Sergeant Joseph B. Dempsey
Sergeant Joseph B. Dempsey was my uncle, the son of Mark Dempsey who was the first County Superintendent of later to be known as Martin County, then known as Lawrence County. His father was originally from Logan, West Virginia. Many of his cousins served in the confederate 36th Virginia Infantry, and a cousin William A. Dempsey, served as a Captain in Company E of the First Virginia State Line. His father, Mark Dempsey was a life time personal friend of Abraham Lincoln and apparently a distant cousin to him. Joseph Dempsey's grandfather was John Dempsey of Logan County a Revolutionary War veteran of the 7th and 11th regiments under Colonel Daniel Morgan and was on the rosters at Vally Forge throughout the winter, enlisting at age of 17. I am descended from his brother Lewis. Sergeant Dempsey's full name was Joseph Baisden Dempsey and he was born March 5, 1835. He married Mary Ann White.
Source of information: PUrban4828@aol.com