Georgia:

I have gone back now and re-looked over the penison papers on file in Florida. I would suggest that you do the same; four eyes are always better than two. Although the pension is filed as "Lifford," it looks to me that the "p" in Lipford was misread by the indexer as an "f."
Try Googling "Florida Archives" "Confederate Pensions." Its a very user friendly site.

We are clearly talking about Charlotte Rooks Lipford as the pension applicant, and it was granted. She was living in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Fla when she applied in 1907. She calls him by George; until I learned his first name was John, I saw his name given either as J. G. Lipford or as J. George Lipford, so apparently he went by his middle name. She stated that she was married in Laurens County on 25 Apr 1866, and that he died on 10 September 1876, in Mississippi, and that she had lived in Florida since Jan., 1889, and that she had not remarried. She gives her date of birth as 22 July 1834, in Newberry County, which of course adjoins both Chester and Laurens Counties.

Florida law required the certification of two witnesses who could swear to the accuracy of the facts given in the application. She used C. H. [Calvin H.] Gibson and J. D. McCarley. I know that Gibson was with Lipford in Company B of the 4 S.C. Cavalry, and that both he and Lipford were transferred into Comapny K of the Hampton Legion Mounted Infantry in May, 1864; it had just been converted from infantry to a mounted infantry unit, and the transfers were used to augment the strnegth of the unit. The 4 S.C. CAV had seen hard cavalry service in Virginia, and was transferred back to S.C. to guard the coast and recruit its numbers, but a fair number of the men were transferred to the Legion before it went to Virginia. Lipford and Gibson, both from Chester District, were among that number. I am trying to identify McCarley; he may have been in the old 4 S.C. CAV and transferred to the Legion and assigned to Company A, but I am not sure of that.

In reviewing the certification of Gibson and McCarley, it appears that the handwriting of their certification is not the same as on her application, and it was attested to by different clerks of court. Gibson states that he was living in Chester County, and McCarley states he was living in Winnsboro, S.C., which is the county seat of neighboring Fairfield County. In responding to the question, "Is he dead? If so, when and where did he die?", they responded, "Heard that he was."

The last document in the file is a matter in the Clay County Probate Court in 1916; Charlotte had been judicially declared insane, and Charles E. Lipford was appointed as her guardian; that would have entitled him to receive the pension on her behalf.

I have tried to develop a brief sketch of each man who served with the Legion; hence my interest in George. I need to check again on his possible service with the 6 S.C. in 1861. But at present my sketch of him reads as follows:

68. LIPFORD, JOHN GEORGE. Initially enl as 4 SGT H/24 S.C. at Chester 19 Mar 62, age ca 27. Discharged disability 23 Jun 62; reenl as PVT B/4 S.C. CAV [Osmun Barber's Company, raised in Chester District] at Camp Pritcherd [near Pocataligo, Beaufort District] 22 May 63; absent sick Jul-Aug 63; AWOL (overstayed sick furlough) 1-19 Sep 63; present 19 Sep 63 until trans to 3 S.C. CAV 6 Apr 64 [this was an administrative transfer, pending transfer to the Legion]; trans to Company K [Hampton Legion Mounted Infantry] 6 May 64; absent sick and dismounted since 18 Aug, per Sep-Oct 64 roll; at Jackson Hosp (remittent fever) 29 Sep-16 Oct 64; sick furlough 16 Oct-16 Nov 64; AWOL 16 Nov-Dec 64 [he probably was certified sick, but notice had not reached his company when the roll was prepared]; paroled [at Appomattox] mounted; 5'11'; resident Chester Dist; married Charlotte Rooks in Laurens Dist 25 Apr 66; moved to Mississippi postwar; d. Mississippi 10 Sep 76. (102)

My endnote 102 reads: "His widow, Charlotte Rooks Lipford, applied for (and was granted) a Confederate widow's pension from Florida in 1907, stating that Lipford died in Mississippi on 10 Sep 1876. Although the file is misindexed "Lifford," it is clearly Lipford. She certified that he served with the 4 S.C. CAV, and Calvin H. Gibson, who served with Lipford in both the 4 S.C. CAV and Company K of the Legion, was one of the affiants who certified Lipford's service. Charlotte was born in 1834, making her age comparable with that of Lipford. Confederate Pension File A-03572, Florida State Archives.

I used the age given in his enlistment in the 24 S.C. as the basis for his age given in the text. Given what you state, it would be significantly different.

If George was indeed still living in 1880, and I do not doubt your research, she may still ahve been eligible to receive a pension from him if he subseqently died before 1907, adn she had not remarried. I do no know what Florida law stated as to which widow would have been entitled to revieve the pension.

As Lewwis Carroll said, "It gets curiouser and curiouser."

Did he remain in the Ocala/Marion County area after 1880, or do you know. I have 8 or 10 Legion veterans who I ahve traced to Marion County, but the cemetery records are virtually non-existant, or at least I can't find them. Do you know when and where he died? Do you think he and Charlotte may have gotten back together? Green Cove Springs is not terribly far from Jacksonville.

I gather you are related to George and his second wife, Amanda. I may open another inquiry with you. There was another man who served in Company E of the Legion who was a Voght (I don't have his sketch before me, and I can't recall the precise name), but he was from the Providence Church area of Orangeburg District, and he had connections in Marion County, Florida. I will send that info to you separately. I suspect that the Voghts were related to the Joyners -- that sounds like an Orangeburg name, and is not a Chester name, to my knowledge. One more connection; my maternal grandfather, Foster Speer, joined the South Carolina Methodist Conference as a minsiter in 1897, and was assigned as the assistant pastor at Providence Methodist Church for the balance of that year-- he had actually transferred from the North Georgia Methodist Confeerence. I'm not that old -- 63 -- our crowd just marries late.

Look over what I have sent and lets skull practice this one out.

Lee