Reflections From the Fence: Exum Eley

Showing posts with label Exum Eley. Show all posts

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Sunday's Stories, 52 Ancestor Weeks, Week # 48, Exum Eley

This is week 48 of my participation Amy Johnson Crow's, once a week challenge to blog about one ancestor a week, tell their story, biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on that one ancestor. More about the challenge can be found at her Blog, No Story Too Small.

Exum Eley, was born around 1788, presumably in Isle of Wight County, Virginia to Mills Eley and his wife, Catey Lanford Eley.

On February 10, 1809 Exum married Polly B. Moody in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

Exum served his country during the War of 1812. His compiled service record shows he served from August 28, to September 13, 1814, 17 days for which he received $17.00. He appears as a Lieutenant on the Pay Roll of Captain John Blunt's Company of Infantry, 29th Reg't Virginia Militia, stationed at Camp Ware Bottom Church. He appears as a 1st Lieutenant on a Muster roll for the same company which states that he was present at Smithfield for the same dates in 1814 as he was paid for.

Note that in 1879, his widow, Martha Eley filed a "Claim of Widow For Service Pension, War of 1812" according to the Act of March 9th, 1878. In her application she stated that Exum served from June 23, 1813 for 17 days and that he received an honorable discharge on July 10th, 1813. She also stated that he was about 25 years old at the time of his enlistment, he was a farmer and was 5 foot 9 inches tall and had black hair.

It should also be noted that in Martha's Widow pension application a "Service Pension, War of 1812, Widow's Brief" signed by Alex R. Speel, Pension Searcher and dated Jan 8, 1879, Exum's record of service is stated as "in Capt Jno Lawrence's Co, Va Mil from June 25 to July 10, 1813 and in Capt John Blunt's Co, Va Mil from Aug 28 to Sept 13, 1814." The pension was approved in the amount of $8.00 per month, retroactive to March 9, 1878.

According to Stuart Lee Butler's work, "A Guide to Virginia Militia Units in the War of 1812", Lt. Exum Eley's Detachment was active from May 24 - 30 1814. He notes, "Lt. Eley was discharged June 8, 1814, and his detachment was mustered with Capt. William Parsons Company, June 3 - 28, 1814."

Exum and Polly had the following children:

Captain William H. Eley
Exum L. Eley
George Washington Eley
James M. Eley
Sally A. Eley
Rebecca J. Eley
Thomas J. Eley

Polly died sometime around 1830, probably in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

Exum married second Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall (widow of John Marshall, with six Marshall children: John Lawson Marshall, Adolphus Marshall, Polly Marshall, Lydia Marshall, Thomas J. Marshall and Martha Marshall.) Exum and Martha were married April 14, 1832 in Isle of Wight County, Virgnina.

Exum and Martha had three children of their own:

Virginia Catherine Eley
Stephen A. Eley
Solomon Benjamin Eley.

Exum died November 12, 1845 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. Exum's will was dated July 23, 1845 and presented to the court of Isle of Wight County Virginia on December 1, 1845.

Wish list for Exum: Place of burial. Review of documents I have stashed in digital and hard copy files and get them incorporated into the data base.

* Additional source data can be obtained by contacting me, see the right hand column for a yahoo email address.

** 52 Ancestors Weeks Button courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow.

*** I use many resources to research, FamilySearch.org is a free site. Ancestry.com is a pay site for which I pay, no discounts, etc. Fold3, is another site I subscribe to and pay for. None of these sites have asked me to review them, or use them. See my Disclaimers page for further details.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Redux: April 9, 1865, the Day of Surrender, Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

This post originally appeared on Reflections on April 9, 2010.

Solomon B. Eley is my second great grandfather. He was born around 1836 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia to Exum Eley and his second wife, Martha (Patsey) Darden Marshall Eley.

Solomon served with the 16th Virginia Infantry, Company D. He entered the war as a Second Lieutenant, eventually was promoted to a Captain. For a number of months he actually was the top commanding officer of Company D while his superior officers were indisposed.

On April 9, 1865 he was at Appomattox Courthouse, and signed the surrender papers. First is part of the first page of several that I receive when I obtained a copy of this document.

The printed portion of this graphic reads:

We, the undersigned Prisoners of War, belonging to the Army of Northern Virginia, having been this day surrendered by General Robert E. Lee, C.S. A., Commanding said Army, to Lieut. Genl. U.S. Grant, Commanding Armies of the United States, do hereby give our solemn parole of honor that we will not hereafter serve in the armies of the Confederate States, or in any military capacity whatever, against the United States of America, or render aid to the enemies of the latter, until properly exchanged, in such manner as shall be mutually approved by the respective authorities.

Done at Appomattox Court House, Va., this 9th day of April 1865.

Solomon's signature appears on this graphic, the last signature:

After the war, Solomon married Sarah (Sallie) Anne Darden.

Solomon B. Eley died April 21 1871 in Sussex County, Virginia from consumption, his remains were taken back to Isle of Wight County Virginia for burial, however, his burial place remains undiscovered.

Because the family had a photo (original format unknown) of Solomon and could prove he was at the Courthouse on the day of surrender, his photo has been placed on the Wall of Honor at the Appomattox Courthouse. This photo was taken a number of years ago, slightly out of focus, but, there he is (lower left corner).

Someday we shall chat about this photo and his uniform. I wrote about Solomon in my post of September 11, 2009, Ancestor Military Battles, Solomon B. Eley, where I first shared the documents and his story.

Solomon's photo, with that of his wife, Sallie, hang in my home, a constant reminder of my family and their stories.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Oh, V.C. Or, How I Hate Initials

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

I have been cleaning out old emails, VERY old emails. VERY VERY VERY old emails.

Part of that process involves follow up research at the favorite genie sites. I was clicking along, then, hit a census enumeration full of initials. I really despise initials. My southern roots research is thwarted, and bounced around a lot by initials.

Here is an example, or set of examples, about one lady in my research, Virginia Catherine Eley Niblett Watkins. She led me on a grand chase, let me tell you:

Found on the 1860 U.S. Census, Eastern District, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Smithfield Post Office: Graves Niblet, age 36, farmer, value of real estate $3000., value of personal property $2000.; V. C., age 29; Wm A., age 8; W. G., age 6; Jno R., age 4, A., age 1 (all male children).

From the December 25, 1868 issue of the Petersburg Index, Petersburg, Virginia:
"Married
WATKINS-NIBLETT--In Isle of Wight county, on the morning of the 20th instant, by Rev. W. B.Wellons, Col. MERIDETH H. WATKINS and MRS. VIRGINIA C. NIBLETT."

Virginia is found on the 1870 U.S. Census of Zuni Station, Windsor Township, Isle of Wight County, Virginia: M. H. Watkins, age 65, farmer, value of real estate $5000., value of personal property $950., born Virginia; Virginia C. Watkins, age 38, keeping house, born Virginia. Three of her sons Walter, Robert and Solomon are shown with the surname Watkins: Walter, age 15, at school, born Virginia; Robert, age 13, laborer, born Virginia; Solomon, age 11, at home . Also in the household, and possibly the child of M. H. Watkins, is: Ellen Watkins, age 17, cook.

Virginia is found on the 1880 U.S. Census of Windsor District, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, in the household of her son John, as follows: J. R. Niblet, age 23, farmer, born Virginia; M. L. Darden, age 17, wife, married within the census year, keeping house, born Virginia; M. H. Watkins, age 75, step-father, boarder; V. C. Watkins (looks like O.C. and has been found indexed as A.C.), mother, boarder, age 47,; M. I. (?) Watkins, age 6, brother; R.W. Niblet, age 20, sister, boarder.

Virginia is enumerated on the 1900 U.S. Census of Emporia Town, Emporia Township, Greensville County, Virginia, she is found in the home of her son, W. G. Niblett: V. C. Watkins, mother, born November 1833, age 66, widowed, 5 children, all of whom survive, born Virginia, both parents born Virginia.

Virginia was enumerated on the 1910 U. S. Census of Suffolk, Nansemond County, Virginia, in the home of her son, M. M. Watkins, as follows: Virginia Watkins, age 76, widowed, 5 children, all of whom survive, born Virginia, both parents born Virginia.

Virginia was found on the 1920 U.S. Census of Suffolk, Nansemond County, Virginia in the home of her son, Milson M. Watkins, as follows: Virginia C., mother, age 87, widow, born Virginia, both parents born Virginia.

Virginia's obituary appeared in the April 10, 1921 issue of the Virginia-Pilot and the Norfolk Landmark, Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia, under a column titled, in part, "Suffolk News and ..."
"MRS. VIRGINIA C. WATKINS
Suffolk, April 9. - - Mrs. Virginia C. Watkins, widow of the late Meredith M. Watkins, and one of the prominent women of this city, died this morning at 3:30 o'clock at the home of her son, M. M. Watkins, in St. James avenue, in the 89th year of her age.
Mrs. Watkins, who was a native of Isle of Wight County, is survived by five sons, M. M. Watkins, of Suffolk; S. T. Neblett, of Wakefield; W. G. Neblett, of Boykins; J. R. Neblett, of Edenton; W. E. Neblett, of Laurinburg, N.C.
The funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon, April 10, at 4 o'clock, at the residence of Mr. Watkins, in St. James avenue, conducted by Rev. H. H. Butler, assisted by Rev. Dr. W. W. Staley. Interment will be made in Cedar Hill Cemetery. The pall-bearers will be J. L. Eley, J. G. Marshall, J. M. Eley, J. A. Eley, Harvey Ashburn, J. M. White, N. T. Gray and J. F. Joyner."

(How many J. ?. Eley's do you think we could have???? I count three in the list above. No wonder I have a dislike for initials.)

Virginia Catherine Eley was born November 14, 1832 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. Her parents were Exum Eley and Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall Eley.

Virginia married first Graves Niblett, no marriage record for the couple has been found. Graves served in the 16th Virginia Infantry during the war between the states, as did two of Virginia's full brothers, Solomon B. Eley and Stephen A. Eley. Virginia married second Meredith Holland Watkins on December 20, 1868 at Isle of Wight County Virginia. Meredith also served in the 16th Virginia Infantry.

She died April 9, 1921 at Suffolk (Nansemond County) Virginia was was laid to rest in the large cemetery there, Cedar Hill Cemetery.

*Virginia was also spotlighted here on Reflections in November of 2009.

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Friday, September 6, 2013

THERE'S Patsey! It Has Been a LONG LONG Search

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

First of all, right off the top, I did NOT find Patsey, a distant cousin did. Thanks James, over and over and OVER again!

At times during the research process you end up working from two or more perspectives. That is what happened with Patsey. I recorded her as the daughter of John and Mary "Molly" Darden. I was actually working on the lineage of Charles Darden, found his parents and his siblings. Recorded same.

In other research, researching the Eley lines I recorded her as the wife of first John Marshall, and then Exum Eley.

For a few years now, I have felt that my ancestress, Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall Eley was the Patsey in this family:

See, I have NO dates for Patsey, DAUGHTER of John and Mary "Molly". I can tell you that I have no spouse for her either. In fact, this is about all I have about Patsey, daughter of John and Mary "Molly", these few words in her text file:

"Unmarried at the time of her father's will being drawn, the date being 1809. This daughter, Patsey, could be Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall Eley. Further research required".

Further research indeed. Gotta say, tis a bit ironic that my suspected direct line ancestress has the least amount of information here, eh?? Figures! It is a given in research, the one you want the most, is the one you have the least amount of information on, and is the one that is the hardest to find ANY THING on. Sometimes the rest of the clan information falls off the research "tree" faster than you can collect it.

I have great data on Martha Darden, WIFE/WIDOW of John Marshall, and WIFE/WIDOW of Exum Eley.

Trouble is, I could never connect Martha Darden (widow Marshall, widow Eley) with this Patsey daughter of John and Mary "Molly" Darden. Could NOT jump the chasm.

Along come the Chancery Cases at the Library of Virginia. I have spent a number of pleasant research hours at this site and have downloaded some great stuff.

I did not, however, get to the cases that my cousin James told me about last night. So much research to do, so little time, talk about skipping over the obvious. SOOOO glad cousin James did NOT skip! I verified the case numbers he referenced and off I went. Here we go, the relationship laid out about as clear as you can get it for that early time frame.

I am more than satisfied that THIS Patsey is MY Patsey.

Glad to meet cha Patsey and FINALLY put you in the right sibling and parental group and with the correct hubbies and children. I have some serious data base editing to do!

To the worshipful the Justices of Isle of Wight
County in Chancery sitting.

Humbly complaining shew unto the Court, your orators and oratrixes Ann Darden, George Hall and Polly his wife, late Polly Darden, Charles Darden, John Marshall and Patsey his wife late Patsey darden, Edmond Hall, Everitt Morris, and Peggy his wife, late Peggy Hall, William Hall and Merit Hall, the said William and Merit eing infants, are allowed to sue in their behalf the said John Marshal their next friend: That a certain Molly Darden late of the County of Isla of Wight, the mother of your orators and oratrisces, and Grand Mother of the complts, Edmond Hall, Peggy Morris and the infants William and Merit Hall being possessed of and entitles to sundry slaves, and personal estate, duly ma?? and published her last will and testament in writing, bearing date on, or about the day of AD 182 and thereby after giving away a few dollars in primary legacies and directing her executor to

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is just a small part of the total Chancery case. In fact, it is not even all of this page. But I have it ALL! I am only sharing a portion today. I have a lot of linking and transcribing to do.

Did you hear that wall crashing?? Did you hear the happy dancing music and delighted giggles?? Is it permissible to feel like gloating, just a little. Is it OK to feel vindicated. I suspected the relationship for some time, and now, thanks to James, it is. It IS!!!

THANK YOU COUSIN JAMES!

THANK YOU AGAIN!!

* Martha "Patsey" Darden Marshall Eley's son Solomon B. Eley married the granddaughter of Charles Darden, Sallie. Solomon and Sallie were first cousins one time removed.

** And, here is Martha tucked in nice and comfy with her siblings and parents! See Carol smile!

*** Thanks to Judy G. Russell for corrections to the transcription.
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Friday, April 9, 2010

April 9, 1865, the Day of Surrender, Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia

Solomon B. Eley is my second great grandfather. He was born around 1836 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia to Exum Eley and his second wife, Martha (Patsey) Darden Marshall Eley.

Solomon served with the 16th Virginia Infantry, Company D. He entered the war as a Second Lieutenant, eventually was promoted to a Captain. For a number of months he actually was the top commanding officer of Company D while his superior officers were indisposed.

On April 9, 1865 he was at Appomattox Courthouse, and signed the surrender papers. First is part of the first page of several that I receive when I obtained a copy of this document.