Charles DODSON, Sr

Abt 1649 - Bef 1705  (~ 56 years)

• Name	Charles DODSON  [1]
  Suffix	Sr
  Birth	Abt 1649  [1]
  Gender	Male
  Charles Dodson Sr did not have a middle name	[2]
  	Charles Dodson Sr did not have a middle name
  LifeSketch	[2]
  	LifeSketch
  _FSFTID	LTX1-D94
  _FSLINK	https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LTX1-D94
  _UID	DB3A325F8F9341BF8B8FDF70BB302F83CEF3
  Death	Bef Feb 1705	Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America   [1]
  Burial	Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America   [1]
  Person ID	I594779393	Carney Wehofer July 2025
  Last Modified	30 Jun 2025

  
  

  Family	Anne,   b. Abt 1654   d. Aft Aug 1716, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age ~ 62 years)
  Marriage	1678  [2]
  Alt. Marriage	Old Rappahannock, Virginia Royal Colony   [2]
  	Alt. Marriage
  Children	1. Charles DODSON, Jr,   b. Abt 1679, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Bef 1718, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age ~ 38 years)   2. Thomas DODSON, Sr,   b. 15 May 1681, North Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. 21 Nov 1740, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 59 years)   3. Bartholomew Richard DODSON,   b. Abt 1683, Farnham, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Aft 1735, Northumberland, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age ~ 53 years)   4. William DODSON,   b. Abt 1684, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Bef Nov 1717, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age ~ 33 years)   5. John DODSON,   b. 1687, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. 1784, Shenandoah, Virginia, United States (Age 97 years)   6. Lambeth DODSON,   b. 1689, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Aft 1784, Virginia, America (Age 96 years)   7. Anne DODSON,   b. 1692, North Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Bef 1718, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 25 years)   8. Elizabeth DODSON,   b. Bef 1695, North Farnham Parish, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America d. Aft 1705 (Age ~ 11 years)
  Family ID	F536732142	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Oct 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Many Dotson family histories trace our lineage back to CHARLES DODSON, who lived during the 1600's in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia.¹ He is the earliest known ancestor who can be proven in public and legal documents. But his ancestry is the source of a fierce debate. His descendents include actor Tom Hanks. Some say Charles is descended from JOHN DODS, who was a member of the first permanent English Colony in America, at Jamestown, Virginia.² Another theory is that the Dotson line in America is descended from JOHN DODSON, born in 1580 in Great Neck, Yorkshire, England.³ Whatever his heritage, we know Charles was born around the year 1649, location of his birth is unknown. Charles lived in an area about 60 miles northeast of what is now the city of Richmond, near the Rappahannock River. Many Dotson family histories actually begin their genealogies with Charles, as he's the first proven ancestor in this family. As there is no record of his birth to Jesse, nor is there any documentation of a Charles Dodson arriving in Virginia by ship, so he fits neatly into either family history scenario. (One database in Salt Lake City shows that Charles Dodson, Sr. was the son of Jesse who came from England, with Judith Hagger. Another lists the same mother, but the father's name is Thomas Dodson, b. 1620 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. Take your pick.) Judith Hagger appears in the church parish records in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England to have married a Thomas Dodgson. Judith and Thomas lived and died in Yorkshire, England and never came to Virginia - See: West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1512-1812. The problem is that the Colony was growing so fast that it was practically impossible to keep faithful records. Many records were kept in England by the company sending the new immigrants such as: "The original lists of persons of quality; emigrants; religious exiles; political rebels; serving men sold for a term of years; apprentices; children stolen; maidens pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700" : with their ages and the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars; from mss. preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England" Edited by John Camden Hotten. Sources are available for the serious researcher. New immigrants arrived in Virginia in boatloads, almost every month in the year. By the year 1700, there were more than 80,000 persons living in the tidewater region of Virginia, when there had been only a handful in the day of John Dods. Between the influx of new immigrants, and official records stored in Richmond, being destroyed by fire, much of the genealogical work has to be left to family histories and church records. Until 1686, the Episcopal Church was the State church in Virginia. All children, regardless of religious affiliation, were required to be baptized by the minister of the church, like the parish that the Dodsons lived near in North Farnham. Dates of birth and names of their parents were recorded in parish registers. The same information was taken of marriages and burials. The church records are preserved, and are available in the Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia. These records to not reveal the origins of Charles. But the fact of the matter is that Charles himself makes an impressive start to any genealogy. He was by all reports a successful, industrious, remarkably well-respected frontiersman. Fortunately, the records do show that between 1678 and 1680, Charles married a woman named ANN (last name unknown, but it was probably either ELMORE or DOTSON, b: 1654) in Rappahannock County. Charles prospered in Rappahannock, which became extinct in 1692, being divided into Essex and Richmond counties. Charles owned land in both counties, but actually resided in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. He was a highly trusted neighbor, and witnessed many deeds and wills. An excellent example of the esteem held for Charles is in the will of John Lincoln, dictated on Dec. 18, 1686, in which an affidavit reports that Lincoln "would have no other but Charles Dodson as his executor although several insisted that he have his wife." Charles and Ann had the following children: CHILDREN OF CHARLES AND ANN DODSON CHARLES DODSON, JR. was born Abt. 1675. He married Anne who left a will in 1718. They had the following children: Charles III, who inherited his land; Mary, who never married and died Abt 1718; William; James; Fortunatus (1700-1737), who married Alice Goad (actor Tom Hanks is one descendant), another daughter of Abraham Goad. (His widow then married John Fowler); Anne; and possibly Samuel.5 THOMAS DODSON was born in 1681 and married Mary Durham. They had the following children: George, who married Margaret Dagard/Dagood. Thomas, Jr. born early 1700s, married (1) Elizabeth Rose (2) Elinor, widow of John Sloan in Halifax County 1766, died 1783; Greenham, who married Elizabeth Hightower, daughter of John. John Hightower appeared in a deed of Abraham Goad, Sr. in Richmond County; Abraham (1723-1768) , married Barbary Russell (b. 1729); Daughter Tabitha, born Abt. 1755, married Lt. Daniel Shumate before 1776; Winnie Dodson married William Scoggan Abt. 1763, who was killed at the battle of Yorktown. (Some say Winnie was a Johnston who had first married and divorced a Rev. William Dodson.); Elisha, Sr.; Joshua, Jr. , Baptist minister, born 1725 in Richmond, moved to Fauquier County, Pittssylvania in 1771, then to Stokes County, N. Carolina; Alice married William Creel; and Mary, who married Mr. _?_ Oldham. BARTHOLOMEW RICHARD DODSON married Elizabeth Clarke before 1707, and they had a son James, born 23 Dec 1716, and a daughter named Elizabeth. Batholemew appeared as a witness on his mother's will in 1718, but not a legatee. Perhaps had been given his share in her life-time. He sold the land he inherited from his father to his brother, Thomas, in May of 1734. WILLIAM DODS or DODSON was born in 1685 in Richmond County, Virginia, according to the Millennium File, Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting. JOHN DODSON was born in 1687. He married Elizabeth Goad (b. 1695, daughter of Abraham and Katherine Williams-Goad). They acquired land in Frederick County, in Aug, 1756. Will of 26 Aug 1784 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. They had the following children: Moses born 1729; Charles (he and Moses last heard of in 1753 as was Moses and both then disappeared); Martha Ann; Isaac; Peter; Elizabeth, who married John Cole or Kyle; and John Jr. John Sr. died in 1784. LAMBETH DODSON was born about 1689 in Richmond Co., Virginia. He married SARAH HARRIS (b. 1693, died 1736 in Richmond County). Lambeth left Richmond in 1739, and acquired land in Halifax County, VA, in 1747, 1755 and on the Mayo River in 1765. He died after 1780 in North Carolina. ANNE DODSON was born in 1692, in North Farnham, Richmond, Virginia. No further information, except that she receved a share of the moveable estate in her father's will. ELIZABETH DODSON was born in 1695, in North Farnham, Richmond, Virginia. No further information, except that she receved a share of the moveable estate in her father's will. Charles's growing family was expanding into new areas of the Colonies, along with the rest of this restless population. In the life time of Charles there were many new immigrants arriving in Virginia from England. They came in boatloads almost every month in the year. More and more settlements were established. By 1700 there were more than 80,000 persons living in the tidewater region of Virginia. During this time the colony was in almost constant trouble with their ruler, the English government and its representatives. Mainly the colonists objected to the arbitrary action of the colony officials and their ruthless demands. As new immigrants arrived, the frontier was pushed further westward until the settlements reached the mountains. As the people moved farther away from the royal governors, they gained more and more privileges and grew more independent. Conversely, as people moved deeper into the wilderness, they came to rely more on their family and neighbors. The Dodsons were allied with two families more than any other at this point in time: the Goads and the Smythes, and their families intermarried and grew extremely tight for several generations. Charles died on 6 Feb, 1705 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. After his death, Ann married a man named John Hill, sometime before 3 July 1706 See https://dna-explained.com/2017/06/04/the-parents-of-charles-dodson-jamestown-unraveled-52-ancestors-163/ for an explanation of who may be or can't be the parents of Charles Dodson according to DNA. NO MATCH YET to prove parents!

  
  

• Sources

  [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 3 Oct 2024), entry for Lambeth DODSON, person ID LT6Z-T6J. (Reliability: 3). [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 3 Oct 2024), entry for Charles Dodson, person ID LTX1-D94. (Reliability: 3).