Joel Shelley (1842 – 1929)
The man who said he knew Ira D
Quillin
Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long
Nov 8, 2020
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178569758/joel-shelley
Joel Shelley b. 14 Oct 1842 Scott Co VA
d. 7 March 1929 Scott Co VA buried in the
Shelley Cemetery, Bristol City VA
Joel Shelley wrote a newspaper article for the Gate City
Herald dated July 14, 1904 (1901?)
Mr. Shelley is the man who told William Isaac Quillen,
grandson of Ira D Quillen, that he (Joel Shelley) was with Ira D when Ira died.
The article details how Company H came to be and listed the names of those he
could remember. (see attached photo copy of the Gate City Herald article)
In June 1861, Mr. Shelley was a
volunteer that helped form Company B, 48
th Virginia Volunteers. They
were reorganized in 1862 as Company H, 48
th Virginia Volunteers and
remained as Company H until Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Mr. Shelley wrote an
article for the Gate City Herald, the local newspaper, published in the July 17
1904 (1901?) edition.
Shelley
commemorated the men who served in the Company for the Confederate Army.
Shelley states that “it is difficult to
remember distinctly the things of forty years ago.”
In the article, Mr. Shelley listed the
Christian names of those who served in this company.
Mr. Joel Shelley enlisted 11 Aug 1861 when he was about 18
years old. He was a private from Pocahontas WV.
Company H, Virginia, 48 Infantry Regiment
Possible source:
The Virginia Regimental Histories Series
My Bristol VA contact Robert Haskell Quillen, keeper of the
Ira Quillin cemetery, found this article for me in the Scott County Public
Library. (see attached doc titled Important Source) Robert corresponded with me
during the 1990s in order to help me document Ira D Quillin and Edna Vineyard
Quillin Barker
Robert was sorely disappointed
that Ira D Quillin’s name was not on the list in the 1904 article.
Robert recalls that his father, William Isaac
Quillen (brother to my great grandfather, Beverly Johnson Quillin) had
personally spoken with Joel Shelley many years ago and that Mr. Shelley had
told him that he was with Ira D when he died.
Robert Haskell Quillen < Willie Quillen < Patton
Presley < Ira D Quillin
(Patton Presley Quillen was the brother of my great grandfather,
Beverly J Quillin.)
