CARLISS
 
16) GEDDES/CARLESS

"Tea Party" William GEDDES, His Majesty’s Collector of Customs and owner of the brigatine "Geddes", whose tea was dumped overboard into the Chester River on May 23rd, 1774. at the Port of Chestertown, MD.

Today, GEDDES’ house is an integral part of Chestertown’s Historic District.  Known as the GEDDES-PIPER House, it dates from the 1770's and is similar in design to Philadelphia town houses.  Family is of Scotch extraction, a family of titled nobility which traced its ancestry back to the Norman Conquest as per an early obit.

Son, Alexander  GEDDES  b. 19-Dec-1799 in London, England, d. 1884 m. Elizabeth CARLESS b. 9-Sep-1809 Edinburgh, Scotland, d. 9-Mar-1873 Vinton, Iowa.  12 children  Two are known: William and Charles GEDDES b. 15-Aug-1842, St. Thomas, Canada d. 9-Feb-1932 at home of daughter Bessie (GEDDES) BLOODGOOD. Beatrice, NE.  Charles, a Baptist and the oldest,  m. Helen HAYWARD 15-Jun-1875 Red Oak, IA who was born  21-Sep-1853 Birkenhead, England and d. 15-Feb-1918 Beatrice, NE.

Charles came to US when 17 years old and fought in Civil War, behalf of  the Union.  Became Lieutenant.  Was IA shoe cobbler.  Sought gold in CO, homesteaded in SD and western NE and finally sold shoes in Beatrice, NE (just south of Lincoln, NE) where he moved in 1889.Charles & Helen HAYWARD GEDDES had 7 children: George Loraine GEDDES b. 1876, Charles Arthur  GEDDES, b. 1878 Bessie Gertrude GADDIS b. 1880, all in Vinton, IA.  Mary Florence GEDDES b, 1883 in Frankfort, SD whereas Murray Raymond GEDDES 1886 was born in Redfield, SD.  Earl Clifford GEDDES 1889 and Grace Helen GEDDES 1891 were born Beatrice, NE.Bessie Gertrude GEDDES married Edwin Elliott BLOOGOOD and she is grandmother of  Loretta "Lolly" Bloodgood Fendall, the contributor.
 
 

This is an update as of 22 Feb 2000.  Thanks to some tips received on this site about the Civil War and the Iowa researchers.  I hope this may help someone to connect to this family.  The numbers are the generation and the letters are the order of children.

1-A William  Geddes
 Children:
   2-A Alexander  Geddes    19-Dec-1799 London, England.

 2-A Alexander  Geddes
 Born 19-Dec-1799 London, England.
 Died 1884
  Married Elizabeth Carless
 Born 9-Sep-1809 Edinburgh, Scotland.
 Died 9-Mar-1873 Vinton, IA.

 The family moved from Edinburgh, Scotland to St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada in 1837.
 Children: (12- 6 boys and 6 girls)
   3-A James Loraine  Geddes      23-Sep-1827 Midlothian, Scotland
   3-B  Hannah P. Geddes             13-Oct-1829 Edinburgh, Scotland
   3-C William  Geddes                  ca. 1840
   3-D Charles  Geddes                 15-Aug-1842 St. Thomas, Canada.
   3-E  Andrew  Geddes                1844-1921
   3-F  John C. Geddes                 ca. 1846
 

  3-A James Loraine  Geddes
 Born 23-Sep-1827 Midlothian, Scotland
 Died 21-Feb-1887

  James was mustered into the United States service, September 12, 1861, at Davenport, Iowa, with Frederick Steele, of the regular army, as James L. Geddes, of Vinton, IA., as Lieutenant Colonel, at the age of 34.  He was with the 8th Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry.  He was engaged at the following battles: Shiloh (where most of the regiment were taken prisoners of war including James), Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson and Spanish Fort..  He was made a brevet Brigadier General on June 5, 1865 for gallant and mar. service during the war and was mustered out of the service at Selma, Alabama, April 20, 1866.
 

 3-B  Hannah P. Geddes
 Born 13-Oct-1829 Edinburgh, Scotland
 Died 11-Jan-1919 near Vinton, IA.
 Buried Evergreen Cemetery, Vinton
 Married Isband  Noble, Jr. 27-Oct-1852
 Born 16-Apr-1827 Ontario,   Elgin Co., Canada
 Died 27-Dec-1900

 Children:
   4-A James A.  Noble                16-Oct-1853
   4-B William I.  Noble                16-Feb-1856
   4-C  Sarah E. Noble                 22-Apr-1858
   4-D Andrew  Noble                  11-Oct-1863 (m. Ida)
   4-E  Charles Geddes Noble    13-Apr-1868

 4-A James A.  Noble
 Born 16-Oct-1853
 Died
  Married Emma E. Coutts
 Born 23-Jul-1858 Vinton, IA.

 Children:
  5-A  Hannah Noble
  5-B Bessie Mae  Noble

 5-A  Hannah Noble
 Married Roscoe  McMillan

 4-B William I.  Noble
 Born 16-Feb-1856
 Died
  Married Ella Wright 19-Mar-1891    Daughter of Thomas  Wright and  Martha A. Gray

 Children:
   5-A Leon L. Noble              1894
   5-B Patricia Elsie Noble    1896
   5-C Nellie May Noble         1898

 4-C  Sarah E. Noble
 Born 22-Apr-1858
 Died
 Married Taylor Cook
 Died 1886

  4-E Charles Geddes  Noble
 Born 13-Apr-1868
 Died 23-Aug-1942 Vinton, IA.
  Married Cora Pryor  7-Dec-1893
 Born 14-Jan-1869
 Died 1939

 Children:
   5-A Thornton Edward  Noble       28-Jun-1905 Wellington, KS.
 

 3-C  William Geddes
 Born 15-May-1840 St. Thomas, Ontario, CA.
 Died 6-Dec-1919 Washington, D.C.
 Buried Arlington Nat. Cem.

 William moved to Vinton, IA. in 1858
Obituary: “William was a good Christian man in every way . . . of late years he has made his home at Washington, D.C. near his brother Andrew, who with his brother Charles of Beatrice, NE. and sister Mrs. Leon Loizeaux of Crook, CO. are left to mourn his death . . . At the breaking out of the Civil War he helped his brother, the late Gen. James L. Geddes organize a company which was mustered into the service as Co., D, 8th Iowa Inf.  On account of his youth and the fact that four of his brothers were already in the service he did not go with the company he helped to organize.  In Aug. 1862 he assisted Capt. H.M. Wilson to organize another company known as Co. D. 28th Iowa Ing. Which he accompanied to the front.  After the close of the war he remained in Vinton for a while and since has lived in many sections of the U.S.
 

 3-D Charles  Geddes
 Born 15-Aug-1842 St. Thomas, Canada.
 Died 9-Feb-1932 Beatrice, NE.
 Buried Evergreen Home Cemetery, Beatrice, NE.
   Married Helen Hayward 15-Jun-1875 Red Oak, IA.
 Born 21-Sep-1853 Birkenhead, England.
 Died 15-Feb-1918 Beatrice, NE.

  Charles was one of twelve children.  He came to the United States at the age of 17 and when the Civil War broke out he followed the example of his five brothers, enlisting in the union army and serving with the 16th Iowa Infantry.  He enlisted on February 25, 1862 when he was 21 years old as a private.  During the next three years and nine months he saw service on many hard-fought and bloody battle fields.  He was promoted to Full Corporal, Full Sargent on Sept. 24, 1864, Full 1st Sargent on Jun 4, 1865 and Full 2nd Sargent on Jun 5, 1865.  He was wounded in the left thigh in the battle of Shiloh, but upon his recovery, he again took his place in the ranks of his comrades, serving until the close of the conflict when he was
mustered out in Louisville, KY. on July 19, 1865 with the rank of 2nd lieutenant.

  The life of Charles was filled with a variety of adventures.  He attended, for a time, Grinnell University and later, in company with one of his brothers he drove overland to Denver, Colorado, in search of gold.  He also had the experiences of homesteading both in South Dakota and in western Nebraska.

  He came to make his home in Beatrice in the spring of 1889 when this town was undergoing a building boom.  Religiously he was a Baptist and he was sincerely interested in the things of the Spirit.  He was a very attentive listener and greatly enjoyed the fellowship of Christian people.  He was affiliated with the Beatrice G.A.R. association and was one of its most loyal supporters.  Charles was a shoe cobbler of Vinton, Iowa and worked for the shoe department of Klein’s store in Beatrice, NE. Before retiring.

  Charles was of Scotch extraction, being a member of a family of titled nobility which traced its ancestry back to the Norman Conquest, yet he never boasted of his lineage but was known among his wide circle of acquaintances as a man of modest demeanor.  He had a very keen intellect which he retained until the very last.  He was deeply interested in national and international events and only a couple of days before his death he asked those by his bedside to read to him the news of the Sino-Japanese military conflict and the events which were happening at Washington, D.C.

  He is remembered as a man of quiet disposition, neat in his personal appearance, genteel in his manners and devoted to the members of his family.  His long and active life left a most wholesome influence upon the entire community.  All who knew him honored and respected him.

   After Helen died, Charles lived with his daughter, Bessie (Geddes) Bloodgood.  He walked from one end of Beatrice to the other, which was four or five miles every day when he was very old.

 Children:
    4-A George Loraine  Geddes       19-Apr-1876 Vinton, IA.
    4-B Charles Arthur  Geddes        24-May-1878 Vinton, IA.
    4-C  Bessie Gertrude Geddes      5-Aug-1880 Vinton, IA.
    4-D Mary Florence  Geddes         5-Oct-1883 Frankfort, S.D.    Died 31-Jul-1885 Redfield, S.D.
    4-E Murray Raymond  Geddes    21-Jun-1886 Redfield, S.D.
    4-F Earl Clifford  Geddes             10-May-1889 Beatrice, NE. Beatrice, NE.
    4-G  Grace Helen Geddes            17-Oct-1891 Beatrice, NE.
 

 4-C  Bessie Gertrude Geddes
 Born 5-Aug-1880 Vinton, IA.
 Died 26-Aug-1943 Beatrice, Gage Co., NE.
 Married Edwin Elliott  Bloodgood 6-Aug-1900  Beatrice, Gage Co., NE.
 Born 11-Nov-1878 Lewis Bottoms, IA.
Died 26-Jun-1915 Beatrice, NE.
 Son of Loren Elbert  Bloodgood (1850-1934) and  Julie Isabelle “Belle” Thompson (1856-1933).
 

 3-E  Andrew Geddes, Col.
 Born 27-Aug-1843
 Died Nov-1921 Washington, D.C.

Obituary “Col. Andrew Geddes was one of the early day residents of Vinton, IA. and will be remembered by several of the old residents, particularly by his comtades of the Civil War. . . When the Civil War broke out Andrew enlisted in the First Iowa Infantry.  Before he had been in the service six months he was commissioned by Gov. Kirkwood as Captain of Co. D. 8th Iowa.  After serving in that capacity for four years, he was elected Lieutenant Col., and was mustered in as such at the age of 19 years.  He was later made Col. And served for five years. . . Following the Civil War, Col. Geddes served in the regular army for fourteen years, part of the time as adjutant on the staff of Gen. Nelson A. Miles.  He was often mentioned in orders for efficiency and daring on Indian scouts.  A few years after being discharged from the regular army Col. Geddes went to Washington and later served as Chief Clerk of the department of agriculture under Sec. James Wilson.  He also filled a number of other government positions.”

A new book published in February 2000 titled "Ungentlemanly Acts", by Louise Barnett is about this Andrew Geddes.  From Lolly Fendall:  "It is about my great great uncle Andrew Geddes.  He accused another officer of incest with his teenage daughter, but due to the unwillingness of society in those days to recognize or deal with this subject, he was court martialed for mentioning it.  He was later reinstated, but Sherman was then out to get him so got him on a trumped up charge of drunkenness.  Not that
Andrew was lilly white.  He was later cleared by the Congress. Andrew was one of six brothers, including my great grandfather, Charles Geddes, who fought in the Civil War, (five of whom I know of and are listed
in family 16). They were all from IA.  From the book I learned that Andrew's wife's name was Florence Towers. They lived in Washington D.C. and had children:
     John William Geddes
     Reina Geddes who m. ? Younger
     Elizabeth W. Geddes who m. ? Milliken
     Esther F. Geddes"
 

 3-F John C.  Geddes
 Born ca. 1846
 Died

John enlisted in the Union Army on May 21, 1964 as a private when he was 18
years old.
 
 
 

Contacts for this family line:
Lolly Fendall - [email protected]
 
 

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