Note: In 1915 and again in 1922, questionaires were sent to the veterans in Tennessee.  Those that were returned, were complied and published as Tennessee Veteran's Civil War Questionaires. Spelling has not been altered.  Tom's questionaire appears here thanks to one of his descendants, Arlene Watkins.
 

The chief purpose of the following questions is to bring out facts that will be of service in writing a true history of the Old South.  Such a history has not yet been written.  By answering these questions you will make a valuable contribution to the history of your State.

1. State your full name and present Post Office address:  Thomas, Davis, Morristown, Tenn.

2. State your age now:  80 years old

3. In what State and country were you born?:  Tennessee, Grainger co.

4. In what State and country were you living when you enlisted in the service of the Confederacy, or of the Federal Government?:  Tennessee, Grainger co.

5. What was your occupation before the war?:  Farmer

6. What was the occupation of your father?:  Farmer

7. If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as near as you can:   not any

8. Did you or your parents own slaves?  If so, how many?:   not any

9. If your parents owned land, state about how many acres:  327

10. State as near as you can the value of all the property owned by your parents, including land, when the war opened:  about two thousand dollars

11. What kind of house did your parents occupy?  State whether it was a log house or frame house or built of other materials, and state the number of rooms it had:  double log house

12. As a boy and young man, state what kind of work you did.  If you worked on a farm, state to what extent you plowed, worked with a hoe, and did other kinds of similar work:   worked on a farm

13. State clearly what kind of work your father did, and what the duties of your mother were.  State all the kinds of work done in the house as well as you can remember–that is, cooking, spinning, weaving, etc.   worked on a farm

14. Did your parents keep any servants?  If so, how many?:  two

15. How was honest toil-as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest work of this class-regarded in your community?  Was such work considered respectable and honorable?:  yes

16. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?:  some of them

17. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of idleness and having others do their work for them?:  some were and some wasenet

18. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with those who did not own slaves, or did slaveholders in any way show by their actions that they felt themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves?:  some of them did

19. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did slaveholders and non-slaveholders mingle on a footing of equality?:  some of them did and some did not

20. Was there a friendly feeling between slaveholders and nonslaveholders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?:  yes with some of them

21. In a political contest in which one candidate owned slaves and the other did not, did the fact that one candidate owned slaves help him in winning the contest?  very few to my noledge

22. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man-honest and industrious-to save up enough to buy a small farm or go in business for himself?:  very few to my noledge

23. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?:  not that i no of

24. What kind of school or schools did you attend?:  3 months

25. About how long did you go to school altogether?:  about all togather ½ yr

26. How far was it to the nearest school?:  1 mile and half

27. What school or schools were in operation in your neighborhood?:  vary good

28. Was the school in your community private or public?:  public

29. About how may months in the year did it run?:  3 months

30. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty regularly?:  some did

31. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or a woman?:  mostly men

32. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the Confederate or of the the Federal Government?:  year 1861 month Oct. place Morristown, Tenn.  Confederacy

33. State the name of your regiment, and state the names of as many members of your company as you remember:  61 Tennessee Joe Ive, Jake Ive, Jim Ive, George Ive, John Boatman, Will Gibs

34. After enlistment, where was your company sent first?:   Vickburg...............

35. How long after your enlistment before your company engaged in battle?:  I don’t know

36. What was the first battle you engaged in?:  Big black river

37. State in your own way your experience in the war from this time on until the close.  State where you went after the first battle-what you did, what other battles you engaged in, howl long the lasted, what the results were; state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger, and disease.  If you were in the hospital or in prison, state your experience here:  I prisen 21 months liging 3 day I had no clothes slept on bunks and ground and eat...bats/rats?  I went to hospital and I only stayed 3 day and nights

38. When and where were you discharged?:  Gerga (Georgia)

39. Tell something of your trip home:  I met with stragglers in Fedrel army and they taken my mare away from me and had to walk

40. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?:  farming

41. Give a sketch of you life since the close of the Civil War, stating what kind of business you have engaged in, where you have lived, your church relations, etc.  If you have held an office or offices, stat what it was.  You may state here any other facts connected with your life and experience which has not been brought out by the questions:  Read over cover (?)

42. Give the full name of your father:  William Davis  ;born                      at_______________;in the county of:  Grainger  state of:  Tennessee.  He lived at ______________________.  Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war services, etc.;books written by, etc.  wasnt any

43. Maiden name in full of your mother:  Susan (?) Purkey  ; She was the daughter of (full name)  Jacob Purkey and the wife (full name)  I think Pollia, who lived at  Tennessee.

44. Remark on ancestry.  Give here any and all facts possible in reference to your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., not included in the foregoing, as where they lived, office held, Revolutionary or other was services; what country the family came from to America; where first settled, country and state; always giving full names (if possible) and never referring to an ancestor simply as such without giving the name.  It is desirable to include every fact possible and to that end the full and exact record from old Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving the facts from loss:  I don't know.  Thomas Davis, Morristown, Tenn.

45. Give the names of all the members of your Company you can remember (If you know were the Roster is to be had, please make special note of this.)

46. Give here the NAME and POST OFFICE ADDRESS of living Veterans of the Civil War,  whether members of your company or not.
 

 NAME          POSTOFFICE           STATE
 
 
 
 

 DAVIS, THOMAS