Phelicia Jane (Cash) Gunn (abt. 1844 - 1887)

Born about 1844 in Elbert County, Georgia, USA

Ancestors

Died 13 Oct 1887 at about age 43 in Randall, Cleveland County, Arkansas, USA

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Biography

Born in Elbert County Ga, Pheletia Jane Cash moved with her family in 1858 to near Mt. Elba in Smith Township of Bradley County. She there married Nathaniel (Nathan) Gunn in 1861 at the home of her father Reuben Cash. They had 13 children, 11 boys, then the last 2 were the daughters Felicia and Nola.

Pheletia Jane died in 1887 shortly after the birth of Nola, at the time living in the Whiteville Township of Cleveland County. Sometime following her death, Nathan moved the family to central Texas where he raised their children. He died there in 1919.

Children:

William Thomas
Walter Nathaniel
Albert Alexander
Reuben Gillispie
James Nathaniel
George Washington
Joseph Henry Blackwell
Edison Haywood
John Overton
Pinkney Lafayette
Charles Wesley
Lou Pherlishea Elizabeth "Felicia"
Susan Phernola "Nola"

Burial

Non-Cemetery Burial

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The Civil War Years - Cash, England, Tomme, and Gunn

Military service records, family history, and obituaries indicate the families were terribly impacted by the Civil War. Reuben Cash’s 2 oldest sons, 3 husbands and 1 fiancés of his oldest daughters all served in the Confederacy. Some family history indicates that Reuben himself fought for the Confederacy, although there are no official records. However, with the battles at nearby Mt. Elba, Marks Mill, Pine Bluff, and ever present Union Patrols, family fathers would have been very active in the defense of their families and property.

John S. Cash - John, the oldest son, married his brother-in-law George England’s sister, Sarah England, prior to the war. John, George, and Nathan all joined the Confederacy at Mt. Elba February 22, 1862. Service records indicate that John served in Company D, 2nd Arkansas Calvary with his last muster roll dated August 1862. John was killed during the war, however the battle and place of his death is not known. Early family history from Marie Cash indicates he was killed in the Battle of Pine Bluff. However given the date when his service records stopped and his unit’s battle history, more than likely he would have died during the 2nd Battle of Corinth, MS along with 473 other Confederate Soldiers. James Wesley Cash - James Wesley married his brother-in-law D.C. Tomme’s sister, Laura Jane Tomme. No service records have been found that provide details of his service. His 1898 obituary in the Cleveland County Herald states the following: “He entered the Confederate Army when 18 years of age and was in several hard fought battles. He was always to be found in the ranks fighting bravely for the cause he loved. He was wounded once, but soon rejoined his command and did valiant service to the end of the war. During the war when but nineteen years of age, he married Miss Laura J. Tomme with whom he lived pleasantly until sixteen years ago when death called her away.” Based on this information and his date of birth, he would have joined in 1863. George England - George married the oldest Cash daughter, Mary Frances Cash on February 21, 1861 at the home of her father. The following year on February 22, 1862 George joined the 2nd Arkansas Calvary at Mt. Elba along with his brother-in-laws. Following is a portion of a Goodspeed Article for George that gives an overview of his military service: “The same year of his marriage Dr. England joined Company D, 2nd Arkansas Cavalry, and served in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Missouri. He was in the 2nd battle of Corinth, Marks Mill, Poison Springs, and all through the Price raid. He surrendered near Shreveport, LA, after which he came home and went to farming.”

Fiancés of Nancy Elizabeth Cash – Cash Family history from Marie Cash states that Nancy Elizabeth’s fiancés was killed in service during the Civil War, although his name was not provided. Nancy Elizabeth, the 2nd Cash daughter, never married and lived with her parents until her death around 1880. She is buried next to her parents and youngest sister, Louisa Rebecca Cash, at the Cherry Cemetery on Mt. Elba Road.

David Crockett Tomme - D.C. married to the 3rd Cash daughter, Virginia Ann Cash on February 16, 1861 at the home of her father. Shortly thereafter D.C. travelled to Ft. Smith along with friends from Calhoun County, and on October 26, 1861 joined Company K, 4th Arkansas Infantry. Company K was also known as the “Calhoun Invincibles”. After joining, on March 6, 1862 the 4th fought at the Battle of Pea Ridge, the largest battle to take place west of the Mississippi. The 4th then moved east to Mississippi and fought in the Siege of Corinth, MS during the summer of 1862. The 4th never returned to battle in Arkansas. For the remainder of the war the 4th fought in several of the largest battles in the south including: Battle of Richmond, KY 1862, Battle of Murfreesboro, TN, December 1862, Battle of Chickamauga, GA, September 1863 (the 2nd highest casualties of the war), Siege of Chattanooga, September to November 1863. Then through the summer and fall of 1864, the 4th participated in the Atlanta Campaign throughout Georgia as a part of the force attempting to stop Sherman. After the fall of Atlanta, the 4th along with the rest of the army was sent back to Tennessee, where they fought at the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville. On March 19, 1865, they fought their last major Battle at Bentonville, NC. By the end of the war D.C. had risen in ranks to 2nd Sgt. and its 5th ranking officer. D.C. returned home to Bradley County (now Cleveland) where he and Virginia were active in the community and raised their family. As other family members had done, D.C. and Virginia later moved to central Texas where they lived out the remainder of their lives.

Nathan Gunn - Nathan married the 4th Cash daughter, Pheletia Jane Cash. On February 22, 1862 Nathan joined 2nd Arkansas Calvary along with brother-in-laws. Shortly thereafter on June 20, 1862, he joined Monroe’s 1st Arkansas Calvary Company I. This company was organized at DeWitt, Arkansas County on June 20, 1862. It was primarily composed of men from Arkansas and Jefferson counties. In the fall of 1862, the company was disbanded and its men transferred to Companies C and G. Nathan was reassigned to Company C and served in this unit until the end of the war. On August 9, 1863 Nathan was granted a furlough from a military hospital at Dardanelle to return home to Bradley County and was required to rejoin his unit October 1, 1863. His return would have been just prior to the Battle of Pine Bluff that occurred October 25, 1863. Monroe’s Cavalry fought in the battles of Cane Hill, Prairie Grove, Fayetteville, Backbone Mountain, Pine Bluff, Elkins Ferry, Poison Springs, and Marks Mills, in Arkansas; and in the many of the battles of Price’s 1864 Missouri Campaign, including Pilot Knob and Independence, Missouri, and Marais des Cygnes, Kansas. The regiment was operating in southwest Arkansas and northeast Texas at the end of the war. Monroe’s Cavalry never surrendered. Much of the regiment marched south towards the Rio Grande River with the intention of crossing into Mexico and somehow continuing the war. However, upon reaching the Trinity River, the soldiers voted to disband the regiment and return to their homes.

J. Cash - 2012

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Sources

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M87R-F8J : 30 December 2015), Phelicia Cash in entry for Reubin Cash, 1860.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73864454/pheletia-jane-gunn