| Other Family Trees As presented in the ABC Press Kit |
The Civil War is a matter of family history for several stars of "North and South," whose ancestors
fought in the war between the states.
In "North and South," the clock ticks, the calendar pages turn, and the Civil War looms. At the
center of the story are two American families. One owns a plantation . . . and slaves - in South
Carolina. The other owns an ironworks in Pennsylvania - and is appalled by slavery.
The 12-hour, six-part story of the friendship that exists between the two families in spite of the
war clouds is based on the John Jakes best-seller and airs as an "ABC Novel for Television"
presentation on the ABC Television Network, beginning SUNDAY, NOV. 3 (9:00-11:00 p.m., EST).
For some of the drama's stars - as for others in every part of America - the Civil War is more than a
textbook event; the Civil War is family history:
James Read and Patrick Swayze star as the two young men whose West Point friendship brings the
families together. James Read is George Hazard, the "Yankee," and James Read's great-great-uncle,
Sebaldus Hassler, fought and died with the Union Army, falling in battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on
May 20, 1863. Read's great-great-grandfather, Sampson T. Groves, served in the First Ohio
Volunteer Heavy Artillery until his honorable discharge on July 25, 1865, after which he lived to a ripe
old age.
Author John Jakes also knows his family history: "My great-great-grandfather, Michael Jakes, and
his two brothers, Nelson and (really) lsaac Newton Jakes, all served in the Civil War in lndiana
volunteer regiments," he reports. "l have photocopies of their complete military records. Michael Jakes
lasted about a year in the war and then was invalided out, as so many were; Nelson lasted about two
years before the same thing happened. lsaac Newton Jakes went all the way through - with Sherman
in Georgia, etc. - and was mustered out as a noncom in 1866."
Morgan Fairchild, a Special Guest Star whose character will become even more important
in "North and South, Book ll," which airs next spring, is a Texas girl, and her Civil War background
reflects that heritage. her great-grandfather, James Thomas Madison Hartt, and her
great-great-uncle, Thomas LaRue, both served in Company H of the 70th Texas Cavalry; her
great-great-grandfather, John LaRue, served with the 11th Brigade Texas Militia. All three survived
the war.
Hal Holbrook, who makes a special appearance as Abraham Lincoln, offers a family memory which
makes up in color what it lacks in detail: "Although my family goes back to 1634 in Massachusetts on
my father's side," he reports, "and to the John Smith colony on my mother's side, we did not have the
good fortune to acquire a Civil War hero. My great-grandfather was in the Civil War, but he fell asleep
at sentry duty one night and was threatened with being shot for failure in the line of duty. This so
unsettled him that he went into an emotional decline and ended up in an insane asylum."
fought in the war between the states.
In "North and South," the clock ticks, the calendar pages turn, and the Civil War looms. At the
center of the story are two American families. One owns a plantation . . . and slaves - in South
Carolina. The other owns an ironworks in Pennsylvania - and is appalled by slavery.
The 12-hour, six-part story of the friendship that exists between the two families in spite of the
war clouds is based on the John Jakes best-seller and airs as an "ABC Novel for Television"
presentation on the ABC Television Network, beginning SUNDAY, NOV. 3 (9:00-11:00 p.m., EST).
For some of the drama's stars - as for others in every part of America - the Civil War is more than a
textbook event; the Civil War is family history:
James Read and Patrick Swayze star as the two young men whose West Point friendship brings the
families together. James Read is George Hazard, the "Yankee," and James Read's great-great-uncle,
Sebaldus Hassler, fought and died with the Union Army, falling in battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on
May 20, 1863. Read's great-great-grandfather, Sampson T. Groves, served in the First Ohio
Volunteer Heavy Artillery until his honorable discharge on July 25, 1865, after which he lived to a ripe
old age.
Author John Jakes also knows his family history: "My great-great-grandfather, Michael Jakes, and
his two brothers, Nelson and (really) lsaac Newton Jakes, all served in the Civil War in lndiana
volunteer regiments," he reports. "l have photocopies of their complete military records. Michael Jakes
lasted about a year in the war and then was invalided out, as so many were; Nelson lasted about two
years before the same thing happened. lsaac Newton Jakes went all the way through - with Sherman
in Georgia, etc. - and was mustered out as a noncom in 1866."
Morgan Fairchild, a Special Guest Star whose character will become even more important
in "North and South, Book ll," which airs next spring, is a Texas girl, and her Civil War background
reflects that heritage. her great-grandfather, James Thomas Madison Hartt, and her
great-great-uncle, Thomas LaRue, both served in Company H of the 70th Texas Cavalry; her
great-great-grandfather, John LaRue, served with the 11th Brigade Texas Militia. All three survived
the war.
Hal Holbrook, who makes a special appearance as Abraham Lincoln, offers a family memory which
makes up in color what it lacks in detail: "Although my family goes back to 1634 in Massachusetts on
my father's side," he reports, "and to the John Smith colony on my mother's side, we did not have the
good fortune to acquire a Civil War hero. My great-grandfather was in the Civil War, but he fell asleep
at sentry duty one night and was threatened with being shot for failure in the line of duty. This so
unsettled him that he went into an emotional decline and ended up in an insane asylum."
It has been more than a hundred years since the last shots of the Civil War were fired, but the
memories ricochet into the present through crumbling family albums and tales told through the
generations.
For six nights, beginning SUNDAY, NOV. 3 (9:00-11:00 p.m., EST), the ABC Television Network will
present "North and South," the John Jakes best-seller which becomes a 12-hour "ABC Novel for
Television," recalling the events that led up to the war that cost more American lives than any since.
A poll of ABC's stars revealed that many of them have their own family memories to pass along:
Anne Baxter (Arthur Hailey's "Hotel") recalls tales of her great-great-uncle, Jenkins Lloyd Jones,
who "had always been against slavery and left the farm to join the Union Army as an enlisted man.
He was an abolitionist and a great supporter of Abraham Lincoln; later (in the 1880s) founding the
First Unitarian Church in a basement in Chicago. As a minister he preached all over."
Marv Ann Mobley ("Different Strokes") has been told of an ancestor on the other side her
great-great-grandfather, Ned Basil Farish, was a Rebel. Born in 1830 in Hinds Counrv, Mississippi,
he survived the war and lived a full life until 1912.
Brian Keith ("Hardcastle and McCormick") had two great-great-grandfathers in the Union Army; he
has their photographs in uniform and their military papers at home, protected under glass.
Kirk Cameron ("Growing Pains") holds the record for the greatest number of "greats" and for
highest-ranking officer: his great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle was Major General John
Alexander Logan of lllinois, who distinguished himself at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21,
1861;at the siege of Vicksburg;and marched through Georgia with General Sherman (as did one of
author John Jakes' ancestors.) Following the war he helped to organize the Grand Army of the
Republic. He was also, in 1884, a Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket and was later
involved with the establishment of Memorial Day. Busy man.
Donna de Varona (Assistant to the President of ABC Sports and on-air commentator) has a story
with a surprising similarity to "North and South" in her background. One of the central figures in the
drama is young George Hazard (played by James Read), whose family owns Hazard lron Works, a
leading industrial force in his native Pennsylvania. Ms. de Varona's great-great-great-grandfather
was David Thomas, whose Thomas lron Company was a leading industrial force. in Pennsylvanial
Thomas, a native of South Wales, built a major reputation in his homeland for his experiments with
the use of anthracite coal to manufacture iron, and in 1840 he began operations in Allentown, Pa.
During the civil war, his Thomas lron Company not only supplied the Union forces with valuable iron
but also continued to "pay wages of those men employed who would be willing to volunteer for the
defense of the State." Following the war, the company appropriated $300 to erect the first
monument in the United States "in memory of soldiers who fell during the Civil War...
memories ricochet into the present through crumbling family albums and tales told through the
generations.
For six nights, beginning SUNDAY, NOV. 3 (9:00-11:00 p.m., EST), the ABC Television Network will
present "North and South," the John Jakes best-seller which becomes a 12-hour "ABC Novel for
Television," recalling the events that led up to the war that cost more American lives than any since.
A poll of ABC's stars revealed that many of them have their own family memories to pass along:
Anne Baxter (Arthur Hailey's "Hotel") recalls tales of her great-great-uncle, Jenkins Lloyd Jones,
who "had always been against slavery and left the farm to join the Union Army as an enlisted man.
He was an abolitionist and a great supporter of Abraham Lincoln; later (in the 1880s) founding the
First Unitarian Church in a basement in Chicago. As a minister he preached all over."
Marv Ann Mobley ("Different Strokes") has been told of an ancestor on the other side her
great-great-grandfather, Ned Basil Farish, was a Rebel. Born in 1830 in Hinds Counrv, Mississippi,
he survived the war and lived a full life until 1912.
Brian Keith ("Hardcastle and McCormick") had two great-great-grandfathers in the Union Army; he
has their photographs in uniform and their military papers at home, protected under glass.
Kirk Cameron ("Growing Pains") holds the record for the greatest number of "greats" and for
highest-ranking officer: his great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle was Major General John
Alexander Logan of lllinois, who distinguished himself at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21,
1861;at the siege of Vicksburg;and marched through Georgia with General Sherman (as did one of
author John Jakes' ancestors.) Following the war he helped to organize the Grand Army of the
Republic. He was also, in 1884, a Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket and was later
involved with the establishment of Memorial Day. Busy man.
Donna de Varona (Assistant to the President of ABC Sports and on-air commentator) has a story
with a surprising similarity to "North and South" in her background. One of the central figures in the
drama is young George Hazard (played by James Read), whose family owns Hazard lron Works, a
leading industrial force in his native Pennsylvania. Ms. de Varona's great-great-great-grandfather
was David Thomas, whose Thomas lron Company was a leading industrial force. in Pennsylvanial
Thomas, a native of South Wales, built a major reputation in his homeland for his experiments with
the use of anthracite coal to manufacture iron, and in 1840 he began operations in Allentown, Pa.
During the civil war, his Thomas lron Company not only supplied the Union forces with valuable iron
but also continued to "pay wages of those men employed who would be willing to volunteer for the
defense of the State." Following the war, the company appropriated $300 to erect the first
monument in the United States "in memory of soldiers who fell during the Civil War...
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