I received an email from another Ancestry.com user today (boy technology is great).
The e-mail was in regards to Col. Cullin Earp. Apparently, he’s a Confederate Civil War veteran and his body is being exhumed and moved to a new/more respectful location.
I originally thought the e-mail referred to my 5th great-grandfather, Capt. Cullin Earp, who had been captain of a regiment in Washington County, North Carolina, in 1779. But I quickly realized either my information was off, or the information I received about Col. Cullin Earp was off.
Thanks to my mom’s cousin Mary we quickly (or so we’re led to believe) got things straightened out. Col. Cullin R. Earp is my grandmother’s first cousin thrice removed (that’s not confusing :-)).
My records showed Cullin Earp in our family tree but that’s about all the information I had on him other than his parents, and siblings. Had no idea he was a Col. in the Confederacy.
Well regardless, great information found through this crazy thing we call the Interweb.
Col. Earp (pronounced “Arpâ€) was just 37 years old when he died in 1865. As a young adult in his 20s, he earned a livelihood raising crops in the Gilmer area. But during the last several years of his life, he was thrust into a military maelstrom that transformed him from a simple farmer into a respected officer and an East Texas hero.
From 1862 through 1864, Col. Earp and his 10th Texas Calvary CSA participated in at least 21 Civil War battles or engagements, a number of which resulted in massive casualties on both sides. As part of the famed Ector’s Brigade, Earp commanded 10th Texas troops at clashes throughout the Deep South, including Vicksburg, Miss.; the bloody battle of Chickamauga, Ga.; the Atlanta, Ga. Siege; and the battle of Franklin, Tenn.
Given a 3-month furlough, he returned to Upshur County in February 1865, likely sick or wounded. In April, Lee surrendered to Grant, ending the Civil War and Earp’s military service. Six months later, he died, survived by his second wife but no children.
Read more about the upcoming ceremony for Col. Cullin R. Earp from the Gilmer Mirror.