Allen T. Rainwater

Allen T. Rainwater was born ca 1810 in South Carolina to Burrell Rainwater and his wife (whose name is not known). He was one of 11 children. Between 1820 and 1830, the family moved to Hall County, Georgia. Prior to 1840, Allen took up farming in Benton County, Alabama, where he married his first wife, Nancy T. Lambert, on 27 December 1840.

Allen and Nancy raised three children: John Daniel, born Nov 1840; Samuel P., born ca 1844; Mary Jane, born ca 1846.

During the Civil War, Allen served the state of Alabama as a Private in Josh McCain’s Home Guard Company. Both sons also served. Allen’s son Samuel died in Camp Douglas POW Camp in Chicago, Illinois in 1862.

Nancy Lambert Rainwater died between 1864 and 1869, and Allen married a second time, to Elizabeth Whatley. The marriage is believed to have taken place around 1869 in Talledega Co., Alabama, but the courthouse subsequently burned, taking the records with it. Allen and Elizabeth had three children: Sarah Ann, born Aug 1870; Susan Caroline, born ca 1871; and Nancy Jane, born ca 1873.

Allen filed for a Civil War pension from the State of Alabama in April 1899, but died shortly thereafter on 8 September 1899. At the time, he owned 80 acres of farmland in Clay County, Alabama. His widow, Elizabeth, filed for a widow’s pension the following year.

Credits
Photo and biographical information supplied by Ronnie Dancer. The original is owned by John Massey.

© 2018 Ronnie Dancer
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