Leaves & Branches: June 2022

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Military Service: Joel Ott, War of 1812

Although there are few details of the service of Joel Ott during the War of 1812, Fold3 has 29 pages pertaining to his pension application. Many of the hand written pages are difficult to read but they are interesting viewing.

Private Joel Ott

1792 Orangeburg, SC – 1879 LA

Son of Jacob Ott III

In the War of 1812, the United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, in a conflict that would have an immense impact on the young country’s future. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory[i].

Joel Ott served in the War of 1812.[ii] He was a private in Captain Bickham’s Company of the Louisiana Militia from 23 December 1814 to 9 March 1815.[iii] He wrote, “I was on guard duty…when the Battle of New Orleans was fought.”[iv]Delayed communication caused that battle to be fought after the war was over.

He applied for a pension in the Spring of 1875. In June 1876 William Duncan wrote a letter to Washington, D.C. stating that Joel still had no reply to the pension request.

Mr. Ott is now Eighty – six years old and if there is a pension due him the government should not delay his claim any longer he is in Extreme poverty and the allowance of his pension would enable him to live comfortably the remaining portion of his life.[v]

Eventually Joe did receive eight dollars a month as a pension from the government.[vi]

[i] War of 1812; digital information, History (history.com: accessed May 2022).

[ii] Louisiana Soldiers in the War of 1812, digital record; Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed May 2022) Joel Ott.

[iii] The American Revolution in South Carolina, The Orangeburg District Regiment Militia; digital image (carolana.com: accessed February 2019) Jacob Ott, Captain.

[iv] War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, NARA; digital images, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) Joel Ott.

[v] War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, NARA; digital images, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) Joel Ott.

[vi] War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, NARA; digital images, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) Joel Ott.

Forget Me Not: Adolphus Everett Ott, 1931 MS

This obituary refers to the subject of its article as both E. A. and A. E. Ott. My records show him to be Adolphus Everett Ott.

Adolphus Everett Ott

22 February 1858 LA – 25 May 1931 MS

Son of Charles Ott & Margaret Ann Tate

Husband of Berilla Susan Damper

A. E. Ott of Peoria passed away quietly at his home in Peoria early Monday morning, May 25^th, at the age of 73 years.

Mr. Ott had been a resident of Amite county for about forty years. During this time he had been a merchant and postmaster, first at Bates’ Mill, then at East Fork and for the past 21 years at Peoria.

No more popular or better beloved man ever lived. His business and official record was unblemished. He was a practical Christian. He lived by the Golden Rule. The many personal tributes paid him by old friends and neighbors at the funeral attested his high character and useful and well – spent life. His greatest pleasure was derived from helping those in need. He was indeed the poor man’s friend.

Besides his wife, Berilla Dampeer Ott, he leaves one brother and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins among the large and well known family of Otts of South Mississippi and Louisiana.

Source: E. A. Ott. (McComb, MS: Semi – Weekly Journal, 6 Jun 1931) 3; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed Sept 2021.

Adolphus Everett Ott, Texas Mules & Horses

Friday, June 17, 2022

Timeline: The Brumfield Family

Here's another fun timeline from my book in progress, 'Our Brown Roots.' Timelines are useful tools when trying to understand the lives & movements of a family. They are also very useful for understanding a family in relation to local and world events. I am currently writing a book, 'Our Brown Roots.' At the beginning of each surname section I have included a timeline like the one below.

Click on the links to learn more about the people in this timeline.

Timeline of the Brumfield Family

1699 Williamsburg was established in VA

c 1714 John Watson Brumfield born VA

1732 George Washington born VA

c 1745 Charles Brumfield, son of John, born VA

1754 - 1763 French & Indian War. British won control over eastern North America

1768 Birth of John Brumfield, son of Charles Brumfield, NC

1770s John Watson Brumfield was living in Craven Co., NC

1775 - 1783 Revolutionary War; Charles & John Brumfield served

1788 23 Oct. John Brumfield married Margaret Kelly in Wake, NC

1789 21 November. North Carolina became the 12^th state of the United States

1799 18 Sept. George Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol bldg.

c 1799 Nathaniel Brumfield, son of John Brumfield, born LA

1801 – 1809 Thomas Jefferson President of the USA

1804 Lewis & Clark set out from MO to explore the West

1810 Charles Watson Brumfield & wife were living in York, SC

1811 John Brumfield & family traveled from SC through tribal nations to LA

1812 - 1815 War of 1812. Many Brumfields fought, including:

Charles, Davis, Fleming, Ridley, William & Willis Brumfield

1820 Charleston, SC reached a population of 23,300

c 1820 Charles Brumfield died in SC

1825 The Erie Canal in NY opened to traffic

1829 27 June. The Smithsonian Institute was founded

1831 John James Audubon arrived in SC to work on his ‘Birds of America’

1835 Nathaniel Brumfield married Charlotte Temple Ott

1843 22 May. The 1st major wagon train headed for the northwest on the Oregon Trail

1850 Nathaniel & Charlotte Brumfield & 5 children living in Louisiana

1850 – 1853 Millard Fillmore President of the USA

1852 Feb. 8. Death of Nathaniel Brumfield

1838 27 Sept. Jessie A. Brumfield born LA

1846 - 1848 Mexican War

1849 Baton Rogue became the capital of Louisiana

1852 8 Feb. Nathaniel Brumfield, father of Jessie, died in LA

1853 Louisiana endured yellow fever epidemic. Killed more than 11,000 people in New Orleans alone.

1856 11 Aug. Hurricane hit Louisiana. Killed more than 200 people, Lost Is. resort.

1860 Jessie living with his mother & stepfather/uncle in Washington Parish, LA

1861 – 1865 Civil War; many Brumfields served in Confederate Army in MS & LA units

1863 11 May. Jessie A. Brumfield enlisted in the 3^rd Louisiana Calvary

c 1865 Jessie Alexander Brumfield married Martha Elizabeth Alford

1867 18 July. Daughter, Rose Ella Brumfield, born in MS

1868 Louisiana was readmitted to the Union

1870 Jessie A. Brumfield & family lived in Osyka, Pike County, MS

1874 Spring. Great Mississippi Flood. 2.5 million acres submerged in Mississippi, 8 million acres in Louisiana and 2 million acres in Arkansas

1876 Invention of the telephone. 3,000 telephones by the end of the year

1886 The Statue of Liberty was dedicated

1887 21 Dec. Rose Ella Brumfield married Jasper Pascal Brown, Pike, MS

1895 Mother of Jessie, Charlotte Temple (Ott) Brumfield, died

1895 The Time Machine written by H. G. Wells

1898 Spanish – American War; Dudley, Henry S., Jr. & William Brumfield served

This Chart shows the Brumfield line in relation to my paternal grandfather.

Military Service: Kelly Brothers, Mexican – American War

These four brothers were following a family tradition of military service when they served in the Mexican - American War. Their father, Sims Kelly, and uncle, William Durham Kelly, were privates in Russell’s Separate Battalion, Mounted Gunmen of Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812 and their grandfather, William Stark Kelly, had been a private in North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War.

William Clark Kelly

9 Jan 1815 TN – 29 June 1864 TX

Samuel Camp Kelly

25 Mar 1825 TN - 16 Sep 1891 AL

Benjamin Gerard Kelly

11 Dec 1826 TN - 9 May 1911 OK

James H. Kelly

2 Sep 1828 TN - 1 Aug 1905 AL

Sons of Sims Kelly & Mary Camp

The Mexican - American War (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. When the dust cleared, Mexico had lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.[i]

These four brothers all served as privates in the Mexican – American War in Coffee’s Alabama Militia Infantry. Samuel[ii] and Benjamin[iii] were in Company I. William[iv] was in Company C and James[v] was in Company E.

The brothers who remained in Alabama, James and Samuel, also served in the Civil War. James was a private in Company D, 1^st Battalion of Alabama Infantry.[vi] Samuel was a Sargent in Company H of the 1^st Alabama Infantry.

Samuel Camp Kelly served with distinction in the Mexican War under Gen. Zachary Taylor, and later under Gen. Scott. … Samuel Camp Kelly enlisted in the Confederate Army in April, 1862, and served in all the battles in which the Western Army was engaged, surrendering with Johnston in North Carolina, April 26, 1865. After the war he moved to Oxford, Ala., where he resided until his death, an influential and valued citizen, taking an interest in every public enterprise, and contributing generously to Oxford College.[vii]

[i] Mexican – American War; digital information, History (history.com: accessed May 2022).

[ii] Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War; NARA, digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) Samuel C Kelly.

[iii] Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War; NARA, digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) Benjamin G Kelly.

[iv] Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War; NARA, digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) William Kelly.

[v] Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the Mexican War; NARA, digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) James H. Kelly.

[vi] Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Alabama; NARA, digital image, Fold3 (fold3.com: accessed March 2022) James Kelly.

[vii] DuBose, Joel Campbell. Notable Men of Alabama: Personal and Genealogical With Portraits, Volume I (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1976) Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed June 2020) 323-325.

Forget Me Not: Annie Ellzey Fortenberry, 1972 MS

Annie Myrtis Ellzey Fortenberry

24 December 1883 MS – 25 July 1972 MS

Daughter of: William Franklin Ellzey & Mary Elizabeth Gatlin

Wife of: William J. F. Fortenberry

Mother of five

My 2nd cousin, 2x removed

Homestead Resident Succumbs

Funeral services for Mrs. Ammie [sic] Myrtis Ellzey Fortenberry, 88, will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday Navilla Baptist Church.

Mrs. Fortenberry died at 7:16 p. m. Tuesday at her residence in the Homestead community following a lengthy illness.

Born Dec. 24, 1883 in Osyka, she was the daughter of the late Billy Frank and Mary Elizabeth Ballus Ellzey.

Survivors include two sons,

Eric Elmon Fortenberry,

William Harold Fortenberry, both of McComb;

three sisters [daughters]

Miss Lucille Elizabeth Fortenberry,

Mrs. Mildred Elaine Brumfield, both of McComb,

Mrs. Jackson V. Bermet, Gulfport;

Four brothers,

J. Edgar Ellzey, Franklinton, La. (1885 – 1975),

Grady H. Ellzey, Osyka (1891 – 1979),

Vernon Ellzey, Honeoye Falls, N. Y. (1894 – 1990),

Clyde Ellzey, Moorestown, N. J. (1900 – 1996);

Two sisters,

Mrs. Lois Pope, Summit (1896 – 1983) and

Mrs. Mamie Minton, Denham Springs, La. (1898 – 1982).

Rev. Joseph Small and Rev. Harvey Deer will officiate. Burial will be in the Navilla cemetery with Hartman Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Source: Homestead Resident Succumbs (McComb, MS: Enterprise - Journal, 26 July 1972) 14; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed July 2021.

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