John McFadden
Sex: M
AKA: Jake
Individual Information
Birth: 1819 - Knox County, Kentucky 1
Death: May 13, 1894 - Laurel County, Kentucky 1 2
Burial: in Johnny Mac Cemetery, Daniel Boone National Forest, Laurel County, KY
Events
• Alt. Burial 1, Johnny Mac Cemetery, Daniel Boone National Forest, Laurel County, Kentucky
• Residence, Dog Branch
• Military 1, Union soldier in the Civil War
• Number of Children (Facts 1, 12
Parents
Father: Jesse McFadden 1 3
Mother: Sally Ruth Chesnut 1
Spouses and Children
1. *Bartheny Young 1
Marriage: Aug 20, 1841 - Laurel County At Her Father Pleasant Young's 2
Children:
1. Sarah Patience McFadden 1 4
2. Jesse C. McFadden 1 4
3. Millie McFadden 1
4. John Franklin McFadden 4 1 5
5. Pleasant L. McFadden 1
6. David H. McFadden 1 5
7. Thena McFadden 1
8. Jarvis Jackson McFadden 1
9. Elizabeth McFadden 1
10. Ruth Ann McFadden 1
Notes
General:
1842. John McFadden appears his first time on the Laurel County, Kentucky tax list having two horses or mares and two head of cattle.
1843. John McFadden appears on the Laurel County, Kentucky tax list with one horse or mare.
1844. John McFadden appears on the Laurel County, Kentucky tax list with two horses or mares and five head of cattle.
1846. John McFadden states he has three horses or mares and six head of cattle for the Laurel County tax rolls.
1851. John McFadden pays taxes on 975 acres of land located on White Oak in Laurel County, Kentucky. He says he has one child between the ages of 5 and 16. John also pays taxes on one slave valued at $300.00 and appears to be under the age of 16. This slave could have been given to John's wife Theny from her grandfather John Young's estate.
1851. John McFadden pays taxes on 1025 acres of land located on the Rockcastle watershed in Laurel County, Kentucky. He reports having one slave under the age of sixteen whose value is $425.00. John reports one horse or mare and six head of cattle and 25 hogs. There are 180 slaves in Laurel County listed on the tax lists being over the age of sixteen and 87 under the age of sixteen.
1853. John McFadden pays taxes on 1025 acres of land located on White Oak. He again reports owning one slave with a value of $600.00. He also reports one horse or mare with a value of $50.00, 5 head of cattle and 40 hogs. John says there are two children between the ages of six and sixteen.
1854. John McFadden pays taxes on three separate tracts of land on White Oak in Laurel County, Kentucky with combined total acres of 1250 acres. Again he reports having one slave with a value of $600.00. One horses or mares, ten head of cattle, and 30 head of hogs. John also reports five children in the household between the ages of six and eighteen.
1855. John McFadden pays taxes on two separate tracts of land. One 950 acre tract on White Oak and a 600 acre tract on Cane Creek, Laurel County, Kentucky. He reports having one slave with a value of $800.00, one horse or mare, five head of cattle, 85 hogs. Also reports four children in the household.
1857. John McFadden pays taxes on 2075 acres of land lying on the watershed of the Rockcastle River. He no longer owns a slave. He states that he is a qualified voter. He has two horses or mares, 13 head of cattle and 75 hogs
1858, In 1858 John McFadden receives a 50 acre land grant on Dog Branch, Laurel County, Kentucky. Book 56 Page 372. Survey Date is July 20, 1858. A second land grant of 50 acres also granted to John on Dog Branch dated July 29, 1858. John and David McFadden receive a third land grant on July 30, 1858 on Rockcastle River.
1859. In the tax lists John McFadden reports owning 1875 acres of land in Laurel County, Kentucky lying on the watershed of White Oak.
1860, In the 1860 Laurel County Census John McFadden is 41 years old and states his occupation as a farmer. His wife Theny is also 41 and in the household is Sarah P. age 17, Jesse M. age 15, John F., age 10, Pleasant B., age 10, David M. age 8, Theny age 6, Jarvis age 3, Elizabeth age 6 months. John and Theny McFadden's daughter Millie does not show up on this census having died at the age of 13. She is buried with her father on the McFadden Tract in the Daniel Boone National Forest outside of London, Laurel County, Kentucky.
1860. John McFadden pays taxes on 1835 acres on White Oak.
1861, During the month of October, John McFadden's brother David dies of measles while in the service of the Union Army at Camp Wildcat, Laurel County, Kentucky.
1861. John McFadden pays taxes on 1766 acres of land on White Oak.
1861, On November 1, 1861, at age 42, John McFadden enlists as a Sergeant in Lexington, Kentucky. Enlisted in Company H of the 24th Kentucky Infantry for the Union Army upon it's organization on December 31, 1861. On the same day John McFadden's 17 year old son Jesse also enlisted in the same unit. The 24th Regiment Kentucky Infantry was mustered out of service on January 31, 1865. John and Jesse receive their military training at Camp Dick Robinson in Garrard County, Kentucky. From there they march to Louisville, Kentucky and other locations around Kentucky and Tennessee.
"The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion", Washington, Government Printing Office, 1870-1888 states that of the nearly 620,000 soldiers who died during the Civil War, a full two-thirds died not by bullets and bayonets but of disease. Childhood diseases such as measles could devastate entire regiments and many men succumbed not only to disease but also to diarrhea and dysentery due to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the field. Early in the war it became obvious that disease would be the greatest killer. Soldiers from small rural areas such as Laurel County suffered from childhood diseases such as measles and mumps because they lacked immunity. John McFadden's brother David was one of these such casualties, dying just a week before John and Jesse McFadden enlist. David left a young widow, Elizabeth, several small children and an unborn child. Of over one million enlistments of soldiers in the Civil War only 16,000 of them were as old as John McFadden.
While in the line of duty between Nashville and Shiloh, Tennessee in April 1862 John McFadden suffers from chronic diarrhea. From his pension file in National Archives it appears that he suffered the effects of this for the remainder of his life.
It will be interesting here to find that while the Kentucky McFadden's were enlisting in the Union Army their cousins in South Carolina were joining the Confederacy. One can only guess what prompted John and his son to leave their farm and family behind to volunteer. John's wife Theny was five months pregnant with their daughter Ruth Ann. The man of the house became John Franklin McFadden who was only 11 years old. Kentucky Adjutant General's Report shows John McFadden deserted on June 30, 1863, voluntarily returning on November 2, 1864. Awaiting trial in Lexington. Upon investigation the charges are dismissed as John McFadden had been in care of Doctor Foster of London, Kentucky during that time period.
Mr. Reuben Langford of Shopville, Pulaski County, Kentucky states in John McFadden's pension application that, "I was with him all the time for I was his 1st Lieutenant and about the 20th April, 1862 we lost Captain Jones and I was placed in command of the Company and in September 1864 I was made Captain and remained in command of the company 'til discharge." Mr. Langford further stated, "I worked frequently with him and know that before enlistment he was a stout and able bodied man and I thought he done more hard work than any man in our neighborhood."
John is reinstated at the rank of sergeant and honorably discharged. John McFadden's Civil War Pension file is Claim Number 471690. His widow Theny receives a pension after his death. Her Claim Number is 403588.
1862. Theny McFadden pays the taxes on 1766 acres of land on Sinking Creek. John seems to have been serving with Company H at this time.
1863. John McFadden pays the taxes on a 950 tract of land on Sinking Creek and 750 acres of land on Dog Branch.
1870, In the 1870 Laurel County Census John McFadden is 51 years old and states his occupation as a farmer. His wife Theny is also 51 and states that she keeps house. In the household is John F. McFadden, age 22, Pleasant McFadden age 20, David McFadden age 18, Thena McFadden age 16, Jarvis J. McFadden age 13, Elizabeth Mcfadden age 11 and Rutha Ann McFadden age 8. This census visit was on August 3, 1870.
1880, In the 1880 Federal Census for Laurel County, Kentucky John McFadden, Sr. is 61 years old and living with his wife Thena who is also 61. Their son Jarvis J. is 22 years old and living with them as is an 18 year old daughter in law named Emily. Also shown in this household is Jesse McDannett listed as being 16 years old and is a "boarder" in John's household.
1883. Pension application for John McFadden states that he is 64 years old, five feet nine inches tall, light complexion, black hair and blue eyes.
1890. In October, a medical examination shows John McFadden at age 71 appearing very weak and feeble in addition to becoming a bit senile.
1893, April 14, the Mountain Echo reports that, "Uncle John McFadden is very low and his recovery is believed to be doubtful".
1894, John McFadden applies for an increase in his Civil War Pension on May 10, just three days prior to his death on the afternoon of May 13th.
Minnie Parkey, a great grand daughter of John & Theny McFadden tells an account of the McFadden Family History in Nancy Hale's book. Minnie relates that, "The legend is that the house in which John and Bartheny McFadden lived was haunted. The story is that John cursed a ghost and wherever they moved it followed them. There was a horseless carriage which would come down the hill and stop in front of the house. Also strange and eerie noises would be heard. Minnie says that her mother, Martha Ann McFadden and her cousin, Nellie McFadden, spent the night with their grandparents and during the night they heard a loud noise in the room above them as though something heavy had fallen to the floor. The next morning they went upstairs and searched but, of course, nothing was found. From Nancy Hale book.
A once acre tract has been set aside by the U. S. Forest Service for the McFadden Cemetery. There are 13 graves located here with the last decoration occurring in 1924.
The Mountain Echo reported; October 20, 1904 Abel: "We will say that the death angel visited the home of Mr. John Broughton, Thursday night at nine o'clock and took away their little son, Willie. The little body was laid in the McFadden grave yard. Need some research to identify who this child is.
NMAR 1