Deposition F

14 June 1890

Millie Valentine

I am about 75 or 76 years of age, a washerwoman and ironer and my post office address is No.____ Cedar St. (between 5^th and 6^th 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.

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

Deposition E

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.

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

Deposition C

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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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.

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.

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

Claimant’s statement

Katie Cleage
6 June 1890

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 6^th 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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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.

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

Deposition H
Katie Clegg
1 March 1890
Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee

Some questions and answers from Katie regarding how she wishes the pension trial to proceed.

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

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

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!)

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

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