MCGOUGH, JAMES LAMAR (1838 ~ 1923). James Lamar McGough, Confederate veteran, was born in Talladega County, Alabama on August 17, 1838, to James Madison McGough and Nancy Childers. After moving to Mississippi, he enlisted in the Confederate Army on August 18, 1861, in Corinth and was mustered into service as a private in Company C of the 15th Mississippi Infantry.
By December of 1861, McGough transferred into Company K of the same regiment, but spent a great deal of his time sick and in the hospital after being shot in the right shoulder. On September 9, 1863, he was given a 60-day furlough, but did not return to his command and was listed as a deserter. At the end of his furlough from the 15th Infantry, McGough reenlisted in Greensboro, Mississippi as a private in Company I of the 11th Mississippi Cavalry, also known as Perrin's Regiment.
The 11th Cavalry was formed in the spring of 1864 from Colonel Robert Perrin's Battalion State Cavalry. The unit served in Georgia and Mississippi, where it was included in the surrender on May 4, 1865.
After the war, McGough stayed in Mississippi and circa 1867, married Susan Emelyn Powers, the daughter of William J. and Elizabeth Powers. While still living in Mississippi, the McGoughs had two sons, Thomas Gilbert, who was born on November 9, 1869, and Andrew Jackson, who was born in May 1873.
McGough and his family moved to Texas in 1874 and eventually settled in Hico, Hamilton County. While there, Susan had their third child, Mary Allen, who was born on April 6, 1882. Soon after, the family moved to China Spring, McLennan County, where their fourth and fifth children were born - Holland Lamar, who was born November 19, 1884, and Harvey Glenn - or "Mack" - who was born March 8, 1887. The McGough's last child, Gordon, was born in Eastland County, Texas on January 30, 1890. McGough's time in Texas was spent working as a farmer.
Around 1902 the McGough family moved once again. This time they settled in Strawn, Palo Pinto County, where, in 1917, he successfully applied for a Confederate Pension from the State of Texas. This was done after his wife's death on February 2, 1917. She died in Thurber, Erath County, and was buried there, in Davidson Cemetery.
While applying for a pension, McGough moved to Austin to live in the Confederate Home. He moved in on March 31, 1913, but was discharged on July 4 of that same year at his own request. He was readmitted to the Home on November 4, 1915, but was dismissed the next year for bad conduct.
Apparently he returned to the Home for a third time, because McGough died there on September 21, 1923. He was buried the next day in the Texas State Cemetery.
Information taken from materials provided by granddaughter Ann Martin Clark and great granddaughter Esther Curnutt; James Lamar McGough website at http://www.gencircles.com/users/dmoore/4/data/45; Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System website at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss, Soldier's Application for a Pension # 33931; and Death Certificate # 26134. |