Samuel L. Kelsey was born in February, 1816, in Chester County, South Carolina. He moved to Montgomery County, Texas, after 1850.

In early 1860, Samuel took a position as overseer for Danville plantation owner Green Wood. As recorded in Major Wood's journals, a house was raised for Mr. Kelsey on the 16th of December 1859, and the house was covered on the 7th of January 1860. The hands worked on the kitchen and smokehouse on the 14th of January (those buildings were traditionally separated from the main house).

Major Wood sent wagons to pick up Samuel's household goods on the 30th of January, and after that time, Kelsey's name heads each page in the journal as overseer.

The house built for Samuel was on the plantation, and in the 1860 census, he and his wife are enumerated near Major Wood and his son, Green M. Wood.

In 1860, Samuel was age forty-three, and his wife Mary M., was age thirty-three, born in Alabama. There were no children in the household. Sam had six slaves of his own, indicating that he may have had some land of his own under cultivation.

Samuel stayed as overseer for about almost a year, and was replaced by Wiley Green on 22 December 1860.

S. L. Kelsey joined the Danville Mounted Riflemen on May 4, 1861. He is also listed on the Riflemen muster rolls for September 13, 1861 and for February 14, 1862. He is not on the muster rolls for Co. B 24th Cavalry, being over age for CSA service.

Kelsey joined the Fourth Regiment Texas State Troops and was in it for at least a short time, even though he was over age. He was in Company D.

A muster roll of the company has the following notation: Name appears on affidavit of men belonging to organization above over 45 years of age. Affidavit dated “camp in the field near the mouth of Caney, Tx. Feb. 1 1864.”

Kelsey filed a petition requesting that he be exempted from service because of his age.

The petition reads in part:

“Personally appeared before me Preston H. Spiller, a notary public in and for Walker County, and said state, S. L. Kelsey, to me well known and a private in Co. D 4th Regiment Infty--and upon oath he states that he is over forty-eight years of age and by the act of Congress he is exempt from conscription; that he claims to be an engineer for a steam grist mill and that he is physically unable to perform the duties of a soldier.” The document concludes: “Given under my hand and seal of office using the common scroll or seal, this Febry. 1, 1864. Preston H. Spiller A Notary Public in and for Walker County State of Texas.” It is signed S. L. Kelsey.

In September, 1866, Kelsey was one of a group of planters who formed the Waverly Emigration Society for the purpose of bringing foreigners to work on their farms, to replace the labor of the slaves who were freed at the end of the war. The planters agreed to pay the passage of Polish immigrants and provide housing for them, and in return, the Poles would work for them for three years or until their passage was repaid.

Samuel's application to have his voting rights reinstated by the U. S. government in 1867 was turned down. He appealed, and his case was decided thus: The decision was wrong. The applicant is entitled to registry, if it is shown that he did not afterwards engage in insurrection, etc. United States Congressional Serial Set, United States Government Printing Office-1869; p. 240

In the Walker County census of 1870, Samuel and Mary were living in Precinct 4 of Walker County, and he was again farming. His post office was Huntsville.

Little else is known about S. L. Kelsey. He died 10 February 1878 and is buried in a marked grave in Waverly Cemetery, Walker County, Texas. It has a CSA emblem.

Thanks to Elsa Vorwerk for the overseer records on S. L. Kelsey.

The above was compiled from census records and county records, from Texas Archives records, from the Compiled Service Records, accessed on microfilm at the Confederate Research Center at Hillsboro, Texas. The information from the Green Wood Journal was generously provided by Elsa Vorwerk and Bill Wood, now of Georgetown, Texas.


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Karen McCann Hett

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