Cocke County, Tennessee
Mary Jane (Nehemiah) Harrison
Civil War Widow's Pension

Names mentioned: Nehemiah Adam Harrison, Eliza McMillian, Mary Jane Ball, Joseph Manning, Alfred Ball, Meriman Ball, James Layman, Sarah M. Harrison, John Harrison, Martha P. Harrison, Rose Harrison, Asa Layman. J.W. Thornton, Daniel R. Kyker, George W. Dennis, and Lafayette Bird. Original records may be found online through various genealogy databases, or by requesting copies of military records in government archives.
Abstracted and submitted by Bruce Price
Nehemiah Adam Harrison enlisted in Company I, 2nd Tennessee Cavalry on 9-22-1862 and was discharged 5-31-1865. He had contracted chronic diarrhea in New Orleans and applied for a pension, but he died 2-11-1867 before a decision was made.

He appears under different names. His service record shows him as Nathaniel A. Harrison. He was forty when he enlisted, described as 5'10", dark complexion, black hair, black eyes, a farmer and born in Cocke County. He is named in the widow's pension file as "Nehemiah" and "Neamiah"; the "Nathaniel" was said to be a mistake. He appears as Adam Harrison in the 1850 (#918) and 1860 (#1212) censuses of Cocke County.

He was first married to Eliza McMillian. He remarried to Mary Jane Ball 1-13-1855 in the 12th Civil District by Joseph Manning, M.G. She could have been the daughter of Alfred Ball or Merriman Ball; both had daughters named Mary in the right age range. Adam and Mary Jane had four children under sixteen when he died. This would be all their children, since they had been married about twelve years when he died. (The 1900 census says that Mary Jane was the mother of five children, four living. The father could have been either Harrison or her second husband, James Layman.) According to Mary's pension, all four children were born in the 12th Civil District. Those children were:
Mary Jane remarried to James Layman 1-12-1882 at Birdsville, Cocke County. He died 4-19-1899 at the home of his son, Asa Layman. J.W. Thornton swore an oath that Mary Jane remained married to James Layman until his death and that James was his father-in-law. On 2-3-1883, James and Mary Jane Layman sold land in the 9th District to John Harrison, which required him to pay $100 each to Daniel R. Kyker and wife Sarah M. Kyker, George W. Dennis and wife Martha P. Dennis, and Lafayette Bird and wife Rosa Bird.

Mary Jane died 11-19-1912.

There are a number of deeds in Cocke County involving the Harrisons and Laymans that provide more evidence of the family tree.




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