New Evidence

Dudley's Civil War Draft Registration Crop, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

This a crop of a page for a new database at Ancestry.com of Civil War Draft Registrations. I found this by continuing to "search for more records" for Dudley W. Stewart. Once I found this, I had to turn to the recent book by Michael O. Varhola that I recently reviewed for Family Tree Magazine for understanding why this database exists.

Citation in APA format (using EasyBib on my iPhone)
Varhola, M. J. (2011). Life in Civil War America. Cincinnati, OH: Family Tree Books

I have never been able to find any evidence that Dudley actually served in the Civil War. At first, I assumed it was because of his age. Then, I assumed it was because he was the only store keeper in North Stonington., CT. As you can see, I was getting nowhere fast with real facts. But, I kept a list of possibilities until more data came to light. I love the word possibly because it is hopeful.

Age still seemed to be a factor. My other 2nd great grandfathers were younger. In 1861, James, born in 1840 was 21, Joseph born in 1843 was 18, and Charles born in 1835 was 25. Since I do not have a birth record for Dudley how can I use this new piece of evidence to add to a list of dates to prove a birth date?

According to Mr. Varhola, there was a shortage of troops, so in the North, there was a new law (the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863), which made the upper limit for age raised to 45 and then in 1864 to 50.

"The Union conscription law made men aged twenty to forty-five subject to conscription [draft]. While no exceptions were allowed, Northern men could hire substitutes or pay a $300 commutation fee each time their names were drawn in the draft lottery." page 203.

So, if Dudley was born in 1822 or 1820, he still fit into the upper age! But, this document states that he is 41. The column for age says (as of) 1 July 1863.

Using the Date Calculator on the Tools menu of Roots Magic and entering (the birth date of) 17 Dec 1822 and (the document date of) 1 July 1863, the calculated date is 40 years, 6 months and 14 days. If he had been born in 1820 then it would be calculated as  42 years 6 months 14 days.

So, now I am closer of inferring that two books are incorrect with him being born in 1820 but I still have to see if Dudley could afford a fee of $300 each time his name was called.

Source: Third Congressional Districts in the Counties of New London and Windham, CT, Isaac H. Bromley, Provost Marshall. 3rd Vol. 2 of 2, Class 2 A-Z image 177 of 219. Ancestry.com database.