Isn't it amazing what can happen when a person gets involved in genealogy! Author Mary Kelly was researching her husband Orr's family history when she came upon some scant information on these two Iowa brothers who served in the Civil War. After much research, the Kelleys ended up writting Dream's End: Two Iowa Brothers in the Civil War (973.7477 KEL).
Andrew and Barney Brayman grew up on a farm in Bellair, Iowa. Andrew left home at the age of seventeen to fight in the war. A year later, his brother Barney also joined the army.
What really makes this book unique is that these were just "regular" farm boys. And, as the jacket proclaims, they were just two "among millions...(who) had little, if any, impact on the outcome of the war." Yet, I feel that this book about these two guys who left no diaries or letters is worth telling.
With the resurgence in genealogy we are noticing in the library, who knows? Maybe someone in the Cedar Valley area might follow the path of the Kellys and come up with their own fascinating book about "regular people" from the past.
c Waterloo Public Library 2008
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