By now, you can probably see that I'm jumping around in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks posts. This week I'm writing about my second great-grandfather, Jordan Ham.
This picture is of Jordan, his wife, Fannie Parker Ham, and their grand-daughter, Bertha Teel. Bertha was the youngest child of their daughter, Jennie Ham, and her husband, William Perry Teel. After the birth of Bertha, Jennie died and Bertha eventually lived with her grandparents and her uncle, John D. Ham.
I mention young Bertha because in this blog post we learn that Jordan Ham was not a financially well-off man in his older life. Family stories passed down tell us that he and his wife cared for Bertha when she was a baby, and as she grew older she went to live with her uncle, John D. Ham.
This is just a part Jordan's story, a man I heard referred to as "Grandpa and Grandma Ham/Hamm" from Indian Territory, Tishomingo, Johnston County, Oklahoma, as I grew up.
In Alabama's Bibb County, during the spring of May 1844 (some records have him born ca 1839-1840), Jordan Ham took his first breath as a son of William and Charlotte Wheeler Ham. A few years later, in January 1849, Francis A. “Fannie” Parker was born. She was destined to become an integral part of Jordan's life.
As a young man of 18, who was probably filled with the ideals of his time, Jordan enlisted in the Confederate army. It was the 7th of May 1862, in Centreville, Alabama, when he joined Company “H” of the 44th Alabama Infantry. The 44th Regiment, Alabama Infantry, was organized in May 1862 in Selma, Alabama, and by July 1, 1862, had reached Richmond, Virginia.
The war, unforgiving and brutal, surely tested his resolve and he was probably homesick. By August and September of 1862, Jordan found himself battling not just enemy soldiers but his own health, enduring sickness in Manassas, Virginia, and Sharpsburg, Maryland. His journey through the war also saw him hospitalized in Richmond and Danville, Virginia. Later records, and family stories, indicate he suffered injuries, and not just sickness.
Despite the
adversities, Jordan was present at key locations during significant battles,
stretching from Suffolk, Virginia, to the Battle of Darbytown Road in Virginia
on October 13, 1864. His service culminated at Appomattox Court House on April
10, 1865, where he was paroled as a prisoner of war, a testament to his
resilience and the tough fibers of his being.
Post-war
life brought new beginnings. On October 16, 1866, Jordan married Fannie in Bibb County, Alabama. Together, they embarked on a journey of
family life, marked by the births of their children: Mary, William, Jennie (my great-great-grandmother),
John D., Marvin Clarence, Luther Martin, Minnie Bell, and Lea.
Seeking
prosperity (which included land and bigger spaces, my opinion here), the Ham family moved westward, first to San Saba County, Texas, and
later to the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory, now known as Johnston
County, Oklahoma. There, Jordan continued his life as a tenant farmer, his days
marked by the quiet dignity of hard work.
In his later years, Jordan's service to the Confederacy would give him a chance to ask for some financial help. Between 1915 and 1917, he applied multiple times for financial relief due to his deteriorating health and economic hardship, a poignant reminder of the long shadow cast by war. He’d been wounded in the left hip and knee and time had taken its toll on his old body. His three living sons, two in Oklahoma and one in Texas, were not in financial situations to help him and Fannie out. Despite being denied relief, he applied again, and in July 1917 he was approved to receive financial help in the amount of $5.00 (per month).
Jordan's life journey ended on December 19, 1919, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, with Fannie passing away eight years later. Their story reflects the resilience and enduring spirit of a family shaped by love, war, and the pursuit of a better future.
- Revis
Sources:
Alabama, Select Marriages, 1816-1957, Ancestry
Oklahoma, U.S., Confederate Pension Index, 1915-1955, Ancestry
Board of Pension Commissioners, App #A2282, Pension #P2001, OK State Arch
U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, Ancestry [Index to Compiled Confederate Military Service Records; Southern Historical Society Papers: Appomattox Paroles ANV
NARA
Pastorayres, "William Ham Family Tree," Tree Number 196977914, Public Member Trees, Ancestry, accessed July 22, 2024
RCaubleLeonard, "My DNA Family Tree," Tree Number 53508674, Private Member Trees, Ancestry, accessed July 23, 2024
Census records, Ancestry
