letter cries out to the family historian to research the times and to include information about what was going on when the soldier penned this personal note.

Information on Civil War diseases can add to the information in this letter.

An excellent Internet site is Civil War Medical Care.

© 2000–2009

Connie Lenzen, CG^SM

CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certified genealogists after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.