Separate sources help piece together the life of Thomas P. Cleveland, whose middle name is spelled either Parmlee, Parmalee or Parmelee. He prepared for college at the Male Academy in Washington, Georgia. On August 7, 1856 he was able to enter into the junior year at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), earning his degree in 1858. While a student he lived in the town of Princeton. From 1858 until 1860 he attended Columbia (S.C.) Seminary. When war came, he enlisted in the 10th Georgia Infantry as a Private in Company F. His mother's sister married Brig. Gen. Paul J. Semmes, and when that officer was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, Cleveland accompanied him to Martinsburg, Virginia (by then West Virginia), and was by Semmes' bedside when he died. One of the attending physicians was Dr. Todd, brother of Mary Todd Lincoln. Cleveland was reportedly serving as a Chaplain in 1865. In 1888, he was awarded a doctor of divinity (D.D.) at Middle Georgia College. Cleveland lived a long life, settling in Atlanta, Georgia. He was said to be the oldest Presbyterian minister in the south, and he was the oldest living Princeton graduate when he died in 1929. He is also said to have been related to President Grover Cleveland. (sources: General Catalogue of Princeton University, 1746-1906, Published by the University (Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Company, 1908), p. 198; Reminiscence, in a letter dated March 28, 1919, Confederate Reminiscences and Letters, vol. XV, Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy, 2000; The Princeton Alumni Weekly, March 15, 1929 (obituary).)