Short, James 1a

Birth Name Short, James
Gender male
Age at Death 77 years, 11 months, 17 days

Narrative

Ancestry: (English & French) Mother and Father migrated from French Canada to Sedalia Missouri - Also owned property in Kentucky.
(History records major Canadian migration to Missouri circa 1840).
James had several brothers / Sisters.
He was a drummer boy in Civil War - Confederate side.
Father disowned him when he lost farm's annual receipts by gambling.
Was entrusted to deposit cash in bank.
Mother sent him away saying 'Your father will kill you if he learns how you lost the receipts'.
James settled in Joliet, Illinois.
Brought the first black family with him in his horse & buggy (Could have been former slaves from his plantation)
Occupation = Stone Cutter eg. grave markers, etc.
Died around 1920 in Veterans Hospital near Urbana.

Events

Event Date Place Description Sources
Birth 1847 Benton County, Missouri    
Military Service 1864-09-00   50th Missouri Infantry of the Union Army  
Death 1924-12-18 Illinois    
Burial   Danville National Cemetery, Danville, Vermilion, Illinois Danville National Cemetery, Illinois, Section 11, Site 3446  

Parents

Relation to main person Name Birth date Death date Relation within this family (if not by birth)
Father Short, John Jr.1813-09-001903
Mother Hardesty, Elizabeth18141911
    Brother     Short, Joseph 1836
    Sister     Short, Mary J about 1840
         Short, James 1847 1924-12-18

Families

Family of Short, James and Swikert, Carrie

Married Wife Swikert, Carrie ( * about 1854 + 1903 )
   
Event Date Place Description Sources
Marriage 1890-01-02 Grundy County Illinois Marriage of Short, James and Schwiekert, Carrie  
  Children
Name Birth Date Death Date
Short, John\Hans
Short, Arthur18831950
Short, Florence1969
Short, Jessie
Short, Adelaide M1889-03-10
Short, Lizzie
Short, Cordelia Francis1874-12-201957-01-24

Attributes

Type Value Notes Sources
_UID C67A56BF682AD711921200AA0048380EAB50
 

Source References

  1. Robert C Sonders: Mom, Dad, and Their Ancestry
      • Date: 2012-12-12
      • Page: 34-35
      • Confidence: High
      • Source text:

        Great grandpa James Short (1847-1924) was born in Benton County, Missouri in 1847
        to the parents of John Short Jr. (1813-1903) and Elizabeth Hardesty (1814-1911). As the
        story was passed on by the Fields' family, James as a youth, and without his father's approval,
        joined the Confederate Army and served in the Civil War as a drummer boy. This turned out not
        to be exactly correct. He did serve in the Civil War but had enlisted in the 50th Missouri
        Infantry of the Union Army around September, 1864 when he was 17 years old. He was
        stationed in Saint Louis, Missouri, essentially saw no action, and was mustered out on July 3,
        1864. Another story, but this time it's true - after the war, his father, who owned a farm in
        Missouri, entrusted him to deposit the plantation's annual receipts in a bank. Instead, he
        gambled away the farm's receipts. For fear his dad would kill him if leamed how he lost the
        receipts, his mother rushed him quickly away to Joliet, Illinois. Former black slaves from the
        plantation traveled with him in horse and buggy. I was told this was the first time a black family
        ever lived in Joliet. Not surprisingly, his dad disinherited him.

        James excelled as a stone cutter, i.e., he engraved grave markers. He was active in the
        Chautauqua Movement, a popular adult education movement that started in the late 19th century
        and championed the plight of the common people, promoted temperance, and lectured on
        women's suffrage and child labor laws. He bragged that he introduced William Jennings Bryant
        at a meeting by saying, " ... and if you don't elect him as President, I'll put him in the White
        House, myself." Later in life, he stayed in an old soldiers' home east of Champaign-Urbana
        where in 1924 he supposedly committed suicide. Grandma Corals sister-in-law, Hanna Kemp,
        wife of Arthur Short, passionately believed he was murdered. He is buried in Danville National
        Cemetery, Illinois, Section 11, Site 3446. Tragically, great grandma Carrie fell to her death in
        1903 while washing a window on the second floor of their house in Joliet, Illinois.