National Register of Historic Places - Official Listing
16 November 2020
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/historic-commission/thc_national-reg_draftsseptember2020/TN_Montgomery%20County_Mt%20Olive%20Cemetery%20Watermarked.pdf
16 November 2020
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/historic-commission/thc_national-reg_draftsseptember2020/TN_Montgomery%20County_Mt%20Olive%20Cemetery%20Watermarked.pdf
The Mt Olive Cemetery Master Records File
The Mt Olive Cemetery Master Records File provides Educational and Historical information on the citizens and Soldiers interred at Mt Olive Cemetery.
This is not a complete list of everyone interred at Mt Olive, however, it does represent the Society's current level of knowledge based on local, State, and National records.
We will update these Records as research efforts expand.
Society Members and visitors can access the Master Records Files at the link below.
Mt Olive Cemetery Records-Master Files - Updated July 2023
| master_records_july_2023.xlsx |
| master_records_april_2023.xlsx |
| Mt Olive Master Records Oct 2022 |
| Mt Olive Master Records Jan 2022.xlsx |
Finding Your Way Around Mt Olive
The Mt Olive Site Plan below will provide you a general orientation to the Cemetery's boundaries, and road networks. The Cemetery has been divided into 8 Zones. These Zones assist the Society and visitors in locating graves and headstones.
The Mt Olive Cemetery Records Master Files identifies the location of each resident using this Zoning convention.
The Mt Olive Site Plan below will provide you a general orientation to the Cemetery's boundaries, and road networks. The Cemetery has been divided into 8 Zones. These Zones assist the Society and visitors in locating graves and headstones.
The Mt Olive Cemetery Records Master Files identifies the location of each resident using this Zoning convention.
Society Historian, Phyllis Smith, Obtains USCT Pension Records and Regimental Books for the National Archives
From July 8 - 16, 2023, the Society Historian, Phyllis Smith, journeyed to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to obtain and research the pension records and regimental books of Clarksville, Tennessee's U.S. Colored Troops. Well done, Phyllis!
Historical Obituaries
The attached file provides a glimpse into our past. Here you will find a collection of obituaries from Clarksville's The Leaf Chronicle and The Nashville Globe. The Society thanks its member Mrs. Brenda Harper for her research on this project.
The attached file provides a glimpse into our past. Here you will find a collection of obituaries from Clarksville's The Leaf Chronicle and The Nashville Globe. The Society thanks its member Mrs. Brenda Harper for her research on this project.
| MT Olive Cemetery - Newspaper Obituaries |
Historical News Articles referencing Mt Olive Cemetery
| Clarksville Weekly Chronicle July 3rd 1880 |
Remembrance of the Month
In support of our Mission Statement, each month the Society reflects on the life of a permanent resident of the Cemetery. These Biographies provide a unique insight on the lives, service and sacrifices of those interred at Mt Olive.
We hope these Biographies provide an opportunity for our community to reconnect with our Nation's history and help the Society to celebrate and honor our fellow citizens' lives.
Biographies are published by the Society's Historian, Phyllis Smith
| sterling_and_nancy_campbell_biography.docx |
| charity_and_eddie_headspeth_biography.docx |
| major_benjamin_steele_biography.docx |
| Stark Anderson Biography |
| Coleman Norfleet Biography.docx |
| Kate and Dorsey Thompson Biography.docx |
| Ellen Pennilton and William Dudley Bbiography.docx |
| Blondella Dunlap Biography.docx |
| Egbert Miller Biography.docx |
| Babe Cross Biography.docx |
| George and Lucy Vance Biography.docx |
| Clardy Family Biography.docx |
| Susan Hite Biography.docx |
| William Dudley Biography.docx |
| USCT Stephen and Irene Kimbrough Biography.docx |
| Barry and Kittie Gupton Biography.docx |
| USCT Thomas Campbell Biography.docx |
| USCT Cube Lyle Steele & Mary Eliza Steele Biography.docx |
| USCT Wilson Thomas Biography.docx |
| USCT Martin & Macie Means Biography.docx |
| USCT Alexander McNeal Biography.docx |
| Roderick and Margaret Faulkner Biography.docx |
| USCT Charles Griffey Biography.docx |
| USCT CPL Chesterfield Dabney - Biography.docx |
| USCT Shelby Clark-Biography of a Civil War Veteran.docx |
| Civilian - Jordan Barksdale Biography.docx |
| Leonard Mabry Biography.docx |
| USCT PVT Isaac Fields Biography.docx |
| Mary-Ann Carr Biography.docx |
| USCT Isaac Fields Biography.docx |
| Violet Allen Adams Biography.docx |
| Alexander Carr Biography.docx |
| USCT Moses Parrish Biography-Updated_may_2019.docx |
| Woodson Wheeler biography.docx |
| charles_herbert_gray_biography.pdf |
| ann_and_henry_boyd_biography.pdf |
| joseph_martin_biography.pdf |
| charley_and_mansfield_clark_biography.pdf |
| lacy_family_biography.pdf |
| bud_mccarter_biography.pdf |
| wiley_rogers_biography.pdf |
Remembrance of the Month (June 2023)
Sterling and Nancy Campbell Biography
Sterling Campbell was born into enslavement in 1838 in Christian County, Kentucky. His enslaver was John P. Campbell, and his parents were Adelaide Campbell and Louis Gibson. He had one brother named Henry Gibson. In 1858, Sterling received the permission of his enslaver and the permission of Randel Boyd, the enslaver of his intended wife, to marry Nancy Boyd. Nancy was the daughter of Roe McCulluct and Eliza Boyd. The couple’s enslavers, John P. Campbell and Randel Boyd were partners in the tobacco industry and lived close to each other.
On January 21, 1864, Sterling enlisted in Company H, 16th USCT in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was 26 years old, five feet four inches tall, with black eyes and hair, and a black complexion. It is probable that at the time of his enlistment, Nancy had also escaped to freedom in Clarksville. The 16th USCT left Clarksville for Chattanooga, Tennessee in April 1864. On September 18, 1864, Sterling was treated for diarrhea. He was sick in the Regimental Hospital on October 30, 1864 but was present with his unit during the Battle of Nashville where the 16th USCT was part of the Federal Army’s reserve and participated in the march back to Chattanooga after the battle. In January/February 1865, Sterling was charged forty cents for lost Camp and Garrison Equipage. He was admitted to the Regimental Hospital on August 6, 1865 for diarrhea and was so sick that they transferred him to General Hospital Number 1 where they diagnosed him with hepatic dropsy (body swelling caused by liver disfunction). He returned to duty on September 16, 1865. Sterling was allowed to go home on furlough on November 24, 1865 and returned December 8, 1865. From January 21st to the 23rd, 1866, Sterling was treated for a headache which may mean that it was a migraine headache. He was in the hospital again with diarrhea from January 28 to February 1, 1866, and was hospitalized with dysentery from February 19 through February 22, 1866. Sterling’s military history highlights the dangers of camp life, and shows how disease killed more soldiers than bullets did in the Civil War. He was mustered out of the Army in Nashville, Tennessee on April 30, 1866. The Army owed him seventeen dollars and twenty cents at the time of his discharge.
The 1870 Montgomery County, Tennessee census is the only census that listed Sterling Campbell. The family was living in District 12 which included downtown Clarksville. He is listed as a 35-year-old laborer. Nancy, aged 30, was listed as keeping house. Sterling’s 65-year-old mother, Adelaide was living with them. Three children were listed with them. Daughter Jud was fourteen, sons Sterling, Junior and Lewis were aged 4 and 2 respectively. Two other children were added to the family later: daughter Eliza Jane was born in 1874 and the final child, George was born in 1875.
Sterling Campbell died on April 14, 1876 of heart disease. Two of his children, Jud and Eliza Jane, had predeceased him. It is not currently known where the two children are buried but Sterling was buried in Mt Olive Cemetery by Henry Roberts. In one of life’s ironies, Henry Roberts was deposed for Nancy’s Widow’s Pension application and stated his records were burned in Clarksville’s big fire of 1878. He stated he remembered burying Sterling in Sterling’s own garden. But for the discovery of his headstone, Sterling’s resting place would be unknown.
Nancy Campbell applied for a widow’s pension on April 5, 1889. At the time she applied, Nancy had three living children: Sterling Junior, Lewis, and George. All three children were eligible for a minor’s pension since they were less than sixteen years old when their father died. The minor’s pension would pay each of them $2 per month until they reached the age of sixteen. Stephen O. W. Brandon was Nancy’s pension agent. He wrote down the statements of her witnesses and guided her through the pension process, but he was not a lawyer. Nancy was granted a pension on January 22, 1895. By the time of her pension the laws were changed so that when a pension was granted, it was backdated to the original application date. Nancy received money on her pension and the children’s pension starting from 1889 which amounted to a first check of $450. Stephen O. W. Brandon lobbied Nancy to get her to agree to give him 1/3 of her first check for the work he did to help her get her pension. This was in violation of the pension laws which only allowed pension lawyers and agents to receive a maximum of $10. Nancy would not agree to this and shrewdly took her son Lewis with her when she picked up and cashed her first check. She offered Brandon the $10 he was authorized and he refused it. She added five dollars and met with another refusal. Brandon finally accepted $30. Unfortunately for him, Nancy reported the transaction. A special examiner was sent to take her statement as well as one from her son. The special examiner found more cases where Brandon required more than ten dollars in payment and recommended that Brandon be criminally prosecuted. Brandon was found guilty on four counts of violation of the Pension Act of June 27, 1890. He was sentenced on April 28, 1896 to 13 months in the Brooklyn Penitentiary for each count. Sentences were to be served concurrently.
The 1910 Montgomery County, Tennessee census listed Nancy Campbell living at 314 Kellog Street with her sister, Margaret Boyd. Nancy owned the house and no occupation was listed for her. Margaret was working as a cook for a private family. Nancy’s son Lewis was married with nine children and living next door at 312 Kellog Street. Sterling Junior was married and living at 437 Lee Street. Both Sterling Junior and Lewis were working as laborers in a tobacco factory. Sterling Campbell died on March 22, 1911 of tuberculosis. His burial place is currently unknown. Nancy Campbell died five years later on June 4, 1916 of chronic bronchitis. She was buried in Mt Olive Cemetery on June 5, 1916 by Nace Dixon’s Undertaking firm. No headstone has currently been found for her.
Bibliography
Clarksville, Tennessee City Directory (1911).
Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States
Colored Troops: Infantry Organizations, 14th through 19th, Civil War, Campbell, Sterling, National
Archives Building, Washington, D. C.
Montgomery County, Tennessee Census (1870, 1900, 1910).
Pension File 406492, Campbell, Sterling, Civil War, National Archives Building, Washington, D. C.
Tennessee Death Records, 1908-1958; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
“The Penalty: Thirteen Months in the Brooklyn Prison for Each Offense,” Clarksville Weekly Leaf-
Chronicle, April 28, 1896.
Sterling Campbell was born into enslavement in 1838 in Christian County, Kentucky. His enslaver was John P. Campbell, and his parents were Adelaide Campbell and Louis Gibson. He had one brother named Henry Gibson. In 1858, Sterling received the permission of his enslaver and the permission of Randel Boyd, the enslaver of his intended wife, to marry Nancy Boyd. Nancy was the daughter of Roe McCulluct and Eliza Boyd. The couple’s enslavers, John P. Campbell and Randel Boyd were partners in the tobacco industry and lived close to each other.
On January 21, 1864, Sterling enlisted in Company H, 16th USCT in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was 26 years old, five feet four inches tall, with black eyes and hair, and a black complexion. It is probable that at the time of his enlistment, Nancy had also escaped to freedom in Clarksville. The 16th USCT left Clarksville for Chattanooga, Tennessee in April 1864. On September 18, 1864, Sterling was treated for diarrhea. He was sick in the Regimental Hospital on October 30, 1864 but was present with his unit during the Battle of Nashville where the 16th USCT was part of the Federal Army’s reserve and participated in the march back to Chattanooga after the battle. In January/February 1865, Sterling was charged forty cents for lost Camp and Garrison Equipage. He was admitted to the Regimental Hospital on August 6, 1865 for diarrhea and was so sick that they transferred him to General Hospital Number 1 where they diagnosed him with hepatic dropsy (body swelling caused by liver disfunction). He returned to duty on September 16, 1865. Sterling was allowed to go home on furlough on November 24, 1865 and returned December 8, 1865. From January 21st to the 23rd, 1866, Sterling was treated for a headache which may mean that it was a migraine headache. He was in the hospital again with diarrhea from January 28 to February 1, 1866, and was hospitalized with dysentery from February 19 through February 22, 1866. Sterling’s military history highlights the dangers of camp life, and shows how disease killed more soldiers than bullets did in the Civil War. He was mustered out of the Army in Nashville, Tennessee on April 30, 1866. The Army owed him seventeen dollars and twenty cents at the time of his discharge.
The 1870 Montgomery County, Tennessee census is the only census that listed Sterling Campbell. The family was living in District 12 which included downtown Clarksville. He is listed as a 35-year-old laborer. Nancy, aged 30, was listed as keeping house. Sterling’s 65-year-old mother, Adelaide was living with them. Three children were listed with them. Daughter Jud was fourteen, sons Sterling, Junior and Lewis were aged 4 and 2 respectively. Two other children were added to the family later: daughter Eliza Jane was born in 1874 and the final child, George was born in 1875.
Sterling Campbell died on April 14, 1876 of heart disease. Two of his children, Jud and Eliza Jane, had predeceased him. It is not currently known where the two children are buried but Sterling was buried in Mt Olive Cemetery by Henry Roberts. In one of life’s ironies, Henry Roberts was deposed for Nancy’s Widow’s Pension application and stated his records were burned in Clarksville’s big fire of 1878. He stated he remembered burying Sterling in Sterling’s own garden. But for the discovery of his headstone, Sterling’s resting place would be unknown.
Nancy Campbell applied for a widow’s pension on April 5, 1889. At the time she applied, Nancy had three living children: Sterling Junior, Lewis, and George. All three children were eligible for a minor’s pension since they were less than sixteen years old when their father died. The minor’s pension would pay each of them $2 per month until they reached the age of sixteen. Stephen O. W. Brandon was Nancy’s pension agent. He wrote down the statements of her witnesses and guided her through the pension process, but he was not a lawyer. Nancy was granted a pension on January 22, 1895. By the time of her pension the laws were changed so that when a pension was granted, it was backdated to the original application date. Nancy received money on her pension and the children’s pension starting from 1889 which amounted to a first check of $450. Stephen O. W. Brandon lobbied Nancy to get her to agree to give him 1/3 of her first check for the work he did to help her get her pension. This was in violation of the pension laws which only allowed pension lawyers and agents to receive a maximum of $10. Nancy would not agree to this and shrewdly took her son Lewis with her when she picked up and cashed her first check. She offered Brandon the $10 he was authorized and he refused it. She added five dollars and met with another refusal. Brandon finally accepted $30. Unfortunately for him, Nancy reported the transaction. A special examiner was sent to take her statement as well as one from her son. The special examiner found more cases where Brandon required more than ten dollars in payment and recommended that Brandon be criminally prosecuted. Brandon was found guilty on four counts of violation of the Pension Act of June 27, 1890. He was sentenced on April 28, 1896 to 13 months in the Brooklyn Penitentiary for each count. Sentences were to be served concurrently.
The 1910 Montgomery County, Tennessee census listed Nancy Campbell living at 314 Kellog Street with her sister, Margaret Boyd. Nancy owned the house and no occupation was listed for her. Margaret was working as a cook for a private family. Nancy’s son Lewis was married with nine children and living next door at 312 Kellog Street. Sterling Junior was married and living at 437 Lee Street. Both Sterling Junior and Lewis were working as laborers in a tobacco factory. Sterling Campbell died on March 22, 1911 of tuberculosis. His burial place is currently unknown. Nancy Campbell died five years later on June 4, 1916 of chronic bronchitis. She was buried in Mt Olive Cemetery on June 5, 1916 by Nace Dixon’s Undertaking firm. No headstone has currently been found for her.
Bibliography
Clarksville, Tennessee City Directory (1911).
Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States
Colored Troops: Infantry Organizations, 14th through 19th, Civil War, Campbell, Sterling, National
Archives Building, Washington, D. C.
Montgomery County, Tennessee Census (1870, 1900, 1910).
Pension File 406492, Campbell, Sterling, Civil War, National Archives Building, Washington, D. C.
Tennessee Death Records, 1908-1958; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
“The Penalty: Thirteen Months in the Brooklyn Prison for Each Offense,” Clarksville Weekly Leaf-
Chronicle, April 28, 1896.
United States Colored Troops (USCT) Tribute
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The drawing above was made by one of the officers of Company G, USCT, named Campbell.
Campbell kept a diary and was quite an artist.
Society member Jill Hasting identified the house from the drawing as first built by Robert West Humphries and later became known as the Pettus House. Pettus Park and a parking lot across the street from the park are two possibilities for the site of the house. The house no longer exists.
This home site was in the vicinity of what is now known as APSU's Dunn Center
Campbell kept a diary and was quite an artist.
Society member Jill Hasting identified the house from the drawing as first built by Robert West Humphries and later became known as the Pettus House. Pettus Park and a parking lot across the street from the park are two possibilities for the site of the house. The house no longer exists.
This home site was in the vicinity of what is now known as APSU's Dunn Center
PVT Isaac Fields
The grave site of PVT Isaac Fields was discovered during a Preservation and Restoration Project conducted in July 2017. Up until this time, local records made no mention of his burial at Mt Olive.
Private Fields' grave site and head stone were completely covered by a rich bed of perennial vines that blanket much of the cemetery. It was the hard work and persistence of a regular volunteer, CW4 (Retired US Army) Scott Loose, that made this discovery possible. We are grateful for his commitment to our mission and for his untiring devotion to seeing the restoration of the cemetery completed.
It's unknown just how long it had been since America heard the words "Private Isaac Fields" uttered by a fellow citizen and Army veteran. But on that day of discovery in July, when his name was called-out by Chief Loose, it was truly a moment of celebration for the Society and indeed our nation.
Rest in Peace Isaac Fields
The photos below shows PVT Isaac Fields' headstone and burial site.
The most recent photo of Private Fields' gravesite (below) was taken on December 17, 2021, where he and the other 31 veterans interred at Mt Olive Cemetery were honored and remembered with the laying of wreaths, as part of National Wreaths Across America Day, which has the mission of remembering America's fallen heroes, honoring those who serve, and teaching children about the value of freedom.
The grave site of PVT Isaac Fields was discovered during a Preservation and Restoration Project conducted in July 2017. Up until this time, local records made no mention of his burial at Mt Olive.
Private Fields' grave site and head stone were completely covered by a rich bed of perennial vines that blanket much of the cemetery. It was the hard work and persistence of a regular volunteer, CW4 (Retired US Army) Scott Loose, that made this discovery possible. We are grateful for his commitment to our mission and for his untiring devotion to seeing the restoration of the cemetery completed.
It's unknown just how long it had been since America heard the words "Private Isaac Fields" uttered by a fellow citizen and Army veteran. But on that day of discovery in July, when his name was called-out by Chief Loose, it was truly a moment of celebration for the Society and indeed our nation.
Rest in Peace Isaac Fields
The photos below shows PVT Isaac Fields' headstone and burial site.
The most recent photo of Private Fields' gravesite (below) was taken on December 17, 2021, where he and the other 31 veterans interred at Mt Olive Cemetery were honored and remembered with the laying of wreaths, as part of National Wreaths Across America Day, which has the mission of remembering America's fallen heroes, honoring those who serve, and teaching children about the value of freedom.
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