The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Not James P Major. Definitely James I Major

NOT this guy:

MAJOR, JAMES PATRICK (1836–1877).James Patrick Major, Confederate army officer, was born on May 14, 1836, in Fayette, Missouri, the son of Samuel Collier Major. He was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point on July 21, 1852, and graduated twenty-third in the class of 1856. He was brevetted a second lieutenant in the First United States Cavalry on July 1, 1856, and served for a year at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. On December 1 he was promoted to second lieutenant in Company K of the Second United States Cavalry and was sent for duty to the Texas frontier. There, on October 1, 1858, he was said to have personally killed three of Chief Buffalo Hump's warriors, including the subchief Mohee, during Earl Van Dorn's victory over the Comanches at the battle of Wichita Village. He was commended for his "conspicuous gallantry" in orders from army headquarters. On April 23, 1859, he married Eliza Chalmers, daughter of John G. Chalmers and a sister-in-law of Thomas Green. The couple had one child, a daughter. By a second marriage, to Mrs. Emily Schiff in 1871, Major became the brother-in-law of Gen. Paul O. Hébert. Their only child died in infancy.

Major resigned from the United States Army on March 21, 1861, and offered his services to the Confederate States Army. After working on the staffs of David E. Twiggs and Earl Van Dorn, Major was made lieutenant colonel of a regiment of the Missouri State Guard and fought at the battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. As acting commander of Van Dorn's artillery, he helped repulse a federal attack on Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1862. After transfer to the trans-Mississippi theater, on the recommendation of Gen. Richard Taylor Major was promoted to brigadier general to rank from July 21, 1863. After commanding the defenses of Galveston for several months, he played a key role in the repulse of Nathaniel P. Banks's Red River campaign of 1864; Major commanded one of Green's two cavalry divisions. Thereafter he was assigned to the command of a brigade in John A. Wharton's cavalry division in Louisiana. As he was signing himself as major general at the end of the war, Major was apparently promoted to command of the division at the time of Wharton's death in April 1865 and was among those officers "assigned to duty" at a higher rank by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, whose promotions could not be confirmed by the Confederate Congress because of the breakdown in communications between Texas and Richmond, Virginia. After being paroled at New Iberia, Louisiana, on June 11, 1865, Major went to France for a time and then moved to Louisiana and became a planter. He later returned to Texas. He died in Austin on May 8, 1877, and is buried in the tomb of his father-in-law, John Andrews, in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

Thomas W. Cutrer, “Major, James Patrick,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 08, 2024,
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/major-james-patrick.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

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This one for sure:

James I Major
BIRTH 26 JUL 1845
DEATH 23 AUG 1898

1850 census
Name James Major
Gender Male
Race White
Age 6
Birth Year abt 1844
Birthplace Missouri
Home in 1850 District 59, Monroe, Missouri, USA
Line Number 29
Dwelling Number 43
Family Number 43
Household members
Name Age
David W Major 50
Nancy Major 29
Susan Major 13
Elliott Major 12
William Major 9
James Major 6
John Major 3
Betsy Major 60
Albert Major 23
John Banton 22
Arthur Sears 25
Julia Sears 20
Mary Sears 1

1870 Census:
Name James Major
Age in 1870 25
Birth Date abt 1845
Birthplace Missouri
Dwelling Number 367
Home in 1870 Jackson, Monroe, Missouri
Race White
Gender Male
Post Office Paris
Occupation Farmer
Male Citizen Over 21 Yes
Personal Estate Value 600
Household Members (Name) Age
James Major 25
Isabel Carter 19
Green Major 18

Marriage record:
Name James I Major
Marriage Date 22 Jan 1880
Marriage Place Monroe, Missouri, USA
Spouse Vinnie C Carver

1880 Census:Name James I. Majors
Age 34
Birth Date Abt 1846
Birthplace Missouri
Home in 1880 Paris, Monroe, Missouri, USA
Dwelling Number 84
Race White
Gender Male
Relation to Head of House Son
Marital Status Married
Spouse's Name Vinnie Majors
Father's Birthplace Virginia
Mother's Name Nancy Majors
Mother's Birthplace Missouri
Married During Census Year Yes
Occupation Township Constable
Attended School Yes
Neighbors View others on page
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship
Nancy Majors 59 Self (Head)
William H. Majors 39 Son
James I. Majors 34 Son
Vinnie Majors 33 Daughter-in-law
David E. Majors 24 Son
Robert T. Majors 22 Son
Edward L. Majors 20 Son

So came home from the war lived and farmed with mother and older single brother until marrying Vinnie Carver in 1880 then died in 1898 at age 53.

FWIW....JJR

Messages In This Thread

Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
Re: Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
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Re: Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
Re: Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
Re: Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
Re: Major E.D. Major/Major Family Monroe Co.
Re: Not James P Major. Definitely James I Major