Benton County
Tennessee

Civil War

Nancy Prince
Southern Widow's Claim for Benton County Losses to Union Calvary

Mrs. Nancy Prince, 54 years old, residing in McNairy Co., Tenn. 10 miles N.W. of Corinth, MS, 3 years. She was born in Benton County, married to John Prince in 1852, and lived in Benton County during the war. Her husband "was on the Union side from the beginning to the end." She knew of no near relatives of herself in either the Union or Confederate Army but thought her husband had a brother in the Union Army 6l She knew of no relatives of his in the Confederate service Asked who could testify as to their Union loyalty she replied: Billy BARNES, Dr. WHITE, and Thos. ROBINSON. "Two are dead. The others are too far away to testify."

Asked to describe any threats against them because of their loyalty to the Union she said "a company come to our house one night and threatened to burn it up". The owner of the property taken was "My husband John Prince by purchase and production. It was a farm 80 or 90 acres cleared and in cultivation, over 100 acres woodland. He died in 1869."

She then gave the court a list of her five children with their ages in 1877.
L. H. Prince, 23; Noah Prince, 21; E. H. Prince, 19;
S. L. Prince, 17; S. G. Prince, 14.

Asked why she was applying in her own name and not in behalf of her children she replied: "I was the natural guardian of my children and presented the claims & it was made out in my name. I derived title from my husband & my ownership commenced at his death, it did belong to him. Children, five above, all now living, not especially interested in claim since I have supported and managed for them since death of their father. He left no will. There was no administration on his estate, no guardian was ever appointed for the children. My husband left very little property and I paid all the debts against him and for that reason the children are not joined in the petition."8'

As to the claim Nancy testified that "I was present and actually saw the corn and fodder taken. Taken in the daytime just as Mr. Prince had started to turn and mill the corn." The cavalry?, "They were on the march. There had been no recent battle or skirmish in the neighborhood."

SONA LEVI H. AND NOAH TESTIFY:

Levi H. and Noah testified they were both now living in McNairy County. Levi, "I am the son of the claimant. I saw the property taken they just went to the crib, took it out, and fed their horses." Noah, testified dthat the claimant was his mother. He was farming during the war. He saw the corn and fodder taken and the "voucher given to my father John Prince." There was 300 bushels of foder, "I counted it." The testimony concludes with a page of detail about the condition and classification of the corn and fodder."

SOURCE: Benton County Genealogical Society Quarterly December 1996
The forgoing was sent us by: Nancy Palmer Harvey - I was just transcribing a scrawled pencil entry on an old torn receipt given by a Capt. P. K. Parsons, 5th Tennessee Cavalry to John Prince of Benton County in 1862. I had been wondering what happened to the Captain, did he make it through the war, what happened to his family? Apparently he made it to the 7th cavalry and was alive in 1864. The receipt itself appears in the National Archives in the files of the Southern Claims Commission. It was submitted to prove a claim for $164.00 for a 1st. class horse ($150.00), 10 Bushes of corn, 200 bundles of fodder taken by Union Soldiers from her husband John Prince in Benton County in 1862. Receipt: "Tennessee Cavalry, This is to testify that I have taken one horse from John Prince for to mount one of my men. Capt. P. K. PARSON, Sept. 18, 1862. "2- The claim was disallowed as proof of loyalty to the Union not satisfactory. While disproved it gives considerable information about the Prince family, establishes a death date for Nancy's husband John, proves the names and ages of their 5 children, and proves that the Nancy Prince who appears on the 1880 census of McNairy County with children Stanford, age 20^ and Sally age 17 is the widow of John Prince of Benton County. • Nancy's first petition was dated June 3, 1871, from Rienzi, Alcorn County, Mississippi. The petition appointed Samuel V. NILES of Washington, DC as her attorney. It was witnessed by W. S. NICHOLSON & Nancy NICHOLSON, both of Rienzi, who were also the witnesses she cited to prove her loyalty to the Union. However, when her case came up for final decision in 1877, she did not have the Nicholsons testify.

FOOTNOTES TO THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

1.Southern Claims Commission, disallowed claim. Nancy Prince, Alcorn, Mississippi, Commission #6276, Office #478, Report #7, Year 1877. NARA Microfiche M1407 on Fiche #2477.

2. Other papers in this file give the Captains name as Kit, K.P., and Christopher, 5th Tenn Cav Volunteer.

3. US Census 1880, McNairy County, Tennessee, V21, Ed 120, Dist 5, HH302.

4.Alcorn was one of the counties formed out of Tishomingo county in 1870.

5. Benton County Marriage Records, John Prince to Nancy Combs 12-29-1853, W. R. Pierce, J.P.

6.John Prince had two brothers, William and Barrel Y. Prince, both of them lived in Scott County, Missouri. Barrel Y. Prince, died Bee. 21, 1865 age 39 years 25 days.

7. Jonathan Smith in his book Historic Benton, 1975, p. 164 lists a John G. Prince, deserted 1862, Company I, 49th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry. John was a son of John Prince by a previous wife. R The widow may have had another reason for not taking out an administration, she may not have wanted to share any property left by her husband with his grown children by his previous two wives.

8. 5 March 1877 Beposition of Mrs. Nancy Prince, McNairy, Tennessee, testified to in court at Corinth, Alcorn County, Mississippi, 5 May 1877, by Nancy and two of her sons, Levi H. and Noah Prince.

John and Nancy Prince and their five children left Benton County about 1867/68. John died in 1869 and Nancy and her children settled in McNairy Co. TN. and tried to recoup some of their losses to the Union Cavalry in Benton County.

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