“James T.” Bartley first appears as an 8-year-old in the 1850 census. He was then about 150 miles east of Daviess County, where he settled. “Thos Bartley” is shown on the 1860 census for Daviess as a 17 year-old laborer born in Kentucky. The census shows him and other laborers living with a family of Hodgkins, close to the Clayton family of his wife’s second husband.

Civil War muster lists show Thomas J. Bartley (also known as James T. Bartley or John T.) on the Union side for a three year term beginning November 4, 1861 He was a private first class in the 17th and 25th infantries. The fighting in the border state of Kentucky is reported to have been particularly intense, especially during 1861-62. He was hospitalized for a number of months in Louisville beginning in the middle of 1862. It is unclear if injuries or other health problems were the occasion for the hospital stay; the muster list reports are “sick” and “no descriptive list.”

The 1870 Kentucky census shows “James T. Bartley” living with his wife “Josaphine” and the two children shown here. His occupation is described as “common laborer.”

The documentation matches reports from my mother that Thomas died early, allowing his wife time for her second marriage.95,25,96,97