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David Ledford was born about 1833 in Macon County, North Carolina, son of David Ledford, Sr. and Jane Barnes. Like his father, David was a farmer in Clay County. He married Nancy Dulcena Hicks 28 Mar 1851 at her father's home in Cherokee County. Dulcena was born about 1835 in Haywood County, North Carolina to Stephen Hicks and Mary Ledford.
On 5 Jul 1862, David enlisted in Company B, 7th Battalion NC Cavalry, CSA. There were many instances listing him as AWOL or deserted in his file, but he always seemed to come back. In Sept 1862, he joined Walker's Battalion of Thomas' Legion in Clay County, NC, but in February of the next year he is listed as "conscripted and carried to Georgia". In October of 1863, David joined the 2nd NC Mounted Infantry (USA) in Knoxville, Tennessee and was a recruiter. Here he is also often listed as AWOL or absent with a reason. As it is, he was killed by rebels on Tellico Mountain while piloting escaped Union prisoners to safety.
Stories about David's service from two descendants: his son David Laranza "Ranz" was about 9 years old when he had his toes tied with string and was hung upside down to make him tell where is father was hiding. Either he didn't know or was one mighty strong-willed child, since the provost guard did not catch up with David until about Dec 1863 in Polk County, Tennessee. He was captured and shot as a deserter. Dulcena and Ranz drove a wagon and team of oxen into the Tennessee mountains to bring his body home for burial. Ranz' great-grandson Charles Edward Stiles wrote about the above episode in a letter written for his mother Ruby Virginia Ledford Stiles to a cousin.
The story as told by David’s daughter, Julia Ann, is nearly the same. She relates that Confederate soldiers would come to Dulcena’s home looking for David. “They weren’t real Confederates, but renegades,” she said. In an attempt to get information from her, they would tie her to the rafters by her thumbs and beat her, and they would pour out all the stored flour, sugar and molasses on the floor and urinate on it. She never told where he was, if she knew. When they caught up with him they tied him to a wagon and dragged him until he was dead.
Another descendant of Julia’s brother Ranz said that he had been hung, because he had rope marks around his neck. Julia continued that after David was killed, Dulcena was so disgusted at the treatment of her husband and her family by the very people who were pretending to be protecting them that she decided to help the Union Army. She would get information on Confederate camps in the area, sew it into the hem of her dress and then take it to the Union army. If she was stopped on the way she would tell the soldiers that she was searching for a lost calf. Julia also mentioned that David’s youngest child Luvinna, born after David’s death, was called Lula Independent Sweet Union Forever (her middle initials are J.S.U. or I.S.U.).
There isn’t much information in David’s estate except Noah Trout was the administrator, and for some reason Elisha Mac Ledford kept going to the property and fixing things for the widow. Eventually the court had to issue a cease and desist order to keep him away.
Dulcena died sometime between 1880 and 1900, and was buried near David in Old Ledford’s Chapel Cemetery in Clay County.
No NOTE record found with id NS30301.
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L > Ledford > David Ledford Jr.
Categories: North Carolina Appalachians