Benjamin Clay first appears in the Indianapolis City Directory as a laborer in 1867. He and his wife, Zina Fishback Clay were born in Kentucky.  His son Richard was born in 1868, the second of seven children, all born in Indianapolis. All of the children attended school. Richard went through the sixth grade.

In 1892, Richard Clay married the first of his three wives, Minnie Cummings. Both were 24 years old.  She has also been born in Indiana, but could not read or write. In the 1900 census she had given birth to three children and one was still alive, but did not appear to be living with them.   He was working as a laborer and continued to work laboring jobs for the rest of his life, including a coal yard, a grocery/bakery and a foundry.

In 1901, Richard testified at Thomas Ray Allen’s pension hearing that he had heard him say that he suffered from various ailments. That same year he married his second wife, Hattie Elkins. I have Elkins cousins, but was unable to find a connection.He was 33 and she was 22.  They had no children.  Richard and Hattie continued to live in rental houses. In 1921, Hattie died of uterine cancer that metastasized to the abdomen. She was 40 years old. Her husband was the informant and gave her parents names. She was buried in New Crown Cemetery.

In 1929, sixty one year old Richard married forty year old Nettie Kelly, his third wife. She was born in Georgia, was literate and worked as a servant for a private family. By the 1940 census, Richard was 72 had not worked during the past year. She had worked as a home aide for 32 weeks during that year.  They rented their house and did not own a radio. Nettie had completed the 2nd grade.  She was the one who gave the family information to the census enumerator.

In February of 1948, Nettie Kelly Clay died of a cerebral hemorrhage. She was buried in New Crown Cemetery. Richard was the informant. He did not know her parent’s names. The undertakers were Jacob Brothers Funeral Home.  I noticed that they were undertakers for quite a few of the people I am writing about.

In January 1941 Richard Clay applied for social security benefits. He gave his birth date as 1858 and his birth place as Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Richard Clay died at home of stomach cancer on October 15, 1951. His age was listed as 93, although he was closer to 83. He had been seeing a doctor for six months. His nephew, Gilbert Hall was the informant.

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Contradictions in researching Richard Clay.  In the earliest records, 1870 and 1880 censuses and the record for his first wedding, his birth date was given as 1868. In the 1900 census his birth date was given as 1855. In the 1910 census his birth date was given as 1860. In all of these records, his birth place is given as Indiana.

In 1920 his birth date is again given as 1855. In 1930 his birth date was given as 1880.  In 1940 his birth date was given as 1858. In his social security application his birth date is given as 1858, as it is on his death certificate.  On all of these records his birth place is given as Kentucky, Olan County Kentucky or Bowling Green Kentucky.

His parent’s names are consistent.

I found the information for this post on Ancestry.com and in the Pension File of Thomas Ray Allen.

Lewis Pierson (sometimes spelled Louis Pearson) was born in Shelby, Kentucky about 1837. By 1860 he was living in Danville, Indiana with the Atty. James M. Gregg family.  He had no occupation listed and was unable to read or write.

On July 4, 1864 Pierson enlisted in Company G US Colored Troops 28th Infantry in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was mustered out on November 8, 1865 at Corpus Christie, Texas. He was described as a farmer, 36 years old, 5 ft 9 in with black hair and black eyes.

He appears in the Indianapolis City Directory starting in 1879 as a barber and continued to follow that profession.  He applied for a pension in 1890. In 1904 he testified at Thomas Ray Allen’s pension hearing that Allen was who he claimed to be.

I could not find him in another census until 1900 when he was a lodger in Mrs. Jennie Sanders house on Center Street.  He and Mrs. Sanders shared quarters at several different addresses from 1900 to 1907.  She worked as a laundress while he continued barbering.  Neither one was able to read or write.

On December 7, 1907 Lewis Pierson died of pulmonary tuberculosis at home.  His father’s name was given as Dock Pierson. No name for his mother.  Mrs. Sanders was the informant.  I wondered if Mrs. Sanders was Lewis Pierson’s sister, but not knowing the mother’s name made it seem unlikely.  He was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery.

The information for this post came from records found on ancestry.com and Thomas Ray Allen’s pension file.

Although I posted an “N” post yesterday, I had done so much research on Nelson Cantrell that I decided to write it up as the Other “N”.  Nelson Cantrell is listed on the same Declaration as Major Edmundson who we met earlier.   He testified that he knew Thomas was who he claimed to be.  He was literate and signed his name on the document below.

Nelson Cantrell was  born about 1873 in Sumner County Tennessee, the second of the eleven children of Reuben Moore Cantrell and Sarah “Sallie” Lawrence Cantrell. Reuben Moore and Sallie Lawrence were married in 1867.

In the 1880 census, the family was going by the surname of “Moore”. The father, Rueben did farm labor. The mother, Sallie kept house. Neither could read or write. The two oldest children, Eight year old Mary and seven year old Nelson attended school. The three younger children (ages five, three and one) were too young for school.

By 1895 the family begins to appear in the Indianapolis City Directory. Sarah is listed as the widow of Reuben. They are now using the last name “Cantrell”. Perhaps they, like Thomas Ray Allen, decided to use a different name because they no longer wanted to use the name of the former slave owner. This was not an uncommon practice and makes it confusing to track family members unless you realize there was a name change. I suspected there had been a name change because I could not find the family before 1880. When I found a marriage record for Sallie with her same last name and a Reuben in the same area that they were originally from, I was hopeful that I had found them. Then I found the couple in 1880 with children of the same name as they appear later. This caused a bit of joy on my part.

Nelson  first appears in 1895 as a hostler in Indianapolis. Two years later he and Julia Buckner were married. They shared a home with her family for several years. First her father was listed as head. Eventually Nelson was listed as head. Nelson continued to work as a hostler, a laborer and later as a trucker.  On his World War 1 draft registration card, Nelson was described as being tall and stout with black hair and brown eyes.

On February 23, 1930, Julia’s father, Robert Buckner died at the shared home. In May of the same year, Nelson’s wife Julia died of diabetes with lobar pneumonia as a contributing factor.

Nelson married again sometime before his death at 62 on February 7, 1940. His wife, Rosie, was 31.  The cause of death was pneumonia with emphysema as a contributing factor.

Reading the post Freedom’s faces on the blog Scuffalong:Genealogy, reminded me of a post I did several years ago about my enslaved ancestors who were born into slavery and lived to be free. I am reposting it today, as I take a one day break from following the life of formerly enslaved Thomas Allen and his friends during the A to Z Challenge.

I have no photograph of Annie Williams (mother of Eliza Williams Allen) who was born about 1820 in Virginia and died after 1880 in Montgomery, Alabama.

I do not have a photograph of  Matilda Brewster (mother of Dock Allen) who was born in Georgia.

Eliza Williams Allen was my great great grandmother. She was born in Alabama about 1839 and died free in Montgomery, Alabama in 1917. She was a seamstress.  You can read more about Eliza here A Chart of the People in Eliza’s Life and Eliza’s Story – Part 1 with links to the other 3 parts.

Dock Allen was my great great grandfather. He was born a slave in Georgia about 1839 and died free in Montgomery, Alabama in 1909.  He was a cabinet maker. You can read more about Dock Allen here Dock Allen’s Story.

I have no photographs of  my great grandparents William Graham who was born about 1851 or his wife Mary Jackson Graham born about 1856. Both were born in Alabama and died dates unknown.  William Graham was a farmer. They were my grandfather Mershell C. Graham’s parents. You read more about him here William Graham, Alabama.

I do not have photographs of my grandmother Fannie Mae Turner Graham’s paternal grandparents.  Her grandfather Joseph Turner was born in Alabama about 1839. He died in Lowndes County, AL in 1919. He was a farmer and owned his own land. His wife Emma Jones Turner was born about 1840 in South Carolina and died about 1901 in Lowndes County Alabama.  You can read more about them here,  Emma and Joe Turner of Gordensville, Lowndes County, Alabama.

Frank Cleage was born around 1816 in North Carolina. He was enslaved on the plantation of first Samuel Cleage and then his son Alexander Cleage.  I do not have a picture of Frank Cleage and have no stories about him. His name appears on my great grandfather, Louis Cleage’s death certificate.

In the 1870 Census he was living with his wife, Judy and six children, including my great grandfather, in Athens, Tennessee. I also have a marriage record for Frank and Judy dated 20 August, 1866.  I don’t know if they were married before and the children are theirs or if they came together after slavery. Judy was born about 1814.

Frank is mentioned in a work agreement between Samuel Cleage and his overseer in this post – Article of Agreement – 1834.

They were both born in slavery and lived most of their lives as slaves but they lived to see freedom and to see their children free. You can read more about them here Timelines – Frank and Juda Cleage.

No photograph of Louis Cleage B. 1852 in Tennessee and died 1919 in Indianapolis, IN.  Louis and Celia were my grandfather Albert B. Cleage’s parents. Louis was a laborer. You can read more about Louis Cleage here – Lewis Cleage – Work Day Wednesday.

Celia Rice Cleage Sherman was born into slavery about 1855 in Virginia.  She died about 1931 in Detroit, Michigan. She was a cook. You can read more about Celia Rice Cleage here Celia Rice Cleage Sherman.

I do not have photographs of my great grandmother Anna Allen Reed who was born about 1849 in Lebanon, Kentucky and died in 1911 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  She was my grandmother Pearl’s mother.  You can read about her here – Anna Allen Reed.

Anna’s mother Clara, my great great grandmother, was born about 1829 in Kentucky and died after 1880 in Lebanon, Marion County Kentucky.  You can read about her at Clara Hoskins Green, Thomas’ Mother You can see some of their descendents here My Father’s Mother’s People.

Thomas McDougal was born into slavery about 1839 in Larue County Kentucky. His mother was Fannie McDougal and his father, Ephraim Martin.  He was the oldest of eight, including Georgeanna MacDougal, Thomas Ray Allen’s first wife.

On July 14, 1864 he was mustered into Company “F” of the 107th Colored Infantry (USTC) in Lebanon, Kentucky.  Looking at the records, it seems he was mustered in as a sergeant.  He also mustered out as a Sergeant.

Company F included many men mustered in from Lebanon, Marion County, which is next to Larue County, where Thomas McDougall lived. Below is a description of the movements of the   107th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry during the war.

“SERVICE.–Duty in Kentucky until October, 1864. Ordered to Baltimore, Md., thence to City Point, Va., October 26. Siege of Petersburg November 3 to December 7. 1st Expedition to Fort Fisher, N. C., December 7-27. 2nd Expedition to Fort Fisher, N. C., January 7-15, 1865. Bombardment of Fort Fisher January 13-15. Assault and capture of Fort Fisher January 15. Sugar Loaf Hill January 19. Federal Point February 11. Fort Anderson February 18-20. Capture of Wilmington February 22. Northeast Ferry February 22. Campaign of the Carolinas March 1-April 26. March on Kinston and Goldsboro March 6-21. Action at Cox’s Bridge March 23-24. Advance on Raleigh April 9-14. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett’s House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. Duty at various points in North Carolina and in the Dept. of the South until November, 1866. Mustered out November 22, 1866.”

Thomas McDougal disappears from the end of the Civil War until I found him in Indianapolis in 1891 listed as a carpenter in the City Directory. In the 1900 Census he is living as a widowed roomer and working as a janitor. 1900 was also the year he testified for Thomas Ray Allen during his pension hearing, saying that he knew Thomas Allen to be who he claimed to be.

In 1904 Thomas McDougal entered the U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Grant, Marion County Indiana.  He was 67 years old.  In the 1910 Census he was listed as 71, living at the Home and unable to read or write. He signed his testimony with an “X” above.

On February 28, 1915, Thomas McDougal died of lobar pneumonia at the National Military Home.  He had been ill from August 16, 1914 to February 28, 1915.  This seems a long time to suffer from pneumonia, however I remember having pneumonia when I was six and being confined to bed for so long that when I finally was able to go back downstairs, I felt like I was in a new house.  I also have to remember that there were no antibiotics at that time. His birth date is given as 1841 and his age as 74.  He was a widower and his occupation was given as farmer.

Thomas McDougal is buried at Crown Hill cemetery.  His grave marker is above.