Southern Claims Commission @ Footnote

One of the collections on Footnote are the Southern Claims Commission records; these are records of people who had items taken by the U.S. government during the civil war and more than 20,000 claims were filed nationwide.  As of today, there were only three claims from individuals in Martin County:

  • Henry Churchill Hardison 
  • Alfred Jordan 
  • Nancy C. Padgyett

 

Henry Churchill Hardison of Williamston

Living in Williamston, at the time of his claim in 1872, Henry was 40 years old and had been residing in Martin County for 20 years.  Among the items taken from him included fodder,  over two thousand pounds of pork, and “one good horse”

hardisonhenrychurchill_scc

From his testimony, I learned that Henry had a brother in the Confederate army.  His witnesses for his claim were

  • his neighbor L.A. Ray, age 32, who lived 175 yards away from him
  • James H. Ellison, age 39 
  • Miss Mary E. Layman, his sister
  • John Watts, age 58 
  • John S. Harrell, age 38
  • John R. Lanier, age 47
  • William Wyatt, age 65
  • W.F. Crawford, age 40

 

Nancy J. Padgyett of Jamesville

Her taken property included pork, chicken, sweet potatoes and cooking utensils.  It was taken by Col. Franklin of Plymouth.  She was 43 at the time of the claim.  

padgyettt_scc

 

From her claim,  it states that her husband died in August of 1863 and they had 4 children whose ages were between 7 and 15. 

Her witnesses were

 

  • Alexander Brown, agd 39
  • Harmon Modlin, age 58
  • Ashly Modlin
  • John W. Gardiner, age 21
  • H.S. Cooper 
  • Sarah Modlin
  •  

     

    Alfred Jordan of Williamston

    Alfred was 53 at the time of his claim.  He was from Williamston, but right around the time of the war lived in Bertie County for 4 years and in Washington County for 2 years.  He was born in Chowan County, NC.   The names of Alfred’s witnesses is difficult for me to read, but names mentioned in his claim include Simon Swain, Stephen Jordan (no relation),  F.C. Miller,  John G. Mitchell, William S. Ward, Alfred’s wife, Fanny Jordon, and Alfred’s son Joseph C.  Jordan.  His property taken included turkeys, chickens, sweet potatoes, corn, a young horse, and a hog.

    jordanalfred_scc

     

    These claims commissions are interesting records to check out!

    NC State Archives Flickr Photostream

    The NC State Archives has a Flickr photostream. While I could only locate a few pictures relevant to Martin County, this is a great resource to check if you’re researching other areas of NC.  The images are great quality and cover a wide variety of topics.  And, even if there is nothing there you find interesting today, you can always subscribe to the Flickr feed to stay aware of updates as they make them. 

    Some images I did find include this one below of the Hardison BBQ business near Jamesville. 

    hardisonbbqHardison BBQ Business. Digital image. NC State Archives Flickr Photostream. 27 Nov. 2008 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/>.