At last night’s meetup of the Historical Society of Frankford, my father kept a name in the back of his mind, should the opportunity arise to research it. The name came from a distant cousin’s email:
Do you plan to go to the Frankford Historical society meeting on the 14th? They are planning to discuss the Civil War Monument at Cedar Hill Cemetery, and I see you have the info posted on the Frankford Gazette site. My brother Bob and I are interested because our GGGrandmother’s brother, Wallace Shaw, who was in the 71st PA Volunteers, was killed at the Wilderness and his name is on the monument…in very unreadable condition
I had never heard of the Battle of the Wilderness before. Somehow Mr Shaw’s name came up mid presentation, and without missing a beat, Patty Coyne pulled out a book published by The [original] Frankford Gazette detailing Frankford’s representatives in the Civil War. And we found Mr Shaw on page 6 with the rest of the 71st Pennsylvania Volunteers(they actually have a website: http://www.71stpavolinfantry.org/, I found this incredibly neat).
Apparently this sort of stuff happens often there. Many history buffs come looking to dig up names. Debbie Klak said they’re more than welcome!
