Farmer - Merchant - Civil War Veteran

John "Peter" Eddleman was born on 18 Dec 1823 in Rowan Co, N.C., the son of Adam Eddleman and Catherine Lippard. Baptismal records of John Peter and most of his siblings are located at Organ Lutheran Church in Rowan Co, N.C. Adam and Catherine Eddleman moved to Carroll Co, MS between 1835 and 1840. (They later moved to Attala Co, MS).

John Peter Eddleman and Mary Guess married in 1846, probably in Attala Co, MS or the vicinity. (Most records in the Attatla Co, MS courthouse during this time were destroyed by a later fire). John Peter Eddleman is listed in the 1847 tax list of Attala Co, MS. Four of their children were born in Mississippi (according to later census records).

John Peter Eddleman's name is not listed in the 1850 census index for Mississippi, but his daughter, Viola Knight's Civil War Widow's Pension Application gives her date of birth as November 28, 1853 in "Itala" County, Mississippi. It appears that John Peter may have been missed by the census taker.

Sometimes before 1860 (probably 1858 or 1859), John Peter and Mary Eddleman moved to Rapides Parish, LA. They appear in the 1860 census for Rapides Parish:

J.P. Eddleman, 37, merchant, born N.C.; Mary, 29, born Tenn.; William H., 11, born Miss; Viola, 8, born Miss.; John, 5, born Miss.; Ellen, 2, born Miss.

In June, 1860, the police jury of Rapides Parish elected J. R. (this was probably copied incorrectly) Eddleman as a member.

On May 25, 1861, a military company (The Home Guards) was organized with John P. Eddleman, captain; G.A. Smith, J.T. Hewett and J.S. Duncan, lieutenants. Charles K. Oakes was a corporal in this unit of ninety six men. Later, John Peter was listed as the senior 2nd LT. of the Martin Scouts (Co. K, 6th LA Cavalry Regiment).

From "A Thrilling Narrative of the Sufferings of Union Refugees, and the Massacre of the Martyrs of Liberty of Western Louisiana: Together with a Brief Sketch of the Present Political Status of Louisiana, As to Her Unfitness for Admission into the Union; with Letters to the Governor of Louisiana and Noted Seccessionists in That State and a Letter To President Johnson on Reconstruction" by Captain D.E. Haynes of the Louisiana Scouts (published by McGill & Witherow, Printers and Stereotypers, 1866):

"There are two vices which I detest above any, or perhaps the whole brood of the balance, and they are ingratitude and hypocrisy. What Captain White stated to me as his opinion, I found verified in fact, when I tried to prosecute Smith and Vansaux for shooting me, and Texada for an aggravated assault and battery. I had prepared a written statement briefly though, to present to General G.M. Graham, foreman of the grand jury, of the cases I wished to bring before that body - aye! It was a body, sure enough; but without a soul. I opened the door of the grand jury room, no officer being stationed there. I was told I could not come in. I said I wanted to see the foreman; I was answered in the affirmative. I waited some time, and looked in again; the same question and answer. I told two of the Jury whom I saw go in, that I wanted to see General Graham. They said he would come out presently. The door opened, but no foreman, but Big Pete Eddleman from Lana Cocoa, or rather Sandersville, one of "Bloody Bob's" bottle companions; as he passed me going down the steps, he said, "You damned old thief and robber, what has brought you here?' He made the same remark to two of the jury whom he met on the stairs, I left the place, for I had reasonable fears of being assassinated. I should here make further statements of facts relative to this affair, but as I have discussed them in my letters to General Graham, the reader is referred to them in their proper place in this "little book." (pages 64-65).

According to Arthur W. Burgeron, Jr., Ph.D., Peter Eddleman was aware of Capt. Haynes' activities as a Union scout during the war. Haynes was trying to get a grand jury to act against some men who had shot and beaten him.

John Peter Eddleman was elected Representative to the Louisiana legislature for Rapides Parish on Oct. 17, 1864 and was released from his military obligations to serve in this position. He owned a store in Rapides Parish in 1865..."south of Red River, in the vicinity of Gum Sough, Widow Stephens, Whiskachitta, Miller's Bridge (Anococo Creek)".

"Old Petersburg" was an area in Rapides Parish that was supposedly named for John Peter Eddleman, who owned a stage coach stop there. It was located near the present day overpass on the entrance road to Fort Polk and is now known as Pickering.

The 1870 census for Rapides Parish lists: Peter Eddleman, 47, farmer, b. NC; Mary, 39, b. Tenn.; Ellen, 12; Louvisa, 10; Olivia, 4; Joseph, 1.

Sometimes before December 1878, the family moved to Johnson Bayou, Cameron Parish, LA. They are listed in the 1880 census for that county.
:John P...W/M, age 55, farming, NC; Mary H...W/F, age 50, keeping house, Tenn/Miss/Tenn; Martha...age 14; Joseph...age 11.

The National Archive records of the Post Office Department show that on Dec. 9, 1878, John Peter Eddleman was appointed Postmaster of Johnson Bayou, Cameron Parish.

A record in the Vernon Parish (Rapides) courthouse dated Nov. 6, 1883 indicates John P. Eddleman of Cameron Parish donated 80 acres in Vernon Parish to his nephew Charles K. Oakes. John Peter and Mary Eddleman moved to Orange, Texas in 1886.

In 1893, John Peter Eddleman, with his youngest son, Joseph, purchased a home in Orange Co, Texas that he lived in the rest of his life. This home still stands and is known as the "Wilcox Home".

The 1900 Orange Co, TX census shows John Peter and wife Mary Eddleman in their household with their son, Joseph P. and wife Agnes with granddaughter Ruth. It also indicates that John Peter was born Dec. 1823 and Mary was born Dec. 1831. They were married in 1846. John Peter Eddleman died in 1901 and Mary in 1907 in Orange, TX. They are both buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Orange, Texas.

According to the death certificates of two children (Joseph Eddleman and Viola Knight), Mary Eddleman's maiden name was Guess. One of her descendents has an old tin type picture of a confederate soldier who was said to be Mary's brother. The handwritten inscription on the photograph states: "J.M. Guess the 16th Regiment". (A Joseph Guess was in the 16th LA Infantry, Company G).

Children of John Peter and Mary Eddleman:

1. William Henry, who first married Sarah A. (Sally) Harvey. (They were in the 1870 census for Cameron Parish, LA). Sarah died in 1888. His second marriage was to Janie Brown Tureman, who died in 1941. William Henry died in 1930 in Lake Charles, LA.

Children from marriage to Sarah Harvey: Ellen E. who m. Will Harrington; Lou Tysia who m. Stephen Del Mouly; and Georgia who m. Rufe Williamson.

Children from marriage to Janie Tureman: Katherine R. who m. Jack L. Morris; John Tureman; Gen. Clyde Davis who m. Lorraine Mary Heath; William Henry, Jr.; and Cecil Ware.

2. Viola, b. 28 Nov 1853 in Attala Co, MS; married Daniel R. (D.R.) Knight; children: John, Ellen, Thomas, Daniel, and Maud (who married C.L.Brewster). Viola died 4 May, 1937 in Alexandria, LA.

3. John B. (fell from horse and died young).

4. Ellen B., born 1858, who married M. Ben Simmons.

5. Louvica Catherine ,born 14 Jun 1861, died 3 Oct 1921. She married Albert Peveto (from Caneron Parish, LA) on 17 Dec 1878. Children: Ethel May; Edgar Henry who m. Myrtle Ada Doxey; Bertha May who m. Dudley W. Griffith; William Terrel who m. Sarah Burch; Eolian Beulah who m. Vannie M. Smith; Grace Evelyn who m. Archie O. Willey; Luther Carol; Francis Marion who m. Vera M. Lewis.

6. Olivia/Martha Eolean, born 18 Jul 1866 in Vernon Parish, LA, died 27 Nov 1933 in Orange, TX. She married Benjamin Anderson Stephens on 23 Jan 1884 in Cameron, LA. Children: Mabel Jane who m. Jacob A. Peterson; Lula who m. Cleveland White; Ruth Viola who m. Claude Marion Phillips; Robert Peter who m. first Cornelia Huggins, second Lillian Tolar, third Lucille Gleaves; Edward Moore who m. Sadie Woods.

7. Joseph, born 1 Feb 1870, died 3 Feb 1940 in Orange, TX. He married Agnes Block on 1 July 1897 in Orange, TX. Children: Ruth Jessie who m. Vertis Clement Burton; Thelma Pearl who m. John Henry Peveto; Charles Butler who m. Rosa May Douglas; Mary Annis who m. M.R. Hubbard, second to Allen W. Peveto; Richard Ransom who m. Sudie Ruth Burton; Thomas Henry who m. Gladys Brown, second to Lillian Hedges; Bessye Viola who m. Ira George Clark; and Dott Lou Ellen who m. Robert Henry Smith.

References:

1. "My Eddleman Family" by Frances Peveto Reid in "Las Sabinas", Vol. XXV, Book 3, 1998. (The Official Publication of the Orange County Historical Society, Orange, Texas).

2. "Our Eddleman Story" by Mary M. Ward

3. January 4, 1999 correspondence from Arthur W. Burgeron, Jr., Ph. D. to Ms. Frances Reid.

4. 1870 Cameron Parish, LA census on "USGenWeb Archives" at www.searches.rootsweb.com

5. "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana", The Southern Publishing Company, Chicago & Nashville, 1890 on "USGenWeb Archives" at www.searches.rootsweb.com

6. "Rapides Parish Police Jury Minutes, 5 September 1865" on "USGenWebArchives" at www.searches.rootsweb.com

7. "Louisiana Confederate Soldiers" on www.Ancestry.com

8. Viola Knight's Widow's Application For Confederate Pension (State of Louisiana)

9. Viola Knight's death certificate (Certificate No. 7062, Louisiana State Board of Health)

Nancy S. Bell
nb7020@hotmail.com
Updated 7-13-02
Used with permission

Photo from the Las Sabinas VOL XXV 1998 BK 3
Submitted by Elaine Stone
Used with permission

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