The Proeger Family · Generation 5 — Earl's great-great-grandparents and their siblings

Colby Burris Chenault

Son of David Chenault · born about 1831

Colby Burris Chenault

Probable

Son of David Chenault · born about 1831

Born
about 1831
Died
4 April 1918
Parents
David Chenault & Louisa Quisenberry
Married
Araminta Harper
Children
Jacob Anderson Chenault, Alice Chenault Bullock
Sources
18

Research status

Research status: PROBABLE — added 24 September 2026 and entered in the family tree the same day, labelled probable there too; the 1850 Sumner County, Tennessee, census (District 3, dwelling 336) has “Colly” Chenault, 19, in the household of David, 50, and Louisa, 39 S97; and Quisenberry Memorials p. 67 S333 lists Louisa Quisenberry and David Chenault's children as “1. John. 2. Colby. …”. A death on 4 April 1918, first seen only in other users' tree media, is now given by a 1942 headstone application S561

Evidence: The 1850 Sumner County census (“Colly”, 19, in David and Louisa's home), the 1900 Quisenberry family book, and a 1942 headstone application giving his death on 4 April 1918 and burial at Gallatin. Weak or missing: The census states no relationships, the book is compiled, and the War Department could not find the Civil War unit given on the headstone application. Not yet confirmed. Know more? Confirm or correct this →

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1831
Born about 1831; died 4 April 1918; buried Gallatin Cemetery S561
Military1942
🆕 A 1942 veteran's headstone application for Colby Chenault Sr. gives his death as 4 April 1918 and his burial in Gallatin Cemetery, and his service as a private in Co. G, 9th (Ward's) Tennessee Cavalry, from 1 November 1862 S561. The applicant was a Mrs. D. C. Harper of Gallatin; his wife was Araminta Harper, but the page does not say how they were related. The War Department could not find the unit in its own records, so the service is the family's claim. added 25 September 2026.
Census1860
🆕 The 1860 slave schedule for District 2 of Sumner County lists Coleby Chenault as holding one enslaved girl, aged 10. The schedule does not give her name S686. added 26 September 2026.
Census1920
🆕 In January 1920 his widow, entered as “Ira M.”, 83, widowed, lived on Dobbins Road in Civil District 9 of Sumner County with their unmarried children John W., 54, who owned the farm, Jewell, 52, and Sallie, 44, a public school teacher Confirmed S1159.
Census1860
🆕 The 1860 farm schedule for Sumner County lists Colby Chenault with about 100 acres improved and 92 unimproved, the farm valued at $4,000 Confirmed S1161. The film is faint, the livestock columns cannot be read, and the schedule gives no age or family.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Parents
Son of David Chenault and Louisa Quisenberry; elder brother of Nannie Chenault, Milton Waller, Maria Louise and Charles Coker
Marriage1854
🆕 He married Araminta Harper; their bond was entered in Sumner County on 8 May 1854 S445. They farmed in Sumner County for more than fifty years: District 2 in 1860, with $8,000 in land S446; the 3rd Civil District, near Castalian Springs, in 1870 S447; the 1st District in 1880 with ten children, when he gave both his parents as born in Kentucky S448; and Trousdale County in 1900. The 1900 census gives his birth as May 1831 and says Araminta had borne nine children, all living S449. In 1910 they were on the Coles Ferry Pike, married 55 years, and he was marked “Ca”, a Confederate veteran S450. His unit has not been found yet. added 25 September 2026.
Children1870
🆕 His son Jacob Anderson Chenault, a minister, was born in Sumner County on 12 June 1870 and died at Nashville in 1952; the death certificate names his parents as Colby Chenault and Ariminta Harper S549. added 25 September 2026.
Children1862
🆕 A daughter, Alice Chenault Bullock, wife of Nathan Bullock, was born at Gallatin on 24 August 1862 and died at Nashville on 3 April 1943. Her death record names her parents as Colby Chenault and Araminta Harper, both born in Sumner County S672. added 26 September 2026.
Parents1850
🆕 Araminta Harper's parents: probably Benjamin S. Harper and Nancy Tinsley Probable confirm or correct →. In 1850 “Arminta”, 13, was in Benj. S. Harper's household in District 14 of Sumner County, four years before her marriage S866. Benjamin gave bond to marry Nancy Tinsley on 30 November 1825 S867S868 and married Jane Bell on 9 November 1841 S869, so Nancy was his only known wife when Araminta was born, about 1837. Accepted by Earl as probable; what is weak: the census states no relationships, no record names Araminta's parents, and nothing shows Nancy was still living in 1837. The dates and middle name Find a Grave gives Benjamin are not used. added 28 September 2026.

In the record Generation 5 — Earl's great-great-grandparents and their siblings

Colby Burris Chenault · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

18 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S971850 US Federal Census — David Chenault household, District 3, Sumner County, Tennessee. David Chenault, 50, b. KY; Louisa, 39, b. KY; Nancy, 6, b. TN (Nannie G. Chenault); plus 9 other children. NARA M432, Roll 897, Page 150b. Ancestry collection 8054, record 6857140. Shows the full Chenault household with Nancy age 6 — Nannie G. Chenault. Also records David Chenault household in Sumner Co., TN.
  2. S333A. C. Quisenberry, Memorials of the Quisenberry Family (1900), p. 67. Ancestry collection 62282, image 4297925964. Louisa Quisenberry, born 29 September 1811, married David Chenault 25 October 1827; children include “7. Nancy, m. Martin”. A compiled secondary source, not an original record.
  3. S445Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780–2002 — Sumner County marriage bond, Colby Chenault and Araminta Harper, 8 May 1854. Ancestry record 1650318. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Bond of Colby Chenault to marry Araminta Harper, Sumner County, Tennessee, 8 May 1854; surety T. L. B. Brown(?). A bond, not a return, so it proves the intent to marry on that date. The 1910 census (S450) says the couple had been married 55 years, which fits. The surety's name is hard to read and he is not taken to be kin.
  4. S4461860 U.S. Federal Census — Colby Chenault household, District 2, Sumner County, Tennessee (P.O. Enon College). Ancestry record 22607022. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault, 29, farmer, born Kentucky, real estate $8,000, personal estate $2,200; Araminta, 24; James, 4; Allis, 1; and a farm labourer. Their first census together. The labourer is not kin.
  5. S4471870 U.S. Federal Census — Colby Chenault household, 3rd Civil District, Sumner County, Tennessee (P.O. Castalian Springs). Ancestry record 4931289. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault, 39, born Kentucky; Araminta, 31; Jas., 14; Alice, 11; Nanny, 9. The household continues on the next page, which has not been read, so the rest of the children are not listed here.
  6. S4481880 U.S. Federal Census — Colby Chenault household, 1st District, Sumner County, Tennessee (ED 208). Ancestry record 16810567. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault, 49, born Kentucky, father and mother both born Kentucky; Araminta, 44; and ten children. Kentucky-born parents fit David Chenault and Louisa Quisenberry, but the census does not name them. His parentage still rests on the 1850 household (S97) and Quisenberry Memorials p. 67 (S333).
  7. S4491900 U.S. Federal Census — Colby Chenault household, 5th Civil District, Trousdale County, Tennessee. Ancestry record 61355682. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault, born May 1831; Arminta, born March 1836, mother of 9 children, 9 living; with Sewell, Ernest, Nannie and Sallie. Used for the residence and the family count only. Every birthplace on this household, his included, is written “Tennessee”; the other four censuses say Kentucky for him, and that is kept.
  8. S4501910 U.S. Federal Census — Colby Chenault household, 3rd Civil District (Coles Ferry Pike), Sumner County, Tennessee. Ancestry record 27545091. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault, 78, born Kentucky, married 55 years, marked “Ca”, a Confederate Army veteran; Arminta, 74, 9 children born, 9 living; with Nannie L. and Sallie, a teacher. The census veterans' column gives no unit. A Tennessee Confederate pension or service file has not been searched yet.
  9. S549Tennessee, U.S., Death Records — certificate 52-24667: Jacob Anderson Chenault, 1952. Ancestry record 16267546. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Jacob Anderson Chenault, retired minister, born Sumner County 12 June 1870, died Nashville 10 November 1952; father Colby Chenault, mother Ariminta Harper; informant Lucille Webb.
  10. S561U.S. Headstone Applications for Military Veterans — Colby Chenault Sr., 1942. Ancestry record 1539374. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault Sr., Pvt., Co. G, 9th (Ward's) Tennessee Cavalry, enlisted 1 November 1862; died 4 April 1918; buried Gallatin Cemetery. Applicant Mrs. D. C. Harper, Gallatin; stone shipped April 1943. The War Department wrote “not found” against its own records, so the unit is the applicant's claim.
  11. S672Tennessee death record, 1943, certificate 6827. Ancestry record 31093080. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Alice Chenault Bullock, wife of Nathan Bullock; born 24 August 1862, Gallatin; died 3 April 1943, Nashville; parents Colby Chenault and Araminta Harper, both born in Sumner County.
  12. S6861860 U.S. census, slave schedule, District 2, Sumner County, Tennessee. Ancestry record 94257570. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Coleby Chenault, holding one enslaved person, a black female aged 10. The schedule does not name enslaved people. District 2 is where the free schedule has him farming in 1860 (S446).
  13. S8661850 U.S. census — Benj. S. Harper household, District 14, Sumner County, Tennessee. Ancestry collection 8054, record 6927011 (image 4206054_00370). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Confirmed Enumerated 22 October 1850, dwelling and family 764: Benj S Harper, 49, farmer, $1,600, born Tennessee; Jane, 39; James A., 21; Donl J., 18; Fountain E., 16; Arminta, 13; Wm, 8; Alfred N., 7; Elizabeth Bell, 1[0]. No relationship column. Elizabeth Bell is probably Jane's child by an earlier husband.
  14. S867Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records — Sumner County marriage bond, Benjamin S. Harper and Nancy Tinsley, 30 November 1825. Ancestry collection 1169, record 1646756 (image VRMUSATN1780_047355-00754). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Confirmed Bond of Benjamin S. Harper to marry Nancy Tinsley; bondsman Dickson Tucker; signed “B S Harper”. FamilySearch indexes the same bond several times (XDQ5-Q5Q, VNZY-GGG, QKH3-G6XV, QKH3-CNDM, Q2Z9-NMDB); none is independent.
  15. S868Sumner County, Tennessee, marriage-record typescript, p. 135. Ancestry collection 1169, record 910357 (image VRMUSATN1780_047341-00232). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Confirmed “Benjamin S. Harper & Nancy Tinsley, Dickson Tucker, Bondsman, November 30, 1825.” A typescript copy of the bond book; agrees with S867.
  16. S869Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records — Sumner County marriage licence, Benjamin S. Harper and Jane Bell, 9 November 1841. Ancestry collection 1169, record 1640726 (image VRMUSATN1780_047358-01064). Image examined, read 28 September 2026. Confirmed Licence for Benjamin S. Harper and Jane Bell, “66th year of American Independence”; Wm. J. Munday, clerk. His second marriage; Araminta, born about 1837, was born before it.
  17. S11591920 U.S. census, Civil District 9, Sumner County, Tennessee, ED 124, sheet 2A, Dobbins Road (5–6 January 1920). Ancestry record 36264463. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 25 September 2026. Confirmed John W. Chenault, head, 54, single, farmer, owns his farm free, born Tennessee, father born Kentucky; Ira M. [Araminta], his mother, 83, widowed, born Tennessee; Jewell, brother, 52, single, farmer; Sallie, sister, 44, single, public school teacher. The given name is entered “Ira M.”. John’s father’s birthplace, Kentucky, differs from Sumner County on a sister’s 1943 death record; both are second-hand.
  18. S11611860 U.S. census, schedule 4 (agriculture), Sumner County, Tennessee (district number partly legible), line 23 (July 1860). Ancestry record 8309891. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 25 September 2026. Confirmed Colby Chenault: about 100 acres improved and 92 unimproved; cash value of the farm $4,000. Faint microfilm: the livestock and crop columns cannot be read reliably. An agriculture schedule gives no age or family; the identification rests on the unusual given name and the county.

Know something this page doesn't? Send it to Earl — corrections, names, dates, documents. Nothing appears here until he has reviewed it.

Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

Know something this record doesn't? Send it to Earl.

Top