9/6/11

Our GGG grandpa Heath was a Rebel soldier in the U.S. Civil War





◄ Confederate States of America Civil War flag  
This exhibit records the Civil War service of Ervin Heath, who was my generation's maternal GGG grandfather.


This page of this blog details our connection to him and our Heath family lineage (those in our direct family line are in bold print). The significance of our Heath family line is that it's our connection to Cora Lee Heath Field. As detailed below, Cora was my generation's great grandmother and Ervin Heath was her grandfather. He's seen in the chart below. 
(Source)
(Right click, then click on "Open Link" to enlarge both the exhibit above and the chart below.)

(Source)  

The chart above takes Ervin's lineage back two generations. John William Heath (JWH) was my generation’s GGGGG grandfather, William Heath our GGGG grandfather.

The information quoted below is from a Heath family tree found on Ancestry.com. It says JWH enlisted as a corporal in the U.S. Revolutionary army and later became an officer. While it's possible this is our ancestor, I've not been able to document for certain that this is our JWH.
John William Heath, was a gunsmith who came to America some time before the Revolutionary War. It is supposed that Maj. John Heath is the same John William Heath who was promoted to Lieutenant in 1778. (Although this [is] early for someone born in 1761. Lt. John Heath may or may not be the same Maj. John Heath who made a rifle, which was passed down through the family for several generations. Rev. John H. Heath wrote: "This rifle was made in 1778 - 1780, a flint and steel lock, by Major John Heath, and it saw service in the Revolutionary War.” (Source)

And...

"U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 about John Heath Name: John Heath Rank - Induction: Corporal Roll Box: 109 Roll State: VA"

(Source)
♦♦♦
John William Heath
Birth: 1761 in Nazeing, Essex, England 
Death: Before 1840 in Craven Co., North Carolina
Spouse & children
Margaret Nancy "Peggy" Harmon (1765 – 1840)
William Heath (1787 – 1876)
Isaac Collin Heath (1787 – 1858)
Thomas Butler Heath (b. 1790)
Henry Heath (b. 1792)
John Alfred Heath (1800 – 1867)
Elizabeth Heath (1805 – 1869)
Eunice Heath (b. 1807)
Griffin A. Heath (1812 – 1865)
Eric (Enoch?) Heath (b. 1813)
(Source)

♦♦♦


William Heath


U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 about William Heath
Name: William Heath
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1787
Spouse Name: Betsy Rumbley
Spouse Birth Year: 1787
Marriage Year: 1810
Marriage State: NC

♦♦♦
North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 about Beatsey Rumbley
Groom: William Heath
Bride: Beatsey Rumbley [Betsy]
Bond Date: 19 Feb 1810
County: Guilford
Bondsman: Heabekuk Morgan
Witness: Roddy Hannah

♦♦♦

The 1850 Census records William Heath as being a farmer in Guilford County, North Carolina, with the following being his household. (His son Ervin was born about 1851 and was not yet in the household when this census was taken.)


1850 United States Federal Census about William Heath
Name, Age
William Heath, 61
Rachel Heath, 37
William P Heath, 25
John C Heath, 23

♦♦♦

The 1860 Census again records William Heath as being a farmer in Guilford County, North Carolina, with the following being in his household.

1860 United States Federal Census about Wm Heath
Name, Age
Wm Heath, 73
Rachel Heath, 48
Mahala Heath, 37
E Heath, 8 [Ervin]
L C Heath, 7
Rachel E Heath, 5

♦♦♦

The 1870 Census records William Heath as being a farmer in Guilford County, North Carolina, with the following being in his household:
1870 United States Federal Census about William Heath
Name, Age
William Heath, 83
Rachel Heath, 58
Lorenzo Heath, 17
Rebecca Heath, 14
George Forbis, 23
Mahala Rumbly, 40

♦♦♦

Ervin Heath

B: 1812 in Guilford, North Carolina, United States
D: Apr 1894 in Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
(Source)

Ervin Heath's descendancy looks like this:

Ervin was my generation's GGG grandfather.

His son, Arlendo Robert Heath, was our GG grandfather.

His daughter, Cora Lee Heath Field, was our great grandmother.

Her daughter, Nelle Virginia Field Jones, was our maternal grandmother. Her siblings were Elizabeth Field Moon, Grace Field Chapman and Winfred Field.

♦♦♦

Ervin and Sarah Webb’s Marriage

U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 about Irvin Heath
Name: Irvin Heath [Ervin]
Gender: Male
Birth Place: NC
Birth Year: 1812
Spouse Name: Sarah Webb
Spouse Birth Year: 1813
Marriage year: 1832
Marriage State: NC
(Source)

North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 about Ervin Heath
Name: Ervin Heath
Spouse: Sarah Webb
Marriage Date: 31 May 1832
Marriage County: Guilford
Marriage State: North Carolina
(Source)

North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 about Sarah Webb
Groom: Ervin Heath
Bride: Sarah Webb
Bond Date: 21 May 1832
Marriage Date: 31 May 1832
County: Guilford
Bondsman: James Gilmer
Witness: A. E. Hanner
Performed By: E W Caruthers
(Source)

♦♦♦
1850 census – showing four children
1850 United States Federal Census about Irvin Heath
Name: Irvin Heath [Ervin] – Wagon Maker
Age: 37
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1813
Birth Place: North Carolina
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State):
Southern Division, Guilford, North Carolina
Household Members:
Name, Age
Irvin Heath [Ervin], 37
Sarah Heath, 36
Washington Heath, 12
Augustus Heath, 8
Cicero Heath, 4
Algernon Heath [Arlendo], 0
(Source)

♦♦♦

1850 United States Federal Census about Irvin Heath
Name: Irvin Heath [Ervin] wheel right (sic)

[Dictionary: Wheelright - a person who builds and repairs wheels, especially wooden spoked ones]
Age: 37
Estimated Birth Year: about 1813
Birth Place: North Carolina
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Southern Division, Guilford, North Carolina

Household Members:
Name, Age
Irvin Heath, 37 [Ervin]
Sarah Heath, 36
Washington Heath, 12
Augustus Heath, 8
Cicero Heath, 4
Algernon Heath [Arlendo], 0
(Source of census info)
(Source of photo)

♦♦♦

1860 census showing six children
1860 United States Federal Census about Ervin Heath
Name: Ervin Heath – Carriage Maker
Age in 1860: 48
Birth Year: abt 1812
Home in 1860: Eastern Division, Randolph, North Carolina
Post Office: New Salem

Household Members:
Name, Age
Ervin Heath, 48
Sarah Heath, 47
Washington Heath, 23
Augustus S Heath, 18
Joseph C Heath, 12
Orlendo Heath, 9 [Arlendo]
Nancy E Heath, 7
Jane Heath, 5
(Source)

♦♦♦

Here’s a list from a family tree on Ancestry.com which includes seven children.
Ervin Heath's spouse & children

A comment in this family tree from Ancestry.com says, “The 1850 census was taken in August, and Mary Ann Heath had married J. Franklin Kennett in May 1850 and was not in the home at the time of the census. She was 14 years old when she married.”

Neither was she in the household when the 1860 census was taken. Therefore she's not seen above, but was one of his children. as shown below.
(Source)

Sarah Webb (1812-1880)
Mary Ann Heath (1835-1915)
James Washington Heath (1837-1916)
Augustus S Heath (1842-)
Joseph Cicero Heath (1846-)
Arlendo Heath (1851-)
Nancy E Heath (1853-)
Jane Heath (1855-)
(Source)

♦♦♦
As noted at the beginning of this post, Ervin Heath fought in the Civil War. May 20, 1861, a resolution to secede from the Union was adopted by the state of North Carolina. Fifteen days later , on June 5th, 1861, Ervin enlisted as a private in the Confederate army at age 49, even though he was the father of seven children. He served for a year, mustering out in 1862, even though the war didn’t end until 1865.
His regiment fought many battles. I’ve snipped the list below to show only those recorded as having taken place during the year of his enlistment.

American Civil War Regiments
Regiment: 22nd Infantry Regiment North Carolina
Date of Organization: 11 Jul 1861
Muster[ed out] Date: 9 Apr 1865
Regiment State: North Carolina
Regiment Type: Infantry
Regiment Number: 22nd

Regimental History
[Battles fought during Ervin Heath’s enlistment with this regiment]

Fought on 28 May 1861 at Chickahominy River, VA.





 Chickahominy River,Va. Grapevine bridge, 1862
(Source)








Fought on 5 Aug 1861.
Fought on 15 Aug 1861 at Wilderness, VA.
Fought on 15 Aug 1861.
Fought on 28 Aug 1861 at Fredericksburg, VA.
Fought on 15 Oct 1861 at Fredericksburg, VA.
Fought on 9 Dec 1861 at Evansport, VA.
Fought on 9 Dec 1861.
Fought on 15 Mar 1862.
Fought on 31 Mar 1862 at Seven Pines, VA.
Fought on 15 Apr 1862.
Fought on 20 Apr 1862 at Richmond, VA And Petersburg, VA.
Fought on 5 May 1862 at Williamsburg, VA.
Fought on 15 May 1862.
Fought on 27 May 1862 at Frayser's Farm, VA.
Fought on 30 May 1862 at Seven Pines, VA.
Fought on 31 May 1862 at Seven Pines, VA.
Fought on 13 Jun 1862.
Fought on 15 Jun 1862.

♦♦♦

A bit of history about his regiment


"Formerly the 12th Volunteers, [the 22nd] completed it’s organization near Raleigh, North Carolina, in July, 1861. The men were recruited in the counties of Caldwell, McDowell, Surry, Ashe, Guilford, Alleghany, Caswell, Stokes, and Randolph. With nearly 1,000 men, the unit was ordered to Virginia and assigned to the Aquia District in the Department of Northern Virginia. Later it was brigaded under Generals Pettigrew, Pender, and Scales.

It fought with the army from Seven Pines to Cold Harbor, took its place in the Petersburg trenches south of the James River, and ended the war at Appomattox.
 


In April, 1862, this regiment contained 752 men, [and] reported 161 casualties during the Seven days' Battles’..." 
(Source)

♦♦♦

"In all my readings of veterans, and of coolness under fire, I have never conceived of anything surpassing the coolness of our men in this fight." (An unnamed officer in the 22nd NC describing the regiment's demeanor during Seven Pines.) 

Source

[Editor's comment: Emphasis added above, for Ervin was still with the regiment during the "Seven days' Battles"  and "Seven Pines" referred to.]
♦♦♦

"...the Battle of Fair Oaks, [was] also known as Seven Pines. At Fair Oaks, Confederate troops succeeded in driving back Union forces from the edge of Richmond before the Union troops stabilized their position. Though both sides claimed victory, the battle marked the end of the Union offensive..."
(Source)

♦♦♦

"More than 125,000 North Carolinians, young and old, served the Confederacy.

They were known as Tar Heels for their reluctance to give up their allegiance to their home state, but when the call came, they went.

And they died...

Nearly half of these men were wounded at least once, and more than 40,000 of them died during the war - more than from any other Southern state. The number of survivors who suffered permanent physical or emotional scarring or died prematurely because of their war experiences cannot be known. "

(Source) 

♦♦♦

Ervin Heath
mustered out 21 June 1862. The fact that he mustered out before the war was over is curious. It may be that he had only a one-year commitment, but it also suggests the possibility that he may have been wounded, thereby being unable to continue his service. Or perhaps his being 50 years old was a factor in this. However, all of that is speculation on my part.


As my generation's uncle DeRand Jones remarked in connection with the one surviving brother in our Field family line (of six who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War), if Ervin had not survived none of us in his descendancy would be here to read this. In fact, it would not have been written, for your editor descends directly from him.
Source)

♦♦♦

Sidebar: Other members of the Heath family also fought for the Confederacy. For example, one record I ran across says Ervin's son, 
Augustus Heath (Arlendo's older brother, see above), also enlisted on 5 Jun 1861, the same date as Ervin. He was 18 years old and h
is occupation is recorded as "blacksmith". 


The death certificate for another of Ervins's sons, James (1837-
1916, see above) records him as being a carpenter and says he was living in a "Soldier's Home" in Raleigh, North Carolina, at the time of his death. This suggests that he, too, was a soldier in the Civil War. 
(Source)

I'm confident there were others of our ancestral Heaths in that war for whom I haven't discovered records. That's not my focus for this page; but I may l dig into this subject at a later time.


♦♦♦

I haven’t found a census for 1870 that includes Ervin. Here’s the next one in which he shows up.

1880 United States Federal Census about Irvin Heath
Name: Irvin [Ervin] Heath - Carpenter
Home in 1880: Greensboro, Guilford, North Carolina
Age: 68
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1812
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relation to Head of Household: Self (Head)
Spouse's Name: Sarah Heath
Father's birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's birthplace: North Carolina
Occupation: Carpenter
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
(snip)

Household Members:

Name, Age
Irvin Heath, 68
Sarah Heath, 68
(Source)

♦♦♦

Arlendo Heath

Arlendo Heath was the father of our great grandmother, Cora Lee Heath Field, and my generation’s GG grandfather. The 1850 census records him as an infant, living with his parents, whose surname is misspelled Hayth. That misspelling is strange in view of the fact that the spelling of his name is correct.

1850 United States Federal Census about Algonon R Heath
Name: Algonon R Heath [Arlendo]
Age: 1
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1849
Birth Place: North Carolina
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Northern Division, Guilford, North Carolina

Household Members:
Name, Age
Irvin Hayth, 38
Susan Hayth, 38 [Sarah]
James W Heath, 12
Augustus Heath, 10
Joseph E Heath, 6
Algonon R Heath [Arlendo], 1

♦♦♦

The 1870 census records him as being on his own at age 19. His occupation is recorded as [working at an] “Ax handle factory”
1870 United States Federal Census about A R Heath
Name: A R Heath
Birth Year: abt 1851
Age in 1870: 19
Birthplace: North Carolina
Home in 1870: Leaksville, Rockingham, North Carolina
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members:
Name, Age
A R Heath, 19

♦♦♦

The 1880 census records him as being married to Eliza J Heath and having fathered their first two children. His occupation is recorded as “Works in a spoke factory”.

Her complete name was Elizabeth 
Jane Chambers Heath; details about her - and her and Arlendo's descendancy - are in the next post on this blog. (Based upon her year of birth and appearance in this photo I estimate it to be circa 1894.)
A family tree on Ancestry.com records his marriage to “Eliza Chambers” on 5 September 1871. Although I can find no other documentation of that date, it seems to fit, for other records say their eldest child, Cora Lee Heath, was born 16 June 1872, ten months after the reported wedding date.
(Source)











1880 United States Federal Census about Arlendo R. Heath
Name: Arlendo R. Heath
Home in 1880: Gilmer, Guilford, North Carolina
Age: 29
Estimated Birth Year: about 1851
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relation to Head of Household: Self (Head)
Spouse's Name: Eliza J. Heath
Father's birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's birthplace: North Carolina
Occupation: Works In Spoke Factory
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male

Household Members: 
Name, Age
Arlendo R. Heath, 29
Eliza J. Heath, 26
Cora L. Heath, 7
George Heath, 5
♦♦♦

Last revised 9/16/2011

Please refer to the disclaimer on the index page of this blog for a statement regarding the accuracy of - and documentation for - the information presented in this blog.