Joseph Casey

Joseph Casey was born more than 202 years ago on October 13th, 1817 in the Volunteer State of Tennessee to his Father John Clarke Casey and Mother, Catherine Depriest.

** Interesting events that occurred around the World during Mr. Casey's birth year of 1817 included.

• On February 7th, 1817 Baltimore becomes the 1st American city lit by gas street lamps with the first turned on at Market and Lemon Streets (Modern day Baltimore and Holliday Streets)

• On March 3rd, 1817 The U.S. Congress passes a law to split the Mississippi Territory after Mississippi drafts it's constitution and in turn creating the Alabama Territory effective in August of that same year.

• On March 4th, 1817 James Monroe is sworn in as the fifth President of the United States.

• On June 12th, 1817 German inventor Karl Drais drives his "Dandy Horse" in Mannheim which was actually the earliest form of bicycle !!

• On June 22nd, 1817 King Ferdinand VII of Spain, by royal decree makes the production and sale of tobacco a legal endeavor in Cuba, sparking the birth of the Cuban cigar industry.

• On October 17th, 1817 the HMS Trincomalee is launched in Bombay for the British Royal Navy. She is still afloat today

( Image of the HMS Trincomalee in comments below )

• On November 20th, 1817 the first Seminole War begins in the Florida territory.

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We know very little of Mr. Casey's earliest beginnings or his parents genealogical background. His Father John Clarke Casey passes away @ the state of Alabama in October of 1832 when Joseph is a teenager.

Joseph at the age of 32 marries Martha Jane Starling in Hatchet Creek, Coosa County Alabama just weeks after her 15th birthday on March 14th, 1850. The couple would go on to have nine children between 1851 and 1872. Chronologically they would welcome James, Sarah Jane, John, Mary Adeline, Joseph Casey Jr., Martha, Theodosia, Catharine, and Missouri.

On September 19th, 1853 Mr. Casey is appointed to a three-year term as postmaster in Weogufka, Coosa County Alabama.

In the late 1850s the Casey family relocates to Hillsborough County in Florida where Joseph supports his family in the field of farming.

** Full disclosure... When researching mid-nineteenth century Census records, I located an 1860 "Slave schedule" associated with Mr. Casey. According to the record which is in the comments below, they have a single unnamed 58 year old female "slave inhabitant".

** We lose track of Joseph's Mother, Catherine Depriest Casey until her passing in Mountain Home, Baxter County, Arkansas in 1863. She was 76 years old

During the American Civil War, Mr. Casey enlists with the Confederate States Army 1st Florida Special Cavalry Battalion. The unit commanded by Charles James Munnerlyn was created in April of 1864 with a primary focus of protecting Florida cattle from Union raiders. It was given the nickname of the "Cow Cavalry". The hides and meat from Florida cattle were a critical supply item for the Confederacy.

After the wars conclusion, Mr. Casey lives a quiet existence in rural Hillsborough County Florida where he tended to his farm and lives with Martha Jane for the rest of his life.

Joseph Casey passes away more than 135 years ago on February 6th, 1884. He was sixty six years old.

Joseph Casey... Beloved Husband, Father, and Confederate States Army Veteran of the Civil War