Lieut. Thomas E. Badger, Sr., (CSA)

Thomas E. Badger Sr. was born 1843 in New Bern, Craven Co, NC, the 5th of 7 known surviving children (5 boys/2 girls) born to the prominent Hon. George Edmund Badger and his (3rd) wife, Delia Haywood.

He was the paternal grandson of Thomas Badger of Windham Co, CT who married Lydia Cogdell of New Bern; and gr-grandson of Edmund Badger (1737-1825) of New London, CT, who resettled after 1786 in Bucks County, PA with his wife, Lucretia Abbey. On his mother's side, he was the maternal grandson of Sherwood Haywood & Eleanor Howard Hawkins of Raleigh.

Thomas' father, George Edmund Badger, was a member of North Carolina State Legislature (1816), NC State Court Judge (1820-1825), U.S. Secretary of the Navy (1841), U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1846-1855) and delegate to North Carolina secession convention in 1861. He married (1st) Rebecca Turner of Warren Co in 1818. She died in 1824 without issue, and he married (2nd) Mary Brown Polk, daughter of Col. William Polk of Raleigh. This marriage produced 2 daughters (Katherine & Sally) before her death in 1835. In 1835 he married for the final time to Thomas' mother, Delia Haywood.

Thomas was just 18 years old when Civil War came to North Carolina. He, and 3 of his brothers, enlisted and survived the war. Thomas served as Lieutenant with the NC 5th Infantry, Co. I. The 5th NC was formed in July 1861 and ordered to Virginia where the regiment reached Manassas on July 19 and fought in the battle under General Longstreet. In April, 1862, it had 460 effectives and during the war was brigaded under Generals Early, Garland, Iverson, R. D. Johnston. It participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Cold Harbor, then was involved in Early's operations in the Shenandoah Valley and the Appomattox Campaign. It had 180 men in action at Seven Pines, lost 10 killed, 22 wounded, and 4 missing during the Seven Days' Battles, and had 4 killed and 37 wounded at Chancellorsville. The unit took 473 men to Gettysburg, losing more than half, and reported 16 disabled at Bristoe and 3 at Mine Run. It surrendered with 7 officers and 76 men of which 48 were armed.

Following the war, Thomas returned to Raleigh where he became employed with the railroad. His father died in 1866, and he remained in the home of his widowed mother until her death in 1876.

In 1868, the 26-year old veteran married his first cousin, 20-year old Eleanor Hawkins Bryan, daughter of John Stevens Bryan Sr. & Lucy Davis Haywood.

Eleanor and Thomas would become parents to 4 known children: Thomas E. Badger Jr. (1870-1946), Janet/Janette Hogg Badger (1873-1966), Catherine "Kate" Badger (1974-1913), and George Edmund Badger (1879-1964).

Thomas E. Badger died in 1911 at age 68. His wife of 42 years survived him another 28 years, passing in 1939 at the advanced age of 94.

Three of their 4 children (Thomas Jr, Janet, and George) are known to be buried here at Oakwood.