My grandfather, John A. Croley, and my grandmother, Minnie Lee Page - Croley, both told me that his father (her father-in-law), John Taylor Croley, often told them about his own father, John Croley, going off into Confederate military service. John Taylor Croley said that when his father left for the Army, that he John Taylor was about age seven (7) - which is about right if he was born in 1854 and his father, John Croley, went into service about 1861. John's departing words were something like "I will be back someday". John T. Croley said that he looked for his father's return until he himself was well up in age just because of the boyish faith he had in his departing father's words even though for sometime he actually knew that his father was dead.
John Taylor Croley, being the only male child, had the responsibility of taking care of his mother, Mary Dykes - Croley, and his sisters since his father, John Croley, had died in the CSA Army. My grandfather, John A. Croley, also said that his father, John Taylor Croley, told him how hard his early life had been following the War. How he regularly had to work plowing all day with nothing to eat but a small piece of cold rough ground cornbread and drinking water from a hillside seepage spring from out of a cup made from a curled magnolia leaf. In short, from about age ten (10) until he was twenty (20) the burden of support fell on him for the family.
Now in light of what I have just shared and after having reviewed some notes I made long ago, I can say with a good degree of confidence that John Croley and Mary Dykes Croley were living in Conecuh County, Alabama when the Confederate War came. (Remember that Escambia County, AL was created from part of Conecuh County after the War.) Despite some degree of confusion regarding which military unit John Croley served in as evidenced by the following:
"Confederate Pension application from Escambia County, AL filed 7/22/1887 which says that John Croley was a member of Company "D" 18th Alabama, but application from Coffee County filed 4/27/1895 says Company "D" 23rd Alabama."
It seems clear that John was most likely in Company "D" 23rd Alabama. Reason why is because:
1. John Taylor Croley said, according to my grandfather, John A. Croley, and his sister, Inez Croley - Cooley, that his father, John Croley, died of disease near Mobile, AL ;
2. The history of the 23rd Alabama says that it lost 87 men due to disease shortly after its formation and while it was stationed near Mobile, AL;
3. Company "D" 23rd Alabama came from Conecuh County AL, but Company "D" 18th Alabama did not - it came from Coosa County, AL;
4. Given that Company "D" is stated on both the Confederate Pension Applications, the company information is probably correct on both - while the regimental information was at first given incorrectly.
5. Adding further support to John Croley's living in Conecuh County, Al is the fact that in in 1889, his son, John Taylor Croley, bought 161 acres in Escambia County, AL which was created from part of Conecuh County;
6. And, even though John Taylor Croley and his mother Mary Dykes Croley had moved to Coffee County, AL by 1895, other information shows that his sisters had all married men in the Escambia County, AL area - most along the FL/AL state-lines.
In closing on this discussion, it would be helpful if I could find where the following people lived in Conecuh County and something about their own respective military service records since they were the officers of Company "D" 23rd AL. Where they lived and served may help identify just where in Conecuh County John & Mary Croley actually lived and where in the Mobile area the 87 men may be buried. See following:
Co. "D" (Conecuh County): D. K. Smith (resigned, 10 Sept 62); James T.
Hester (promoted); James M. Anderson & William Beard of Conecuh.
http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/alregts.htmlI hope the information I have shared here will give those interested a better understanding of this aspect of the Croley Family history and how it was passed down from my grandfather's generation to me. -Doug Croley