HUBER Nelson Miles, Jr.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Farmer

Nelson married JOHNSON Myra Bell on 29 Jun 1917. Myra (daughter of JOHNSON Sidney Thomas and COTTON Mary Etta) was born on 18 Nov 1897; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

MYRA BELL JOHNSON
Born November 18, 1897, Myra was Sidney and Mary's third child. She was but 11 years old when her mother died and she helped her older sisters rur the family and care for the smaller children. On June 29, 1917, she married Nelson Miles Huber, a Surry County farmer. They had four children; Mary Ruth (1918), Lawrence David (1921), Nelson Miles, (1923), and Edwin (1927). Myra has been admired as a person of high spirit and as an ingenious and creative hard worker. She has been called "spunky and independent." Myra suffered a stroke in 1977 and has recovered remarkably at the John Randolph Nursing Home in Hopewell.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Military: 1861-1865, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; Surry Cavalry
• Residence: 1890, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; Marl Spring Farm

Notes:

Hi Gene: You have Sidney Thomas Johnson and Ruth Ella Rogers on you web page. In the Sussex-Surry Dispatch March 7 edition was obit for Katherine J. Fox listing them as her parents... Jean Johnsom

...................................................
NINTH GENERATION
SIDNEY THOMAS JOHNSON, son of David Peyton Johnson (a veteran of the Civil War) and Mahala Elizabeth Rogers, was born on January 20, 1868. As most of Surry County was left bankrupt after the Civil War, his boyhood was a simple one characterized by hard work. Schools were of the one-room variety and pupils ranged in age from seven years to adults. Sidney was a bright boy and quickly mastered his three R'B. At age eighteen he went to work in Waverly at a small general store. He worked for his board and a few dollars a month. Being only six miles from home, he walked the distance when time permitted. On one occasion, he was taken ill and his father had to drive a horse and dump cart the six miles through a snowstorm to get him. The cart was bedded down with hay and a quilt on top to make a bed. More quilts were placed over him and a table oilcloth covered all. He was snug and warm but doubtlessly had a rough ride, all the same.
It was at the small store in Waverly that he gained experience and acquired some knowledge of business management. After four years he had saved enough out of his meager earnings to make a down payment on a farm of his own.
In 1890, at age 22, he bought Marl Spring Farm. The manor house had burned down some time before, leaving but a small cabin; it was here that he lived for two years while he farmed and kept a small neighborhood store. On an adjacent farm lived the Cotton family, with three young girls. Boy met girl and he courted Mary Etta Cotton, marrying her at Union Church on January 27, 1892. He was described in a contemporary account as being a "popular young bachelor" and she was a lovely bride, as evidenced in photographs. A "grand reception" was held at her home after the ceremony.
After the wedding, Sidney and Mary set up housekeeping in the cabin which had been his home for two years. Now, as a team, they worked to make their lives better. He started building a proper house as time and money permitted. The house was built in two sections, the first of which was completed before 1895- The west end of their cabin housed a forge and tools while the house was being built. Their child, Ruth Olga, was born in the tiny cabin, while those which followed were born in the new house. The years went by while they worked and strived to make a good home for themselves and their growing family. Sidney was a very intelligent man and throughout his life showed greater ability than his simple schooling would indicate.
Fortunately, there were no wars during Sidney's young manhood, but he was a volunteer member of the Surry Cavalry. He occasionally rode to Surry on his black horse for drills, sporting a blue uniform with brass trappings and a gleaming saber at his side. He was a man of great energy and knowhow, inventing and making things to simplify the work that had to be done. Mary, dear wife and the mother of his six children, died on May 9i 1909t after an illness of about two years. She was but 37 years of age. Mary is remembered by her children as a loving woman and she was greatly beloved by all who knew her. The family suffered a tragic loss at her death.
Some difficult years followed with Sidney left alone with six children ranging in age from 3 to 16 years. Almost two years later he was married to Ruth ELla Rogers, but 18 years old. Her father was William Thomas Rogers and was related to Sidney's mother, who called him "Cousin Tommy." Sidney and Ruth had three children between 1912 and 1919, and by the time these were growing up the others had married and moved away. The first family car came in 1916 and it made visiting much easier. Sidney Johnson is remembered by Surry County farmers even today as having been able to plow an incredibly straight line with a mule. He, at one point, had a cantankerous steel-wheeled tractor and may have cussed it and ordered it around as did some of the older farmers, who plowed with mules all their lives.

The Johnson farmhouse was the junction of the first telephone line across Surry County and the children remember its switchboard. Sidney had educated himself in legal matters and became a justice of the peace around 1920. For many years he tried cases, both misdemeanors and felonies, in his office in a cabin just west of the house. With some felony cases, the proceedings were briefly suspended in order that he could chase the children away from under the window and prevent them from hearing the gruesome details. He was especially busy with his duties during the prohibition years.
During the 1930 's, the rest of the children finished school at Dendron and moved away. Ruth died in a Richmond hospital on March 31, 1941, only 48 years of age, leaving Sidney alone again at 73. She was greatly loved by all the children and was sadly missed. She was a robust woman and was so kind that it is said that she "would give the butter right off the table to someone in need." Sidney remained at home for a while then, enfeebled, went to Kibler Nursing Home in Claremont where he died on September 4, 1942. His funeral was held at his home and was attended by a large number of his friends and relatives. He was. a longtime member of Carsley Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday School for many years. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Surry between Mary and Ruth under a grove of young oak trees.
ISSUE

by Mary Etta Cotton
RUTH OLGA b. 1893, d. 1969 m. 1926 Earl L. Madison
BERTHA MAY b. 1895, d. 1987 m. 1920 Charles Lawrence Bartlett
MYRA BELL b. 1897, m. 1917 Nelson Miles Huber
ALBERT SIDNEY b. 1899, m. 1927 Marjorie Ruth Kincaid d. 1982
MYRTIE LEE b. 1902, m. 1920 John Harris Lane, Jr., d. 1971
HUGH THOMAS b. 1905, m. 1936 Edith Lorraine Duncan, d. 1965

by Ruth Ella Rogers

PAULINE ISABEL b. 1912, m. 1941 Thomas Linwood Gofer d. 1988
EDNA MARION b. 1918, m. 1945 James W. Watt, Jr. d. 1996
KATHERINE GLADYS b. 1919, m. 1941 Eiwin Adler Fox, Jr.
Mary Etta Cotton Sidney Thomas Johnson Ruth Ella Rogers

Military:
Bertha (Johnson) Bartlett, wrote that her father, Sidney T. Johnson, was a member of the Surry Cavalry when she was a girl, in the first decade of the 20th century. She says he occasionally rode to Surry Courthouse on his black horse for drills, sporting a blue uniform with brass trappings and a gleaming saber at his side. Fortunately, there were no wars during bis young manhood.

Residence:
In 1890, at age 22, he bought Marl Spring Farm. The manor house had burned down some time before, leaving but a small cabin; it was here that he lived for two years while he farmed and kept a small neighborhood store. On an adjacent farm lived the Cotton family, with three young girls. Boy met girl and he courted Mary Etta Cotton, marrying her at Union Church on January 27, 1892. He was described in a contemporary account as being a "popular young bachelor" and she was a lovely bride, as evidenced in photographs. A "grand reception" was held at her home after the ceremony.
After the wedding, Sidney and Mary set up housekeeping in the cabin which had been his home for two years. Now, as a team, they worked to make their lives better. He started building a proper house as time and money permitted. built in two sections, the first of which was completed before 1895- The west end of their cabin housed a forge and tools while the house was being built. Their child, Ruth Olga, was born in the tiny cabin, while those which followed were born in the new house. The years went by while they worked and strived to make a good home for themselves and their growing family. Sidney was a very intelligent man and throughout his life showed greater ability than his simple schooling would indicate.

Died:
Ruth died in a Richmond hospital on March 31, 1941, only 48 years of age, leaving Sidney alone again at 73. Sidney remained at home for awhile, then, greatly enfeebled, went into Kibler Nursing Home in Claremont where he died on September 4,1942. His funeral was held at his home and was attended by a large number of friends and relatives. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery between Etta and Ruth under a grove of young oak trees.

Buried:
he died on September 4, 1942. His funeral was held at his home and was attended by a large number of his friends and relatives. He was. a longtime member of Carsley Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday School for many years. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Surry between Mary and Ruth under a grove of young oak trees.

Sidney married COTTON Mary Etta on 28 Jan 1892 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. Mary (daughter of COTTON William Madison and MADDERA Valeria Ann) was born on 30 May 1871; died on 11 May 1909; was buried in Surry, Surry County, VA (Oakwood Cemetary). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Etta was raised by Edmonia Collier and her husband John Harris, They are buried in Oakwood Cemetey, Surry, VA.

Notes:

Married:
This wedding announcement appeared in the newspaper in Waverly, Virginia on February 8,1892,

Surry Wedding-------A Former Resident of Waverly Takes a Life Partner
Union Church, Surry Co., was the scene of a beautiful marriage on the afternoon of Jan, 28 last. Mr. S. T. Johnson, a very popular young farmer, and Miss Mary Etta Cotton were the contracting parties. Mess. V. W. Emory, R.W. Spratley, Floyd I. Johnson, H. V. Faison, B. F. Wrenn, J. H. Rogers; and Misses K. T. Bishop, E. B. Emory, M. E. Johnson, Jennie Cotton, Mattie R. Atkinson, L. F. Faison, were waiters. The services were beautifully conducted by Rev. M. W. Butler. The bride was handsomely attired in a blue ladies cloth dress, tan kid gloves and hat to match costume. The bridal couple, with the waiters, repaired to the home of the groom's father, where a grand reception was given. We extend our best wishes and heart-felt congratulations to the newly married ones, and trust that that beautiful day was emblematical of their future life.

SCHOOLMATE:
The newlyweds, Sidney T. Johnson and M. Etta Cotton were my grandparents. Mary Etta Cotton, or Etta, as she preferred to be called, was 20 years old. Sidney had just turned 24. Two years before they were married, Sidney had bought the Marl Spring Farm, adjacent to the Mill Tract farm on which the Cotton girls lived. The manor house had burned down some time before, leaving only the little cabin in which the laundry was done. The young couple moved into the little laundry outbuilding while Sidney planned the new home he would build for his family on the ruins of the former manor house. Their first child, Ruth Olga, was bora in the tiny cabin in 1893. When my mother, Bertha May, was bom in 1895 there were two bedrooms, a dining room and a parlor completed. Four more children; MyraBell (1897), Albert Sidney (1899), Myrtie Lee (1902) and little HughThomas (1905), were bom in regular succession. All were healthy, lively children. Then disaster struck. Etta contracted Bright's disease, a term used to describe any one of several kidney problems which resulted in albumin in the urine. After a protracted illness lasting nearly two years, she died on May 11, 1909. She was not quite 38 years old. Her youngest child, Hugh, was only three years old. Sidney buried her in a small fenced-in enclosure under an apple tree in the orchard. I remember visiting her grave with my mother as a small child. Many years later, her remains were moved to Oakwood Cemetery in Surry Courthouse, and rest beside those of Sidney and his second wife Ruth Ella Rogers.

Courtship:

When Sidney T. Johnson bought the Marl Spring Farm from Eddie James in 1890, he probably took little notice of the family that lived on the adjacent farm, called the Mill Tract, which had once been the western half of a original plantation. It was then inhabited by Mr. and Mrs. William King and her three daughters Sarah Virginia Cotton, Cornelia Ann Cotton and Mary Etta Cotton. The father of the girls was William Madison Cotton, brother of Dr. Gary Cotton, who, we believe, before the Civil War, had been proprietor of the entire plantation. After the War, Dr. Cotton removed to Texas, and left his brother William in possession of the western half of the palntation, the Mill Tract. William Cotton died in 1883, partly as a result of the hardships suffered in four years at war,. Etta was 12 years old when he died. Her mother, Valeria, five years later, married another veteran of the Civil War, William King, who came to live with them. There were no additional children born from the marriage. More about this later.

We have a letter written to Sidney by his friend Vaiden W. Emory on May 5,1889 when he was 21 years old.
Williamsburg, Va. May 5,1889
Dear Sidney,
I received your letter of last week, and was very glad to hear from my old friend, but was sorry to know that you had hurt yourself. I hope you mil be solid as ever, and love your girl I suppose you feel quite badly, as your girl has knickedyou. I hardly know what to think of it, except that boys will be foolish after girls. I forgot myself, you are a man now, and feel at home with the ladies. You will feel more like a man when you begin to say, my dear, loving, sweet and affectionate Mary Jane or Susan. My girl is sweet as a peach, and looks like a candy doll. I was to see her not many days ago, and she said or told me, that I am very bashful, but she loves me the more for it. She is a daisy. I will tell you about her when I come home. I can do nothing scarcely, but think of her. Keep up your spirits.
We had holiday the 30th of April, and the first baseball club of the college played against the first nine of the town. The college nine beat 14 to 10.
We are going to Jamestown on the 13th of May. There will be a big crowd there that day. Speeches will be made by two students, and some of the professors. 1 anticipate a fine time. I wish you could be there. Our final celebration of the two societies will come on the 3rd of July. We will have a debate, declamations, or orations, and essayists. Col. Lamb of Norfolk will be our orator for the occasion. Three medals will be given by the societies to the best debater, orator and essayist. The final examinations will commence about the 1 Oth of June. I forgot one thing. On the 4th of July distinctions will be given to students, followed by a speechfrom Mr. Mumford, a member of the board of visitors. We will have a ball that night, and wind up the session with a jubilee. I would be glad to have you here, if it is possible for you to come. I will leave for home on the 5th, nothing preventing. It has been very rainy for the last month. Hope you are not sick and well. Give my best regards to all the family and to your girl. Write soon. May you ever live, and never die, but rest on a mountain that can't be seen by a Jay bird's eye.
Your old friend, V.W.E.
What can we learn from V. W. Emory's letter? First, Sidney was still working in the store in Waverly at the time. At least one of his friends was able to attend William and Mary College, but Sidney was either unable to afford it or not inclined to attend. College graduates were a rarity in those days. At age 21 chasing girls was clearly a very important part of his life. The girl friend referred to in the letter may, or may not have been, M Etta Cotton, who was 18 at the time.

Much more illuminating is a letter from M. E. Cotton a year later.

April 3,1891 Mr. Johnson
Kind Friend
I have just received your kind letters they come safte to hand the first day of April, and nothing could of gave me more pleasure than to hear from you. When I got them I thought they were April fools but I soon found out they were not, but I was surprised to see that it was from you for I had been down here so long I had begin to think that you had forgotten me, but I am glad to know that you have not. I got a letter from Ma that day too, but I am not going to answer it now. I will answer it next week. You talked as if you thought that I would not answer your letter if I got it, but whenever I tell you any thing you may just believe it.
You asked me about the song ballad. I have not wrote it of yet but 1 will write it off and send it to you the next time I write. I have not forgot to sing Way Down Upon the Swany River. I sing it and I think of the day we come from Sussex, oh what a pleasant trip I did have. I wish we could take another nice trip like that. You said something about the wide eye but I have not seen him but once since I have been down here, and that was last Sunday at Church, and just spoke to him and that was all end (?) he said to me. He would not of known me if he had not of seen me.
Well I will now tell you what a nice time I have had this rainy weather. The Jurdon girls has been to see me and a Miss Mathews and one or too others and I have been to Church once and to spend the day at a neighbors. I have had a very nice time and I am now shelling Peanuts. It has been raining every since. I have been down here so that we could not go any where.
You sent me too cards and asked me to accept of them as a token of your love. I will and will keep them in remembrance of you and you asked me not to forget what that little card said. I will not but I don't think you meant that. Well as is getting late and 1 have not any news to write I had as well to close my badly written letter but I will tell you what Mrs. Blackwell said You must come and she will entertain you. Well I will now say good night. This from a true friend.
M. E. Cotton Write soon excuse such a long letter, as my pen writes and don't show this to any one bad.

This is the only known letter from the hand of M. Etta Cotton. It is written in a neat and confident script, though the grammar indicates more enthusiasm than education behind it. Clearly, she and Sidney shared an interest in music. Etta seems to be the more accomplished of the two, though we know Sidney played the violin for dances and other occasions. The upright piano, which stood in parlor when I visited the Farm as a child, must have been Etta's, because I never heard anyone else play it. The letter gives no place of origin, but it appears to be from some place other than the farm she grew up on, which was adjacent to Sidney's newly acquired place. She may have been at a boarding school, or staying at the home of a relative. Their courtship appears to be still at an early stage. Etta seems not quite certain of how sincere Sidney's intentions are. She gives him ample reason for encouragement without going overboard about it. She writes as one would talk, using the local idiom naturally. Years later her oldest daughter, Ruth, would write similarly chatty letters, effortlessly letting you know all that was going on. From this I would deduce that she was a cheerful soul with a great capacity for friendship. She was remembered by her children as a loving woman and was greatly beloved by all who knew her.
We have only one picture of her, probably taken at the time of her wedding. She has a lovely face. It is no wonder Sidney fell in love with her.

There is one more letter from Sidney to Etta, written before they were married, which has survived.
My Dearest Etta,
You cannot imagine my grief at what I am going to tell you. It -was my intention to have told you last night but I hated to tell you so I will write to you according to promise. I have to ask your consent to put our marriage off until about the last of January owing to peanuts being so law just at this time, the prospects are that they will be worth a great deal more after Xmas. I hate very much to sell any at the present prices. But at the same time, if you are not willing to put it off I will do the best I can. I know you are a good girl and would not have me do anything to my disadvantage. I was looking forward to the time with pleasure, but owing to circumstances I think it best to postpone it until the time mentioned. Answer this this evening, and get one of the boys to bring it over here tonight after they stop work. I hope your cold has gotten better. I will be over there tomorrow night if nothing prevents. Now do not think that I want to put it off because of anything on your part, for that is certainly not the case. I love you more than ever and am not dissatisfied with my bargain. Write me a sweet little letter like the sweet little girl you are, and tell me just what you think.
It looks as if things are working against our happiness but it will not always be so. You need not stop getting ready, because things may change and we will not have to wait as long as that.
Do not forget that I love you better than I do my own self, and am ready to sacrifice any thing that will add to your happiness in the future.
I remain your loving Sidney
Dec. 15th 1891 P.S.
Do not let any one see this letter. S.T.J.

Everything seems to have worked out, they were married on January 28,1892, just six weeks later.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alt. Burial: Surry County, VA (Rogers Family Cemetary, Off Rt.40)
• Alt. Name: David Paten Jphnson
• Name: David Paten
• Reference Number: 672
• Military: 2 May 1862; Confederate Army
• Census: 1900, Guilford, Surry, Virginia
• Census: 1910, Guilford, Surry, Virginia

Notes:

Patin is also possibly the spelling (Pattie Arwood 1-3-204)

I am very much interested in seeing if the Beverly Booth connection would qualify me for the Jamestown Society. He is my DAR ancestor through his daughter Mary E. who married John C. Rogers. Her daughter married David Payton Johnson, my great-grandfather and Confederate ancestor. I'd be interested in any information you might have.

Can you connect the Rogers line to the Revolution? My other Surry lines are Maddera, Sledge, Cotton and Hobbs. There are a couple of others but I'm not sure if they were widows or if the names were maiden names.

Look forward to hearing from you soon! Pat Hall
.......................................................
There was a small Bible with "Edmon Johnson's book, July the 17th, 1832" in his hand writing inside the back cover and "Surry Bible Society" and "David P. Johnson" inside the front cover...Information from William Adler Fox and Bertha Johnson Bartlett:

EIGHTH GENERATION
37 1 DAVID PATEN JOHNSON, son of (28 1), was born on August 5, 1840. His early life must have been spent in a busy household with his half-brothers and sisters growing up around him. He and his father and these brothers undoubtedly worked the same plots of land along the county line and Blackwater River that had been worked by previous generations of Johnsons.

In 1862, war came to Virginia and Surry County and David enlisted in Martin's Battery, Company "B" 12th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery, commanded by Captain S. T. Martin. His enlistment occurred 01 May 3, 1862, in Richmond. Also serving in his and other Surry County units were many of his present or future relatives, including his half-brother Randolph. He was almost immediately detailed as a teamster for his battalion which was with General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Early in the war, his unit had been stationed at Fort Clifton Franklin, and along the Blackwater River. At about the time that his unit was engaged in battle with Butler's forces in Chesterfield County, he was detached from his unit and detailed as a courier to Major F. J. Boggs, Battalion Commander. At some point during the final months of the war, Private Johnson was taken prisoner by Union forces and was held until he was paroled on April 16, 1865, and allowed to return home. It is said that under the terms of the surrender he was allowed to keep his horse but that it died on the way back to Surry and he had to walk the rest of the way.
He returned home and soon began courting Mahala Elizabeth Rogers, who lived on a farm close to his father's. They were married at her home, Pleasant Hill Farm, on January 29, 1867, and went to live and work their farm of about 100 acres on Route 612 between Carsley and Route kQ. Some of this land was given to them by Mahaley's mother, Mary Booth Rogers. Roads in the county were more intensive then than they are now and maps of the era show several Johnson farms and have references to a "Johnson's Mill" and "Johnson's Bridge." These places are now overgrown with forest and no one remembers to whom they belonged. David and Mahaley built a modest farmhouse and had their first child, Sidney, on January 20, 1868. He was followed by seven brothers and sisters between then and 1885. The death of his sister, Mary Elizabeth, in 1893 brought great sorrow to the family as she was a lovely girl of but 23 who was shortly to be married. The Johnsons were a strong family, it appears, as eight healthy children were raised when infant mortality was high due to epidemics. Within a few years after the turn of the century, all of the children had married. Granddaughter Bertha Johnson remembers visits to her grandparents at their farm, these always lasted all day as a six mile drive in a "surrey with the fringe on top" was required to get there. Their house was a one-and-a-half story with a parlor that David had added. The kitchen was detached from the house and as this was before the era of the screen door, Mahaley always had trouble keeping the chickens out. For the same reason, someone would have to stand over the table at mealtime and wave a "shoo-fly" (paper streamers crimped onto a reed) to keep the flies away. Mahaley is remembered as a stern and statuesque woman who was as vigorous as she was durable. As Bertha recalls, "What she knew, she knew. She was set in her ways." Her husband, in contrast, was a quiet, gentle, and genteel man. He was a teetotaler except for a glass of.homemade blackberry wine that he would accept after the ride to see his son, Sidney, at Marl Spring. In later years, David was sometimes sickly and he blamed his illnesses on months of poor conditions in prison camps during the Civil War. He died at home on August 12, 1919, and was buried near his farm. His wife inherited the farm but sold it shortly afterward and went to live with her son, Sidney, and his family. On a visit to her son, Asa, in Petersburg she contracted pneumonia and died on May 8, 1923. She was buried beside her husband and daughter, Mary Elizabeth.
ISSUE
39 1 SIDNEY THOMAS      b. 1868 d. 1942:
               m. 1892 Mary Etta Cotton
               m. 1911 Ruth Ella Rogers
2 MARY ELIZABETH      b. l870 d. 1893
3 FLOYD IMAN           b. l872      m. 1993 Annie C. Rogers d. 1915
4 WILDER LEE           b. 1874      m. 1912 Dora Self d.
5 JOSEPH FRANKLIN      b. l876 m. Edmonia Collier d. 1943
6 ASA BERNARD           b. l879 m. 1906 Cornelia A. Harrison d.
7 PATTIE MAY           b. 1882 m. 1905 J. Thomas Holdsworth d. 1932
46 8 JOHN ROGERS      b. 1885 m. 1911 Nannie C. Rogers d.

Nat Sturdivant

Some Recollections of Him and of His Capture in Front of Petersburg

To the Editor of the Dispatch:

I have seen something in your Confederate column about one of the brave captains of the old Twelfth Battalion of Virginia Light Artillery, Nat Sturdivant. I was personally acquainted with Sturdivant and was a member of the Battalion. I endorse what Mr. Shifflett has written. I was an eye-witness to a good part of what he has related. I don't think he or any other man can say too much for that brave man.
At the time of the Seven Days' fighting in front of Richmond our battalion was at old Camp Lee and Sturdivant's battery and S. T. Martin's battery, of which the writer was a member, were not equipped for service, but we were ordered to the front all the same.
I don't know just where Studivant's company was sent, but I was on picket duty between Richmond and the battlefields. That was in the summer of 1862.
In May, 1864, when General Grant landed his troops at City Point, and our small force held Petersburg. I was acting as courier for the commanding officer of our battalion, F. J. Boggs and was sent on that memorable day to carry a dispatch to Sturdivant. I road down the City Point road to our lines, and knew not where to find the Captain until I met with R. A. Pryor. He told me where Sturdivant was and I crossed the road leading to Prince George Courthouse and upon the hill at ___(looks like 205) battery, I found Studivant.
I went back to Petersburg and that night Captain Sturdivant and his men stood to their guns and fired at the enemy until they broke through our lines and took him prisoner. After he was exchanged, he was promoted to the rank of major of that battalion, and Captain Boggs was sent to some other command. The last time I remember to have seen Major Sturdivant was on Sunday morning , April 9, 1865, when he gave me a piece of Old Virginia bacon and bread to eat between Appomattox Courthouse and Lynchburg.
D. P. JOHNSON
Carsley, Va.

Military:
David Peyton Johnson served in the Civil War in Martin's Battery (CO. B, 12th Battalion Virginia Light Artillery) detailed as a battalion wagon driver then later detached as a courier for Major Boggs.

Census:

1900 United States Federal Census about David Johnson
Name:      David Johnson
Age:      59
Birth Date:      Aug 1840
Birthplace:      Virginia
Home in 1900:      Guildford, Surry, Virginia
Race:      White
Gender:      Male
Relation to Head of House:      Head
Marital Status:      Married
Spouse's Name:      Mahala Johnson
Marriage Year:      1867
Years Married:      33
Father's Birthplace:      Virginia
Mother's Birthplace:      Virginia
Occupation: Farmer

Census:

1910 United States Federal Census about David D Johnson
Name:      David D Johnson
Age in 1910:      70
Birth Year:      abt 1840
Birthplace:      Virginia
Home in 1910:      Guilford, Surry, Virginia
Race:      White
Gender:      Male
Relation to Head of House:      Head
Marital Status:      Married
Spouse's Name:      Mahala E Johnson
Father's Birthplace:      Virginia
Mother's Birthplace:      Virginia
Neighbors:      View others on page
Household Members:     
Name      Age
David D Johnson      70
Mahala E Johnson      65
Jack R Johnson      25 (listed as Son)

David married ROGERS Mahala Elizabeth on 29 Jan 1867 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. Mahala (daughter of ROGERS John Clark, Sr. and BOOTH Mary Ellis) was born on 20 Sep 1844 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; died on 8 May 1923; was buried in Surry County, VA (Johnson Family Cemetary). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alt. Burial: Surry County, VA (Rogers Family Cemetary, Off Rt.40)
• Reference Number: 671

Notes:

Update on names Pattie Arwood (1-3-2004)

Notes:

Married:
married at Pleasant Hill farm

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Teacher
• Lived(s) In: 1860, Cabin Point, Surry County, VA.; Cabin Point
• Military: 1861-1865, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; Civil War Veteran

Notes:

Birth:
William Madison Cotton was bom June 3, 1826, according to the inscription on his tombstone, in Sussex County, Virgina. His parents were William Henry Cotton and Sarah "Sally" Weathers Parsons. The other children in the family were Albert R. Cotton, Caroline Cotton and Gary Cotton.

Occupation:
William Madison Cotton is said to have been a teacher, but where and of what we do not know.

Lived(s) In:
William and Valeria began their life together on the tract which makes up the western half of the Marl Spring Farm, known as the Mill Tract, and later as the Grubbs place. It consisted of nearly 200 acres of woods and fields, most of which had probably become overgrown through years of neglect. It is not clear how they came to own the land. One story is that it had belonged to William's brother, Dr. Gary Cotton, who removed to Texas after the War and left the property to his brother. There were no dwellings remaining on the land, and William and Valeria built a log cabin, which was to serve them as a home for many years.

We know that William Cotton and his young wife Valeria settled on the Mill Tract on the New Design Road as reported earlier. In 1870 the value of their farm is given as a very modest $400 and their personal estate as $100. From the sequence of visitations shown in the report of the Census of 1870, it appears that Eldridge Maddera, his wife Mary, and five children: Mary 18, Eldridge 15, Adelia 13, George 9 and an infant 2 lived next door, perhaps on The Marl Spring Farm. Eldridge's occupation is listed as "lumber dealer". This is confirmed by Valeria's recollection many years later that her father operated a sawmill. No value of land and personal estate is given.

Military:
Sgt. in the Calvary
William Madison Cotton, like Eldridge Maddera, had been a member of Captain Travis W. Taylor's Surry Cavaly company since long before the Civil War. I have a book which belonged to William Cotton, The Army and Navy of America: Containing a View of the Heroic Adventure, Battles, Naval Engagements, Remarkable Incidents, and Glorious Achievements in the Cause of Freedom, from the Period of the French and Indian Wars to the Close of the Florida War; Independant of an Account of Warlike Operations on Land and Sea; Enlivened by a Variety of the Most Interesting Anecdotes; and Splendidly Embellished with Numerous Engravements. By Jacob K. Neff, M.D. Published by J. K Pearsall & Co. 1845. In the front is written,'William M. Cotton, Born Aug.
6(26?), 1826. On the second page is written, Win. M. Cotton's Book.......Price $1.00.......sold by J. D. Thornton who is agent for.................June 1,1847. William Cotton would have been 19 years
old when he bought this book, and there is little reason to doubt that his acquisition of it coincided with his initiation into the prestigious ranks of the Surry Cavalry.
As noted earlier, when the Civil War broke out, William Cotton and Eldridge Maddera had both enlisted as privates in the Surry Cavalry on April 20 1861, only eight days after the beginning of the bombardment of Fort Sumpter. The Surry Cavalry was designated as Company E, 5th Regiment Virginia Cavalry, attached to the 3rd Regiment Virginia Infantry. Together they saw bloody action on many a field of battle. In Sept./Oct. 1862, Company K, 13 Regiment Virginia Cavalry was formed up under Captain Samuel H. Burt and assigned to dashing Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's famed Cavalry Division of the Army of Northern Virginia. William Cotton was appointed 2nd Sergeant of the new Company K and Eldridge Maddera its 2nd Lieutenant. They participated in nearly every major battle in the eastern theater of the War from then until the end of the War. They were at "the greatest cavalry battle of the War, which took place on June 9,1863, at Brandy Station, seven miles north of Culpepper Court House. The battle lasted , without let-up, for twelve hours, as Rebel cavalrymen under Stuart and Union cavalrymen under Pleasanton, slashed at each other with sabers and fired their pistols at point blank range." (Story County at War 1861 -1865; Willis W. Bohannan; p. 41)
Sgt Cotton had his horse shot out from under him in a skirmish with the enemy at Brandy Ford on April 15,1863, and lost all his equipment as well He was reimbursed $300 for his horse and $50 to replace his equipment.
On March 28, 1864 Sgt Cotton was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, VA suffering from 'Rubeola'. On April 22, 1864 he was transferred to the Episcopal Church Hospital at Williamsburg, VA suffering from 'debilitas'. From there he was transferred May 7,1864 to General Hospital in Petersburg still suffering from 'debilitas'. He did not return to duty until September 12,1864, at which time he assumed his old position as Sgt. of Company K for the long struggle to defend Petersburg. On April 2, 1865 Lee finally abandoned Petersburg and began the retreat to Appomattox, where he surrendered to Grant eight days later.
Sgt. Cotton's name appears as a signature to a "Parole of Prisoners of War, given in accordance with the terms of capitulation agreed upon between General Grant and General Lee, on the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, April 9,1865. He was paroled at Southamton, VA on April 30, 1865. Under the terms of surrender, cavalrymen who owned their own horses were permitted to keep them and return home. We have no record, but we have no reason to believe William Cotton did not return home with his horse.

William married MADDERA Valeria Ann on 19 Dec 1866 in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. Valeria (daughter of MADDERA Eldridge Anmstrit, Sr. and SLEDGE Mary Pocahontas) was born on 5 Oct 1848 in Spring Grove, Surry County, Va; died on 25 Jun 1950 in Surry, Surry County, VA; was buried in Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Lived(s) In: 1900, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States; Census of 1900

Notes:

Lived(s) In:
Mill Track Farm
The Census of 1900 shows Valeria King, a widow, as head of a household. Her daughter Cornelia Ann "Annie", age 22, and her husband Morton Algernon Grubbs, 27, from Allegany County, Pennsylvania, lived with her, still on the Mill Tract. The Grubbs built a new two story house and presumably Algy Grubbs ran the farm. From that time on the Mill Tract became known as "the Grubbs Place". Algy and Annie Grubbs both died in the great flu epidemic of 1918.

Notes:

Married:
His daughter, Valeria Ann, barely 18, a year after the war ended, married his first sergeant in Company K, William M. Cotton, whose story we have already told.