Pvt. Jesse Houston Beasley
Jesse Houston BEASLEY (b. 10 Apr 1830 in Beasley's Bend, Smith Co., TN d. 21 Feb 1900)
lived on Hwy 70 in Chestnut Mound, Smith Co., TN. He grew up in Smith Co. and ran a
tippling store (license issued in 1854) in Chestnut Mound.
Jesse enlisted as a private (4 years) in the Confederate Army, served in the 17th Infantry
Unit, which was organized 6 Nov 1861. This unit later became the 84th TN Infantry, which
merged with the 28th TN Infantry on 8 Mar 1863, forming the 28th Consolidated TN Infantry
Regiment (also called 2nd Mountain Volunteers); at the end of the war he was paroled in
Greensboro, NC 1 May 1865. He then WALKED home to Chestnut Mound in Smith Co., TN.
His wife Mary Jane "Jane" McDONALD (b. 21 Nov 1830 d. 8 Jun 1919) was among those in Smith Co.
who were forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the US government during the war; her signature
appears on the list on 3 Aug 1863. Her father was John McDONALD, son of William McDONALD and
Elizabeth SADLER. According to Cal's Column, Jane married a SHOEMAKE before marrying Jesse
Houston; but we don't know who the first husband was. Jane's father, John, was a brother
to James Porter McDONALD who married Susan EDLEMAN & raised a family in Smith Co.
Jesse Houston's parents were Robert BEASLEY (b. 30 Aug 1803 in Beasley's Bend d. 14 Oct 1865
in Elderado, Saline Co., IL) and Robert's first wife Sarah CUNNINGHAM. Robert was the son of
Isham BEASLEY (b. 11 Jan 1760 in Orange Co., NC) and Mary ANDREWS. Robert and his second wife
Mary Ann GREEN had relocated their family in 1861 to Elderado, IL to join friends Isaac A. MASSEY
and his wife Evaline McGEE who had already moved there. Robert's grown children Jesse Houston,
Molcey and Brunett remained in Smith Co. since they were married with young families of their own.
In 1865 Robert was attacked and robbed while on his way to purchase a new parcel of land; his
horse raced his brutally beaten body home, where he fell to the ground and died.
Jesse Houston's sisters who stayed in Smith Co. were Molcey BEASLEY (b. 15 Mar 1837
d. 15 Mar 1875), who married James Lafayette DILLARD;and Brunett BEASLEY (b. 17 Dec
1839 d. 26 Oct 1880), who married William Wright "Daddy" MASSEY.
The children of Jesse Houston and Jane McDONALD include:
Mary Adeline BEASLEY (b. 27 Sep 1857 d. 19 Sep 1886), who married Bluford CALLICUTT;
Rufus Porter BEASLEY (b. 14 Apr 1859 d. 22 Feb 1935), who married Fannie TUMLIN;
Martha Jane BEASLEY (b. 5 Dec 1860 d. 11 Jun 1919), who married Grandison Layton BUSH;
Sarah Frances BEASLEY (b. 10 Dec 1862 d. 12 Jun 1923);
Clarkey BEASLEY (b. 6 May 1865 d. 1 Feb 1936), who married John Fite BLAIR;
Robert Lee BEASLEY (b. 6 May 1865 d. 23 Feb 1934), who married Mary Etta Tumlin;
Susan Otheldra BEASLEY (b. 23 Oct 1867 d. 17 Jun 1949); and
Julia Etta BEASLEY (b. 13 Dec 1868 d. 26 Mar 1947.
Julia Etta was the mother of my husband's father, Jesse McDonald BEASLEY, who served
as a rural letter carrier in Smith Co. for over 30 years.