Just a guess, but they could be of Jewish, Gypsy, or Melungeon extraction. ----- Original Message ----- From: <G-leaves@yahoo.com> To: <CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 10:36 PM Subject: [CIVIL-WAR] Soldier Descriptions in Miltary Records > Hi All, > > The description for my CW ancestor and his brother (Jabez & Francis > Coonrod, NJ Union soldiers) in their miltary papers describes them both > as having black hair, black eyes and dark complexion. I find this to be > an unexpected description for brothers that I expectd to be of European > (possibly German based on last name?) background. Francis was mustered > in, in February so I doubt he would still have had a dark tan from > working outside. > > I also doubt they would have had any African ancestry as they were not > in colored units (39th NJ volunteers and 8th NJ Infantry). I suppose the > description may mean they had Native American blood from somewhere but I > have not traced their ancestry back past their parents (mother's maiden > name unknown) to confirm or deny that. > > Has anyone else found the descriptions of black hair, black eyes and > dark complexion in CW military papers and if so, what nationalities were > those soldiers? > > > ==== CIVIL-WAR Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe from list mode, email CIVIL-WAR-L-REQUEST@rootsweb.com > and in the text area of the message, type only the word > unsubscribe > >