Lauran Perrill was the guest speaker at the Sept. 17 Fayette County Genealogical Society meeting.
Lauran is a retired elementary school teacher from the Washington City Schools. Her program for the evening was “Lincoln and the Military, The Commander in Chief.”
Lauran has studied our 16th president extensively throughout her life and has become an expert on his life and times. She is also related to President Lincoln’s beloved stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston Lincoln. This relationship also influenced her to study Lincoln, his family and his place in history.
During her presentation she spoke of Lincoln’s shortlived firsthand military experience during the uprise of Chief Black Hawk. Lincoln was elected captain of a troop of men who saw very little war action. However, he and his men were put in charge of a burial detail that affected Lincoln very deeply and shaped his deep affection for soldiers who serve.
Lauran told of the many trials Lincoln had during the Civil War and how long it took to find the right general to put in charge of the Union military to finally win and end the war. That general being Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln visited injured soldiers, both Union and Confederate, and visited battlefields during the Civil War. The Union soldiers called him Uncle Abe or Father Abraham. President Lincoln showed this devotion to the troops even though his personal life was often riddled with sadness. Only one of the Lincolns’ four sons grew into adulthood, with their son Willie taking ill and dying as a young boy in the White House during the Civil War.
Kelli Bergheimer will return for another DNA program to help members in their family research at the next meeting of the Society. Kelli is a facilitator of the Ohio DNA Interest Group. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and master degrees in both education and business management. Kelli is pursuing a doctorate in industrial and organizational psychology. She is a writer, teacher, editor, nature photographer and a small business owner. Her two small businesses are Geo-Centric Learning, a geography-based middle school curriculum, and Mess on the Desk, a genealogical organizational company with an accompanying blog.
Kelli is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speaking Guild. This meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in the meeting of the Carnegie Public Library, 127 S. North St., Washington Court House. Please use the doors on the Catholic Church side of the building.
For additional information concerning this meeting or the Fayette County Genealogical Society, contact Cathy Massie White at 740-333-7227 or [email protected]
