Robert Alston Bacon (8 Mar. 1842-Sep. 8, 1902)

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Jean L. Cooper

Robert Alston Bacon was the son of Dr. John Edmund Bacon (1812-1882) of Georgia, and his first wife, Clementina Sara Alston (1818-1842), daughter of Robert West Alston of Halifax County, NC. (Browning; FindaGrave.com)

Robert attended the University of Virginia in session 37 (1860-1861). The chairman’s journal states he was given six days leave on 24 Dec. 1860, along with a number of other students. On 6 Mar. 1861, he was given “leave of absence to visit Washington on the occasion of the Inauguration of the President-elect” [Abraham Lincoln] for 3 days. On April 17th, the chairman writes: “Gave Mr. R. A. Bacon of Ga, leave of absence for two weeks — Has received a dispatch calling him home.” And finally, on 18 April 1861, the chairman writes: “W.M. Moses, ordered home by telegram — (a similar order also came for R.A. Bacon)” (JUEL, Chairman’s Journal)

He enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army on 16 April 1861. He served in the Georgia 2nd Infantry, Company G (also called The Columbus Guards).[1] He was discharged on 8 Nov. 1861 due to disability. (U.S. Civil War Soldier Records)

Robert A. Bacon never married, and died in Asheville, NC. (Note: His will indicates he was living in Manatee, Florida at the time it was written.) He was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Georgia, next to his father as Robert had requested in his will. (Robert A. Bacon Will)

References:

Bacon, Robert A. Will, dated Jan. 24, 1901, in Wills, 1833-1853; Wills and Inventories, 1852-1907; Author: Alabama. Probate Court (Talladega County) in Ancestry.com. Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, frame 703.

Browning, Charles Henry, Some Colonial Dames of Royal Descent. Philadelphia, 1900, pages 347-348, in Ancestry.com. U.S., Family History Books [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2025.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34094797/robert_alston-bacon: accessed March 16, 2026), memorial page for Robert Alston Bacon (8 Mar 1842–8 Sep 1902), Find a Grave Memorial ID 34094797, citing Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia, USA; Maintained by Nancy (contributor 46797589).

Georgia Historical Society. The Columbus Guards. (2026). https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/the-columbus-guards

Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.

Jefferson’s University, the early life (JUEL), Chairman’s Journal, Session 37, September 29, 1860 – June 29, 1861 (Vol 12), pages 106-156. http://juel.iath.virginia.edu/exist/rest/db/JUEL/juel_search_one_new.xq?doc=/db/JUEL/xml/chairman-journal/Sessions/session-037.xml&keyword1=#m1

National Park Service. U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

[1] The Columbus Guards, a noted military company, was organized in 1835 and chartered by the Georgia Legislature in 1843. “They served voluntarily in the Indian War 1836; the War with Mexico, 1846; the War Between the States, the Spanish War; on the Mexican Border in 1916-17; and the First World War, after which they became inactive.” (Georgia Historical Society)

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Charles William Cary (20 Sep 1826-23 Aug 1852)

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Jean L. Cooper

Charles William Cary was the son of Captain Cyrus Cary (1794-1832) of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and his wife Mary Skiles Arbuckle. (FindaGrave.com) Cyrus Cary was a member of the Virginia Legislature from Greenbrier County in the session of 1829-1830.

Charles first attended the Virginia Military Institute, graduating in 1848. He then attended the University of Virginia in sessions 25-26 (1848-1850), where he studied medicine. In 1851, he graduated from the Medical College of Philadelphia. (VMI Historical Rosters Database, UVA Matriculation Books, Gayley)

Dr. Cary apparently started his practice in Lewisburg, but died there in 1852 of consumption at “Montescena,” the home of his Uncle David S. Creigh. (NRHP Form) Though there is no grave marker, Dr. Cary was buried at Old Stone Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg.

References:

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Cary Family (Virginia and Maryland)

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Jean L. Cooper

Wilson Miles Cary (2 Sep 1806-9 Jan 1877) was the son of Wilson Jefferson Cary (1783-1823) of Fluvanna County, Virginia, and his wife, Virginia Randolph (1786-1852). Mrs. Cary was the sister of Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., a son-in-law of President Thomas Jefferson. Wilson Miles Cary first attended Hampden-Sydney College, then the University of Virginia in session 1, enrolling on March 9, 1825, and being expelled October 6, 1825. (UVA Matriculation books)

Wilson was among a group of students expelled for conducting a “a serious riot and disturbance” on Oct. 1, 1825. The faculty met on Oct. 2 and 3 about this matter, and then handed the issue to the Board of Visitors to determine the punishment for those involved. The faculty minutes summarized Cary’s statement:

Wilson Miles Carey was not intoxicated; made no noise; was laid hold of by Mr. [George] Tucker but escaped and afterwards by Dr. Emmet, who tore a counterpane which witness had around him as well as his shirt sleeve; was seized by two Professors but not at the same time; heard the language regarding the European Professors; did not use it himself; thinks he did aim a blow at Professor Emmet; cried a rescue; said in allusion to Professor E, “the damn’d rascal has torn my shirt”; conceived he was assaulted and therefore acted as he did; had no intention when he left his Dormitory to make any disturbance ; took up a brick expecting that Dr. Emmet would stand back and be intimidated ; was not of the party who took up sticks; did not throw any brick or stick; does not recollect having been asked his name by Dr. Emmet. (Faculty Minutes, Oct. 2-5, 1825)

The Board of Visitors determined that Cary should be expelled:

A communication from the Faculty of Professors is rec[ei]ved in the following words, to wit, `University of Virginia. Ordered that Wilson Miles Carey having on the night of the 1st. instant resisted the authority of a Professor, used violence against him, and excited others to follow his example, and for abusive epithets concerning the said Professor, be expelled from the University. Copied from the minutes of the Faculty. Robley Dunglison Secretary. George Tucker. (UVA Board of Visitors Minutes, Oct. 6, 1825)

Subsequently, Cary studied law with Judge Brockenbrough and Judge Henry St. George Tucker, and was admitted to the bar in Charlottesville, Virginia. He married Jane Margaret Carr (1809-1903) in 1831. Their children were Sarah Nicholas, Virginia (died in infancy), Hetty, Virginia Randolph, Wilson-Miles Jr., John Brune, Jane Margaret, and Sydney Carr Cary. (The Virginia Carys) Hetty Cary was a famous Southern belle and Confederate spy. Her sister Jane (“Jenny”) set the words of the poem “Maryland, My Maryland” to a tune called “Lauriger Horatius.”  The combination later became the Maryland State Song.)

After his marriage, Cary practiced law in Charlottesville and was the editor of the Virginia Advocate newspaper. He also served in the local militia, and was called “Colonel” Cary all his life.

In 1833, Wilson Miles Cary and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where Cary practiced law for a time. In 1835, he bought a farm in Baltimore County called “Haystack,” and “was engaged in agricultural pursuits” for some years. (Baltimore Sun Jan. 10, 1877) Cary was elected to the Maryland Senate, and served in that body from 1846-1852.

The Carys established a school for young ladies at Haystack. In 1850, the family moved into Baltimore. The school was continued in Baltimore as the Southern Home School and was in existence at least through 1906, when it was listed as a girls’ preparatory school in Patterson’s American Education.

Wilson Miles Cary senior died in 1877, in Baltimore County, Maryland, and is buried in Saint Thomas Episcopal Church Cemetery, in Owings Mills, Maryland. (FindaGrave.com)

His son, Wilson-Miles Cary, Jr. (12 Dec. 1838-28 Aug. 1914), was born at “Haystack” in Baltimore County, Maryland. He attended the University of Virginia in sessions 33-34 (1856-1858). He served in the Confederate army as a captain and major in the Quartermaster Department. After the Civil War, he established a classical boys’ school in Baltimore, and then became a lawyer and served as the Clerk of the Criminal Court of Baltimore. He later became a genealogist, and had articles published in various genealogical and historical periodicals, as well as writing a novel, Sally Cary; a long hidden romance of Washington’s life. Cary Jr. never married and had no children. (Death certificate)

He is buried at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church Cemetery in Owings Mills, Maryland, with his mother and father.

References:

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Thomas Lawson Barraud (26 May 1828-15 Oct. 1863)

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Jean L. Cooper

Thomas Lawson Barraud was the son of Dr. Daniel Cary Barraud (1790-1867), of Norfolk, VA, and his wife, Mary Lawson (Chandler) Barraud (1798-1876). Thomas Barraud attended the University of Virginia only for session 26 (1849-1850). While there he studied Law. He then became a lawyer. (Schele de Vere; UVA Matriculation Books) At the time of the 1860 U.S. Census, he lived in a boarding house in Portsmouth, Virginia, so it is likely he practiced law in that city as well. (1860 U.S. Census)

Barraud married a cousin, Mary Baker (1830?-1910?), on 29 Dec. 1853, in Norfolk, VA. (Widow’s Pension Application; Findagrave.com; Barraud)

In April 1861, when the Confederacy rebelled against the United States, Thomas L. Barraud, then 33 years old, enlisted in Portsmouth’s “Virginia Defenders,” a unit which later became Company C of the 16th Virginia Regiment. Here is a reminiscence written 40 years later, which first appeared in the Portsmouth Star newspaper:

The company was organized in April 1861, the first year of the war… On May 6, 1862, we left Norfolk for Richmond, for active service with four officers and sixty muskets. Six of the boys were made commissioned officers and served in their commands with credit to themselves and with honor to the old company.

Shortly after we left, several of the men were detailed for other service and several were discharged on account of age. We were thus thinned out until we were left with only four officers an[d] thirty-six men, who were either killed, died in hospital, disabled by wounds, or served with the company until the end.

At this point in the article there is a list of the company’s casualties. Thomas Barraud is at the top of the list. He had been wounded August 30, 1862, at the battle of 2nd Manassas, recovered at the Charlottesville Hospital, returned to his company in January, 1863, and fought at the battle of Bristoe Station, October 14, 1863. (Though Barraud’s tombstone says he died on October 13, the battle actually occurred on the 14th and he died the next day, so his correct date of death was 15 Oct. 1863.) The pension application submitted by his widow states that the battle was fought on the 14th. (Widow’s Pension Application) The American Civil War Museum has a sash that Captain Barraud wore and several swords that he captured at 2nd Manassas. (American Battlefield Trust; American Civil War Museum)

The article continues:

They [Company C] were engaged in the following battles: Charles City Road, Frasier’s Farm, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Crampton Gap, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Salem Church, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Bristoe, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Crater, Burgess Mills, Ream’s Station, Wilcox’s Farm, Davis Farm, Hatcher’s Run, Columbian Church, Five Forks, and then Appomattox.

We lost three officers out of four, eleven men killed and died, fifteen wounded, and we have now seventeen living. Our loss was so great that after Captain Barraud was killed and Lieutenants Baird and King disabled, Captain John H. Gayle was the only officer we had left. He was in every engagement and surrendered the company of five men at Appomattox. These were all we had left. Every man shot was a man gone. No one came to take his place. We had none to recruit from… (Richmond Dispatch, from the Portsmouth Star)

Thomas Barraud was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery, in Norfolk, VA. (Findagrave.com) Others of his family, his parents and 3 of his siblings, are also buried there. The inscription on his monument reads:

Thomas Lawson Barraud
A Captain in the Army of the
Confederate States
He fell at Bristoe Station, Va.
Oct. 13, 1863
A man filling every relation
of life faithfully, nobly.

References:

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Thomas Butler King Wylly (13 Oct. 1847-24 Jun. 1900)

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Jean L. Cooper

King Wylly was one of the sons of George Washington Wylly (1816-1906), a slave trader, and his wife, Sarah Anne Revel (1830-1875). (Findagrave.com) George W. Wylly was also an alderman of Savannah, Georgia, almost continuously from 1858 to 1869, and he was among those who surrendered the city to Gen. Sherman. (Harden; City of Savannah)

It seems likely that Thomas Butler King Wylly was named after Thomas Butler King (1800-1864) who was “a state senator in Georgia in 1832, 1834, 1835, 1837, and 1859; a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1833 and to the State Whig conventions in 1835 and 1843. … He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839-March 3, 1843), and to the Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-first Congresses, and served from March 4, 1845, until his resignation in 1850.” He served as the collector of the port of San Francisco from 1850 to 1852 by Presidential appointment. (Biographical Directory)

King grew up in Savannah, GA, then attended the University of Virginia in sessions 43-45 (1866-1869). In 1866, he joined Chi Phi Fraternity. Among the subjects he studied were Latin and Greek, Modern Languages, Chemistry, Medicine, Physiology and Surgery, Anatomy, and Demonstration. As the last five classes indicate, King earned his M.D.  (U.Va. Matriculation Books)

Within a couple of years after he graduated, the Franco-Prussian War broke out, between France and Germany. “Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification …” (Wikipedia) Dr. Wylly volunteered as a surgeon in the French Army. He was presented with the Legion of Honor for his distinguished service in the Battle of Paris. (Harden)

About 1895, King Wylly married a woman named Louise M. (I cannot locate her surname) who was born in January 1866. The 1900 U.S. Census, which was taken on 1 Jun. 1900 (just 3 weeks before his death), indicates that the couple had been married for 5 years, and had no children.

Dr. Wylly had a medical practice in New York City, at least in the late 1870s, according to Schele de Vere. He also worked in Florida—one of his later projects was to establish a hospital in Sanford, Florida for the “Plant system.” The Plant system was a conglomeration of various railroads throughout the South, purchased in the late 19th century by Henry Plant. (Florida Star) Dr. Wylly died of apoplexy while on a trip to Saratoga Springs, New York, and was buried in the Bonaventure Cemetery, in Savannah, GA. (Daily Times (Troy, NY); Findagrave.com)

References:

  • Chi Phi Fraternity. The Chi Phi Fraternity Centennial Memorial Volume. The Council of Chi Phi Fraternity, 1924, p. 111.
  • City of Savannah, GA. A List of Mayors and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, Georgia, 1790-2012. https://www.savannahga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1971/List-of-Mayors-and-Aldermen
  • Harden, William. A history of Savannah and South Georgia. Chicago, IL, 1913, v.2, p.564-565.
  • “[Dr. King Wylly obituary].” The Daily Times (Troy, NY). June 25, 1900, p.3.
  • “King, Thomas Butler (1800-1864),”  in Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000215
  • “Latest News and incidents.” [King Wylly obituary] Florida Star (Titusville, FL), 29 Jun. 1900, p. 1
  • Schele de Vere, Maximilian. Students of the University of Virginia; a semi-centennial catalogue. Baltimore, MD, 1878.”
  • United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3N9-ZPG : accessed 7 January 2020), Louisea M Wylly in household of King Wylly, Militia District 3 Savannah city Ward Jasper, LaFayette, Monterey, Chatham, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 67, sheet 31, family 308, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,186.
  • University of Virginia Matriculation Books, 1825-1904, Accession #RG-14/4/2.041, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
  • Wylly tombstones, Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA. Findagrave.com
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