Description
Perry Yates enlisted at Leavenworth, Kansas, on September 15, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 83rd USCT Infantry, Company J. On November 17, 1866, Melvin McKee of Platte County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #271 for enlisted slave Perry Yates and swore an oath of allegiance before Platte County notary public James J. Hitt.
McKee claimed he had acquired title to Perry Yates by “…purchase from William McKee in Montgomery County, Kentucky in the Fall of 183 and brought by him to Missouri in the Spring of 1844. Bill of Sale was never received or given."
Benjamin Yocum and James Ellison of Platte County swore under oath that McKee had owned Perry Yates for “15 years." Smith Calvert and James Ellison of Platte County also swore oath that McKee was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Platte County notary public James J. Hitt Platte County certified that McKee, Yocum, Calvert and Ellison had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim. McKee gave power of attorney to the law firm of Chipman, Hosmer & Co. of Washington, DC, to prosecute his claim for compensation.Date(s) of Creation
11/17/1866
