Elisha Mac Ledford was born 28 Feb 1829,[1] Macon County, North Carolina.[2] He was married to Marthena T. “Mattie” McGee 7 Dec 1848 in Union County, Georgia.[3]
Elisha and Mattie made their home in Clay County, NC just across the border from Georgia, near his father, where he farmed a small plot of land. With the start of the Civil War, Elisha joined Company B, 7th Battalion North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, CSA, 27 Feb 1863, and on 3 Aug 1863 was transferred to 6th Cavalry Regiment, North Carolina. He was noted for Distinguished Service. His brothers Daniel, Jason and Joseph also joined, on 5 Jul 1862.[4] Elisha is listed as deserted around the end of September 1863, as were Jason and Joseph (note: being listed as deserted or AWOL just meant they couldn't find you at that time. It was a hectic time and it should in no way be construed that Mac or his brothers were deserters in the way we would think of it in modern times).
Elisha returned home to farming after the war. The family back in Clay County has told me that he was a Methodist minister, and that they believe that he preached at the Old Ledfords Chapel later in his life; I think it is worth mentioning even though we haven't found proof of this.[5] Everything seemed to go pretty good for him, until he was 67. He was working in his field when his rabid dog bit him. His grandson John Barrett says that his name was Feist,[6] his daughter-in-law Julia says it was Major, one or the other. Elisha got rabies and started getting ill. Julia said that the first sign that something was wrong was him chasing his nieces through the cornfield like a madman. She related that once as they were sitting around the table talking, Elisha held out his hand palm up, and said, “Look, did you see ol’ Major jump off the end of my hand? See?” He was motioning to show what he was seeing. Eventually, he had to be tied into bed to protect himself and others and his brother Daniel took care of him. On the night before he died he asked Daniel to untie him and let him get out of bed so he could pray. Daniel let Elisha out of bed and he kneeled down and asked the Lord to allow him to live until ten the next morning and asked for it to be a nice, sunny day. He got back into bed and went to sleep. The next morning the sun came up, not a cloud in the sky, and Elisha got to see it.[7] He died just after ten on the morning of 18 Apr 1896 at his brother’s home in Clay County, NC.[8]
Elisha had written his will just three days before he died, and in it he left one dollar each to David Ledford, Jason Ledford, James Ledford, George Barrett, J. T. Hamelin and Elisha Dean Hedden. To his son Marshall Ledford he left all of his real estate, and to Hill Ledford he left his livestock; one mare, one colt, two cows and six sheep.[9] Elisha was buried in the Old Ledfords Chapel Cemetery near his father and grandparents. Marthena stayed in Clay County for several more years. After 1910 she went to Anderson County, South Carolina to stay with her daughter Paralee, where she died 10 Jun 1915. She was buried in the Silver Brooks Cemetery in Anderson, South Carolina. [10]
This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?
Elisha was born in 1829. He was the son of Jason Ledford and Elizabeth Bradley. He passed away in 1896.
Elisha Ledford - [1 - Male - Ages (0 to 5)] - Age 1
Elisha Ledford - [1 - Male - Ages (10 to 15)] - Age 11
E M C Ledford - Male - Age 32 - Birthplace: Macon County, North Carolina
Eli M Ledford - Male - Age 41 - Birthplace: North Carolina
E M Ledford - Male - Age 51 - Birthplace: North Carolina
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Elisha is 22 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 28 degrees from Sting Sumner, 17 degrees from Josh Brolin, 22 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 19 degrees from José Ferrer, 18 degrees from Frank Herbert, 17 degrees from Richard Jordan, 17 degrees from David Lynch, 17 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 19 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 26 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 21 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.