Visiting James Moseley’s homeplace
My guides Robert Ivey and John Robertson pose near where Old Hi-key’s house once stood. Near Grindals Shoals Union Co. SC
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Old Union Cemetery, Union South Carolina
Here rest many of the founding families of Union County SC. Included here is the Brandon family including Colonel Thomas Brandon, whose brigade James Moseley and John Foster served during the Revolution.
Civil War on the Frontier – Fort Scott, Kansas
Elton and Greg at Fort Scott KS Fort Scott Kansas, home to the 2nd Kansas Battery of Light Artillery We travelled the road along the Kansas side of the Kansas/Missouri border. We visited Baxter Springs and Fort Scott.
Jasper County Missouri
Jasper County was where Jarrett Foster and his family settled when they came to MO. It is one county west of Lawrence Co. where Frederick and his family settled. It is bordered on the west by Kansas. These western MO counties were the scene of plenty of guerilla violence and intimidation during Bleeding Kansas and […]
Lawrence County Missouri
Lawrence Co. MO was home tto Fredrick Foster and his family when they settled in MO. Brother Jarrett settled one county further west, Jasper Co. These were both well populated with southern famillies and were infact part of the state that seperated from the official government and sesseeded from the union. The southern counties of […]
Grindal Shoals, Union Co. South Carolina
Approaching Grindal Shoals2a I took this picture because I recognized this must be the Pacolet River valley. What I didn’t know is that I was standing next to James Moseley’s homestead and that the land in the middle distance was Foster and Jasper property.
Under Construction
There has been a sleepy time of quiet satisfaction and reflection after visiting South Carolina. The blog page has been untouched by me until today. This fall Julie Anne McRae, my colleague at the AWNA and web designer extraordinare, has drastically improved the look of the page and it’s ability to display photos. The content […]
Epilogue to my visit to South Carolina
In reality my “mysterious” Fosters aren’t that much of a mystery. Not much was known about them simply because the work of hunting back and finding and promoting the records hasn’t been done – at least by anyone we in Canada have been in touch with. The Fosters of Grindal Shoals, Union County, South Carolina […]
Home
Just got in and am stretched out on my own bed trying to convince myself the last nine days was not a dream. This morning I returned to Spartanburg Library. Brad was not there however he had left his Moseley research for me. WOW what an extensive and complete collection of documents. What I hadn’t […]
Farewell to the homesteads
My last visit out to Grindal Shoals proved I have become rather attached to these places. It was hard to want to leave. I took videos to really capture a sense of the lay of the land and the sounds but they are too large to post here. They will be edited down and posted […]
Foster, Tim: The meeting by the cornfield
Tim is from a family of Fosters probably related back in Virginia. He is a deputy sheriff and a re-enactor at Walnut Grove Plantation. We enjoyed an animated visit out near his corn garden. He pointed out the bronze plaque at Foster Chapel. It’s a black church but the land was donated by an ancestor […]
Musgrove’s Mill Historic Site Union Co. South Carolina
A battle of the Revolution was fought at Musgrove’s Mill. It is a BEAUTIFULL site. I toured only part of it with time being short. Brandon’s Brigade was here. A key part of the battle took place at the shoal of the river where the armies could cross. The Patriots lured the British across the […]
Blackstock’s Battlefield
On the way to meet Tim Foster I stopped off for a quick visit to the Blackstock’s battlefield. On the path in from the parking area one walks through some dense forrest. I caught site of the red tail of a fox trotting on up ahead. Then a lizard scampered across my path. The air […]
Rose Hill Plantation
Rose Hill was the home of South Carolina’s Cessation Governor Gist. Flying here are pre-Confederate flags. The site is maintained in period ways including the corn in the garden which must have been ten feet tall. Interpretive Ranger Charles A Barreras of Augusta Georgia showed me around brilliantly.
Old Union Cemetery, Union South Carolina
The graves of the old original Union Church are the most ancient I have seen. Here are some fascinating examples. Also buried here are the Brandon family, including the commander of John Foster and James Moseley’s regiment, Brandon’s Brigade – Colonel Thomas Brandon.
Presidential Visit, Union South Carolina
Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America visited Union. When he did he dined at the residence of Governor Wallace. The call went out for fine silverware and for items like sugar which was scarce. It is said when the party sat down to dine there was fine silver (now on display […]
Last Day in Union SC
Made it back to Union this morning to visit again with Ola Jean Kelly and the crew. She confirmed for me that the sore on my right shin is a fire ant bite. I managed to tie up some remaining loose ends and got both my picture with Hi-Ky Moseley’s tooth pullers and also Miss […]
Surprising Artifact
There was one other item I picked up at Moseley’s home place. I wanted to show it to Ola Jean Kelly and make sure my imagination wasn’t getting the best of me. Here it is, Ola Jean confirms it is an indian arrowhead with its pointy tip broken off. Cherokee and Catabwa indians certainly hunted […]
Blackstock’s Battlefield site
A winding sideroad leads to Blackstock’s battlefield. Col. Brandon was here. Perhaps Moseley and Foster too. On the path in from the parking area one walks through some dense forrest. I caught site of the red tail of a fox trotting on up ahead. Then a lizard scampered across my path. The air was full […]
John Jasper lands and James Moseley’s gravesite
After revisiting Foster land, I walked on to the Jasper property and walked back in to visit Old Hi-Ky’s gravesite again. Or maybe I should say Grandpa’s.
Grindal Shoals Union Co. SC John Foster lands
Yesterday afternoon I revisited the Foster, Jasper and Moseley properties. This time I was on my own and had all the time I needed to sped with these places. Long pants on, pantlegs tucked inside socks and all layers of skin and clothes covered in bug repellent, I strolled the land John Foster bought from […]
Spartanburg Library
Spartanburg has a great library. I made copies of several pages that may contain information related to these Fosters. One new fact DID emerge. After moving to Tennessee, Jared (Jarrett) Foster (thats the son of John Foster and the father of Andrew J.) fought in the Cherokee War. He is listed as Private Jarret Foster, […]
Monck's Corner and Orangeburg
Deciding not to see Savannah and Augusta meant more time in Charleston and also the chance to stop by and see a couple of battle sites that Brandon’s Brigade fought at. James Moseley said in his pension applications that he saw action here. Perhaps John Foster did too and I hope to find out for […]
Charles-Towne Landing 1680
The preserved site of the original settlement. Amazing old trees.
Downtown Charleston by Day
That is HMCS Athabascan in port at Charleston Harbour. The cobblestone has an interesting story. When British ships were hauling goods from the colonies, they made the trip back to the new world empty. To make them stable, they put ballast stones in the holds of their ships. These stones were then dumped and replaced […]
The beach Fort Moutrie
The Atlantic at South Carolina is warm, the currents have brought warm water up from the Caribbean.
Fort Moutrie, Charleston Harbour South Carolina
One of the forts that have protected Charleston Harbour. This one dates from the Revolution and is the place where Sgt. William Jasper (the brother of James Moseley’s wife Nancy Anna Jasper) became a national hero. It was still unfinished when the British fleet began firing on it. The Palmetto logs used in its construction were […]
Charleston the evening I arrived
Headed out to Patriot’s Point. USS Yorktown is moored there as part of the Naval Museum. Then downtown to Market Street in the French Quarter. A warm and sultry Saturday night and the streets were full of people from all over the world. Many dressed to the nines. Its like Whyte Avenue and 17th Ave […]
The South Carolina State House in Columbia
South Carolina’s capital building. This building is notable for a couple of things. Union General Sherman sacked Columbia near the end of the Civil War. The building shows the damage from Union cannons that stood over across the river and lobbed cannonballs at the building. Essentially vandalism. The other notable is the flag that flies […]
A look at the State Archives
The South Carolina Geneology Society Workshop took place at the State Archives. Here are some pics of it. The big document that one of the staff is holding up for me is the original of the Ordinance of Cessasion of the Confederate States of America (signed for South Carolina by J.S.Sims). The room the original […]