William Castleberry Biography, Pontotoc Co., MS Date: Nov 5 11:27:19 1998 Name: James K. Harrison Email: jkharrison@worldnet.att.net County: Pontotoc William Castleberry (ca 1833 - 1882) who moved to Pontotoc, MS William Castleberry, my great grandfather, was seven years old when he arrived in Tishomingo County, MS, in 1840 with his parents from DeKalb County, GA. He was born ca 1833 and died 15 Jul 1882 in Pontotoc, MS. He appears in several Tishomingo County land deeds in the 1850’s and was also in the saloon business for a time in Eastport [9]. He was in the Civil War. He moved to Pontotoc, MS, in the early 1860’s where he met Annie R. Coleman. They were married in Pontotoc, MS, on 27 Jan 1862. She was born in Oct 1840 in Georgia and died ca 1925. Her father, Daniel T. Coleman (ca 1800 - 7 Jul 1873), was a farmer and a judge in Pontotoc County. He moved to Mississippi from Georgia in 1842. William Castleberry is mentioned in the will of Daniel T. Coleman in 1872. Daniel T. Coleman’s wife was Clarinda Ann ? (ca 1805 - ca 1885). She was from Georgia. In the 1870 census for Pontotoc, MS, William Castleberry’s occupation is given as merchant and in the 1880 census it is given as dry goods merchant. In 1880 his seventy-five year-old mother-in-law was living with the family, according to the census. All of the children of William and Annie Castleberry were born in Pontotoc. Seven of the eight (one died very young) are listed below: Clara (b Apr. 1866) Mary L. (b Mar 1871) Ann E. (b ca 1871) William C. (b Mar 1873) Robert L. (b Sept. 1874) Florence (b Mar 1875) Charles Rufus (b 6 Oct. 1878, d 21 July 1963) NOTE: This birth date is from his tombstone. His Social Security application, which he signed on 9 March 1937, gives his birth date as 24 October 1878. Annie Rosa Coleman Castleberry (1840 - ca 1930) (Wife of William Castleberry) Annie Rosa Coleman (b Oct 1840, d ca 1930) came to Mississippi from Coweta County, GA, with her family in 1842 when she was two years old. They eventually moved to Pontotoc, MS, and it was there that the Coleman children grew to adulthood. She had four older brothers and five sisters, two older than she. Her oldest sister was Emma who first married R. A. Weatherall (8 March 1859) and later, after he died ca 1874, married Major Henry C. Medford of Tupelo, MS (the town’s first mayor). Emma had two daughters by both husbands. Annie’s youngest sister, Adeline or Lina, married Memory Gordon Leake. Adeline and Memory both died during the yellow fever epidemic in the summer of 1877 leaving a three year old son, Memory E. Leake, who was adopted and raised by Emma and Major Medford. An interesting account of Memory E. Leake’s long and useful life has been recorded by Julius Garnett Berry [12] . In this biography mention is made [12, page 16] of Memory riding all the way from Tupelo to Pontotoc on a new pony named Minnie that he received from his stepfather, Major Medford, to visit his Aunt Annie Castleberry and her family. He was only 6 or 7 years old at the time and did this to please his stepfather who rewarded him by giving him the pony. Emma Medford died in 1885 when Memory was only ten years old. At the insistence of his lawyer step-father Memory enrolled at the University of Mississippi where he completed his law degree. The legal profession did not suit him and he soon got into the hardware and lumber business where he succeeded handsomely eventually becoming a prosperous and prominent citizen in his home town of Tupelo. He was a life time member of the Baptist Church in that city. Memory was the first cousin of my grandfather, Charles Rufus Castleberry. They were born three years apart and grew up in towns twenty miles apart. Stories have been handed down about how Memory was partly raised by my great grandmother, Annie Coleman Castleberry, especially after his Aunt Emma died in 1885 when he was ten years old. Annie Coleman was married in Lafayette County, MS, according to a Civil War pension application she filed in 1923. Her marriage bond, however, was issued in Pontotoc County, MS, on 27 Jan 1862. During her marriage she resided in Pontotoc, MS, with her husband who was a merchant there. When he died in 1882 she was left with seven children, the youngest, Charles Rufus, my grandfather, being only three years old. She later moved to Aberdeen, MS, and opened a boarding house on Washington Street. In the 1900 census she is listed as head-of-the- household with nine boarders, six of them being her own children (missing is Ann, the third oldest daughter). Also under her roof are her three granddaughters, the children of Clara Roberts, the oldest daughter, who is a widow. William, the oldest son, is an insurance agent, Robert is a dry goods salesman, and Charles Rufus, my grandfather, is a grocery salesman, according to the census records. In 1900, at the age of 59, she filed her first of four Civil War pension applications for service by her husband, William Castleberry. By 1912, when she was 70 years old, Annie Castleberry had moved to Lafayette County, MS, evidently near Water Valley, MS, which is just south of Lafayette County in Yalobusha County (she moved ca 1907) and was living with her widowed daughter, Florence Anderson. She filed a second Civil War pension application on 15 August 1912. She gives the value of her property as $500.00. On the 9 August 1916 when she was 75 years old she filed a third pension application giving the value of her property as $150.00. Finally, on 3 June 1923, she filed her fourth and last Civil War pension application when she was 82 years old. She states that she is an invalid and is residing in Lafayette County, MS, Route 1. Her post office is given as Water Valley, MS. All four pensions applications were approved. Daniel T. Coleman (???? - 1873) (Father of Annie Coleman Castleberry) Annie Coleman’s father was Daniel T. Coleman. He was residing in Morgan County, GA, in 1830 and in Coweta County, GA, in 1840. In 1842 he moved with his family to Mississippi settling at first near Egypt, MS, and later moving to Pontotoc County. His wife was Clarinda Ann --- ?---. Their children were: Laura E. was born on 1 June 1835 and died in Sweetwater, TX, on 27 March 1928 [28, p. 216]. Laura married the Rev. William Thomas Scott on new years eve in 1858. He died seven years later leaving her with three small children. Their only son, Howard C. Scott, became a doctor and lived in Sweetwater, TX. Albert who was born in 1827 in Morgan County, GA. Guss who was born in Georgia in 1832. Daniel E. who inheritated most of his fathers land when his father died in 1873. William R. who died early leaving a widow and several small children. Emma F. who was born in Georgia on 5 Dec 1837 and died in Tupelo, MS, on 18 Mar 1885. She first married R. A. Weatherall (8 March 1859) and had two daughters. After he died ca 1874 she was remaried ca 1875 to Major Henry C. Medford of Tupelo, MS ( a lawyer and the first mayor of Tupelo). They also had two daughters. In 1878 they adopted her three year-old nephew, Memory E. Leake, after his parents died in a yellow fever epidemic. Mary A. who married a Mitchell. Annie Rosa who was born in Coweta County, GA, in Oct 1840. She married William Castleberry on 27 Jan 1862 in Pontotoc County, MS. She is my great grandmother. Antoinette who was born in Mississippi in 1845. Sina E. who was born in Mississippi in 1847. Adeline E. (Lina) who was born in Mississippi in 1854. She married Memory Gordon Leake ca 1873. They had one son, Memory E. Leake. They died in a yellow fever epidemic in Holly Springs, MS, in 1877. Afterwards, there three year old son, Memory, was adopted by her sister, Emma, and Emma’s second husband, Major Medford, in Tupelo, MS. Daniel T. Coleman is mentioned several times by E. T. Winston in his account written in 1931 of the early pioneers of Pontotoc, MS [29]. General Thomas McMackin is given credit by E. T. Winston as being the founder of Pontotoc. When General McMackin left Pontotoc some of his property was bought by Daniel T. Coleman, according to E. T. Winston, for on page 113 he says -----"Mr. D. T. Coleman bought his (General McMackin) hotel property here and the stable property across the street. Mr. Coleman built a livery stable on the latter property that has lately been remodeled for store and warehouse purposes by Messrs. R. L. Lyon and sons." On page 128 Mr. Winston writes about Mary Washington College in Pontotoc. He says------"Next to Chickasaw College in romantic and general interest was Mary Washington College, which had a brief career, but flourished in the antebellum period of the "golden fifties" when old Chickasaw was like wise in the fullness of its career. As Chickasaw was sponsored by the Presbyterians, Mary Washington College was a product of the Baptists of this section. The college property was on the northern outskirts of Pontotoc, on land now owned by V. L. Bigham. It was burned by Yankee vandals during the Civil War, and was never restored. The institution was established under the patronage of the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Columbus mad Aberdeen Baptist Associations and incorporated in 1852. From a corresponded, Rev. E. L. Shettles, of Austin, Tex., several years ago, we gleaned the following additional information"-------The enrollment of this year was 94. Ancient language 12, modern language 6, pupils in music 47. Among the 94 enrolled, Pontotoc and Pontotoc County claimed 47, Chickasaw 9, -----The Rev. Martin Bell was sponsor for more than any other parent. He had in school of his own Sarah H., ----- Daniel T. Coleman had a like number of daughters: Laura E., Emma F., Ann R., Antoinette, Adeline." Daniel Coleman made numerous land transactions in Pontotoc County starting around 1850 and continuing until his death in 1873. One interesting transaction in 1854 was the gift of lot 27 in the town of Pontotoc to the Deacons of the Baptist Church. This deed is reproduced below. ====================================================================      USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing          free information on the Internet, data may be used by          non-commercial entities, as long as this message          remains on all copied material. 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