Levi Devereaux Jarratt was the son of John Jefferson "Jack" Jarratt and Martha Ann Manor. His father was an early Tennessee pioneer from Virginia who became a successful farmer/planter in Rutherford County, TN and had a large family. Levi's attachment to John Jefferson and Martha Ann (Manor) Jarratt was first documented by a handwritten 1929 note from Sallie P. (Jarratt) Bennett (Levi's daughter), "My Gran parents on Pa's side were Jack Jarratt and Martha Maner Jarratt".

Levi's nickname was "Dubb", and in some records he is listed as "Devereaux Jarratt", easily confused with his uncle of the same name, (b. 1813 d.1866).

The 1850 US Census for Rutherford County listed Levi as 18 years old and working on his father's farm. His father's land was valued at $10,000 and included several slaves. In the early 1850's he began courting Susannah Brown, the daughter of Col. Wylie Brown, who lived a few miles south of Smyrna and was also a successful farmer.

According to Rutherford County Marriages, Levi D. Jarratt married Susannah Brown January 16, 1854. Levi and Susannah had four children:
Sarah "Sallie" Pauline (b. 1855 d. 1936, m. 1871 Dr. T.J. Bennett)
Annas "Annie" (b. 1858 d. 1937, never married)
Lavina "Fanny/Tommie" T. (b. 1860 d. 1927, m. Junius Vandegrift)
John D. (b. 1862 d. 1884, never married, died young from drowning)

The 1860 US Census for Rutherford County (Versailles post office) listed LD Jarratt as 29 years old, farming his own land worth $3,600, with a personal estate of $6,500. He lived with his wife S. Jarratt (25) and children S.P. Jarratt (5), A. Jarratt (3) and L.T. Jarratt (5 months). The next household on the census is that of his father, John Jefferson Jarratt. His father's estate was valued at $30,000 by 1860.

Levi enlisted in the Confederate army in December of 1861, joining Company D of the 45th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to 2nd sergeant, probably due to his age (29) and the fact that most recruits were in their late teens and early 20's. Per his service record, Levi stood 5' 6" and weighed 158lbs.

The 45th Tennessee entered combat for the first time at the battle of Shiloh. They were heavily engaged in the area of the Peach Orchard and Sarah Bell's farm with terrible casualties. Sgt Levi Jarratt was among the dead and his body was never returned to his family. It is presumed he was buried in a Confederate mass trench grave. Over 1,700 Confederates remain on the field at Shiloh, unidentified, in such graves.

Levi's estate went into probate after the war in 1865, with his father-in-law, Col. Wiley S. Brown, serving as the administrator. This probate record was the first indication that Levi had died in the war, and later research in the records of the 45th Tennessee revealed his service and death at Shiloh. His widow Susannah never remarried and tragedy seemed to follow her. Their son John D. Jarratt died from drowning in 1884, leaving Susannah without support. Subsequently Susannah lived with, or near, her father Wiley Brown in Rutherford County, and later lived in a rooming house with their daughter Annie, who was afflicted mentally. Susannah died in 1904.

Interestingly, Levi's Confederate service and death in battle was not passed down in family oral history. His grandson, John D. Bennett, lived from 1883 to 1981, and loved to discuss family history from Tennessee. John D. Bennett related that his father was a Confederate surgeon, and told stories of his growing up among Wylie Brown's ex-slaves, yet John D. never mentioned his grandfather Levi. It is likely that he had never heard the story himself, which opens up the question of why it was not discussed. More research may shed light on this mystery.

Sources:
Handwritten notes passed down the family from Sallie P. (Jarratt) Bennett
Census and county records
Confederate military records, 45th Tennessee, losses at Shiloh which mention L. Jarratt as KIA.
Work of Rutherford historian Barry Lamb
"Military Annals of Tennessee, Confederate", John Lindsley, editor, 1886