Local teen forms chapter of Civil War ancestry group

hen he was about 13, Thomas Hull traced his ancestry all the way back to the pilgrims, enabling him to become a junior member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

Now, he's moving from the 17th century to the mid-1860s. And he hopes others will join him.

The West Valley High School junior is helping organize a new camp, or chapter, of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Eastern Washington. The first meeting is set for Sunday.

And, unlike Thomas did, folks don't have to prove their lineage to join the national organization, founded in 1881. Hereditary members must be at least 14 years old, male, and direct descendants of Union veterans of the Civil War. But those that don't qualify can be associate members. And women can be auxiliary members.

In Washington state, there are about 120 members, says Rod Fleck, 41, of Forks, Wash. Fourteen years ago, he organized Gov. Isaac Stevens Camp No. 1.

The Eastern Washington group could become the second camp in Washington and the third in the Pacific Northwest. And Thomas is "just stoked about it," Fleck says. "He's made all the arrangements for the event. It's just awesome."

The camp could start with about a half-dozen members, but it would need to number 15 within a year, Fleck says. So far, there are only about 10 members in Eastern Washington, three in Yakima.

Thomas, now 17, is one of them. He's still working on his dad but figures he'll come around in time for the meeting.

"It keeps young people interested in their roots," says John Hull, 46, superintendent of the Apple Tree Golf Course.

His son can provide charts, books, black-and-white family photos, and copies of newspaper obituaries and military records of ancestors.

"I wanted to know where they came from and what they did," says Thomas, who has found he has a handful of great-great-great-uncles and at least five direct ancestors -- four great-great-great-grandfathers and one great-great-great-great-grandfather -- who are Civil War veterans.

One of the great-great-greats is Henry Hubbard Hull. According to his military records, the 42-year-old farmer mustered in on Nov. 5, 1864, part of Company I, Heavy Artillery, First Wisconsin Regiment of the Union Army.

His son, Nathan Porter Hull, Thomas' great-great-grandfather, came West and started a ranch. The Apple Tree Golf Course is built on what was once his land.

Out here, "It's not like people are constantly reminded (of the Civil War)," Thomas says. "All the battles were back East. If we had a group, we could do something to promote the remembrance of it."

Meantime, he's working on tracing his ancestors to the signers of the Magna Carta, signed on June 15, 1215, in England.

"I might be a descendent of King John," Thomas says.

If you go ...

What: New Eastern Washington camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: Apple Tree Restaurant, 8804 Occidental Ave.

For more information or to RSVP, call Thomas Hull at 509-945-3668