Born 16 Mar 1794 in VA, USA [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 8 Dec 1875 at age 81 in McMinn Co. TN

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Berwyn Dodson [send private message]

Biography

The full name and dates for Elizabeth are given by her youngest son in a biographical statement about himself in an important Oregon history book.^{[1] [2]}. He relates that his mother was "a native of Virginia who later died in 1873, at the age of eighty-four years… They raised 13 children together." Several of the young sons and sons-in-law were in the Civil War besides Oliver M.^[3] His parents may have met and been married in Huntsville AL where Oliver had moved as a young man. One of his oldest sons, Marcellus, relates on his application for an Oregon land grant that he was born in Huntsville, AL in 1819. The youngest son, Oliver M, relates that their father was one of the first settlers there. Elizabeth and Oliver had returned to Athens, McMinn, TN, USA by 1823 when McMinn was born. They remained there until the end and both are buried at Mt Cumberland Cemetery in Athens. ^[4] [See below: I am concluding that we must go with the gravestone dates for birth and death since there are differences between the two sources I have. Dodson-3592]

1. ↑ Birth & Death dates: Elizabeth's' given & family name: Hines H.K.: An Illustrated History of Oregon, Published by Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, 1893 see biography of “O.M. Dodson” p335-336 This book is also available as a free download from the[ American Libraries Collection of the Internet Archive]
2. ↑ Birth: Elizabeth's birth date is recorded on her gravestone at http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/mcminn/cemeteries/mcminn-d2.txt as 31Aug1794
3. ↑ Birth Place: A copy of The PETITION to the COMMISSIONERS OF CLAIMS Washington D. C. for reparations due to his loss of horses and other supplies useful to the Army. Provided to me by a respected Dodson Family searcher: Donna Anissi. Dodson-3592
4. ↑ Burial:(file.usgwarchive.net/tn/mcminn/cemeteries/mcminn-d2.txt)

• Given name & Husband's: Williams, Mrs. Sherman, Compiler & Editor, The Dodson (Dotson) Family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia: A History and Genealogy of Their Descendants. Two Volumes with index in Volume Two. Volume Two contains abstracts & transcripts of documents. (Easley, SC: Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas Jr.; Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1988) Total Pages: 1586 c1988 Authoritative and well done though there are gaps.

Sources

In 1908 Julia (Wells) Dodson gave her husband Oliver "Ol" a new Bible which became the place to keep handwritten notes on small pieces of paper about the Dodson family names and dates. Those notes have been passed along down three generations to me and have provided facts and/or hints about ancestors. Searching online and in the Williams & Lucas DODSON (Dotson) book it became clear to me that other researchers hadn't been able to establish the maiden name of Oliver Dodson's (b 1794) wife; only that she was Elizabeth. The actual memory and verbal source behind the above information is that of Julia's father-in-law and mother-in-law, McMinn and Sarah (Cunningham) Dodson who were raised in McMinn County, Tennessee. McMinn's mother was Elizabeth Ely Dodson. Julia (Wells) Dodson's notes provided the key to knowing Elizabeth's maiden name. McMinn's mother's maiden name was Ely or Ealy. That has become the basis of my designating Elizabeth Ely as the wife of Oliver Dodson of McMinn County, TN. Julia (Wells) Dodson's hand written family record on lined and numbered sheets of paper are now in my possession. (Dodson-3592] Some time after reaching this conclusion, I discovered the biography of Dr. Oliver M Dodson in Hine's AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF OREGON which confirmed my first finding.