ISLEY, ALICE SHERWOOD MITCHELL CARR HEYER (1863~1939) Alice Sherwood Mitchell Isley Carr Heyer, Confederate Widow, was born March 1, 1863, in Cass County, Texas to Dr. Mitchell of Tennessee. Alice grew up in Cass County until her marriage to Confederate Veteran Martin VanBuren Isley of North Carolina.
Martin was born circa 1839, and enlisted in the Confederacy on March 7, 1864, and served to the end. He mustered into Company I of the 57th Regiment of North Carolina. After the war he moved to Texas where he met and married 16 year old Alice in 1879. Alice and Martin had one known child: Joseph S., born in Grayson County, Texas in January of 1880. Alice raised Joseph while Martin farmed and presumably Martin passed away before 1893, in Grayson County, for Alice married a second time to Russell D. Carr.
Russell D. and Alice had three known children: Clifford B., born in April of 1894; Lillian S., born in November of 1896; and Benton, born in September of 1900. In 1900, Alice was the head of the household working as a landlord, yet she was still listed as being married. Her husband Russell, was not living with them at the time. Alice also was raising another girl, Arvilla, who is presumably Russell's daughter from a previous marriage, for she was born in 1891.
Alice filed for divorce from Russell and it was finalized January 23, 1902. There is no reason listed in the court document; however, Alice gained several plats of land and had to pay for the court costs incurred by her ex-husband. Russell died on February 20, 1924, and is buried in Cannon Cemetery in Grayson County, Texas.
One year later, Alice was married again, to F. Heyer. To date there is no record of this marriage or of Alice and him living together. He is mentioned on her Confederate Home application as the third husband, but no other information in provided.
By 1930, Alice was living on East 1st Street in Travis County, Austin, Texas. There she filed for a pension, retaking the last name of her first husband, Isley. One year later she received her pension from the state. She then moved in with her daughter, Lillian who was married to S.P. Stephenson. They lived on Willow St. in Austin, Texas and on August 16, 1937, Lillian and her brother, Clifford, entered Alice into the Confederate Women's Home. Alice passed away there on September 12, 1939, and was interred in the State Cemetery the following day at 2 p.m.
Sources: Death Certificate, Confederate Home Application, Confederate Pension Application, divorce decree between A.S. Carr and R.D. Carr of Grayson County, Texas; CSMR of Martin VanBuren Isley; www.itd.nps.gov; US Federal Census Records.
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