Thomas Wesley Colley
Thomas Wesley Colley was born on November 30, 1837, in Washington County, Virginia, to Christopher and Mary Colley. His father was a waggoner who owned $700 of real estate and $400 of personal property by 1860. He grew up in Washington County, and by 1860, he was working as a brick mason.
 
He enlisted in the Confederate army in the spring of 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company C of the 1st Virginia Cavalry. The regiment took part in the Seven Days’ Battle, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Overland Campaign. He eventually earned a promotion to corporal. He was wounded in the Battle of Kelly’s Ford on March 17, 1863, and again in the Battle of Haw's Shop on May 28, 1864. Surgeons amputated his left foot after Haw's Shop. 
 
Colley settled in Abingdon, Virginia, after leaving the army, and he earned a living as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $200 of personal property. He married Ann Eliza Ryan on December 25, 1872, and they had at least eight children: Daniel, born around 1874; Fitzhugh Lee, born around 1876; Frank, born around 1878; Mary Ann, born around 1880; Barbara, born around 1883; John, born around 1887; William, born around 1889; and David, born around 1892. He lived in Abingdon for the rest of his life, and he died there of “acute yellow atrophy of the liver” on September 25, 1919.
 
Image: Thomas W. Colley (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 21 October 1906)
5078
DATABASE CONTENT
(5078)Colley, Thomas Wesley1837-11-301919-09-25
  • Conflict Side: Confederacy
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Corporal
  • Rank highest: Corporal
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 40

  • (13956) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 1 January 186X
  • (13957) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 18 December 1861
  • (13958) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 1 December 1861
  • (13959) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 28 November 1861
  • (13960) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 15 November 1861
  • (13961) [associated with] ~ Sue (?) to Cousin, 7 June 186X
  • (13962) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley and William W. Morrell to Mary Colley and Lewis Morrell, 13 November 1861
  • (13963) [associated with] ~ Sue (?) to Cousin, 5 March 186X
  • (13964) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Unknown, undated
  • (13965) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 September 1864
  • (13966) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Christopher M. Colley, 7 July 1864
  • (13967) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 2 July 186X
  • (13968) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 10 June 1864
  • (13969) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 26 June 1864
  • (13970) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 June 1864
  • (13971) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 3 June 1864
  • (13972) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Mary Colley et al., undated
  • (13973) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Mary Colley et al., 28 August 1861
  • (13974) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Mary Colley et al., 8 September 1861
  • (13975) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 17 January 1862
  • (13976) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 21 January 186X
  • (13977) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 31 January 1862
  • (13978) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley and Sister, 20 February 1862
  • (13979) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Mary Colley and Sister, 5 June 1862
  • (13980) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 5 July 1862
  • (13981) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 23 July 1862
  • (13982) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 31 August 186X
  • (13983) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 12 October 1862
  • (13984) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Mary J. Colley, 11 November 1863
  • (13985) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 19 November 1863
  • (13986) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 11 December 1863
  • (13987) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley et al., 24 January 1864
  • (13988) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 29 January 1864
  • (13989) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 7 February 1864
  • (13990) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 9 February 1864
  • (13991) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 14 February 1864
  • (13992) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 25 March 1864
  • (13993) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Sister, 28 March 1864
  • (13994) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to Laura Colley, 2 April 1864
  • (13995) [writer] ~ Thomas W. Colley to William L. Colley, 3 June 186X

People - Records: 7

  • (5079) Colley, Mary is the [parent of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5080) Colley, Mary Jane is the [sibling of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5082) Colley, Laura is the [sibling of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5090) Colley, William Lewis is the [sibling of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5094) Colley, Christopher M. is the [parent of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5095) (?), Sue is the [cousin of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley
  • (5446) Colley, Mary is the [grandparent of] (5078) Colley, Thomas Wesley

Places - Records: 2

  • (3133) [birth] ~ Washington County, Virginia
  • (358) [death] ~ Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (753) [enlisted] [D] ~ 1st Virginia Cavalry
SOURCES

1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Military Service Records of Thomas W. Colley, available from Fold3.com; Virginia Death Records, 1912-2014, available from Ancestry.com