Joseph Lewis “Joel” McPherson (1840-10-11 – 1924-05-29) was my great-great-grandfather, being the father of John McPherson Sr. Born in Leesburg, Virginia, he married Hannah Elisabeth Ladd (1852-12-18 – 1904-11-04), daughter of James F. Ladd and Sidnah Leuty, in Rhea County, Tennessee on 1869-10-07, and died there in Spring City. He was the son of James D. McPherson and Juliet Ann Nixon.
His mitochondrial haplogroup is identified as H13a1a1a, which comes down through his maternal grandmother Nancy Slane.
Service
Here are some summaries of his career:
He was a member of the Texas Rangers in 1859 and transferred to the First Tennessee Regiment when the Civil War broke out. He served as Captain in the Army of the Confederacy during the entire period of the war. Joel McPherson was elected sheriff of Rhea County for three terms and served four years as a Deputy U. S. Marshal. Later, he studied the law and became an associate with a law firm in Spring City. He also served three terms as Judge of the County Court.
— a great-granddaughter J. Gray
Aide to General Longstreet, Civil War, entire period. 1st Tennessee Regiment. Sheriff of Rhea County, Tennessee 1878–1884, 3 consecutive terms—maximum. Attorney. U.S. Deputy Marshall. 1859 joined Texas Rangers.
— ht S Z H St Zmzfhsvy
Family
He had 13 children with Hannah:
- James Thomas (1870-07-25 – 1926-07-11), married Metta Cleeland.
- Sydnah Ann (1872-01-16 – 1953-10-16), married Smith Brady Moulton.
- Mary Mason (1873-08-01 – 1902-01-30), married Charles Spurgeon Coston.
- John Stanton (1875-05-23 – 1950-04-05), my great-grandfather.
- Charles Franklin (1876-12-17 – 1926-01-19), married Mary Helen Hunt.
- William Burton (1878-10-03 – 1940-09-18), married Pearl F. Corbett.
- Hannah Virginia (c.1880 – bef 1900).
- Cinna Gay (1882-09-29 – 1946-04-06), married Marshall Oliver Waller.
- Elizabeth Holmes (1884-10-04 – 1982-12-16), married Charles Cleveland Cawood.
- Lewis Neal (1886-08-19 – 1965-12-21), married Katherine May White.
- Louise Cawood (1888-09-22 – 1925-02-28), married Joseph Verd Thompson.
- Joseph Darr (c.1890 – bef 1900).
- Joel Milton (1892-02-15 – 1978-01-31), married Ruth Naomi Steever.
On the 1900 census, Hannah reports that she had 13 children, with 11 still living, which implies that this is a complete list.ref