Picture by Garth Rumsmoke

Photo By Garth Rumsmoke

Memorial Day 2010

This letter was handwritten and sent by Irene Thomas-Plott. It was sent to her son, James Ralph Plott, who lived in Key West, Florida during 1966-1967. Irene is the daughter of Millie Ann Annie Thompson and the granddaughter of Joel Thompson. Margaret, referred to in the letter, is the sister of her son-in-law, Donald McFaden, Annie Jo Plott's husband. Irene suggests that she and her mother Millie Ann Annie Thompson never knew where Joel was buried. Dennis is the son of Annie Jo and Donald McFaden. Joel Thompson's wife was Hannah Coffey.

Irene, daughter of Millie Ann Annie Thompson, never mentioned the story about bringing Joel's body back from New York. Like any good Thomas descendent, she loved to tell her stories. She would have talked about her grandfather's body being moved to Old Union Cemetery. Plus, ALL of the Thomas children and relatives would have known of Joel's body being moved. Old Union Cemetery has no record of his body nor a grave plot/marker. The Elmira records have Joel being buried there.

Also, Irene Thomas never wrote letters. This is the only letter she wrote to her son James Ralph Plott. The finding of her grandfather's resting place was of great significance to her. As she mentions in the letter, "I wanted to go and tell my mother I had found her daddy..."

"The entire number of Confederate prisoners buried here (Elmira) during the life of the prison camp was 2,973. Soon after the war, three bodies were removed by friends and taken South for burial. There seems to be no record of the names removed. The entire record as kept by Jones was perfect with the exception of seven listed as unknown. All rights to Elmira Prison Camp OnLine Library Submitted Information - Chemung County Historical Journal: Underground Railroad Activities in Elmira [A biographical sketch of John W. Jones was written in 1946 by Abner C. Wright, then Chemung County Historian. It was an answer to an inquiry concerning Underground Railroad activities in Elmira.]BY ABNER C. WRIGHT"

"Each coffin was clearly marked with any information that the soldier had been willing to share; the information also was placed in a sealed bottle inside the coffin. Any valuables owned by the soldier at the time of his death were carefully cataloged and stored. The graves were identified with wooden markers and arranged in a pattern that suggested soldiers lined up for inspection. . . . When the families received the precious family photographs, treasures, letters, and remembrances that Jones had kept for them, they were so moved that only three bodies were removed for reburial. All rights to John W. Jones ex-slave From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

Irene's letter reads as follows:

Dear All,
Well, I will tell you why I was in Elmira, New York Sunday as a week ago Margaret J and I went to Gettysburg, Penn. To look for something I thought I would never find, my grandfather's named, Joel Thompson. When I was a little girl, I heard my Grandma say something about my Grandfather being in Pennsylvania. When he died and my mother said the last time she went to see Grandma she said, "Ann, if any one ask you about your Daddy you tell them the Yankees had him." So, we went to Gettysburg where they keep records of the Civil War and asked if they had any record on Joel Thompson. Dennis was with us, so the man got four books down and ask me what I knew about him and if I knew what county he lived, so I said he lived in Towns County, Ga. Dennis picked one book up, started looking and counties and found Towns County, Ga., and then he saw Joel Thompson name. I will send a copy of what was in the book. I felt like I had found him in heaven. I read his name over & over. I cried. I wanted to go and tell my mother I had found her daddy and then I felt like they were looking down on me. They had found him first. Margaret, then went to Washington, D.C., where they keep records and found his records. There he was in a prison there for a while, so then sent to Elmira, New York. Put him in prison, there until he died. So, Margaret and I left last Friday to go and find where he has been sleeping for one hundred and two years and we found his grave and it's such a beautiful place. They sent him by train to Elmira, New York. We drove along the railroad track for miles, the one he was on, on his way up. We took a picture old prison ground where he died. Margaret took a movie of me going to his grave. I took a flag and put it on his grave. We will send you more pictures. Love, Mother Plott (Daughter of Millie Ann Thompson-Thomas, Granddaughter of Joel Thompson)

****** Irene's mother, Annie Thompson-Thomas, lived with Irene and her husband, Newt Plott on and off for years. While Annie lived with Irene, she told her children and grandchildren, "the Yankees had her father", as directed by her mother Hannah Coffee-Thompson. Joel Thompson WAS and IS buried in Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, NY. *****