John E. Spurlin (Confederate soldier)
John E. Spurlin (1841–1861) was a Rutherford County, North Carolina, farmer. He enlisted in the 16th North Carolina Infantry in 1861 and, according to the regimental roster, died of typhoid fever at Warrenton, Virginia, that December; a 1937 county history gives a different date and place.
Sourcing: strong 1 reference · 2 government · 2 genealogy · 1 book
Service
John E. Spurlin was a farmer from Rutherford County, North Carolina, born on 9 August 1841[1]. He enlisted at age 19 on 3 May 1861 as a private in Company D of the 16th North Carolina Infantry, the company known as "The Burnt Chimney Volunteers"[1]. The National Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors index has a record for him in Company D, with the alternate spelling "Sperlin."[2] The roster says he was "present or accounted for" until he died in hospital at Warrenton, Virginia, on 18 December 1861 of "febris typhoides" (typhoid fever)[1]. A soldier record transcribed on his Find a Grave memorial, under the spelling "John E Sperlin", likewise gives 18 December 1861 at Warrenton. It words the event as "mustered out" and notes that he did not survive the war.[3]
A conflicting death date
Clarence W. Griffin's 1937 History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties prints a roster of Company D, 16th North Carolina, that gives a different death for John E. Spurlin: "died Nov. 29, 1862 at Petersburg."[4] The regimental roster and the Find a Grave record both give 18 December 1861 at Warrenton.[1][3] The sources have not been reconciled. Griffin's roster also lists an Isaac J. Spurlin in the same company, "discharged May 20, 1862 for disability."[4]
Family and burial
His Find a Grave memorial names his parents as Clater Wynn Spurlin (1822–1914) and Malinda Edwards Spurlin (1822–1905). It places his grave in the Oak Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery at Ellenboro, Rutherford County.[3][1]
Context
Many soldiers in the first year of the war died of camp diseases such as typhoid rather than in battle, and Spurlin's death is one example. Spurlins lived in the Rutherford and Cleveland county area of western North Carolina throughout the 19th century. That area also contains the Howell-Spurlin Cemetery near Shelby[5]. Other Spurlins who served in the Civil War can be found in the National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors index[6]; see also Spurlins in the American Civil War.
See also
- Spurlins in the American Civil War · History strong
Spurlins served on both sides of the Civil War. They included Confederates from North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee and Union soldiers from New Hampshire, Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee. This roundup collects service-index records, rosters, pension, pardon and soldiers' home records, and county-history accounts. - Howell-Spurlin Cemetery (Shelby, North Carolina) · Places weak
Howell-Spurlin Cemetery is a small 19th-century family burial ground in Shelby, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Find a Grave records 16 memorials, among them John Howell (1744–1828) and five Spurlins who died between 1850 and 1890. - "Big John" Spurling and the Spurlin DNA Project · Genealogy mixed
John Spurlin (or Spurling) Sr., known to researchers as "Big John", lived in Orange, Chatham, Richmond and Lincoln counties, North Carolina, and left a will in 1822 naming 23 children. Y-DNA testing places a descendant in the same paternal line as the Jeremiah Spurling family of Virginia, but no document yet found names his parents. - W. H. Spurlin (Georgia pioneer) · Genealogy mixed
W. H. Spurlin was a Confederate veteran born in Shelby, North Carolina, who settled in Pulaski County, Georgia. His descendants spread through Worth County, Sylvester and Valdosta. - Spurlin cemeteries · Places weak
A roundup of burial grounds named for the Spurlin family on Find a Grave: eight Spurlin cemeteries in Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina, plus Spurlington- and Spurling-named cemeteries and the graves of notable Spurlins. - Spurlins in public service · People strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles. - Spurlins of Cleveland and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina · Genealogy mixed
The Spurlin line of Cleveland and Rutherford counties, North Carolina, descends from Isaac Spurlin Sr. (c. 1770–c. 1854), son of John ("Big John") and Myally Spurlin. It is traced through deeds, censuses, an 1826 North Carolina Supreme Court case, Confederate rosters and family graves around Shelby and Ellenboro.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Military History Online Genealogy — North Carolina, 16th Infantry roster Reference
- ↑ Spurlin, John E. — 16th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Co. D — Soldiers and Sailors Database, National Park Service — alternate name John E. Sperlin Government
- ↑ ↑ ↑ John E. Spurlin (1841–1861) — Find a Grave Memorial — parents; soldier record transcription Genealogy
- ↑ ↑ Clarence W. Griffin, History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina, 1730–1936 (Asheville: Miller Printing, 1937) — Internet Archive — filed inside an item mislabelled "ZHaywood County Cemetery Survey"; rosters on pp. 262, 285 and 290 Book
- ↑ Howell-Spurlin Cemetery in Shelby, North Carolina — Find a Grave Genealogy
- ↑ Search For Soldiers — Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (National Park Service) Government
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.