By: Mark Holtsberry
Stop the Press
Research can be a neat thing, well, only if it gets you the information without digging too deep and if you get the results that you want without question.
Well, anyone who knows me, knows I cannot get that lucky all the time. Then what happens, I discover something and I don’t know when to leave it alone. Case in point, after writing about Andrew C. Jackson, part 1 and 2, I thought something was not right, so, I got on my belly and crawled on my callused elbows, and went back down that rabbit hole to find another path. And guess what I found? Another Andrew C. Jackson!
Now, Andrew Cass Jackson of the 10th Indiana Infantry, is buried in Hedges Cemetery. I researched the folks that are buried around him to verify that he is who he is. He was born in 1843 and he died June 29, 1932. The person who signed the death verification was J. Jackson, which turned out to be a nephew. Now this should clear up things a bit right? No! His military grave registration card, which is on file in the Recorders Office at the Court House, lists the birth and death dates of the other Andrew C. Jackson! Now this is no fault of the Recorders Office, as this information comes from the state.
Now, where oh where is the other Andrew C. Jackson? Well, I went to the library to check out any obituaries on Andrew C. Jackson, I found two! Andrew Cass Jackson and Andrew Carle Jackson. Now this was the fella that I had originally did the articles on. Andrew Carle Jackson was born October 14, 1842 and died July 12, 1923. The person who signed the death verification was also J. Jackson. Now he was Jesse B. Jackson, the son of Andrew Carle Jackson. He was buried in Live Oak Cemetery.
So I checked my 1940 Veterans Graves Map and he is not listed! Oh crap, but his ex-wife, Lucy, who died two months prior, May 9, 1923, is also buried in Live Oak as well as her parents. But she and her parents are not listed in the cemetery inscriptions book. Well, I see a field trip in the future, if it ever stops raining! As far as the third Andrew C. Jackson, never mind, he is still in Kansas, he never moved. O.K. that was not nice or funny. But, I sure kept my contact at the Veterans Administration busy. He did tell me that he has never seen anything like this before.
The Recorders Office was very intrigued, the Health Department was very surprised, and the library was amazed. Well, I am glad that I can entertain so many people! As I crawl out of another rabbit hole, dusty with the truth, choking on the dust of a mystery solved, I hope you the reader, can filter out the dust and debris of the research I uncovered. Oh no, I just thought, I have got to figure out where Andrew Carle Jackson is truly buried so I can get him his Military Stone!
…Until Next Time!
