Monday, November 2, 2015

Mystery Monday~Did Tobias A. Honeycutt Die in the Civil War?

 
Tobias A. Huneycutt is my 2nd Great Grand Uncle. He is the second born son of Marcus I. Huneycutt and his wife Charity Dry.
 
Tobias A. Huneycutt was born about 1824 in Montgomery County, North Carolina. He is first listed by name as a child of Marcus and Charity in 1850 census for Stanly County. His age is listed as 23 years.1
 
1850 CENSUS: Furrs, Stanly County, North Carolina; Roll: M432_645; Image: 82, Page: 38B; Line 28, Dwelling 542, Family 545; Mark HONEYCUTT, male, age 53, born in NC; Charity HONEYCUTT, female, [wife], age 47, born in NC; Tobias HONEYCUTT, male, age 23, born in NC; William R. HONEYCUTT, male, age 21, born in NC; Sarah HONEYCUTT, female, age 19, born in NC; James HONEYCUTT, male, age 17, born in NC; Martin HONEYCUTT, male, age 14, born in NC; Elizabeth HONEYCUTT, female, age 12, born in NC and Beada HONEYCUTT, female, age 8, born in NC. 
 
On November 7, 1852 Tobias A. Huneycutt married Elizabeth Mariam ‘Mary Ann’ Huneycutt. Elizabeth Mariam ‘Mary Ann’ Huneycutt, was born Nov. 16, 1832, a daughter of Andrew Jackson Huneycutt and Mary Ann Crayton.2
 
At census time in 1860, Tobias and Mary Ann family had grown to seven, with five children ranging in age from infant to seven years of age. He had moved the family from Stanly County to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The census shows his occupation as “Watchman at Depot” and the value of his personal estate at $150.00; not bad for a young and growing family.3
 
Then in January 1861, shots fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina started what was to be known as “The War of Succession”; better known as the Civil War.

For three years, Tobias managed to elude the war; staying at home caring for his family. Two new additions were added in these three years; both daughters. 

On 1 January 1864 , Tobias enlisted for the war, with Capt. E. D. Snead’s Co. Battalion Prison Guard Infantry.4 5
 
His muster roll for July – August 1864, (posted below) shows in the remarks column that Tobias “Died Aug. 15th, 64”.6
 
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Consulting the NC encyclopedia of data for North Carolina civil war veterans – “NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS: 1861-1865” we find the following entry in Volume 19, page 251:7
 
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HONEYCUTT, TOBIAS, Private
                Enlisted at Salisbury at age 40, January 1, 1864, for the war.
Reported present in May-June 1864. Hospitalized at Salisbury.
Died in hospital in Salisbury on August 23, 1864, of “remit[tent}
fever.”
 
So now we have two sources with two different dates for the death of Tobias Honeycutt during the Civil War. 
 
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1870, Mecklenburg Co., NC
With the expectations of finding Tobias’s widow – Elizabeth “Mary Ann” Huneycutt and the five children I was surprised to find this 1870 census entry. 
 

Didn’t we just say the Tobias died in Aug 1864 at Salisbury, NC? So how is it that here in 1870, he is back from the war and living with his family. 
 
Two documents suggests that Tobias Huneycutt died in August 1864 at Salisbury, NC.
· July-August Civil war Muster Roll
· NC Troops: 1861-1865

Analysis of the entry for Tobias in the 1870 Census also supports the facts that he was alive in 1870.
· Tobias, age 40 on the muster roll in Aug 1864 would be 46 in 1870 when the Census were enumerated.
· Tobias was married to Elizabeth in 1860 and 1870. 
 
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1860 Mecklenburg Co., NC
clip_image002[4]
1870 Mecklenburg Co. , NC


Except for no change in Elizabeth age; all evidence point to Tobias being alive and surviving the Civil War.

So, Let me hear from you my readers;
  • Did Tobias Honeycutt die in August 1864?
  • or
  • Did he survive the Civil War and pass away sometime between 1870 and 1880?

UPDATE:
After writing this post I have found that there are two Tobias Honeycutt's. Tobias A., son of Marcus and Charity, did not served in the Civil War and did not die at Salisbury.  


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[1] 1850 Census, Stanly County, North Carolina, population schedule, Furrs, Stanly County, North Carolina, Page: 38B; Line 28, Dwelling 542, Family 545, Household of Mark HONEYCUTT; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 31 July 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, Roll 645.
[2] "North Carolina, Marriages Index, 1741-2011," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 5 June 1015), Elizabeth M Hunnycutt and Tobian A Hunnycutt, Marriage Date: 7 Nov 1852.
[3] 1860 U. S. Census, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, population schedule, Western Division, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Page: 125 (stamped); Line 7, Dwelling 1321, Family 1992, Household of Tobias HONEYCUTT; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 5 June 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M653, Roll 906.
[4] Louis H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster (Raleigh, North Carolina: Office of Archives and History, 2013), Vol. 19, page 251, TOBIAS HUNEYCUTT.
[5] TOBIAS HONEYCUTT, compiled military record (Capt. Snead's Company (Local Defense) NC; Formerly Company C, Salisbury Prison Guard Battalion), U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, Biographical Rosters of Florida's Soldiers 1861-1865 (Provo, Utah: www.ancestry.com), N/A.
[6] https://www.fold3.com/image/57021918
[7] Louis H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster (Raleigh, North Carolina: Office of Archives and History, 2013), Vol. 19, page 251, TOBIAS HUNEYCUTT
[8] 1860 U. S. Census, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, population schedule, Western Division, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Page: 125 (stamped); Line 7, Dwelling 1321, Family 1992, Household of Tobias HONEYCUTT; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed 5 June 2015); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M653, Roll 906.
[9] 1870 Census, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, population schedule, Charlotte City Ward 2, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, Page: 73A (stamped); Line 32, Dwelling 112, Family 113, Household of Tobias Huneycutt; online database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : viewed`15 Aug 2015 ); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M593, Roll 1148.




























1 comment:

  1. Thank you! You may have helped me solve a problem--in addition to clearing up the Civil War records. I'm a descendant of Margaret, a daughter of Tobias and Elizabeth Mary Ann. Family records show the lineage going back to Jamestown, and then back to England to the 1450s, with possible records going back much further. In validating the family records, it seemed to have the wrong father for Tobias--not Andrew--making all the prior records wrong. Reading your note made me realize Elizabeth Mary Ann seemed to have had Honeycutt as her maiden name--probably cousins. It seems she was Andrew's daughter and our lineage is correct after all.

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