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.

Colonel Augustine Moore (circa 1680-1743) - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 13, "Different"

Week 13's theme for NoStoryTooSmall.com's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge, hosted by +Amy Johnson Crow, is "Different."  In following that theme, I have chosen my paternal 7th great-grandfather, Colonel Augustine Moore (circa 1680-1794), as the subject for this week's post.  From what I have learned about him, I value human beings and their lives in a way that must have been quite foreign to him.  Even when I try to think of his life and choices within the context of his time period, I find it difficult to fathom the beliefs he must have held in order to participate willingly in his chosen trade. 

Elizabeth Lee Henderson (Wood) is my paternal grandmother,
so my father (living) and I would follow after her in the above pedigree.

Portrait of Colonel Augustine Moore.

Born around 1680-1685 in either Virginia or England, Augustine Moore's parents are unknown.  (He is not descended from Sir Thomas More as some genealogists may mistakenly believe.)

Circa 1705, Augustine married his first wife, Mary Gage, who then died in 1713.  Later that same year, he married my paternal 7th great grandmother, Elizabeth Todd Seaton (Henry Seaton's widow), in Virginia.  Just a few years after marrying Elizabeth, Colonel Moore's career began to skyrocket.  He became a highly prominent tobacco planter/entrepreneur and slave trader.

Excerpt from p. 272 of Motives of Honor, Pleasure, and Profit/ Plantation Management in the Colonial Chesapeake, 1607-1763 by Lorena Seebach Walsh.

In 1709, during Queen Anne of Great Britain's reign, Moore built Chelsea Plantation located in West Point, Virginia, on the banks of the Mattaponi River.  It portrays an outstanding example of 18th-century Georgian architecture and is still open today for tours.

Front view of Chelsea Plantation.
(Image courtesy of West Point Guide.)

External and Internal Views of Chelsea Plantation.
(Image courtesy of Virginia.org.)

Pages 6-7 of Afro-Virginia History and Culture by John Saillant discuss "Financing Purchases of Slaves."  The book states, "By the early 1720s, Bristol [England] merchants had learned to consign shipments of slaves to colonial agents, such as Augustine Moore at West Point [who]...advertised sales, set initial prices, conducted the sales (including extending credit to local planters), and supervised the loading of commodities like tobacco and iron for the return voyage."  Colonial agents were often the most powerful men in the colony...and [they] used their metropolitan connections to corner the retail side of the slave trade, usually for a 5 to 10 percent commission."

Except from pp. 6-7 of Afro-Virginia History and Culture by John Salliant.

The book goes on to note, on pages 15-16, that Augustine Moore became a "...major [figure] in the early slave trade...in the 1720s and 1730s" in Virginia and most frequently dealt with "...slave shipments [that] had...the lowest proportion of men, the highest proportion of women, and the lowest sex ration in the whole transatlantic trade.  The proportion of children imported to the colony was also relatively high."

Excerpt from p. 15 of Afro-Virginia Culture and History by John Salient.

Excerpt from p. 16 of Afro-Virginia Culture and History by John Salient.

Page 12 of that same book relays that Robert "King" Cater (a.k.a., Robert Carter I), Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1726-1727 and another of my paternal 7th great grandfathers, "...often bought newly imported slaves wholesale for his own plantations, as in the 41 slaves he purchase from Augustine Moore in May 1724."

Except from p. 12 of Afro-Virginia Culture and History by John Salient.

Chart showing how I descend from Robert "King" Carter.
Charles Carter (shown in this chart) married Bernard Moore's daughter,
Anne Butler Moore (reference pedigree chart at being of this post).
Charles Carter and Anne Butler Moore Carter are my 5th great-grandparents.

Once again, on page 106 of Slavery in the Development of the Americas, edited by David Eltis, Frank D. Lewis, Kenneth L. Sokoloff, Augustine Moore shows up involved in the slave trade and advising Bristol merchant Isaac "...Hobhouse that slaves were sometimes taken from the York to the Rappahannock only 'after ye best [were] Sold, not for ye goodness of their bills but to gett rid of gel slaves in time.'"

Except from pages 105-106 of Slavery in the Development of the Americas.

On 20 January 1742, Augustine Moore recorded and signed his last will and testament.  The word "slaves" shows up 19 times in that relatively short document "...written on two sides of one sheet & on one side of another sheet of Paper."  Virginia Biographical Sketches indicates that just over 18 months after writing his will, on 28 July 1743 at the age of about 60, Augustine Moore drew his last breath on this Earth.  His will was then proved in King William County, Virginia, on 18 August 1743.  Colonel Moore is buried in his family cemetery on the grounds of Chelsea Plantation.

The Moore Family Cemetery on the grounds of Chelsea Plantation
in West Point, King William, Virginia.
(From FindAGrave Memorial #57127768.
Photo by George Seitz, FindAGrave Member #40539541.)

About three centuries separate me from my 7th great-grandfather.  Not only are we from vastly different eras, but we also seem to have mindsets that are worlds apart from one another.  Colonel Moore's actions clearly indicate that he did not consider humans to be created equally.  Rather, large gulfs between different social layers were the norm of his time, and some humans were seen as much less than human, as - in fact - property.  I, of course, knew such views and situations were common in America's colonial era.  What I did not know, and what has greatly saddened me, is that two of my direct ancestors were at the highest levels of the abhorrent practice of slave trading.  I am very thankful that time, experiences, education, compassion, and more have given me the opportunity to see and appreciate humanity in completely different ways than did my colonial 7th great-grandfather, Colonel Augustine Moore.

©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.