USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by James K. Harrison, submitted through Betty Casey, MSGenWeb County Coordinater. JAMES CASTLEBERRY Born in Georgia: 1793 Died in Mississippi: 1859 James K. Harrison 104 Mountainwood Drive Huntsville, Alabama 35801 (205) 536-8580 April 22, 1997 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction and Summary 3 Chapter 2 - Heinrich Kesselberg 5 Chapter 3 - William Castleberry (Who was twice married) 5 Chapter 4 - Lucretia Castleberry 7 Chapter 5 - William Nesbit 8 Chapter 6 - Some Related Castleberry's in 10 Alabama and Tennessee Chapter 7 - James Castleberry 11 Chapter 8 - Elizabeth Carroll Castleberry 12 Chapter 9 - Eastport, Mississippi 13 Chapter 10 - James Castleberry's Land Transactions 15 Chapter 11 - Children of James and Elizabeth 16 Castleberry Chapter 12 - William Castleberry (Who Moved to 18 Pontotoc, MS) Chapter 13 - Annie R. Coleman Castleberry 19 Chapter 14 - Daniel T. Coleman (Father of Annie 20 Coleman Castleberry) Chapter 15 - Children of William and Annie 22 Coleman Castleberry Chapter 16 - Castleberry's in the Civil War 23 Chapter 17 - James C. Castleberry 24 of Yalobusha County, Mississippi Chapter 13 Annie R. Coleman Castleberry (1840 - ca 1925) (Wife of William Castleberry) Annie R. Coleman (b Oct 1840, d ca 1925) 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 and later, after he died ca 1874, she married Major Henry C. Medford of Tupelo, MS. 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 years, 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. Chapter 14 Daniel T. Coleman (???? - 1873) (Father of Annie Coleman Castleberry) William Castleberry married Annie R. Coleman in Pontotoc, MS, on 27 Jan 1862. Annie R. Coleman, my great-grandmother, was born in Coweta County, GA, in Oct 1840. Her father was Daniel T. Coleman who 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 --- ?---. Will of Daniel T. Coleman 13 Feb 1872 The State of Mississippi Pontotoc County, MS In the name of God amen I, Daniel T. Coleman, of the County of Pontotoc, State aforesaid being of sound mind, memory and understanding, do make publish and declare this my last will and testament in form following to wit: Item 1st - I give to my wife, Annie R. Coleman, all the interest which I have in the store of my son-in-law, William Castleberry, in the town of Pontotoc. Item 2nd - I give to my grandson, Howard C. Scott, one hundred dollars which sum I desire my Executors hereinafter named to pay over to his mother, Laura E. Scott, and to take from her her individual receipt for the same without requiring her to take out a letter of guardianship. Item 3rd - I leave it discretionary with my Executors whether to keep together my stock, wagon and team, farming utensils, household and kitchen furniture for the use of my wife if she should survive me or to sell and dispose of the same as may seem best to them. Item 4th - I desire my Executors to sell all of my property of whatever nature or kind as soon after my decease as they conveniently can and to make collection of any sum or sums of money that may be due me at the time of my death and after paying the expenses of my last sickness and my debts due from me if there should be any together with the sum heretofore given to my grandson, Howard C. Scott, then the balance so remaining shall be divided equally among my wife, Ann R. Coleman, if she survives me, and my son, Daniel E. Coleman, my daughters Laura E. Scott, Emma F. Weatherall, Annie R. Castleberry, Mary A. Mitchell and Adeline E. Leake and the heirs of my deceased son, William R. Coleman, his heirs (six in number, I think) to take the shares which my said son would have been entitled to if living. Item 5th - My Executors will pay over only to the legal guardians of the children of my son, William R. Coleman, whatever sums may be due to said children as their share of my estate. Item 6th - It is my will and desire and I now hereby authorize my Executor William Castleberry to make deeds of conveyance to his co-Executor Daniel E. Coleman to all the lands which I have this day sold to said Daniel E. Coleman on the payments by him of his notes given for the purchase of said lands without giving in the Chancery Court for the purpose of divesting title out of my heirs. I hereby appoint my son Daniel E. Coleman and my son-in-law William Castleberry Executors of this my last will and testament. Given under my hand and seal this 13th February A. D. 1872 Daniel T. Coleman Chapter 15 Children of William and Annie R. Castleberry According to the census records of 1880 William and Annie Castleberry had eight children. Apparently one died as an infant, probably before 1866. The seven other children are listed below: Clara b Apr. 1866, died ____. She married a Roberts ca 1890. He died before 1900 and Clara and her three daughters lived in Aberdeen, MS, with Annie Coleman Castleberry for some time afterwards. The three daughters were: Julian Maude, b 1894, died_____, Anna L. b 1895, died_____, and Mary W. b 1896, died______. By 1910 Clara Roberts and her three daughters had moved to Webster County (Eupora, MS) and were renting a house on Durrar (?) Street. Clara was a "keeper " at the Eupora Hotel. A John Kolb (or Kobb) is a boarder in the household with Clara and her daughters. He is divorced and is a 48 year old dentist. Clara is 44 years old and her daughters are teen agers. No trace of Clara Roberts (she would have been 54 years old) exist in the 1920 census. Perhaps she married the dentist, died, or moved to another state. Mary L. b Mar 1871, d ____ Ann E. b ca 1871, d_____ William C. b Mar 1873, d_____ . In the 1910 census William is living on Madison Street with his in-laws in Durant, MS, and gives his occupation as a grocery store merchant. His wife is Mary Cora Reed. They were married on 29 May 1901 in Durant, MS, by the Reverend J. H. Smith. She was born in Mississippi in 1885 and is the step-daughter of Edward C. Shive, a farmer, and head of the household. Edward's wife is Celia Ann. They were both born in S. C. William and Mary have a 7 year old daughter named Celia L. In the 1920 census William and Mary are still living in Durant, MS, but he is the head of the household with his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law, Celia Ann Shives, who is 72 years old, living with him. Robert L. b Sept. 1874, d_____ . He married Cora Rose on 15 Sept 1909. No trace of Robert has been found in the 1910 census. Maybe he was out of the state. Apparently Cora Rose died after 1910 since in 1920 Robert is living with his sister, Florence, in Lafayette County, MS, according to the 1920 census. Florence b May 1875 d_____ . Florence moved to Aberdeen, MS, with her family in ca 1890. In 1896 she was teaching school in nearby Smithville. She married Tom M. Anderson (b.1869, d ca 1915) in 1907. Tom and Florence were teachers at a "literary school". They taught and lived in Lafayette County, MS, apparently living near Water Valley, MS, in Yalobusha County which is adjacent to Lafayette County. They had two sons. Robert Howard, b. 1909, d._____and Elna Thomas, b. 1914, d._____. According to the 1910 census Tom and Florence owned and lived in a farm house in Lafayette County that was mortaged. Tom, who was 41 in 1910, died ca 1915. I do not know where he is buried. In the 1920 census Florence is 43 years old and is listed as head of the household. They are still living in Lafayette County and in her household are her two sons, Robert and Elna, her mother Annie Coleman Castleberry, age 79, and Robert L. Castleberry, Florence's 41 year old brother. Both Florence and her brother list farming as their primary occupation. Annie Coleman Castleberry list her parents as born in S. C. Charles Rufus (b 6 Oct. 1878, d 21 July 1963), was my grandfather. He married Eliza King in Durant, MS, on 24 Jan 1905. The minister was J. P. Hickman. She was born in Holmes County, MS, on 24 May 1882 and died 7 Nov. 1959 in Moorhead, MS. Her father was Tom King (b 10 Jan 1850, d 31 Dec 1935) and her mother was Annie Montgomery (b 11 Sept. 1859, d 16 Nov. 1898). They were born in Holmes County. In the 1910 census Charles is living in Durant, MS, with his wife and two children (Charles King, age 2 and a daughter Annie Frances, age 10 months--my mother). Also living with him are his wife's sisters, Annie King, age 20, and Ellen King, age 14. Charles Rufus' profession is given as manager of an ice plant. He is renting a house on Mulberry Street. In the 1920 census he is still living in Durant. He has a third child, Thomas Coleman, who is 6 years old. His sister-in-law, Ellen King, is still under his roof. In 1922 Charles Rufus moved his family to the bustling little town of Moorhead in the Mississippi delta. He actually arrived in Moorhead in 1919 and commuted between Durant and Moorhead until 1922. The first year in Moorhead they all lived in the Phoenix Hotel while the Castleberry house was being built. All of the Castleberry children grew to adulthood in Moorhead. Eliza died in Moorhead in 1959 and Charles Rufus died there in 1963. Both are buried in Durant, MS. Chapter 16 Castleberry's in the Civil War William Castleberry, my great grandfather, enlisted in the Confederate Army in December 1863, when he was 30 years old, and was discharged in April 1865. He was in Company K of the 11th Alabama Infantry. His officers were Col Burtrell or Banstrell (?) and Capt John F. Doran. William was in a Federal Prison when the war ended. He died in 1882. His widow, Annie R. Castleberry, filed civil war pension applications in Sept 1900, 15 Aug 1912, 9 Aug 1916, and on 3 June 1923. Winchester D. Castleberry, one of my great grandfather's brothers, died 14 Oct 1864 from wounds received in a battle near Petersburg, VA, according to muster roll records. I do not know where he is buried. He enlisted at Iuka, MS, on 6 Apr 1861 when he was 23 years old as a private in Capt J. M. Stone's Company K (Iuka Rifles) 2nd Regiment Mississippi Volunteers, Mott's Brigade. He was enlisted by W. M. Inge for 12 months. On 10 May 1861 he was at Lynchburg, VA. Later that year he was issued one pair of shoes that cost him $2.80. He was appointed a 2nd sergeant on 1 Feb 1862 and a 1st sergeant 1 June 1862. According to the muster roll for Jun/Jul and for Sept/Oct 1862 he was absent because he was wounded. He was admitted to the Culpepper, VA, Confederate Hospital on 29 Sept 1862 complaining of V. Sclopeticum (?), apparently a back problem or wound to the back. He was present for roll call on Nov/Dec 1862. The records show that by Mar/Apr 1863 he has been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and is still in company K. The captain of the company is H. C. Terry. On the May/Jun 1863 muster roll his company is given as company E. His regimental commander was Col John M. Stone from Tishomingo County who was later governor of Mississippi and president of Mississippi State University. In the summer of 1863 2nd Lt Castleberry was ordered to go to Mississippi and round-up and arrest deserters and conscripts from the Confederate Army in the vicinity of Iuka, MS. Apparently there was some confusion about the length of time this was to take since he was reported absent without cause in the fall and early winter of 1863. To avoid discharge from the Army several letters were written justifying his long absence. One was written by Col John M. Stone on 30 April 1864 saying that 2nd Lt Castleberry "returned as soon as ordered to do so and is a good officer and a gallant solder and his place cannot be supplied with as good a man". He does not appear on the muster role until Mar/Apr 1864 returning 23 Apr 1864 according to the records. The Sept/Oct 1864 muster roll reports that 2nd Lt Winchester Castleberry died 14 Oct 1864 in General Hospital No. 4 in Richmond, VA, from wounds (Vuluus ? Sclopeticum) received 1 Oct in a battle near Petersburg, VA, after being admitted to the hospital on 2 Oct. Charles C. Castleberry, another one of my great grandfather's brothers, enlisted in May 1862 when he was 21 years old. He was in Philip Dale Roddey's 4th Alabama Cavalry, Company I. Roddey was from Moulton, AL. His company commander was Capt John F. Doran. He was captured by the Federal forces and paroled on 26 Jan 1863 at Alton, IL, by the post commander, J. Hilderbrand, after taking an oath of allegiance to the Federal government and swearing not to take up arms again during the rebellion. However, in his pension application Charles states that he surrendered at Pond Springs, AL, at the end of the war. According to one source [16] he served under Col W.A. Johnson and surrendered with General Forest at Gainsville, AL. He filed a pension application on 9 Sept 1907 when he was 64 years old and living in Iuka, MS. He died in 1909. Thomas Castleberry served in Roddey's 4th Alabama Cavalry with his brother, Charles. James Castleberry, Jr. was in the 22 Mississippi Infantry [14, p 68]. He was born in 1817 and died ca 1895. Rufus Castleberry was in the 11th Alabama Cavalry [14, p 68]. Rufus was born in 1832 and died in 1906. He is buried in Iuka, MS. Chapter 18 James C. Castleberry of Yalobusha County, Mississippi James C. Castleberry was born in Georgia in 1818 and died in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, in 1885. I do not know his relationship to my Castleberry ancestors. Sometime before 1860 he migrated to Mississippi. He is listed in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 Mississippi census as a farmer. He was also somewhat of a blacksmith according to stories handed down. He was apparently a minister of the gospel, as well, since he is listed as such on numerous Yalobusha County marriage records from 1873 to 1883. In 1860 and 1870 he lived in Calhoun County, MS. In 1860 his wife, Martha, who was born in AL, was 30 years old. In 1863 a daughter, Sarena, was born. Martha died sometime after 1863 and James Castleberry remarried ca 1869 to Sarah Marshall, a widower. She had a daughter Virginia (b 1852, d ???) and a son Tom. In 1870 James and Sarah had a daughter of their own named Jessica. James Castleberry moved to Yalobusha County in the early 1870s. He bought and sold numerous tracts of land in Yalobusha County beginning in 1873 and continuing until around 1884. In August 1877 he bought a section of land (640 acres) from R. H. Johnson in Yalobusha County, MS located three miles west of Water Valley on the Coldwater Road (State Hwy 32). James Castleberry gave 160 acres of his land to his oldest daughter, Sarena, when she married J. D. Gordan on 4 Jan 1883. They lived in a white house trimmed in green. A long porch went across the front of the house and the kitchen was separated from the main house but connected by a covered porch. In the summer when the weather was hot the family ate on this porch [18]. James Castleberry died in 1885 and his will was filed for probate on 31 July 1885 in Yalobusha County [19]. In it he left one-third of his estate to his wife, Sarah, and one-third each to his daughters, Sarena Gordan, and Jessica Castleberry. The executor of his will was his esteemed friend, David B. Hervey. Jessica married Lucius Rawles Fly (b 1861, d 1931) in Yalobusha County on 30 Oct 1889. They had a son, Roy, who died in 1977. Jessica died in ??? and Rawles later married Prudence E. Clowney. Virginia, James Castleberry's stepdaughter, married Jonathan Carr Burns (b 1849, d ???) in 1880. Jonathan's first wife, Lucy Jane Fly, died in childbirth in 1876. James Castleberry gave Virginia and Jonathan 160 acres of his land. They had two sons and two daughters. One daughter was born in Oxford, MS, in 1914. Her name was Kelby or "Kate". She married John Stanley Tyler and today lives in Arlington, Virginia. She is the author of "The Boy Across the River", a novel about life in north Mississippi in the nenteenth century. She grew up on the 160 acres of land in Yalobusha County given to her father and mother by James Castleberry. She heard her father speak of Mr. Castleberry hundreds of times when she was growing up. References 1. Castleberry Genealogical Material Compiled by Dr. Henry B. Bracken, Jr., 137 Prospect Hill, Nashville, TN, 37205, and obtained February 1991. Dr. Bracken is a direct descendant of James Castleberry through Sarah Castleberry and Jackson Akers. Many details used here have come from his research and the research of his mother, Mrs. Henry B. Bracken. 2. Castleberry and Allied Families, ed., Jesse Wendell Castleberry, 12404 Summerport Lane, Windermere, FL, 34786, 1967 3. Early Gwinnett County Deeds, Gwinnett Historical Society, Inc., Lawrenceville, GA, copied from records of Mildred Carroll Martin 4. History of Gwinnett County, Georgia, James C. Flanagan, 1818-1943, vol I 5. Gwinnett County Georgia Families 1818-1968, ed by Alice Smythe McCabe, compiled by Gwinnett Historical Society, Inc., Lawrenceville, GA, 1980 6. History of Old Tishomingo County, Mississippi Territory, Fan Alexander Cochran 7. Gwinnett County, Georgia, Inferior Court Minutes for Ordinary Purposes, 1819-1861, Alice Smythe McCabe, 1987 8. Gwinnett County Records as Recorded in Athens, Georgia, Newspapers: 1827-1849, page 39 9. Gunboats and Cavalry - A History of Eastport, Mississippi, Ben Earl Kitchens, 1985 10. Eastport - Echoes of the Past, Mrs. Irene Barnes, 1983 11. Historical Notes on Jackson County, Georgia, Frary Elrod, 1967 12. The Life and Times of Mr. Memory E. Leake by Julius Garnett Berry 13. Castleberry's by Bertie Fox of Moulton, Alabama 14. Mississippi Confederate Graves by Betty Couch Wiltshire, vol I 15. Valley of Spring - The Story of Iuka by William L. Coker, 1975 edition 16. Confederate Magazine, vol XVII, page 609 17. Yalobusha Bound in 1850 by Chris Borgan 18. Letter from James Castleberry ancestor, Kate Burns Tyler of Arlington, VA, on 12 August 1996 19. Yalobusha County, MS, Wills of 2nd District, 1871-1911, page 45 and 46, LDS Microfilm No. 894515