Timeline for James Anderson Woollen, My Paternal 3rd Great-Grandfather (22 Feb 1836 – 11 Jun 1905)

After my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Lee Henderson Wood,
would follow my father (living) and me.

22 February 1836, Guilford County, North Carolina – James Anderson Woollen, my paternal third great-grandfather, was born in to Rebecca Heath Woollen (1798-?), and John Woollen (circa 1790-?)

25 September 1850, Guilford County, North Carolina – The 1850 U.S. Census recorded James as age 14 and living in the Northern Division of the county.

21 April 1860, North Carolina – James secured a marriage bond for his upcoming marriage to Susan Caroline Malcolm (1845-1920).

James Woollen and Susan C. Malcolm Marriage Bond from Ancestry.com's  

North Carolina, Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868, database.

 22 October 1860, Guilford County, North Carolina – James married Susan Caroline Malcolm (1845-1920), daughter of James Landreth Malcolm and Catherine “Kate” Haddox (a.k.a., Haddix).

January 1862, Guilford County, North Carolina – James and Susan’s first child and my second great-grandmother, Lillian Elizabeth “Muttie” Woollen (1862-1920), was born.

26 February 1862, Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina – Captain James T. Morehead enrolled James into active service as a Private in Company C (Guilford Light Infantry), 45^th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, of the Confederate Army. James enlisted voluntarily for a term of “three years or war.”

27 March 1862 – Private James Woollen entered active service at the age of 25.

09 April 1862, Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina – Private James Woollen mustered in at Camp Mangum.  This muster roll describes him as follows:

• Born in Guilford County, North Carolina
• Age 25
• Occupation: Farmer
• Height 5” 9’

30 June 1862 – Private Woollen was present for Company C, 45^th Infantry, North Carolina muster roll, and Major Edmondson paid him Confederate bounty of $50 for his service since enlisting on 26 February 1862.

26 August 1862, Petersburg, Virginia – Private Jas. A. Woollen “Appear[ed] on a Register of the Confederate States Hospital, Petersburg, Va., containing a record of clothing and accoutrements [sic].”

01 September 1862 – The July and August 1862 Company C Muster Roll indicated that Private Woollen did not muster in due to sickness and hospitalization in Petersburg, Virginia.  Captain Johnston paid him for his service through this date.

About 29 November 1862 – Private Woollen mustered in for his Company’s September and October 1862 Muster Roll.

31 December 1862 - Private Woollen mustered in for his Company’s 30 November 1862 to 31 December 1862 Muster Roll and was paid by Captain Adams.

30 April 1863 - Private Woollen mustered in for his Company’s March and April 1863 Muster Roll.

12 June 1863, Richmond, Virginia – Private James Woolen [sic] was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital No. 3 with “camp fever” (a.k.a., either typhus fever or typhoid, both of which were prevalent during the American Civil War).

Detail of an 1865 map produced by Major Nathaniel Micheler and Captain Peter S. Michie,
US Army War Department. (National Archives Record Group #77, Map G 204, #51.)

 17 June 1863, Virginia – Private Woolen [sic] was transferred from Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond to the C. S. A. General Hospital in Danville, Virginia.  Captain Scales commanded Company C on this date.  Private Woolen’s [sic] complaint upon being admitted was debilitas, which was the term used to describe soldiers who were losing weight and too exhausted to fulfill their duties.  Debilitas was often caused by being physically overworked while also suffering from chronic diarrhea. On this same date, Pirvate Woollen “Appear[ed] on a Receipt Roll 3d. Div Gen Hosp. for clothing No. 1 Danville Va.”

30 June 1863 - Private Woollen did not muster in for his Company’s May and June 1863 Muster Roll due to hospitalization in Danville, Virginia, where he was still paid on this same date.

28 July 1863 – Private Woolen [sic] returned to duty.

31 August 1863 - Private Woollen mustered in for his Company’s July and August 1863 Muster Roll and received payment from Captain Reynolds.

01 September 1863 – Private James Woollen was promoted to 2^nd Corporal, a rank immediately junior to the 1^st Corporal, and appeared on Company C’s Roll of Honor.

31 October 1863 – 2^nd Corp^l. James Woollen mustered in for Company C’s September and October 1863 Muster Roll and again received payment from Captain Reynolds on this date.

31 December 1863 – 2^nd Corp^l. Jas. Woollen was mustered in for his Company’s November and December 1863 Muster Roll and received payment from Captain Reynolds on this date.  The Muster Roll’s Remarks section states: “ Name appears in col of names present as James Woollen.”

About 28 February 1864 – 2^nd Corp^l. James Woollen mustered in for Company C’s Muster Roll.  The Muster Roll’s Remarks section noted: “ Name appears in col of names present as James Woollen.”

21 April 1864 – James A. Wollen [sic] (with “Woollen” written above “Wollen”), Co. C, 45 NC Inf. was issued clothing based on his appearance “…on a Receipt Roll for clothing, for Apr 21 26, 1864.”

02 May 1864 – J. A. Woollen, Co. C, 45 NC Inf., “Appear[ed] on a Receipt Roll for clothing, for 2 Apr, 1864.  (Note: The date of issue originally recorded was 21 June 1864, and that date was crossed out and replaced with 02 May 1864.)

12 June 1864 – Clothing was issued to J. A. Woollen, Co. C, 45 NC Inf. who “Appear[ed] on a Receipt Roll for clothing, for 02 Apr, 1864.”

01 September 1864 – James Woollen mustered in for Company C’s Muster Roll dated 30 April 1864 to 31 August 1864, and – for the first time – his rank is shown as 1^st Corporal. As 1st Corporal, he was the senior Corporal in Company C and always would have stood in the first rank in or near to the middle of the Company. Note that the muster roll showed his last time being paid as 31 December 1863, eight months earlier.  The Remarks section of this Muster Roll indicates:  “Name appears in col of names present as J. A. Woollen.”

About 01 November 1864 – Company C’s Muster Roll lists 1^st Corp^l. J. A. Woollen as mustered in for the period of September and October 1864 and indicates that Captain Reynolds last paid him on 01 September 1865.

04 November 1864, Guilford County, North Carolina – James and Susan’s second child, Margaret “Maggie” Irene Woollen was born.

15 November 1864, Venus Point, Georgia – 1^st Corp^l. Woollen was exchanged.

About 31 December 1864 – 1^st Corp^l. J. A. Woollen mustered in for his Company’s Muster Roll and had last received compensation on 01 September 1864.

16 May 1865, Greensboro, North Carolina – Sergeant Jas. A. Woollen, Company C, 45^th North Carolina Infantry, signed a “Parole of Prisoners of War belonging to the Army of Northern Virginia, and surrendered by General Robt. E. Lee, C. S. A., commanding said army, to Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant, commanding armies U. S.”  This is the first documentation of his promotion to Sergeant.

Between 1870 and 1899 – After returning to home to post-war Winston-Salem*, James worked as primarily as a carpenter and briefly as a janitor.
*In the 1880s, the US Post Office began referring to the North Carolina towns of Winston and Salem as “Winston-Salem.” In 1899, the Winston-Salem post office in was established in the former town of Winston, with the former town of Salem’s post office becoming as a branch. After a referendum, the towns were officially incorporated as "Winston-Salem" in 1913.

02 August 1871 – James and Susan welcomed their first son, John William Woollen.

18 November 1878 – Another son, Charles “Charlie” Thomas Woollen, was born to James and Susan.

21 December 1879 – Susan and James celebrated the birth of another daughter, Pearl Beatrice Forest Woollen.

20 January 1883 – James and Susan’s son, Glenn Lacy Woollen, was born.

06 February 1884 – Another daughter, Ruby Valerie (“Tee” or “T”) Woollen, was born to James and Susan.

09 June 1901, Winston, North Carolina – James A. Woollen suffered a stroke while at Brown’s Warehouse.  The stroke paralyzed the right side of his body.

1902, Winston, North Carolina – By 1902, James had fully retired.

11 September 1903, Winston, North Carolina – James and Susan’s 9-year-old granddaughter, Lillian Virginia Lee, passed away at their home.  Lillian was the daughter of Lillian Elizabeth “Muttie” Woollen Lee, and she died from rheumatism and scarlet fever.

09 June 1905, Winston-Salem, North Carolina – At the age of 69, James Anderson Woollen passed away from paralysis.

James A. Woollen's North Carolina Death Certificate from
Ancestry.com's North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930 database.

11 June 1905, Winston-Salem, North Carolina – James was buried in the non-Moravian section of Salem Cemetery, located at the intersection of Cemetery Street and Old Salem Avenue. His headstone features a Confederate flag and is inscribed as follows:

James A. Woollen

Greensboro, N.C.

February 22, 1836

June 9, 1905

Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee.  Ps. 65:4

©Amy Wood Kelly, 2015 - I am happy to share my genealogical research and writing with others, as well as to help others with their research efforts.  However, please do not reprint this post in full or in part or use excerpts from this post without giving full credit to me, Amy Wood Kelly, as the researcher and author as well as providing the permalink to this post.  Thank you, in advance, for showing respect for my request and the work I put into creating this post.