by Charles Jefferson "Jeff" George
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Jefferson and Mary George were my great-grandparents. I have in my possession a large number of original letters and documents belonging to both Jefferson George and his father Charles Noden George. These letters and documents date from 1814 through the early 1900’s. Many were written during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
Jefferson and Mary George – About 1885
Jefferson George was born on November 30, 1836 in Blount County, Tennessee. He was the youngest of eight children born to Charles Noden George (1791-1869) and Celia Smith George (1794-1885). Charles Noden George was in the War of 1812 and served as Quartermaster under the command of General Andrew Jackson in 1814 at Ft. Strother, now in Alabama. One of the surviving papers in my possession is signed by Andrew Jackson.
As a young soldier in the Civil War, Jefferson served in the Confederate Army in Co. D, 25th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry. His regiment moved back and forth across South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, and was involved in several skirmishes and small battles. Jefferson’s father, Charles Noden, veteran of the War of 1812, was about 70 years old when the Civil War started. Being patriotic to the cause, he also enlisted and served in the same regiment with Jefferson. However, he was discharged for disability after a few months and returned home. Jefferson had two older brothers, Washington George and Lafayette George, also Confederate soldiers. The two brothers were killed in battle near Winchester, VA in September 1864. Although Jefferson survived the war, he had been captured by Union forces in July 1864 at Petersburg, VA. He was sent to Elmira, NY, where he was released in July 1865. He returned home to the hills of western North Carolina and married his sweetheart, Mary Elizabeth Young on October 17, 1865. During the war, he wrote at least 26 letters to Mary. These were mostly love letters, but they contain interesting descriptions of miserable living conditions in the camps and references to the ongoing war.
Mary Elizabeth Young was born April 12, 1841 in Valleytown, Cherokee Co., NC. She was the fourth-born of ten children of J. Tarpley Young (1804-1885) and Mira V. McFalls Young (1817-1903). Mary had two brothers, Julius Milton Young and George Henderson Young, both serving in the same regiment with Jefferson George during the Civil War. The names of these brothers are mentioned in the letters that Jefferson wrote to Mary during the war. George Young was killed, but there are six letters he wrote his sister Mary before he died.
Jefferson and Mary had seven children, all born in Cherokee County in the Great Smoky Mountains area of far western North Carolina. Jefferson farmed here for many years in this beautiful, but not always fertile land. Although Jefferson had several sisters, he was the only surviving son, and courthouse records name him in numerous legal transactions pertaining to the estate of his parents, as well as his own legal deeds and transactions. After Charles Noden George died in 1869, his wife Celia came to live with her son Jefferson and daughter-in-law Mary. With her, she brought her old letters and documents, including many of her husband’s papers from the War of 1812.
Jefferson and Mary’s children were: Charles Lafayette, who married Dora Waldroup; Caroline Eleanor (Ellen), who married William Brittain; Iowa Elizabeth (Ida), who married Charles Lisle Thwing; Lula May, who married O. Leroy Wright; James Robinson (Bob), who married Margie Frances Millard; Thomas Worth, who died in infancy; and William Cross, who married first Ruby Padgett and second Ida Thrasher.
Jefferson died at age 50 on June 6, 1887, leaving a blind widow and his children ranging from ages 21 down to 4. Mary lost her eyesight in the early 1880’s and was totally blind for over 50 years until her death on July 31, 1939 at age 98. Mary had continued living in North Carolina for many years after her husband’s death. She then lived in Oklahoma briefly with her oldest son, Charles L. George. From about 1918 or 1919 to her death in 1939, she lived with her son, James Robinson George and his wife, Margie, in Rio Hondo, Texas. She had also brought all of her old letters and documents with her, including the family Bibles of Jefferson and Charles Noden. Mary was said to be cheerful and had a good sense of humor. She enjoyed listening to the radio to keep up with current events and was outspoken in her dislike of Hitler. She had a good memory and a sharp mind to the end of her life.
Submitted by Charles Jefferson (Jeff) George,
Great-Grandson of Jefferson and Mary George. Midland, Texas, August, 2000.
© 2000 Charles Jefferson George, Midland, TX