Death Records Now

James McKenna, Black Range Tales, an attack on woodcutters by Apaches in the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico. McKenna, gives the date as ‘the fall of 1872. All ten wood cutters were killed, along with two troopers from Ft. Cummings, and someone named Young, who might, or mightn’t have been military. McKenna describes him as ‘a farrier’.

Eight microfilm of the records from the US Archives have provided hints that McKenna’s dates might be wrong. That the attack might have been 1869, when a mail-carrier named Young was killed [farrier – carrier similarity might explain it]. Or it might be later, during the Victorio wars.

Muster rolls have been pesky, and thus far no reports of the deaths have emerged, though they ought to be in correspondence from Cummings.

A McGurk, Company C, 4th Regiment, under Captain Tucker, Fort Cummings, was one McKenna source.

1st microfilm order assumed Cummings rpts went to Craig. But most seems to be Leavenworth.

Any thoughts where to go next?
Thus far haven’t located McGurk, nor his unit, nor Captain Tucker. But there are a lot of gaps in the Cummings correspondence and reports. I need to find where else they might be located in the archives.

I’d like to do this by buying and searching microfilm, as opposed to hiring a private researcher in Washington.

A "farrier" is someone who shoe’s horses as opposed to a blacksmith. Farriers just make shoes and fit them, blacksmiths do all manner of metal work. He may have been military, or civilian, given the mixed nature of the party. There may well be a typo in later transcripts leading to the carrier/farrier problem. However, I feel a farrier would be infinitely more use to the party, given the chance the wood cutters would have needed him for their horses.

James McKenna, Black Range Tales, an attack on woodcutters by Apaches in the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico. McKenna, gives the date as ‘the fall of 1872. All ten wood cutters were killed, along with two troopers from Ft. Cummings, and someone named Young, who might, or mightn’t have been military. McKenna describes him as ‘a farrier’.

Eight microfilm of the records from the US Archives have provided hints that McKenna’s dates might be wrong. That the attack might have been 1869, when a mail-carrier named Young was killed [farrier – carrier similarity might explain it]. Or it might be later, during the Victorio wars.

Muster rolls have been pesky, and thus far no reports of the deaths have emerged, though they ought to be in correspondence from Cummings.

A McGurk, Company C, 4th Regiment, under Captain Tucker, Fort Cummings, was one McKenna source.

1st microfilm order assumed Cummings rpts went to Craig. But most seems to be Leavenworth.

Any thoughts where to go next?
Thus far haven’t located McGurk, nor his unit, nor Captain Tucker. But there are a lot of gaps in the Cummings correspondence and reports. I need to find where else they might be located in the archives.

I’m wondering whether there’s some record set outside the US Archives containing the names and units of all military personnel who died on active duty.

I’m also wondering whether there are lists somewhere by state containing soldiers killed in each, where and when.

Or any other source you can think of that might help.

I’d like to do this by buying and searching microfilm, as opposed to hiring a private researcher in Washington.
Tiff a ding ding:

As I explained in the question, and again in the details, I’ve already ordered and recieved 8 microfilm spools from the US Archives. They don’t contain the information I’m looking for, but they do contain hints the information exists somewhere. Maybe somewhere else in the archives, such as in the Fort Leavenworth correspondence, or maybe in lists of killed in action, somewhere.
In my experience, genealogists are probably the best researchers remaining in the world today when it comes to ferreting out original, illusive facts and individuals. They provided me with invaluable information I’d never have found had I not found it through them.

Geneologists are doing, today, what historians used to do, but now merely look things up in books written by other historians who took the information from other books by other historians.

You folk who are doing this know more than anyone has any business knowing about how to do what people who call themselves historians ought to be doing.

Whether you can answer this question, or can’t, I tip my hat to you. You have my profound respect.
You folk have put me to work today!

Thanks so much.

I’ve just been through the Grant County burial records site…. Great site, by the way. Found a couple of candidates I’ll try to chase down various other ways. The blacksmith one was buried at Hatchita, which was a bit too far away. But William Young, died 1881, might be the man.

Fort Webster might be the place…. looks as though it was officially closed in 1866, but re-used as a temporary base during the 70s and 80s. I’m guessing there’s no cemetary there, but it was a lot closer to the sawmill where the wood cutters were working, than Fort Cummings. San Lorenzo, also might turn out to be pay dirt.

I thank you.

ANNALS OF OLD FORT CUMMINGS – NEW MEXICO 1967-68, I haven’t located, but I will.

[Some of you New Mexico types might have encountered my book on the Adams guy and his doings – you know who I mean]

Anyway, thunderstorm seems to be coming in up these mountains, so gonna have to unplug.

Thanks until
grannytoad – I still have that T-storm going, but I decided to come back and answer you at the risk of thunder & lightning.

Friend of mine’s been sniffing the back trail of McKenna for 25 years. He found Jason Baxter’s grave in the Gila, found the fabled ‘woman on the mountain’ – gonna be pics of it in his book, and a video available, up there right now doing more ground chasing on the Divide.

Shaffer’s folk are still in Pinos – got the museum up there. You might know them [poor old lady getting too decrepit to talk much anymore]. Anyway, my bud is trying to get his book out – Black Range Tales revisited, with pics of Baxter& McKenna, the grave, the woman, lots of other new stuff. But he can’t do everything, so I’m helping him a bit.

I was skeptical about McKenna when he first contacted me a few years ago… he made a believer of me with what he’s done.

Now it’s just nailing down corners… military records need finding if they can be found, that sort of thing.

Graci
Shaffer isn’t the one writing the book… dunno why I mentioned him, but I surely like his mom, or grandma.

But the old Shaeffer, Fort Cummings thing is a big piece of what might interest some, judging from how things are developing.

Ohhhhhh….we like a good challenge.

While the lamb is grilling, let’s see what we can figure out. I may have to leave you here and there to check the meat.

First question, have you checked out another book of the era called, "ANNALS OF OLD FORT CUMMINGS – NEW MEXICO 1967-68?" If so, did it give any clues?

OK, the first thing I found is that the Leavenworth is probably not the fort in Kansas, but rather a Lieutenant M. H. Leavenworth, 6th Cavalry.

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Here are some publications that I pulled from the University of Michigan library catalogue and a few good biblios that might be of help to you:

Mehren, Lawrence Lindsay. “A History of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, 1869-1881. MA thesis, University of Arizona, 1968

Opler, Morris E. and Catherine H. Opler, “Mescalero Apache History in the Southwest,” New Mexico Historical Review 25 1 (January 1950), 20-21.

Oliva, Leo. Fort Union and the Frontier Army in the Southwest (Santa Fe: National Park Service, 1993)

The Handbook of North American Indians: Southwest V
10. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1983.

Thomas, Alfred . The Mescalero Apache, 1653-1874, Apache Indians XI. NY: Garland Publishing, Inc.: 1974.

Twitchell, Ralph E. Leading Facts of New Mexican History vol 2. Cedar Rapids, IA: Torch Press, 1911.

Gregg, Andy. Drums of Yesterday: The Forts of New Mexico. Santa Fe: The Press of the Territorian, 1968.

Other resources:

(I tried the New Mexico Archives, but their website seems to be down for the holiday…but I found an alternate access to their records through the University of New Mexico website)

http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231973-019/
http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231973-019/

http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231974-019/
http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231974-019/

http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231972-006/
http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231972-006/

http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmAr/nmar%231974-033/

From there, I’d probably turn next to the New Mexico Historian, http://www.newmexicohistory.org/history.html

Southwest Cultural Resources Center (don’t let its major emphasis shake you…they’re a non-profit with a load of historical records used to prepare their think-tank papers) http://www.sric.org/

Anyway, this is maybe a place to start. If these don’t work let me know. I can go over to the Henry Ford Centennial Library and go through the military records if you need. I generally need a week to plan it out because the place is too big to just walk in and start looking…need to figure out what we need and where it is before going in there for a day.

Hope it helps…let me know if any of it works for you.