David Anderson, Company F & Company G

This veteran from the Eastern Shore was beset by difficulty. He suffered a head wound from a shell explosion and his condition worsened as he aged. His wife abandoned him shortly after the war ended and moved to New York with another man. But his son survived into adulthood and the injured soldier married a second time.

Invalid — 169,775 / 121,789

Claimant’s Affidavit, David Anderson, 16 December 1889
47 years old; residence, Eastern Shore, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Bayview
“That there is not in his community or within his knowledge any commissioned office of Company G 1st Regt USC Cav nor first sergeant, nor does he know where either, if any now, be living can be found”

Claimant’s Affidavit, David Anderson, 8 August 1891
47 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles, Northampton Co., Va.
“I was struck by the explosion of a shell from Fort Clifton about June or July … taken to the regiment hospital near Point of Rocks and was treated by the doctors there but I did not know their names”

General Affidavit, David Anderson and Thomas Floyd, 22 August 1892
[Anderson] 47 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Northampton, Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles City, Va.
[Floyd] 51 years old; residence, Cape Charles City, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles City, Va.
“both discharged at City Point, Va. and came home together … both working at Cape Charles City, Va, sees each other every day”

General Affidavit, John Henry, 1 October 1892
46 years old; residence, Cheapside, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cheapside, Va.
“I have been aquainted with the said claimant David Anderson on about 25 years or more”

Claimant’s Affidavit, David Anderson, 27 May 1893
49 years old; residence, Bayview, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles, Va.
“Says that he recd shell wound over left eye Jan 10/64 at engagement at Butler Breastwork front of Petersburg was sent to hospital Point of Rocks near Petersburg & transfer to Camp Hamilton … and remained there”

General Affidavit, Thomas Floyd and Harrison Tucker, 18 May 1893
[Floyd] 52 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles City, Va.
[Tucker] 59 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles City, Va.
“[Floyd] been knowing [claimant] for 25 years, since the war, and since he has been out of the war … I am now living in Cape Charles and see him every day. He now drives the mail from Cape Charles to Brighton once a day and sometimes”
“[Tucker] “a mail carrier myself from the train to the post office at Cape Charles every day and he have to meet the train every day”

Claimant’s Affidavit, David Anderson, 12 August 1894
47 years old; residence, Bayview, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Bayview, Va.
“I have not been treated by any Doctor since I was discharged because I was not so bad off at first”

Questionnaire (Form 3-173), David Anderson, 13 September 1899
[wife’s name/maiden name] “I am not. I has ben [sic] married but she lef [sic] in 67 for another man and went to New York and have not heard from her since”
[where, when, by whom] 1866 December; Andrew Tucker of Norfolk but he is dead
[marriage record] “Norfolk, Va. I was not married but once and that was in 1866; 25 years ago so I do not consider that I am a married man”
[previoiusly married] “I don’t know whether she is dead or living but she will never be my wife enemore [sic] in this world and the world to come”
[living children] “I had one name David Anderson Jr but he was not her son but it was another mother. Born December 1870 as near as I can say. The date of month has slip [sic] my memories.”

General Affidavit, Jeffrey Taylor, 8 January 1906
65 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Va.
“I lived in the claimant’s home with him during the years of 1901 and 1902 … His disability was not due in any way to vicious habits.”

General Affidavit, Edward F. Jordan, 8 Januaary 1906
48 years old; residence, Cape Charles, Va.
“I have personally known the claimant David Anderson for the past four or five years”

Declaration for Pension, David Anderson, 19 February 1907
70 years old; residence, Bayview, Northampton Co., Va.; post-office address, Cape Charles, Northampton Co,, Va
“born January 1st 1837 at St Mray’s County, Md. (my discharge certificate is in Pension Office) … several places of residence since living leaving the service have been as follows: lived in Norfolk, Va. about three months, since then to date in Northampton County, Va.”
“Also personally appeared S.B. Travis, residing in Cape Charles, Va. and Arthur Hurt, residing in Dolby, Va. … their acquaintance with him of 10 years and 10 years, respectively”

Questionnaire (Form 3-389), David Anderson, 20 April 1915
[date and place of birth] 1837 — St Mary’s Co,, Maryland
[organization] Co G, 1st USCC
[post-office at enlistment] Norfolk, Virginia
[wife’s full name / maiden name] Jane Parsons
[when, where, by whom] Dec 1866, Norfolk, Va. Rev. Wm. Tucker
[official or church record, where] yes, Norfolk, Va
[previous marriage] no
[present wife’s previous marriage] “was not married before she met me”
[with wife] “she is dead”
[names and birth dates of all children] David Anderson, living,1869

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William Bright, Company G

The widow was so poor that she “she had to go North to do menial work to defray the funeral expenses of William Bright her husband.” After the death of her second husband, she applied for a Remarried Widow’s Pension.

Invalid – 1,094,307 / 818,955
Widow – 631,803 / 455,229, Mary Minerva Allen

Deposition, William Bright, 5 October 1892
49 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 76 Nickerson, Norfolk, Va.
“[My attorney] is W.R. Drury, of Norfolk, Va. …. I don’t know the name of the man who swore me but he occupied a desk in Mr. Drury’s office and is said to be a Notary Public. … The man I refer to is a tall slender young man, clean-shaved except a mustache, and he some defect in one of his eyes…. My witnesses Henry Gordon & Nicholas Langley were both sworn by this man I just described.”

Deposition, Henry Gordon, 5 October 1892
about 70 years old; occupation, laborer; post-office address, Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the claimant William Bright since 1868. We have been associates and fellow workmen during all of the intervening years.”

Deposition, Nicholas Langley, 6 October 1892
49 years old; occupation, watchman; residence and post-office address, 5 Salter Ave., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the claimant William Bright from his early boyhood.”

Deposition, Philip H. Bagnall, 6 October 1892
50 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 14 Lodge St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the claimant William Bright since his childhood … and we have been neighbors continuously since our muster out of service. I was a sergeant in said company.”

Deposition, Jasper Cornick, 6 October 1892
61 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 120 Nickerson St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the clt William Bright for the past thirty years. He and I served together … and have been neighbors continuously since our discharge from service.”

General Affidavit, Clarky Bell and Caroline Simmons, 4 April 1896
[Bell] 6 Byrd Street, (Barboursville),
[Simmons] 11 Chapel Street, Norfolk, Va.
“[The claimant] was a child when they first knew her … they saw her about two (2) or three (3) times monthly during the period of their first acquaintance with her until she became the wife of the soldier. They knew the soldier when a young man…They saw the soldier weekly or oftener throughout the period before he was married … They visited the home of claimant and soldier monthly on an average and affiant Simmons helped ‘raise’ claimant … “

General Affidavit, Margaret Anderson and Elizabeth Kindred, 27 July 1897
“That the claimant above described as no property neither real or personal, no income derived from any source. She has never owned any property of any description except a few articles of household furniture the value of which did not exceed $25.00 and the same has been disposed of. She has been without real and personal property and has had no income of any kind since March 1896, the date of soldier’s death as above described. No one is legally bound for claimant’s support but she depends entirely upon manual jobs for support for she had to go North to do menial work to defray the funeral expenses of William Bright her husband.”

General Affidavit, Joseph Nelson, 5 August 1897
citizen of Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia
“That he is one of the firm of Nelson Wilson & Co., who officiated at the interment of William Bright, the soldier above described who was buried March 11, 1896, at Norfolk, Virginia”

Questionnaire (Form3-506), Caroline Simmons, 14 September 1897
66 years old; occupation, housework; post-office address, 11 Chapel St., Extended, Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the clmt since a child. She is my stepdaughter and I partly raised her. Her maiden name was Minerva Simmons. I was not present when she was married but was living within a half a mile of her on Bayside, Princess Anne Co., Va. at the time of her marriage to Owen Bright, about 15 years old. I did not know him until a short time before he married clmt…. He died March before last in this city. … The said Owen Bright was also called William and Bill Bright. When I first knew him he was called Owen Bright. That was the name he gave my husband when he asked for his daughter the clmt.

“The claimant’s post-office address is 69 Willoughby St , 100 Nicholson Street, Norfolk, Va.
“There was no prior marriage of soldier nor claimant. The claimant was never divorced from the soldier and that she has not remarried since his death.”
Note: At first I thought “Owen Bright” was a scrawled presentation of “William Bright” but the person giving testimony said he was also called “William and Bill Bright.” Curious — Leslie

General Affidavit, John Lingen and Elizabeth Kindred, 28 September 1897
[Lingen] 658 Bute Street, Norfolk, Va.
[Kindred] 302[?] Queen Street, Norfolk, Va.
“That they are each well acquainted with the claimant … having known her more than eighteen years. They both were well acquainted with her before her marriage to the soldier above named. Affiants have always known her as Mary Minerva and this was claimant’s name before her marriage….the soldier above described died March 10, 1896 at Norfolk, Va.  [Kindred] distinctly remembers the date being a frequent visitor at his bedside during his final illness and she saw his remains in about one hour after he died.”

Claimant’s Affidavit, Minerva Bright, 28 September 1897
“… although her parents named her ‘Mary Minerva’ she was not called by the name ‘Mary’ not even by her parents.  He husband, the soldier, above described, always said he liked the name Mary better than Minerva and he therefore sometimes called her Mary and at other times Minerva … he applied for license to marry only in the name of Mary. After they were married he used both names Mary and Minerva for every one [sic] else called her Minerva.”

Claimant’s Affidavit, Minerva Bright, 9 October 1897
“She generally spoke to him and to others of him when using the name “William” as William Bright simply; omitting the “D” which stands for “David.” The soldier’s full and complete name was William David Bright sometimes written William D. Bright and at other times written William Bright.”

General Affidavit, Margaret Anderson and Josephine Wilson, 9 October 1897
[Anderson] 93 Willoughby Street, Norfolk, Va.
[Wilson] 110 Nicholson Street, Norfolk, Va.
“That they both knew soldier … before he married claimant. Affiant Anderson knew him for twelve years before he married claimant and affiant Wilson knew him for at least that period. The soldier was married to claimant in the house of affiant Anderson. Affiants both lived in the immediate neighborhood fourteen, fifteen years before his marriage to claimant and they were both personally and intimately acquainted with him all living in Norfolk, Va. and seeing him on average of once or twice weekly during the period named.”

Marriage Certificate, James Allen and Minerva Bright, 7 November 1897
The couple lived at 320 W. 36th when they married. Both were widowed. The groom was 48 years old; the bride was 37 years old. He was born at Old Point, Virginia to James Allen and Adaline. She was born in Norfolk, Virginia to James Simmons and Letitia. The officiant Granville Hunt lived at 134 W. 32nd Street; the witness was H.A. Hunt.
Note: The following text appears on this document “A Transcript from the Records of the Marriages reported to the Department of Health of The City of New York.” It was date-stamped as received by the Pension Bureau on 5 November 1918.

General Affidavit, Lavinia Robinson, 5 December 1897
60 years old; post-office address, 428 E. Bute Street, Norfolk, Va.
“That she has been acquainted with the claimant ever since she was a girl; that she was first married to William Bright; that she was not married after Bright’s death until she married Allen; that she and Allen were never separated or divorced but lived together as man and wife until his death and that she has not re-married since his death.”

General Affidavit, Hezekiah Anderson, 5 December 1897
69 years old; post-office address, 421 Powell St., Norfolk, Va.
“That he has known the claimant ever since 1877 at which time she was not married …”

Death Certificate, James Allen, 15 December 1915
He was about 50 years old when he died in Elizabeth City County, Virginia on 15 December 1915. He was employed as a laborer for “NNRR & E Co.” His parents were James Allen and Adeline Cooper, both born in that county. The informant Edmond Allen lived on Fox Hill Road. The deceased was buried at “AME Cemetery” on 19 December 1915. W.T. Smith and Sons of Hampton handled the burial.
Note: The “transcript” of this death certificate was issued by the registrar of the local Board of Health of Elizabeth City County on 16 August 1921.
Note: If the abbreviation “NNRR & E Co.” is for “Newport News Railroad Company” what does the “E” stand for? — Leslie

Declaration for Remarried Widow’s Pension, Mary Minerva Allen, 1 November 1918
residence, 609 Smith Street, Norfolk, Virginia
“[D]eclares she is 58? years of age, and that she was born 1860? at Princess Anne County, Virginia…That she was formerly the widow of William Bright … That she was married to said soldier …under the name of Mary Minerva Simmons … that said soldier died March 18, 1896 at Norfolk, Virginia … her marriage November 7, 1897 to James Allen at New York, NY that he died December 16, 1915 at Phoebus, Virginia …”

General Affidavit, Mary Minerva, 4 December 1918
58 years old; residence, 609 Smith Street, Norfolk, Virginia
“That her husband, James Allen, died at Phoebus, Virginia, on December 16, 1915; at that time she was living at Phoebus, Virginia, and remained there for about one month when she came to Norfolk, Va. to live and lived with her sister on Washington Avenue until August, 1916; she then went to New York and was in service and lived at 2111 Fifth Avenue until the 2nd day of July, 1918, when she returned to Norfolk and since then has been living at 609 Smith Street.”

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Stephen Ballentine, Company G

“I knew the soldier during the last five years of his life as a depraved and worthless vagabond …. I have thought it not necessary to lose and incur an additional expense of $3.00 to confront the guardians with the adverse testimony obtained. I thereby recommend the rejection of the claim as it now stands.”
Letter from H.P. Maxwell, Special Examiner, to Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC, 31 March 1897

 

Minor — 597,473 / —–,

 

Marriage License [copy] Stephen Balentine & Cynthia Jones, 11 May 1865
Norfolk, Va.; both, 21 years old; both, single; both born, Princess Anne Co., Va.; husband resided, 1st US Cavy (Cold), Co. G;  wife, Norfolk; husband’s parents, Stephen & Cloe Balentine; wife’s parents, Jack & Charlotte Jones; husband’s occupation, Private, Co G, 1st U.S. Cold Cavy; officiant, John M. Brown, Pastor, St. John AME Chapel, Norfolk, Va.

 

Death Certificate, Steven Ballentine, 30 June 1894
” … departed this life on the 21st day of September 1890, aged 50 years; that the cause of death was gangrene; That the death was reported by J.E. Riddick and occurred at the Almshouse …”

 

Declaration for Children Under Sixteen Years of Age, Daniel Smith, 16 June 1894
58 years old; post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Va.
“[He] is the legal guardian of Mary F., Joseph, Magzner, Lucinda and Rosetta … [Stephen Ballentine] died Sept 22, 1890. That he left no widow surviving him, she having died April 16, 1890. That the names and dates of birth of all the surviving children of the soldier under sixteen years of age are as follows:

Mary Frances	March 16, 1878
Joseph	Dec 21, 1880
Magzener	Oct 9, 1882
Lucinda	Mch 4, 1884
Rosetta	Aug 16, 1886

“That the mother was married under the name Sarah Smith to Stephen Ballentine … Also personally appeared, Abraham Elliott, residing at Norfolk, Va., and Thomas Willie, residing at Norfolk, Va. …”

 

General Affidavit, Daniel Smith, 14 July 1894
post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va. …
“Sarah Jane Smith, which was her maiden name, was married to Stephen Ballentine after the custom of slaves on the 15 day of January 1876 by a Rev. William Lewis of Norfolk, Va. and the said William Lewis who performed the ceremony and [illegible] Anna Fentress the midwife who attended the births of the children of Sarah and Stephen Ballentine are dead. And there is no public nor church record of the births nor baptisms of the said children in existence. And it is not in my power to furnish the testimony of but one who was an eyewitness to the ceremony. Some have died and others have moved off to parts unknown to me but I offer the testimony of two who were not immediately present at the marriage of Sarah and Stephen Ballentine but they were intimately acquainted with [them] and lived near neighbor to them. And visited them soon after they were married and to the day of her death.

“And I further certify that the above statement was written by J.A.H. Armstead  in my presence and only from oral statements to him on this 14th day of July 1894 at his office #251 Bank St., City of Norfolk, Va. … ”

 

General Affidavit, Lucinda Smith, 16 July 1894
60 years old; residence, Princess Anne Co., Va.; post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known and I have been intimately acquainted with Sarah Jane Ballentine from her childhood to her death …. I lived near neighbor to her all the time. I was also well acquainted with Stephen Ballentine for 35 years before he died. He died … at the Almshouse at Norfolk, Va. …. I am well and intimately acquainted with this family and I do well remember the dates of the births of the children….”

 

General Affidavit, John E. Bonney, 25 August 1894
54 years old; residence, Princess Anne Co., Va. near Kempsville
“I have known Stephen Ballentine for 40 years previous to his death, lived near neighbor to him all the time in Princess Anne County, Virginia.”

 

General Affidavit, Manda Hodges, 24 July 1894
45 years old;  residence, corner Scott & Jefferson sts., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.
“I have been intimately acquainted with Sarah Jane Smith and Stephen Ballentine from 1870 to the day of their deaths … [hers, 16 April 1890] … [his, 21 September 1890] at Norfolk, Va. and that they left surviving the following named children: Mary Frances Ballentine born on the 16th of March 1878; Joseph Ballentine born on the 24th of December 1880; Magline Ballentine born on the 9th day of October 1882; Lucinda Ballentine was born on the 4th of March 1884; Rosetta Ballentine born on the 16th day of August 1886. I was present at each of their births in the capacity of nurse…. They are all living and I see them frequently.”

 

General Affidavit, Daniel Smith, 16 February 1895
60 years old; residence, Princess Anne Co., Va.; post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Va. … “that he was well acquainted with Stephen Ballentine … all of his life to the day of his death”

 

Affidavit As To Family Record Entries, Daniel Smith, 25 August 1895
58 years old; post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Va., 12 June 1894
“Their births and baptisms was recorded in the Smith St. Methodist Church in the City of Norfolk, Va. Said records was in the possession of Wm. Smith, Elder of said church and after his death on the 17th of September 1890, they were misplaced or destroyed, therefore there is no church record in existence. The name of Maglene are spelt wrong by the Clerk of the Court. It should have been spelt Maglene & not Mageline and Maglener….”
[Note: The birth dates in this document are the same as those reported above in Declaration for Children Under Sixteen Years of Age … 16 June 1894 except Joseph’s which appears in the Affidavit … 25 August 1895 as December 24th — Leslie].

 

General Affidavit, Daniel Smith, 10 December 1895
60 years old; residence, Princess Anne Co., Va.; post-office address, 262 Church St., Norfolk, Va. … “The said Stephen Ballentine was born and raised in Princess Anne Co., Va. His age when enlisted was about 23 years. His occupation was a farmer. His height was about 5 feet and 4 or 5 inches. His complexion was dark. His hair and eyes was dark. There was no marks or scars on his body that I know of. His discharge certificate was destroyed by fire by his house being burned down. Stephen Ballentine was admitted in the National Soldiers’ Home at Hampton, Va. on the 28th day of August 1890 and he died at the said home on the 21st day of September 1890.”

 

General Affidavit, Philip Bagman and Willis Quickmore, 10 December 1895
[Bagman] 52 years old; 26 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.
[Quickmore]  64 years old; 62 Chapel St., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.
Bagnam “has known Stephen Ballentine for 25 years and he was he was the first sergeant of Company G with the said Stephen Ballentine … Quickmore was acquainted with the said Stephen Ballentine since 1856 and that he was a private in the company with said Stephen Ballentine …. {and they know that while in the service] Ballentine was frequently treated by Dr. Manley and Dr. Gray in the Regimental Hospital for misery in the head and shortness of breath….”

 

Deposition, Daniel Smith, 24 March 1897
65 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, 402 Church St., Norfolk, Va.
“I am the guardian of the minor children of Stephen Ballentine. … I knew [Ballentine] from his boyhood. He belonged prior to the late war to a Mr. Land. I think Bennett Land although it may have been Horatio Land and he used to  drive a dray in Norfolk, Va. prior to the war. And I knew him well both before he went to Norfolk to work and when he was in Norfolk. … he was not married prior to his marriage to my daughter… They were married in Norfolk, Va. but I have forgotten the date. Rev. Wm. Lewis married them but he is dead. I do not know in whose house they were living at the time of their marriage. Nor do I know of anyone that was present at their marriage.
“[The five children] are all under my care and custody as their guardian but I cannot give the date of birth of either of the said children as they were born in Norfolk, Va. about five miles from where I live and from where I have lived all my life. …. My wife Lucinda Smith was present when each of them was born. …
“Q. What is the correct name of the minor whose name appears as Magzner.
A.   Her name is Magdalene Ballentine.
q.  Have you had the care and custody of said minors continuously since the death of the soldier Stephen Ballentine?
A.  Yes, sir, I took charge of them before he died as he was unable to take care of them on account of his physical condition.”

 

Deposition, Lucinda Smith, 24 March 1897
55 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office address, 402 Church St., Norfolk, Va.
“I am the wife of Daniel Smith, the guardian of the minors of Stephen Ballentine. The said Stephen Ballentine married my daughter Sarah Jane Smith in 1867 or 1868. They were married in Norfolk, Va. in my presence but I do not remember the date. They were married by license by Rev. Wm. Lewis now dead. The wedding took place on James St. near Queen St. but I have forgotten the no. of the house in which they were married. I knew the said Stephen Ballentine since his youth … Joseph was born in Rogers Ct., Norfolk, Va. on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1880. He was 16 years old the 24th of last December. Magdalene was born in October 1881. She was 15 years old her last birthday. Lucinda was born March 4th 1884, the very day that Grover Cleveland was inaugurated President of the U.S. the first time and Rosetta was born, also in Rogers Ct. August 16, 1896 …. I give said dates from memory. Manda Hodges of Norfolk, Va. was present when said children were born. She staid right with my daughter when they were born and she ought to remember when they were born.”

 

Deposition, Harriet Bearman, 24 March 1897
43 years old; occupation, housekeeper; post-office address, Kempsville, Princess Anne Co., Va.
“I have knows [Daniel Smith] for about 35 years. I also knew his daughter Sarah Jane Smith from her early childhood. She and I were near of an age. I lived right by the family and was very intimate with the said Sarah Jane Smith from her childhood until she died … [I knew Stephen Ballentine] from 1866 until he died. I was not present at their marriage but I remember very well when it took place but I cannot give the date.”

 

Deposition, John E. Bonney, 25 March 1897
58 years old; occupation, farmer; post-office address, Broad Creek, Princess Anne Co., Va.
“I have known Daniel Smith … for the past 35 years …. I knew the said Stephen Ballentine for 40 years before his death. I knew him as a neighbor and as an associate from before he was grown until he died. I also knew his wife Sarah Jane from her early girlhood until she died …. They lived in Norfolk and I lived about four miles distant but I visited them frequently.”

 

Deposition, Henrietta Jones, 25 March 1897
70 years old; residence and post-office address, 190 St. Paul’s St., Norfolk, Va.
“I do not know Daniel Smith …. but I did know Stephen Ballentine who died in the Norfolk City Almshouse. I got acquainted with him on his return to Norfolk after his discharge from the army in the Spring of 1866.
Q.  Under what circumstances did you make his acquaintance?
A.  He visited next door to where I lived for a while and then he visited my house. He was then a single young man. When I first made his acquaintance he was visiting a girl named Lucinda Jones, my cousin who lived next door to me on East Main St. in this City and about two years thereafter he married this girl Lucinda Jones. I was not present when they were married as I had moved to Church St. and was living some distance from them when they were married. I do not know who married them nor do I know who saw them married. No, I don’t think they lived together but he used to visit Lucinda and she had three children by him viz. Alexander, James, and Eva — all living. No, Stephen Ballentine did not support said children. Their mother supported them until she died eleven or twelve years ago and then I took said children and raised them. The child Eva was only about a month old when the mother Lucinda died.
Q.  Where was Stephen Ballentine when Lucinda Jones died?
A.  He was living on St. Paul St. this city with another woman by whom he had the children for which Daniel Smith is the guardian.
Q.  Can you refer me to anyone from whom I may obtain the fact of Stephen Ballentine’s alleged marriage to Lucinda Jones?
A.  I don’t know for certain but I think Rosa Sparks and Susan Perry knew all about the marriage. They lived right by Lucinda when she and Stephen Ballentine were said to have married. They live on Suffolk St. near James in this city. Stephen Ballentine did not live and co-habit with his Lucinda Jones as a husband should do by his wife but he visited her occasionally and she had the abovenamed children by him. Yes, sir, Stephen Ballentine owned and recognized said children but he never provided them with any part of a support.”

 

Deposition, Henrietta Jones, 25 March 1897
70 years old; residence and post-office address, 190 St. Paul’s St., Norfolk, Va.
“I became acquainted with the late Stephen Ballentine in the Spring of 1866 on his return from the army. I was then living on Church St., this City. Prior to that time I had lived on East Main Street, this City, and a young girl, a cousin of mine named Cynthia Jones, not Lucinda, lived next door to me. Her parents were Jack & Charlotte Jones and were from Princess Anne Co., Va. This was about the close of the late war that Cynthia Jones lived next door to me, about the time Richmond, Va. fell, and I occasionally saw this man Stephen Ballentine visiting her (Cynthia’s) house but I did  not make his acquaintance for a year later. Yes, he, Ballentine was in the U.S. Army when I saw him at the house and I heard that they were married but I have no personal knowledge of that fact. … The night his wife died, my daughter (Rachel Jones) went after him and found him in bed with the Smith woman in a house in Rogers Ct. this City. He was not married to the Smith woman nor was he ever divorced from his wife Cynthia Jones. Yes, sir. Cynthia was known as Cynthia Ballentine, the wife of Stephen Ballentine until she died about 14 years ago. …. Cynthia Ballentine died at the corner of Hawk and Willoughby sts., this CIty.”

 

Deposition, Willis Quickmore, 27 March 1897
67 years old; laborer; residence and post-office address, 62 Chapel Street extended, Norfolk, Va.
“I knew [Stephen Ballentine] for at least five years before the beginning of the late war. He followed draying here in the city prior to the war and up to the date of his enlistment …  He and I enlisted about the same time [and served together through discharge and muster out] and came home to Norfolk, Va. together and we lived right here in the city together from the time we left the service until he died in Sept 21, 1890. I visited him at his home and knew him well. ”

 

Deposition, Phillip Bagnall, 27 March 1897
52 years old; laborer; residence and post-office address, 380 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Va.
“I knew [Stephen Ballentine] for ten years before he enlisted. He and I used to work together before the war. … If his name appears on the company roll as Stephen Ballenting it is a clerical error, as his name was spelled and pronounced Ballentine. There was no other man of the name of Ballentine or Ballenting in said company.”

 

Deposition, Phillip Bagnall, 27 March 1897
52 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 380 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Va.
“I served in Company G … I knew Stephen Ballentine of said company well, for ten years before his enlistment. … I do not know of my own knowledge where [Ballentine was born and reared] but I have heard that he came from Princess Anne Co., Va. not far from the Norfolk Co. line. I do not know who he belonged to nor do I know the names of his parents…. He married just before we started to Texas in the Spring of 1865. I saw the woman during service that he claimed to have married while in service but I do not know her maiden name.  I also saw her after our discharge from service and they lived together from some years and had some children and then he left her and took up with the mother of the children for whom Daniel Smith is guardian. He lived with said woman in an old house in Rogers Court and was living with her when his wife died. I think Jim Langley, Joseph Cornick, and Willis Quickmore will know of Stephen Ballentine’s marriage during service and will know of their separation. No, sir, he was not divorced from the woman he married while in service but just got wrong after the Smith woman.”

 

Deposition, Jasper Cornick, 27 March 1897
66 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 42 5th St., Norfolk, Va.
“I served in Company G … and [I knew Ballentine well]. I first met him at enlistment and knew him well from that time until he died nearly seven years ago….. He married in May 1865 Cynthia Jones, whom I knew prior to my enlistment. She was from Princess Anne Co., Va. and was owned by a Mr. Morris. At the time of said marriage our company was camped out in the edge of Portsmouth, just across the river from Norfolk, and Stephen Ballentine got a furlough to come over to Norfolk to get married and he did not return that night and when he returned the next day Capt. Wm. H. Carter put him in the guardhouse. I have seen the father of Cynthia Jones whom Stephen Ballentine married but had no particular acquaintance with him. His name was Jack Jones…. I do not remember the date of [Cynthia’s] death but she died here in Norfolk on Hawk st (St. Paul’s) near Willoughby st. She died about 12 years ago. I heard that Stephen Ballentine was living with another woman when Cynthia died but I have no personal knowledge of the fact.”

 

Deposition, Isaac Brower, 31 March 1897
60 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 45 Newton St., Norfolk, Va.
“I knew the late Stephen Ballentine from his childhood. He was the son of Stephen Ballentine and Chloe Ballentine, late of Princess Anne Co., Va. I also knew his wife Cynthia from her early childhood. Her parents were Jack & Charlotte Jones, also of Princess Anne Co., Va. I was not present [when they married] but I know that he lived with and acknowledged her as his wife for several years next after he came home out of the U.S. Army. No, I didn’t serve with him as I was in the Navy. …. They lived together for a number of years and then he got careless about her and took up with another woman whom I did not know and would not notice his wife. I heard that he married the woman he took up with and I am sure he was never divorced from his wife Cynthia. Cynthia has been dead 14 or 15 years now. ”

 

Deposition, Isaac Kellum, 31 March 1897
74 years old; occupation, laborer; post-office address, 165 Newton St., Norfolk, Va.
“I knew [Stephen Ballentine] well. We enlisted at the same time and place. … I also knew his wife Cynthia, whose maiden name was Cynthia Jones. I know that he married her while he was yet in the army, and just a short time before our regiment went to Texas in June 1865. They had been married about a month before we started to Texas. The said wife visited him frequently while we were in camp in Portsmouth, Va. just across the river from Norfolk …

 

Letter from H.P. Maxwell, Special Examiner, to Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC, 31 March 1897
“I knew the soldier during the last five years of his life as a depraved and worthless vagabond…. I have thought it not necessary to lose and incur an additional expense of $3.00 to confront the guardians with the adverse testimony obtained. I thereby recommend the rejection of the claim as it now stands.”

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Lazarus Tate, Company G

“[The pensioner’s] first payment should have been $80 after deducting the legal fee, but through some hocus-pocus at the bank, W.R. Drury* managed to have the pensioner paid but $60, and then exacted an additional fee of $10. This disreputable transaction took place at Union Savings Bank, and is only one of many.” — Letter from Special Examiner to Hon. Wm. Lochren, Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC, 25 May 1893

 

Invalid — 718, 183 / 555,866
Widow — 1,072,276 / 820,697, Harriet Tate

 

Deposition, Mark Sanford, 12 May 1893
51 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 26 Avon St., Norfolk, Va.
“[Tate] never called me to be a witness. I have known him 15 or 16 years… In writing up my pension papers my name is sometimes given as Mark Sanford. My correct name is Mark Sanders.”

 

Deposition, Lazarus Tate, 13 May 1893
above 60 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 31 Fox Lane, Norfolk, Virginia
“I first applied under the old law in 1889”

 

Deposition, Willis Creekmore, 18 May 1893
62 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 62 Cottage Road, Norfolk, Va.
“In the Army my name was spelt [sic] Quickmore. … I am now pensioned as Willis Quickmore…. [Lazarus Taite] was in the same company. He is now living in Norfolk…. I was once with him before Mr. W.R. Drury who is now said to be in prison. It was three or four years ago…. I know in Texas we were all sick. I don’t remember [Taite’s] individual case…. I do know that he has been broken up with rheumatism for seven or eight years, but I do not recollect further back.  I do remember that he was often left behind with the waggoners [sic] , but I don’t remember now whether it was because he was sick or what.”

 

Letter from Special Examiner to Hon. Wm. Lochren, Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC, 25 May 1893
“I find that the pensioner’s first knowledge of this claim was after its allowance. His first payment should have been $80 after deducting the legal fee, but through some hocus-pocus at the bank, W.R. Drury managed to have the pensioner paid but $60, and then exacted an additional fee of $10. This disreputable transaction took place at Union Savings Bank, and is only one of many.”

 

Questionnaire (Form 3-173), Lazarus Tate, 30 October 1897
“[Marriages] Lived with Harriet Tate from about 1867 … lived with Comfort Tate (Comfort Richardson) before war. She married while I was in the army.
“[Living children] Eight or nine by Harriet Tate. Mary Lou, Emma Tate, John Tate, Roland Tate, Augustus Tate, Leroy Tate, Hattie Tate, Lillie Tate (several dead, not named). Walter Tate, Morris Tate, Rosa Tate — these three by Comfort Richardson. Don’t know dates of birth of any.”

 

Questionnaire (Form 3-340), Lazarus Taite, 14 March 1898
[Wife’s name] Harriet Taite; Harriet Dozier
[Living children] Three by first wife, all over 40. Seven by second wife.
Emma, John, Roland, Augustus, Leroy all over 16.
Hattie, 13 in April 1897.
Lillie, five years, August 4, 1897.

 

 A Transcript From the Record of Deaths in the City of Norfolk, Health Department, City of Norfolk, Virginia, Lazarus Tate, 10 March 1904 
“Date of Death, March 10, 1904 … Age of Deceased, 74 years … Birthplace, Sussex County … Cause of Death, Pneumonia … Place of Death, Norfolk Co., Va. … Place of Burial, West Point Cemetery … Undertaker, J.E. Edwards”

 

General Affidavit, Maria Hawkins, 18 April 1904
55 years old; residence, Norfolk, Va. … “That she is a daughter of Lazarus Taite by his first wife”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Harriet Taite, 27 November 1916
about 65 years old; occupation, washing and ironing; post-office box, 821 Roswell Ave., Norfolk, Va.
“I was married to Lazarus Taite here in Norfolk, Va., by Rev. David King, under the name of Harriet Dozier, that was my maiden name. I do not know the date of my marriage. Mr. Hubard** got the date from the courthouse. I have no marriage certificate. I commenced to live with him as his wife about 2 years after the war.  I met him the first week he came out of the army. I was with his sister on the street in Suffolk, Va., her name was Charlotte Parker, now dead. I was not grown then, I reckon I was about 14 years old. When I first commenced to live with him I was only about 16 years old. We commenced to live together in Suffolk, lived there some 10 or 12 years, then we moved to Norfolk. I could not tell how many years we had lived here when we were married. I had children by him before we were married.

“I think that I was born in Camden Co., N.C. or Sandy Hook. I don’t know the date of my birth, or month. I don’t know my age. My father was Major Dozier and my mother was Luvinia Dozier, Williams was her first name.  When I was a child I lived in Camden Co., do not know the name of the place. My father belonged to the Doziers and my mother to the Williams, I don’t know which Doziers. My mother belonged to a widow Suky Williams. When I was just a small girl I was sent to near Suffolk, about 6 miles from Suffolk, to James Decormice. I stayed there until about a year or so after the war, then I went to Suffolk and soon after that met Lazarus Taite. I was stopping with his sister and working for white people as a nurse girl when I met him. I was called Harriet Dozier until I commenced to live with Taite and I have been called Harriet Taite ever since.

“[He] told me that his home was in Sussex Co., Va., do not know what part, he belonged to people named Blow. I don’t think that he ever went back there after his discharge from the army.

“He was never married before he married me except under the old-fashioned law they had before the war.  He had a wife named Comfort in slavery times, he told me, I never saw. He never lived with her after the war, she was married while he was away, right in his mother’s house he told me, at the place where he came from, to a man named Paul Williams. I think that she has been dead 3 or 4 years, died in Baltimore, Md., so her Maria Hawkins, and daughter-in-law Eliza Taite told me Maria lives in Norfolk.

“My husband has one sister Malinda Guy living here, and two brothers Joe and Zack Taite who I think live in Suffolk. Maria is his daughter by his first wife, Comfort.

“Comfort was the only wife he ever had before he had me. I never heard that he had any other woman but we two.

“I never left the soldier, he left me once was 7 or 8 months then come back and lived with me till he died, near this city, on the old Ocean View RR, now in this city, Maltby Ave. I was with him when he died. I did not leave him, he left me. We lived on Fox Lane, in the city, then on Cumberland Street, and about 2 years before he died we moved to Maltby Ave., in the county, where he died…. He died about 12 years ago, in March, will be 13 in March. I moved away from Maltby Ave. that fall, on Pulasky street, near Highland Ave., I staid there the winter out, then I moved to Highland just around the corner, that fall a [sic] back to Pulaski Street, just across the street where I had been, was there about 4 years. I next moved to St. Paul Street, near Nicholson, was there 3 years I know, then I moved out on Church beyond Goff, was there part of the winter. I then moved with my son, Augustus Taite to Portsmouth, in 2 or 3 months he died then I went back to Norolk [sic], on this avenue, Roswell Ave., have lived here ever since….

“I have lived in the house with no one but my children, no lodgers sometimes, young women. I have a son living with me now, Roland Tate. My daughter Hattie Simmons, lived with me till about two weeks ago, most of the time.

“Q.  Who have known you well since your husband’s death:
A.    Nannie Reed, India Griffin and neighbors, one of them is Fannie Reed, have known me well and visit me … I have but one brother and one sister, they live near Oriental, N.C. My brother, Frank Dozier, lives across the river from Oriental and my sister Jane Dozier, lives this side of Oriental. I forgot to tell you an old man James Warren lives in the house upstairs, has been in the same house with me 8 or 9 years. He does not live with his wife. …. I got my age from my brother Frank. I don’t know how he got my age unless he got it from older heads, he is younger than I am, and my sister Jane is also younger. I got a letter from him and took it to Mr. Hubard. I think my brother said that I am 65. I don’t know really how old I am. I don’t know of any one who who knows of his own knowledge how old I am. I don’t know of no one who knows my age, to swear they know it. I have not lived near my brother or sister since they were children.

“Q. Who has known you since the time you became of marriageable age?
A.    There is no one around here that I know of except my husband’s sister Malinda Guy. I do not know if any of the people I worked for in Suffolk are living. I worked for different people. I worked for a family named Laster the time he was waiting on me, but I don’t know anything about them now, don’t know if they are living or not. I cannot name any colored people in Suffolk who knew me but his brothers Joe. and Zack Taite.

“I have made out my papers before Mr. Hubard …. I had two witnesses, Rev. Price and Epsie Minkley.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Willie May McNeal, 27 November 1916
19 years; wife of Philip McNeal, a seaman; post-office address, 530 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known Harriet Taite my whole life…. I remember her husband Lazarus Taite, but I was very small when he died. I remember when he died….”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Bessie Tate, 8 December 1916
32 years old; wife of Leroy Tate, a chauffeur; post-office address, 860 Johnson Ave., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known Harriet Taite since I was a little girl …. I married her son Dec 27, 1905 … No, I have never lived in same house as claimant, but have visited her, on St. Paul St., Pulaski St., and Roswell Ave., every week nearly, every few weeks, since I have married her son …. The spelling of the name is Tate not Taite.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Malinda Guy, 28 November 1916
75 years old; widow of John Guy; no occupation; post-office address, 315 E. Bute St., Norfolk, Va. “I am a pensioner …The soldier Lazarus Taite was my own brother. We belonged to old Col. Geo. Blow, in Sussex Co., Va. near a place called Littletown. …. My brother Lazarus left there when the war first started, he and my father John Taite….. I think that my father was a soldier but I am not sure. My father sent for us soon after the surrender and we came to Norfolk, and lived on Avon Street. …. He had but two wives. His first wife was Comfort Richardson. I grew up with her … [I first met Harriet in Suffolk] … Mrs. Norfleet had her working for her … Harriet was then a little girl … about 12 or 13 years old … She left my house when she was almost grown, went to live with Mrs. Sumler, and after she left my house she commenced living with my brother Lazarus … The reason my brother left her he told me, was on account of Walter Price, he was working in the navy yard, and Price would be at his house nearly all the time, from the time he was gone … I used to see him there any time … my brother thought that two of her children were not his, but Price’s children …”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Maria Hawkins, 29 November 1916
“I don’t know my age. I think I was born ‘a little bit before the war’; wife of George Hawkins; post-office address, 631 Fox Lane, Norfolk, Va.
“My father was Lazarus Taite and my mother was Comfort Taite, later Comfort Williams. She died in Berryville, Va. a year ago this month …. Her last husband was Paul Williams. He died in Berryville too …. I was brought to Norfolk in 1865 by my grandmother in 1865, my father was not there then; he moved there in 1866 … My father was Harriet’s first husband …. Price was at my father’s house a good deal when they lived in this lane of the time. He worked with my father and they seemed to be very friendly, never had any words that I heard of.  I have but one whole sister, no brother, my sister is living in Baltimore, her name is Rosa Williams, she was a baby when my father left my mother and she lived with my mother till she was married, so far as I know.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Nannie Redd, 11 December 1916
about 50 years old; wife of Junius Redd; occupation, laborer; post-office address, c/o Clarence Merrell, Princess Anne Rd., Norfolk, Va.
“I have visited her most anytime when I had time, she has visited me. … She is a nice, clean, decent woman. She belongs to a church, but not to my church. She has had a roomer named Warren for some time, also has women roomers, and she works all the time when able, takes washing in at home.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Nancy E. Hare, 24 December 1916
“I don’t know my age. I guess I am over 60. … [I don’t know how long I’ve know Harriet] but it was before I moved to Norfolk and I have been here 33 years …. I never went to their home and she has never been to my home. …”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Epsey Meckley, 13 January 1917
69 years old; occupation, washing & iron; post-office address, 759 Johnson Ave., Norfolk, Va.
“I am pensioned as the widow of Solomon Meckley. I have known Harriet Taite for over 25 years. I got acquainted with her when she joined my church. I never knew her husband…. We have a committee of 14 women in the church to which I belong. It is the duty of that committee to look after the women of the church, to inquire into any charges brought against them, and no charges have been brought before that committee against Harriet Taite. I have never been to her home about anything. Her standing is good in church. Rev. Richard Bolding [sic] is pastor.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Fannie Reid,16 January 1917
42 years old; wife of Henry Reid; occupation, laborer on a wharf; post-office address, 1019 Carrollton St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known the claimant Harriet Taite for 12 years, I did not know her husband, when she moved next door to me on Moseley Street she said that he had not been dead long. … Moseley Street is now called Highland Ave.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Leroy Tate, 16 January 1917
33 years old; chauffeur; post-office address, 860 Johnson Ave., Norfolk, Va.
“The claimant Harriet Taite is my mother. The correct spelling is Tate not Taite. My father was Lazarus Taite. I lived in the same house with my mother till I was married in 1905 but I have been at her home quite often since that time, go by to see how she is, and to see if there is anything I can do … I judge that she is about 65, from the best information I have or can get is my oldest brother, John Tate would be between 40 and 50 years if living.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), James Warren, 16 January 1917
“I do not know my age. I put it at 40. I guess I was about 10 years when the civil war ended. I was born in slavery times.”; post-office address, 821 Roswell Ave., Norfolk, Va.; occupation, laborer
“I first knew Harriet Taite about 10 or 11 years. I rented a room from her when she lived on Moseley Street, and I have been with her every since, except a month or two when she was in Portsmouth with one of her sons. I did not rent the whole room, her son Roy Taite, slept with me, we worked on the dock together.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), Walter A. Price, 18 January 1917
50 years old; occupation, minister of the gospel; post-office address, 1242 Calvert Street, Norfolk, Va.
“I first knew Lazarus Taite the second night he came to Norfolk from Suffolk, that was about 33 years ago. I was then a stevedore. with my father, now dead, and he came to work under me, I hired him. …. I went with him to get the license and saw Rev. David King marry them. He told me that he had a wife in slavery times, but I know nothing about her, had two children by her, Walter and Maria…

“We were partners in store business, on Fox Lane, he could not read or write … We had no falling out. I was friendly with him till he died ….
“I knew claimant’s father, Major Dozier, he died on Fox Lane. I shrouded him. I do not know claimant’s age. I think that she is between 60 and 65, not over 65. Harriet had 4 children when I first knew her, had some born here, in Norfolk, do not know how many.”

 

Form 3-289c (for typewriter), India Griffin,18 January 1917
53 years old; widow of Geo. W. Griffin; occupation, housework and washing; post-office address, 830 St. Paul St., Norfolk, Va.
“I first knew Harriet Taite when she moved across the street from me on this street, lived there about 3 years, then moved to where she is now lives, except a short time she was in Portsmouth. I could not tell the year I first met her, some 7 or 8 years ago…. I never saw anything wrong of her, she always acted as a lady, I have been in her house at different times.”

 

Letter from United States Post Office, Norfolk, Virginia to Commissioner of Pensions, Finance Division, Washington, DC, 20 October 1925
“My Dear Sir — This office has ascertained that Harriet Taite, 1530 Church Street, died on September 19, 1925. Respectfully yours, C.L. Wright, Postmaster.”

 

 

*Several pension applicants reported that W.R. Drury, an attorney in Norfolk, Virginia, engaged in unethical and/or illegal practice.
Suggestion: Enter Drury in the search box to identify those pension applicants.

**Hubard and Hubard was a law firm in Norfolk, Virginia. It handled a number of pension applications for this regiment’s veterans and beneficiaries. Suggestion: Enter Hubard in the search box to identify pension applicants who engaged an attorney from this firm — Leslie 

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George Foster, Company G

The soldier’s wife was 16 years old when the couple married by slave custom in Mathews County, Virginia. She bore 14 children. Her application for widow’s benefits was supported by her son, her midwife, childhood friends, and her husband’s comrades. The widow made at least two transactions with Union Savings Bank, Norfolk, Virginia for legal fees.

 

Invalid — 908,892 / 723,692
Widow — 543,811 / 335,546, Eliza Foster

 

Deposition, Eliza Foster, 9 November 1891
45 years old; occupation, housekeeper; residence, 150 1/2 Queen St., Norfolk, Va…. “My said husband died at 150 1/2 Queen St., Norfolk, Va. on Friday afternoon November 6th, 1891, and buried on Sunday (yesterday) November 8th, 1891. … I was married to the soldier George Foster at Matthews [sic] C.H., Va. according to slave custom before the late war.  I was only 16 years of age when married and I have borne fourteen children. …”

 

Deposition, Lazarus Tate, 9 November 1891
about 69 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 31 Fox Lane, Norfolk, Va.
“I served during the late war … and knew George Foster of said Company and Regiment well during service and continuously ever since our discharge until he died last Friday, Nov 6, 1891 … the identical George Foster who served with me … ”

 

Deposition, John Bush, 9 November 1891
49 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 151 Brewer St., Norfolk, Va.
“He and I served together … I have known him intimately ever since our discharge from service … I’ve lived near them and his children and my children have played together…”

 

Deposition, Thomas Foster, 9 November 1891
about 70 years old; occupation, laborer; residence and post-office address, 112 Fenchurch St., Norfolk, Va.
“I was owned by the same man that owned [illegible] Isaac Foster late of one Matthews [sic] Co., Va. and we lived together prior to the late war and since George Foster come out the army. We lived neighbors here in Norfolk. In fact I knew him from his birth until he died last Friday, Nov 6th 1891. I was present at his death and I was present at his marriage to the present claimant Eliza Foster nee Cook. ”

 

Deposition, Ellen Collins, 9 November 1891
47 years old; occupation, housekeeper; residence and post-office address, 194 Queen St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have known George Foster and his wife Eliza from my earliest recollection. We were all reared together in Matthews [sic] Co., Va. and have always lived together in the same neighborhood together. I witnessed [their marriage] … they were married by a colored minister named Tom Garnett …

 

 Widow’s Declaration for Pension, Eliza Foster, 5 March 1892
“She was married to said George Foster under the name of Eliza Cook … 1857 by Rev. Thomas Washington at Matthews [sic] Co., Va. … the following are the names and dates of birth of all said legitimate children, still surviving.

Frank Foster	Febry 6th 1859
Oden Foster	April 6th 1860
Andrew Foster	April 8th 1865
Lauretia Foster	July 4th 1868
Fannie Foster	January 6th 1871
Willie Foster	February 8 1872
George Foster	May 10 1874
Lucy Foster	Jany 19 1876
Harry Foster	Jany 19th 1879
Samuel Foster	Jany 6 1885

 

General Affidavit, Mary L. Ryalls & Lavinia Williams, 13 April 1892
[Ryalls] 46 years old
[Williams] 49 years old; residence, 12 Scott St., Norfolk, Va. [Note: It’s not clear if this address belongs to one or both women — Leslie].
“that she was born and raised in Matthews [sic] County, Va. and lived close neighbors to the aforesaid Eliza Foster and knew she was married by old slave law and customs and by master’s consent to George Foster, that her name before marriage was Eliza Cook … [George Foster] died in Norfolk, Va., 6th day of November 1891 … [the claimant’s] following children are still living: Frank, Odis, Andrew, Lauretta, Fannie, Willis, George, Lucy, Harry and Samuel … Their knowledge is obtained from having known both parties and family well and was present and witnessed their marriage …”

 

General Affidvait, Harriet Williams, 14 April 1892
70 years old; residence, 13 Denby St., Norfolk, Va. … “that she has known Eliza Foster for the last 15 to 18 years and waited on her in the capacity of midwife three of her children, Lucy & Armstead who is now dead, also Samuel … that she cannot give the dates of their births except the last named one Samuel who was born on the 6th day of January 1885 at Norfolk, Va., Hawk St. All of the ages were kept but were destroyed by some means.”

 

Deposition, Frank Foster, 2 June 1893
62 years old; occupation, whitewasher; residence, 233 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Va.
Q.  Do you know Liza or Eliza Foster?
A.  No, sir.
Q.  Did you know George Foster?
A.  No, sir.
Q.  Do you know Rudolphus Bowden or Frank Foster?
A.  No, sir. I do not know any other Frank Foster in Norfolk. … I never knew a Foster who lived on Magazine Lane. Hold on, I did know a George Foster on Queen Street and knew him from a boy. I had simply forgot him. He is dead. Has been dead a year or more. I remember a white lady met me one day and said ‘My, Foster. I thought you were dead” I told her it must have been George Foster. No, sir, I was never acquainted with his wife. Yes, I think he had a wife and a lot of children.”

 

Deposition, Eliza Foster, 6 June 1893
49 years; occupation, housekeeper; residence, 60 O’Keef St., Huntersville, Norfolk, Norfolk County, Virginia …
“My husband died the month next to the Christmas month — that is, the 6th of the month just before the month in which Christmas comes …
“[The widow applied for benefits (and increases in benefits) more than once.  She was asked to identify those who witnessed one of her applications] … I had John Boush, Ellen Collins and Tom Foster and another man whose name I cannot call. They testified to George Foster’s service, to his death, to my marriage to my husband George Foster and to his burial before Mr. Malcomb. I had Winnie Moore, Mary Lou Ryalls, William Humphrey, Buddy Bolin, and Ellen Collins before Mr. Drury … Harriet Williams was a witness for me. She died soon afterwards. …
“[She was asked if she knew Frank Foster] I have a son named Frank Foster. I know a young man in Magazine Lane of that name. …
“… John White and William Humphrey signed [the same paper as Buddy Bolin]
“[She explained how she paid the fee] The four dollars was taken out in the Union Savings Bank, Norfolk, Va. and the ten dollars later was taken out of the same bank …”

[Note: Malcomb and Drury were attorneys who processed pension applications — Leslie]

 

Deposition, Rodolphus Bowden, 7 June 1893
32 years old; occupation, letter carrier; [Note: No residence or post-office address reported — Leslie] [Note: …“I am acquainted with Eliza Foster and have been about ten or twelve years. I knew George Foster, the husband of Eliza Foster. They lived on Queen St., Norfolk, Va. near me.”

 

Deposition, Frank Foster, 7 June 1893
34 years old; occupation, laborer; residence, 216 Queen St., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.
“I am the son of Eliza Foster and of George Foster.”

 

Deposition, Joshua Brickhouse, 10 June 1893
53 years old; occupation, wheelwright; residence, 120 Cumberland St., Norfolk, Va.
“I know one Peter Shepperd in Norfolk. …. I do not know B.A. Richardson, Jr., a notary public …”

 

Deposition, Peter Shepperd, 4 July 1893
55 years old; occupation, plasterer; residence, 250 Goff St., Norfolk, Va.
“I think I know B.A. Richardson, Jr. I know his father’s a painter.”

 

Deposition, Mary L. Ryalls,  5 July 1893 
about 40 years old; occupation, housekeeper; residence, 12 Scott St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have know Eliza Foster all my life. She is the widow of George Foster. I was at the marriage of George Foster and Eliza Cook. They were married before the war at Matthews [sic] Co. … . George Foster died about two years ago or nearly that long. I don’t know the cause of George Foster’s death.
“There are two children under 16 years of age by George and Eliza Foster at date of death of George Foster as follows: Harry and Sam. I do not know the date of their birth.”

 

Deposition, Lavinia Williams, 6 July 1893
about 44 years old; occupation, housekeeper; residence, 16 National St., Norfolk, Va.
“I have know Eliza Foster probably since I was 16 years of age. I knew her husband George Foster longer than I did his wife Eliza.”

 

General Affidavit, Harriet A. Diggs, 14 December 1896
45+ years old; residence, Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.; post-office address, 118 Scott St., Norfolk, Va,
“[S]he has known claimant for about 30 years; that she knows her intimately and visits at her house occasionally; that she knew her husband, Geo. Foster …”

 

General Affidavit, Lucy Burrell, 15 December 1896
28 years old; post-office address, 18 Fourth St., Norfolk, Norfolk County, Va.
“[S]he has known claimant for over 20 years; that she has visited at her home and visits there now and her acquaintance is of an intimate kind; that she knew claimant’s late husband Geo. Foster up until the time of his death.”

 

General Affidavit, John Gordon, 15 December 1896 
37 years old; residence, Norfolk, Va.; post-office address, 30 Byrd Ave. …”That he has known claimant about 20 years, that he knew Geo. Foster … knew the family intimately & visited them; continued to visit them after Geo. Foster’s death …”

 

General Affidavit, Emma Nickerson & Alexander Cooper, 28 December 1896
[Dickerson] 52 years old; residence, Norfolk, Va.;  post-office address, 144 James St., Norfolk, Va.
[Cooper] 37 years old; residence, Norfolk, Va.;  post-office address, 116 Scott St., Norfolk, Va.
“[They knew the couple] for over 15 years; that they knew her two children; Henry and Samuel are still living … Emma Dickerson testifies that claimant’s child Samuel was born on Jan 6, 1885. She knows this for the fact that she lived only a short distance from her then & from the fact that affiant had a child born just one month after viz. Feb 6, 1885 …”

 

General Affidavit, Matilda Burrell, 28 December 1896 
51 years old; residence, 44 Smith St., Norfolk, Va. …
“she was present when Harry, son of the claimant was born … January 1879 … she thinks that it was the 19th, that she remembers this date for the fact that her daughter was married in July 1879 to the brother of said Harry & Harry was born in January 1879, same year …”

 

Deposition, Eliza Foster, 29 March 1902
about 59 years old; residence, 93 James St., Norfolk, Norfolk Co., Va.
“My husband was born in Matthews [sic] Co., Va. at a place called Point Comfort. I was acquainted with him a year and six months before I married him. I was a slave to Tom Edwards (dead) and he was a slave to James Garnick (dead). We were married about a year and nine months before the war started and I was about 16 years of age when I got married. We were married by Rev. Tom Washington, a colored preacher, and he belonged to Dr. James Garnick. He just read the Bible over us and joined our hands…. He died on Queen St., near Bank St. 11 years ago the 6th of November. He died of the results of a deep cold that worked down on his lungs and was sick abed about a month. Dr. Thorn [sp?]attended him.

“Since his death I have lived at Queen St. where he died, thence to Kent near Salter, thence to Liberty St., No. 13, living there about [illegible] years, thence to 93 James St. and I have lived there ever since with my daughter Lillie Wilson. These were the following children under 16 born to me by soldier, at his death. Lucy who was 13 years old when her father died. Her birthday was Jan 19. Harry was born January 6, 1879  Samuel was born January 6, 1885 … I have all the ages of my children on a piece of paper and can’t recollect. I lost the paper. My witnesses were Harriet Williams (dead) and John Bush (dead), and John Gardner (dead).”

 

Letter from Eliza Foster [on letterhead of Hubard and Hubard, Attorneys-at-Law, 145 Bank Street, Norfolk, Virginia] to Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, DC, 20 September 1916
“I am pensioned under the above certificate number because of the service of the soldier named. I was his wife during the Civil War.
“I am entitled to the increase of pension provided by the first section of the act of September 16, 1916.
“Eliza Foster, 733 Freemont St., Norfolk, Va.”

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