DIXIE'S LAND by George J. Gaskin - 1899 - BERLINER Phonograph Record 054 - 7" Gramophone Disc record

"Dixie's Land," sung by George J Gaskin, was recorded on 3/28/1899. Berliner Phonograph Record, 7-inch Gramophone Disc record #054. It is a Confederate song.
I feel a bit guilty about owning the record, considering that two of my great-great-grandparents fought for the Union during the Civil War. Since many of you are interested in history, I'll share some background information I uncovered while researching my family tree.
Ancestor #1 was born in 1808 in Ireland. He worked as a coal miner in Shenandoah, PA, and enlisted as a Private in Company H of the Pennsylvania 53rd Infantry Regiment in 1861 at the age of 53, which was quite old for a soldier. After the war, he was involved in a mining accident that resulted in him being blinded.
Ancestor #2, my other Civil War veteran ancestor, was born in 1848 in Worcester, MA. He enlisted at the age of 14 or 15, even though the minimum age for enlistment was 18, which was often ignored (en.wikipedia.o.... After the war, he worked on the railways and, as the story goes, became the very first Catholic train conductor in the United States, as the prestigious job was previously forbidden to Catholics up until this time. Unfortunately, he had an accident on the railway and was killed by a train in 1883.
It was a perilous time to be alive in the 1880s, especially without OSHA or lawyers!