Joel Grubb A Civil War Story Video

Описание: He Married Sisters, Fought Rebels, and Baffled a Town with His Death: The Astonishing Life of Joel Grubb

Old documents can feel distant and dry—a collection of names, dates, and places. But hidden within the faded ink of census records, pension files, and family bibles are the real, human stories of those who came before us. These records don't just list facts; they whisper tales of struggle, love, resilience, and sometimes, utter strangeness.

A perfect example is the life of Joel C. P. Grubb (1819-1889), an early pioneer of Jasper County, Missouri. At first glance, his records show a farmer, a blacksmith, and a Civil War veteran. But a closer look reveals a life of extraordinary complexity, from his tangled family tree and rollercoaster fortunes to the bizarre supernatural rumors that swirled around his death.

This video explores five of the most surprising discoveries from the records of Joel Grubb's life, showing how a seemingly ordinary pioneer lived through extraordinary times.

He Married Sisters.
Joel Grubb’s personal life was far from simple. He was married three times, a journey that began with his marriage to Cyrenia (Sarah) Payne in 1843. After Cyrenia’s death in 1857, he married a widow named Dorothy Seagraves, a union that later ended in divorce.

But it was his third marriage that contained the most surprising twist. In January 1869, Joel married Rhoda C. Crow, another widow. As noted in his obituary and other biographical sketches, Rhoda was the sister of his first wife, Cyrenia. This complex web of relationships bound two families together across generations, loss, and new beginnings on the Missouri frontier.

His Fortune Was Made, Destroyed by War, and Rapidly Rebuilt.
Before the Civil War, Joel Grubb was a prosperous man. By 1859, he had bought a home place in the "thriving town" of Fidelity, Missouri, where he established a "large wagon and plow works." His cattle, numbering in the "hundreds," dotted the local prairies. The 1860 U.S. Census reflects this success, valuing his real estate at $5,000—a significant sum for the time.

The war brought total devastation. His business, vital for the agricultural community, was "burned to the ground by the rebels" early in the conflict. When he returned home after three years of military service, he "found his property nearly all destroyed or confiscated." He had lost everything.