JAMES HARVEY SUMMERS, (1826 - 1902): For many years I only knew my great great great grandfather as from a couple of photographs, labeled "Grandpa Summers". Learning about him has caused me to think of him as one of my favorite ancestors. He was born in Mount Sterling, Montgomery Co., Kentucky on Nov. 7, 1826. This date is recorded on his Mexican War Pension and his obituary. He was the son of Cornelius Summers and Elizabeth Hadden. Cornelius was a Presbyterian preacher and veteran of the War of 1812, apparently a survivor of the Battle of Dudley's Defeat. He had the nickname, "the sweet singer of Israel" because of his voice. In the 1830s Cornelius started buying land in Indiana and moved his growing family to Putnam Co. Indiana in 1835. Here Cornelius rode a preaching circuit. He died on May 24, 1843 after returning from one of these rides. It has been supposed that he had appendicitis. James' middle name Harvey may come from that of another preacher named Harvey Collings. When the Mexican War started up, a young James H. Summers enrolled in the 1st Indiana Infantry Co. A, on June 17, 1846 at Green Castle, IN. His pension records state that his unit was used to guard supply trains and fought frequent skirmishes. His unit went as far sounth as Monterey, but returned before the Battle of Buena Vista. He was mustered out in New Orleans on June 16, 1847. When he returned home he married Matilda Randall on Dec. 5, 1847 in Putnam Co. This started his somewhat complicated married life, leading to four marriages. Some misinformation exists about his marriages and I am still trying to sort some of it out. Their first child, Emma, appears not to have been born until 1856, thus starts a complicated mystery as I have been sent a legal document signed by Emma stating that her mother died in 1847 (?!?). This came from a document written for James' fourth wife in 1904, it is amazingly wrong or fabricated. But I am jumping ahead. In the 1850 Census, Matilda is alive and well and living with James in Floyd Twp. Putnam Co. Indiana, no children yet. James' obituary mentions the death of Matilda Randall and a second marriage to Melissa Calvin. Melissa Calvin died within two years and also lost an infant. There is a lot of confusion about when and where these events happened. I have not yet found James and his family on the 1860 Census. They may have been moving at the time. James' fourth wife struggled hard in later years to maintain his Civil War pension and left behind many documents as she had people leave testimony to support her claim. One such testimony in 1917 states that a man named W. D. Shelton knew the family in Decatur Co. Iowa, and that Matilda Randall died there in 1861 and he had been to her funeral. He then stated that James married Melissa Calvin the same year and that she died two years later. This is not accurate because James married his third wife, Sarah Marian Hisey on April 2, 1861. This marriage is well recorded, and I descend from his third wife.... To be continued... -Mark Vernon Seattle, WA