William's estate in Tennessee was settled a couple of years after his death. However, his estate in Alabama was not settled until around 1888. Consequently, considerable legal documentation is available on his estate, especially in Madison County Alabama. The documentation contains names of his children, his grandchildren and the names of their spouses. There is still much documentation in both states that has not yet been examined by the author. John E. Cloud (1814-1865): My great-grandfather, John E. Cloud, was one of five children. He was born in South Carolina around 1814, before his family migrated to Alabama. He grew to maturity in the Cloud's Cove area mentioned above. He most likely married around 1844 , but so far I have been unable to find a record of his marriage. Since he traveled to Tennessee and South Carolina, it is possible that he was married in one of those states. Estate and census records show that his wife's given name was Sarah J. She may have been from Tennessee or South Carolina, but I have not checked to see if that is correct; some day I may do so. Around 1838, John E. returned to the Fairfield District of South Carolina to help his father dispose of some land left behind when the family migrated to Alabama. Records show that afterwards, he spent sometime in Tennessee and later farmed some land his father owned in the Cloud's Cove area of Madison County Alabama. Civil War records show that on the first of August 1863, John E. Cloud sold some forage (hay) to the Confederate States. About a year later on the 25th of June 1864, he signed an Oath of Allegiance to the U. S.; since at that time, north Alabama was occupied by Union troops. On the oath form that John signed, he was described as being of ruddy complexion, having dark hair and grey eyes; he was also five feet and nine inches high. Incidentally, his brother Durgan's Oath that was processed at the same time, reflects a similar description; except he was six feet tall. Court records regarding the estate of John's father William, show that John E. died during the Civil War. He left seven minor children, my grandfather being the youngest of them. I once heard from another genealogical researcher that John E.'s widow remarried a couple of years following his death to a man named John Harrison. They lived in the New Hope, Alabama area. I was unable to find them in the 1870 U. S. Census for Madison County, Alabama; but I did find a John Harrison living in nearby Marshall County. Some Civil War records that the author recently received photocopies of, say that John E. was arrested for Violation of his Oath of Allegiance to the Union. He was subsequently transferred to a Federal Military prison in Nashville. There he died on 30 January 1865 in a federal military hospital. His death was due to dropsy (edema) of the liver, which could have resulted from interrogation abuse while in prison. Please note Appendix B for a copy of the charges against him. John's brother Durgan Cloud was arrested the same day for violation of his Oath of Allegiance. He survived the war and later became the foster father of my grandfather John Ruben Lee Cloud. (Incidentally, Durgan also had a son named John). John R. L. Cloud (1854-1927): My grandfather, John Ruben Lee Cloud, was the youngest of seven children, having been born in 1854. He was only about eleven years old when his father died. Apparently, he was informally adopted and raised by his uncle, Durgan M. Cloud. Incidentally, early genealogical researchers treated the two John's in Durgan's family as one. Thus, considerable effort was expended in sorting out the two John's in Durgan's family and documenting their place in the Cloud family line. Durgan and family lived in the Cloud Cove area mentioned above. They lived on land belonging to the estate of the father of John E. and Durgan. The land had been willed to their children by their father William. Though John's father was apparently well educated for the era in which he lived, his son John R. L., apparently received little education during and after the Civil War. But somewhere along the line he apparently learned how to write, since he signed several legal documents related to loans and property transfers. Illiteracy was common for rural farm youths maturing in the South during and for several years following the civil war. That was especially true in border areas occupied by Union forces during the early years of the war. Even though north Alabama voted against succeeding from the Union, during the war many private houses, barns and public buildings (such as schools, bridges, ferries, etc.), were destroyed by Union troops.