Brief Biographical Notes: Thomas Boyd Harrell was born 6 December 1847 in Sumter County, Georgia to Thomas J. Harrell and Mary A. (Darden) Harrell.
The United States Federal Census for 1850 locates the family in Sumter, Georgia; for 1860 in Terrell, Georgia; for 1870 in De Soto, Louisiana; 1880 in Bell County, Texas; and, 1900-1920 in Port Lavaca, Texas.
Thomas married Eliza Jane Scott on 2 October 1872 in Louisiana. They had eight children, four boys and four girls, the first born in Louisiana in 1873, the last in Texas in 1890. Eliza died in 1892. In 1894 Thomas married Mary Amelia Love. They had three children, all born in Texas.
Thomas was admitted to the Texas Confederate Home in Austin, Texas on 6 February 1928 at the age of 81. A lifelong Methodist, he died 26 November 1939 at the age of 91. He is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in the section known as the "Confederate Field”, Section 3 (B), Row A, Number 26.
The Texas Confederate Home roster states that Thomas came to Texas in 1875 when he would have been 28 years of age.
Brief Synopsis of Service in the CSA: At the age of nineteen, on 15 January 1862 at Dallas, Texas, he enlisted for a period of one year in Captain Hiram C. Childress’ Company, Darnell’s Regiment Texas Volunteers with horse and equipment valued together at $140.00.
Childress’ Company subsequently became Company A, 18th Regiment, Texas Cavalry. The 18th (also known as Darnell's) Regiment Texas Cavalry was accepted into the service of the Confederate States March 15, 1862 with eleven companies and re-organized May 26, 1862 with ten companies, Captain Witt's Company having become an independent command which was subsequently assigned to the 34th (Well’s) Regiment Texas Cavalry as Company B. A part of this regiment was captured at Arkansas Post, Arkansas, January 11, 1863, and exchanged east of the Mississippi River in April and May, 1863 when it was consolidated with similar remnants of the 17th, 24th and 25th Regiments Texas Cavalry. This consolidation was broken up in March, 1864 when these parts of the 17th and 18th Regiments Texas Cavalry were united to form one field organization, but each appears to have been mustered separately. About April 9, 1865, this portion of the regiment was consolidated with the remnants of other regiments in Granbury’s Texas Brigade, and paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina about May 1, 1865. Company H became an independent command about May 1863 and subsequently served as Company D, Morgan’s Regiment Texas Cavalry. The balance of the regiment, which was not captured January 11, 1863, remained west of the Mississippi River and was consolidated with similar remnants of other Texas regiments about July 1, 1863, forming the 17th Consolidated Regiment Texas Dismounted Cavalry.
The preceding text is an excerpt from a larger biographical work which can be downloaded below. The work was produced by a family descendent.
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