My known Dodson line is The family of Michael b) 1775 in Md. (according to the 1850 census). He was not old enough to fight in the Rev. War. He would have been old enough to fight in the war of 1812. It is thought that he moved to Bedford Co. Pa. sometime after 1800 with the rest of his siblings. Eventually Michael settled in Cambria Co. Jackson twp Pa. He was a farmer and also did some Maple sugar processing. He may have been a carpenter also since his son William is reported years later as being trained in farmering and carpentering. Michael died in Dec 1853 in Jackson twp Cambria Co. Pa. without a will. His personal property inventory was probated in Dec. 1853 in Cambria Co. Pa. There is no record of him owning any land at the time of his death. Michael's known sons are John, William, Griffith by Catherine ? [[ b) abt 1801 in Pa]] All three were born in Cambria Co. Pa. In 1860 Griffith and William were in Leavenworth Co. Ks. During the civil war they were back in Cambria Co. Pa. William and Griffith moved to Jackson Co. Mo after the Civil War. John is believed to have moved to Indiana Co Pa after his mother's death. Griffith's son Edward was raised in Jackson Co. Mo. Griffith moved his family to Lawrence, Ks. about 1900. Griffith and his 3d wife Belle died one month apart in 1903 leaving minor children to be raised by the older siblings. Griffith's son Edward married in 1906 in Lawrence, Ks. ************************************************************ The father of this Michael Dodson line is listed in some early LDS microfiche records as John. Which John is the question. Identifying the correct John is a problem. If Michael was the oldest son as is believed and his father John was 20ys to 25yr when he married it would suggest that the John I am looking for was born abt 1750. Another researcher has written that there is a John Dodson in DAR records as having been b) 1740-1750 and died 1816 who fought in the Rev. War but I don't have that record. It has been suggested by another researcher that my Michael was the son of John Hurley Dodson said to have been born abt 1752 and married to Mary Ann Smoot in abt 1774 which is plausable if it can be verified. However, still another researcher says a John Smoot Dodson was born to John Hurley Dodson at the same time as Michael Dodson [1775]. Still another researcher says that John Smoot Dodson was b) abt 1770. It is confusing. There appears to be a will [Book 1, pg. 459 etc] for John Dodson Sr. in Bedford Co. Greenfield twp. Pa who is the John I am looking for in Md. He had a 104 acres of land that he called a plantation where he was living at the time the will was written in 1815. The will does not say what his wife is named. Are there any primary records in Frederick Co or Carroll Co that could clear up the confusion? I am looking for any kind of record that would clearify, show where and when Michael was born or grew up and something about his father. The census records of 1850 of Cambria Co. Pa. say that Michael was born in Md. Census records have been known to be wrong but I have no reason to believe otherwise at this point. I have no real information as to who his mother was. Has anyone run across any document or information that would clearify this confusion. Muriel