OBION COUNTY TN - MILITARY - Civil War Questionnaire of David Thomas Jefferson Kersey ********************************************************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Jane N. Powell ********************************************************************************************************** David Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Kersey 31 Oct 1839-10 Apr 1929 Obion Co TN and his wife Clarinda Hayes Calhoun Kersey Nov 22, 1833, TN- Dec 24, 1922, Obion Co TN Bur: Mt Ararat Cemetery, Obion Co. TN KERSEY, T. J. (Form No. 2) 1. State your full name and present post office address: T. J. Kersey, Troy, Tennessee, FRD #3. (Obion County) 2. State your age now: will be 83 yrs old Oct. 1st 1922 3. In what State and county were you born? Giles County, Tennessee 4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier? Yes 5. Name of your Company? Co F 33rd Tennessee Volunteers Infantry 6. What was the occupation of your father? Painter 7. Give full name of your father: David B. Kersey born at: Bototat Virginia in the County of _______ State of_______________ He lived at___________________ Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by him, etc.: He served under General Jackson, Battles of Pensacola & New Orleans. 8. Maiden name in full of your mother: Susan Hall Trigg She was the daughter of: Wm Trigg and his wife: don't remember who lived at: Giles County, Tennessee 9. Remarks on ancestry. My Great Grandfather was Thomas Kersey and was a native of Ireland. 10. If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as near as you can: Owned no land at beginning of war. Have sold the farm I acquired since the war. 11. Did you or your parent own slaves? If so, how many? No 12. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres: owned some land, but don't remember no. of acres. 13. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened: none 14. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other material, and state the number of rooms it had: lived in several houses, mostly log houses 15. As a boy and young man, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did other kinds of similar work. (Certain historians claim that white men would not do work of this sort before the war.) We boys did all kinds of farm work 16. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in house as well as you can remember--that is, cooking, spinning, weaving, etc,: My father was a painter. My mother did all the household work cooking, spinning, weaving and making clothes for the family. 17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many? none 18. How was honest toil - as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered respectable and honorable? Honorably by the majority and not so by some slave holders. 19. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work? Yes, all the poor people. 20. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them? All the slave holding class were idle. 21. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves? No. They held themselves superior to the poore class. 22. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality? Did not. 23. Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other? Fairly friendly 24. In a political contest, in which one candidate owned slaves and the other did not, did the fact that one candidate owned slaves help him any in winning the contest? Yes, always. 25. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself? No - but some did in spite of circumstances. 26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders? Mostly were not. 27. What kind of school or schools did you attend? Short time pay schools in log school houses. 28. About how long did you go to school altogether? About three (3) months 29. How far was it to the nearest school? 2 miles 30. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood? Small district primary schools. 31. Was the school in your community private or public? Subscription schools. 32. About how many months in the year did it run? from 3 to 5 months 33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly? yes 34. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or woman? man 35. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government? Confederate Army December 1861 at Union City, Tennessee 36. After enlistment, where was your Company sent first? Columbus, Kentucky 37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle? Spring of 1862 - Shiloh 38. What was the first battle you engaged in? Shiloh 39. State in your own way your experience in the War for this time on to its close. State were you went after the first battle -what you did and what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger and disease. If you were in the hospital or prison, state your experience there. Was in battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chicamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Ga. Had hard time in camp -at one time on the retreat from Kentucky went 9 days without food. 40. When and where were you discharged? Was not discharged regularly - Was sent to county physician and war ended before my recovery. 41. Tell something of your trip home. _________ 42. Give a sketch of your life since the close of the Civil War, stating what kind of business you have engaged in, where you have lived, your church relations, etc. If you have held any office or offices, state what it was. You may state here any other facts connected with your life and experience which has not been brought out by the questions: farming 43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home? Have farmed ever since the war and am a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 44. On a separate sheet, give the names of some of the great men you have known or met in your time, and tell some of the circumstances of the meeting or incidents in their lives. Also add any further personal reminiscences. (use all the space you want) 45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember. (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.) John Bedford, William Ura, Bob Calhone (Calhoun), Bob Moppin, Thomas Latimer, Thomas Ayrs, T. J. Kersey, William Hudguson, John O. Hudguson, Jim Hudguson, J.D. Walls, Frank Austin, Bill Clark, Arris R. Moore, Tom Moore, Shell Carmack, G. W. Calhone (Calhoun), Jim Duncan, Joe Calhone (Calhoun), 46. Give the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of any living Veterans of the Civil War, whether members of your Company or not; whether Tennesseans or from other States. F. M. Mc------ Union City Tennessee T. R. S------Troy (R.F.D. 1) Tennessee