Wednesday, August 28, 2002
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Wednesday, August 28, 2002 |
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Wheat loans Civil war pistol to museum
Former Fayetteville mayor Mike Wheat recently loaned a Civil War-era pistol used by one of his ancestors to the museum at Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House in Fayetteville. The pistol is one of two identical pieces Wheat's great-great-grandfather, Alson Grey Thompson, carried as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. Alson lived in North Carolina, and although the family cannot find it documented anywhere, Wheat said his grandfather told him that Alson was in the cavalry. His brother, Sidney Thompson, was killed during the Civil War. Alson and his wife, Nancy Ellen, had eight children. The oldest, Robert Sydney, was born in 1862 and named after Alson's brother. He later married and settled in Indiana, where Wheat's grandfather was born. Wheat hopes that this small Colt, and the story behind it, will encourage other Fayette Countians to become more interested in the museum and loan some of their treasured items to it as well.
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