Oliver Duncan
Oliver Duncan (1830-1916) was a Scott County man present when Confederate soldiers murdered his brother-in-law and a soldier who was on leave during the Civil War.
Biography
Oliver Duncan was born Sept. 28, 1830, the son of Joshua L. Duncan Sr. (1808-1890) and Rosa “Rosie” Sartin (1810-1878).
The Duncan family lived on Buffalo Creek in the eastern part of present-day Scott County. They were originally from Virginia but had come to the Cumberland Plateau with Oliver Duncan’s grandparents, Joshua Duncan and Rutha Russell.
Oliver married Rutha Duncan (1832-1902), who was his first cousin. Her father, Champion “Champ” Duncan, and his father, Joshua Duncan Sr., were brothers. Oliver and Rutha were married in 1856. Unfortunately, history does not tell us who Rutha’s mother was. Her father, Champ Duncan, married Sarah “Sallie” Privett in 1863.
Oliver and Rutha had at least six children: Lucinda (born 1857), Joshua Sartin (born 1859), Champion (born 1860), Oliver (born 1862), William (born 1868) and Emily Jane (born 1869). Their son, Oliver, died as a four-month-old baby.
Civil War
On Nov. 7, 1862, a group of Confederate soldiers entered Scott County from Kentucky and raided the farms of several men known for their loyalty to the Union. At Jellico Creek, they burned the home of Dennis Trammell. At Buffalo, they raided the farm of Caswell Cross, where they stole a large sum of gold and several horses.
As they rode towards Huntsville, the soldiers came across a trio of men walking the road: Larkin Cross, Ranson Vanover, and Oliver Duncan. Vanover was enlisted in the Union army, assigned to Co. G of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry. He was in uniform, but was home on furlough. Cross and Duncan were not enlisted. Cross was Duncan’s brother-in-law; he married Duncan’s sister, Henrietta Clara “Rittie” Duncan.
The soldiers shot Cross and Vanover, and hanged them in a nearby apple orchard. They attempted to shoot Duncan, but he escaped by hiding in a rail pile. As the soldiers prepared to set fire to the pile of wood, he fled up the side of the mountain, tossing his gun behind him as he ran.
When Duncan arrived at his home a short time later, the Confederate soldiers had already visited and told his mother that they had hanged him in the apple orchard with the other two men.
Developing information from the Scott County Historical Society and historian David Jeffers indicates that several men from Scott County were indicted in connection with the deaths of Cross and Vanover after the war ended. No one was ever convicted, however.
When Congressman Horace Maynard read a newspaper account of the events of Nov. 7, 1862, he wrote to Maj. Gen. Henry Wager Halleck — commander of the Union forces at the time — and wrote, “From that small county have gone many soldiers, now in our service, leaving their homes to such devastation as is here described. Oh, Lord, how long?”
Article: ‘Oh, Lord, How Long?’
Aftermath
Hiram Privett married Malinda Rose in 1866. He was the brother of Sarah “Sallie” Privett, whom Oliver Duncan’s father-in-law, Champ Duncan, married in 1863. While it’s not clear that they were ever married, Malinda Rose appears to have been the mother of Larkin Cross’s children.
Oliver Duncan died April 23, 1916, at age 85. His death certificate listed the cause of death as “old age.” He was buried at Mount Jeffers Cemetery in the Buffalo community, though it was known at the time as “Duncan Graveyard.”
Rutha Duncan died May 15, 1902, at age 69. She was also buried at Mount Jeffers Cemetery.