Wednesday Wonders

Today I wondered what it would have been like for the women who were left behind during the Civil War in the south, particularly Alabama and Mississippi.  The typical picture is Scarlet fleeing her burned plantation and rebuilding somewhere else waiting, toiling and worrying.  Was this an accurate representation? I doubt it.

The majority of people who went to war, who owned farms, were not plantation owners, but regular farmers with families. So what did their wives, mothers and children do while they were away? What did they do when the soldiers came to their farms? When their city or town as over-run by Union soldiers, how did they deal with it? Did they cooperate, did they flee, were they killed or robbed?

While I have a pretty clear picture of the men in my Civil War project family, I don't know much of the women in that family during that time frame. There were no major census between 1861-1865 and particularly in Alabama, the state census didn't occur until 1866.  I think the best way to come across information is to contact a local historian.  My first step was to call the library of that area.

Unfortunately, I had gotten a back up person who only filled in occasionally, and she was not from the area.  But, she did give me info that the person who usually works there is an elder in the community and a local historian. She let me know when to call back. 

I'm sure she can point me in the direction of some research, and maybe even tell me something herself about the community I'm researching.  I've had a great time trying to find these things out and I hope you too, have fun with your Adventures in Genealogy!