Keelan Slagle

Cayland W. “Keelan” Slagle was a Union soldier who died after the Civil War from wounds sustained during the war. He is listed in Scott County, TN and Its Families, published by the Scott County Historical Society, and in Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War, as being from Scott County. However, it does not appear he was actually from Scott County.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born about 1842, Keelan Slagle was the son of Joseph Slagle (1818-1883) and Celia Williams (1818-1901). His siblings included Mary Ann, Thursa Jane, Sarah, Lucinda, Malinda, Armilda and Artema. Other siblings may have included Rosana and Samuel. Keelan was the oldest.

The Slagle family lived in Wayne County, Ky., near Monticello. That’s where his parents lived when the 1850 census was taken and again when the 1860 census was taken. It’s not clear how he came to be listed in Scott County.

Keelan married Martha Jane Pyles (or Pile, 1841-1920) on June 27, 1864 in Monticello, Ky. They had two daughters, Lavada Shoemaker (1864-1939) and Vina Isabelle (1866-1952). Martha was a granddaughter of Coonrod Pile, a famous resident of the Pall Mall area of Fentress County.

Lavada, born April 9, 1864, married Bailey Columbus Shoemaker (1860-1908) of Scott County, which might explain the confusion with Keelan Slagle. They were married in Monticello in April 1880. (The Shoemaker family had moved to the Monticello area briefly between 1870 and 1880, which is how Bailey and Lavada met.) Bailey’s father, Isaac Shoemaker, was appointed postmaster at the Mount Pisgah Post Office on Nov. 26, 1877, though it’s not clear if that’s why they moved to Kentucky.

Bailey and Lavada later lived in Robbins and were buried at Black Creek Crossroads Cemetery in 1908. They had 13 children: Isaac, William, Martha Ellis, George Alvin, Ollie Terry, Ida, Ella Blevins, Flora Bow, Fannie Ellis, Walter Preston, Euless, Amanda Garrett, and Dimple Goad. Lavada’s granddaughter, Ora Shoemaker Robbins (1913-1995), later became the only woman in Scott County’s history to be elected superintendent of schools. She was the daughter of George Alvin and Moda Ellis Shoemaker. Ora’s son-in-law, Eddie Culver (1929-2008), was also elected superintendent of schools in Scott County. He married JoAnn Robbins, Ora’s daughter.

Civil War

Keelan mustered into the Union army on April 5, 1864 at Burnside, Ky. He was assigned to Co. D, 30th Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Capt. James Burk. (Separately, there are records showing he enlisted at Monticello, Ky. on Nov. 12, 1863.)

In August 1864, Slagle was wounded in battle and taken to the General Hospital in Lexington, Ky. He mustered out of the service at Frankfort, Ky. on April 18, 1865. He later died as a result of measles and his war injury. Exactly when he died isn’t clear. But it should be noted that Viannah Slagle Sandusky, who was born on March 3, 1866, is listed as the daughter of Keelan Slagle on her death certificate.

Aftermath

Martha remarried to Harmon Solomon Cooper (1811-1886) in 1871. Despite the fact that he was 30 years her senior and was 60 when they married, they had several children together, including Alvin, Victoria, Silas and Joseph.