User talk:Jmc9595
I've sent a couple of notes about the Confederate Imposted, William A. Landy. But while living in Alabama in the dark ages, I completed or close to a history major focusing on Civil War and Reconstruction. I changed schools and instead graduated with degrees in Economics and Business.
This is my analysis of why William A. Lundy is a complete fraud and essentially it's easy. Don't waste time trying to dig around in Confederate records, interviews, etc. What stuck out to me was that there were serious basic data problems in the story and it looked too much like a data coverup. In simple terms, who was in his family, when was he actually born, what do the available Census Reports tell us and what other data is there. His age varies a bit in the Census, His parents were not married until 1855, so given the claim that he was born in 1848, the question was why did they wait seven years to get married and being producing more children.
So that essentially took me to the 1840 census and the 1850 census. And it took me to the records which are easily available for his parents wedding. Why they didn't get married until 7 years after he claimed birth raises an obvious question. Is it because he was lying or was it because they couldn't get married. Actually it's both.
He was not born until 1859 which is the date given in the 1880 census which also states that he was 21 years old. You'll see that below. There are a lot of links. They should work. But I also found the marriage records for his parents. One is the simple recording of the wedding. there is an added part at the bottom, executing a bond with a penal cost of $200 if there was found to a legal impediment to the wedding. That's from an Alabama code requirement still in effect that dates back to at least 1852.
It only applies to the marriage of a minor or minors who are either 16 or 17, no other group. It also requires the consent of the parents. William's mother was 26 in 1855, his father had just turned 17. That is essentially all you need to know to disprove everything William A. Lundy said about serving the CSA. He might have been 4-5 years old when he claimed to have enlisted. in older age, it's possible he confused his parents marriage with his birth four years later. One hint something was wrong came with some genealogists who claim he was born in 1848, his parents married in 1855 and they resumed having children in 1861. Again, not rational and a reason to find the wedding records.
FWIW, he had brothers born in 1861 and 1863. He had a sister born in 1867 Regney, later known as Rena and probably variations. She died in 1947. In 1910, when William was claiming almost rational birthdate, saying he was 57, his father and mother were also in the same general area of today's Okaloosa County, running a boarding house, listing a lot of residents. Regency, now Rena Wilhelm was widowed and living with her parents and her children. All identified in the Census. This is not something you could have easily done 20 years or so back, But there is a group that recorded all the names and dates from the cemetery where his parents are buried. His father is cited as being born in 1828 because that fits the fabricated DOB for William whereas the actual date of 1838 makes William's existence in 1848 impossible. Again, no need to refer to Confederate records.
Why did people encourage him to do this. Maybe they saw it as an act of kindness for a poor man. But that also creates problems about things like his Grandfather was only 26 (check that below) and would have been at 37 not all that old for confederate service in 1861. John McCain's ancestor got forced in some way to join a cavalry unit in a neighboring county, he deserted almost immediately, soon arrested and died in the provost's memphis jail hospital. AT any rate, here's the whole thing.
Don't ask me how I got involved with the fraud William A. Lundy committed when he swore falsely that he had served the Confederacy. He wasn’t alone. People have continued to claim there may be validity in his service. There is none. It was a complete lie.
Too many people got involved in adjusting dates so it's effectively destroyed 90 percent of the Lunday or Lundy relatives genealogies who were directly related to him closely enough to require altering their birthdates etc. to comfort with his lie. . One genealogy site has him being born in 1848, seven years before his father at 17 married his 26 year old mother. His Grandfather, Thomas Lunday, was only 26 himself when William A. Lundy claim to be born.
The wrong dates get disseminated and never knocked down. No one needed to waste time looking into the claimed service, just pay attention to facts that make it preposterous to look any further. People have been inclined to give him an undeserved credibility due to the vagaries of his supposed service — and never did what’s possible now. There are variations in Census records, but no one ever dug deeply enough in the numerous lies.
William A. Lundy was born in 1859. The CSA did not accept 4-5 year old boys. His father was born in 1838, which is obvious from looking at the marker picture posted on Find a Grave. For William A Lunday's 1848 birth to be real, his father would have produced his first offspring at 10.
In the 1990s, reputable people did a full listing of Valley Grove Baptist Church Cemetery In Opp, AL. http://www.trackingyourroots.com/data/covcem7.htm This is their entry.
"Lunday, F.M. 11 JUN 1838-09 JUN 1918 Lunday, Jane Kelley w/o F.M. Lunday 02 MAR 1829-30 DEC 1911"
Francis Marion's family in Watkins, Covington County, Alabama is covered in the 1880 Census. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4J8-JXG His page details his age as 21 in 1880, and his birthdate in 1859.https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4J8-JX5
The fraudulent claim to have served the confederacy was made when he was old and 1931 was a rough period. Someone may have suggested the scheme and lined up other people to lie for him. He enjoyed his imposter's celebrity for a very long time before he finally expired at 98, rather than the claimed 107.
Lundy claimed in his affidavit that he was born in 1848. At other times he claimed he was born in 1853 (in the 1910 census). In 1930, he said he was 75, born in 1855, Only one year later, 1931, he claimed it was 1848 for purposes of claiming a Confederate pension. The County approved it, the state pension board rejected it. He reapplied in 1933 and claimed he was now 85. He was turned down again in 1939. In the 1940 census he had become 92, aging 17 years in just 10 years. And in 1941 under a special act passed in the late 30s, he was granted $600 per year retroactive to June 12, 1939. It was subsequently raised to $75 a month, i.e. $900 a year, then in 1953 it was increased to $150 for life. http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/okaloosa/military/pensions/l5300001.txt
His father died in 1918 two days shy of 80. Do the Math. Either he lied about who his parents were — or he lied about everything.
That 1848 was a physical impossibility, because Francis Marion Lunday, his father was only 10 years old in 1848. He was born June 11, 1838. It would have been possible for his mother, she was born March 2, 1829. In reality, William Lunday (later changed to Lundy) wasn't born for 11 years after he claimed.
That birthdate for FML is actually simple to demonstrate by their wedding on July 26, 1855. He just turned 17 and she was 26. What is significant about that is that a marriage involving a person at least 16 but not yet 18 required parental consent and and required execution of a bond in the penal amount of $200 to be paid to the State of Alabama. The bond agreement became void if there was no legal reason that the marriage should not have occurred.
You will see that bond noted at the image https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRJB-D6L which dates the wedding and it’s a startlingly clear marriage record, including the bond question at the bottom. Just make it larger and they're on the left page. I don't expect you to take my word for it, but the required bond has been in the Alabama Code since at least 1852. The wedding was in Pike County, where Troy is located so he might have been born there. They were married in the only situation where the penal bond was required.http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/alcode/30/1/30-1-5
"If the person intending to marry is at least 16 years of age and under 18 years of age and has not had a former wife or husband, the judge of probate shall require the consent of the parents or guardians of the minor to the marriage, to be given either personally or in writing, and, if the latter, the execution thereof shall be proved. The judge of probate shall also require a bond to be executed in the penal sum of two hundred dollars ($200), payable to the State of Alabama, with condition to be void if there is no lawful cause why such marriage should not be celebrated."
(Code 1852, §1950; Code 1867, §2339; Code 1876, §2678; Code 1886, §2315; Code 1896, §2845; Code 1907, §4885; Code 1923, §8999; Code 1940, T. 34, §10; Act 2003-150, p. 454, §1.)”
You'll note that the newlyweds were illiterate, fairly common.The elegant script was over their marks. That may explain some of the census variations by different enumerators. In the 1850 Census with Thomas Lunday as head of Household (in Coffee County), Francis was called Francis A which is simply an error. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHPY-687 . It's difficult to read, but the error is there. It says he was 10, actually he was 12..
What you have is somone whose father was at most 23 years old when the war began, 27 when it ended. His Grandfather was only 37 when it began and as the 1880 census makes clear, he was just 21 that year and still living at home. It gives the supposed Confederate's birth year as 1859. The CSA wasn't taking 4-5 year olds. His siblings followed in quick success, Joseph in 1861, Henry in 1863, and Regney in 1868. Regney later used Rena or a variation. She married and was widowed with two 11 year olds in 1910, died in 1947.
The 1855 date given his parent's marriage might have confused his memory or not. He habitually overstated his age. If his pension application was an indication, he was not illiterate. His handwrite is clearly written with good script, or someone else did it for him. It doesn’t really matter.
The 1880 Census Source I used was https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4J8-JX5. The 1910 Census lists he and his family at https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVKP-5PS His father, who continued to use "Lunday" moved to the same area of today's Okaloosa County. F.M. and William's Mother ran a boarding house. http://us-census.mooseroots.com/l/389364674/F-M-Lunday provides the information from 1910 census.
The 1930 Census which claims he's 75 is https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SYKB-1N2 The 1940 census where he's suddenly 92 is https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VTCW-YRP The census sources I used are free, a product of the Mormon Church and there are no differences of consequence. Some provide a little more information than others.
It’s time - after 85 years of false glory to give William A. Lundy his discharge papers and recognize him for what he was, just another Confederate imposters. The last real Confederate Veteran was Pleasant Cump, another native Alabamian, was the last verified Confederate Veteran. He died at 104 years on the very last day of 1951.
A dozen Confederate imposters, including Lunday, lived longer than Cump and there were two still left when William Lundy died, leaving behind a legacy built on lies, fabrication, conspiracy with those who supported his claim for the Confederate pension until he gave it up through his death.
As for the size of the pension, it was healthier than it sounds now. The first national minimum wage (http://1.usa.gov/1O0SegG ) was.25 cents an hour - working 60 hours a week 52 weeks in a row, you earnings would gross $780. From late 1939 until after WW2 ended, it was increased to only 30 cents. Same 60 hours, $936 gross, through 1950, it was raised to 40 cents, Same hours $1248. From 1950-56, the minimum wage was 75 cents, gross of $2340, From 1956, it rose to $1 which with the same hours would gross $3120. In reality, most hour workers couldn’t work that many hours.