Here's the Dodson paper, Karen, Michelle Robertule@aol.com Ukiah, CA The Dodsons The Dodson family traces its origins in a story similar to the Hanks family. The "original" Dodson in North America is believed to have been one Charles Dodson who leased land in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia in the 1680's. Charles is believed to have been born about 1649 but it's not clear whether his birth took place in England or Virginia. A Thomas Dodson is listed as an immigrant to Virginia in 1645, and given the number of Thomases in the family this man possibly could have been Charles' father, but nothing has been shown to link the two men. Charles Dodson apparently was a prosperous tobacco planter and owned a large plantation in the North Farnham Parish area of Old Rappahannock County, across the York River from where the original Thomas Hanks was cutting down trees. He married his wife Ann prior to 1680 and they had nine children: Charles Junior (?- August 1, 1715) Thomas (May 15, 1681- November 21, 1740) Bartholomew (1683-) William (1685-) John Lambert Anne Elizabeth Mary (?- bef 1719) Old Rappahannock County was split into Essex and Richmond counties in 1692. Dodson owned land in both counties but lived in Richmond County. Dodsons were known as large land owners and a leading Virginia family in southern "tobacco belt" counties, according to Shirley Corbari in her book The Guio-Dodson Family. When Charles Dodson died in 1705 he left houses and extensive land holdings (at least 150 acres a piece) to each of his six sons. The women in the family received "all my moveable estate of what kind soever within and without". As an interesting stipulation, Charles Dodson insisted that none of the land out of the name might be sold except one brother selleth to another and if no male appeareth by none of my sons [they have no male heirs] that then my daughters may inherit the land. Corbari presented the list of possessions, reprinted in Charles Dodson's own hand, in her book. The items were appraised and included chests, chairs, tables, cloth and linen napkins, two spinning wheels, a pestle and mortar, knives, cart wheels and casks. One of the more expensive items, valued at 2200 (shillings?) was "one servant man three years eight months to serve" so Dodson obviously had an indentured servant on hand. Thomas and Mary Durham Dodson Charles' second son, Thomas Dodson, inherited a plantation "in a neck formerly called the Rich Neck with a hundred and fifty acres of land". Thomas would have been 24 years old at the time, about three years married to Mary Durham Mary Durham was the daughter and probably a granddaughter of other Richmond County tobacco planters. Her complicated and confusing ancestry is discussed in the Hunt, Durham and Smoot section. According to Cobari, the Thomas Dodsons had nine children, all born in Richmond County: George (Oct 31, 1702-1770); Margaret Dagord David (abt 1704-abt 1740); Amy Thomas Jr. (abt 1707-October 21, 1783) Elizabeth Rose, Ellenor Sloan Greenham (abt 1709) Elinore Hightower Alice (abt 1711); William Creel Mary (Oct 5, 1715) Abraham (April 4, 1723-1768); Barbara Russell? Joshua (May 25, 1725-1793); Ruth Elisha (Feb 22, 1727 );Sarah Everett Mary Durham Dodson's father died in 1715 and left her five thousand pounds of tobacco; fifteen hundred pounds of the same to be paid by my son Thomas Durham within nine months after the decease of my wife and five hundred of the rest of the said tobacco to be paid by my son John Durham at the decease of my wife. Thomas Durham also made provision that if either of his sons produced no heirs, land and tobacco were to be paid to his "grandson Thomas Dodson and his heirs". Thomas and Mary Durham Dodson farmed tobacco and inherited land from both sides of their family. In 1723, Mary's brother Thomas Durham and his wife Mary sold or assigned them property in Richmond County, 100 acres for the "payment of one year from date of deed of rent of one ears of Indian Corn on the feast Day of the birth of our Lord God". Raising tobacco is labor-intensive work and at some point Thomas Dodson felt the need to purchase slaves to help on the farm. His will, marked and sealed on February 17, 1739, made provision for numerous slaves, including women and boys. The other disbursements of Thomas Dodson's possessions was interesting. Son Greenham was named the executor and he, George and Elisha all received tracts of land. Abraham and Joshua, who would have been teenagers though older than Elisha, each received a negro woman and a negro boy plus one feather bed and furniture. Son David must have proceeded Thomas Dodson in death, for his will gives "my granddaughter, the daughter of David Dodson, 20 shillings". At her husband's death, Mary Durham Dodson inherited the plantation they lived on, all the negroes belonging there and all moveable estate for the length of her life. Three and a half years later on September 29, 1743, Mary wed Robert Galbreath. There are references in The Dodson Family of North Farnsham Parish to a lawsuit brought by executor Greenham Dodson the next year. At the chancery court in 1745 it was decided that the complainant (Greenham) take possession of the estate for the use of his mother, Mary Galbreath, during her coverture according to the intention of the Testators Will, the sd Robert Galbreath in open court refusing to give security. It's not clear exactly what was happening here, though the Oxford English Dictionary defines coverture as "the condition or position of a woman during her married life, when she is by law under the authority and protection of her husband". This would suggest Galbreath perhaps wasn't taking very good care of Mary Durham Dodson Galbreath, who would have been 58 years old at the time. Greenham thus took over the running of the Dodson estate. We don't know when Mary died. Thomas Jr. and Elizabeth Rose Dodson Thomas Dodson Jr. received five shillings at his father's death. Since he is listed as being a tobacco planter, he probably had already received land from his father and was busy farming it at the age of 33. He also may have inherited Durham family land after the death of his uncle John Durham in 1722. He married Elizabeth Rose, daughter of John Rose of Northumberland County, on April 3, 1726 in North Farnham Parish church. They had eleven children as follows: Joseph (February 21, 1724-1773); Martha/Anna Thomas III (October 3, 1728-March 25, 1816);Mary Dodson, Mary Neville Mary (June 16,1730); Mr. Child Elizabeth (May 27, 1732); John Bennett Sarah (May 27, 1732); John Neville Alicy (1734); Lazarus Dodson Joshua (1736) William (1738-May 6, 1832); Winnifred Johnston George (1740-abt 1816);Anne Rhoda (1744); John Creel Jesse (November 22, 1752-November 22, 1843); Ruth Dodson About 1733 Thomas sold his land in Richmond County and moved his wife and then-five children up the Rappahannock River to what is now Fauquier County. The last six children were born at their new home on the Broad Run of Occoquan Creek. Other Dodson family members also moved to the area about the same time. In November 1742, Elizabeth Rose Dodson's father died. John Rose lived in Northumberland County, in the Weidmore Parish and apparently had two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary (who married Thomas Stamps). At the time of his death John Rose was married to a Mary Blackerby Rose who probably wasn't the mother of his daughters. In his signed will, John Rose gave James Blackerby, "my wife's son", three sheep. He also gave seven sheep to Joseph Davis "my wife's grandson". Mary Rose the widow, received the use of John Rose's estate during her life or widowhood, after which it all went to his daughters Mary Stamps and Elizabeth Dodson. The executorship was divided between his widow and his two sons-in-law. Nothing more is known of John Rose, nor what became of his estate. Sometime around the mid-eighteenth century, the Baptist religion began to make inroads into the staunchly Anglican colonies. As with many religious changes, it did not come easily and there was a great amount of controversy. Stories of colonial Virginia are rife with the great dissention caused by people who embraced a new way to worship God. Among those people touched by the Great Enlightenment, were many members of the Dodson family. Thomas Dodson Jr. was a founding member of Broad Run Baptist Church, founded on December 3, 1762. He was baptized there and several of his children also joined the church. His brother and sister-in-law, Joshua and Ruth Dodson, also were founding members of the church. There is no record of Elizabeth's participation (which is noteworthy since women are listed in the rolls). Three and a half years later Thomas and the children were "dismissed" from the church when they moved south to Halifax County. The Dodson family is full of Baptist preachers from about that time on. It appears that the Primitive, or Hardshell, Baptist Dodson families began to move to Pittsylvania and Halifax County about 1766, though some were there as early as 1753 when the area first opened up for settlers. Whether the Dodsons were primarily interested in new land or a new place to worship God, we cannot say, but the Hanks family members who went south at the same time also were Baptists. Pittsylvania County played a "distinguished part in the founding and spread of the Baptist church in Virginia," Maud Carter Clements commented in her History of Pittsylvania County. The First Separate Baptist Church of Virginia was founded in Pittsylvania County in 1760. Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties are in the piedmont plateau area of Virginia at the North Carolina border. It is a land of rolling hills, broken by many small mountain ridges. The valleys were described as fertile and watered by many streams. The earliest explorers found large level plains with fine savannahs three to four miles wide on which there were an infinite quality of turkeys, deer, elk and buffalo according to Clement's History of Pittsylvania County. Pittsylvania became an official county of Virginia in 1767, about the time the Dodsons and Moses Hanks began to settle there. The Cherokee Indians were a problem in the area during the French and Indian War which lasted from 1754-1763. The Dodsons may have decided to move their families only after things had begun to settle down and they would be relatively safe on the frontier! Thomas and Elizabeth Dodson sold their land in Fauquier County in early 1766 and purchased 400 acres of land in Halifax County in December of the same year. The land was on Birch Creek, which flowed through both Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties. By 1772 Pittsylvania's population was 938 whites and 316 slaves and it nearly doubled the next year. Clements noted this increase in population was largely brought about by an influx of settlers from Tidewater who were restlessly turning their eyes westward. Naturally enough, tobacco was grown in the area. Elizabeth Rose Dodson died a short time after the family settled in their new home. Thomas remarried a widow, Ellenor Sloan, who eventually survived him. According to Lucas and Williams, in 1773 Thomas Dodson executed a bond with John Creel in the sum of 1000 pounds, the condition being that Creel, his heirs, etc. would provided a place to live and proper maintenance for Thomas and his wife during their lifetime--'which shall be the place whereon they now live or the place whereon they formerly lived or such a place as shall content them'. At the same time Thomas conveyed to the Creels 200 acres on both sides of Birch Creek. Thomas was in his late 60's at the time this bond was enacted. John Creel, of course, was married to Thomas' youngest daughter Rhoda. The Revolutionary War broke on the Halifax and Pittsylvania County areas in 1776. Thomas Dodson is listed as a patriot with the Daughters of the American Revolution though we do not know specifically what his contribution was. He signed the oath of Allegiance, along with several other family members, in 1777. Thomas Dodson wrote his will on August 12, 1779. George and Ellenor Sloan Dodson were named executors on October 21, 1783, so Thomas must have died sometime between. He left a shilling to each of his daughters and one grandson Thomas (Joseph's son). His second son, Thomas "second fork" Dodson received a whipsaw. The plantation went to son William after Ellenor's death and various slaves were granted to other family members. His Baptist faith was strong to the end. According to Lucas and Williams "he left to the separate and regular Baptists ‘use of the meeting house near John Creel's mill with three acres of land'". Thomas "second fork" and Mary Neville Dodson As the third Thomas in his line to bear the name, and one of dozens of similarly named men in the family, Thomas Dodson III needed a moniker to differentiate himself from others! In later life he was known as "second fork", a reference to his land "on the second fork of Birch Creek" in Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties. Born October 3, 1728 in Richmond County, Thomas was only five when the family moved west. He grew up in the rolling hills of Fauquier County and undoubtedly learned to farm tobacco. He is believed to have married a cousin Mary Dodson, and had two children: Ida and George. Mary Dodson Dodson may have been the daughter of George Dodson, but it's not clear which one of the many Georges! He must have married Mary Dodson at an early age, for he is believed to have married Mary Neville about 1747, when he would have been nineteen and she about 17. Daughter Agatha was born in December 1749. They had a large number of children: Agatha (December 1749-1831);married Moses Hanks Thomas Jeremiah Dodson (?-bef 1809); wed Jemima Robinson Rhoda; married Alexander Hittson (Edison) Susannah (abt 1770); wed James Johnson Leonard; married Miss Randall Jessee ; wed Judith Combs Fanny; married Thomas Dodson Elizabeth; married David Dodson Winifred;wed William Johnson Alice; married Jerry Johnson Samuel William (?-December 22, 1809) Like his father, Thomas-Second Fork also joined the Broad Run Baptist Church. He was baptized on August 11, 1765. His faith may not have grown as much as the minister of the church hoped, for on November 11, 1766 when he was dismissed to the Halifax church, he and another member went "under censure to the church at Birch Creek to be under their care". He apparently took up land near his father on Birch Creek, the second fork of course, and farmed tobacco. There he raised his children and participated in the events of the unfolding war with the British. This Thomas Dodson, also, has been cited for patriotic service by the Daughters of the American Revolution. After the war was over, Thomas Dodson moved on south to Tennesse, with a number of other Dodsons family members. He is believed to have left Pittsylvania County about 1788 for Grainger and Hawkins Counties just over the border in eastern Tennessee. He and Mary helped found another Baptist Church, at "north on Holston" in Grainger County, very near the Hawkins County line in 1792. That area would be present day Mooresburg or Galbraith Springs. The Dodsons owned 50 acres of land near the church, on the north side of the Holston River at the mouth of Blair's branch. They apparently lived there the rest of their lives. Mary's death date is not known, though it obviously was after 1792. Thomas died on March 25, 1816, according to the DAR. He signed his name with a mark. One of the main Dodson family historians for the early eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was the Reverend Elias Dodson, a great-grandson of Thomas Dodson Sr. Shirley Corbari quoted his manuscript in summing up the Dodson family: He never knew any Dodson to be hung, go to jail or the penitentiary. They were peaceable, amiable and industrious. ‘A good name is a great fortune'--Proverbs 22:1.