Counce Photos
Above (right) is a snapshot of the portrait of a Confederate soldier who we believe might be Peter Counce. I got an opinion several years back from someone familiar with Tennessee soldier's uniforms, and he thinks it is definitely a Confederate uniform. However, I have no provenance of the portrait. When you compare the portrait to a photo of Peter Counce's oldest son, Phelan L. Counce (born 1877) at age about 18-20, you will see a significant resemblance: eyes, nose and ears are quite similar in the two photos.
As an aside, my grandfather Hugh C. Counce (born 1879), told his oldest daughter that as a boy of about 11 (in 1890), he walked from Lawrence County, TN, to Prentiss County, MS, and drove the cows behind the wagon. Peter's father, William C. ("Colonel") Counce of Lawrence County, bought the George Goats farm in 1857 and moved his family to Giles County across the road from the Carl and Clara Parker farm and the Morrow/Clifton homestead, and there old William died in 1890. The family lived there when the Civil War came, it was from there that Peter joined the 53rd Tennessee Infantry, along with James Lafayette Ball, who would become Peter's brother-in-law.
Submitted by: Jim Counce |