Individual Details
William Columbus McCleskey
(June 9, 1846 - January 14, 1930)
"W. C. McCluskey served as a private of Company F, 8th Regiment Alabama Cavalry, Confederate States Army. The date and place of his entry into service not shown. He was surrendered at Citronella, Alabama, by Lieutenent General R. Taylor, C. S. A., to Major General E. R. S. Canby, U. S. A., 4 May 1865 and paroled at Gainesville, Alabama, 14 May 1865." (Department of the Army, Office of the Adjutant General, Washington, DC.)
When W. C. McCleskey decided to move his family to Texas (in December 1880), before leaving Alabama, he built a substantial three foot rock fence around the graves of his family, who would forever stay in Alabama. He was the family genealogist and knew all the names of his relatives, living and dead. He knew when and where they were born, and the dates of death if they were gone. I'm sure he left that land with tears in his eyes, remembering the war and the many people he'd loved so dearly and would never see again.
Great Granddaughter, V. J. (Perkins) Kemper Horn, recalls: "I remember Granddad's long white beard ... I was real young when he'd come to visit us in Abilene after Grandmother's death. I loved to sit in his lap ... we'd rock on the front porch swing, and he'd tell me stories and sing beautiful sad songs to me. He had a wonderful deep bass voice and his favorite songs were "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." I'd usually cry, but I'd always want him to sing them again. He was the first to sing Wayfaring Stranger to me and I've loved it ever since, many people in the family had beautiful voices, but no one ever sang it as beautifully as he did. My Granddad died January 14, 1930. I remember going to the funeral, we drove from Abilene to Dublin ... it was so bitter cold. The cars back then didn't have heaters so we heated all the bricks and rocks we could find, wrapped them in cloth and tucked them around our feet to keep warm on our long trip."
Information about the family of W. C. McCleskey came from family records, obituaries, etc.
When W. C. McCleskey decided to move his family to Texas (in December 1880), before leaving Alabama, he built a substantial three foot rock fence around the graves of his family, who would forever stay in Alabama. He was the family genealogist and knew all the names of his relatives, living and dead. He knew when and where they were born, and the dates of death if they were gone. I'm sure he left that land with tears in his eyes, remembering the war and the many people he'd loved so dearly and would never see again.
Great Granddaughter, V. J. (Perkins) Kemper Horn, recalls: "I remember Granddad's long white beard ... I was real young when he'd come to visit us in Abilene after Grandmother's death. I loved to sit in his lap ... we'd rock on the front porch swing, and he'd tell me stories and sing beautiful sad songs to me. He had a wonderful deep bass voice and his favorite songs were "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." I'd usually cry, but I'd always want him to sing them again. He was the first to sing Wayfaring Stranger to me and I've loved it ever since, many people in the family had beautiful voices, but no one ever sang it as beautifully as he did. My Granddad died January 14, 1930. I remember going to the funeral, we drove from Abilene to Dublin ... it was so bitter cold. The cars back then didn't have heaters so we heated all the bricks and rocks we could find, wrapped them in cloth and tucked them around our feet to keep warm on our long trip."
Information about the family of W. C. McCleskey came from family records, obituaries, etc.
Events
| Birth | June 9, 1846 | Hall County, Georgia | |||
| Marriage | August 30, 1866 | Marshall County, Alabama - Dorothy Jane Eleanor Dulin | |||
| Death | January 14, 1930 | Erath County, Texas | |||
| Burial | Lower Green's Creek Cemetery, near Dublin, Erath County, Texas |
Families
| Spouse | Dorothy Jane Eleanor Dulin (1844 - 1925) |
| Child | Mary Eldorado "Rhoda" McCleskey (1867 - 1936) |
| Child | Celia Ulmer McCleskey (1869 - 1947) |
| Child | Benjamin Milton "Mitt" McCleskey (1872 - 1948) |
| Child | Infant McCleskey (1874 - 1874) |
| Child | Infant McCleskey (1874 - 1874) |
| Child | Susan Burilla McCleskey (1875 - 1967) |
| Child | Harriet Louise "Lou" McCleskey (1877 - 1894) |
| Child | Willie Essie McCleskey (1880 - 1908) |
| Child | Catherine Timmons "Timmie" McCleskey (1882 - 1969) |
| Child | Effie John "Johnnie" Bertha McCleskey (1884 - 1970) |
| Child | Ventura Vanella "Tura" McCleskey (1887 - 1976) |
| Father | David Milton McCleskey (1816 - 1850) |
| Mother | Mary Thirza "Polly" Ulmer (1825 - 1868) |
| Sibling | Harriett Louise "Louesa" McCleskey (1844 - 1929) |
| Sibling | David Henderson "Red Dave" McCleskey IV (1848 - 1917) |
| Sibling | Milton Joanna McCleskey (1850 - 1889) |