Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Samuel James Coleman

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Descendants of Samuel James Coleman

Generation No. 2

2. JAMES WESLEY² COLEMAN (SAMUEL JAMES¹) was born March 18, 1841 in Farm near Tolchester, Maryland, and died August 01, 1919. He married SARA TEMPERANCE APSLEY November 20, 1861 in Rev. Walton, Kent County, Maryland, daughter of JOSEPH APSLEY and MARTHA GARDNER. She was born March 29, 1845 in Piney Neck, Kent County, Maryland, and died September 18, 1920.

Notes for JAMES WESLEY COLEMAN:
James Wesley Coleman

James Wesley Coleman began his life in the farming community of Edesville, near Rock Hall in Kent County, Maryland, fought as a private for the Union Army in the Civil War and subsequently migrated south across the Chester River to Kent Island in Queen Anne County, Maryland. He is the common ancestor of the Coleman Family that inhabits Queen Anne County today. Sufficient documentation exists for his generation forward to make clear connections to his relatives. Going backward in time requires inference. Hence, connections are uncertain.

The story of James Wesley Coleman begins with a documented oral history left by his granddaughter, Myrtle Coleman (1895-1994) who was active in the Kent Island Historical Society. From these notes and meager records of pre1865 Kent County some inferences can be made of James Wesley Coleman's ancestors. Myrtle Coleman's notes state that James Wesley Coleman's mother was Ann Rebecca Coleman. Kent County, Maryland marriage records indicate that Samuel James Coleman married Rebecca Anne Coleman on March 6, 1824. Birth dates are not known for either Samuel James Coleman or Rebecca Ann Coleman. Myrtle Coleman's notes also indicate that James Wesley Coleman had a stepmother, i.e. Samuel James Coleman remarried after the death of his wife, Ann Rebecca while James Wesley was a child in Samuel James' household. Myrtle Coleman's notes also indicate that James Wesley's stepmother later married Joseph R. Apsley and they had a son, George, who later became a preacher in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. On the same page of notes, Myrtle Coleman states that Samuel Coleman remembered hearing the guns firing at the Battle of Caulk's Field (August 13, 1813) and he "ran around the house". The reader presumes that this is a childhood recollection and the timing is consistent with someone who would be married eleven years later. Myrtle Coleman's notes do not specifically state that the Samuel she mentions is the future husband of Ann Rebecca Coleman, who is specifically cited as James Wesley's mother. However, the juxtaposition on the same page together with the Kent County marriage record does provide some level of support to this relationship.

Myrtle Coleman's notes mention that "grandfather's [James Wesley Coleman's] relatives" went to Illinois. Their names were George and Tom. Unfortunately, she did not indicate the nature of the family relationship.

Records for American soldiers who fought the British at the August 13, 1813 Battle of Caulk's Field, near Rock Hall in Kent County, Maryland list three members of the Coleman Family, two of which share James Wesley Coleman's name:
· James Coleman of Capt. Ezekiel Chambers' Company
· Samuel Coleman of Capt. Simon Wicks' Rifle Corps
· Ezekiel Coleman of Captain Page's Company.

It is somewhat likely that either James or Samuel is the grandfather of James Wesley Coleman and the father of Samuel James Coleman. It is also possible that James and Samuel were brothers and the son of one of these shared the names of his father and uncle. However, it is possible that the Samuel Coleman of this battle is one and the same as James Wesley's father. The absence of birth dates of Samuel Coleman, the presumed father of James Wesley Coleman, and the absence of data on the ages of James and Samuel who fought in this battle hinders this analysis. Remember that Myrtle Coleman's notes describe a presumed childhood experience of Samuel Coleman [presumed to be Samuel James Coleman] that he remembered hearing the guns of the battle and "ran around the house". With this in mind, one may infer that Samuel James Coleman was a child in 1813 and did not participate in the battle. Marriage to Ann Rebecca occurred fourteen years after the battle giving further credence that he may have been in his childhood years.

Given the data and the inferences that can be made from the data, it is surmised that James Wesley Coleman's parents were Samuel James and Rebecca Ann Coleman and his grandfather may have been either James or Samuel Coleman, veterans of the 1813 Battle of Caulk's Field.

Returning to James Wesley Coleman, the records provide much more documentation from which conclusions can be made. In addition, as of 1999 there are three surviving grandchildren who can be interviewed. From Civil War pension records, provided by the National Archives, we know that James Wesley Coleman was born March 18, 1841 in Kent County, Maryland. He married Sarah Temperance Apsley in Kent County at a private residence November 21, 1861. When he entered the Civil War in 1864 he was a farmer, residing at Edesville, near Rock Hall in Kent County, Maryland. He had blue eyes, dark hair and stood 5 feet 9 Ľ inches tall.

According to the Union Army's muster rolls, James Wesley Coleman was drafted and mustered into the into service September 20, 1864 for one year's service at Easton, Maryland (Talbot County). He served in the rank of Private in Company D, 2nd Regiment of the Maryland Infantry. This unit was part of the 2nd Division of the 9th Army Corps. Muster records show he entered [active] service December, 1864 from Baltimore, Maryland and was discharged at war's end in Alexandria, Virginia July 17, 1865. The unit marched to Alexandria, Virginia after the Appomatox Battle and subsequently transported by rail to Baltimore, Maryland where the unit was disbanded. During James Wesley Coleman's period of service (December, 1864 to July, 1865) the 2nd Regiment of the Maryland Infantry fought in the Battle of Poplar Springs Church, the siege and final assault at Petersburg and fought at the final engagement at Appomatox that ended the war.

July 22, 1890 James Wesley Coleman, at the age of 49, appeared before the Justice of the Peace to file for a declaration for invalid pension due to rheumatism, affliction of the lungs and general disabilities incurred from Civil War service. The pension was granted at nineteen dollars per month to commence June 5, 1912 and twenty-two and one-half dollars per month from March 18, 1916. We know from this application that as of 1890 he still resided in Edesville, Kent County. Subsequent records, filed in 1911 indicate that he had lived at Kent Island, Queen Anne County for about 15 years, indicating the move occurred approximately 1896.

James Wesley Coleman was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was ordained an Exhorter of the Church January, 1880. In the early days of the Methodist Church on Maryland's Eastern Shore, ordained ministers rode circuits and relied on local resident "exhorters" to preach during their absences.

Children from the marriage of James Wesley Coleman and Sarah Temperance Apsley are:

· Cora Verena Coleman, born October 6, 1862
· James Wesley Coleman, Jr., born December 27, 1864
· Joseph Ellison Coleman, born March 23, 1868, died August 31, 1937
· Mary Ella Coleman, born January 8, 1871
· Franklin Whitefield Coleman, born September 15, 1877

James Wesley Coleman died August 1, 1919 and his wife Sarah, known as "Sallie" died September 18, 1920.

Obituary:

Queen Anne's County Observer August 9, 1919. Coleman, James Wesley, aged 78 years, a veterin of the Civil War, died at the home of his son, Joseph Ellison Coleman, in Chester, Friday evening from the infirmities of age. He was the son of the late James Samuel and Ann Rebecca Coleman of Kent County and was born on a farm near Tolchester. He is survived by a widow, who before her marriage was Sarah Temperence Apsley of Kent County, and four children; Messrs. Joseph E. and Whiteford [Whitefield?] Coleman, and Mrs. Frank Gardiner, and Mrs. Alfred Kersey, all of Chester. Interment in Stevensville Cemetary.

Notes for SARA TEMPERANCE APSLEY:
Obituary:

Mrs. Sarah Temperence Coleman, aged 75, wife of the late James Wesley Coleman, died at the home of her son, James E. Coleman, in Chester, Saturday afternoon, September 18, after an illness of only three days. She was the daughter of the late Joseph R. and Martha Ann Apsley. Mrs. Coleman was born in Piney Neck, Kent County, March 29, 1845, where she lived until about thirty years ago, when her family moved to Kent Island, where they have since resided. She was married in November 1861 to James Wesley Coleman also of Kent County, he having died August 1, 1919. If he had lived just three months longer they would have been married 58 years. She is survived by four children; two sons Joseph E. and F. Whitefield Coleman, both of Chester, and two daughters, Mrs. Frank Gardiner of Baltimore and Mrs. Alfred Kersey of Chester; also, a brother Capt. James E. Apsley of Rock Hall, and two half-brothers, William and George Apsley of Baltimore. Funeral services were held at Kingsley M. E. Church, Sunday afternoon at three o'clock, and interment was in Stevensville Cemetary. Rev G. S. Thomas, pastor of the church conducted the burial service. The pallbearers were Charles Lewis, Jacob Gardiner, Charles Kirwan, Richard Brown, Alfred and Elmer Jones.

Children of JAMES COLEMAN and SARA APSLEY are:

3.	i.	CORA VERENA³ COLEMAN, b. October 06, 1862, Kent County, Md.; d. March 29, 1939.
	ii.	JAMES W. COLEMAN, JR, b. December 27, 1864; d. September 14, 1887.
4.	iii.	JOSEPH ELLISON COLEMAN, b. March 23, 1868, Piney Neck, Kent County, Maryland; d. August 31, 1937, Kirwans Creek, Kent Island, Md..
	iv.	MARY ELLA COLEMAN, b. January 08, 1871; m. ALFRED D. KERSEY.
5.	v.	FRANKLIN WHITEFIELD COLEMAN, b. September 15, 1877, Kent Island, Queen Anne County, Maryland; d. September 21, 1957, Kent Island, Queen Anne County, Maryland.

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