James Gillespie Birney IV
Did James Gillespie Birney IV marry Mary7 Deuel?
I'm still unclear about exactly which Birneys are related to which Deuels, but if you assume
that one line goes Jonathan5, Henry6, John J.7, John James8 Deuel, and that --- lacking
any better candidate at the moment --- it is James Gillespie Birney IV (1844-1870) who
marries Mary7(Silas I.6, Jonathan5) Deuel (b.1843), we at least have a model to go on.
Based on this model, John J. Deuel is a first cousin to Jacob Bockee Deuel, making your
grandfather a second cousin to Jay Clarence. John J. Deuel would be a first cousin to Mary
(Deuel) Birney, Henry would be her uncle, your grandfather a first cousin once-removed.
But only genealogists think in those terms. If your grandfather met Mary (Deuel) Birney in
say, 1893, he would have been 10 years old and she age 50. In his mind, she hardly would
represent a cousin, this older lady would likely be addressed as "Aunt Mary."
And so her deceased husband, whichever Birney that was, would be an uncle to the
common way of thinking, and by extension the uncle's father would be a great uncle,
although to a genealogist he would be father in law to a first cousin once removed (which
would be hard for your grandfather to explain to his young kids, even if he thought in those
"correct" terms).
So if you take the most likely candidate for great uncle, James Birney of Bay City, and look
at the checklist, he looks pretty good:
Lawyer: Yes
Judge: Yes
"out west": Yes
Publisher: Yes
Helped establish town: Yes (Bay City*)
Helped establish county: Yes (Bay County)
Had county named after him: Partial credit**
Connected to railroads: Yes (builder/owner of East Saginaw & Bay City RR)
*It was more his father, the abolitionist James Gillespie Birney, who was an early settler of
Bay City, but it was his son James Birney who, while a state senator, got the name of the
town changed from Lower Saginaw to Bay City.
**The town of Birney, Montana was probably named after his brother David Bell Birney,
keeping in mind that Birney's successor as commander of X Corps, Alfred Howe Terry, was
military commander in the region in the 1870s.
Another possibility is that this town was named by Custer in honor of his former aide James
Gillespie Birney IV, who is conceivably the Birney who married Mary Deuel. JGB4 died in
1870, but I doubt that the town was named before Custer died in 1876 about 20 miles west
of Birney, MT (the town didn't have a post office until 1886). Custer awarded the sword
recently acquired by the museum to JGB4 in 1865, and along with it a commendation
reciting the exploits of JGB4 while serving with the 7th MI Cav on July 3, 1863 at
Gettysburg, where Custer was his brigade commander.
The division commander was Brig. Gen. Judson "Kill Cavalry" Kilpatrick, just 23 years old at
the time, and perhaps the only man in the Army of the Potomac who could match Custer in
reckless aggressiveness (hence the nickname) and ambition. Later in the war he is selected
to command the cavalry in my cousin William T. Sherman's army, who explains "I know that
Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but that's just the type of man I'm looking for to
command my cavalry."
The two brigades of Confederate cavalry they fought on July 3 were commanded by Wade
Hampton, probably the wealthiest man in the Confederacy, and Fitzhugh Lee, who was a
distant cousin of Birney's stepmother.
JGB4 was also involved in the Indian Wars, but in Texas, where he was a 1st Lieutenant,
and later Captain, in the 9th US Cavalry, one of the "buffalo soldier" regiments composed of
blacks. He died of disease at Ft. Davis, TX in 1870. His Lt. Colonel (i.e. second in command
of the regiment) also led a brigade of cavalry at Gettysburg, Wesley Merritt, and later in the
war Merritt's brigade is in the same division as the 7th MI Cavalry. Merritt was just 29 at
Gettysburg, and in 1898 is still in the Army, receiving the surrender of Manila, along with
Admiral Dewey, in the Spanish-American War.
So, given the Custer connections, you would think JGB4's family would be more interested
than most in visiting what quickly became a tourist attraction, the Custer battlefield and
cemetery. I imagine they would make a side trip of about 20 miles to see the town of Birney.
There are some WPA type pictures of Birney taken in the 1930s, there was apparently
legalized gambling there. Birney is very close to, if not on, the Northern Cheyenne
Reservation, maybe they beat the Pequots and Mohegans to the idea of gambling on Indian
territory. It wasn't exactly Foxwoods in scale, though.
To get there in the 1890s, you would take the Burlington & Missouri River RR to Sheridan,
Wyoming. To connect to the B&M, you would probably take the Union Pacific through
Nebraska and Colorado, passing through Deuel County in the former and the town of Deuel
(just north of Fort Morgan) in the latter.
Richard Gifford
September 25, 2003
that one line goes Jonathan5, Henry6, John J.7, John James8 Deuel, and that --- lacking
any better candidate at the moment --- it is James Gillespie Birney IV (1844-1870) who
marries Mary7(Silas I.6, Jonathan5) Deuel (b.1843), we at least have a model to go on.
Based on this model, John J. Deuel is a first cousin to Jacob Bockee Deuel, making your
grandfather a second cousin to Jay Clarence. John J. Deuel would be a first cousin to Mary
(Deuel) Birney, Henry would be her uncle, your grandfather a first cousin once-removed.
But only genealogists think in those terms. If your grandfather met Mary (Deuel) Birney in
say, 1893, he would have been 10 years old and she age 50. In his mind, she hardly would
represent a cousin, this older lady would likely be addressed as "Aunt Mary."
And so her deceased husband, whichever Birney that was, would be an uncle to the
common way of thinking, and by extension the uncle's father would be a great uncle,
although to a genealogist he would be father in law to a first cousin once removed (which
would be hard for your grandfather to explain to his young kids, even if he thought in those
"correct" terms).
So if you take the most likely candidate for great uncle, James Birney of Bay City, and look
at the checklist, he looks pretty good:
Lawyer: Yes
Judge: Yes
"out west": Yes
Publisher: Yes
Helped establish town: Yes (Bay City*)
Helped establish county: Yes (Bay County)
Had county named after him: Partial credit**
Connected to railroads: Yes (builder/owner of East Saginaw & Bay City RR)
*It was more his father, the abolitionist James Gillespie Birney, who was an early settler of
Bay City, but it was his son James Birney who, while a state senator, got the name of the
town changed from Lower Saginaw to Bay City.
**The town of Birney, Montana was probably named after his brother David Bell Birney,
keeping in mind that Birney's successor as commander of X Corps, Alfred Howe Terry, was
military commander in the region in the 1870s.
Another possibility is that this town was named by Custer in honor of his former aide James
Gillespie Birney IV, who is conceivably the Birney who married Mary Deuel. JGB4 died in
1870, but I doubt that the town was named before Custer died in 1876 about 20 miles west
of Birney, MT (the town didn't have a post office until 1886). Custer awarded the sword
recently acquired by the museum to JGB4 in 1865, and along with it a commendation
reciting the exploits of JGB4 while serving with the 7th MI Cav on July 3, 1863 at
Gettysburg, where Custer was his brigade commander.
The division commander was Brig. Gen. Judson "Kill Cavalry" Kilpatrick, just 23 years old at
the time, and perhaps the only man in the Army of the Potomac who could match Custer in
reckless aggressiveness (hence the nickname) and ambition. Later in the war he is selected
to command the cavalry in my cousin William T. Sherman's army, who explains "I know that
Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool, but that's just the type of man I'm looking for to
command my cavalry."
The two brigades of Confederate cavalry they fought on July 3 were commanded by Wade
Hampton, probably the wealthiest man in the Confederacy, and Fitzhugh Lee, who was a
distant cousin of Birney's stepmother.
JGB4 was also involved in the Indian Wars, but in Texas, where he was a 1st Lieutenant,
and later Captain, in the 9th US Cavalry, one of the "buffalo soldier" regiments composed of
blacks. He died of disease at Ft. Davis, TX in 1870. His Lt. Colonel (i.e. second in command
of the regiment) also led a brigade of cavalry at Gettysburg, Wesley Merritt, and later in the
war Merritt's brigade is in the same division as the 7th MI Cavalry. Merritt was just 29 at
Gettysburg, and in 1898 is still in the Army, receiving the surrender of Manila, along with
Admiral Dewey, in the Spanish-American War.
So, given the Custer connections, you would think JGB4's family would be more interested
than most in visiting what quickly became a tourist attraction, the Custer battlefield and
cemetery. I imagine they would make a side trip of about 20 miles to see the town of Birney.
There are some WPA type pictures of Birney taken in the 1930s, there was apparently
legalized gambling there. Birney is very close to, if not on, the Northern Cheyenne
Reservation, maybe they beat the Pequots and Mohegans to the idea of gambling on Indian
territory. It wasn't exactly Foxwoods in scale, though.
To get there in the 1890s, you would take the Burlington & Missouri River RR to Sheridan,
Wyoming. To connect to the B&M, you would probably take the Union Pacific through
Nebraska and Colorado, passing through Deuel County in the former and the town of Deuel
(just north of Fort Morgan) in the latter.
Richard Gifford
September 25, 2003
Birney's sword sold for $12,500.
Read about the sword at
Bluegreyrelics.net. The photo of
the sword was copied from this
site.
Read about the sword at
Bluegreyrelics.net. The photo of
the sword was copied from this
site.