Albert J. Cleveland (the name has multiple spellings in documents) was born in South Carolina and married Huldah some time before 1825. The family moved to Habersham County, Georgia, by 1827, then on to Alabama, Tennessee, and then to Union County, Georgia, by the 1840s. Severe (or Sevier?) C. was probably their oldest son. He married Martha McAfee in Habersham County, Georgia, in 1848; but by 1860 they were living in Towns County (newly created from Union) together with S. C.'s younger brother James, while the remaining unmarried brothers lived with A. J. and Huldah in Cassville, Georgia. S. C. enlisted in the GA 65th Regiment Infantry, Company G, on June 1, 1863, and deserted August 23. Much of his company deserted or allowed themselves to be captured, insisting they had been impressed into the Confederate army. Huldah having died, A. J. returned to Towns County and married Jane Little in May 1864.