Biographical Note

Davidson W. L. Charlton was born on September 7, 1798. In 1860, he was living and farming in Montgomery County, Virginia, with wife Catherine (46). Also in the home were children Milton (27), Jane (24), Pembroke S. (21), James P. (19), Elvira A. (16), Chester B. (15), Davidson (12), Arminta (10), Mary (8), Kate (5), and H. A. Wise (1 month); as well as a 44-year-old cabinet maker named Oliver H. P. Carden. During the Civil War, Charlton served in Company A of the Montgomery County Home Guard (aka Wade's Regiment, Local Defense Troops). Davidson Charlton died on April 23, 1886.

James Peary Charlton was born on January 20, 1841. On April 27, 1861, he enlisted as a sergeant in Company G of the 4th Virginia Infantry (aka the Montgomery Fencibles). He was elected second lieutenant by his company on July 14, 1862, and was wounded and captured at Cedar Mountain August. Charlton was exchanged on September 21 but did not return to duty until May 20, 1863. On July 3, 1863, he was promoted to first lieutenant; on September 29, he resigned his commission for medical reasons. By 1870, Charlton was living with his wife Susan and two children on a farm near his father's. Two more children had been added to the family by 1880. James P. Charlton died on December 20, 1900.

Milton Charlton was born ca. 1833 and enlisted in Company C, 54th Virginia Infantry at Christiansburg on April 10, 1862. He was killed at Resaca, Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign.

Pembroke Simpkins Charlton was born in 1839. He enlisted in Company G of the 4th Virginia on April 17, 1861. He was discharged from the service on the basis of a surgeon's certificate. In 1867, he married Mahulda Shufflebarger (1837-1903). By 1870, they were living and farming in the Christiansburg area. The couple had at least three children.

Waddy Currin Charlton, son of John R. and Betsey Simpkins Charlton, was born in Montgomery County, Virginia, on September 14, 1839. In 1860, he was farming while living in his father's Montgomery County home. Charlton enlisted in Company G of the 4th Virginia Infantry on April 17, 1861. He was detailed as a teamster on September 16, 1862, and returned to his regiment August 13, 1863. Captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12, 1864, Charlton was imprisoned in Elmira, until being paroled on June 30, 1865. Following the war, Charlton returned to Montgomery County, where he married Mary Lucinda Hess; the couple would have four sons. Waddy C. Charlton died on April 9, 1920.

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