And that's all I know about him.
To be fully transparent, I will tell you all the evidence I currently have for Thomas being the father of Sam (and father-in-law of Etta) is circumstantial. It's not a theory I'm super queasy about, though, so I'll go with it unless proven otherwise.
As communicated in the image of Thomas's headstone, he served in Company C of the 5th Tennessee Mounted Infantry. (Better image by Cynthia Henry here.) The recessed shield and American flag decoration could lead one to believe he served with the Union Army during the Civil War. It's also helpful to know that Tennessee, especially its eastern part, had a large population of Southern Unionists.
That belief is proven to be so with Thomas's Civil War service records. They show he "joined for duty" 25 February 1862 in Harrison, Hamilton County, Tennessee for a term of 3 years, and was mustered into service a month later in Barboursville (sic), Knox County, Kentucky.
Pvt. Thomas Herold was mustered out of Company C, 5th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry 4 April 1865 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee "by reason of expiration of term of service." He was not killed in battle, as is suggested in a Maddux Cemetery transcription I found online.
An entry in a "regimental description book" described Thomas as being 46 years old, born in Hawkins County, Tennessee, with an occupation of farmer. It further stated he was just over 6 feet tall, with black eyes, black hair, and a fair complexion.
Thomas can be found in the 1890 Veterans Schedule of that year's U.S. Federal census. He was residing in Harrison, James County, Tennessee, and it was noted he was afflicted with inflammatory rheumatism.
The town of Harrison was once the seat of Hamilton County. When it was decided that the county seat would be moved to nearby Chattanooga, the urban-rural divide in politics was exacerbated to the point that those in the rural camp voted to secede from Hamilton and create their own county. Ironically, Harrison was not named the seat of the new county, which was called James. That honor went to the more centrally-located village of Ooltewah.
Less than 50 years after its formation, James County, Tennessee went bankrupt and was absorbed by Hamilton.
I next found Thomas Herald on an enumeration of male voters for 1891 in Tennessee. He was still in District One of James County, so likely still in Harrison. Listed just below Thomas was Sam.
And, finally, here's a pension file index card for Thomas. It shows he filed for an invalid pension 17 October 1878. His dependent, Harriet Herald, filed for a widow's pension 18 September 1894.
📚 BOOK #AD -- A Unionist in East Tennessee: Captain William K. Byrd and the Mysterious Raid of 1861 -- "During the Civil War, Tennessee was perhaps the most conflicted state in the Confederacy. Allegiance to either side could mean life or death, as Union militia captain and longtime Tennessee resident William K. Byrd discovered in the fall of 1861 when he and his men were attacked by a band of Confederate sympathizers and infantrymen." (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualified purchases.)
So there it is. All the information I have on Pvt. Thomas Herald, husband of Harriet, and father of Sam.
Speaking of Sam, he is as elusive as his father. I have found Sam with Etta and the kids in the 1910 census records, as well as he and the kids in 1920. And that's where the trail thus far ends.
Comments