1. State your full name and present post office address:
Answer: Robt. J. Williams, Gadsden, Crockett Co., Tenn.
2. State your age now:
Answer: 81 year and 6 month
3. In what State and county were you born?
Answer: North Carolina Duplin County
4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier?
Answer: Confederate
5. Name of your Company?
Answer: Company I; 6th Tenn. (Inf.), Col. Stephen Regt.
6. What was the occupation of your father?
Answer: Farmer and Stock man
7. Give full name of your father: Joseph Williams; born at Farow?; in the County of Duplin Co.; State of North Carolina; He lived at near Mt. Olive North Carolina.
Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.; books written by him, etc.:
Answer: Died before war in 1859
8. Maiden name in full of your mother: Nancy Millard; she was the daughter of: (full name) Jesse Millard and his wife: (full name) Saly Millard; who lived at: in Duplin Co., N.C..
9. Remarks on ancestry. Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not included in the foregoing as where they lived, offices held, Revolutionary or other war service; what country they came from to America; first settled-county and State; always giving full names (if possible), and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desirable to include every fact possible, and to that end the full and exact record from old Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving the facts from loss.
Answer: My grandfather Jesse Millard was born in N. C. His parents came from England. I do not know the ancestry of my grandmother Millard but her maiden name was Cherry and of English descent. My grandfather Williams was of Welch descent. I do not know the history of family but I know my grandfather Adam Williams and he lived to be about 100 years old and worked up to the last.
10. If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as near as you can:
Answer: I was under 21 at beginning of war and owned no land or property
11. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many?
Answer: My parents owned 10 slaves
12. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres:
Answer: They owned 383 acres
13. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:
Answer: About 5000.00 dollars
14. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other material, and state the number of rooms it had:
Answer: First house of logs contang 2 room 2nd of timber containg 6 rooms
15. As a boy and young man, state what kind of work you did. If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did other kinds of similar work. (Certain historians claim that white men would not do work of this sort before the war.)
Answer: I worked on farm until 17 years old and did all kind of work that the Negros did Hoeing plowing etc and worked with them
16. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were. State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember – that is, cooking, spinning, weaving, etc.:
Answer: My worked —- farm attending mostly to stock. My mother cook but she done the weaving and making cloth for the family. She was very industreas and grate weaver.
17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so, how many?
Answer: My mother kept only 1 cook and housemaid
18. How was honest toil – as plowing, hauling, and other sorts of honest work of this class – regarded in your community? Was such work considered respectable and honorable?
Answer: All families done part of the work and was considered honorable
19. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?
Answer: yes all that were not to lazy
20. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them?
Answer: Very few
21. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did now own slaves?
Answer: Generaly there was but little difference
22. At the churches, at the school, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality?
Answer: Yes in my boyhood days
23. Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and non-slaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?
Answer: No animostity among the respectable class
24. In a political contest, in which one candidate owned slaves and the other did not, did the fact that one candidate owned slaves help him any in winning the contest?
Answer: Do no know as to above as I was to young to observe if any but think not now.
25. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man, honest and industrious, to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself?
Answer: Any respectable young man had as good chance as any who owned slaves
26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?
Answer: Any hones young man —- all the encouragement of all as such as who owned slaves in my recollection
27. What kind of school or schools did you attend?
Answer: Common schools of the county until I was 17 year old
28. About how long did you go to school altogether?
Answer: About 2 years to common school, counting by month
29. How far was it to the nearest school?
Answer: 2 miles. My father sent me to N. C. in 1858 and I attend school 2 years at Ft. M—- a Military School, lived with my uncle and aunt Kesson.
30. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood?
Answer: Just old field schools taught by not very learned teacher
31. Was the school in your community private or public?
Answer: Both
32. About how many months in the year did it run?
Answer: 4 to 6 months
33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?
Answer: Not very regular in my school days
34. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or woman?
Answer: _________________
35. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government?
Answer: In the month of May 1861 in Confederate army
36. After enlistment, where was your Company sent first?
Answer: Jackson, Tenn. and then to Union City, Tenn.
37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle?
Answer: Nearly 12 at Corenth
38. What was the first battle you engaged in?
Answer: None was discharged befor battle of Corinth or Shilo
39. State in your own way your experience in the War from this time on to its close. State where you went after the first battle – what you did and what other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger and disease. If you were in the hospital or prison, state your experience there:
Answer: I was taken sick at New Madrid Mo. when our command was located ther and was in hospitle several days with rhumatism.
40. When and where were you discharged?
Answer: New Madrid, Mo.
41. Tell something of your trip home:
Answer: I received transportation from Gr Marten? home with discharge papers.
42. Give a sketch of your life since the close of the Civil War, stating what kind of business you have engaged in, where you have lived, your church relations, etc. If you have held any office or offices, state what it was. You may state here any other facts connected with your life and experience which has not been brought out by the questions:
Answer: I was not able to work for 12 month. Then took up the study of Medacin in fall of 1862
43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?
Answer: I enterd Medicen after I was discharged and graduated in the term of 1865. I followed my professions with sucess until 1870 when my health was —- and I embarked in the drug trade at Gadsden, Tenn. My health most of the time was very bad most the rutism. I give up my practice except office practice. I am affiliated with Christian Church since 1866. I have held no office except Mayor of our town and Postmaster I had a great love for Horticultur and took active interest in our county to develop the industry.
44. On a separate sheet, give the names of some of the great men who you have known or met in your time, and tell some of the circumstances of the meeting or incidents in their lives. Also add any further personal reminiscences. (Use all the space you want.)
Answer: _________________________
45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember. (If you know where the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.)
Answer: The last members of our Company beside myself was Joe. Wash. Lemond of Gadsden, Tn. who died a few days ago. As far as can remember the names of our Co. now is given below the roster is in Nashville among the record in War department. (Note: most of the names cannot be determined due to his writing)…James M. Collinsworth, Capt.; Lt. McKinney, Lt. R. J. Williams, Lt. E. Smith, John Arnold, Ord. Sgt., J. W. Mathews, C. T. Woodson, R. S. Matthews, John Mathes, Jr., Sam Mathews, I. Mathews, John Patterson, I will have to refer —– roster for names of all Co. I cannot remember given names, but all have now passed over the rive except myself. So far as I know.