Nathaniel Hardin Ragland Jr. (1818 - 1888)

Born 8 Dec 1818 in Richmond, Henrico, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Martha Walker (Trent) Ragland — married 25 Oct 1848 in Appomattox, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 19 Feb 1888 at age 69 in Appomattox, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Nathaniel Ragland Jr. is Notable.

Nathaniel Hardin Ragland Jr., was born in Richmond, VA, and resided there from 1818-1868.^[1] He was the second child of Nathaniel Hardin Ragland and Sallie Ragland. At one point he was running a store in Richmond known as Ragland and Bros. He was nicknamed "Grandpa Nat" and his wife was nicknamed "Grandma Pat." Martha Walker Trent Ragland wrote that in 1862 that she received a letter from her Brother who was in the Army, requesting her to go to his farm in Appomattox, VA, her old home, and take care of his property to the best of her ability. She writes that her husband was unfit for active duty service due to his health, so he remained in Richmond VA, watching for and availing himself of every opportunity to do what he could for the cause. Frequently it was his privilege to help take care of the sick and wounded soldiers, and sometimes he was called into active service when there was any fighting around Richmond.

• 1850 US Census, Richmond, Henrico, Virginia^[2]Nathaniel was 31 living with his mother, Sally who was 57. His father passed away last year. He had 7 siblings living here also, their ages ranged from 1 to 24 years old.

• 1860 US Census, Richmond, Henrico, Virginia^[3]Nathaniel is 41, his wife, Martha is 31 and they have 5 children, ages range from 1 to 10 years old.

• 1880 US Census, Appomattox County Court House, Appomattox, Virginia^[4]Nathaniel is 61, a Merchant and Post Master, married to Martha who is 53. They have 6 children, ages 8 to 28. Henry T. Parrish is 50, he is married to their daughter, Virginia who is 25. He is the County Court Judge. John Budwell is 51, he is a Widowed School Teacher. He was married to their daughter who is deceased. Phoebe Sears is 29, she is a Black Servant who has a 10 year old daughter, named Emma.

From 1868-1888, he and his family resided in the "McLean House," site of General Lee's surrender. He was a merchant, and Justice of the Peace in Appomattox, Virginia. In 1848 he married Martha Walker Trent.^[5]

Martha Walker Trent Ragland, "Grandma Pat" continues to write, "In 1868 my husband bought the house at Appomattox Court House in which General Lee and General Grant met and drew up and signed the articles of capitulation, at the time of the surrender. At the time he bought it, it was owned by Major McLean, who also owned the land on which the first battle of the war was fought. Strange that the first battle of the war and the final surrender should both take place on land owned by the same man."

After the death of her husband, Nathaniel Hardin Ragland Jr., she sold the McLean house to Mr. M, E. Dunlap. His plan was to re-erect the house as a museum in Washington, D.C. This never happened and the house fell into a state of neglect. In the book it states that, "When the two armies left Appomattox Court House the McLean family found that almost all of the furniture in their parlor had been carried off by souvenir hunters and that very little of it had been paid for."^[6]

Nathaniel Ragland Featherston who was born in the original Mclean House in 1874 is shown in a picture helping the National Park Service during reconstruction of the house in 1941.

N.H. Ragland Jr., opened a general merchandise store in a frame building on the lot adjacent to the McLean House. This was once the residence of the Raine family, prior to them using it as a home, it was a tavern and hotel before the war. Grandpa Nat ran the store until his death in 1888^[7]

N. H. Ragland Jr., and Martha Trent Ragland are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery on Grace Street in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Raglands were founding members of the Presbyterian Church in Appomattox, so grave plots were given to them by the Sacketts who were church members there.

Sources

1. ↑ https://familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KHZS-54J
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DQ-11M : 23 December 2020), Nathaniel Ragland in household of Sally Ragland, Richmond, Henrico, Virginia, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).Insert reference here
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (ark:/61903/1:1:M41Z-PSH : Wed Apr 05 12:40:13 UTC 2023), Entry for N H Ragland and M W Ragland, 1860.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCPN-6VT : 15 January 2022), N. H. Ragland, Appomattox Court House, Appomattox, Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
5. ↑ Book, Titled, The Raglands: The History of A British-American Family, by Charles James, Ragland, Jr., 1987
6. ↑ Book, Titled, Raglands, Facts and Legends of an Old Virginia Family, by Thomas Ragland Terry, 1984
7. ↑ https://findagrave.com/memorial/94322882

"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVLL-ZT6B : 13 December 2015), Nathaniel H Ragland, 1888; Burial, Lynchburg, Lynchburg City, Virginia, United States of America, Presbyterian Cemetery; citing record ID 94322882, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. Reeves-4890 01:37, 12 April 2018 (UTC)