In search of Charles Allen Hurd, or how I found my g-g-grandpa's photo!

[Cooley Hurd]

During a simple Google search on the name Charles Allen Hurd (my great-great grandfather), I found a tiny, VERY-low-resolution portrait on the website of another of his descendants (this descendant, related to me as a half-cousin, was rather dismissive when I contacted him a year ago querying him about the Hurd branch of my family, so I basically wrote him off as a jerk). A further Google query led me to another website where my jerk-half-cousin snagged his copy of the low-res portrait of Great-great Grandpa Hurd. I contacted the webmaster of this second site, and he was VERY gracious! He told me he found the tiny pic on eBay about 4 years ago - it was a CDV that was up for auction, and he actually STILL had the email addy of the highest bidder at the time (he wasn't sure if this person actually won the auction, or not)!!!!

I contacted the high bidder via the 4-year-old email address, and he answered, saying he was indeed the owner of the CDV! Of course, I immediately offered him THREE TIMES what the CDV was worth (about $1000), but he turned me down :cry:. However, he said he would take a photo of the CDV (he said he didn't own a scanner) and send it to me. It took about 5 months, but I recently received the photo of the CDV in the mail. I sent him $20 for his trouble, and reiterated my desire to own the CDV outright, as it was a family heirloom. Regardless, I now have my portrait of my great-great Grandfather, albeit, not the original, but a good-enough copy that I can make out his features. I immediately scanned it and emailed it to my family members (NOT to the jerk-half-cousin, of course - he can pound salt, for all I care), and they all emailed me back with a common comment: "Jeez, he looks an awful lot like YOU!"

Say hi to Pvt. Charles Allen Hurd of the 111th NY Volunteer Infantry (Co. G) - a portrait taken shortly before leaving for Mr Lincoln's war. He was (slightly) wounded at Gettysburg, and (seriously) wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness. He survived the war, and passed on 06 Sept 1906.

[fudge stripe cookays]

1. That's so COOL!

So is the guy who won the CDV related? Or is he just some Civil War buff who liked the picture?

If he's just a buff, and is keeping the picture, I find that the height of arrogance. That he would refuse giving that treasure back to Charles' family.

fsc

[Cooley Hurd]

3. Not even for a g-note!!!

Not only is he arrogant, he's STUPID!:wow:

He's not related, however, he lives only 70 miles away (close enough for a ski mask, a ladder, and a screwdriver - ;):D)

[fudge stripe cookays]

9. What a dick!

How old is he? Any chance he might be old enough to leave the mortal coil anytime soon? When you could beg the family for the picture he purloined from the family collection. ;-)

fsc

[Cooley Hurd]

10. I guess he could've been an even bigger dick by blowing me off...

...completely, but at least I've gotten something from him. He knows how anxious I am to have C.A.'s pic, so hopefully he'll cave someday and sell me the pic.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. This is indeed very cool!

I just wish that I had anything that old, or important, from anyone in my family! Thanks for sharing this. And I think he resembles you, just a little.:D

Rhi:hi:

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Just a little?

Don't you think the receding hairline and the baggy pants make him a dead ringer? :rofl:

[Rhiannon12866]

5. No, actually more than a little.

But I didn't want to cause an offense. I see you in the eyes and in the shape of the face. Hair can be changed and the pants are just extraneous, LOL!:D

[Cooley Hurd]

6. My pants are baggy in tribute to the great Charles Chaplin!

...but I lost the little moustasche for OBVIOUS reasons! :D

[Rhiannon12866]

7. No offense, but I do see a resemblance, as you know.

And this had to be a pretty brave man, to have joined up, as he did. As for the mustache, facial hair was in fashion, back then. Now, anything goes...:shrug:

And you have to know that you're hijacking your own thread...:D

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Let's talk about MIHOP!

Or, I/P, or gun control... yep, I'm hijacking my own thread...:rofl:

Seriously, my great-great-Grandfather was indeed a brave man on the battlefield; however, I have no clue why he left his wife and six kids to run off with another woman (hence, my distant, jerk-half-cousin :()

[Rhiannon12866]

11. I'll talk about any one of those things, as you know...

But this chink in his armor is news, to me...:o

[Cooley Hurd]

12. To be honest, I don't know the circumstances behind his bolt...

There's probably MUCH more behind the story, but it's lost to history...

The fact that he defended the Union is enough for me to pay him homage.:patriot:

[Rhiannon12866]

13. That's really too bad, since it's got to be a fascinating story...

And I agree with you; he must have had real courage. Fighting that kind of war, in those times, has to have been brutal.:-(

[Quakerfriend]

14. Very, very nice cooley!

I,too, have found pictures of my g,g grandparents and uncles via ebay! -Some very nice photos of their homes, as well.

I:loveya: ebay for the way it connects us to what might have been insignificant to others.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. It's great to have pictures from that era.

My aunt and collaborator has started to send her old photos to me because I'm the designated heir to the title 'family genealogist.' Among them was a picture of a civil war soldier but she's not sure whether it's our ancestor or his brother, both who served from Maine. It was not labeled contemporaneously but the family resemblance is clear enough when compared to known photos of my ancestor as an old man. Some day I'll get it scanned and show it to a civil war historian to see if we can determine from the uniform which brother it is (one was a private, one a corporal, one cavalry, the other infantry.) My ancestor lived to age 86. The brother died in Andersonville of dysentery.


It's neat to see your own face in a long gone relative.

[fudge stripe cookays]

16. Hey Gormy!

Have you ordered their Civil War records yet? Were they all in the same unit?

If not, you might be able to tell from their uniforms which unit they were in. There are plenty of books with Civil War uniforms in them. You might be able to look at the library and find them on your own...

fsc :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

17. Thanks FSC

No, I just received the photo a few weeks ago. The brothers were in wholly separate categories, one was a private in the 1st ME Cavalry and the other a corporal in 28th ME Infantry, so I think that I may get lucky with the uniforms if I can find a good reference book. If all else fails I'll enlist the state archives or historical society the next time I'm in Maine -- one or the other will know someone local who can help me out.

[Cooley Hurd]

18. Go with your instincts (in regards to resemblances)...

...so far, mine have been correct.:thumbsup:

[kestrel91316]

19. I have photos (originals) of my g-g-g-grandfather AND HIS MOTHER.

Taken around 1875, I think, and she was quite elderly then (born 1801??). I have all sorts of goodies, being the family archivist and genealogist......