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Byers, Lilburn Owen, 1825-1889

 Person

Biographical Note

Lilburn Owen Byers (also Byars) was a farmer born to Benjamin Burkhart Byers and Mary B. Owen on June 25, 1825, in Tennessee. He was baptized the following year at Bristol. During the Mexican-American War, Byers enrolled in Company D of the 5th Tennessee Infantry of the U.S. Army on November 7, 1847, in Knoxville. He mustered out on July 20, 1848, at Memphis. Byers married Olivia King on December 20, 1849, in Washington County, Virginia, and the couple had at least one child.

During the American Civil War, Byers served in the 21st Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate Army. In November 1869, Byers married a woman named Elizabeth, and by the 1880 census, They had two children and were living in Johnson County, Missouri. Byers passed away on January 2, 1889, and is buried alongside Elizabeth in the Leesburg Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Washington County, Tennessee.

Sources:

U. S. Federal Census, 1850-1880

"Lilburn O. Byers," Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46934521/lilburn-o-byers, accessed February 27, 2025.

"Lilburn O. Byars" in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/60214/records/3162520, accessed Feb. 27, 2025.

"Lilburn O Byers" in the U.S., Compiled Military Service Records for American Volunteer Soldiers, Mexican War, 1845-1848, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2058/records/88972, accessed Feb. 27, 2025.

"Lilburn Owen Byars" in the U.S., Presbyterian Church Records, 1701-1970, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/61048/records/1934986, accessed Feb. 27, 2025.

"Byers, L.O.", National Park Service's Civil War Soldier Database, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=BDAD138A-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A, accessed Feb. 27, 2025.

"Byars, L.O.", National Park Service's Civil War Soldier Database, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=6BAA138A-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A, accessed Feb. 27, 2025.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Lilburn O. Byers Diary

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-2023-114
Abstract This collection contains the 1864 diary kept by Confederate soldier Lilburn O. Byers (1825-1889) during the American Civil War. Byers writes about battles, troop movements, and events happening in camp. Byers' diary also covers the death of Confederate General William E. Jones. A page at the end contains a letter from Byers to his wife in February 1865 to give the diary to her. The front of the diary contains an almanac for 1864, and there are lists of names and money from people at the...
Dates: 1864 - 1865