The Early Dobys of Rowan and Davidson Counties, NC
Location: Davidson, North Carolina, United States
Surnames/tags: Doby Dobie Dobey
Documentation of the
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This page documents original research conducted by Allan Capps, last updated 3 Feb 2024.
INTRODUCTION: For decades the fathers of the early Dobys in Rowan and Davidson Counties, North Carolina have been mystery. Many researchers have guessed, and that was the best that could be done, until now. Recently, new records have become available online that have provided documentation to prove all but one father/child relationship.
DUPLICATE NAMES: From the time this branch of the Doby family arrived in Virginia from Europe in the mid-1600s, almost every family in every generation has a William, John and/or Mary. This makes research and documentation very confusing. To help with the confusion, you will see a number after some of the names, such as "John #12". This number has no special meaning. It was assigned in the order that they were discovered and is only used to keep everyone straight.
WHICH RECORDS WERE USED?:
- 1830 Census[1] - On the 1830 Census in Davidson County, there are three heads of household: Alsey Doby, John(#12) Doby, and William(#16) Doby. Alsey and John(#12) are brothers. William(#16) is John(#12)'s son
- Court Petition[2] - In 1849, Allen Doby filed a court petition related to land that he and his siblings had inherited. In the court petition we learn that John(#12) had four sons and three daughters living at the time: William(#16), Willy, Allen, Lewis, Sarah "Sally", Margaret, and Mary "Polly." William(#16) had two sons and two daughters living at the time: Calvin, John(#20) Gaston, Amanda, and Nancy. There were two Doby males who went by "Willy" that were very close in age so it has been impossible to determine their fathers. Those are Thomas William Doby and William Hinton Doby. From the Cherokee Records (below), we learn that Thomas William is Alsey's son, therefore, the "Willy" listed on Allen's court petition is William Hinton.
- Cherokee Records[3] - In 1907, eleven great-grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren of John(#5) (Alsey and John#12's father) applied to the Eastern Band of Cherokees stating that their great-grandmother or great-great-grandmother was Cherokee. Their application was rejected, but from the information they listed, we learn several things. First, Thomas William's father is Alsey. Second, there are two sibling groups.
- Group 1: Allen, Joseph, Lewis, and Mary "Polly" are siblings. From Allen's court petition, we know that this sibling group is children of John(#12).
- Group 2: Isham, John(#13), Daniel, Jackson, Anny, Mettie, and Emiline are siblings. From the 1850 Census, we learn that Emiline is Alsey's daughter, so that gives us the father of the second sibling group.
That accounts for all the known children that were counted on the 1830 Census, except for one, James Washington Doby. There are no records that state who his father is, however, from Allen's court petition and the Cherokee records, all the males counted on John(#12)'s 1830 Census are known and all but one for Alsey's 1830 Census are known. So, it seems logical that James Washington is the one remaining male on Alsey's 1830 Census.
There is one other Doby in Davidson County who's father is unknown. In 1841, Hugh Doby married Anny Doby (Alsey's daughter). It's unlikely that Hugh is Alsey's son, since he married Alsey's daughter. He is too old to be William(#16)'s son. All of John(#12)'s children are known. So, it seems logical that he was from a different branch of the Doby family. There was a Doby family in Rowan County during that time period that was part of the South Carolina Doby branch. It's possible that Hugh was part of that family.
Summary
- Children of Alsey Doby
- Children of John (#12) Doby
- William (#16) Doby
- Allen Doby
- William Hinton Doby
- Joseph Doby
- Lewis D Doby
- Sarah "Sally" Doby Shephard
- Mary (#8) "Polly" Doby Hendricks (possibily Mary #9)
- Margaret Doby Cranford
- 1 unknown female
- Children of William #16 Doby
- Calvin Doby
- John (#20) Gaston Doby
- Amanda Doby
- Nancy Jane Doby Seamon
- 1 unknown female
Sources
- ↑ Links to the 1830 Census are on each head-of-household's Wikitree Profile
- ↑ 1849 Court Petition of Allen Doby
- ↑ Doby applications to the Eastern Cherokees
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