Some southern US Civil War refugees went to Brazil - Did any of yours?

Question

Almost history as much as genealogy - some of your US southerner's ancestors or their sisters and brothers took off for Brazil after the Civil War ooops War of Northern Aggression y'all call it. (Are you missing some family/ancestors mmm?) Some also went to Mexico but the end of Emperor Maximilian was the end of their stay.

Do you have any (brief) yarns to tell about any of them in your family to share?

I think I'd first read of this many years ago, that the colonists' descendants still celebrate The Old South, southern style, in Brasil. It's not easy to find articles online, here are 2:

http://tinyurl.com/2fl8w4
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/brazil/

C'mon you guys, some of you out there gotta be somehow related to some of these expats.

Answer 1

My relatives were still living in eastern Europe at the time, but I thought I would add a tidbit to your question.

A man named Lansford Hastings wrote "The Emigrant’s Guide to Oregon and California " which was used by those going out west. Unfortunately, one well-known group decided to follow one of his recommendations and took what is now known as Hastings Cut-off to save time. In reality the cut-off took longer and the folks ended up stranded in the Sierras during the winter of 1846/7. Remember the Donner Party?

In spite of this Hastings went on to become a lawyer and a judge. During the Civil War he served as a major in the Confederate Army and (here's the link to your question) after the war decided to establish a colony in Brazil for refugees from the Confederacy. He wrote "The Emigrant’s Guide to Brazil" in 1867. He did take one group to Brazil, but died in 1870 during a trip with the second group. I don't know how many people were in group one or if group two arrived or not.

I usually ask my students how many of them would have followed his new guide book. This is after we study what happened to the Donner Party. I don't get many takers. :-)

Answer 2

I hope you get some good answers. I want to read their stories.