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Post by Diane Merkel on Oct 15, 2021 11:06:13 GMT -6
I received the following email from a man in Finland: According to this site littlebighorn.info/Cavalry/NameS.htm Thomas Sorden was born in Finland, but but according to this site, Thomas Sorden was born in Ireland montanamsgs.org/CWarVet/cwv24.pdf.
Are they two different men or one and the same man? In any case, Sorden, if the man was Finnish, would be a very rare name here in Finland. This was my reply: Thank you for writing. That is an interesting question. I found the Civil War source that stated he was born in Ireland, but there is also an 1860 federal census that shows Thomas Sorden, born in 1847, was born in the State of Maryland.
I got most of my information for my website listings from three sources. Two of the sources did not list him because he did not participate in the battle and deserted the Army in 1878. The remaining source states he was born in Finland.
More research will be needed to find if we are talking about the same man and, if so, where he was born. I will let you know if I find an answer. The one source that shows him is Men with Custer. The two that don't list him are Participants in the Battle of the Little Big Horn and Military Register of Custer's Command. Any ideas about how we might solve his birthplace question? Diane
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Post by noggy on Oct 15, 2021 14:51:15 GMT -6
Many soldiers were enlisted under false names, it was not 100% his birth name. Also, in Swedish and Finnish, they have the letter Ö (we, being way cooler, have the Ø) which many changed to O when they moved to the US, but I can't really say Sörden is a Swedish/Finnish name I can recollect hearing before.
I saw that there were som paperwork on the memorial site with a picture of his grave which you also have visited, Diane,but could not make out quite what all of it said. But going to Minnesota where he was buried was at least typical for immigrants from Northen Europe/Scandinavia. Apart from that, I can't really guess of anything other than whatever Army record might be available...
Noggy
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Post by Kentishman on Feb 6, 2023 18:38:35 GMT -6
I've just come across this post and merely add that Men With Custer, Edited by Nichols and Bird (2010), clearly mis-read 'Ireland' for 'Finland' in the Registers of Enlistment. No town or county is given, which could mean it was a half-hearted attempt to conceal his identity or, perhaps, he came to America as a child and genuinely didn’t know where he was born. However, if the army records are correct then he’s Irish NOT Finnish. Participants doesn't include him as Sorden wasn't on the campaign and Military Register because he was still en route to join the regiment on 25 June 1876.
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