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Colby Franklin Dennis
Pvt., Co. E,
9th Texas Infantry
Colby Dennis is listed in a draft copy of GENERAL SAMUEL BELL MAXEY, C.S.A. A MILITARY BIOGRAPHY, by Louise Horton, Granger, TX, 1984, p. 198.
Information from Tim Bell, Waco, TX, 76712: Colby Dennis, this soldier's name was found in the Compiled Service Records of the 9th Texas Infantry on microfilm at the National Archives, and is listed in his compilation of the 9th TX Infantry on file at the Confederate Research Center in Hillsboro, TX.
Service Record as abstracted by Tim Bell states:
Dennis, Colby (19),
Pvt. Co. E, 9th TX Infantry,
enrolled by James Hill on 26 Sep 1861 at Sanders Creek, Lamar Co., TX. -
sick, January, 1862;
sent to General Hospital, 5/28/62;
present, July October, 1862, January-June, 1863;
AWOL since 7/17/63;
POW at Camp Morton, received 8/7/63, POW near Jackson, MS;
took oath to U.S. 12/8/63, Marion County Jail, Indianapolis, IN;
released 5/4/64, order of Col. Hoffman, U.S. Commissary General for Prisons.
The following is from a photocopied page with the words "Dennis Records at Hill College, Hillsboro, TX," handwritten on it and no author is specified. Colby Franklin (Cobe) Dennis was born 21 Dec 1842 and married on 1 March 1866 to Mary Nancy Coles, who was born 12 March 1849 to Dr. William T. F. and Martha Ann Bourland Coles. Cobe was in the Civil War under S. B. Maxy [Sam Bell Maxey] in the 9th Texas Infantry. Although it was handed down in Frederick Dennis's family that Cobe fought at Gettysburg, his records indicate that he was captured by the Expeditionary Army near Jackson, Mississippi, on 30 July 1863, and was taken to prison in Indianapolis, IN. He was released at the end of the war at Spanish Fort in Mississippi. It was said by his grandson, Thomas Lee Dennis, that Cobe escaped from prison with the help of a pretty, young girl.
An article in the Hugo, OK, [news]paper (date and author not available) was written as follows: "The first auto owner, as I remember, was Dr. C. A. Thompson, who had a red two cylinder Maxwell. The late B. D. Jordan was the second. His was a two cylinder Reo roadster. It had a crank instead of a steering wheel and the starting crank was on the outside. At that time Mr. Jordan was city attorney and his father-in-law, Mr. Dennis, also had an office in the city hall. Mr. Dennis wore long whiskers. When Mr. Jordan would start home Mr. Dennis would ride with him. He would crank his car and the race was on. Mr. Dennis would grab anything that he thought would keep him from falling out and his whiskers would do some plain and fancy waving and the contraption would whiz up Broadway."
Cobe died 11 Dec 1914 in Paris, TX, from an abscess of the lung and “an old gunshot wound” and he and his wife are both buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Hugo, OK. His wife died 21 Aug 1929. Their children are listed below.
Colby Franklin Dennis and Mary Nancy Coles had fourteen children, twelve of whom lived to adulthood. The children, all born in Lamar County, TX, were as follows:
1. Reuben Dennis was born in April 1867, and he married Lucinda Gentry. Their children were Wallace Dennis (9/1887), Evan Dennis (12/1889), Luther Dennis (9/1890), and Willis Dennis (10/1892). Reuben and Lucinda are buried in Garrett's Bluff, TX.
2. Thomas Dennis was born in 1869 and died before 1880.
3. Laura Dennis was born in 1870 and died before 1929.
4. Ann Dennis was born in 1872 and married C. A. Herring. She died after 1929. They had one child, Mamie Herring, who married Dr. Frank Hartgraves. Mamie and Frank had children Joe Hartgraves and Elizabeth Hartgraves.
5. Betty Dennis was born in 1874 and married Alvie Hall. She died after 1929. They had one child, Grace Hall.
6. Ernest Dennis was born in 1875.
7. Liberty Dennis was born in 1876 and married Carrie. They had one child, Brent Dennis (11/1899).
8. Kate Dennis was born in 1877 and married B. D. Jordan. They had four children: Abner Rodman Jordan (1899-1979) married Elsie Cartwright (two children, Abner Bob Jordan and Elsie Jan Jordan Hadley); Eugene Jordan married Julia (one daughter, Julie Jordan); Robert Jordan married Jean (four children: Robert Jordan, Jerry Jordan, Chris Jordan, and Jean Jordan); and a Jordan daughter, Mary, who died young.
[No other children (the other six)were listed on the photocopy provided to Ron Brothers.]
March 30, 2008
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