R355

Husband: Henson (Jeff) Douglass
Father: William Douglass
Mother: Nancy Jane (Griffin) Douglass
Born: 1808, in Bath County Va.
Died: ~1878 (age 70), of heart trouble

Wife: Martha (Patsy) Ann (Wood) Douglass ([S017] refers to her as
    Charlotte)
Father: Edward Wood [R003]
Mother: Sarah (Gilliland) Wood [R003]
Born: 2/19/1815
Died: 1886, of dropsy

Married: In Bath County Va. Marriage bond, 11/20/1833. Surety,
    Joseph T. Wood. Edward Wood consented. Witnesses, James Wood
    and Joseph T. Wood. Married by Joseph Mernken, 11/25/1833
    [S002]

Children:
Henson H. Douglass, 1835-5/12/1864, died in the Civil War
Jilson B. Douglass, b. ~1837, never returned from the Civil War
Juliet Ann Douglass, b. 1838, m. Hezekiah Bukey Marshall (b. 1832;
     his 2nd marriage). They lived at Marshall House, a hotel in Mingo
    W.V.

(1996) Jeff Douglass was born on a farm adjacent to that Edward Wood [R003] in Bath County Va. In 1842 Edward and Sarah Wood of Bath County and Joseph and Amanda Moore of Randolph County gave (for $1) 200 acres of land from Edward’s “Wedge Lot” to Henson and Martha Douglass (DB18-467). The deed refers to Douglass as being of “Aligany County.” The land appears to comprise tracts D2 and D3 in Fig. R361b. The wording of the deed indicates that Jeff already owned land in the vicinity of D1. Area D3 seems questionable, since it is outside the “Wedge Lot.” The 1850 census shows Jeff and Patsy’s family living in this area, and the numbering of households shows they were immediate neighbors of John W. Moore, Joseph Moore, Augustus Wood, and Samuel Lemon; John Q. Wilson and Powhattan Tolley were a few numbers removed from them.

The preambles to deeds wherein Edward Wood’s heirs parcelled out land to his children [e.g., R904] state that during his lifetime Edward only got as far as writing deeds to Augustus, Elizabeth Lemon, Amanda Moore, Mary Moore, and Harriet Wilson. They do not mention the above gift of land to Henson and Patsy Douglass, and although the deed was signed in 1842 while Edward and Sarah were alive, it was not admitted to record in Randolph County until 4/3/1851, after they had died. There is probably a story here.

Jeff and Patsy lost both of their sons in the Civil War. Henson Jr. enlisted in Company F of the 31st Virginia Infantry [R024] 5/21/1862, at Huttonsville W.Va.; he was described as single, 5’ 10”, fresh complexion, blue eyes, light hair, a farmer. He was discharged 6 or 7/10/1862 for “bronchitis bordering on consumption.” Apparently he reenlisted 11/1/1862 at Port Royal Va., and was attached to the General Hospital in Staunton Va. as a nurse 1/20/1863. According to the Hospital Muster Roll, “Douglas was assigned to Hospital duty by order of Genl. Lee.” Through 1863 and as late as 1/31/1864 the Archives records show him at the Staunton hospital, “Detailed by Genl. Lee,” either serving as a nurse or being treated for bronchitis. Eventually, combat caught up with him. Family tradition is that he died at the “Bloody Angle” in the Battle of Spottsylvania Court House. The Muster Roll for Company D of the 31st Virginia shows him “Absent, missed in battle May 12, 1864.” On 5/15/1864 he was admitted to “4 Div. 5 a.c. Hosp. a. of p. [the Union Army of the Potomac]; wound, Thor. Par.; missle: Minie; on Skirmish Line.” He was admitted 5/18/1864 to the Judiciary Square U.S.A. Gen’l Hosp., Washington D.C., Flesh wd L. hip & neck, Missle Ramrod Minie Ball, W’d at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, Treatm’t, Cold Water Dressing, Died May 24 1864, Flesh wound left hip and neck, Age 29.” (A ramrod! Did he charge a Union soldier in the act of reloading his musket, who didn’t have time to withdraw the ramrod before firing at him? Or did his own weapon discharge while he was loading it?) There is a printed “INVENTORY OF EFFECTS” of the dead prisoner, “H. H. Douglas (Rebel) Late of Company F, 31 Reg’t of Virginia Volunteers, who died at Judiciary Sq. Hosp on the 24 day of May 1864. Effects: 1-1/2 blankets (Union), $2.20 Union, $10.00 Confederate...Effects are to be disposed of by a Council of Administration.” A printed RECORD OF DEATH AND INTERMENT repeats much of the above information and notes that Henson’s $2.20 Union was paid 10/15/1864 to the Hospital Chaplain (his name indecipherable). One last record, from the U. S. Adjutant General’s Office, adds an item to Henson’s effects: a Pocket Book.

I have not found any record of Jilson Douglass’s service in the Civil War. Family tradition is that he went away to war, and never returned.

Sources: [S030, S031, S075, S088, S104, S123, S124]