Thomas J. Vestal1

b. circa 1847
FatherJay Vestal1
MotherHannah Johnson1 b. abt 1812
BirthCircacirca 1847 Thomas J. Vestal was born in Virginia circa 1847.1 
Military31 Jan 1864  Thomas enlisted as a private in Company H. of the 37th Virginia Infantry in early 1864. He was captured at Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12, 1864 and was held prisoner at Ft. Delaware, Delaware. He was released over a year later, on June 21, 1865 and was described at the time as 5 feet 10 inches tall with dark skin, hair and eyes.2 
Cens-18805 Jun 1880  After the war Thomas married and lived for some time in Virginia where he and his wife Martha had a daughter Flora about 1867. In the early 1870s they moved to Missouri where their daughter Ettie was born about 1874. The family was recorded farming in Morgan County, Missouri in 1880.3 
  Thomas's sister Elizabeth Jane Edmondson and her husband Robert also settled in Morgan County. 
Cens-190021 Jun 1900  During the late 1880s Thomas and Martha migrated further west, settling in California. In 1900 they were enumerated farming in Mendocino County. The couple had been married 32 years. Martha's entry indicated that she had given birth to 6 children, but only 3 were living. Two of those children had been born in California, son Burnam in 1887 and daughter Blissom [?] in 1890.4 

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Last Edited20 Nov 2010

Citations

  1. [S367] Hannah Vestal household, 1850 U.S. Census, Washington Co., VA, pop. sched., District 67, p. following 120 stamped, dwelling 798, family 798, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Sept. 2010. Household included: Hannah 34, b. NC; Simon 18; Nancy A. 16; Elizabeth 15; Priscilla 14; Dorcas 9; Henry 11; Robert 7; Thomas 3; all b. VA.
  2. [S2425] "Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Belonging to Units From Virginia," digital images, Footnote.com (http://www.footnote.com : accessed Sept. 2010); Thomas J. Vestal, private, Co. H., 37th Virginia Infantry.
  3. [S2494] Thomas J. Vestal household, 1880 U.S. cens., Morgan Co., MO, pop. sched., Moreau township, ED 197, page 5A (p. 265 stamped), dwelling 39, family 40, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Sept. 2010. Household included: Thomas J. Vestal, 34, farmer, b. VA/NC/TN; Martha E., 34, b. VA/VA/VA; Flora A., 13, dau, b. VA; Ettie, 6, dau, b. MO.
  4. [S2495] Thomas J. Vestal household, 1900 U.S. cens., Mendocino Co., California, pop. sched., Anderson township, ED 64, sheet 5B, dwelling 113, family 114, viewed online at Ancestry.com, Sept. 2010. Household includes: Thomas J. Vestal, 57, b. May 1843, b. VA/NC/TN, marr 32 yrs, farmer; Martha E., wife, 51, b. Jan. 1848, marr 32 yrs, mother of 6 children, 3 are living, b. VA/VA/VA; Burnam, son, 12, b. Nov. 1887 CA; Blissom [?], dau, 9, b. Sept. 1890 CA.