Dates: 1862-1956

Biography:

Thomas Jefferson Koger

Thomas Jefferson Koger was born on March 22, 1817, in South Carolina. He lived there with his parents until his father, Major Joseph Koger, decided to move his family to Alabama and finally to Brooksville, Noxubee County, Mississippi. Thomas Koger would eventually return to Alabama to raise his family and establish a life of his own.

In Alabama, Thomas Koger found his true calling--the ministry. In 1846, Koger was admitted to the Alabama Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as a trial minister. He trained in Carrollton, Alabama, under the Reverend John W. Laney. Koger was admitted as a full minister in 1848, after which he was pastor of a church in Prattville, Alabama. He prospered as a minister and rose rapidly within the ranks of the Alabama Conference. Koger was chosen as one of the deacons of the state conference in 1849. He was elected an elder in 1850, and he became presiding elder of the Tuscaloosa District in 1851. Koger was presiding elder of the Columbus District from 1858 to 1860.

Koger's accomplishments extended beyond the realm of pastoring within the Alabama Conference. In 1856, he was appointed a trustee for Southern University, a Methodist college in Alabama; however, the college did not survive after the Civil War. In 1858, he was chosen as one of twelve delegates to the national conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1860, Thomas Koger was called back to Brooksville, Mississippi, to assist his ailing father. While Koger was living in Noxubee County, the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in the Forty-First Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, and became chaplain and postmaster of Company D, the Noxubee Guards. In 1862, Koger was made captain of his company. During the Civil War, his company saw limited action in the battle of Corinth, Mississippi, and small skirmishes from Corinth, through Tennessee, and into Kentucky. Thomas Koger was killed on October 8, 1862, in the battle of Perryville, Kentucky.

Although Koger lived an esteemed life as a clergyman and was obviously one who believed in the Southern cause, his death was marked by two ironies. First, there was only a brief mention of his death at the National Conference of Methodist Churches instead of a memorial tribute in the minutes, as was done for other deceased Methodist ministers. Finally, his name was misspelled "Cogar" on a memorial built to honor the fallen soldiers at Perryville.

 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection contains correspondence, typescripts of correspondence, and newsclippings referring to the death and burial of the Reverend T. J. Koger. 

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Correspondence. 1862-1872; 1956; n.d. 0.10 c.f.

There is correspondence of family and friends with Koger's widow, Sarah. There is also correspondence between Sarah Koger and H. P. Bottom, the man who donated land to bury those killed at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky. Later correspondence includes a 1956 letter revealing that Koger's name has been misspelled on a monument dedicated to the Confederate dead at Perryville and a diagram of the burial site at Perryville indicating the location of Koger's grave. 

Series 2: Newspaper Clippings. [1862]. 0.10 c.f.

The newspaper clippings are from the 1860s and discuss the fighting at Perryville and include obituaries on Koger. Photocopies have been made of the original newsclippings.