In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

Isaac Carter filed this affidavit, along with those previously transcribed here, with his original pension claim form. If you have been following the testimony, you will note that this affidavit includes some additional supporting details which enhance the timeline of events. If not, you can follow the transcriptions of this Civil War Pension File by clicking on the page tag above. NOTE: The specific details that did not come out in the full testimony of Isaac's comrades and neighbors are highlighted in yellow. Document #23: Affidavit: Isaac Carter, 10 May 1892 State of North Carolina) County of Craven         ) In matter of original Invalid claim No. 662812 of Isaac Carter Late Sergeant of Co. B & G 14 Regt U.S.C. H Arty on this 10th Day of May A.D. 1892 Personally appeared before me a Notary Public for and Within the County and State afore said, Isaac Carter age 51 years Resident Harlow Craven Co. N.C. well known to be Reputable and Entitled...

Domument #22 is an affidavit sworn by Rufus L. Carter, Isaac Carter's first cousin.  You can see from the pedigree to the left how they are connected within the Carter Family Tree. The only difference I can see in testimony between Rufus L. Carter and other affiants is that during the time he spent with Isaac Carter in Carolina City, they stayed in a tent. This was reportedly during the Fall of 1864, while the time when they reportedly had worked and slept in the winter elements was in November of the same year. This was sworn testimony by his comrade, Samuel Keach Windley. Sharper Williams , also of his same Company, stated that in February 1865 he was in the hospital and treated by the Surgeon. While the onset of his illness was in  November 1864, he was hospitalized during February 1865...from Fall through the winter months. Below is the exact transcription of Document #22, sworn by Isaac Carter's first cousin, Rufus L. Carter. Any spelling or punctuation errors are a...

Before we get started today, I just want to let you know that I have updated the Civil War Pension File page on the blog. Here I have each post listed by three criteria: the document number, the type of document (claim, affidavit, correspondence, or analysis), and the person responding. I hope you'll take a look and follow the links to previous posts related to the Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter. The next document I'm sharing is abstracted below, based on salient information that can be used for writing a character description in the family history memoir. It is interesting to see how Isaac's disability was broken down into fractions. Take a look... Document #20 in the Civil War Pension File of Isaac Carter is a medical report and Surgeon's Certificate for a physical examination performed on March 23, 1892 in Beaufort, Carteret, North Carolina, by J. B. Davis, U.S. Ex'g Surg. From this document we find that Isaac, at the age of 51, stood five feet...

The response to my query arrived seven days ago...but because I have been so busy with other things, I just now found what I was looking for. Thanks to Victor Jones, Jr. at the Kellenberger Room , I now have the obituary for Samuel Keach Windley, who had testified on behalf of Isaac Carter's Civil War Pension Application. I say the mystery is solved ...perhaps only so far as to give a glimpse of who he became following the war. Below is a transcription of his obituary. You will note that a further mystery is about to unfold...but most likely will remain a mystery unless anyone privy to the results of a coroner's inquest released information in another location. Take a look... Foul Play Suspected Samuel Keach Windley, a negro Baptist preacher residing in Rei- zensteinville, died early yesterday morning. It appears that Samuel found his life in a compromising position a short while ago; and since that time he has been failing in health, until his death. It was suspec...