Cousins in conflict

The American Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4 July 1776. The War which followed, ending in 1783 (with an encore in 1812), was the culmination of an increasingly fraught relationship between the Thirteen Colonies of British America and the British Colonial Government. 

Delegates from these colonies argued in Congress that there should be ‘no taxation without representation’ in the British Parliament. Amongst the Declaration’s many inspirations was Enlightenment philosopher John Locke’s idea that legitimate government is derived only from the ‘consent of the governed.’ 

Other influences included the Declaration of Arbroath, written by Scottish barons in 1320. Amusingly, King Charles III highlighted King John’s 1215 agreement, the Magna Carta, during his address to the US Congress this year. He described the historic charter as the ‘foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances’ – clearly distinct ideas from cheques and balance books. 

The Continental Union Flag, de facto flag of the United States until 1777.

In addition to Scottish, English and Irish ancestors, I have a collection from British Colonial America. My paternal grandfather, Alexander Marion Poe (also known as Deering, DePoe, Neville, Livingstone and Abdul Khan ...), was born in California, and his ancestors that we know of and alive in 1775 had been born in what was about to become the United States of America. 

Details for some are still unclear, but those who were certainly part of the ‘Revolution’ were James Davis Sr, Andrew Mason, Edward Dearing (1723-before 4 August 1791) and Alexander’s great-great-grandfather John Poe / Powe (born c.1755-c.1808). The graves of the last two have not been located. 

John’s brother, William Powe, who also served, lived long enough to obtain a pension. The brothers signed up in Virginia but, after the war, eventually settled in Kentucky (John stopping off in North Carolina for a while). William’s father-in-law, Deacon Joseph Brown and his wife, Jerusha, gifted William some land at Paint Lick in Garrard County, Kentucky, perhaps as a wedding gift, and about 1780, his brother John had a small cut from that block. 

John, apparently a widower, disappeared after a court appearance in the early 1800s. His son William lived with William and Jerusha, whose eldest son was also named William. Must have been very confusing, so ‘my’ William gave himself the middle name Romulus and was more creative with his children’s names: Agnes, Alonzo, Alexander and Americus (no doubt influenced by his wife). 

Some descendants of William the elder believed that they could not join patriotic societies such as the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution because they had a ‘cousin’ who fought on the British side. This belief about not being able to join was incorrect, but the fact that they seemed to have known about a cousin is interesting. 

So, who was the enemy cousin? Two British soldiers in North America had the surname Poe. They were about the same age. One was John Poë (note the umlaut). He was born in Dublin, most likely the son of a British soldier stationed there. His role in the war matches the family story of John’s cousin’s family. The uninspiring name choices are also consistent; he named his sons William and James! John was buried at the Mile End Cemetery, Portsea, England. It opened in 1831 and ceased operation in the 1950s, where John remains secure, protected by a car park for a ferry terminal. 

John Poë's military service record.

Dublin at that time was the glittering second-largest city in the British Empire, governed by the wealthy Protestant Ascendancy; definitely not beyond the pale.

The other Brit was Lieutenant James Poe; I told you they were a predictable lot. James was in the Forty-seventh Foot, British Army. We know almost nothing about him, except that he was captured at Saratoga. He and two fellow officers, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Sutherland, of the Forty-seventh Foot, British Army, and Major William Agnew, of the Twenty-fourth Foot, British Army, wrote to Congress, stating that they were unwell and seeking permission to return to Europe, 'with our servants.' 

The letter was forwarded to fellow gentleman General George Washington, with this advice: "their exchange is certainly the most desirable mode of release, as it would relieve an equal number of our Officers from Captivity." Interestingly, they were not considered prisoners of war. However, what happened to these three next doesn't seem to be documented. There are cases where some officers were made an offer: resign from the British army and pledge allegiance to the (anticipated) new nation, in exchange for land. 

Letter from three British officers to the Continental Congress

Lieutenant Poe made it back to London as he retired in 1784, and to receive a pension, one had to show up in person. Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley (1837–1908), Irish lawyer and genealogist, identified the family of Lieutenant Poe (c. 1740-1788) in his book The Origin and Early History of the Family of Poë or Poe: With Full Pedigrees of the Irish Branch of the Family and a Discussion of the True Ancestry of Edgar Allan Poe, the American Poet (1906). James Poe died soon after receiving his pension and was buried near his parents in the grounds of the now-abandoned St Nicholas Church of Ireland, which served Dromgoolestown (from the Irish Droim Gabhail, ‘ridge of the forking stream’), County Louth, Ireland. He was a member of one of the Poe families given land there after supporting Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) in the English Civil War, or the Great Rebellion, against King Charles I!

There certainly was a James Poe who received land in the part of Virginia that eventually became Kentucky, but there is no information about who this James was. He may have simply sold the land and lived somewhere else. 

Later, other American Poe (or Powe if that's what the census collector thought it should be) cousins, most of whom had gone to northern Missouri, fought on both sides of what might be called the third English-speaking Civil War, also known as the American Civil War.

Where have all the flowers gone?