Updated
02-29-08
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Edward was born in North Carolina on May 10, 1805 at almost the same time his grandfather, Rev. John Chastain, died in South Carolina (John's will was recorded on July 31, 1805). Edward's descent from Dr. Pierre Chastain is 5. James Edward; 4. Elijah; 3. John; 2. Peter, Jr.; 1. Pierre. See also a chart of all eleven generations.
Edward moved with his family to Georgia. He married Sarah Shelton, and they had their children there. But in 1859 he moved his family to Thorn Hill, Marion County, Alabama, leaving some of his adult children in Georgia.
Certainly Edward's younger, unmarried children went to Alabama with him (James, David, Sarah, and "Cobb." But it appears some of his married children accompanied him as well, or moved into the area later. Nancy died in Marion County. Her husband, John Sterling Cantrell, died in the Civil War just north of Marion County. Their last child was born in Georgia in 1860. Lydia also died in Marion County, as did her husband, Thomas Jefferson Cowart. The birthplaces of most of their children is unknown, but one child was born in Alabama in 1868. Theresa Emmaline and her husband, James Johnson Osborne, died in Tennessee, but they had children born in the Marion County, Alabama area from 1858-1866. Martin and Artimissa died in Georgia. Elizabeth's place of death and places of her children's birth are unknown.
Why did Edward move to Alabama? Don Umphrey wrote a book about his ancestor, John R. Phillips, who lived near Edward Chastain in Alabama (Umphrey, Don, Southerners in Blue, Quarry Press, 2002). He states on page 20,
One day in the spring of 1858, he was handed a tattered notice that told of land for sale at 12-1/2 cents per acre in Winston county, Alabama. It was available through the Graduation Land Act, a federal program designed to encourage pioneers to move to undeveloped parts of the country. Prices of these lands kept decreasing until someone finally purchased them.
Phillips arrived in the fall of the same year. The same opportunity may have drawn Edward the next year. However, he may not have been the first in the family to respond to the offer of cheap land. His daughter, Theresa Emmaline, gave birth to Sarah Ann Osborne on January 22, 1858--in Marion County Alabama. This was before John Phillips even heard about the program.
In fact, they were not the first Chastains in Marion County. Edwards grand-nephew, Edward Jordan Chastain, had lived in Marion County in the 1840s. He taught school near Stotsville and was married in Marion County to one of his students in December of 1847. However, by the time their first child was born in November, 1848 they were living across the county line in Mississippi, where they settled permanently. One of Edward Jordan's sons was James Garvin Chastain. Whether this family was in touch with our Edward is unknown.
The next eight years were sad ones for Edward's family, with three war-related deaths, plus Edward's accidental death two years after the war. When the Civil War began, Edward supported the Union. Northwest Alabama was a stronghold of Union sympathy, and Edward seemed to fit right in among those with pro-Union sentiments. This was a dangerous position anywhere in the South, and some of Edward's neighbors paid dearly for supporting the Union.
A clue of Edward's predilection toward the Union may be the names he chose for his sons. His youngest, William Howell, was nicknamed Cobb. Evidently, his namesake was Georgia politician, William Howell Cobb. William Howell Cobb was Speaker of the House in the United States Congress, Governor of Georgia, and Secretary of the Treasury under President Buchanan. He was a leading Unionist in the South,
William Howell Chastain's birth in 1850 was before William Howell Cobb's Governorship and Cabinet position, so Cobb must have been a popular congressman (1843-1851) even before his rise in office. He became Speaker of the House on December 22, 1849, just five months before William Howell Chastain was born. However, though he was a Unionist, once South Carolina seceded after the 1860 election, Secretary Cobb resigned his cabinet post and went home to Georgia to urge secession. But parents don't name their children based on what the namesakes will do in the future!
Another son was James K. Polk Chastain. This is a familiar name. James K. Polk was President of the United States from 1845-1849. He was a Jacksonian throughout his political career, so much so that he was called "Young Hickory", a reflection of Andrew Jackson being "Old Hickory." Jacksonians were Unionist through and through. President Jackson stated, "The Federal Union--it must be preserved," and he threatened South Carolina with military force when they hinted at independence. However, James K. Polk Chastain was born in 1839 before Polk was president. At that time he had just completed five years as Speaker of the House (1835-1839).
A third son was Martin Shelton. Shelton was the maiden name of Martin's mother, so the two names appear not to belong to a single namesake. Martin was a fairly common name, but not in the Chastain family. A search of known Chastains shows that there were 5 Martin Chastains before 1840, and they were all of family lines distant from Edward's. In fact one of those was Martin Van Buren Chastain, born in 1836 and named for Martin Van Buren, President from 1837 to 1841. Martin Shelton Chastain was likely named for the same person, however, he was born in 1827 ten years before Van Buren was President. From 1821-1829 Van Buren was a U.S. Senator from New York. A Jacksonian, he emerged as the principal northern leader for Andrew Jackson. Jackson made him Secretary of State and later chose him as Vice-President. Van Buren succeeded Jackson as President.
The naming of his sons in such a way reinforces the likelihood that Edward was a Jacksonian, and pro-Union, prior to his moving to Alabama.
An exercise with James K. Polk Chastain produces similar results, demonstrating that his pro-Union activity arose from personal conviction rather than simply following his father and friends as a matter of course. In the years just after the war, he gave his sons distinctive names. John Sheridan Chastain was likely named for General Philip Henry Sheridan, high ranking General of the Union army during the war. For whom might Ulysses G. Chastain have been named? Ulysses Grant was President (Republican) when Ulysses Chastain was born. Edward Colfax Chastain was likely named for Schuyler Colfax, who was Republican Vice-President under Ulysses Grant when Edward Colfax Chastain was born. He had been Speaker of the House from 1863-1869. Sheridan, Ulysses, and Colfax are not everyday names in the Chastain family.
Two of Edward's sons, James K. Polk Chastain and David D. Chastain, served in the 1st Alabama Calvary of the Union army.
James K. Polk Chastain enlisted in the 1st Alabama (Union), in July of 1862. He was promoted to sergeant less than three months later. He was a prisoner of war in November of 1862 and was evidently returned as part of a prisoner exchange. He was missing in action at the battle of Vincent's Crossroads in October, 1863. He was mustered out July 19, 1865.
David D. Chastain enlisted in the 1st Alabama (Union) in January 1864. He became a prisoner of war in March of 1865 in the battle of Monroe's Crossroads, Solomon Grove, North Carolina. He was mustered out June 12, 1865, but he died February 22, 1866 of complications from military service.
Meanwhile, Edward's older son, Martin Shelton Chastain, who had remained in Georgia, served in the Georgia 52nd Regiment Volunteer Infantry, Company E of the Confederate Army.
The Georgia 52nd defended Vicksburg, Mississippi. Martin contracted measles, and traveled home while he was still recovering. Shortly after he arrived, he died at his uncle's home in Acworth, Cobb County, Georgia on August 4, 1864 (Pierre, volume 2, page 136.) Disease was often rampant in military camps on both side and resulted in a high number of deaths. The Georgia 52nd engaged in a number of battles in North Georgia in May-September, 1864, so perhaps Martin's journey home was short.
Two of Edward's sons-in-law, John S. Cantrell and Hiram Lambert, also served in the Union 1st Alabama Calvary.
John Sterling Cantrell, husband of Nancy Ann Chastain, enlisted in the 1st Alabama (Union) in October of 1863. He became a prisoner of war on January 18, 1864 and was killed by Confederates while a prisoner of war June 18, 1864 in Franklin County, Alabama, not far from his home .
Hiram Lambert, husband of Sarah Chastain, enlisted in the 1st Alabama (Union) in January of 1864. Six months later he was in the hospital with typhoid fever. He was discharged June 28, 1865.
See Alabama Chastains in the Civil War for more information on Edward's family in the war. Two years after the war ended, Edward was killed by a horse on May 17, 1867. Edward, his wife Sarah, his son David, and an infant grandson are buried at the Phillips family cemetery about a mile from the Thornhill Church of Christ in Thornhill, Alabama.
The children of Edward and Sarah are:
We are interested in further information on any of these families. Contact: Tim@chastaincentral.com.