Did He or Didn't He? Isaac Z Shelton's Civil War Service, Part 1

Sometimes a good research topic comes about through close reading of the records. While examining the 1910 census, I found a clue that indicated Isaac Z Shelton may have served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. Determining whether or not my Isaac Z Shelton had served in the Civil War surely would be simple, right? Perhaps not.

The Seed

The 1910 census included a question on the population schedule which asked if the recorded person was "a survivor of the Union or Conference Army or Navy." The instructions to the enumerators stated

192. Column 30. Whether a survivor of the Union or Confederate Army or Navy. -- This question should be asked as to all males over 50 years of age who were born in the United States and all foreign born males who immigrated to this country before 1865. Write "UA" if a survivor of the Union Army; "UN" if a survivor of the Union Navy; "CA" if a survivor of the Confederate Army; and "CN" if a survivor of the Confederate Navy." For all other persons leave the column blank.

[U.S. Census Office, Thirteenth Census of the United States, April 15, 1910, Instructions to Enumerators (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910), 40; PDF, United States Census Bureau, (https://www.census.gov/ history/www/through_the_decades/census_instructions : accessed 11 August 2016).]

For this question, one of my favorite ancestors to research, Isaac Z Shelton, was recorded with a "CA" to indicate he was a survivor of the Confederate Army. To this point in my research, I had found no information that would indicate Isaac was a Civil War veteran.

A Research Plan

The Civil War is fairly well documented. Both sides kept detailed records on who enlisted, how long they served, where they served, and when and why they were discharged. I suspect that the purpose behind these records really boil down to the simple matter of payroll and having enough soldiers.

Isaac Z Shelton's Timeline

Before diving into the research, I decided to double-check what I know about Isaac to see if it is even plausible for him to have served in the Confederate army.

Event	Sources
April 1844-1852    Birth in Tennessee	GA Death Certificate 1880 Census 1900 Census 1910 Census 1920 Census
31 May 1871    Marriage to Amanda Pruett in Overton, Tennessee	Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950, FamilySearch.org
About 1875    Birth of daughter Alice	1880 Census
About 1879    Birth of daughter Lillie	1880 Census
1880    Lived in Overton Co., Tennessee	1880 Census
About 1883    Birth of daughter Jennie O	1900 Census
About 1888    Birth of daughter Lula B	1900 Census
13 March 1891/92    Birth of son Isaac Denton	1900 Census, WWI draft card
28 December 1896    Birth of son Hubbard Beecher	1900 Census, WWI draft card, Headstone application
About 1899    Birth of daughter Idumea A	1900 Census
1900    Lived in White Co., Tennessee	1900 Census
1910    Lived in Sparta, White Co., Tennessee	1910 Census
1920    Lived in Atlanta, Fulton Co., Georgia	1920 Census
25 Nov 1929    Death in Atlanta, Georgia	GA Death Certificate

Isaac's birth date has been difficult to pinpoint. I have yet to find agreement in any sources, though I suspect it is in the later half of the 1840s.

The Confederate states enacted conscription laws in 1862 to make "all white males between the ages of 18 and 35 who were citizens of a state in the Confederacy subject to national military service for a term of three years." ["Civil War Conscription Laws", November 12, 2012, Margaret Wood] Given that the Civil War was fought between 1860 and 1865, it is plausible that Isaac was old enough to enlist or be conscripted as he would have been between 8 and 16 years old at the onset of the war.

Possible Sources

To get started, I listed record collections and resources to consult related to the Civil War and Tennessee, Isaac's state of residence, to consult in locating Isaac, starting with online resources:

• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System - http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/
• Report of the Adjutant General of the state of Tennessee - http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=29992
• Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 - https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1932422
• U.S. Southern Claims Commission Master Index, 1871-1880 - http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1216
• Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865 (FamilySearch Historical Records) - https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Tennessee,_Civil_War_Service_Records_of_Confederate_Soldiers_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
• Tennessee, Civil War Confederate Pension Applications Index - http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7875
• Tennessee, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers (FamilySearch Historical Records) - https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Tennessee,_Civil_War_Service_Records_of_Union_Soldiers_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
• Tennessee, Confederate Pension Applications, Soldiers and Widows (FamilySearch Historical Records) - https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Tennessee_Confederate_Pension_Applications,_Soldiers_and_Widows_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
• Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications: Soldiers and Widows - http://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-confederate-pension-applications-soldiers-widows

With a plan of attack in mind, I dived into the online records to see what I could find out about Isaac Z Shelton's apparent service.