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Deposition E, Civil War Pension Application, John England


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                      DEPOSITION E

Case of John England, No. 125,082

                    -------------------

On this 9th day of August, 1889, at
Scarborough, County of Anderson,
State of Tennessee, before me R.C. Gatewell,
a Special Examiner of the Pension Office, personally appeared John W.
Scarborough, who being by me first duly sworn to answer
truly all interrogatories propounded to him during this Special Examination of aforesaid
pension claim, deposes and says:  That he is 63 years of age, that
he is a farmer by occupation, and that his post
office address is Scarborough, Anderson Co., Tenn.
    I have known John England for the past 30 or 40 years.
He was my close neighbor up to the war, and I was
well and intimately acquainted with him during that
time.  As far as my knowledge goes, England was a well
and stout man prior to his enlistment in the
army.  I know of no hurt or injury of any kind that
he received prior to his enlistment, and he
was all right in time of his enlistment as far
as I know.  He volunteered in the army from this
neighborhood, but I never saw him in the army.
It was my understanding that he was a recruiting
officer.  It was said he recruited men and took
them to the army.
    After England had been in the army for a while -
I cannot tell just how long - probably in about two
years after he first went away - he came back
here.  I was out feeding my stock one morning
in the summer I reckon not very far from this time
of year, (but I can't tell the year.)  I heard a
noise up in a ridge field of corn.  Someone was
hollering.  I looked up in the direction from about
the noise comes and there was a green pine
tree up there, with no corn growing about it.
Some one stepped out into the that barren place
and beckoned to me.  I went round on the

John W. Scarbrough was the son of James Scarbrough and Anna (Annie) Rice.  John's wife was Mary A. (Polly) Peters.

John England's first wife was Jane (Jenny) Peters.  Polly Peters and Jenny Peters were sisters.  So John W. Scarbrough was filing an affidavit in behalf of his wife's brother-in-law.

The family relations were even more convoluted than that.  John England and Jenny Peters were first cousins who married, which also means that John England and Polly Peters were first cousins.  So John W. Scarbrough was filing an affidavit in behalf of his wife's first cousin.


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back side of the field and came in behind the man,
as the rebel soldiers were around in this County.
I found this man John England there.  He said
he wanted to something to eat and some one to
carry him across the valley.  I came back to
my home, and sent my wife out with some
thing to eat.  England requested me to search out
some women's clothing so he might get across
the big road.  He said he had jumped out of the
courthouse at Clinton, Tenn. and that he had
hurt his leg pretty bad - had stove it up; and
that his side had been hurt at the same time.
He pulled up his pants and I saw his mashed
ankle and leg pretty well up to the knee.  I
saw that his leg was right ?????? swollen, and
that it was bruised as well.  I did not see
above the knee.  I made no examination of his side.
I do not know whether any bones were broken or not.
I made the normal examination of the leg on
the very first morning I saw him there in the field.
I do not recollect that he said any bones had
been broken.  He was barefoot in that foot, and
said he had lost the shoe.  He claimed that
someone promised to send his shoes out of the
jail after he jumped, but the other man failed to
go in.  I can't possibly tell just when this was;
but it was after the corn had grown up sufficiently
high to hide a man.  I can't even tell how long
it was after his enlistment; possibly about 2 years.
As stated, my wife took those women's clothes up
to England.  This was in the morning found him there.
                                 J. W. Scarborough, deponent
    Sworn to and subscribed before me this 9th day of August
1899, and I certify that the contents were fully made known to deponent before signing.
                                                  AC Gillette
                                                      special examiner


                      DEPOSITION E

Case of John England, No. 125,082

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I only meeted him once up there in the field.
My wife took the clothing up there and I went
off to my work.  After I got through work that day, I
came home.  My wife told me she had taken
England into a little woodland thicket out
back of the plantation.  I carried England some
water and provisions over in that thicket for several
days, and occasionally while he recovered there
and I saw the injuries to his ankle about every time
I went out to see him; but never examined his
side or the upper portion of his leg to learn the
exact nature of his injuries.  I do not recollect
that he said any bones had been fractured.  He
was sitting down when I found him under the tree.
Yes, I saw him walk In a few steps -- hobbling
along with a stick in his hands.  I cannot tell
how long he remained in the thicket -- some 10
days or two weeks, therebouts.  I think he went
from here to James Kirby's, and what became of him
after that I do not know.  Beyond that I saw his
ankle was swollen. I cannot fully state the
nature or extent he was laboring under at the
time he was here; and of course I cannot tell
how he got the injury I did see, beyond the
statement made to me at the time that it
was received in jumping from the jail window
at Clinton.  As far as I could judge from his


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This page last edited on 23 Jun 2007.