Harrison Sykes alias Harrison Williams, Company I

Five men — including the soldier and his two brothers Joseph Sykes alias Joseph Williams and Henry Sykes alias Williams — liberated themselves from a Southampton County, Virginia plantation and “joined the Union Army at the same time and place.” In addition to an alias surname, various given names were recorded in the application.

Invalid – 512,287 / 1,011,632
Widow – 1094996 / 886,187, Frances Sykes

Questionnaire (Form 3-173), Harrison Williams, 13 January 1898
[married]  Fannie Hill
[when, where, by whom] Southampton Co., Va.; March 18, 1867; by Dr. Barham, N.P.
[record] the first one
[previous marriage] Fannie Hill, the first and last
[living children] John, age 28; Frank born 1870; Annie, 1872; Eddie, 1873; Mattie, 1875; Mary, 1877; Fredie, 1879; Joseph, 1881; Hattie, 1884; James, 1886; Hubbard, 1888; Paul, 1888; Waveley, 1890; Willie, 1894. I gave you the year of each birth and two are dead. The others are living.”

General Affidavit, Howell Jones, 10 March 1899 
57 years old; residence, Worrells, Southampton County, Virginia; post-office address, Worrells, Southampton County, Virginia
“I have been knowing Harrison Williams ever since I joined his company [?] first Reg Col Cav in 1864 … I have lived in the same neighborhood with him since the war …”

General Affidavit, Jacob Sugars, 10 November 1899
60 years old; “citizen of Courtland, county of Southampton and State of Virginia”
“I was a private in Company I, 1st Regt USC Cavalry and while is said service became acquainted with a soldier serving in the same company under the name of Harrison Williams. The same soldier and myself were discharged at the same time and returned to Southampton County, Virginia together and have ever since lived in the same neighborhood. After the said soldier returned with from the service he assumed the name of Harrison Sykes, as her father’s surname was Sykes, and has ever since been known by that name.”

General Affidavit, Henry Charity, 10 November 1899
54 years old; “citizen of Boykins, county of Southampton and State of Virginia”
“I have been acquainted with the above named soldier all of my life. I know that prior to his enlistment … he was owned by Jacob Williams. The said soldier and two of his brothers and myself and a brother of mine all ran away from our owners at the same time and joined the Union Army at the same time and place. … [Harrison Williams and I] were discharged at the same time and returned home together and have since lived in the same County together. The father of the said soldier was and is known by the name of Solomon Sykes.”

General Affidavit, J.E. Drake, 28 May 1900
62 years old; “citizen of Capron, county of Southampton and State of Virginia”
“I have known Harrison Williams since 1861. He lives one and a half miles of me. Sometimes does little work for me. “

General Affidavit, J.T. Barham, 22 June 1900 [date stamped by Pension Bureau]
36 years old; “citizen of Capron, county of Southampton and State of Virginia”
“I have been knowing Harrison Williams more than fifteen years. He lives in a half mile of me and sometimes try to do some work for me but is not able to do much and he has not been able to do hard work since I first knew him.”

Sworn Statement, Mary Turner, 3 May 1912
78 years old; post-office address, Emporia, Va. “I was present at the marriage of Frances and Harrison Sykes, alias Harrison Williams, which took place about the first of March 1869. I further state that Sifey Powell who will give further testimony was also present at the marriage of said parties.”

Letter from N.M Pope and W.E. Worrell to Department of Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Washington, DC, 19 July 1917
“We, N.M Pope and W.E. Worrell, two white farmers living in the vicinity of Capron, Va. wish to testify jointly in behalf of Frances Sykes as follows:
“P1 That on December 16, 1919, Harrison Williams, alias Harrison Sykes died at his home near Capron, Va.
“P2 That Frances Sykes and Harrison Sykes were married some more than 30 years ago and lived together as husband and wife until his death
“P3 That they have never been divorced; have lived in this vicinity the [sic] entire married life and a part of this time have lived with us.”

Letter from Mary Turner to Pension Bureau, 4 May 1918
On letterhead of J.T. Barham & Company
“I, Mary Turner of Emporia, Greenville County, Virginia … was born in Southampton County, Virginia in about 1840 and have lived in that county in the neighborhood of Capron all of my life until the last twelve months. I was one of the waiters at the wedding of Harrison and Frances Sykes in the spring of 1867 … [they had] fourteen children of whom there are eleven living and three dead.”

Sworn Statement, Mary Turner, 13 February 1919 
78 years old; post-office address, North Emporia, Virginia
“I was a waiter and was present at the marriage of Frances Sykes to Harrison Sykes, alias, Harrison Williams, about the first of March in 1869. They were married by [illegible] Auth. Barham in his office about six miles from Capron, Virginia. 

Sworn Statement, Lifey Powell, 12 May 1919 
74 years old; post-address office, Pope, Va. “I was present at the marriage of Frances and Harrison Sykes, alias Harrison Williams, which took place about the first of March 1869. I also state that Mary Turner who will give further testimony was also present at the marriage of said parties.”

Sworn Statement, W.E. Worell, 12 May 1919 
80 years old; post-address office, Capron, Va. “I was born and raised within a few miles of Capron and that I know Frances and Harrison Sykes, alias Harrison Williams, were married a few miles from my home about 1869 and that they lived together until the date of his death and were never divorced. I further state that Frances Sykes is now his widow and lives within a few miles of Capron, Va.”

Sworn Statement, N.M. Pope, 12 May 1919 
75 years old; post-address office, Capron, Va. “I was born and raised with a few miles of Capron and that I know Frances and Harrison Sykes, alias Harrison Williams, were married a few miles from my home about 1869 and that they lived together until the date of his death and were never divorced. I further state that Frances Sykes is now his [sic] maiden name and lives within a few miles of Capron, Va.”

Sworn Statement, Frances Sykes, Parley Baker, B.F. Applewhite, 14 July 1919
[Sykes] 65 years old; post-office address, Capron, Va.
[Baker] 51 years old; post-office address, Capron, Va. … “I have known Frances Sykes for the last twenty (20) years she lives in about one (1) mile of my home …”
[Applewhite] 42 years old; post-office address, Capron, Va. .. “I have known Frances Sykes for the last twelve (12) years, she lives about one (1) mile of my house …”

Sworn Statement, Dr. J.N. Applewhite, 14 July 1919 
52 years old; post-office address, Pope, Va.
“I rendered medical treatment to Harrison Williams, Alis [sic], Harrison Sykes in the year of 1916 and also was in his room when he died on the 15th day of December 1916. Apoplexy being the cause of his death.”

Deposition, Wm. Everett Worrell, 4 March 1920
81 years old; occupation, farmer; residence, Capron, Va.
“I have known Frances Sykes from the time she was a child and I also knew her husband Passon Sykes from the time he was a boy. He was first known as Passon Williams and he belonged to Jacob Williams and he ran away and went into the army and then we he came back he took his daddy’s name and was known as Passon Sykes. I do not know anything about him going under the name Harrison Sykes or Harrison Williams. The first name as Passon is the only one I knew him to go by.”

Deposition, Nathan M. Pope, 4 March 1920
76 years old; occupation, farmer; residence, Capron, Va.
“I have known Frances Sykes since she was a little girl and I have known her husband Parson Sykes since he was a little boy. Parson Sykes and his brothers Joe and Henry Sykes were owned by Jacob Williams … I have always lived within half a mile of this place and those colored people have lived in the neighborhood within two or three miles all of their lives….His name was always Passon Sykes or Passon Williams and I do not know anything about his army service. … I do not know Dr. Cuth Barham married these people but I know he did marry a good many people both white and colored for while he was a doctor of medicine but he was a preacher in his younger days.”

Deposition, Parthenia Williams, 4 March 1920
nearly 83 years of age; address, Capron, Va.
“widow of Francis E. Williams and Jacob Williams was my father. I have known Frances Sykes ever since she was a child and her husband Person Sykes or Parson Sykes or Passon Sykes as his name was called belonged to my father. … his father was Solomon Sykes but Parson Sykes and his brothers Henry and Joe Sykes all ran away during the war and someone who met up with them came back and reported they were going under the name Williams. … I think that before [Frances] married Passon Sykes Frances went by the name of Kindred for she was owned by that family and I do not know whether she went by the name of Frances Hill or not but she had a brother that I remember that went by the name of Hill. The [redacted] are so strange it is hard to tell just what name they did go by. … my husband fixed up a place for them to live in on our place and they lived there until they had several children … Dr. Cuth Barham was a doctor of medicine but he had been a preacher and while for some reason the church took away from him his license to preach the court did not take away from him his license to marry people and he married a good many and I myself saw him marry three couples and some of those after he had stopped preaching.”

Memo from J.T. Barnham, Newsoms, Virginia, 12 March 1920
“[T]he late Cuthbert D. Barham was not my farther [sic] but a distant relative.
“I know nothing of his private papers and I very much doubt that he kept any records of the marriages he somlenized [sic], have always heard that he was a very careless man as to his business affairs, besides about that time every-thin [sic] in the South was in a very unbusinessliie [sic] maner [sic] especially as to the freedmen.
[Note: This typed note was in response to a request from Department of the Interior, Bureau of Pensions, Room 22 Post Office Building, Norfolk, Va., Mar. 11, 1920 — Leslie]