Description
John Williams enlisted at Leavenworth, Kansas on March 15, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 79th USCT Infantry, Company F, in Fort Scott, Kansas. On October 29, 1866, Nancy Reese of Platte County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #290 for enlisted slave John Williams and swore an oath of allegiance before Weston, Missouri, Court of Common Pleas Clerk William F. Yocum.
Reese claimed she had acquired title by “…that she owned and raised the said John Williams from his infancy, all his life, and owned him up to the time of his enlistment.”
H. McFarland and N. J. (Nelson J.) Alexander testified under oath that Reese had owned John for “all his life" and James L. Moore and J. H. Talbot of Platte County swore oath that Reese was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Weston, Missouri, Court of Common Pleas Clerk William F. Yocum certified that Reese, McFarland, Alexander, Moore, and Talbot had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim. Reese gave power of attorney to the law firm of James Craig of St. Joseph, Missouri, to prosecute her claim for compensation. (Numerous Platte County Reeses were enslavers.)Date(s) of Creation
10/29/1866
