Thomas Greenham Dodson (abt. 1742 - abt. 1830)

Born about 1742 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah Dodson — married about 1778 in Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1830 at about age 88 in Giles County, Tennessee, USA

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Biography

Thomas Greenham Dodson, was most likely born in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia, in or about 1742 (alternate date = 1743). The Hightower & Dodson families were early settlers of this "Northern neck" rural county, not to be confused with Richmond (Henrico Co.), Virginia's capital city since 1780. Thomas was the son of Greenham Dodson and Eleanor Hightower.

Thomas married his first-cousin, Sarah Dodson, daughter of Elisha Dodson and Sarah Averitt (Everett) Dodson in about 1778 when she was 20, but no marriage document has been found. The Durham, Hightower and Dodson families were neighboring well-to-do tobacco farmers and landowners in what was sometimes called "the Rich Neck" of Virginia.^[1]

Thomas Dodson appears on the tax rolls of rural Halifax County, Virginia, from 1788 to 1794 and he may have lived in Edgecombe county, North Carolina, 125 miles south-east, before then as a Thomas Dodson witnessed a deed there in 1773. By August 22, 1807, Thomas and the Dodson family had moved to southern Tennessee as he and father-in-law, Elisha Dodson, signed a petition as "residents of Duck River," Williamson County, relative to the creation of Maury County, TN.^[2]

The part of Williamson County where the Dodsons lived became Giles County, Tennessee, in 1809. In 1820 Elisha Dodson, aged 26-45; Greenham Dodson, aged 26-45; Jordan Dodson, aged 26-45, and George Dodson over 45, all with families were enumerated in the 1820 census in Giles County. Greenham and Elisha's households are listed next to each other in the 1820 census.

Thomas does not appear in the 1830 census under the name Thomas or Greenham, in Giles County or in adjoining counties. Thomas' date of death is unknown and no estate records have been found. It is believed that Thomas is buried next to his wife who died on 21 September 1835 in Lynnville, TN. She was buried in the Dodson Cemetery at Dodson's Gap, Giles Co., next to the Maury County line, Tennessee. There is a marker for Sarah but no marker for Thomas has survived.^[3]

According to one family genealogy source, Thomas and Sarah Dodson had seven children between 1780 and 1802.^[4] They are:

1. Elisha DODSON b: Abt. 1780 in VA
2. Willis DODSON b: Bet 1780 and 1790 in Halifax County, Virginia
3. Greenham Hightower DODSON b: 1 Oct 1783 in VA
4. Hightower DODSON b: Abt 1788 in Richmond County, Virginia
5. Jordan DODSON b: Abt 1792 in NC
6. George DODSON b: ?
7. Sarah DODSON b: ?

Another source lists 5 Dodson children and gives more-specific life data, as follows:^[5]

1. Elisha Dodson b: ABT 1780 in NC (m. Ann Dodson, 5/19/1808) in TN)
2. Greenham Dodson b: 1 OCT 1783 in VA (m. Marcy Brooks, 1/9/1808) in TN
3. Hightower Dodson b: 1788 in VA (m. Sally Dodson, 7/4/1807 in TN)
4. Jordan "Dotson" Dodson b: 1792 in NC (m. Mary "Polly" Elton, 9/21/09, in TN)
5. Tabitha Dodson b: 1795 in Pittsylvania Co, VA (m. Moses Patterson, 1811/1812 in TN)

NOTE: Willis Dodson (b. 1784 in Halifax VA) lived to 1881; he had 7 children and was a Baptist lay pastor and elder/deacon.^[6] Only George Dodson apparently died without issue.

Sources

1. ↑ Magellan, Parker, Wright, Bailey and other families Tree on RootsWeb
2. ↑ / Brownlees of Torfoot / Wilcox to Charlemagne; it has a good research section. Note: The ID numbers on these files can change. The major source cited is: "The Dodson (Dotson) family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: a history and genealogy of their descendants," by Mrs. Sherman Williams, Southern Historical Press: Easley, SC, 1989; not available on-line.
3. ↑ Magellan, Parker, Wright, Bailey and other families Tree on RootsWeb. Main source is: "The Dodson (Dotson) family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: a history and genealogy of their descendants," not available on-line, pp. 52-3.
4. ↑ Holler & Hartman Ancestors on RootsWeb
5. ↑ Linking Norwood+Tomerlin+Mowry to Fanning&Bunn+Meeks Tree on RootsWeb
6. ↑ Holler & Hartman Ancestors on RootsWeb

• Information on Thomas Greenham Dodson and his birth and death from the book The Dodson (Dotson) Family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: A History and Genealogy of Their Descendants, by Mrs. Sherman Williams, Compiler and Editor and The Rev. Silas Emmett, Lucas, Jr., Publisher, published 1988; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 88-60291, Volume I, page 52.

• 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Pulaski, Giles, Tennessee; Page: 38; NARA Roll: M33_124; Image: 32. Source Information: 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line] Ancestry.com .

• Magellan, Parker, Wright, Bailey and other families Tree on RootsWeb - Thomas G Dodson

• Holler & Hartman Ancestors Tree on RootsWeb

• Magellan, Parker, Wright, Bailey and other families Tree on RootsWeb. Main source is: "The Dodson (Dotson) family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: a history and genealogy of their descendants," not available on-line, pp. 52-3

• Haren-Anderson / Brownlees of Torfoot / Wilcox to Charlemagne; it has a good research section. Note: The ID numbers on these files can change - use the Index by Surname, Name, Birth Year to find the individual. The major source cited is: "The Dodson (Dotson) family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: a history and genealogy of their descendants," by Mrs. Sherman Williams, Southern Historical Press: Easley, SC, 1989; not available on-line.

Acknowledgements

• Thanks to X Kerr for creating WikiTree profile Dodson-12 through the import of KERR.GED on 11 June 2010.

• WikiTree profile Dodson-600 was created through the import of Dodsons Only.GED on Nov 22, 2011 by Betty Dotson. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Betty and others

• Thanks t Skip McDonald for the creation of WikiTree profile Dodson-3093 through the import of the McDonald_Compton Family Tree.ged on Mar 18, 2014.

• Thanks to Chet Snow , a Durham and Hightower families descendant, for merging these profiles and researching and adding a biography and new sources on October 22, 2014.