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14 Wharfside StreetCharleston, SC 29401
Museum open 10am to 5pm (last entry 4:00 PM) Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
14 Wharfside Street — Charleston, SC 29401
May 28, 2018
Jack Akins (aka Aiken, Akin) was born about 1848 at Combahee, Colleton County, SC. He resided at Clay Hall Plantation in Beaufort County, SC and at Green Pond in Colleton County, SC. He was a farmer. He was enslaved by William Middleton on the Newport Plantation. His first marriage was to Jennie Green (aka Jeanie, Janny) who died shortly after the war at the White Oak place in Beaufort County, SC about 24 January 1881. They had a child named Osbery Aiken who was born about July 1871.
There is also mention of a woman named Chloe with whom Jack Akins lived during slavery. After she died is when he married Jennie (also referred to as Jane).
He married Nancy Washington 1 March 1883 at Clay Hall, Beaufort County, SC. Their marriage certificate was lost in the great hurricane of 1893. Nancy died in 1903. He and Nancy had a child named William, who died before Jack Akin filed for a pension. Their second child was Jack Aiken, Jr., who was born 1 January 1901 near Sheldon, SC on what was called the Tommy Johns place. After Nancy’s death, Jack gave Jack, Jr. into the care of longtime trusted friend Ellen J. Harris, who lived in Beaufort. He executed a certificate of indenture in 1904 giving Ellen J. Harris legal custody of Jack, Jr., who agreed to raise him to the best of her ability.
After Nancy’s death, he married Rebecca and she died on 2 November 1914. At the time he filed for a pension, he was living in Sheldon, Beaufort County, SC. Jack Aiken died on 30 January 1914 and was buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery.
Jack Akins was a private in Company G, 34th Regiment, USCT. He enlisted on 1 June 1863 at Beaufort, SC. He also served as a corporal in Company G, 34th Regiment, USCT. He mustered out with the Company on 28 February 1866 at Jacksonville, FL. He was discharged at Mount Pleasant, SC on 16 March 1866.
Jack Aiken’s pension application was approved and he was issued pension certificate #622659, dated 19 October, 1912. He was pensioned at a rate of $12 per month. He lost his original pension certificate, and in January 1813 a replacement certificate was issued to him (see below).
By 1907, Jack Aiken Sr. was drawing $15 per month as pension, and by 1912 he was pensioned at a rate of $30 per month.
After Jack’s death, Ellen Harris (Cuthbert) filed for dependent’s claim #1027422 on behalf of Jack, Jr., under the pension act of June 27, 1890. The application, filed on 7 May 1914, was approved in September of 1915 and Jack was issued a minor’s certificate #796235. Jack, Jr. received a dependent minor’s pension of $12 per month.
Summary of statement of Wally Garrett, Dale, SC, 7 Mar 1892: He was a Corporal in Company G, 34th USCT. At the time of his discharge 16 Mar 1866 at Mount Pleasant, SC, Private Jack Aiken was an inmate of the smallpox hospital, having contracted the disease while in the service, and that smallpox caused the loss of Jack Aiken’s right eye.
Summary of statement of Solomon Salter, 7 March 1892: Solomon was a resident of Clay Hall, Beaufort County, SC. He was a member of Company G, 34th Regiment, USCT and knew that while at Mt. Pleasant, SC in 1866 Jack Aiken contracted Small Pox. He knew Jack Aiken was a resident of the Small Pox Hospital at the time of his discharge and that the Small Pox caused the loss of vision in Jack Aiken’s eye.
Summary of statement of Selum S. White, 19 December 1889: Selum was a neighbor of Jack Aiken. He knew him from before the War. They belonged to the same owner and lived on the same place. They were in the same Company and Regiment. When Jack Aikens joined the Company, he was free from any disability. His eyesight was good. He took the Small Pox while in the service and somehow it fell in his eye. After he came out of the hospital, he complained of his right eye and it grew worse until he was blind in the right eye. The ball of his eye is sunk so he is totally blind in that eye. Selum remembered tht Jack Aiken had the Small Pox for about a month before they were discharged.
Summary of statement of Jack Furgerson, 20 June 1889: He knew Jack Aikens from their boyhood days. They grew up together on the same plantation and belonged to the same owner. He knew that when Jack Aikens joined the U.S. Army he was a sound and able-bodied man. He joined the army with good eyesight in both eyes. When he came home from the army, his right eye was totally blind. The two men had worked together and Jack Furgerson said Jack Aikens’ physical condition was good except for his eye. He judged him to be disabled from the performance of manual labor by about ¼. He saw Jack Aikens soon after his discharge and knew that he lost his eye in the service because he had good eyesight in both eyes when he went in but only had one when he came home.
Summary of statement of Jonas Green, [undated]: He knew Jack Aiken from his boyhood. When he joined the army, Jack Aiken was a sound and healthy young man. His eyesight was good at that time. When he returned home from the army, he was defected [sic] in his right eye and at the time of his statement, Jonas said Jack Aiken’s eyesight was entirely gone and the ball was sunk. He stated he thought Jack Aiken lost about ½ of his time from his work as a farmer on account of the blindness in his eye. Jonas said he saw Jack Aiken about four or five times a year.
Summary of statement of Wm Izzard, 20 June 1889: He knew Jack Aikens from his boyhood days and up to the time he joined the U.S. Army. He saw him the day he came home from the army. He met the boat at the wharf and had been seeing him often ever since. He was a sound and able-bodied man before he joined the army and had good sight in both eyes. When he came home, he was totally blind in the right eye. Other than the loss of that eye, he seemed to be in good health. He may be disabled about ¼ or 1/3 on account of the loss of the right eyesight. William and Jack used to belong to the same owner and lived in the same place. William knew the whole family and is certain Jack joined the Army with two good eyes and came home with one.
Summary of statement of Elijah Fishburne, 17 March 1897: He knew Jack Aiken all his life and lived about one quarter of a mile from him. He knew Jack Aiken had been blind in his right eye ever since he knew him and could see but little from the left eye. He knew he suffered constantly from rheumatism of his right knee and hip. He stated the dislocation of Jack Aiken’s right hand was serious and knew he was unable to plow and cut wood. Elijah had cut wood for Jack Aiken because of the injury to Jack Aiken’s right wrist. He stated he does not believe Jack Aiken’s disabilities were caused by vicious habits.
Summary of the statement of Stephen Tolbert, 18 March 1897: He knew jack Aiken all his life and was a near neighbor. He knew the soldier to be blind in one eye and failing vision in the other. Jack Aiken was unable to plow because of a dislocated wrist joint of his right hand. His neighbors helped him so he was able to keep his crop. Jack Aiken had pain in his right knee making it difficult to get around. He did not believe the soldier’s disabilities were caused by viscous habits and he believed Jack Aiken was ¾ disabled for manual labor.
Summary of the statement of James Wigg, 17 March 1897: He knew Jack Aiken for nearly 18 years having lived for 14 years within three miles of him. He knew him intimately and saw him frequently. He knew the soldier was never a very healthy man but was always weak and frail. He was always complaining. He stated the soldier was ¾ incapable of doing work that an able bodied man could do.
Summary of statement of Joe Albright, 19 August 1895: Joe was a resident of Tomijohn [also rendered Tommy Johns Place elsewhere in claim] Plantation in Beaufort County, SC. He knew Jack Aiken for 23 years and said he had been suffering from the loss of the sight of the right eye, pains in his back, rheumatism in the hip, injury to the right hand, and was ¾ disabled for manual labor. He had been a near neighbor for 12 years.
Summary of statement of Harry Albright, 19 August 1895: He knew the claimant for 12 years. He was suffering from the loss of sight in the right eye, back pains, rheumatism in the hip, and an injury to the right hand. He was ¾ disabled from manual labor. Harry had lived as a neighbor to Jack Aiken for 12 years.
Summary of statement of N.J. Kennedy M.D., 22 August 1895: Jack Aiken was examined and found to be suffering from neuralgia of the head mainly affecting the right side. He had entirely lost his right eye and was in constant pain from inflammation. He also suffered from rheumatism in the left shoulder, hip, and knee joints. The right wrist joint was dislocated and he was unable to do but little work with the hand because of limitation of motion. He also suffered from back pain and general weakness. There was no heart or lung disease. There was no evidence of vicious habits and he was found to be able to do about one-fourth the amount of manual labor of an otherwise healthy man. The total blindness of the right eye was thought to have been caused by ulceration of the cornea following Small Pox.
Summary of statement of Moses Washington, Bonny Hall, Beaufort County, SC and Daniel Grant, White Oak, Green Pond, Colleton County, SC, 30 April, 1891: Moses was a resident of Bonny Hall, Beaufort County, SC. Daniel was a resident of White Oak, Beaufort County, SC. They were well acquainted with Jack Aiken and knew he was suffering from total blindness in one eye. They knew he had never been in the naval service or military since his discharge in 1866.
Summary of statement by Ellen J. Harris, 12 November 1914: She said no one was living who knew the exact date of the child, Jack Aiken’s, birth. She knew he was born in January 1901. She was informed of his birth by her aunt who was the midwife and that the child was born on New Year’s Day. The child was given to her by his father when the child was but two years old. She was afraid the father would at some time take the child from her so she insisted that he give her papers for him. In 1904, the father got a lawyer, W.I. Thomas, to make such a paper giving her custody of the child. Rebecca, the last wife of Jack Aiken, died 1 November 1914 and she knew, from personal knowledge, that he was the only living child under 16 years of age at the time of the soldier’s death.
Indenture giving child to guardian and alleging birth January 1901 dated 17 August 1904: Jack Aiken Sr., father of Jack Aiken, Jr. bound his three year old son to Ellen Harris to serve in her employment and service. He was to serve until he became 21 years of age or married. Ellen Harris was bound to take good motherly care of the infant boy and to rear him to the best of her ability.
Summary of statement of Ellen J. Harris, 21 April 1915: She was the guardian of the child of Jack Aiken. She had already furnished testimony of three persons, Uriah Washington, Richard Gary and Samuel Gary, who were acquainted with the soldier when he became of marriageable age showing he had never been married but three times prior to his marriage to his last wife who died 2 November 1914. The record of the marriages were destroyed by fire.
Summary of statement of Ellen J. Harris, 24 May 1915: She alleged in her declaration that the soldier died on 30 February 1914 and amended her declaration so as to have the correct date of death, namely 30 January 1914.
Summary of statement of Ellen J. Harris, 1 September 1915: She was 40, did house work, and resided in Beaufort, Beaufort County, SC. She knew Jack Aiken served in the Union army during the civil war in Company G, 34 [Regiment], USC Infantry. He died on Washington Street in Beaufort on 30 January 1914. She attended his funeral and knows the correct date of his death. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Beaufort. She knew Jack Aiken had two wives in slave days and two since that time. She knew he had Chloe first and then Jennie who died soon after the war. He then married Nancy Washington who was the mother of Jack Aiken [Jr.] who was said to have been born 1 January 1901. His mother, Nancy, died near Sheldon when he was about two years old. Jack Aiken [Sr.] was raised and spent most of his life near Sheldon. His last wife was Rebecca. She died 2 November 1914 near Sheldon. Jack Aiken had one child under the age of 16 at the time of his death. He gave his son, Jack Aiken, to her. Jack Aiken, the son, was born near Sheldon on what was called the Tommy Johns place. Nancy Washington, the child’s mother, was not married before marrying Jack Aiken. She was young when they married near Sheldon. She knew Jack Aiken had neither brothers nor sisters who were still living at the time of her statement. His last sister died shortly after he did. She knew that Sally White knew Jack Aiken in slave days. She knew him when he was young and not married at all. They were separated before Jack Aiken married the first time. Ellen knew Jack Aiken [Jr.] was working at the Martha School. She knew he was trying to earn something to help with his schooling. He was going to the Martha School to work in the mornings. The school was one for colored people but had white teachers. She knew a colored minister named Garrett was who married Jack Aiken and Nancy Washington. Jack Aiken told her he was married by Wally Garrett to both of his last wives. Both his slave wives were dead when he married Nancy. She did not know if Jack Aiken had a middle or nickname. Jack Aiken was a friend of her family before she was born and that was how he came to give her his son. She said Caesar Evans and Thomas Brown told her they saw Jack Aiken and Nancy made man and wife.
Summary of statement of Thomas Brown and Sarah Evans, 14 September 1914: He said he was well acquainted with Jack Aiken and his wife, Nancy Aiken. He said the soldier died about 30 January 1914 and left a surviving son, Jack Aiken who was born about January 1901. Nancy, the mother of the child, was married to the soldier about 1890 by Rev. Wally Garret. She died about 1903. There was no other wife at the time of their marriage. Nancy was never married before her marriage to the soldier. He knew this from a long an intimate acquaintance with the family.
Summary of statement of Abbie Jones and Moses Whaley, 30 January 1915: She knew Jack Aiken and Nancy Aiken, the father and mother of the child, Jack Aiken. They were married to each other and lived together as man and wife until Nancy died. They were married sometime in 1890 and the child was born about 11 years after their marriage. When the storm of 1893 came, they had been married about three years. They were married by Rev. Wally Garrett. She was Nancy’s step-mother and Moses Whaley was at the wedding. Jack Aikens was Moses Whaley’s uncle.
Summary of statement by Ceasar Evans, 13 November 1914: He knew Jack Aiken and all his wives. He knew that he first lived with a woman, Jennie Aiken, and she died many years ago, soon after the war when he was quite a boy. He remembered going to the burial place. His next wife was named Nancy who was the mother of the child, Jack Aiken. She died about 1903. His third wife was named Rebecca and she died about 2 November 1914. The child, Jack Aiken, was the only child of the soldier and was under 16 years of age at the time of Jack Aiken’s death. He did not know the exact birth date of the child but knew he was over 2 years old at the time of his mother’s death in 1903. He knew the child was living with his guardian, Ellen J. Harris, in Beaufort, SC.
Summary of statement by William Green, 31 October 1914: He knew Jack Aiken and his entire family. He said Jack Aiken was his uncle. He said the only wife Jack Aiken had except Rebecca was Nancy Aiken, the mother of the child, Jack Aiken. She died in Sheldon Township, Beaufort County, SC. He knew Jack Aiken had a wife in slavery time but did not know if he was ever married to her. She died after the War. He knew these things from having lived on the same plantation and with him being the nephew of Jack Aiken.
Summary of statement by March A. Dessasure, 9 November 1914: He knew Jack Aiken, the father of Jack Aiken, for almost 20 years. He was a member of the same church, Huspah Baptist Church. He knew the child was born sometime in January 1901. He knew Jack Aiken Sr. died in January 1914 and that Jack Aiken Jr. was the only child he had living who was under 16 years of age at the time of the soldier’s death. Rebecca Aiken died 1 November 1914 and was buried Monday, 2 November 1914.
Summary of statement of Richard Gary and Uriah Washington, 22 March 1915: They knew Jack Aiken and his wives. They knew the mother of Jack Aiken’s son, Jack Aiken, when she was a small girl and before she became of marriageable age. They knew she was never married until she married Jack Aiken, the soldier. Before the soldier was married to Nancy, he was married to a woman named Jannie. And before he married Jane or Janie, he lived with a woman by the name of Chloe who died in childbirth about four years before the soldier married Jane or Janie. Jack Aiken lived with Chloe was his wife but they did not know whether he was married to her. Jack Aiken lived with Chloe until she died. Four years after her death, he married Nancy by whom he had the child, Jack Aiken. They had been acquainted with the soldier all their lives and had lived near him all those years until he moved to Beaufort a few years before he died.
Summary of statement of Sam Geary, 22 March 1915: Sam Gary knew Jack Aiken since Sam was a small boy. He also knew his wife, the mother of the minor child [Jack Aiken, Jr.] long before she was of marriageable age. He knew she never married prior to her marriage to Jack Aiken. He knew Janie Aiken before her marriage to Jack Aiken. She died before he married Nancy. He knew Jack Aiken lived with a woman named Chloe who he claimed as his wife soon after he came out of the war. He did not know whether they were married to each other. She died in childbirth about four years before Jack Aiken married Jane or Janie.
Summary of the statement of James Wigg, 6 February 1915: He said there was no public record of Jack Aiken’s age, baptismal record, no family or other record for the reason he was born a slave. He said that if any such records existed, they were in the hands of Jack Aiken’s old owner, now dead. He stated Jack Aiken was a Baptist and was baptized in manhood. He knew Jack Aiken was 70 years old because at the time of the great storm of 1850 or 1852, he was a whole hand doing field work and had a wife. He was not less than 25 years old. He was a member of Company G, 34th Colored Infantry.
Summary of the statement of James Wigg, 17 February, 1908: He knew Jack Aiken since 1881 intimately and was familiar with his general appearance. He said when he first knew the soldier, he was about 50 years of age. He said the soldier was now decrepit and appeared to be 70 or 75 years old.
Summary of report of Thomas H. Goethe, Special Examiner, 1 September 1915: He reported that Ellen J. Harris had an excellent reputation. She was a servant in the house of attorney W.J. Thomas of Beaufort, SC for years. Her son, he reported, was unreliable and worthless. He reported that Jack Aiken married Nancy between 25 and 30 years from the time of his report. The child, Jack Aiken, was reported to have been not a day older than 14. He was unable to get absolutely correct dates.
Summary of statement of Sarah Evans, 3 September 1915: She was 33 years of age, did housekeeping, and resided ten miles from Yemassee, SC. Jack Aiken was her uncle. The first wife she could personally remember was Nancy Washington. She was the daughter of William Washington. She had never been married until she married Jack Aiken. She was a child when they married and attended the wedding. They were married in the evening. She saw Rev. Wally Garrett perform the ceremony. Jack and Nancy lived as husband and wife until Nancy died. At the time of Sarah’s statement, she knew Nancy had been dead over ten years. She died on the Tommy Johns place. She was at the funeral and saw her placed underground. She said she heard her uncle had a wife named Janie before he married Nancy. After Nancy died, her uncle married a woman named Rebecca. He left only one child, Jack Aiken, who lives with Mrs. Ellen Harris in Beaufort. She said Jack [the child] was about 13 or 14 years of age.
Summary of statement of Caesar Evans, 3 September 1915: He was born in 18654 and was adopted as a boy by Jack Aiken. He was not related by blood or marriage to Jack Aiken or Jack Aiken’s son. He knew Jack Aiken had three wives. The first was Jennie who died when Caesar was young. He saw her buried and saw her dead body. Jack Aiken then married Nancy. He guessed the marriage was about 30 years prior to his statement. Nancy died and Jack was single for a while before marrying Rebecca. He married Nancy near Clay Hall. As far as Caesar knew, Jack was not married in slave times. He knew Jack left only one child under 16 at the time of his death, Jack Aiken [Jr.] who lived with Mrs. Ellen Harris of Beaufort. He did not know if Nancy Aiken was married before marrying Jack.
Summary of statement of B.N. Jenkins, 3 September 1915: He was 43 years old and a farmer, residing ten miles from Yemassee. He knew Jack Aiken well. I also knew his wife, Nancy. Her maiden name was Nancy Washington. They lived near him and, at one time, she lived with a man named June, but he died and she then married Jack Aiken. They lived as husband and wife until Nancy died. Nancy was much younger than Jack Aiken. Though she had lived with June, she was still a young woman when she married Jack. They left only one child, a boy. He never heard it intimated that the marriage of Jack Aiken to Nancy was not legal.
Summary of statement of Tom Washington, 3 September 1915: He was 61 years of age and a farmer, residing ten miles from Yemassee, SC. He was a distant cousin of Jack Aiken. They were raised on the same plantation that was on Combahee, SC. Tom said Jack Aiken had five different women. The first was Prescilla but she died while the war was going on. He then had Chloe right after he came home from the war, but she died. He knew she was dead because they were living on the same place, the Newport Place, owned by Mr. Middleton. She was attended by Dr. Gregory. He saw her after her death and saw her buried. Jack Aiken next had Janie but she died and then he had Nancy. She died and his last woman was Rebecca. He knew she had no wife before Prescilla for, as young as he was, Tom said he would have learned it from others if it had been the case. Jack Aiken was a young man when he came from the army and Tom knew him from that time until he died. They were together all their days. He said Jack Aiken married three of the above named women by ceremony, Janie, Nancy, and Rebecca. The other two he just took up with. He said there was nothing to keep his marriage to these women from being lawful for he never married until his previous wife or woman was dead.
Summary of statement of Samuel P. Geary, 4 September 1915: He was 55 years of age, a laborer, and resided in Beaufort, SC. He grew up on the plantation with Jack Aiken. Jack Aiken was raised under his mother on Combahee. He first remembered Jack Aiken having a woman named Chloe but she died on the plantation where they all lived. He then married Janie but she died. He was single for a while and then married Nancy. He was not at the wedding but heard about it soon after it occurred. Jack Aiken had told him beforehand that he was going to marry Nancy. Nancy was not previously married but she lived with a man before she married Jack Aiken. That man died. After Jack Aiken married Nancy he lived with her until she died. She died when the boy Jack [Jack Aiken’s son] was “a suck.” Jack Aiken next married Rebecca who outlived Jack Aiken. She died less than one year from the date of the deposition. She died on the Bonny Hall Plantation near Sheldon.
Summary of statement of Joseph Garrett, 3 September 1915: He was 53 years of age, a farmer, and resided about ten miles from Yemassee, SC. He knew Jack Aiken well. He knew his first wife was named Jennie. She died in his neighborhood and he was sure about her death. Jack Aiken then married Nancy who was the daughter of William Washing. She was not married until she married Jack Aiken. She had lived with a one-eyed man named June but he died not a great while before she married Aiken. Joseph was present at the marriage of Nancy and Jack Aiken. The ceremony was performed by his father, the Rev. Wally Garrett. They were married in the house of the brother of Nancy Aiken or Washington. He marriage occurred a little time prior to Joseph’s marriage and he was married over 24 years ago. After Jack Aiken married Nancy, they lived as husband and wife until Nancy died. Nancy left one child, a boy.
Summary of statement of Richard B. Hill, 1 September 1915: R.B. Hill was over 70 and the keeper at the National Cemetery, Beaufort, SC. His records showed the following: Jack Aikens, [Company] G, 34 [Regiment], date of death January 30, 1914. Funeral Jan 31 at 1 pm.
Summary of statement of William Green, 1 September 1915: He was 65, a farmer, and resided seven miles from Beaufort, SC. Jack Aiken was his first cousin. His first wife was Nancy and his second was Rebecca. He did not see either marriage but heard he married Nancy on the Tommy Johns place near Sheldon. Jack and Nancy lived as husband and wife until Nancy died. He knew that because he visited them at their home. They had a son named Jack Aiken who was, at the time of the statement, living with Ellen Harris in Beaufort. Nancy died when Jack Aiken, Jr. was a very young child. Rebecca died a few months after Jack Aiken did. Both wives died near Sheldon. Nancy and Jack were married three or four years before Jack Aiken, Jr. was born. William did not know if Jack Aiken was married in slave days. At that time, William was small and lived on a different plantation. After the war, he and Jack Aiken lived on the same place. He said that if he made a former statement that Jack had a wife in slave days, it was wrong. Nancy was the first wife or woman William ever knew Jack to have.
Summary of statement of James Wigg, March Washington, Handy Phelps residing at Seabrook, 4 May 1917: They stated they were in Company G, 34th Regiment, USCT with Jack Aiken and knew Jack Aiken was over 70 years of age.
Summary of statement of Wm Hamilton, 27 October 1898: He was 76 years of age, unemployed, and lived at 48 Nassau Street in Charleston, SC. He knew Jack Aiken prior to the war and they served in the same company and regiment. He knew him to be sound and well up to the time of his service. He knew Jack Aiken had Small Pox in the service and that it was while they were at Mt. Pleasant near Charleston, SC. He didn’t know if the Small Pox hurt him in any way but he remembered that Jack Aiken had a white eyeball after the Small Pox. He did not remember if Jack Aiken was blind in the eye. He knew that nothing was wrong with the eye prior to the war. He had not seen Jack Aiken since their discharge and he was not related to him.
Summary of statement of Edward Brown, 18 October 1898: He was 65 years of age, a farmer, and lived near Green Pond, SC. He met Jack Aiken in the army and served in the same company and regiment. He knew Jack Aiken was sick in the service, that he had Small Pox because he had it himself. He said Jack Aiken was worse with Small Pox than he was. When Jack Aiken got out of the service, his right eye was turned white. He did not know if the sight was gone in that eye. He had not seen Jack Aiken since discharge.
Summary of statement of Jackson Grant, 20 Oct 1898: He was 62 years of age, a farmer, and lived near Green Pond, SC. He served in Company G, 34 [Regiment], USCT and met Jack Aiken in the service. He knew him quite well while they were in the war. He knew Jack Aiken was sick during his service and had Small Pox because he also had it. He knew Jack Aiken was very sick and had it in one of his eyes and the eye turned white. He did not remember if he went blind in that eye. He knew there was nothing the matter with either eye when he met Jack Aiken in the service. He said he thought it was when they were near Charleston that they got Small Pox.
Summary of statement of Chas Nichols, 18 October 1898: He was 65 years of age, a farmer, and lived near Green Pond, SC. He knew Jack Aiken quite well prior to the war. They served in the same company and regiment. He had not seen Jack Aiken for years since the war and did not know what became of him. He knew nothing was wrong with Jack Aiken up to enlistment and that he was sick during his service with Small Pox. He knew the Small Pox left him with a blind eye because before he had Small Pox, he had two good eyes. But when he got over the Small Pox, it left him with a white speck in the right eye and he never knew Jack Aiken to see out of it afterwards. He was not related to Jack Aiken.
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