Prince's in Civil War - Tazewell Co. VA Princes in the Civil War Nearly all of Benjamin and Nancy Belcher Prince's sons and sons-in-law served with the Union during the Civil War. The interesting thing is this: All the sons grew to adulthood in Tazewell County, where the most affluent families had slaves and where Hiram and David, working for Chapman Spotts, whose grandson George Peery would become governor of Virginia in the 1930's, gained firsthand knowledge of slavery. Slavery did not win them over to the South. Why, then, did they fight for the north? I don't know. Wayne County itself was somewhat of a hotbed of dissention, for it was there that Col. Vincent Witcher of the Confederate Army organized his 37th Cavalry that went to Gettysburg with Lee and fought against Michigan troops led by George Armstrong Custer. The 37th was one of the few positions not overrun at Gettysburg and, that says something of the men from the Wayne area--both those who fought for the north and for the south. Nearly all of them knew their weapons. According to the WV Adjutant Report of 1865, four of Benjamin and Nancy's sons and sons-in-law enlisted in the Union Army on the same day on 14 September 1861: William G. Prince, who m. Martha L. Tabor in Tazewell County 22 May 1845; Isaac Patton Tabor, who married Benjamin and Nancy's daughter Nancy in Tazewell County on 22 Jul 1852; M. Van Buren Prince, who married Mary Massey 31 Mar 1856 in Lawrence Co., KY; and James M. Sumner of Wayne County, who married Benjamin and Nancy's daughter Rebecca on 22 Mar 1860 in Wayne County. James Mack Prince served with the Union, as did his wife Martha's brother, Randolph Marcum. James Spaulding of Wayne County who married Benjamin and Nancy's daughter 10 Feb 1859 in Logan County, also served with the Union, as did Zathue C. Copley,b. 1847, s/o William H. (s/o James B. and Rebecca Marcum Copley) and Nancy Williamson Copley of Wayne Co.,who married William G. Prince's daughter Nancy Jane Prince in 1868. 1. William G. Prince, Co. F, 5th WV Infantry, Private 2. James Mack Prince, Co. B, 14th KY Infantry; Co. G, 5th WV Infantry; Co. G, 1st WV Infantry; Private Wayne 167th Militia Volunteers, Private, Cap't. G. W. Murry's Co., 1 Aug 1862--31 May 1863 Wayne 167th Militia Volunteers, Indpnt. Scouts, Private 2nd Sgt., Cap't. Wm. R. Spaulding's Co., 28 Sept 1863--29 Feb 1864 3. Isaac Patton Tabor, Co. F, 5th WV Infantry, Private 4. Martin Van Buren Prince, Co. F, 5th WV Infantry, Private Wayne, 167th Militia Volunteers, Indpnt. Scouts, Private, Cap't. Wm. R. Spaulding's Co., 1 Oct 1863--29 Feb 1864 5. James Spaulding, Co. F, 5th WV Infantry, Private 6. James Sumner, Co., F, 5th WV Infantry, Private 7. Zathue Copley, Co. M, 3rd WV Cavalry, Private 8. Randolph Marcum, Co. G, 1st WV Infantry 9. Lafayette Copley, Co. F, 5th WV Infantry I have not yet found war records on Hiram Prince, David M. Prince, or Harvey Belcher, Benjamin and Nancy's two sons and son-in-law. After the Civil War After the War ended, James Mack Prince married Martha Marcum in 1865 in Lawrence Co., OH. Martha's parents, William Welcome and Nancy Crum Marcum relocated to Adams Co., OH, in the early 1860's, I believe, after their seventeen-year-old son Isom was shot and killed in his own yard by Home Guards. The William Welcome Marcum family were Unionists, except for Kelley S., who fought for the Confederacy after Isom was killed. James Mack and Martha Prince seemed to have stayed some in Adams County, OH, after the War, but they eventually returned to Wayne County. Mack's brother Van Buren is found in the 1860 Logan Census with a Warfield, KY, PO address. By 1890, he is found in the Chapmanville District, Logan County. Between 1890 and 15 Aug 1899, when Sarah J., his widow, applied for his military pension, he died. James Spaulding, who married Melinda Catherine Prince, is found in 1860 living in Warfield, Martin Co., KY, just across the river from where Catherine's family lived at the time on the Wayne/Logan border. One genealogy chart at Ancestry lists a Nancy as James Spaulding's wife, m. abt. 1863. No mention is made of his marriage to Melinda Catherine. By the early 1900's, James Spaulding's widow Nancy applied for James' military pension. Isaac Patton and Nancy Prince Tabor stayed in Wayne County after the War. However, by 6 Feb 1873, Alexander, minor, Isaac's son, applied for Isaac's military pension from KY. Evidently, Isaac died after the 1870 Wayne Census, where he is listed with Nancy and his four sons: Benjamin, Wm. G, Sylvester, and Alexander. In 1878, Wm. m. Dicey Crum, but Sylvster and Alexander in 1880 are with their uncle and aunt, Harvey and Julia Prince Belcher, and their grandparents, Benjamin and Nancy Prince. 1880 Wayne Census: Harvey Belcher, 50; Julia A., wife, 53; Rhoda, 18, daughter; Benjamin Prince, 86, father-in-law; Nancy Prince, 83, mother- in-law; Vester Tabor, 21; and Alex Tabor, 18. Nancy and her son Benjamin are missing in 1880. Are they dead? All the others listed above who fought in the Civil War left Wayne County after the War for MN. One thing that would have drawn them to MN is the Homestead Act, which gave free land to folks willing to claim it and tame it. Minnesota Homesteaders 1. David M. Prince, 20 Mar 1873, Litchfield Land Office, McLeod County, 83.34 acres 2. William G. Prince, 2 Mar 1873, Litchfield Land Office, McLeod County, 160 acres 3. James M. Sumner, 20 Mar 1873, Litchfield Land Office, Wright County, 80 acres 4. Zathue C. Copley, 20 Oct 1873, Litchfield Land Office, Aitkin County, 40 acres; 15 May 1874, 120 acres 5. Randolph Marcum, 1 Oct 1873, Litchfield Land Office, Meeker County, 80 acres 6. Lafayette Copley--have not found his land records, but he is in the 1880 MN Census and on 17 Sept 1893 he filed for his military pension from the state of MN The MN venture is unfolding, and, more than likely, other names from Wayne Co. will be added. The most successful homesteader in MN appears to have been Zathue C. Copley. Others of this group and some of their descendants/relatives relocated/located to NE, IA, KS, TX, and even OR. William G. is buried in OR. David M. Prince and his family moved to Lancaster and Brown Counties, NE, according to Tazewell County Heritage, Vol. II, and later to Lane Co., OR. Wherever they went, a few stayed behind and the rest moved on, and so the families dispersed across the Midwest and West. Submitted by June White **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, 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. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************