Monday, April 28, 2014

Twelve Confederate Grandfathers and a Union Sympathizer

My Southern roots go deep. All of my ancestors that I am aware of (there are a couple brick walls) have been here since the revolution. I have been able to document 12 grandfathers that served in the Civil War. Only two of them lost their lives, both killed in action.


 
Paternal 3rd Great Grandfather Confederate Soldiers





·                     James P. Moser
     Apr 1833 - Jun 1910
     Lancaster County, SC Confederate - Enlisted as Private Feb 23, 1861 Co C 1st SC Regulars and Co.G De Saussure Light Artillery. Served four years until surrender. Pension application records for James and widow in my possession.


·                     Samuel Montgomery Small
     15 Feb 1839 - 13 May 1906
     Lancaster County,SC Enlisted as Private in Company C, Hampton Legion Infantry Regiment South Carolina. Surrendered Company C, Hampton Legion Infantry Regiment South Carolina on 9 Apr 1865 at Appomattox, VA.


·                     Levi P. Whitaker
     1918 - Oct 1901
     Lancaster County,SC Enlisted as Private at Wild Cat, February 3, 1863, on muster roll of December 31, 1864. Co. C Butler's 1st Regulars SC Infantry. Died at the Old Soldiers' Home on Sullivans Island, SC. Buried with CSA Headstone Union Baptist Church Cemetery, Lancaster, Taxihaw, SC. Headstone application in my possession.


·                     Peter Washington Plyler (out of wedlock)
     28 May 1835 - 13 Dec 1862 Fredericksburg, VA
     Enlisted as Sergeant 15 March 1862 in Union County, NC Co. E 48th Infantry
     Promoted to Full Lieutenant on 26 Nov 1862. Shot and killed instantly on 13 Dec 1862.  Battle at Fredericksburg, VA. Body was brought home to be buried with family. Widow pension application record on file.

Thought to be Peter Plyler
 
·                     James Alexander Pate Sr.
     born abt 1810 - survived war
     Enlisted as Private 1st Regiment NC Infantry Co. B.



·                     Alfred Jesse Algerton
     22 Apr 1811 - 22 Jan 1906
     No record-Lost two sons in the war. Filed with the US Southern Claims Commission in 1876 and commission was granted: 
     The main stipulations for qualifying to receive a reimbursement were that: the claimant had to prove loss of property, that he had supported the Union during the war and that he not provided any assistance to the Confederates. Nearly 22,300 cases were filed by individuals and families, as well as businesses, institutions,churches, and other organizations. Not only do the names and locations of the claimants provide background information about the Civil War, but each claimant was required to provide witnesses. The witnesses had to answer the same 80+ questions that the claimant had to answer. Many of these witnesses were former slaves whose names rarely appear on any other legal document from the Civil War era. They also    provided names and dates for family members who often lived on other plantations.
         
·                     John Pleasant Dees
     1822 - 1895
     Enlisted as Corporal, Captain Kelly's Company, Chesterfield,SC, Light Artillery


·                     William Thomas Rorie (step-great grandfather)
     30 Sep 1845 - 13 Jul 1924
     Anson County,NC Enlisted in Company A, North Carolina 23rd Infantry Regiment on 22 May 1861. POW Captured by General Sheridan's forces, 19 September 1864, at Winchester, Virginia.
    
WT Rorie front center sitting


Maternal 3rd Great Grandfather Confederate Soldiers

·                     John Elliott
     Feb 1827 - 15 May 1915
     Enlisted as Private Mar 19, 1862 Catawba County, NC. Enlisted in Company I, 49th Infantry Regiment North Carolina on 16 Apr 1862.

John Elliott early 1900s with great grandchildren


·                     Jesse Barkley
     21 Aug 1826 - 16 Oct 1894
     There is a J.R. and a J.M. Barkley for Iredell, NC, but I do not have his middle initial. He was taxed $1 for a buggy in 1865.


·                     George Washington Lafayette Belk
     16 Mar 1829 - 14 Oct 1863 Battle of Bristoe Station, VA
     Enlisted as Private, Union County, NC 15 Mar 1862. Enlisted in Company E, North Carolina 48th Infantry Regiment on 19 Apr 1862. Killed in Action 14 Oct 1863 at Bristoe Station, VA. Memorial gravestone New Hope United Methodist Cemetery, Union County, NC with wife and her second husband Charles Fisher Helms. Do not know if body was returned for burial.




·                     Charles Fisher Helms (step-3rd great grandfather)
     21 Jan 1842 - 29 Jun 1918
     Enlisted as Private in Company B, North Carolina 26th Infantry Regiment on 09 Aug 1861.
    
     Tuesday, June 23, 1903, THE MONROE JOURNAL (Union County, N.C.)
     “I guess we old soldiers won’t get a great many more dinners and reunions,” said Mr.     Fisher Helms, an old soldier.  Mr. Helms was a member of the famous 26th North   Carolina Regiment, and was in a few yards of the gallant young Col. Burgwyn when the latter was killed, and himself was shot on the same field.  He was wounded five times    during the war and yet carried a ball in his body.  “Yes,” he continued, “I hope all      the boys come to Monroe on the Fourth.  I want to come to accept the invitation of the people of Monroe, and to see as many as possible of the old soldiers again.”


·                     James Mason Richardson
     Sep 1840 - 8 Feb 1904
     Enlisted as Private 2 Dec 1862, Camp Mangum, NC. Enlisted in Company B, North Carolina 26th Infantry Regiment on 29 Dec 1862


Mr. J. Mace RICHARDSON, who formerly lived in Buford township and long enjoyed the reputation of a fighting man, died on Monday of last week of dropsy, in Lancaster county. He moved to that locality about four years ago from Rock Hill. A wife and six children survive him. The body was taken to Rock Hill and buried beside one of his sons. 

Mr. J. M. Richardson, of the Creek section, died Monday from an abesess on the lung, caused it is supposed from injuries receieved by being thrown from his wagon by a runnaway team about two years ago. He was about 63 years of age and leaves a wife and six children. He had been confined to his home for several months. His remains were taken to Rock Hill yesterday for interment.
 


·                     Nathaniel "Nathan" Abernathy - no record found
     1814 - 1870


·                     Micajah Talbert - no record found 1814 - 1887



·                     Ezekiel Collett - No Record Found (Ezekiel Collett record is his nephew)
     1813 - died aft 1880 Zion, Greensville, VA


·                     Jacob William Correll - I recently found another death notice on Jacob that states he was a drummer in the war but haven't been able to find any records.

     27 Sep 1827 - 7 Apr 1899

Jacob William Correll
    







 

William Atlas Belk - Knocker Up

I recently found out from my great aunt, age 95, that my great grandfather William Atlas "Buck" Belk was a Knocker Up for the Alcoa Mill in Badin, NC. Great Grandpa was a painter by trade, but in the early 1920s when times were hard he took the job with Alcoa. A "Knocker Up" was in charge of making sure everyone got up in the morning to go to work. He would go knock on doors and windows, getting people out of bed and on their way to the mill. My great grandfather died four years before I was born but I've always heard he was an early riser and always happy, not to mention a big flirt. I can just imagine him getting a sneak peak of a lady in her shift and going on about it. I guess present day Southerners would describe him as a "mess".