Squire Simon, Company A

When the war ended the 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry sailed from Fort Monroe to Brazos Santiago, Texas. A near-mutiny occurred when some of the troops in the regiment initially refused to board the transport ship Meteor. The soldier took ill during the voyage and was accidentally poisoned by the ship’s surgeon. He was buried at sea. Many who supported his family’s applications described how they migrated from Northeastern North Carolina to Norfolk in search of work before they enlisted. Interestingly none of the witnesses mentioned what happened on the Meteor.

Minor — 343,711 / 298,530
Mother — 221,286 / —–, Pauline Simons

Mother’s Application for Pension, Elizabeth Simons, 24 May 1875
70 years old “That she is the widow of Stephen Burke, deceased and mother of Squire Simons, deceased … who died whilst in the services, aforesaid, at sea in the Gulf of Mexico … in June 1865 …. She appoints L.W. Boone of Hertford County, North Carolina her attorney …. also personally appeared E. Brace and W.E. Ferebee residents of the County of Perquimans in the State of North Carolina …”

Sworn Statement, Nick Williams, 14 October 1889 [?]
54 years old; residence, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
“[He knew] all of Mr. John Simons slaves for his father Mr. John Simons both was large slave holders … he played with the colored children that he knowed [sic] …. [the former master] has been dead some 9 or 10 yrs. …. Mr. John Simons slaves & his father’s slaves visited each other all the time up untill [sic] freedom”

Deposition, Pauline Simons, 4 April 1891
“I was born Jany 10th 1863 at least I was always told that was the time.” post-office address, 713 Bart St., Portsmouth, Va.
“I am the daughter of Squire Simons & Eliza Simons. I was born near Hertford, NC, a slave of John Simons. My parents both were slaves. Both were slaves of Mr. John Simons … I do not know anything of my father except what my people have told & the woman Matilda Simons who raised me after my mother died …. I was an only child … My grandmother was Elizabeth Simons. She is now dead. She lived near Hertford, NC & died there. I heard she got my father’s bounty money.”

Deposition, Andrew Madre, 13 April 1891
68 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., NC
“I was a slave of Jack Madre … Washington Boon read the marriage ceremony [for Squire and Eliza] with the consent of Mr. John Simons. Washington Boon was a colored preacher, was there myself & saw them get married …. [W]e all started from Fort Monroe, Va. to Texas on steamboats. Simons was on one boat & I was on another…. When we all landed I was told of his death and burial… Eliza Simons was called Elizabeth Simons sometimes … Squire Simons mother was also called Elizabeth Simons … “

Deposition, Thomas N. Williams, 13 April 1891
55 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., NC
“I sometimes write my name N. Williams leaving out the Thomas. My right hand is so sore I can hardly write my name. I knew Mr. John Simons well. I lived on the farm adjoining his & my father used to hire Mr. Simons’ Negroes often. … I remember Squire Simons. He & myself were boys together & often were together playing. I also remember Eliza Simons … it was the first of January 1861 they became man and wife. Boon & John Simons & his family are dead. I was home when Squire Simons ran away & went to Norfolk, Va. in the fall of 1862 … Eliza was with child when he ran away from home. This child came the same year he left home in 1862. They called it Pauline. I had a child born about the same time, Sarah E. Williams, Oct 2, 1862. Pauline came very soon after after that … I have a Bible record of my child’s birth …. Hester Sutton was the granny that attended Eliza in Pauline’s birth. She is dead. [Eliza] died the year after Pauline was born … Sabre Simons and Matilda Simons both raised Pauline. They all lived together near me at the time. I was with Mr. John Simons slaves nearly all the time before & during the war & in that way I knew them as well as he did.”

Deposition, William Ward, 14 April 1891
51 years old; occupation, attorney-at-law; post-office address, 273 Queen St., Norfolk, Va.
“I was Ordly Sgt. of Co. “D” 1st US Cold Cavly. … [Simons] was given a dose of medicine by a surgeon which proved to be poison & killed him. He was buried in the sea. I was present when he was buried & saw him put in the sea.”

Deposition, Aaron Thompson, 14 April 1891
50 years; occupation; post-office address, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
“I was a slave of John Devreaux & I knew Squire & Eliza Simons … all of us living near each other in Perquimans Co., NC. … she was big with child at the time he ran away.”

Deposition, Uriah Elliott, 14 April 1891
56 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
“I knew Squire Simons & Eliza Simons before they became man & wife. They were slaves of Mr. John Simons. … I lived near his plantation. I was a slave of Mr. Axell Elliott. We slaves knew each other well. … I was not present [at the ceremony] but it was the talk all over the county at the time. It was a fine wedding. … A woman named Sabrey Simons took the child & she & Matilda Simons raised the child. Sabrey Simons is dead. …. Eliza died in Sept. 1863 in Hertford, NC.”

“Elizabeth Simons was the mother of Squire Simons. She is dead. She has been dead some 16 years.”

Deposition, Matilda Simons Elliott, 14 April 1891
66 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office address, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
“I was a slave of John Simons near Hertford, NC. Squire Simons & Eliza Simons were also his slaves. I was raised with them. They were younger than I was. …. Rev. John Washington Boon was the preacher … … I was right there when Pauline was born. Hester Sutton was the old midwife that attended to her. She is dead. I can’t give the year. … I and Sabry Simons my aunt took the baby Pauline as soon as Eliza died & we raised her. Sabry is dead. I am 1st cousin to Pauline’s mother Eliza & Pauline always called me mammy as I raised her.”

Deposition, Pauline Simons, 23 May 1891
28 years old; occupation, servant; residence and post-office address, No. 713 Bart St., Portsmouth, Norfolk Co., Va.
“I do not recollect my said father and do not know anything of his whereabouts from the time he left his master until he joined [the Army]….  I think Uriah Elliott at Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC can tell where he was and how employed … I have only been in the State about one year. Matilda Simons Elliott [my aunt] of Winfall, NC can tell of the date of my birth.”

Deposition, Uriah Elliott, 8 June 1891
56 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC;
“When [Simons] started for the war I was at Dillard Army camp on Chowan River in N.C. … When he and 500 others left for Suffolk, Va. to work on fortifications for the Govt. … after that I heard that he had enlisted in the U.S. Army and I heard that he died there….I did not go in the Army. I stayed at home through the whole war. Dillard camp was 16 miles from where I lived & I visited there often. …. Andre Madre was not on the Dillard farm camp …. “

Deposition, Gilbert Leeson, 9 June 1891
58 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC;
“I first knew Squire Simon before the war. He was a slave of John Simon. I was a slave of Josiah White. Our farms was two miles apart. His wife was Eliza Simons … He was living with Eliza when he left home in August 1862 … I next saw Squire Simons in Norfolk, Va. in 1863. I was working in the Govt service there then. It was the 1st part of 1863. [He] was there working for the Govt. at Norfolk, Va. My work was at Fort Monroe, Va…. I think he enlisted at Norfolk, Va. and I went in at Fort Monroe, Va. … In June 1865 we started for Texas on the steamer Meteor …. He was very ill with some fever … We were told he died from poison given to him by mistake. The next day his body was served up in a blanket & shoved overboard into the ocean. It was all done after we passed the Bluff of Mobile Point … “

Deposition, Thomas N. Williams, 9 June 1891
55 years old; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., NC
“I remember perfectly when Squire Simons left home in 1862. Ir was in the fall. He was then living about a 1/4 mile of a mile from me. He was living with his wife…. She was recognized by us all as his gal. I had a daughter born Oct 2^nd 1862 & that child of Squire Simons came that very same winter, her mother called her Pauline. …. Eliza the wife of Squire Simons & mother of Pauline died in Sept 1863 ….”

Deposition, Andrew Madre, 10 June 1891
68 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., N.C.
“We were at Fort Monroe, Va. together when we enlisted … Before I enlisted I had been about Norfolk I reckon about a year doing all kinds of work. At Suffolk I cooked & worked on fortifications and as I could not get my pay I went to Norfolk, Va. & cut wood for for a Mr. Howard & while there I enlisted in the Army.
“[Simons] & myself ran away from home together, we got separated & I did not see him until I left Suffolk & went to Norfolk, Va.  I heard he had been in Suffolk, Va. working on the fortifications a while and left there a few days before I got there. … Simons who has been working in the Qr. Master Dept. at Norfolk, Va. and was now with the soldiers to be taken to Fort Monroe, Va. to enlist … he got a letter from home while we were at Fortress Monroe telling him his wife had a girl baby. He was well pleased when he came to me and said ‘By God, I now have something else to fight for as Eliza has a girl child.’ He was very proud of it. I remember that perfectly.”

Deposition, Maria Skinner, 3 August 1892
about 73 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., NC
“I belonged to John Simons, dead, before the late war and knew all his colored people well … the following named enlisted in U.S. Army during the late war viz. John Mills, Henry, Andrew and Squire. The four first named were my brothers all of whom I believe to be dead unless it is Andrew of whom I know nothing.
“Squire Simons above named was my cousin … [he] was hardly grown when he went away. His mother’s name was Bettie, now dead. Matilda Elliott, the wife of Urias or Uriah Elliott is the only living sister of Squire Simons. She lives near Winfall in this County.”

“Q.  Do you know Pauline Simons or Pauline Wilson?
A.  [Pauline] is now living in Portsmouth, Norfolk Co., Va. She was and is the daughter of John Long by his wife Harriet now Mrs. Harriet Long. She has re-married to Earl Elliott, and she is in Elizabeth City, NC …. John Long & his wife Harriet had the following named children viz. Pauline, now living in Portsmouth, Va.; Lavinia, Bertie Co., NC; John, Elizabeth City, NC; and Andrew who lives near Hertford when at home. I am sure that Squire Simons had no children and that he was not the father of Pauline Simons, the pensioner. …. Eliza had no husband but she had two children whose names are Mattie & Sally. I raised Mattie and she is now living in Kehore, NJ. She is married to a man named Little and Sally is married and is living in Pasquotank Co., NC “

Deposition, Uriah Elliott, 3 August 1892
58 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
[How is your wife Matilda related to Pauline Simons?]
“She and my wife are cousins.”
[Who are Pauline Simons’ parents?’
“I only know what I have heard. That John Long and his wife Harriett now Mrs. Harriet Elliott was and is the father and mother of Pauline Simons.
I have also heard it said that Squire Simons was the father of this girl but I have only heard that talk in recent years. Probably three or four years ago.
[How’s Pauline able to claim pension?]
“Yes, sir. A white man by the name of John Bright who lived about 6 miles from Hertford Co., NC had a book with the names of all the dead soldiers in it and he got this thing up, got Pauline to go into it. He ran away from here about four years ago when you were in here after Jno. H. Vane. He ran off then and I have not heard from him since. Soon after Bright ran away a colored man by the name of William Ward of Norfolk, Va. came here and took the matter in hand.  By the way, the pensioner’s name is not Simons. Her maiden name was Long and then she married a man by the name of Wilson and she is now the wife of Jordan. I think his first name is William. Pauline is living in Portsmouth, Va. and was living there as the minor child of Squire Simons. I was in Norfolk when she got his money. I saw her get her pension money out of one of the banks in Norfolk, Va. William Ward and I were the only persons with her when she drew her pension money from the bank on the check issued in the amount of her pension.”

Deposition, Matilda Simons, 3 August 1892
60 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office, Winfall, Perquimans Co., NC
[Do you know a woman named Pauline Simons?]
“Her name is Pauline Jordan now and she lives at No. 1007 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, Va.”
[What is her relationship to you?]
“She is my second cousin.”
[Who were her parents?]
“John & Harriet Long were her parents. Pauline’s name before marriage was Long and then she married a man name of Wilson. Then she was known as Pauline Wilson and now is the wife of Wm. Jordan.”
[How are Pauline and Squire Simons related?]
“She was his second cousin and not his daughter. Squire was not married at all and had no children.”
“Q.  How did she come to make application for pension as the daughter of Squire Simons.
“A.   I do not know.
“Q.  How did you come to make a statement for use in her pension claim.
A.    I was asked to make a statement by Mr. Tyler, the Special Examiner, and done so and I told him that Pauline was Squire Simons child by Eliza. I did this because others were telling so. I heard others tell Mr. Tyler so and I did the same but at the same time I knew better.
Q.  Who was or who is Elizabeth Simons who drew the bounty due Squire Simons?
A.   She was my mother and the mother of Squire Simons. She is dead long ago. The woman Eliza who child we said Pauline was, is dead.”

Deposition, Harriett Elliott, 4 August 1892
about 60 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office address, Hertford, Perquimans Co., NC
“I am the wife of Eli Elliott. Mr. Elliott is my second husband. My first husband was Jno. Long by whom I had five children viz. Lavinia, Pauline, Lydia, Jno. & Andrew. My three girls were born before the late war commenced and Pauline was six years old when the war commenced. She is now the wife of William Jordan and resides at No. 1007 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, Va. She visited me about two months ago. Up to about five years ago she always lived near me. and she has visited me every year since she went to Portsmouth to live.
“Q.  Did you ever know a man by the name of Squire Simons?”
A.  Yes, sir. He was my cousin.
Q.  Did you have a child or children by Squire Simons?
A.  No, sir. He and I were cousins and belonged to Jno. Simons late of Perquimans Co., NC.
Q.  Did you know a woman named Eliza who belonged to Jno. Simons?
A.  Yes, sir. She died during the late war and she and Squire Simons were brothers and sisters and Matilda the wife of Uriah Ellicott now living near Winfall, NC is also a sister of Squire Simons.”

Deposition, Pauline Jordan alias Simons, 5 August 1892
29 or 39 years old; occupation, housekeeper; residence and post-office address, 1007 Chestnut St., Norfolk Co., Portsmouth, Va.
“… [I cashed my pension check] at a bank on Main Street in this city. I think the bank is called Burruss Bank. … I gave two hundred dollars to Uriah Elliott to give to his wife Matilda Elliott who is my aunt … I gave her this money because she raised me. And I wanted to renumerate her for my raising… I bought the property in which I now live for which I was to pay $700 of this sum I have paid six hundred & fifty dollars out of my pension money. I also bought a parlor suit of furniture for which I paid $50.00 …
“Q. Then you are not the daughter of Squire Elliott & Eliza Simmons?
A. No, sir…. The property where I live was not bought with this or any part of this money but it is and was paid for out of my husband William Jordan’s earnings. … I was not telling the truth to either you or Mr. Tyler…”

Deposition, Luther C. Williams, 5 August 1892
30 years old; occupation, U.S. Claims Agent & Notary Public; post-office address, 308 Bute St., Norfolk, Va.
“Q. Please state whether you known William Ward, a writer in Pension Claims doing business at No. 273 Queen St., this City.
A.  I do. I was a Clerk in his office from May 1st 1891 to Dec 1st, 1891.”
“… [I remember the names] Andrew Madre, Gilbert Felton, N. Williams and Grafton Tyler …”
[NOTE: This deposition is quite lengthy and names several other individuals and a bank related to questionable transfer of funds – Leslie]