Last post of 2024

Post by Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

So many people don't care. They are caught up in their own world trying to make ends meet or figure out what happened.

This is an age-old story. It happened to our ancestors and to those left behind when their loved ones went off to war.

Over the last year, I've highlighted the stories of those women who were left behind when their husbands went off to serve during the Civil War. Or perhaps they married after the soldiers returned. Regardless, they were dealing with a country trying to heal itself. They were dealing with men who were scarred by what they experienced.

As I've stated before, we need to honor and remember what they dealt with. We have so much we can learn from how they lived their lives.

I will end with a short piece on the second wife of George Washington Castile (Casteel, Casteele). 

Image from Find a Grave

When Euphamia married George she was nineteen. She immediately became a mother to three boys from George's first marriage. The couple went on to have four of their own with two dying in infancy. 

The couple settled in Colorado Springs, where George eventually became a veterinary surgeon.

Euphamia Gillman Castile was born in Iowa in 1861 and died in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1939. She is buried in a separate area from her husband. 

George Washington Castile

What Euphamia and the other women highlighted over this past year experienced, did, and accomplished is something I'm eternally grateful for. Researching and writing about these women gives me a sense of what can be accomplished, and what I and others are capable of when necessary.

So ends the year of looking at the Civil War, the survivors, and their families. Let's see what 2025 may bring.

Until Next Time: Stay safe, Stay happy, and Stay healthy. 

Doris