Paul and J., I don't mean to be the bearer of sad tidings, but you are making some wrong assumptions about Kimball's unauthorized Six Months Militia and I thought you would want to know. The good news is that Jeremiah J. Clark was a sergeant in this unit according to his online military service record card (to which you evidently refer). Further, he joined this unit 26 September 1861--not 1863. This unit did not exist in 1863. For starters, Kimball's Six Months Militia appears to be an unauthorized Union outfit, typical of many that operated on their own during the early months of the Civil War before the Federal authorities ordered them disbanded. Frederick Dyer's "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" vol. 3, page 1340 says of Kimball's: Organized for six months and mustered in at St. Joseph October 2, 1861. Duty at St. Joseph, and scout duty in the District of Northwest Missouri till April 1862. Mustered out April 2, 1862." Union authorities wanted these "ad hoc" outfits disbanded because they could not be sure such units would respond to Federal orders and they wanted the men in them to enlist in the authorized units then being formed. Kimball's unit may have had some political clout, as most of the units I earlier described were disbanded in the winter of 1861-1862, but this particular one soldiered on until April 1862. Such units did not keep good records, so it is difficult to obtain specific accounts of their experiences. Paul, you may find more on Kimball's Six Months Militia in one of the old county histories of Andrew County (Savannah is the county seat) or Buchanan County (St. Joseph is the county seat) published between 1881 and World War I. This is assuming that the Jeremiah J. Clark of Savannah is actually your ancestor. Many of the men in those "ad hoc" 1861 Union grassroots units enlisted subsequently in other Union units, but in examining the online military service records of the Missouri Secretary of State's Office site of Missouri State Archives I don't see another record for a Jeremiah J. Clark (or J. J. Clark or Clarke or other variations). I did find a record for one or two Jeremiah V. Clark northern soldiers of Richmond, Ray County, and Cameron, southeast DeKalb County. Both of these are not too far from Savannah, Andrew County. The Cameron Clark joined a Union six months' militia unit at Plattsburg, Clinton County and served through January 1863. I don't see any more on him. The Richmond Jeremiah V. Clark joined the 3rd [old] Misssouri State Militia Regiment (Union) in January 1863, but also joined the 6th Cavalry MSM Regt. (Union) at the same time. He was discharged in November 1863 at Jefferson City from the 6th for disability. Bear in mind that military records are notorious for getting men's names mangled, especially middle initials. J. Wood, this all leads me to direct you in another direction for why your ancestor bears the "Kimball" name. I know of no famous Kimball Civil War personality in Missouri that would inspire parents to name their child "Kimball." Of course, the name could have been an old Army buddy or company commander or some such. No Missouri Confederate colonels, though. May I respectfully suggest you seek the answer in your family genealogy, as this may be a family name you haven't yet found. Bruce Nichols

Thank you for your information. I have not been able to trace any Kimball family through genealogy sources so far. That is why I responded to the message containing the name Kimball. I knew it was a long shot, but did want the name of this Kimball, to see if it could be followed genealogically. Thanks again, J Wood Mapmaker3@aol.com wrote: Paul and J., I don't mean to be the bearer of sad tidings, but you are making some wrong assumptions about Kimball's unauthorized Six Months Militia and I thought you would want to know. The good news is that Jeremiah J. Clark was a sergeant in this unit according to his online military service record card (to which you evidently refer). Further, he joined this unit 26 September 1861--not 1863. This unit did not exist in 1863. For starters, Kimball's Six Months Militia appears to be an unauthorized Union outfit, typical of many that operated on their own during the early months of the Civil War before the Federal authorities ordered them disbanded. Frederick Dyer's "A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" vol. 3, page 1340 says of Kimball's: Organized for six months and mustered in at St. Joseph October 2, 1861. Duty at St. Joseph, and scout duty in the District of Northwest Missouri till April 1862. Mustered out April 2, 1862." Union authorities wanted these "ad hoc" outfits disbanded because they could not be sure such units would respond to Federal orders and they wanted the men in them to enlist in the authorized units then being formed. Kimball's unit may have had some political clout, as most of the units I earlier described were disbanded in the winter of 1861-1862, but this particular one soldiered on until April 1862. Such units did not keep good records, so it is difficult to obtain specific accounts of their experiences. Paul, you may find more on Kimball's Six Months Militia in one of the old county histories of Andrew County (Savannah is the county seat) or Buchanan County (St. Joseph is the county seat) published between 1881 and World War I. This is assuming that the Jeremiah J. Clark of Savannah is actually your ancestor. Many of the men in those "ad hoc" 1861 Union grassroots units enlisted subsequently in other Union units, but in examining the online military service records of the Missouri Secretary of State's Office site of Missouri State Archives I don't see another record for a Jeremiah J. Clark (or J. J. Clark or Clarke or other variations). I did find a record for one or two Jeremiah V. Clark northern soldiers of Richmond, Ray County, and Cameron, southeast DeKalb County. Both of these are not too far from Savannah, Andrew County. The Cameron Clark joined a Union six months' militia unit at Plattsburg, Clinton County and served through January 1863. I don't see any more on him. The Richmond Jeremiah V. Clark joined the 3rd [old] Misssouri State Militia Regiment (Union) in January 1863, but also joined the 6th Cavalry MSM Regt. (Union) at the same time. He was discharged in November 1863 at Jefferson City from the 6th for disability. Bear in mind that military records are notorious for getting men's names mangled, especially middle initials. J. Wood, this all leads me to direct you in another direction for why your ancestor bears the "Kimball" name. I know of no famous Kimball Civil War personality in Missouri that would inspire parents to name their child "Kimball." Of course, the name could have been an old Army buddy or company commander or some such. No Missouri Confederate colonels, though. May I respectfully suggest you seek the answer in your family genealogy, as this may be a family name you haven't yet found. Bruce Nichols ==== MO-CW Mailing List ==== To unsubscribe from this list, send ONLY the word UNSUBSCRIBE to the utility address MO-CW-L-REQUEST@ROOTSWEB.COM If you are trying to unsubscribe from the Digest list, use the same utility address but change the -L- to a -D- ============================== Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx --------------------------------- Yahoo! Shopping Find Great Deals on Holiday Gifts at Yahoo! Shopping