Joshua William Lawson (1788 - 1844)

Born 15 Feb 1788 in Stokes, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Talitha (Prewitt) Lawson — married 1810 in Roane, Tennessee, United States

Descendants

Died 1 Mar 1844 at age 56 in Winchester, Scott, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Joshua Lawson was the second son of John Lawson and Anna Lawson born 15 Feb 1788 in Stokes County, NC.

He fought in the War of 1812, serving as a private in Booth’s East Tennessee Militia (5th Regiment). He married Talitha Pruitt/Prewitt c.1810 and together they had eight sons: Sevier, Andrew, Elisha, Thomas, Robert, William, James, and Ezra, and two daughters: Isabelle [Simmons] and Elizabeth. (Elisha, Joshua’s brother, was the only member of this family that could sign his name, read and write, and was not a farmer by trade).

After living in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC and Roane County, TN, the family was granted land in Illinois. They moved to St. Louis, MO in 1836 and on to Winchester, Scott County, IL in 1838-39. He died on 1 Mar 1844 at age 56. He is buried with his wife at Canatsey Cemetery, Scott County, IL (headstone still present proving death date and age - photo found at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20529064/joshua-lawson).

Research Notes

There appears to be a second Joshua Lawson (a cousin likely) who married and continued to live in Stokes County, North Carolina (recorded in the 1810 and 1820). That cannot be this Joshua Lawson as he married his wife in Roane County, Tennessee, served in the Tennessee state militia and had all his children born in Roane or Morgan County, Tennessee.

Wife Telitha Pruitt was likely related to the Michael Pruitt/Prewitt Family of Falling River, VA. Michael was married to Elizabeth Simpkins-Pruitt, whose sister Susannah Simpkins-Lawson was Joshua's grandmother.

Sources

• Find A Grave: Joshua Lawson
• National Archives and Records Administration. Index to the Compiled Military Service Records for the Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M602, 234 rolls.
• U.S., General Land Office Records, 1776-2015: Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records; Washington D.C., USA; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes
• Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999. Will records (oath of executor and letters of testamentary), 1835-1936; Author: Scott County (Illinois). County Clerk; Probate Place: Scott, Illinois