Tabitha (Dodson) Shumate (abt. 1746 - bef. 1804)

Born about 1746 in Richmond county, Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Daniel Shumate — married about 1770 (to about 1784) in Virginia

Descendants

Died before 22 Oct 1804 before about age 58 in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Tabitha Dodson was born about 1746, in Richmond county, Virginia. Tabitha is the daughter of Abraham Dodson and Barbary Russell.

Tabitha was left bequest in the 1767 Will of her father, Abraham Dodson. Tabitha's bequest were as follows: " . . . Item I give to my beloved daughter Tabitha Dodson my negroe woman Bess . . . after my wifes death . . . Adam to Tabitha Dodson, . . . I give my daughter Tabitha . . . a feather bed & furniture a peace . . ."^[1]

Tabitha is believed to have became the third wife of Daniel Shumate about 1770, possibly in Fauquier county, Virginia.^[2]

Tabitha appears in the Fauquier County, Virginia personal property tax list for the years 1786, 1787, 1788 and 1789.^[3] Tabitha is listed in the tax list as follows:

[Image 111 of 857 - 1786 Tax List - Tabby Shumate - no white male above 21 - 1 negro - no young negro - 4 horses - 6 cattle

[Image 157 of 857 - 1787 Tax List - Tabitha Shumate - no males above 21 - no males above 16 & under 21 - 2 negro above 16 - 2 negro under 16 - 4 horses, colts, mules - 7 cattle - no carriage wheels.

[Image 229 of 857 - 1788 Tax List - Tabitha Shumate - no tithables - 2 negroes above 16 - 4 negroes above 12 and under 16 - 3 horses - no carriages

[Image 291 of 857 - 1789 Tabitha Shumate - names of free male tithables - Lewis Shumate - 1 free tithable - 2 negroes above 16 - 1 negro above age 12 and under 16 - 3 horses - no carriages

Tabitha had served as the executrix of the will of her late husband, Daniel Shumate, with Thomas Shumate and Joseph George serving as her security. In 1802, the children of Tabitha entered into a bond to indemnify Thomas Shumate and Joseph George. the bond reads as follows: "Know all men by these presents that we Lewis Shumate, Martin Parker, Harris Whitecotton, Strother Shumate, Peter Conway and Edward Kenny and Daniel Shumate am held and firmly bound unto Thomas Shumate, and Joseph George in the just and full sum of one thousand five hundred dollars current money of Virginia to which payment well and truly to be made and done we bind our selves our heirs and each of our heirs in the penal sum of three thousand dollars like money as witness our hands and seals this 14th day of January 1802 The Condition of the above obligation is such that whereas the above named, Thomas Shumate and Joseph George has formerly been security for Tabitha Shumate as executrix to our father Daniel Shumates estate now it is of the above bound, Lewis Shumate, Martin Parker, Harris Whitecotton, Shorther Shumate, Peter Conway, Edward Kenny, and Daniel Shumate, do and shall exonerate, the said Thomas Shumate, and Joseph George, from all damage that shall be awarded against them, on account of their being security for the said Tabitha Shumate, then the above obligation to be void or else to remain in full force power and virtue [signed] Lewis Shumate, Martin his X mark Parker, Samuel Blackwell for Harris Whitecotton, Strother Shumate, Peter Conway, Strother Shumate and Martin Parker for E.D. Kenny, Daniel Shumate Signed sealed & delivered in presence of} George Marshall, Rodham Tulloss At a Court held for Fauquier County the 25th day of January 1802 This Bond was proved to be the act and deed of the said Lewis Shumate, Martin Parker, Harris Whitecotton by Samuel Blackwell his attorney, Strother Shumate, Peter Conway, Edward Kenny, (by Strother Shumate and Martin Parker his attorneys) and Daniel Shumate by the oath of George Marshall a witness thereto and ordered to be recorded."^[4]

Tabitha made her last will and testament on the 10th of December, 1803. Following is a verbatim transcript of the last will and testament of Tabitha Shumate as found in Fauquier county, Virginia Will Book 4, page 34: "In the name of God Amen. I Tabitha Shumate of the county of Fauquier do constitute and appoint this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following after my just debts and funeral expenses be discharged and paid. Item as I have already given my sons Lewis Strother and Daniel and my daughters Mary, Peggy and Nancy their part and proportion of my Estate for which they have given a receipt and acknowledge themselves fully satisfied as to their part of the Estate The remaining part of my Estate not before given I give and bequeath to my daughter Charlotte. Finally I constitute and appoint my son in law Peter Conway Executor of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this tenth day of December 1803 Signed Sealed and acknowledged to be her last will and testament Tabitha her X mark Shumate In presence of

Selah Stark

Thomas Stark

John Preston

At a court held for Fauquier county the 22 day of October 1803 [this has to be a mistake as it's dated before the will was written, is most likely 1804] This will was proved by the oaths of John Preston and Thomas Stark witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and on the motion of Peter Conway the Executor therein named who made oath and together with Thomas Stark his security entered into and acknowledged bond in the penalty of five hundred dollars conditioned as the law directs Certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate thereof in due form. Teste T. Brooks Clk"^[5]

Tabitha died sometime before the 22nd of October, 1804.

Tabitha Dodson Shumate's will is dated 10th of December, 1803 and was proved October 22, 1804. Tabitha named Mary, Nancy and Charlotte as her daughters. Charlotte, who survived her husband, Peter, is given the homestead to enjoy during her lifetime.^[6]

Children of Daniel Shumate & Tabitha Dodson

1. Daniel D Shumate
2. Mary Shumate
3. Lewis Shumate
4. Margaret Shumate
5. Strother D Shumate
6. Ann Nancy Shumate
7. Charlotte Shumate

Siblings of Tabitha Dodson

1. Mary Dodson
2. Millian Dodson
3. Enoch Dodson
4. Greenham Dodson
5. Millie Dodson

Slaves

Tabitha (Dodson) Shumate was bequeathed slaves in the 1767 will of her father Abraham Dodson. One was a woman named Bess. It is documented that Bess was indeed enslaved in Tabitha's household. The second, a man named Adam, was to be transferred to Tabitha (and her husband Daniel Shumate) after the death of Tabitha's mother, Barbara. Will and estate documents do not mention Adam as still being enslaved by the Shumates by the time Daniel Shumate died in 1784 or Tabitha after 1803.^[7]

Tabitha was bequeathed the slave Forrester ". . . to her and the heirs of her body forever . . ." by her brother Greenham Dodson, in his 1776 will. Greenham effectively excluded ownership of the slave Forrester from Tabitha's husband Daniel Shumate by including the language ". . . to her and the heirs of her body forever . . ." Upon Tabitha's death Forrester would go to her heirs of her body, meaning her children. ^[8] It is unclear if Forrester was actually transferred to Tabitha. (Forrester was eventually sold by Enoch Dodson to a William Dodson.)

Sources

1. ↑ Fauquier County, Virginia Will Book, Vol 1, 1759-1783, pages 135 & 136; "Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900"
   Fauquier > Of Will Book, Vol 1, 1759-1783 > image 81 of 269
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 9 August 2023)
   Abraham Dodson.
2. ↑ Page 59; The Dodson (Dotson) Family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: A History and Genealogy of Their Descendants Volume One by Mrs. Sherman Williams, Compiler and Editor and Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr., Publisher, copyright 1988 Southern Historical Press, Inc., Easley, South Carolina
3. ↑ Image 111; 157; 229 & 291 of 857 of Fauquier County, Virginia Personal Property Tax Books 1782-1807; 1809-1850; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQ2-Q3RV-T
4. ↑ Fauquier County, Virginia Deed Book 15 (1801-1804) page 90; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-9287
5. ↑ Fauquier County, Virginia Will Book No. 4 with Inventories & Accounts 1804 - 1808, page 34; Virginia State Library, Fauquier county, Virginia microfilm Reel 32, Will Book 4.
6. ↑ History of the Shumate Family, by Robert S. Riley
7. ↑ Fauquier County, Virginia Will Book No. 4 with Inventories & Accounts 1804 - 1808, page 34; "Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900"
   Fauquier > Will Books, Vol 3-4 1796-1808 > image 306 of 583
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 6 August 2023)
   Tabitha Shumate.
8. ↑ Fauquier County, Virginia Will Books, Vol 1-2, 1759-1796; Page 312; "Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900"
   Will Books, 1759-1912, 1966-1967; Index, 1759-1924; Author: Virginia. County Court (Fauquier County); Probate Place: Fauquier, Virginia
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62347 #417939 (accessed 8 August 2023)
   Greenham Dodson probate on 25 Aug 1777 in Fauquier, Virginia, USA.

See Also

• Source S769874597 Data: Text: Online publication - Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc.Online publication - Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc; http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=0&pid=-1983635203
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:SP41-8F3 : accessed 2015-10-20, entry for Tabitha Dodson
• Family Tree: Sharp - Castle - Griffith - Lyons - Oviatti - Morgan - Matson - Whittaker - Yancey; http://www.matson.info/
• “Daniel Shumate, c1749-Oct. 1784," FamilyCentral; http://www.familycentral.net/index/family.cfm?ref1=4669:916&ref2=4669:917; citing 1. Ancestral File; 2. 1993/4 IGI

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile was created through the import of Walker_YoungPedigree(2).ged on October 12, 2010.
• WikiTree profile Dodson-584 created through the import of Dodsons Only.GED on November 22, 2011 by Betty Dotson.