With the rapid rise in popularity of family history research it has become more and more frequent for people here in
the Uk to discover Confederates in the family.
There are at least two Confederates to who I can link directly to. The closest family member is Captain John Whitehead
of the 4th Tenn. Heavy Artillery. Born in Lincolnshire he was the brother of James Whitehead my ggg-grandfather. James daughter
Martha Whitehead married James Butler Allenby in 1868 when both were aged 20, my great grandfather was Martha's son Thomas
Coe Allenby ( 1880-1950). Elsie Allenby ( 1906-1978) was Thomas's daughter through marriage with Ada Youle( 1873-1919). My
mother Margaret is Elsie's daughter.
The other Confederate soldier I have a definate connection to is William Clarke Quantrill of Quantrill's Missouri Company.
In 1999 my mothers brother died and at the funeral my mother was handed some old papers and documents along with some
photos. Amongst these photos was one of a Rosetta Quantrain , my gg-grandmother and the wedding certificates of her and her
sister both married on the same day that Stonewall Jackson died in May 1863
Rosetta's sister was listed as Bathsheba Quantrain...but try as I could I could find no record of them anywhere ?......so
I went back to the documents and papers and took another look at Rosetta's photo....turning it over I noticed the name written
on the back....ROSETTA QUANTRILL (!)...she and her sister had changed their name !....and changed it in 1863 .....but why
?
Looking through the records for a second time I was able to find Rosetta Quantrill , and her sister Bathsheba and also
brother James. They came from a tiny village in Norfolk and I was able to link them to the Confederate guerilla leader as
the Quantrill family is a very small one genealogy wise , and only 2000 people have ever been called Quantrill. 90% of the
Quantrill family are either livied in Norfolk or are still living there today. William Claeke Quantrills family came from
Badwell Ash , a very short distance from where my gg-grandmother Rosetta was born.
Rosetta Quantrill died in 1917 , the last person in my family to die who was born a Quantrill.
I can only assume that a bad press at the time made them take the decision to change their names.
