Deposition “G”

Case of Katie Cleage
No. 288,39128
March 1890
at Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee

Jemima Cleage
That she is 77 year of age and that her post office address is No. 114 Sycamore St. Chattanooga, Tenn

Katie Cleage was my slave from the time she was about 13 years old until she gained her freedom. She had two children while she was my slave, but I know of no marriage by her to any one. Philip Cleage was one of our servants, but I know of no marriage between these two parties. I know of no cohabitation between these parties. We owned a hundred slaves at that time, and I know but very little of any of them. Katie was employed as a seamstress by us, and Philip was our coachman. Philip enlisted in the army and came to Chattanooga, and Katie came here also. I do not know who came first. Philip came back to see us after he had enlisted, but Katie had left in the meantime. I know nothing of either of them after that time. I know of no marriage or cohabitation between them after they left our house at Athens. I have seen Katie occasionally since the war. I know of no children Katie has had since the war. It is since the soldier Philip died of smallpox during the war, I guess it was.

            I have understood the questions asked me, and the answers to them have been correctly recorded in this deposition.

Jemima Cleage

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Jemima Hurst married Alexander Cleage in 1832. She brought with her four enslaved people. Their names were Anny, Judi (my 2X great grandmother), Jane and Matilda.

In his Will written in 1833, Jemima’s father, Elijah Hurst, left her those four women “… I will and bequeath to my daughter Jemima Cleage and her heirs forever the four negroes (sic) she has had possession of Big Anny, Judi, Jane, and Matilda together with all the other property I have given her.”

Jemima’s husband, Alexander, wrote in his Will “I give and devise to my beloved wife Jemima Cleage for and during her natural life the following described negro (sic) slaves – to wit: … Juda and her five children  to wit: Charles, Angelen, Lewis, Laura and Frank… I also give and bequeath to her for her natural life a negro (sic) man called Frank the husband of Juda…”   30th day of May 1860 Alexander Cleage

Juda and Frank were my 2 X great grandparents. Lewis was my great grandfather. It gives me some comfort to know that they had been free for almost ten years by the time Alexander Cleage died in 1875.

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Alexander Cleage’s Last Will & Testiment
Elijah Hurst’s Last Will and Testament

I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file, on ancestry.com and familysearch.org.

For links to the other posts in this series, click this link – Katie Cleage’s Pension Hearing