So I got to work this morning (no big deal), and did my usual ‘routine.’ Sat at my desk, got a cup of coffee, used some smelling salts, let out a heavy sigh, and started sifting through show prep. The first article that I came across had the following headline:
‘Last Documented Civil War Veteran Widow Dies at 101.’
I won’t lie, I think I had to read it 17 times in a row before I fully realized that it said what I thought it said. I even did that thing where you read something to yourself out loud and slowly, like you’re talking to a 3 year-old. Civil War Veteran widow? What?? What year is it??
Well as it turns out, the story is not only true, but kind of sweet. Apparently Helen Viola Jackson married Civil War veteran, James Bolin, in 1936. He was 93 years old, she was 17 years old. Maybe sounds a little weird until you read further: Helen moved in with James to be his caretaker, but James didn’t want the charity, so they got married in order for Helen to be able to receive his Union pension as payment when he died. You also have to keep in mind that it’s 1936, and people getting married at 17 years old wasn’t unusual at all. Hell, in 1936 in the state of Missouri being 17 years old meant that you were 11 years into your career as a coal miner. I’ll grant you marrying someone 77 years your senior is a little odd, but the details of the story make that part less murky.
Anyway, Helen never remarried, and passed away last weekend at 101 years old. And according to the article, she didn’t say a word about being the widow of a Civil War veteran until 2017. Just a wild story all the way around.
PS: I was OBSESSED with the Civil War when I was 12 years old. I even had my parents get me a subscription to a monthly magazine called, ‘Civil War Times,’ when I was in middle school. What kind of kid asks for a subscription to a magazine about the Civil War instead of video games or toys? One destined to make a medium amount of money in small market radio, apparently. But I’d like to think I did right my 12-year old Jonathan’s soul with this blog.
