J. William Towson

J. William Towson M V B K Y Photo: Born: 2 March 1839.[4033] “[N]ear Williamsport, in Washington County, Md., in 1839.”[4034] 1839 in Williamsport, Maryland.[4035] Married: Died: 23 November 1920.[4036] Living in Missouri circa 1874–1878.[4037] He was then about 37 years of age.[4038] Death date unknown. Obituary: Children: Parents and Siblings: Other Family: Stories, Letters & Biographies: “He came […] South in August 1862, […] working his way through the Federal lines. He served in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Lee…”[4039] See Biographies Chapter. [See CV 29:27, born 3/2/1839 – 11/23/1920. # ]Articles about him might be found in Confederate Veteran volume 29, page 27 and/ or volume 20, page 359.[4040]

CSR: 5’10”, dark complexion, dark hair, blue eyes; enlisted 9 June 1863 paroled 8 May 1865 Winchester. Additional Information: Resided in Missouri.[4041] footnote for next:[4042] J. William Towson b. Williamsport, MD-1839 d. Shelbina, MO-1920 s/o J. T. Towson of Williamsport, MD Donated by gr. gr. nephew Arthur Lee Towson/ 6842 Lenczuke? Dr./ Jacksonville, FL 32277-2655/ (904) 744-6982 [HB updated to 3638 Colony Cove Trail, Jacksonville, Fl. 32277] supp. to have been “Black Horse”??? Why does he have on a Yankee Uniform? [HB interview—what was date?—said interviewee said that he came from Maryland and worked his way to Virginia to join the Southern Army; that when he joined, all he had was a U. S. uniform; photo was taken in that; Confederate uniform was ordered for him but he fought with the Confederates in the U. S. uniform until it came in.] package coming from Arthur Lee Towson per HB interview middle of 2007 May. [also have a post-it re “CV 29:27”; don’t know what was in this article, but HB was to bring….]

William Harrison Triplett II E M V R C B K Y Photo: (Photo) Yes, according to note in ms by Lynn Born: 25 January 1833.[4043] Married: “After the war he married Harriet Lavinia Templeman, only daughter of Leroy D. and Sarah (Patton) Templeman, of ‘York Dale,’ Fauquier County. As William H. Triplett was nine years older than their daughter, had only one arm and was virtually penniless, her parents disapproved of the match. They eloped and were married in Washington, D.C., 23 June 1870.[4044] [4045] One of the two. Died: 24 January 1896;[4046] buried Templeman Cemetery, Orlean.[4047] Templeman Family Cemetery.[4048] “Two weeks previously [to his death] while riding in a snow storm between Orlean and York Dale, his horse stumbled at Thumb Run and threw him. He was found several hours later. For some time his recovery was thought probable, but he contracted pneumonia, from which he died one day short of his sixty- third birthday.”[4049] [4050] One of the two. “From Orlean go North on Route 688. The Williams farm is on the right maybe a mile before you get to Rt. 647….Cemetery is behind barn down a steep hill across a run (creek) and up another steep hill about ½ mile from barn. This cemetery has good stone wall.” There is a “large pink [stone] central monument with many names on it while the people are elsewhere in the cemetery with only footstones to mark their graves.”[4051] Obituary: Children: They “had five children: Clarence Patton, 1872–1948; James Edwin, 1873–1946; William Templeman, born 1874; Sarah Evelina, 1876–1884; Harriet Lewis, 1879–1932.[4052] [4053] One of the two. Parents and Siblings: He was “…the eldest surviving son of Hayward Foote Triplett (1807–1888) and Evelina McLain Lewis (1812–1861).” At his birth “his parents were then living in Prince William County, on part of the Lewis estate, “Rose Mont,” near Manassas.”[4054] [4055] One of the two. His younger brother was Hayward Foote Triplett. A sister was Florence Alexander Triplett, who was 18 in 1862.[4056] [4057] One of the two. Other Family: His [paternal] grandparents were “Dr. William Harrison Triplett (1783–1856) and his wife Catherine Foote Alexander (1791–1861) of Front Royal.” His maternal grandfather was Francis Montgomery Lewis.[4058] [4059] One of the two. “His younger brother, Hayward Foote Triplett, a member of Stuart’s Horse Artillery (Breathed’s Battery), lost his right leg in a skirmish near Manassas, 15 October, 1863. (His leg was amputated at the house of his grandfather, ( ‘Rose Mont’) Francis Montgomery Lewis. He said that he was with the ‘’gallant’ Pellam when he was killed.)[4060] [4061] One of the two. “The Tripletts had a rather miserable time during the war. Their home near Manassas was completely wrecked in the first Battle of Manassas. They were forced to flee to a log cabin high in the Bull Run Mountains. However, it had its uses. The mountain above it was an excellent place to hide horses from the Union Army. Florence Alexander Triplett, who was 18 in 1862, recalled cadging grain dropped by horses in the Union camp at Waterfall to help feed them. Presumably the Union soldiers thought she wanted the grain for herself.”[4062] [4063] One of the two. Stories, Letters & Biographies: “William Keith Skinker was a farmer. But during the Civil War…”[4064] See Stories Chapter under William Keith Skinker. “He told me how he had captured the two Yankee officers… .”[4065] See Stories Chapter under L. A. Marstellar. CSR: Enlisted 21 June 1861 Fairfax Couthouse; lost arm September 1864 Bridgewater. Additional Information: Private.[4066] Lost arm at Bridgewater, Shenendoah county, September, 1864. Orleans.[4067] “On the 7th of May, 1861, at the age of 28, he joined as a private…Company H, 4th Virginia Cavalry…the ‘Black Horse.’ He “lost his right arm at a skirmish near Bridgewater,…in 1864, but returned to his unit and served to the end of the war.”[4068] [4069] One of the two. After marrying, he and his wife “settled in Orlean, … where he formed a partnership in a store with [fellow Black Horseman] G. L. Holland. Later he purchased a storehouse from A. J. Parr and set up his own business. In September 1880 he took possession of a large house known as ‘Orlean.’ It had been built in 1812 and was the manor house of a large estate owned at that time by John Puller Smith.[4070] [4071] One of the two. “He was born in Front Royal and his family, during the war, lived in Prince William County.” He was distantly related to General Stuart. “…William Harrison Triplett served with the unit and lost his right arm in a skirmish near Bridgewater, Virginia.” “William H. Triplett lived at Orlean later in life….” “He died in 1896….” “…my childhood was filled with stories he and his friends told my mother, true and apocryphal, about their exploits.” “It has also been claimed that his brother, Hayward Foote Triplett served with him, but I think that this means only that they were both under General Stuart….” “…Hayward was with Major John Pelham when he was killed at Kelly’s Ford [which] inclines me to believe that he was with the 3rd Virginia Cavalry….” Reference offered a “good photograph of him in uniform” so if we have one, he might have been the source of it. [4072]