“Ringgold, Ga., has a mayor who’s one generation removed from the Civil War.
“Joe Barger’s grandfather — that’s right, his grandfather — Jacob A. Barger served as a private for the South in North Carolina’s infantry. Mayor Barger grew up in Salisbury, N.C., about 35 miles north of Charlotte.
” ‘He was born in 1833,’ Barger said. ‘So it’s 96 years’ difference between when he was born, and I was born.’
“The births were spaced that way because both Barger’s grandfather and father married younger women after their first wives died.
“Being the grandson of a Civil War soldier is so unusual, the 84-year-old mayor said, that when he tells people about it, ‘I don’t think they believe me.’ ”
— From “Civil War scion: Ringgold mayor is living history….” by Tim Omarzu in the Chattanooga Times Free Press (June 28)
It must be something about Salisbury. My friend John Thomas, who is about 60 years old, I would guess, is also a grandson of a Civil War soldier. He is the youngest son of the youngest son of the second marriage.