Born about 1828
I believe
that he was born in Lumpkin Co. Georgia.
Some trees have Hall Co. as a possibility. Lumpkin Co. was created in
1832 from Cherokee, Hall and Habersham Counties. His father was Pleasant Hulsey,
and I believe his mother was Elizabeth “Lucy” Byrd. He married Sarah E. Haney on 25 July 1847
when he was about 19 years old. All
censuses indicate that she was about 2-3 years older than him.
In 1850,
Jefferson (age 20) and Sarah (age 22) are found in Barrett’s District, Lumpkin
County, Georgia. They have 2
children: Andrew (age 3) and Malinda
(age 0). I believe that Malinda did not
live beyond infancy, dying within the same year. Jefferson was farming and Sarah could not read
or write. Before Jefferson enlisted in
the army, they had 3 more children, and Sarah was pregnant with Emily Melissa
when Jefferson left home to fight in the Civil War.
On 16 May
1862, in Petersburg, Virginia, Jefferson enlisted as a private in Company D, 22nd
Georgia Infantry Regiment. The Union
prisoner of war records show that he was wounded and captured on October 1,
1862 at Antietam. The Union army imprisoned him at Fort McHenry, and he
received treatment at U.S.A. General Hospital, Frederick, Maryland. He was then transferred to Chimborazo
Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, I believe in an exchange of prisoners. Probably in that same exchange, Jefferson was
paroled at Sharpsburg, Maryland. I
believe that when he was released, he rejoined his company and continued
fighting. He was wounded there again on September
17, 1863. Later muster rolls show him absent without leave on 28 February 1865,
so it is assumed that he somehow made his way back to Georgia to recuperate. There
is no further military record. He
carried a minié ball in his hip until he died.
When
Jefferson returned home from the war, he and Sarah continued to grow their
family. Nancy Caroline was born that
same year, 1865, followed by Frances in 1866 and Thomas in 1868.
In 1870,
Jefferson and Sarah were living in Militia District 872, Whitfield County,
Georgia, and their last child, Kansas Lydia, was born. His occupation was listed as ‘wagoning’, and
his estate was worth $500. There were 6
children living with them : John W (John Wesley) -17, Smith (Hillard Smith) –
11, Sarah J. – 10, Margaret E (This has to be our Emily Melissa) – 7, Nancy C
(I think this is Caroline) – 5, Frances E.- 3.
Jefferson
and Sarah had a son, Thomas Jefferson Hulsey, born on 20 Sep 1868. He was not listed with them in 1870, but
appears to be listed in the household of Jefferson Park’s brother, William and
his wife Malinda, who live next door. It
has been suggested by a cousin that with so many infants in the house and with
possible health problems for Sarah, that baby Thomas was being taken care of by
J.P.’s brother William. It appears that Jefferson and Sarah took in the
orphaned children of his son Pleasant A Hulsey and Lydia Junkins Hulsey who
both died in 1870.
In 1880,
Jefferson(52) was farming in Ball Ground, Murray County, Georgia. Sarah(56) was keeping house with 7 children
listed under them: Smith-22, Sarah J-20, Emily-17, Caroline-15, Frances-13, Thomas-12, and Lydia C-9. Listed also in the household are 3 granddaughters:
Mary – 13, Sarah S -12, Julia -10. All
the children except Lydia and Julia were working on the farm. Jefferson’s son, John Wesley, was married to
Margaret Gasaway and they were living on a neighboring farm with 4
children.
The census records
for 1890 were destroyed so there are no record of Jefferson and Sarah during
that time period. But sometime before 6
March 1900, they had moved to McLennan County, Texas, where Sarah died. Jefferson Parks Hulsey moved to Taylor County
where he died on 31 March 1909. He is buried
in the King burial plot in the Abilene Municipal Cemetery with his daughter,
Emily Melissa, who married William Lazarus King. Jefferson Park’s gravestone is
a Civil War Marker.
.JPG)
