Hello to all, The Eagle Plume/Dodson myth seems to reappear about every six months or so. Many of us want this to be true to have a direct lineage back to the Ancient Planters of Jamestown, but so many researchers have looked for that true connection and it has NEVER been found. We have discussed this matter over and over in this and other forums but still this myth appears on the internet. ........................................................................... Here is my viewpoint: John Dods did survive the two Indian massacres and he and his wife Jane are found in the 1624 "The Muster of the Inhabitants of the neck-of-land in the corporation of Chares Cittie in Virginia taken the 24th of January 1624" Source: "Adventures of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1624/5" by Virginia M. Meyer and John Frederick Dorman, 1987, 3rd ed., p. 8-9. see below: "The Muster of John Dods John Dods aged 36 yeares in the Susan Constant April 1607 Jane his wife aged 40 yeares Provisions: Corne, 10 barrells; Pease, 1/2 bushell; Fish, 1/2 hundred. Armes and Munition: Powder, 4 lb; lead and bulletts, 30 lb; Peeces fixt, 2; Coat of Male, 1 and a head peece; sword, 1. Poultrie, 30. houses: house, 1." This book contains the descendancy of many other early Virginia surnames out to four generations. The surname Dods is NOT continued anywhere else in the book. Please note that NO children are mentioned in this muster for John Dods (done in 1624/5--i.e., no Jesse Dodson born in 1623), whereas many other children are listed by name for the other family musters in this census. My book does NOT show the Dods' with apostrophe (i.e., believed to indicate that his name is really Dodson), only Dods. My book does NOT explain why there is an absence of the name of the immigration ship after Jane Dods name; however, in the muster roll just after the muster of John Dods (the muster of William Vincene), the wife Joane aged 42 yeares does not have the name of the immigration ship as well. I see NO explanation for this overshight and the book does NOT specifically state that these women were both native American and therefore had NO ships. Even so, is Jane supposed to be Eagle Plume or what? Also age 40 is a little old to start a family especially since over 340 of your neighbors were just killed by the Indians. ....................................................... Williams and Lucas, "The Dodson (Dotson) Family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia", Vol. 1, p. vi, Publisher's Preface: "A word of warning concerning trying to claim kinship with people with whom we cannot prove a relationship, i.e.: Are we kin to the "John Dodson, 1607 of Jamestown, Virginia, or Benjamin Dodson, c. 1652 of Essex County, Virginia? Some people would like to say that these men are the direct ancestors of Charles Dodson who died in 1701. They state that a John Dodson came with Captain John Smith in 1607 and the John Dodson had sons Jesse and William Dodson. It is further stated that the aforementioned Jesse Dodson was the father of Charles Dodson, born about 1649 and died about 1701, in Richmond Co., Virginia....(and so on, then) it must be stated unequivocably that no legal records exist to prove this hypothetical descendancy of Charles Dodson." Williams and Lucas looked for decades on the Dodsons. ................................................................................ One book came out of Austin, Texas which claimed this Jesse to Charles descendency but NO proof was ever given. We researchers continue to ask for proof to those who continue to repeat this myth on the Web pages and internet, and still NO PROOF has ever come forth. Make no mistake, we would welcome any new facts on this hypothesis or any other information relating to the true father of Charles Dodson. We have been working for years to this resolve. ............................................................................................. "The Registers of North Farnham Parish 1663-1814 and Lunenburg Parish 1783-1800 Richmond County Virginia", by George Harrison Sanford King, 1966. This is the first location for the Charles Dodson lineage. Seventy five separate listings for the birth, death, or marriage of the descendant Dodsons are recorded beginning with "Dodson, Thomas son of Charles and Anne Dodson, 15 May 1681", found on page 47. There is no information prior to 1663 recorded here in the Registers, i. e. no birth of Charles (#1) Dodson and no listing of parents and no marriage record of Charles and Anne in this parish record. It is reasonable to speculate that Charles and Anne came to this parish after their marriage (ca 1680) but beyond that we do not know if he was a descendant or an immigrant. The information that is proposed on the birth of Charles Dodson in Richmond Co. is just not here. Old Rappahannock Co. (later Richmond and Essex) was formed out of Lancester Co. in 1656, so any recordin! g of the birth of Charles in 1649 has to be recorded ELSEWHERE. .................................................................................................. There are other Dodsons in early Virginia: Gervease, William, Benjamin, Thomas, etc. who are probably not related to each other or Charles. Charles #1 just happens to be the one that we can trace and proved our ancestry. Don't you think that 56 years (1624 to 1680) is a long time NOT to have someone mention the lineal Dodson name somewhere IF there was a direct lineage from John to Jesse to Charles? ............................................................................................... This forum is good for debate and of course welcomes any new factual information. On the other hand, please do not perpetuate this Eagle Plume myth or John Dods hypothesis unless you can list credible sources. Sure, we would like to believe the Dods lineage but there is NO proof. Charles Dodson is the progenitor of thousands and thousands of descendants, and we need to make sure that any new revelation about this ancestry as credible as possible. It affects all of us. Thanks. Morris