OK, you are right. It was John, not James. The information on John's death date came from a professional genealogist, John M. Robinson, who did his work for my grandfather in the early fifties. It came from family records in Ripley County, Indiana. Now, I honestly believe that it came when the close family member, Sarah was already an old lady. Richard, she and the young family went to Kentucky before John's death. I believe that Violet Toph in 1952 had something of Cynthia Creath's who was the wife of Reuben Bert Hodges. Cynthia said that Richard Hodges was an officer in the RW, I can find only information that he was a Private. I know that men were often voted in as officers by the other men during reunions after wars. This might have been the case, and would have given Richard the right to say that he was a Lieutenant. John M. Robinson used the available books about the family for some of his information. He gave us John as the name of the man who was married to Elizabeth and was the father of my ancestor Richard Hodges. So, I know that some of my information was incorrect. I am slowly proving what I can. This has not been one of the things I felt compelled to prove. I believe it was Samuel, the brother, whom Richard served in the Revolutionary War with, not John the father. But, it could have been the father, or James, if either was an officer. My records show Samuel as a Captain. OK. The story of Dorothy being taken by Indians was so interesting, with the loss of her father and four younger sisters and all, that everybody told it faithfully. At least according to my grandfather who got it from his father and compared it to other related Hodges family's traditions in the 1930s. It was his contention that the story was true because he had letters from six different families in six different locations. Each family gave the same basic story. Dorothy being a young, tall, attractive woman was taken by an Indian Chief before the cabin was torched. She was gone for ten years. When she returned she brought her Indian son with her. He was nine when he arrived. The family talked Dorothy into staying with them. They clothed, and educated, her son in the ways of his mother. They were shocked, and unbelieving when he told them he was going back to his father. Some of them thought it was rude and disrespectful for him to leave and they couldn't understand why he would rather live with a bunch of savages. The boy was seventeen when he left. Dorothy stayed with her family and married the widowed brother of Sarah Rosamond. They had a family of their own. The story ends with "They had a family of their own." John M. Robinson put Dorothy in the record as having been captured by Indians about 1781, he showed one son, no name, from the Chief. Then he shows a second husband as -- Rosamond. I don't know where he got his information. I believe it was from a tribute for General George Washington Hodges, from two books; "Moragnes in America and Related Families" by Nell H. Howard and Bessie W. Quinn, and "Greenwood County Sketches" by Margaret Watson. Al Metts prefers the version from Margaret Watson. I believe that both books give us clues. "Greenwood County Sketches" is the more accurate, but "Moragnes in America and Related Families" might have clues that could help. The ladies told the story in much the same way the family tradition had it. They said that "John was killed by Indians while home on furlough during the Revolutionary War" The book had John as my ancestor. Harvey Bottoms gave Al Metts information that proves a John Hodge was in residence on a farm that would have been right next to Elizabeth's property. It could be that it was this John who died at the hands of Indians instead of, or separately from, my ancestor Richard. He might have fought in the RW and been killed by Indians while home on furlough. The stories could easily have merged, especially if the families did. My cousin, Carol Berchtold, gives us this information; Because there is no proof, at this time, we cannot say that Dorothy was married to a Rosamond. Family traditions are to easily changed and given to the imagination of the teller. So she only shows Dorothy as having been married to the Indian Chief and having only one child. The story of the Indians taking Dorothy, and the burning of the cabin, with the death of "John" Hodges is told in a tribute to George Washington Hodges, written by a news paper man after GW Hodges death. The story was printed many years after the incident. The next reference was written by Nicholas Ware Hodges (1797-1841), son of James Hodges (1758-1828). Ken Hodge who gives us so much good information had a copy of Nicholas story, written by his own hand. "Before the Commencement of the Colonial dispute my grandfather died, leaving a widow and twelve children. The Tories and Indians, soon after commencing their depredations, those of her sons who were able to labor for her support, being compelled to fly to the protection of their country, my grandmother was reduced to great suffering. The Indians burned her house and carried one of her daughters away captive. She returned home after the war, scarcely able to speak English. My grandmother had to fly for protection to the woods and shelter herself and children in the hollow of a large tree." I think some of the information you seek may be in the hands of historians in Indiana. John M. Robinson seems to have leaned heavily upon Violet Toph in the 1950s for information about the family. As you have pointed out, the information about John Rosamond is incorrect. My family spells the name wrong. AND, it is hard to give up the stories my dad told us as children. They seemed so creditable. Elijah ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jimmy Rosamond" <jdrosamond@adelphia.net> To: <HODGES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2002 10:35 AM Subject: Re: [HODGES-L] Another William Hodges No. 1 Hello Cousin Elijah. Thanks tremendously for the info you sent. I'm going to have to digest some of this before I can answer intelligently. But, one thing struck me in your first email regarding Richard Hodges and his wife Sarah F. Rosamond. Sarah's father's name was John and not James. James was her brother, who is my ggg-grandfather. This has been pretty much proven by a number of cousins independently, as well as a local SC independent researcher not connected to the family. The makeup of this family, which ties to the Hodges at least twice and maybe three times, is shown below. John Roseman (spelling from records of Augusta County, VA) and wife Sarah Willson Roseman. They moved from Augusta County, VA to Abbeville District, SC around 1766. There is a record of them selling their land on Moffett Creek in VA in late 1765. I have a land deed where John obtained land in Abbeville Dist, SC in 1767 on Turkey Creek, just outside of Ware Shoals. This couple had five children: Margaret Rosamond who married Bartholomew Weems Sarah F. Rosamond who married Richard Hodges, the family that later moved to Ripley County, Indiana Jean Rosamond (female, who never married) Samuel Rosamond, who married Sarah Hodges, sister of Richard Hodges above James Rosamond, who married 1st. --- BIG QUESTION --- married 2nd Mary Doherty (as spelled in James' will dated 1806 - her previously married name) widow of James Daugherty. One of the leading contenders for being James' wife is Dorothy Hodges, the one who was captured by the Indians and later returned to live with her family. She is supposed to be the sister of Richard Hodges and Sarah Hodges listed above. The other most likely scenario is that she was a Jones, probably related to the Benjamin Jones family who lived on the next farm over from John and Sarah Rosemond. One of James' sons was named Nathaniel Jones Rosamond sort of hinting that maybe his mother's maiden name was Jones. Now my question. You show Sarah F. Rosemond's father died in November 1769. Can you tell me where this date came from? My cousins and I have been looking for a record of his death for years with no success. I have to question the date because both John and his son Samuel are shown in an early colonial census of the Old 96 District in 1779. We're pretty sure John is not alive in 1790 because Sarah is listed as the head of the household, with one unmarried female living with her. This would place his death between 1779 and 1790. Oh, the name is misspelled again on this early census. It's shown as Rosemand. BTW, for anyone interested in the Rosamond name by any of the various spellings, I encourage you to join the Rosamond-L list. Jimmy