Exhibit F: Affidavit of Jerry Stewart, March 25, 1874

On this 25th day of March A.D. 1874, before me Daniel W Atwood a Special Agent of the Pension Office, personally appeared Jerry Stewad, a resident of Shelby County Tennessee, who being by me duly sworn according to law, declares that his age is 51 years and that he lives in the Country near Memphis and is personally acquainted with Rachel Parks who is the widow of Ransom Parks who was a Private in Company "A" 11" U.S.C.T. in the war of 1861, that he has known the said Rachel and Ransom since about the month of April 1863, that he first saw them at Jackson Tennessee, that they were there living together as man and wife, that at the time the said Rachel was known as the wife of the soldier, that at that time however the said Ransom was not a soldier but was cooking as was affiant for white soldiers; that he-affiant-and the said Ransom and Rachel all left Jackson Tennessee together and went to Corinth together, and enlisted-affiant and Ransom-at the same time and in the same company; that he-affiant-knows nothing of their marriage but knows they lived together and treated each other as man and wife and were so treated and recognized from the day of their first acquaintance with him to the day of the death of the said Ransom, that he-affiant-was a member of company with the said Ransom, and was a Sergeant of the said "A" Company, and knows of his own personal knowledge that the said Ransom was killed at the Fort Pillow battle on the 12 of April 1864, that he saw the said Ransom after he was dead, that he affiant was captured by the Rebels, but was with them only two days when he managed to make his escape, that he does not know George Patterson who was a witness or who appears as a witness with him in this case as filed, that he has no recollection of ever seeing the said George, and knows there was no man by that name in his Company, that he was no eye-witness to the marriage of claimant and deceased, and never so understood the affidavit to read or he would have never signed that part of it; that he is satisfied that the said Rachel has never re-married since the death of the said Ransom but remains to this day his widow; that his is not able to say whether the said Rachel has nor has not lived with any man as her husband or treated any man as such since the death of her said husband Ransom Parks; that the said Rachel followed or went with the said Ransom, and was with him to the day of his death at Fort Pillow Tennessee, and he further declares that he never saw the said Rachel or Ransom while they were slaves and that he has no interest direct or indirect in the claim of Rachel Parks for a Pension and further saith not.

Jerry Stewart

Witnessed by
Gilbert Algee