“I was nurse girl”

“Mary Allen Watson, 15 June 1866”. Woman unnamed. Library of Congress

Deposition P
20 June 1890
Patsy Cleage

            I will be 44 years old in October, I am the wife of Amos Jackson and my post office is Athens, Tenn. I was a slave of Alex and Jemima Cleage from the time I was born until Sherman went through here during the war. I was a servant in the house. I was nurse girl. Katie Cleage was a house servant. She was a seamstress. I knew Philip Cleage.  He was my brother.

My brother Philip and Katie were never married. They never lived together as husband and wife. Philip worked on the farm. Sometimes they had him drive the carriage. Katie and Adeline Sherman slept in the dining room together. I slept upstairs with my young mistress in her room. Katie never had but the one room in the quarters. That was when she was shut out. Yes sir, I remember about their putting her in a room and locking her up an did not allow any of the children to go down there. I was small but I remember that, I do not remember about her having any children, only what I have heard the old people talk over since I have been grown.

When my brother Philip went in the army he took us with him to Knoxville and I washed in the hospital. Philip was all my protection after my mother and father died. I did not go to Chattanooga with Philip, he died shortly after he went there. Katie never was in Knoxville with my brother Philip during the war. I do not know whether she went to Chattanooga or not. I never knew Preacher McCaury. I understand that Katie and Philip never married or that they ever lived together. About nineteen years ago Katie and a man came to Athens from Chattanooga. She introduced him to us as her husband. His name was Moses Evans of Chattanooga. She just came on a visit and did not stay long.

I am positive Katie never staid with Philip when we lived on the farm. Philip when he came in used to stay at Aunt Sallie Cleage’s, my mother when she died left Philip to Aunt Sallie’s care and left us in my young mistress’s charge.

I am interested in my brother, I am not interested in this claim. I have fully understood all your questions and my answers have been correctly recorded.

Patsy (her mark X) Cleage Jackson
20 June 1890

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Patsy says that she was much younger than Katie, but they were actually about the same age, in fact, going by the ages they give on their depositions, Katie is a year or so younger. Patsy was Philip’s sister.

I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file and Ancestry.com.

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