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The Men behind the Infamous Mag Palm Kidnapping
The Mag Palm kidnapping attempt is perhaps the most told event of her life. It has some striking similarities to the kidnapping of Catherine Payne in the motivations that triggered it. In the story, Mag is blindsided by three white men who attempt to load her into a wagon to be sold South into slavery…
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Annie Keefer’s Unique Journey: Born of Scandal, Raised by Relatives?
You may recall the story of Isadore Keefer, his out-of-wedlock relationship with Caroline Shenabrook, who had three children with John Wolford of Adams County. You may recall that Annie Keefer resulted from the encounter between Isadore and Caroline. Annie Keefer (sometimes recorded as Anne) was born about 1867 in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
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Confederate Burials on the George Bushman Farm
The George Bushman farm, located along the Baltimore Pike southeast of Gettysburg, became a Confederate burial site in the wake of the failed assaults on July 2 and July 3, 1863. Among those interred there were numerous men of the 11th Mississippi, part of Cadmus Wilcox’s Brigade in A.P. Hill’s Third Corps. These soldiers had…
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Discover Gettysburg’s Codori Farm: History & Memorialization
Like the farms of Abraham Trostle, George Rose, Francis Bream, George Bushman, John Edward Plank, and John Slyder, the Nicholas Codori farm was a hive of activity during the battle, a site of miserable suffering and death, and the initial resting place for dozens of soldiers. For years, the burials made it nearly impossible to…
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Confederate Burials on the Francis Bream Farm
One of the larger concentrations of Confederate burials was found on the Francis Bream farm because of its unique location and the role it played during and after the fighting on July 2, 1863. Its volume of burials was similar to that of the John Edward Plank farm though fewer than the number found on…
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Revealing John Wolford: His Legacy and Connection to Caroline Shenabrook
Previously, we looked at the case of Isadore Keefer, Caroline Shenabrook, and John Wolford. You may recall that Shenabrook had a child out of wedlock with Isadore Keefer—a girl named Annie that we’ll cover in a subsequent article. However, census and death records show she also had three other children out of wedlock with a…
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Discover the Trostle Farm: A Civil War Survivor’s Story
Near the farms of the Roses, Michael Bushman, George Bushman, and the Slyders sits the Trostle farm. The Trostle farm is a favorite among tour guides—tourists can pause in the street running past the barn and be directed to find the famous hole in the barn made by a shell on July 2, 1863. The…
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How Caroline Shenabrook Challenged Social Norms in 1869
The 1869 court case brought by Caroline Shenabrook may have been a landmark moment in the decline of Isadore Keefer. It remains a powerful illustration of the function of law in this era in dealing with “moral offenses.” But who was Caroline Shenabrook and what became of her after the case?
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From Union Soldier to Outcast: The Downfall of Isadore Keefer
In the tumultuous decades around the Civil War, the lives of three Adams County residents – Isadore Keefer, Caroline Shanabrook (later Wolford), and John Wolford – became unexpectedly intertwined. Their story, marked by war, scandal, and survival, offers a window into mid-19th-century life, morals, and policing in the Gettysburg area.
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Cases of Moral Offenses: Fornication and Adultery in Adams County
In 1869, a case of adultery coupled with a case of fornication and bastardy were brought before Adams County courts. The adultery charge resulted in acquittal, but the latter charges led to convictions and the judgment that the man involved, Isadore Keefer, had to pay some measure of support for his child to the child’s…