Click to enlarge. Chart shows family relationships of Katie and Philip Cleage
I hope that these charts will help keep who is related to who as the hearings continue. The first chart shows the family relationships between Philip’s family on the left and Katie’s family on the right. In red you can see who testifies, who was in the United States Colored Heavy Artillary with Philip.
Click to enlarge. Family relationships for Jemima and Alexander Cleage.
This chart shows Alexander and Jemima (Hurst) Cleage’s family relationships. The information in red gives information about who testified and who gave and received gifts of enslaved people.
I am about 75 or 76
years of age, a washerwoman and ironer and my post office address is No.____
Cedar St. (between 5th and 6th in rear of street)
Chattanooga, Tenn.
I have been well acquainted with the claimant better than fifteen years. I have been a near neighbor to her, within sight of her house ever since I knew her. She keeps house and takes in washing all the time. She has two children in her family, the oldest one is between six and seven years I think. That is all there is in her family. The claimant has never been married since I have known her. She does not live with any man as his wife, if she ever did I didn’t know it. I do not know who the two children belong to. Why, she is the mother of them. There never has been any notoriety about her manner of living. There has never been any scandal or talk about it that I ever heard. She is a steady, hard working woman.
I am not related to her. I have no interest at all in this claim for a pension. I have fully understood all your questions and my answers have been correctly recorded.
Millie (her mark X) Valentine
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Millie Valentine was born into slavery in 1825 in North Carolina. She ended up in Tennessee and lived in Chattanooga from at least the 1870 census until her death. In the 1870 census on ancestry.com, Millie appeared in the index to be living by herself. On the actual census form, I could see that she was living with her daughter Anne, her son-in-law Samuel King and their children Harriett and Andrew. There was another couple living there too. I was unable to determine a link between them and Millie, although there may have been one.
Twenty-one year old Samuel was literate and worked as a laborer. Annie was also twenty-one and could read but not write. She and Millie did domestic work. The two children were less than two years old. Samuel died at home of consumption in 1877. Annie died in 1879, also of consumption.
In the 1880 census 56 year old Millie was working as a laundress. Three grandchildren lived with her. Andrew was ten, Henry was eight and Minnie was seven. All of the children were in school. Granddaughter Harriett who appeared in the 1870 census, was not there and I fear she, like her parents, had died. She would have been eleven.
Looking at Chattanooga City Directories, we see that Millie continued to work as a laundress . Her grandsons lived with her. Andrew worked as a hackman and Henry as a laborer. Andrew died from consumption in 1894. He was twenty-four years old. Millie died the following year from chronic bronchitis. She was about 78 years old. I saw no more of granddaughter Minnie King.
Millie’s surviving grandson, Henry King married Cora Dixon in 1895. Henry worked as a laborer. They had six children. Three of them died before 1900. The surviving children were Harthenia King, born 1897; Lee R. King, born 1903; William King born 1906.
Tragically, two of them died before they reached adulthood. Harthenia was fourteen when she died of pneumonia in 1915. The death certificate stated that she had also a spinal disease that caused great suffering two years before she died. Twelve year old William F. King died from appendicitis In 1918 . Lee R. King was the only son that survived childhood.
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I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file, on ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
David Bridges was literate and signed his name on his deposition.
14 June 1890 David Bridges
I am 41 years old, a
farmer by trade and my post office address is Market House (stall 13.)
Chattanooga, Tenn.
I have known the claimant ever since I was a small boy. I lived in Athens near her from the time I was a small boy until during the war. I left there in 1862 and went in the army in 1863. I was not an enlisted man, that is, I was taken prisoner before I was mustered in. I have seen the claimant since the war, but it has been some time ago.
When I knew her in Athens she was what I suppose you would call married, in those times we had no license. She was living with a man as his wife. The man she was living with was Philip Cleage. I knew him well. I used to go out very often to see them. I don’t know how long they had been living together, but they were living home when I went off to go in the army. They had one or two children, I disremember which, there was one certain. I could not tell whether the child lived. I remember their having one child, the last time I went to the farm the child was a small child, a baby in its mothers arms. I don’t know whether Philip worked on the farm, or what he did do. I do not know what Katie did, I did not live with them, I was only there back and forth Sundays and nights. They lived in a cabin back of the Cleage mansion. I saw Philip after he went in the army, at Knoxville. I saw the claimant during the time I was in Knoxville. She was with Philip and staid in the camp with him and was known as his wife. My brother married in the Cleage family and his wife came to Knoxville while I was there. My brother is named George Sherman and he lives in Athens, Tenn. He did not belong to the same regiment the claimants husband did. My brother’s wife who was at Knoxville is not living. I am positive that Philip Cleage and the claimant lived together as husband and wife before and at the time of the war and after he went in the service. I do not know of my own knowledge but after I came out of prison, I did not get home until 1867 and I was then told that Philip was dead. I have seen and heard of the claimant, but I have never visited her any since the war.
I have never heard that
she had remarried since Philip ‘s death. The only one of Philips brothers
living that I know of is Charles, at Athens, Tenn. Yes, he was living in the Cleage
place during and before the war. I am not related. I have no interest in the
world in this claim. Katie has never mentioned the matter to me, I never knew
that she was looking for, or expecting a pension.
I have fully understood
all your questions and my answers have been correctly recorded
By claimants Atty.: Are you certain about seeing the child?
David Bridges: I am. I saw the child and supposed it was his child and had reason to suppose it was. I may be mistaken about it’s being her child.
14 June 1890
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David Bridges was born into slavery about 1844. He married twice. The first time to Nancy Loucey. They had at least four children together. In the 1870 census, David could read but not write. By the 1880 census he could read and write. I do not know if he attended school or if his children taught him as they learned. I was impressed with his handwriting in signing his signature.
David worked as a laborer in Athens, TN for some years and then about 1881, the family moved to Chattanooga where he worked at Hoyt’s Tannery. In 1887, Nancy Bridges died in Chattanooga. She was 45. The cause of death was given as edema. Her remains were returned to Athens and buried there.
In 1894, fifty year old David married 32 year old Charity Martin. They returned to Athens where they had three children together. David worked as a laborer. He died sometime between the 1900 and the 1910 census. I have been unable to find a death record for him and unable to find the family in the 1920 census. However, I know he died before 1910 because Charity listed herself as a widow. And he doesn’t appear anywhere else.
Charity worked as a cook. She suffered from tuberculous for two years before dying on October 2, 1921. Her son David Bridges was the informant on her death certificate. He did not know her parents names.
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I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file, on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
I am 54 years of age,
the wife of Thomas A. Cleage and my post office address is No. 111 Gilmer St.
Chattanooga, Tenn.
I know the claimant Katie Cleage, she was a seamstress in my husband’s mother’s family. I knew Philip Cleage that is, I remember there was such a man on the place. I have no recollection that Katie and Philip were married or that they lived together as husband and wife.
I do not know as to
whether or not Katie had any children. I don’t remember that she ever did any
work for me. I lived in Athens Tenn. and Katie lived about three miles out of
town on the farm with my husband’s father. If Katie were married to Philip, I
think I would have known it. I do not remember when the servants left – though
it was during the war. I have not had any knowledge relating to the claimant
since the war. I have no interest in this claim for a pension. My answers have
been correctly recorded.
Mrs. T. A. Cleage
13 day of June 1890
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“Chattanooga Daily Gazette” pg. 3 August 6, 1865
Penelope Van Dyke Cleage was born in 1836 to the wealthy family of Judge Thomas Nixon Van Dyke and his wife Elizabeth Anne Deadrick in McMinn County, outside of Athens. She married Thomas A. Cleage in 1856. Thomas Alexander Cleage was the oldest son of the slave holders Alexander and Jemima Cleage.
Penelope gave birth to nine children and six were surviving in 1900. All were born in Tennessee except daughter Susan, who was born in November 1865 in Adams County, Illinois. How did she come to be in Illinois at that time?
Thomas A. Cleage was involved in removing the assets of the Athens Branch of the State Bank of Tennessee to Georgia during the Civil War. Katie will mention it in her next deposition. Later Thomas, who was a cashier at the bank and other officials, were accused of misappropriating funds for themselves. There was a point when Thomas was arrested and said he knew where the gold was and if they released him, he would go get it and return it. Instead, he went to Illinois, apparently along with his family and Susan was born while they were there. eventually it was worked out without prison and Cleage returned to Tennessee to live in Chattanooga. I gleaned this Information from various newspapers on newspapers.com.
Thomas A. Cleage was 67 when he died of cancer of the stomach in 1900. Penelope died of a stroke in Athens in 1907. She was 72. Her body was returned to Chattanooga and both are buried in Forest Hill Cemetery there.
I found the information for this post in Katie’s Pension File, on Ancestry.com, on FamilySearch.org, on Newspapers.com and on the free site Chattanooga Newspapers
I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file, on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
John H. Cleage Chattanooga, Tennessee 13 June 1890
I am 43 years of age, a
merchant and my post office is No. 17 Market Square, Chattanooga, Tenn.
I remember the claimant as a former slave of my fathers. I was living home during the late war. The claimant was a house servant, a seamstress I think. She was not married during that time, if she married it was after she left us, I do not know what became of her. I knew Philip Cleage, he was a slave belonging to my father. Philip was one of the farm hands. I didn’t know that he was especially a coachman. Katie and Philip did not live together as man and wife, no doubt they were together some, but they did not live together.
I think it was in 1863 that Katie left us, it was about the time Longstreet went through. Philip left about the same time. I do not know that Katie had any children before she left my father’s, she certainly had none living. I think I would know it if my father married Katie and Philip, under the old slave laws. I do not know how old Katie was but she is older than I am. Philip was older than Katie. I do not remember her and Philip living in the cabin back of our house, if she did I do not remember it.
I think she did have one or two children but they did not live. Whose they were, I do not know. They might have been Philip’s, I could not say as to that. I have no knowledge relating to her since she left our house during the war, until the last few years I have seen her in Chattanooga.
I have no interest in
this claim for a pension. I have fully understood all your questions and my
answers have been correctly rendered.
J.
H. Cleage
13 June 1890
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A bit about Forest Hill Academy. Click to enlarge
John Henry Cleage was the 7th of the ten children of Alexander and Jemima (Hurst) Cleage. John Henry Cleage and Katie Cleage were both born in 1846 in McMinn County, TN. Although John thought Katie was older than he was and Katie thought that John was younger than she was, they were actually the same age. When the Cleages bought Katie from John’s uncle Lewis Hurst, at age 13 to act as household seamstress, John was also 13. He attended school, probably Forest Hill Academy in Athens. In 1869 and 1870 John attended Washington college in Virginia.
In 1875, 28 year old John H. Cleage married Elizabeth Tipton Bradford. They had four children that survived to adulthood. Over the years John worked as a clerk at Tankesley grocery store and then as manager of Chattanooga Installment Furniture House.
Click to enlarge
John’s wife gave birth to their last child in June of 1891. In August of the same year she died of tuberculosis. John died in 1929 at the age of 82 in Mobile, Alabama. His body was brought back to Chattanooga and buried with his wife in Citizen’s Cemetery.
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I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension file, in documents found ancestry.com, familysearch.org and newspapers.com.
I will be 42 years of
age this coming July, I am a washer and ironer and my post office address is
No. 519 Cedar Street, Chattanooga Tennessee.
I married Philip Cleage after the war commenced and before he went into the army. I really don’t know how long before he went in the army it was that we were married, but we had two children before he enlisted My mistress Jemima Cleage whipped me for going with Philip. I was her seamstress and Philip was the coachman. No, my mistress did not whip me after I was married to him. I think she knew I was married to Philip because master scolded and knocked around about it and said I should not marry an outsider, that there was plenty of home boys and I should marry one of them.
After I was married to Philip,
I slept out in a cabin near the house with Philip. She, my mistress, took care
of us when I was sick. I slept in the house before I was married to Philip. My
mistress furnished us with a bed. I had the two children there before he went
in the army. My old mistress is living but master is dead. I have talked with
her about my marriage to Philip, but she was sick the day I saw her and she is
quite old and she said she could not remember.
Old Mr. Alexander
Cleage and Jemima had four children, but they were small and going to school
when I lived on the place with Philip. Sam is dead, I don’t know whether John
remembers or not, but Will and Kate were too small and they do not remember.
Yes, I know my mother.
She is not living. Yes sir, I know Philips mother. My mother’s name was Huldah
Hurst. Philips mother was named Julia Ann Cleage. John Cleage lives here in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. My husband had brothers Charles and Lewis and a sister Patsy
Cleage. Lewis is dead, has been dead twelve years. Charles and Patsy lives at
Athens, Tennessee. David Cleage was my old masters brother, he is dead. I saw
my husband o??? and lived with him as his wife while he was in the service.
After he died I hired out to work for Gen. Grosvenor and worked for him nearly two years. He is now in congress. Then I went with Col. Sheridan to August Ga. And remained about five months, then came back to Chattanooga, Tenn. I worked at the Crutchfield House, Chattanooga Tenn., since burned down. I worked for Mrs. ______Bishop, she went to Knoxville. I stayed with her about one month. I worked in a Steam Laundry five or six months, then in a restaurant one year. The man I worked for in the laundry is gone. I don’t know where. The man I worked for in the restaurant is dead. I have worked in a tailor shop and millinery shop and at many other places, only a short time in each place. I worked for a Mrs. Williams three years.
I have been working at washing and ironing for myself for five or six years. I have lived where I worked and did not have any home of my own. Since I have been working for myself I have a house of my own. I live all alone. I have a niece with me and a half grown young man for the last three or four months. I have not had but two children since Philips died. They are both living. Yes sir they live with me. The boy is seven years old and my girl is five years old. Their father is living. He is married now, he was not married then. Yes sir, the same man is the father of both children. I did not live with him at all. I have never lived with any man as my husband since Philip died.
Addie Sherman was one of the house girls in
the Cleage family when I was married to Philip. The last I knew of her she was
at Athens, Tenn. There were no other house servants. There was a Thomas Cleage
who was always with Philip, but I do not know whether he is living at Athens or
not, I have not known anything about him since the war.
Mrs. _______Colburn, living on 6th Street between Poplar and Cedar has known us ever since the war. I was living where I now live when I had my children. I did not have any doctor. I was by myself. I did not have a midwife. Edmonia Charlton living on East End Ave, foot of Harrison St. has known me for fifteen years. I have always worked alone by myself and I have not had any appointees. I want to be present and I want my Atty. Mr. Thomas Giffe, to be present when the testimony is taken in my case. I have fully understood all your questions and my answers have been correctly recorded.
Katie
(her mark X) Cleage
June 6, 1890
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This map is a portion of the wonderful map of Chattanooga at “Forgotten Streets“
Katie lived in the one and a half story house off of Cedar. A one and a half story house has a full lower story and a second half story that that is between the ceiling of the lower story and the roof, which makes it smaller than the downstairs because of the sloping roof. Katie mentioned 5 people living in her house in this statement – her two children, a niece and a youth. I wish she had given names!
The Webster J. Colburn (click his name for more information about the Colburns.) and his wife and family lived at the large two story house at 409 6th street. He was an insurance company president. His wife is mentioned in the above testimony and I decided to look for them when Katie gave an address I knew was right around the corner.
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For this post I used Katie Cleage’s pension file. I have found Forgotten Chattanooga to be full of information, photographs and a map of the whole city of Chattanooga in 1901, 1889 and more. The other links above will take you to sites I used. I also used Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org for background information on Katie and the other people in these posts.
This is the order of the next round of testimonies. Also listed is race, reliability of testimony, and biased for or against Katie Cleage. After these will come a wrap-up and decision regarding Katie’s pension. (I figured out how to make a table and that made transcribing the table so much easier!)
Pages
Names of Witnesses
Exhibits
Depositions
Reputation
1
2
Notice to Claimant
A
3-4
Summary
5-7
Claimant’s statement
B.
Good
8-9
John H. Cleage (white)
C.
Good – Biased against
10
Mrs. T. A. Cleage, Sr (white)
D.
Good – Biased against
11-12
David Bridges (colored)
E.
Good – Unbiased
13-14
Millie Valentine (colored)
F.
Good – Unbiased
15-16
Edmonia Charlton (colored)
G.
Good – Unbiased
17-18
Isaac Charlton (colored)
H.
Good – Unbiased
19-20
Minerva Allen (colored)
I.
Good – Unbiased
21-23
Lucy McCaurey (colored)
K.
Good – Unbiased
24-25
Charles A. Cleage (colored)
L.
Good – Biased against
26-27
Thomas Bradford (colored)
M.
Good – Biased against
28-30
Sallie Clegg Marsh (colored)
N.
Good – Biased against
31
James F. Bradford (white)
O.
Good – Unbiased
32-33
Patsey Clegg (colored)
P.
Doubtful – Biased against
34-35
Adeline Sherman (colored)
R.
Doubtful – Biased against
36-37
Katie Clegg (claimant)
S.
Good – Unbiased
38-41
Jemima Cleage (white)
T.
Good – Unbiased
42-43
Lucy McMaurey (colored)
U.
Good – Unbiased
44-45
John L. Atlee, M.C. (white)
V.
Good – Unbiased
46
Copy of record from
W.
I found the information for this post in Katie Cleage’s Civil War Pension.
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
Jemima Hurst Cleage, age 52
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
***************
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.
Case of Katie Cleage 22 March 1890 Chattanooga, Tennessee Woodson Weaver
That he is 45 years of age: that he is a Hackman by occupation and that his post office address is No. 305 Spring St. Chattanooga, Tenn.
I was first duty
sergeant of Co. “G” First USCH Artillery. I knew Philip Cleage only in the
army. I do not know what became of him. I do not know whether he is living or
dead.
Katie Cleage was Philip’s wife. They “went” as man and wife in the army. If she hadn’t been his wife they would not let her stay there. They went together, had a tent in camp and passed as man and wife. I often seen them in the tent together and she used come and stay there for three and four days at a time and no woman unless she was married to a soldier was allowed to remain there. Everyone in camp knew they were man and wife, and considered them as such. I know nothing about their marriage. I only know of them cohabiting together as man and wife in the army.
I
have known Katie ever since the war. She has not married since Philip died. I
do not know whether she has had any children or not since the war as I never
visit her house. I only know her in passing and re-passing on the street.
I
am in no way related to the claimant and have no interest in her claim.
I
have understood the questions asked me, and the answers to them have been
correctly recorded in this deposition
Woodson Weaver (His mark)
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There was no new information in Woodson Weaver’s short testimony so I decided to look at his life and write something about him. At first I was confused at finding a Woodson Weaver in Knoxville, and then in Chattanooga and then in Cincinnati, Ohio. I wondered if I had the same man. I decided that the man in Knoxville was the same man in Chattanooga because once he moved, no Woodson Weaver was found in the records in Knoxville. I was not sure about the Woodson Weaver I found in Chattagnooga until I found his find-a-grave record which showed that he had served in Company G, 1st US Colored Heavy Artillery, which I knew he had.
It was at that point that I decided to search for Woodson Weaver in newspapers and found a disturbing and widely covered event involving his family.
Woodrow Weaver was born into slavery in Wagner, Kentucky about 1845. He was brought to Tennessee at some point and in 1864 he enrolled in Co. G of the USC Heavy Artillary in Knoxville, TN. He was mustered out in March 1866 in Knox County. In December of the same year he married Nancy Rice. Before he was married, his son John Weaver was born, mother not known.
Woodrow and Nancy stayed in Knoxville where he worked as a railroad laborer. By 1880 they had relocated to Chattanooga. In 1884 he began receiving a pension for disability. He had a hearing loss. Nancy returned to Knoxville and died there in 1887. Woodrow worked as a drayman and a laborer. In 1888 his son James Washington/Weaver was born to Rachel Washington. They did not stay together. In 1896 and 1897 we find Woodrow Weaver in Cincinnati, Ohio working as a peddler. His son John shared the house at 1123 Lincoln Avenue and worked as a laborer.
In September of the following year, 1898, the two story frame house burned to the ground. The family lived on the first floor and the Maceo Club, a black political club, had the rooms upstairs. The club was named for the black Cuban Revolutionary, Antonio Maceo. The newspapers of the day were full of stories about the Cuban fight to free themselves from the Spanish. The fire started in the club rooms.
In early 1899, Woodson Weaver re-married. His wife died mysteriously soon after the marriage.
In mid May, disaster struck the family. The father Woodson and the son John were both struck down by poison. “Rough on Rats” had been added to their morning coffee. John Weaver died later that day at City Hospital. Sixty year old Woodson Weaver was seriously ill for months. He finally recovered, but never fully regained his health.
Papers all over the country carried sensational stories about the murder. James served a little over a year before he was pardoned and sent home to his mother where he died of consumption
Click to enlarge
In the 1900 census, several months before Jimmie died of consumption. He is listed in his mother Rachel’s household, along with an older sister, Katie 19 and a younger brother, Clarence 8. Katie Washington died in 1903 of consumption. She was 22. Rachel died in 1910 at age 55 of Bronchitis. I lost track of Clarence after the 1920 census in Chicago, Illinois.
Woodson Weaver died at the age of 67 in 1907. He never recovered his strength after the poisoning.
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Resources I used for this post include: Katie Cleage’s Pension file, Ancestry.com (censuses, city directories, death records); Newspapers.com.; FamilySearch.org, marriage records and GenealogyBank
