This email note deals with William Bernard Carlen (1824 - 1901), and brings
forth an important question about his Civil War service. Paragraphs 2-5 of
this message are background information about him, while paragraph 6
delineates our specific and somewhat difficult research problem.
We're in the process of updating our extensive information about
Hugh Webb Carlin and Martha "Patsey" Pemberton. Hugh Webb
Carlin was a grandson of Daniel Carlin (ca. 1750 - ca. 1820), and
Daniel's first wife, Elizabeth Duffy/Rogan. URL for Daniel Carlin and
Elizabeth Duffy/Rogan is
http://www.attorney.carlin.net/daniel1774.htm .
Hugh Webb Carlin and Martha "Patsey" Pemberton's webpage,
which is being updated on a daily basis, is
http://www.attorney.carlin.net/hughwebb.htm .
We're now up to the updates for William Burnard Carlen, the fourth child of
Patsey Pemberton and Hugh Webb Carlin, and are working on updating
information about William Burnard Carlen's descendants. He was b. May 7,
1824 at Wilson Co., TN, and d. Aug. 8, 1901 at Gentry Community, Putnam Co.,
TN, age 77, having survived his wife, Sarah, by 25 years. He is bur. at the
Leftwich Family Cemetery, located near Gentry Community, Buffalo Valley,
Putnam Co., TN.
(William Burnard Carlen's family name is spelled "Carlen," with an
"e." He,
his brother, James T. Carlen, Sr., and their four sisters, changed the
spelling of their family name from "Carlin" to "Carlen," for reasons
unknown
to us; their parents, Patsey Pemberton Carlin and Hugh Webb Carlin,
continued to use the "Carlin" spelling.)
William Burnard Carlen m. Sarah Caroline Holladay on Nov. 6, 1845 at Rock
Springs Creek, Putnam Co., TN. Sarah was b. Oct. 9, 1820 at Rock Springs
Creek, which was then in Jackson Co., TN. She was a d. of Henrietta Draper
and Stephen Holladay. Sarah was a sister to Elizabeth Ann Holladay
(1824-1857), who was the first wife of William Burnard Carlen's older
brother, James T. Carlen, Sr. (Elizabeth married James T. Carlen, Sr. in
1841, about four and one-half years before Sarah married William Burnard
Carlen.) Sarah d. Jan. 22, 1866, age 45, and is bur. at Flat Rock, Wilson
Co., TN.
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Now, here comes our major problem:
____________________________
According to Carlin family records, William Burnard Carlen was a captain in
the Union Army during the Civil War. This is the conclusion that has been
reached by Don Tadlock, a Carlin descendant and an extraordinarily
experienced genealogist who is the principal genealogist for the Daniel
Carlin family line. I have reviewed the materials, and his conclusions (for
whatever my imput is worth), and I am in complete agreement with Don.
Other records, however, appear to suggest that William Bernard Carlen served
with the Confederate States Army, and this evidence is such that it must be
examined.
In his book "Tennessee Cousins," (Texas: Worth S. Ray), Worth S. Ray writes,
at. p 549:
"Putnam County is another comparatively young county,
and furnished some gallant officers for the Southern Army
during the war between the states, including these named
in the list below:"
He then lists the names of 14 men, including W. B. Carten and Gen. Alvin C.
Gilliam. Please note that, although Mr. Ray wrote about W. B. Carten that
the "ten" syllable may be a mere typographical or spelling error. This item,
by itself, would merit further examination, but would hardly be conclusive.
There is, however, another record indicating that a W. B. Carlin (with an
"i") of Tennessee was captain of Co. A, Shaw's Battalion, Confederate
Cavalry. This could, of course, be Warren B. Carlin or another "W" first
name, as opposed to our Walter Bernard Carlen. The spelling of the last
name, again, is not particularly meaningful, as the record-keepers of that
era often spelled named names phonetically. Thus, any research has to check
into Walter Bernard Carlin, Carlan, Carlen, and perhaps even Carlon.
Although we *believe*, based on the evidence and data that we've seen, that
William Burnard Carlen was a captain in the Union Army, we do
not yet know the name of the company or unit with which he served. This is a
matter of obvious great importance.
The existence of these two Confederate records (the Worth S. Ray book and
the record of a Capt. W. B. Carlin in Shaw's Battalion), combined with the
absence of any specific unit affiliation for William Burnard Carlen in the
Union Army, means that this is a matter that obviously necessitates further
research.
1. Do you have any further information about the specifics of William
Bernard Carlen's military service during the Civil War? If so, please let
Don and me know what you have. His email address is DonTadlock(a)aol.com and
I'm fred(a)CarlinArchives.com .
2. Do you have the time to do any research about William Burnard Carlen for
our Carlin Archives webpages? Everything we know is published on the Hugh
Webb Carlin page, URL above. Perhaps you can check with a source or database
that hasn't yet been examined. We do know that William Bernard Carlen (joke
is coming; don't get offended) did not serve in *both* the Union and
Confederate armies, so we should ultimately be able to determine his
military affiliation. I hope you can help.
Thank you.
Fred
P.S. As you know, The Carlin Archives is intended to be a multi-sept,
multi-family resource center for all Carlin families. To that end, we list
Carlin genealogical information for a multitude of different Carlin family
lines, as well as current information about Carlins today.
Our latest webpage under the "Carlins Today" category is a new webpage for
Carlin musicians, singers and songwriters. Yes, we have
Carlin musicians, as well as singer/songwriters.
The most current singer/songwriter is Carlin Joie in Toronto, a young
vocalist and songwriter with a haunting voice. Her music can be bought on
CDs (of course), and some of her songs can be downloaded, free, as MP3s from
the web. She's up on the latest technology, as well as having a memorable
voice!
The most current Carlin musician is The Rich, a/k/a Rich Carlin, of Glasgow,
Scotland. The Rich, whose father, Geoff Carlin, is a physician, is a drummer
for a new hard rock band. We can all assume that the dad is ecstatic with
his son's career choice (ahem). (There was a time, many decades ago, when
I'd have identified with a son's choice. Now I instinctively agree with the
father. Someone must be getting old; I wonder who it could be?)
So if you want a complete list of Carlin musicians, singers and
songwriters, go to
http://www.attorney.carlin.net/music.htm .
And for a complete list of Carlins in Hollywood and the
performing arts, including Carlin actors, actresses, filmmakers,
scriptwriters, please go to
http://www.attorney.carlin.net/carlin-entertainment.htm