Calvin Dorris wrote: > > Here are my Donaldson clan. Does anyone know anything about these people. Calvin: Here is some info extracted from my SMALL line which I have been working on. As you can see, the surname spelling changed along the way. Rick. Descendants of John DONALDSON Generation No. 1 1. JOHN2 DONALDSON (JOHN SR.1) was born in Scotland. He married CATHERINE DAVIES WFT Est. 1698-1747 in or near Philadelphia, PA. Children of JOHN DONALDSON and CATHERINE DAVIES are: i. ANDREW3 DONALDSON. ii. GIRL DONALDSON. 2. iii. JOHN DONALDSON II. b. Pittsylvania CO or Accomac CO, VA; d. 1785-1786, Davidson CO, TN. 3. iv. WILLIAM DONALDSON, b. April 25, 1738, VA; d. March 19, 1819. Generation No. 2 2. JOHN3 DONElSON (JOHN2, JOHN SR.1) was born April 07, 1725 in Pittsylvania County or Accomac CO, VA, and died 1785-1786 in Davidson CO, TN. He married RACHEL STOCKLEY Abt. 1749 in Virginia. One of the two founders of Nashville, John Donelson joined with James Robertson to lead the first settlers to begin a new settlement on the Cumberland River at the French Lick. A land speculator and surveyor, Donelson served in the Virginia House of Burgesses before moving to the Watauga settlements on the Holston and Watauga rivers in East Tennessee in 1779. There he met James Robertson, and while Robertson led a group or mostly men and boys overland with pack horses and livestock, Donelson organized and led a flotilla of approximately thirty boats from the Holston River to the Tennessee, up the Ohio, and then up the Cumberland to the present site of Nashville, approximately 1000 miles. Most of Donelson's passengers were the wives and children of the men who went with Robertson. Because of repeated attacks by Indians, Donelson later moved his family north to Kentucky; but he continued to own and farm land in the Cumberland settlements. Donelson was mysteriously killed on the trail between Kentucky and Nashville in 1786. Children of JOHN DONELSON and RACHEL STOCKLEY are: i. ALEXANDER4 DONELSON, ii. MARY DONELSON, iii. JANE DONELSON, iv. WILLIAM DONELSON, v. STOCKLEY DONELSON, vi. SAMUEL DONELSON, vii. LEVIN DONELSON, viii. ELIZABETH DONELSON, ix. JOHN DONELSON, b. 1755; x. SEVERN DONELSON, b. 1773; d. October 15, 1818. xi. RACHEL DONELSON, b. 1777, VA; d. December 22, 1828, Hermitage, near Nashville, TN; m. (1) LEWIS ROBARDS: m. (2) ANDREW JACKSON. The tenth child of Colonel John Donelson, Rachel was the wife of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States. She came to Nashville with her father's flotilla at the age of twelve years on their boat THE ADVENTURE. She met her future husband when he was boarding at her mother's house. At the time she was married but separated from her husband Lewis Robards of Kentucky. Robards eventually asked for a divorce and Rachel and Andrew were married in 1791. Two years later, they discovered that they had married before the divorce was final, and they remarried. The charge of adultery, however,--the problem of marrying before the divorce was final -- was used against Jackson in his campaigns for the presidency. A quiet, gentle person, Rachel was known for her warm hospitality, her love of flowers, and her religious devotion. She and Andrew had no children of their own but adopted one of her nephews, who became Andrew Jackson, Jr. Rachel died in December just after her husband won his campaign for the presidency. 4. xii. CATHERINE DONELSON: d. 1835, Davidson CO, TN. 3. WILLIAM3 DONALDSON (JOHN2, JOHN SR.1) was born April 25, 1738 in VA, and died March 19, 1819. He married MARY SWEENEY in Philladelphia, PA. Children of WILLIAM DONALDSON and MARY SWEENEY are: i. ELIZABETH4 DONALDSON, b. 1767; d. September 03, 1847; m. JOSEPH RODGERS, Abt. 1784, Holston Co., TN. ii. ANDREW DONALDSON. iii. MARY DONALDSON. iv. ANN DONALDSON. v. JOHN DONALDSON. vi. REBECCA DONALDSON. vii. JANE DONALDSON. Generation No. 3 4. CATHERINE4 DONELSON (JOHN3 DONALDSON II, JOHN2, JOHN SR.1) died in Davidson CO, TN. She married THOMAS HUTCHINGS 1779 in Pittsylvania, VA, son of CHRISTOPHER HUTCHINGS and ELIZABETH PARKS. Thomas Hutchings took oath of allegiance in 1777 and served as a capt. of the continental line (army) in the revolutionary war. Early in the Spring of 1779, preparations were made at Watauga to plant a permanent settlement on the Cumberland River. The place selected was the bluff near the French Lick (now Nashville). Before reaching their destination the party was split into two companies. Capt James Robertson taking command of one group while Colonel John Donelson became the leader of the other group. Thomas Hutchings was a member of Colonel Donelson's group. (From Pioneers of Davidson County; Tennessee, compiled by Edythe Rucker Whitely) Child of CATHERINE DONELSON and THOMAS HUTCHINGS is: 5. i. MARY5 HUTCHINGS. Generation No. 4 5. MARY5 HUTCHINGS (CATHERINE4 DONELSON, JOHN3 DONALDSON II, JOHN2, JOHN SR.1). She married DANIEL SMALL January 27, 1797 in Nashville, Davidson CO, TN. Mary's father, Capt Tom Hutchings, was a Revolutionary War hero. Mary was a niece of Mrs Andrew Jackson and grand daughter of Col John Donelson. who was one of the founders of Nashville (Nashboro), Tennessee. Note: Andrew Jackson and Capt Thomas Hutchings married sisters, who were daughters of Col. John Donelson. President Jackson married Rachel and Thomas Hutchings married Catherine. Daniel and Mary had a total of six children. He was a land surveyor. He and Mary's grandfather, John Donelson, surveyed much of the land around Nashville and the Cumberland Valley, including the extensive holdings of General Andrew Jackson, and his home, the Hermitage. When their oldest child, Andrew Jackson Small was about 20, Daniel moved the family to West TN, settling in Henderson and Madison Counties, where he remained until his death.