Patrick Pioneers – Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett

I recently received a message from a gentleman who lives on Bent School Road in Meadows of Dan. He was eager to learn the history of the family of Robert Lee Puckett, who once owned the land surrounding his home in the late 1800s.

As I began my research, I discovered that Robert was one of the many children of Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett.

Nestled among the ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the story of Jacob and Sarah unfolds like so many others in Patrick County—marked by service, sacrifice, and the steadfast strength of family.

Jacob Puckett, Sr. was just twenty years old when he marched off to fight in the War of 1812. From January to May of 1814, he served his young country faithfully, and in return was awarded a Tennessee land grant in 1824. Yet the pull of the mountains was strong. By 1825, Jacob had come home to Patrick County, where he would remain for the rest of his ninety-three years.

That same year, he married a mountain girl, Sarah Marshall. Their bond was recorded in Surry County, North Carolina, on March 11, 1825. Together, Jacob and Sarah raised one of the largest families in the region—fifteen children whose lives stretched across Patrick, Carroll, Tazewell, and Grayson counties.

Nearly five decades later, when many men his age were rocking grandbabies on the porch, Jacob—at sixty-eight—volunteered once more. In 1862, he enlisted with the 29th Virginia Regiment and later served in the 34th Battalion. His record shows the struggles of age and illness, but also a mountain man’s determination to stand with his neighbors in their hour of need.

Jacob’s sons followed his path. Eleven of them shouldered rifles during the Civil War. Only one, Lewis, chose the Union side after settling in Ohio. He died of acute bronchitis in a Baltimore hospital in 1864, serving with the 126th Ohio Infantry.

Two more sons never came home. Kelsey fell victim to fever in 1862, and Doctor Floyd Puckett died of infection in 1863. He now rests in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

But the mountains also yielded stories of resilience. Young Ephraim, only fifteen when he volunteered, became the youngest of the Puckett boys to serve. Captured at Petersburg in March of 1865, he was held in Washington, D.C., before being released that summer. By August, he was back home in the Blue Ridge, where he married, raised a family, and lived a full seventy-one years.

Jacob and Sarah’s children’s names are woven into the history of Patrick County:

Elizabeth Jane Puckett (1826–1901)

Lewis Puckett (1827–1863)

Lerouise Rosemond Puckett (1828–1894)

Reed A. Puckett (1829–1908)

Kelsey Puckett (1830–1862)

Robert Lee Puckett (1830–1911)

William Riley Puckett, Sr. (1832–1899)

Churchill Puckett (1833–1862)

Mary “Polly” Puckett (1834–1922)

Elijah Puckett (1834–1912)

George Washington Puckett (1836–1864)

Doctor Floyd Puckett (1836–1863)

John Puckett (1838–1914)

Costola “Cosley” Hill Puckett (1840–1911)

Hosea Puckett (1842–1913)

Emberzetta Puckett (1844–1860)

Ephraim Puckett (1846–1917)

Jacob Puckett, Jr. (1848–1920)

Jubal Puckett (1850–1862)

According to Patrick County death records, Jacob was born in 1794 in Carroll County and died in Patrick County on November 22, 1887, at the remarkable age of ninety-three. His beloved Sarah lived until 1899, long enough to see children and grandchildren carry the family story through both joy and sorrow.

The Pucketts were mountain people through and through—bound to the land, to one another, and to service. From Jacob’s youthful march in the War of 1812, to his gray-haired stand during the Civil War, to the bravery and sacrifice of their many sons, their story reflects the resilience of countless Appalachian families.

Through war, hardship, and heartache, Jacob and Sarah’s legacy lives on—not only in the hundreds of descendants who followed, but in the enduring spirit of the Blue Ridge Mountains they called home.

In the coming weeks, we will take a closer look at the children of Jacob and Sarah Marshall Puckett who filled the hills and hollers of Ararat, Mayberry, Kibler, The Hollow, and other western communities of Patrick County.

For questions, comments, or story ideas, you may contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.