Elvis Gets a Gettysburg Address

Barbara Lee Rowe, a fourth cousin of Elvis Presley, has opened a store called "Kin of Rock and Roll" in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (here's the website). Her aim is to commemorate Presley relatives who served in the rebel army, and to sell some "decorative plates, candle holders and T-Shirts."

In a black binder with shiny silver text saying "Elvis' Family," Rowe has pages and pages of enlisted Presley kin from the Civil War. But she's proven Elvis' connection to only some of them, like Darlin Presley of the 26th North Carolina, who fought in Pickett's Charge and was taken prisoner. He later died at Point Lookout Prison in Maryland.

Horton Presley, of the 55th North Carolina infantry also served at Gettysburg and is related to Elvis.

"Confederate Americans are Americans too," Rowe said. "He knew he had Confederate ancestors and he was proud of it. But he was also proud to be an American. He would have put it in the proper perspective." [Link]

Photo Credits: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cwpb.00865, http://www.worldwideelvis.com/37-7800u.s.display.jpg

Elvis' Military Records Released (with 1.2 million others)

From the (Biloxi, Miss.) SunHerald of June 8, 2005:

Archives to open sealed military documents

BETSY TAYLOR

Associated Press

OVERLAND, Mo. - When Elvis Presley entered the Army, a fretful public launched a letter-writing campaign.

"Will you please, please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike to bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army? We need him in our entertainment world," pleaded one 1958 letter from a Sacramento, Calif., couple to then-first lady Mamie Eisenhower.

The anxious missive is among documents included in the 1.2 million military personnel files the National Archives will open to the public Saturday for the first time.

Among the documents are records related to famous politicians, military leaders - and at least one rock 'n' roll star. The bulk, however, relate to former enlisted personnel in the Navy from 1885 to 1939, or in the Marines from 1906 to 1939.

[snip]

Bryan McGraw, the [National Personnel Records Center]'s assistant director for archival programs, said there are about 56 million records relating to inactive military personnel at the center. They usually are available only to the veteran, next of kin, the agency that created the record, or by approved special request.

The Defense Department and the National Archives Records Administration agreed in 1999 to work to release some documents because of interest from the public and researchers.

"I think those records will help the average American trying to explore genealogy, a family past," said Michael Pavkovic, the diplomacy and military studies director at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu.

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

For more see the Records Center website.