West Family Tree

"Arena" in her death certificate 1916-01-15, age 67, "Reaney" in the 1880 Soundex, "Arena" in 1880 Alabama Census (Covington County), "Serena Frazier" in the 1860 Covington County Alabama Census.

Surmise based on the 1910 Federal Census: David and Arena (Irene) Batson were probably living with their son, David Price, his wife Lydia, and their son Walter at this time.

David Batson
Company G
28th Alabama Infantry

David Batson was born on December 29, 1845, in Coosa County, Alabama. His parents were William and Phebe Batson. By 1860, he had moved with his parents to Jefferson County, Alabama. He enlisted in Co. G, 28th Alabama Infantry on February 25, 1862, at Elyton, Alabama. He served with his unit at Corinth, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, the Dalton-Atlanta Campaign and at Ezra Chapel. On August 10, 1864, while on picket duty near Atlanta, he was shot through the left arm, just above the elbow. He was taken to the Ocmulgee and Floyd House Hospital in Macon, Georgia, where his arm was amputated. According to oral tradition the arm was first amputated above the would, but he later contracted gangrene, and it was amputated at the shoulder in order to save his life. He was retired from service on December 20, 1864, and as a maimed soldier he may have received a small pension until the end of the war. There would be no further pension for Confederated soldiers until the end of Reconstruction. On March 23, 1877, David was among the first group of maimed veterans to receive a pension from the state. In addition to David, three of his brothers saw military service during the war. George Washington Batson served in the same regiment and company as his brother David. Benjamin Franklin Batson served in Company G, 18th Alabama Infantry and died in 1862. His father filed a deceased soldier's claim in his name. The oldest brother, William, served in Ellis Logan's company of mounted reserves from Coosa County.

When he returned to Alabama, David may have lived briefly with William in coosa County near a place called Traveler's Rest. Here, near Kelly's Cross Roads at a popular and somewhat rowdy gathering place called The Devil's Half Acre, David shot and killed a man named Sewall who had ridiculed his Confederate service and mand fun of his missing arm. Sewell was apparently a relative of brother Georges's wife, Mary E. Sewell. An older brother Nathan was also married to a Sewell. Willaim Batson was married to Mary Kelly and the Sewells and Kellys were intermarried as well. The incident therefore may have caused drastic ramifications within the family. Following the shooting, David fled to Covington County, Alabama, where his sister Elizabeth and her husband Enoch Jordan (also a veteran) lived. His brother William remained in Coosa County where he died on September 6, 1877. He is burried at Providence Baptist Chruch. George remained in Jefferson County where he had lived before the war. He died on December 19, 1904, and is buried at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church.

David Batson spend the remainder of his life in Covington County. Late in 1865 or early 1866, he married Arena Frazier. He and Arena had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to maturity. David was both a farmer and school teacher and was known as a strong disciplinarian by his students. His ablility to plow with one arm was legendary. In April 1891, his Confederate pension for disability was approved, and on December 1, 1903, he was appointed registrar for Covington County at Green Bay. Apparently, he never returned to central Alabama and maintained little contact with his relatives. In 1910, he was asked to attend a family reunion in Rockford, Alabama, by a well to do nephew James Polk Batson (Son of William and Mary Kelly). In response he replied, "I will write you a few lines to let you know that I am in the land of the living.... I never hear from any of the connections. I haven't heard from Jefferson [County] in about three years. I do not know whether George is dead or alive." In fact George had died six years earlier. "Elizabeth Jordan & family is all well & gittin along well.... I reamain your uncle until death." On October 10, 1910, David Batson answered his last role call. He is buried in the Enon Baptist Church Cemetery in Covington County. Arena died on December 20, 1916, and is buried beside him in an unmarked grave.

Robert Bradley: Great Grandson, Montgomery, Alabama, November 24, 2005.

Birth: Feb., 1846 Georgia, USA
Death: Dec. 20, 1916 Covington County, Alabama, USA

She married David Batson in about 1861. She is thought to be buried beside him in an unmarked grave. One military account of her husband's CSA unit said they had 12 children; 11 lived to maturity. The names of the children include William J. Batson, David Batson Jr., Benjamin Franklin 'Frank' Batson, Abbey Batson, Robert Lee Batson, Thomas Jefferson Batson, James J Batson, George Washington Batson, Asbury Price Batson, David P Batson, Alice.

From findagrave.com

"...David was the Confederate soldier that I mentioned ( Co. G, 28th Alabama Infantry) . He was wounded while on picket during the Atlanta Campaign. His left arm was amputated at the shoulder at the Ocmulgee and Floyd House in Macon Ga. He returned to stay with his brother William in Coosa County Alabama. He shot and killed a man named Sewell. He fled to Covington County where he stayed with his sister Elizabeth Jordan and her husband Enoch. That is where he met Arena. Her nick name was Reaney. He became a school teacher. My grandmother (Nancy/Annie) called him “old man Dave.” He was a very strict school teacher. She said he was very mean and could plow a mule with one arm. She remembered all of his Civil War stories which she told me. So, we have just spanned six generations as a result of a little boy listening to his grandmother tell stories in a cold dark house in Northwest Florida in the early 1960’s. Later research proved her to be correct and remarkably reliable as a story teller..."

Courtesy of Bob Bradley

"There seems to have been a good bit of civil strife in Coosa (and what became Elmore County) especially toward the end of the war. Conscription resistance and desertion were not uncommon. While there is a little in the OR's, most of the history seems to be oral tradition. One example would be my great grandfather David Batson a member of Co. G, 28th Alabama Infantry. David was from Elyton, his parents had passed away during the war so he went to live with his brother William in Coosa County. David had lost his left arm and was said to be somewhat bitter. Brother William was a member of Ellis Logan's Mounted Reserves. Unfortunately William's son James who was the same age as David was a conscription evader. (Some fun stories here). Anyway William was married to a Kelly. Brother George (also of Elyton) was married to a Sewell and the Sewell's were intermarried with the Kellys. One of the fun places to go was called the Devil's Half Acre near Kelly's Cross Roads not far from Traveler's Rest. Well one night at the Devil's Half Acre one of the Sewells made unpleasant remarks to David concerning his Confederate service and the loss of his arm so, David shot and killed him. Pursued by the Kelly's and Sewells, David (one arm, red headed, easy to spot) chose to visit his sister in Covington County, where he married and remained the rest of his life. Versions of this story are still well known in the area. Just ask Mr. Kelly who runs the store at Kelly's Cross Roads. The area was well known for the shootings and killings that occurred there both during and after the war. His ancestor, Sheriff Kelly, is the one who "cleaned that place out." David never saw any of the family again (other than his sister). William died in 1877 and is buried in a local cemetery. His son James Polk Batson became rather wealthy, lived in Rockford and often visited the Confederate Soldier's home at Mountain Creek. George returned to Elyton and raised a large family. Most if not all of the Batsons in Birmingham are his descendants as was Nancy Batson the aviator. David became a school teacher. Looking back(and leaving out the details) one could say that David was a soldier who shot and killed one of the locals in Coosa County. There is much more to the story and to the events in the area that I will share with you at a later date."

Written by Bob Bradley
See: http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs53x/alcwmb3/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=33196