Disambiguation of the Nathaniel Dobys

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Sussex, Virginia, United States
Surnames/tags: Doby Dobie

Disambiguation of the Nathaniel Dobys

This page represents original research by Allan Capps, project leader for the Doby Name Study.

THIS PAGE IS STILL BEING UPDATED AS OF 19 DEC 2023

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Nathaniel Dobys of Sussex County, VA

There are three known Nathaniel Dobys originating in Surry and Sussex County (formed from Surry in 1754). Based on the wills of the elder two, we know they are a father, son, and grandson.

1. Nathaniel #1 - his birth date is unknown but was probably between 1730-1740. He died between 29 Sep 1825 and 3 Nov 1825.^[1]

   • He was the son of Robert Doby.^[2]
   • He was married first to Eleanor LNU and they had one known child, Nathaniel #2, who is listed in his will.^[3][4]
   • He is named as son-in-law in the will of Charles James Gee III, meaning his second wife was a Gee. To date, there are no sources that state which Gee daughter he was married to, but many researchers have listed his wife as Anne Gee. They had three children: William Edmond Doby/Dunlap, Claimond Doby Chappell, and Martha "Patsey" Doby Cox; all listed in his will. Some researchers list another child, Elizabeth Doby Lucas, born in South Carolina, but I can find no sources to back this up.
   • He had two wills, dated 15 Oct 1823 and 29 Sep 1825, both in Sussex County, VA.

   First will, signed 15 Oct 1823^[3], lists the following people:

   • son William
   • daughter Clarylond Chappell
   • daughter (in-law) Polly Chappell Doby
   • son Nathaniel
   • daughter Patsy Cocks
   • Linda Ann Rebecca Cocks, daughter of Patsy
   • Jesse Wilkins Cocks, daughter of Patsy
   • Martha Adaline Cocks, daughter of Patsy

   Second will, signed 29 Sep 1825^[1] , lists the following people:

   • William Doby Sr
   • Littleberry Chappel (husband of Clarymond Doby)
   • Pollie Doby (first wife of William Doby Sr)
   • Martha (Patsy) Cocks
   • Linda Ann Rebecca Cocks (daughter of Martha)
   • Jesse Wilkins Cocks (daughter of Martha)
   • Marta Adaline Cocks (daughter of Martha)

2. Nathaniel #2 was born in 1753^[5] and died in 1793.^[6]

   • Son of Nathaniel #1 and Eleanor (LNU).^[4]
   • He had a son, Wyat Doby, with Mildrid Partin^[7], but it doesn't appear that Nathaniel and Mildrid ever married. In later years, Wyat used his mother's last name of Partin and stopped using Doby.
   • He had another son, Nathaniel #3, who is listed in his will dated Jul 1790.^[6]
   • Most Ancestry trees list his wife as Anne Gee, but that's not possible as Charles Gee ( Anne's father), in his will, lists his son-in-law, Nathaniel Doby. Charles' will was in 1803 and Nathaniel #2 was long dead before that.
   • His will was signed 23 Jul 1790 and probated 5 Sep 1793 in Sussex County, VA. We know that this will matches this Nathaniel because he lists his niece, Rebecca Cocks, which makes him the sister of Martha Cocks, and therefore, son of Nathaniel #1.

3. Nathaniel #3 was born around 1767 (just a guess based on his half-brother, Wyat's birth year).

Questions:

If Nathaniel #2 died in 1793, why was he mentioned in his father's first will in 1823? Was this just an error? Was Nathaniel #1 actually referring to his grandson in his 1st will?

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Other Nathaniels:

• Nathanial Doby, the Revolutionary War Soldier: - He is documented by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), but I believe their documentation to be incorrect. I believe that this soldier is Nathaniel #3 for the following reasons:
  • The Soldier served the state of NC.
  • There is a Nathaniel Doby in Northampton County, NC on the 1790 Census.
  • The Soldier was granted land in TN in 1822.
  • It can't be Nathaniel #2 because he died in 1793 so would not have applied for land in TN in the 1800s.
  • Based on the census, wills, and land ownership, it's unlikely that Nathaniel #1 ever lived in NC or applied for land in TN.
• Nathaniel Doby that "furnished supplies" during the Revoluationy War
  • This is likely Nathaniel Doby #1 or #2. Nathaniel Doby #3 was probably too young.
• He is Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Ancestor #A207938. This record give the birth date of Nathaniel #2 and the death date of Nathaniel #1, which makes it impossible to determine which Nathaniel this actually was. I submitted this information to DAR on 19 Dec 2023 to let them know that the DAR Ancestor in their records never existed. As of 21 Dec 2023, they are refusing to correct their records unless I mail them hard copies of all the records. Then, they will only make the corrections if/when someone else tries to use this ancestor in a DAR application. I am unwilling to pay to mail them hard copies when they could simply download them from the profiles of the two Nathaniel Dobys.^[8]
• Nathaniel Doby of Northampton County, NC
  • 1784-1787 - Census in Northampton County, NC
  • 1790 - US Census in Northampton County, NC
• Nathaniel Doby of Ninety-Sixth District, South Carolina
  • 1780 - Census in Little Saludy, Ninety-Sixth District, South Carolina
  • 1779 - Census in Ninety-Sixth District, South Carolina

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Second will of Nathaniel #1
2. ↑ Will of Robert Doby
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} First will of Nathaniel #1
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRP2-TDK : 28 January 2020), Nathanael Doby, 1753.
5. ↑ Birth record of Nathaniel #2
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Will of Nathaniel #2
7. ↑ "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917", , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRPL-XDN : 28 January 2020), Wyat Doby, 1768.
8. ↑ DAR Record