Dorothy (Randolph) Haggard (1746 - 1813)

Born 1746 in Chesterfield County, Colony of Virginia

Wife of Henry Hazelrigg Haggard — married about 1766 in Albermarle County, Virginia

Descendants

Died 1813 at about age 67 in Tennessee, USA [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Caitlin Haggard [send private message]

Biography

From Clinton R. Haggard's historical files^[1]

Rev. Henry Hagard, H1161, son of Nathaniel and Mary (Hazelrigg) Haggard, was born 27 March 1744, Albemarle County, VA, and died in Bibb County, AL, in 1842. He was married ca. 1766, Albemarle County, VA, Dorothy "Dolly" Randolph, born ca. 1746, Chesterfield County, VA, died ca. 1813, Crowson's Cove, Sevierville, Sevier, TN, daughter of (parents unknown), sister of James Randolph, identified as a "near relative" of John Randolph of Roanoke and descendant of Pocahontas [Unproven; see Research Notes below]. They had eleven children:

• 1. David B. Haggard, H11611, born 1767, Albemarle County, VA.
• 2. Henry Hazelrigg Haggard, Jr., H11612, born ca. 1769, VA.
• 3. Joel Haggard, H11613, born ca. 1770, Albemarle County, VA.
• 4. James Haggard, H11614, born ca. 1772, Albemarle County, VA.
• 5. Mary Haggard, H11615, born ca. 1774, NC.
• 6. Elizabeth Haggard, H11616, born ca. 1776, NC.
• 7. Martin Haggard, H11617, born ca. 1778, Jefferson County, NC.
• 8. Susan R. Haggard, H11618, born 1780, NC.
• 9. Rev. Noah Haggard, H11619, born April 1788, Greene County, NC.
• 10. Lucy N. Haggard, H1161A, born 1793, Jefferson County, NC.
• 11. Nancy Haggard, H1161B, born 1794, Jefferson County, NC

From The History of the Haggard Family^[2]

Henry Haggard. the oldest son of Nathaniel Haggard. was born in Albemarle County. Virginia, about 1744. At an early age he became a Baptist preacher and continued to preach until his death, at 90 years of age. Soon after the close of the Revolution he moved to East Tennessee with his family, and after a period of years emigrated to Alabama. To him was born five sons and one daughter: James, David, Henry, Joel, and Noah. The daughter, Nancy, married a Thancher, and with the father and two of the brothers, Joel and Noah, removed to Alabama. One son, Rev. James Haggard, came to Kentucky in 1790 and settled in Fayette county, near Lexington.

Research Notes

ALERT!!! The correct lineage of Dorothea "Dolly" Randolph Haggard has not been determined. Despite an overwhelming number of family trees that name Dolly as a daughter of Henry Randolph and Tabitha Poythress, there is no legitimate evidence of a connection.

Tireless Haggard family researcher Clinton R. Haggard,* now deceased, named Thomas Randolph and Jane Carey as Dolly Randolph Haggard’s parents. Dolly could also have been the daughter of Thomas Randolph (circa 1728-1798), often mistakenly referred to as “Thomas Isham Randolph" and his first wife, who is believed to have been named Susannah.

Based on the fact that James Randolph, Dolly’s presumed brother, was thought to be a “near relative” of John Randolph of Roanoke, some claim that James and Dolly were the children of one of the elder sons of Richard Randolph of Curles, which would have made them the cousins of John Randolph of Roanoke, and that theory is also plausible. Richard Randolph II, the eldest son, and wife Anne Meade had 3 unknown children (they had 13 children in total, but only 10 are listed in most histories solely based on the names on Ann Meade's pin cushion).

Less likely is the theory that Dolly and James could have been the children of Richard Randolph II’s brother Ryland and his wife Eliza Frayzer. Ryland could be their father only if birthdates are incorrect, as he was only 8 years older than them by some accounts.

My present opinion (which is far from set in stone), primarily due to Clinton Haggard’s assessment, is that Dolly was most likely the daughter of Thomas Randolph or one of the elder sons of Richard Randolph I.

There are Randolph researchers who firmly connect Dolly to the Henry Randolph who died in 1778 in Albemarle County while married to a Mary Randolph (maiden name unknown), but their speculation that Henry was her father is circumstantial. Dolly was not named in Henry's will, nor was James. The connection the researchers cite is that Dolly and James at one time belonged to the same Albemarle church along with other Randolphs thought to be their siblings before moving to North Carolina (an area that later became Tennessee), and that Robert Gentry, the father of James Randolph's wife Sarah Gentry Randolph, at one time owned property next door to Henry Randolph in Albemarle County. Robert Gentry was Henry Haggard's Uncle, however, which also explains their connection to him independent of him being a Henry Randolph neighbor.

Although it is more probable than not that these Randolphs were related based on their shared surnames and the fact that both of their families moved to North Carolina and were founding members of a church there, it has not been verified that James was Dolly’s brother. There have been no birth records found for them in Albemarle County. The circumstantial evidence, while compelling, has not convinced me at this point that Henry and Mary Randolph were definitely Dolly's parents.

Clinton Haggard was known to be a responsible and careful researcher. It would be helpful to know more about the sources he used to back his conclusion that Thomas Randolph was the father of Dolly and James.

(Note: I wrote the above essay in 2015. I haven’t seen any research since to further clarify the mystery of Dolly’s parentage, but if anyone has updated information please let me know)

• Link to Clinton R. Haggard’s research, a site maintained by his daughter, where I believe his files can still be downloaded:

https://www.angelfire.com/ri/haggardgenealogy/#data%20.zip%20file

Fleming-3373 27 July 2021

Sources

1. ↑ Haggard, Clinton R. "Historical Files." Haggard Genealogy. Accessed November 22, 2017. http://www.angelfire.com/ri/haggardgenealogy/#H-files.
2. ↑ Haggard Ray, Jennie. History of the Haggard family in England and America 1433 to 1899 to 1938. Dallas, Texas, 1938. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89066151754.

• Daughters of the American Revolution, “Ancestor Database.” database, Genealogical Research System, http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A049109 : accessed 25 Sep 2020, Henry Haggard, A049109.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Becky Santos for creating WikiTree profile Haggard-185 through the import of Crouch Family.ged on Jul 29, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Becky and others.