Edward Bernard Stedman

STEDMAN, EDWARD BERNARD (1848 ~ 1920). Edward Bernard Stedman, Confederate veteran, was born in North Carolina, circa 1848, to William and Clara Harvey White Stedman. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Texas and settled in Henderson, Rusk County, where William, an attorney, served in the Texas House of Representatives and was elected Attorney General, but never took office.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Edward, who most likely lied about his age to enter military service, enlisted on February 26, 1862, in his hometown of Henderson. He served in Captain James H. Jones' Company in Colonel O. M. Roberts' Regiment of the Texas Infantry, which later became known as the 11th Texas Infantry. He was mustered into service as a private by Colonel Roberts, a State Supreme Court Justice and future Governor of Texas.

After serving only a short time in Company B of the 11th Infantry, Edward, on May 14, 1862, transferred to Company G of the 18th Texas Infantry, which was also known as Ochiltree's Regiment. He was ultimately discharged, most likely due to his age. Though, Edward's name has not been found on any 18th Infantry records. To further confuse matters, an E. B. Steadman, a private in Company B of Morgan's Battalion of Texas Volunteers, was found on a roll of prisoners of war, who were surrendered on May 26, 1865, in Shreveport, Louisiana. This E. B. Steadman, who was paroled on June 7, 1865, and listed his home in Rusk County, Texas, has not been found on any of those muster roles either.

After the War, Edward returned to Henderson, but moved to Marshall, Harrison County, Texas with his family in 1867. There he met and later married a woman named Kate. They were married on January 30, 1879. The next year, Edward, who was working as a merchant, was listed in the 1880 United States Census with Kate and a four month old daughter, Lucille.

Between 1904 and 1913, Edward and Kate appear to have separated, though they never divorced. In Kate's 1933 application for a Confederate Widow's Pension from the State of Texas, she stated that she had been living in Dallas for the last twenty years. Between 1880 and 1919, Edward continued to live in Marshall, until March 29, 1919, when he moved to Austin to live in the Confederate Men's Home.

When he entered the Home, Edward claimed that he was widowed, which was not true. As mentioned above, Kate was living in Dallas with their daughter Lucille. Edward, upon entering the Home, listed his only contact as his brother, Judge Nathan Alexander Stedman, a former member of the Railroad Commission of Texas, who was also living in Austin.

After living in the Home for a year, Edward died on June 21, 1920, and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery the next day. His wife, Kate, and daughter, Lucille, who married a man by the name of Williams, remained in Dallas, and tried to receive a Confederate Widow's pension from the State, but were rejected, because Kate had not been living with Edward prior to his entering the Confederate Home.

Information taken from: "STEDMAN, WILLIAM." The Handbook of Texas Online. [Accessed Mon Sep 29 10:05:22 US/Central 2003].; Compiled Military Service Record; National Park Service Website, http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss; 11th Texas Confederate Infantry Regiment Website, http://www.cba.uh.edu/~parks/tex/irg0110.html; 18th Texas Infantry Website, http://www.angelfire.com/tx/RandysTexas/page131.html; 1880 United States Census; Confederate Home Roster; "STEDMAN, NATHAN ALEXANDER." The Handbook of Texas Online. [Accessed Mon Sep 29 10:06:00 US/Central 2003].; Death Certificate # 21007; and Widow's Application For A Pension - Rejected.