52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: William Harrison Richmond Sr
William Harrison Richmond Sr was born about 1845,1 to John Thomas and Nancy (Bragg) Richmond. His early years were spent on the family farm in Greenbrier, Greenbrier Co., Virginia (which became West Virginia after seceding from Virginia during the Civil War). He was the fifth child of a large family.
William enlisted in the Civil War on 3 Jun 1861 for twelve months. He served in the 36th VA Infantry of the Confederate States Army and was wounded in both legs at the battle of Kessler’s Cross Lanes on 26 Aug 1861. He was shot through both of his ankles. According to his disability records, he had a “wound in his ankle which unfits him for military duty. The wound has never healed or the ball been taken out on account of its being embedded among [—-] of the foot.” Private William H. Richmond was discharged on 11 Nov 1862.2,3
His military records give the following physical description of William, he was 5’9″ with fair complexion, gray eyes and dark hair.4
William married a widow, Martha Jane (Dix) Bragg 0n 12 Jan 1875 in Summers Co., WV.5
William and Martha had the following children:
Thomas J (1867 – unknown)
John Eldridge (1875 – 1955)
Manda Susan (1878 – unknown)
Nancy J (1879 – 1881)
William Harrison, Jr. (1882 – 1956)
Victoria (1885 – unknown)
The exact death date for William is currently unknown, the last record he has been found in is the 1880 US Federal Census.
1850 US Federal Census, Ancestry.com ↩
Company Musket Roll, Fold3.com, accessed 5 Dec 2014 ↩
Certificate of Disability, Fold3.com, accessed 5 Dec 2014 ↩
Certificate of Disability, Fold3.com, accessed 5 Dec 2014 ↩
Richmond – Bragg Marriage, wvculture.org ↩
