Ancestors of Albert Edward Dorr

Louis Dorr was born in Morhange, Mosele,France on 12 September 1816 in the area of Alsoues, Loraine. His father was a draper and quite wealthy and there are stories that Louis was educated at the University of Paris. There is no documentation for this fact. He was somewhat of a scholar and speaks not only French, German and English with excellence, but can also make his way in two or three other European idioms. Before he moves to America, his mother dies and his father marries a younger woman with children. His stepmother also dies before his father's estate is settled, which complicats the estate. Evidently her children contest the original will.

There are two different versions of why Louis comes to America. First is that he is a court gentleman and is required to serve five years in the king's army. He decides to come to America instead of serving in the army. He meets Frances on the boat to America and they are married when they arrive in Mobile, Alabama.

The other version is that his stepmother's children contest his father's estate. It appears that it could be contested for a long period of time, and Louis decides that he could do better by coming to America instead of waiting for his inheritance.

The is no documentation for either version.

Upon arriving in Mobile, Alabama, Louis Dorr and Frances Benal are married on 7 June 1841. Based on the ages of Louis' children in the 1850 census, it appears that he and the family move to Kemper County between 1844-847. Louis' first three children, Selvy, Albert, and Narcissus, are born in Alabama. Lands records exist showing that Louis obtained 40 acres in Kemper County, Mississippi on 1 April 1856. Of the 12 children that Louis and Frances had, all are born except Eugene by this time.

Apparently Louis serves in the Confederate Army in 1861 and 1862. Source:www.rootsweb.com/~mskemper/military/5thcoi.htm

Louis corresponds with his brother Victor in France regularly. His main interest in these letters is the status of their inheritance, and he is always interested in how the family was. Another common subject is that he is unhappy where he was and plans to move. He also writes regularly to a Madame Heric in New Orleans. It is not clear who she was, but in a letter dated 27 March 1871 he refers to her as "Sister." Also Frances writes to her so she may have been Frances' sister. Madame Heric is married and has children. She sends Louis newspapers from New Orleans, which are his only source of information about what was happening in France. He especially wants news when the Prussians invade France. The fall of France and Napoleon seems to upset him. Copies of the letters written from 1868 to 1879 exist and are the basis of the following information about Louis and his family.

Victor sends Louis money during 1866-1868. It is unclear if this is from their father's estate or personal loans from Victor. In one of the letters Louis comments that his stepmother had been very generous to the children of Fanfare. Was Fanfare Louis' mother?

It appears that in 1868 Louis writes that he is interested in obtaining an additional 160 acres in Kemper County, but at the same time he is writing to friends that he might move to Florida or Arkansas. He evidently has a poor crop and says that sickness was rampant there. Also he is not happy with the Negro situation after emancipation. In general he always wants to be somewhere else. By March1870, Martin is in Arkansas; Norman, Albert and "the widow" (?) are in Texas. Narcissus has his own place 2 miles away and works with his father for part of the crop. Louis tries to get Narcissus to move to Arkansas, but he will not move.

In late 1870 or early 1871 Louis moves to Panola County, Mississippi and buys120 acres on top of the bluff overlooking the Mississippi swamp for $2,200. This is approximately 15 miles west of Sardis, Mississippi. He writes Victor that his mailing address was Star Place, Panola County, United States. At the time he moved he was living 3 miles northeast of Tamola Station in Kemper County. Narcissus rents 30 acres of bottomland 2 miles from his father. Martin returns from Arkansas and is working with Narcissus. Norman also returns from Texas with his wife.

Louis tells Victor that his crop was excellent that year, but there was much sickness being so close to the swamp. Ed and Narcissus get the mumps; Norman's wife dies and Narcissus loses his boy. Due to all of the illness after just one year at the bluff, he decides to buy 200 acres approximately 8 miles from where he is for $3,000. He mentions that he was tired of paying the doctor half of his profits. Martin stays with Louis and rents 20 acres of his father's land. Ed works for Louis and receives $20 a month. Narcissus and Norman rent "a good little place near here." At this time he writes, "our family of 12 children are all living and four are married and live with or near us, except for Albert, who has been in Texas 5 years." In October 1873 he writes Victor, "we have made an excellent crop. Our cotton crop brought $4,000 and we are doing very well, but I am getting old and I do not think I will last long." In every letter he asks for information on the family in France. He has become a trustee for the school at Bishop.

In March 1874 he writes that "I am getting too old for the work of the farm, and I have rented it to three of my sons for 300 piastres a year." He reserves 3 acres for his flower garden to have something to keep him busy. Jenny Ruth says, "He planted his yard as the castle gardens in moons, crescents, and stars and his people in France sent Seeds and Bulbs." He says that his eyesight is becoming very bad and Francoise is as fat as a little pig. Narcissus buys 80 acres adjoining his father's place for $900. In 1875 he writes Madame Heric that they have been able to save 3,000 piastres since moving to the current farm. He also tells her, "We are doing well at the moment. Our crops this year are excellent, better than I have seen in 15 or 20 years." Norman now rents land from Narcissus and is working on his own house. Henry now stays with Narcissus.

In 1876 Martin becomes ill and Louis writes, "There is no improvement with him yet and I fear that there is no cure for him. His brain is badly affected and unless there is a change for the better soon, I am afraid he will lose his mind." Narcissus and Ed are doing very well and they buy another 160 acres. Also in 1876 Louis learns that the major portion of his father's estate has been lost to an unscrupulous lawyer.

In October 1877 he writes, "I am too old to have anything to do with the farm, and I have concluded for the boys to divide the farm among themselves by paying a small rent to defray the expenses on the place." By now both Ed and Norman have been able to buy land. Rufus and Henry have rented a plantation of 120 acres. Martin lives with Louis but works for Narcissus. Eugene is the only one home with his parents at this time. In 1879 Albert asks his father to send him money so he can return home.

The 1880 census shows that all of Louis' children are living in Panola County. Narcissus has married and has five children, Norman is married with three children, Edward is married with three children, Henry is married and Sylvia is married and has three children. The other children are farming/living with Louis. Louis is now 64 years old and has 14 grandhildren.

His letters end in 1879.

Paul Dorr's Comments

Grandpa headed out for (let us hope) a better clime about 1883. I never knew him. His epitaph says (with which my father seemed to agree) that he was a loving husband and an indulgent father. He was somewhat of a scholar and spoke not only French, German and English with excellence, but could also make his way in two or three other European idioms. I have been informed that he was more-or-less a Freethinker, having little regard for the dogmatism of religion, taking the Life of Jesus as an example, and considering the essence of true religion to be morality and kindness. I get the im-pression that this is about the view of my correspondent (Raoul) in France. Grandma was a very fine character, with a wide-embracing love for, and a universal interest in, ALL of the grandchildren. She stored in the cellar barrels of apples every year, and whenever we went to see her Aunt Lilly would go down - often taking us with her - and fetch up apples for us. The two maiden aunts and Uncle Martin lived with Grandma. Your father and mine, and their other brothers, had for their mother almost a reverence.

Louis married Francoise "Fannie" Benal, daughter of ? Benal, on 7 Jun 1841 in Mobile Co., AL.⁴ Francoise was born on 5 Jun 1821 in France and died on 10 Jan 1901 in Panola Co., MS, at age 79.

i. Sylvia Marcellia Dorr ² was born on 6 Mar 1842 in AL and died on 25 Mar 1882, at age 40. Sylvia married Harry Hampton Hay Sr. on 14 Jan 1880 in Panola Co., MS. Harry was born on 18 Dec 1827 in S.C. and died on 16 Apr 1915 in Panola Co., MS, at age 87. They had no children.

ii. Albert Jacob Dorr Rev. was born on 29 Apr 1843 in Mobile Co., AL and died on 20 Dec 1912 in Ptocowa Springs, MS, at age 69. Albert married Frances Dees.

iv. Norman Franklin Dorr was born on 27 Mar 1847 in Kemper Co., MS and died on 13 Feb 1922 in Panola Co., MS, at age 74. Norman married Sara F. ? about 1870. Sara was born on 8 Dec 1852 and died on 3 Sep 1871, at age 18.

v. Martin Cullen Dorr was born in 1849 and died in 1918, at age 69. He had no known marriage and no known children.

vi. Edward Charles Dorr was born on 16 Mar 1851 in Kemper Co., MS and died on 16 Jan 1934 in Panola Co., MS, at age 82. Edward married Martha "Patty\Pattie" Alice Trammell on 17 Nov 1875. Martha was born on 15 Feb 1858 and died on 1 Aug 1935 in Panola Co., MS, at age 77.

vii. Henry James Dorr was born in 1854 in Kemper Co., MS. Henry married Byrdie M. Coleman, daughter of A. G. Coleman, on 17 Feb 1880 in Panola Co., MS. Byrdie was born on 3 Sep 1862 in MS and died on 21 Mar 1881 in Panola Co., MS, at age 18.

viii. Rufus Marion Dorr was born on 24 Dec 1855 in Kemper Co., MS and died on 14 Jul 1950 in Parchman [MS?] Home Of Grdtr Mrs. Andy Anderson, at age 94. Rufus married Lillie R. Mabry in Dec 1880 in Sardis, Panola Co., MS. Lillie was born in 1860 and died about 12 Jul 1935 in Panola Co., MS, about age 75.

ix. Frances "Fannie" (S. F.) Dorr was born about 1857. Frances married Joseph "Joe" A. McGuire on 30 Nov 1884 in Panola Co., MS.

x. Eugene Emile Dorr was born on 14 Mar 1859 and died on 28 Sep 1942 in Panola Co., MS, at age 83. Eugene married Alice Coleman. Alice was born on 3 Apr 1866 and died on 6 Mar 1902 in Panola Co., MS, at age 35.

xi. Mary Louisa "Ninny" Dorr was born on 13 Sep 1861 in Kemper Co., MS and died on 30 Apr 1919 in Panola Co., MS, at age 57. She had no known marriage and no known children.

xii. Susan Lilla "Lillie" Dorr was born about 1865 and died in 1924 in Panola Co., MS, about age 59. She had no known marriage and no known children.

9. Francoise "Fannie" Benal, daughter of ? Benal, was born on 5 Jun 1821 in France and died on 10 Jan 1901 in Panola Co., MS, at age 79.

The following is a copy of obituary of Frances [Francoise] Benal Dorr

Frances [Francoise] Benal Dorr died at her home near Sardis on January 11, 1901, in the 80th year of her life. After a long and useful life, the aged pilgrim is at rest. The hands always so busy in good works and tender ministrations are folded; the gentle, kindly voice is still.

The old home can never be the same any more; we listen in vain for the quiet footfall. We wait for the words of sympathy and encouragement. We miss the feeling of security her serene presence always seemed to impart; but her mission is finished, her lifework is done and the Master has called her home.

Of her life-long devotion to duty, her unfaltering loyalty to truth, her self-forgetting sacrifice, I will not speak. In the discharge of her obligations as wife, mother, counselor, and friend, she met every demand; of her ministrations to the destitute and forgotten; the history of her daily life bears witness.

Born and raised in France, she grew up a devout Roman Catholic, but later in life, she embraced Protestantism and became an ardent Methodist, yet still clinging to all that was best and purest in her early faith. After the lapse of more than half a century, I have heard her tell the joyous experience of her first communion, and the aged face would beam with a light that was not of this world. Thus in the morning of her life God had spoken to her, and ever afterwards she walked with him gladly. Herein lay the secret of her abiding faith, her sublime unselfishness, her practical piety. She was actuated by the spirit of Him who "went about doing good".

Such a life can end but one way. When the final summons came, it found her waiting on the pleasure of her Lord. In the old churchyard at Davis Chapel, by the side of other loved ones who had preceded her, we put her away for the resurrection. Farewell, Mother, When we meet again, it will be among the bloodwashed millions in the city of God.
A Son

WILKINS ANCESTRY
By Joyce Dixon Helmers (c) 2003

A description of the Wilkins' coat of arms in Pioneers and Patriots signed by Mary Martin Potter includes this note on the origin of the Wilkins' name:

"The family is of Norman-Welsh origin, descended from John Wilcolyne, or Wilkyn, who was living in the reign of Edward III. He was descended from Robert de Winton, Lord of the Manor of Languian, who went into Glamorganshire, Walkes, with Robert Fitzhamon. Numerous lines of Wilkins descended from the above mentioned John. The main line of the Wilkins of Glamorganshire and Brecknockshire, with some of the branches, resumed the name De Winton in 1839 by "sign manual," the lesser branches retaining the name Wilkins. There are several later arms recorded for branches of the Wilkins."
Mary Martin Potter, of the firm of Martin & Allardyce, San Antonio, Texas

According to James Richard Wilkins, in Pioneers and Patriots, the first Wilkins to come to America was JOHN WILKINS, who was born in 1599 in England. John came to Jamestown in 1618 on the ship Marygould. He acquired 1,300 acres of land in what is now Nansemond and Northampton counties. He married BRIDGET CRAFT, one of a group of volunteer prospective brides who arrived in Jamestown in 1621. John sold some of his land and apparently gave land to children he had with Bridget Craft. James Richard Wilkins stated that he believes that Bridget died at an early age and that John remarried and had children by his second wife, whose name is unknown. Then, in the mid-1600s, he returned to England and seems to have disappeared. Before he left, he transferred all his remaining land and property to his oldest son, John Wilkins, and his second wife.
Other Wilkins came to Jamestown in 1635 aboard the Assurance. Early Wilkins in Virginia were: John, James, Joseph, William, Richard, Thomas, Josiah, Robert and Nathaniel."
Jane Wade (a descendant of Julia Ann Wilkins, sister of Josiah Richard Wilkins - Sara Jane's father) states, "Our line has not been firmly connected to the Wilkins who came on the Assurance. There is still much research/speculation as to how our John Wilkins fits to earlier Wilkins families."
Although it has not been proven that the first John Wilkins was an ancestor of Robert Wilkins, earliest proven ancestor of the John Wilkins who married Mildred Parish, I have inserted him in my database as Robert's father in order to keep the connection in my file.

If my calculations are correct, ROBERT WILKINS was the great-great grandfather of Sara Jane Wilkins. According to James Richard Wilkins in Pioneers and Patriots:
ROBERT WILKINS was named in court records in 1750s.
His son was THOMAS HENRY WILKINS, born about 1740.
His children were: John W. Wilkins, James H. Wilkins, William Wilkins. Henry Wilkins, Mary Jane Wilkins and Thomas Wilkins II (he moved to Cleveland Co., NC in late 1770s; was a Revolutionary War soldier in Humphrey's Virginia Regiment; and sold his land and farms in Halifax Co. to his brother, John.).
JOHN W. WILKINS was born November 5, 1760 and died July 30, 1838. He married MILDRED PARRISH, who was born May 26, 1785 in Mecklenburg or Halifax, Virginia.
Their son, JOSIAH RICHARD WILKINS, married MARY JANE TUCK, who died soon after giving birth to a son, Richard Tuck Wilkins. Josiah then married MARY BOLEN BURTON, who gave him eight children: Josiah William Wilkins, James Edward Wilkins, Mary Mildred Wilkins, Sara Jane Wilkins, Elizabeth Wilkins, Lucy Wilkins, Mary Wilkins, and Anna Maria Wilkins. Josiah Richard died of measles before their last child, Anna Maria, was born.
SARA JANE WILKINS was a girl of 13 when her mother, by then "the Widow Burton," moved the family to Mississippi. Her uncles -- Mary Bolen's two older brothers -- had relocated to Sumter County, Alabama and Kemper County, Mississippi, before the Civil War. Following a visit to Virginia for a family wedding, they brought their parents, WILLIAM BURTON and MARY "POLLY" WADE, back to the deep south. Mary Bolen and her children came with them. Richard Tuck Wilkins remained in Virginia with his Tuck grandparents.
In 1869, Sara Jane married NARCISSUS/NARCISSE DORR in Sumter County, Alabama. Narcissus was the son of LOUIS ADOLPHE DORR and FRANCOIS BENAL, who had immigrated from the Alsace Lorraine area of France. The two generations of Dorrs lived for a while in Kemper County, Mississippi, before relocating to Panola County, Mississippi, in 1870.
The Dorr's settled in an area west of Sardis, Mississippi, near Davis Chapel Church. Sara Jane is buried in the cemetery behind the church beside Narcissus and other Dorr family members.
Sara Jane and Narcissus had nine children, including my grandmother, WILMA LOUISE DORR.
WILMA LOUISE DORR married JAMES ROBERT "BOB" TROTTER, and they made their home in an area just north of the home of her parents. Wilma Louise and Bob Trotter had five children: Milton, Sara, Robert "Snooks", my mother, Annie Louise "May," and Bennie Belle Trotter.
ANNIE LOUISE TROTTER married THOMAS VENSON "DICK" DIXON in 1931. I am the oldest of their five children. My siblings are James Robert "Bud," Carolyn Marie, Thomas Venson Jr. "Dickie" and Henry Wayne "Hal" Dixon.

11. Mary Burton, daughter of William Burton, was born on 16 Mar 1817 in Halifax Co., VA.

Chapter Three
MARY BOLEN'S STORY
Mary Bolen Burton Wilkins: 1817-after 1875
By Joyce Dixon Helmers (c) 2003

MARY BOLEN BURTON was born March 16, 1817, in Halifax County, Virginia, the daughter of WILLIAM BURTON and MARY "POLLY" WADE. She married JOSIAH RICHARD WILKINS, a widower, on January 4, 1841, when she was 24 years old.. Josiah's first wife, MARY JANE TUCK, apparently died soon after giving birth to a son, RICHARD TUCK WILKINS, who was then raised by her father, Richard Tuck.
Richard Tuck Wilkins was born in 1840 near Virgilia, Virginia, and died May 24, 1884. He married ELIZABETH CATHERINE WALL July 07, 1863, daughter of GEORGE WALL and ELIZABETH TUCK.
Together, Mary Bolen and Josiah had eight children, but lost two daughters in 1853 when Josiah also died of measles. The girls, apparently twins, were two years old. Lucy, born in 1851, died June 01, 1853, of measles. Mary, also born in 1851 died in June, 1853, of flue. Mary Bolen and Josiah's last child, another daughter, was born after Josiah died of measles in 1853. It is sad even to contemplate the misery in that household that summer.
Nothing more is known of Mary's activities until 1861, when she moved with her parents and other family members to the Kemper County/Sumter County area of Mississippi/Alabama, apparently to escape the ravages of the Civil War. Even then, both of her sons, Josiah William and James Edward, died in the war.
Then, around 1869, Mary joined a large group of people, described by Mary Olson as "all more or less related through intermarriage," who moved to Jackson County, Arkansas, "by wagons and rivers." Mary Bolen "left her two, by then married, daughters Sara Jane and Elizabeth J., in Mississippi. Her two remaining children, Mary Mildred and Anna Maria, came with her to Arkansas."
Over the years, Mary Bolen would return to Mississippi for extended visits with Sara Jane and her husband, Narcissus, according to Louis Dorr's letters. I do not know when or where she died, although it would be after 18xx, likely in Jackson County, Arkansas.

Children of Josiah Wilkins and Mary Burton were:
i. Josiah William Wilkins, born about 1843; died between 1861-1865, in the Civil War.
ii. James Edward Wilkins, born about 1845; died between 1861-1865, in the Civil War.
iii. Mary Mildred Wilkins, born about 1846;married. Benjamin W. Murphy.
iv. Sara Jane Wilkins, born May 15, 1848, Halifax Co., Virginia; died November 03, 1906, Panola Co Ms; married Narcissus Louis Dorr, February 1869, Sumter Co., Al.
v. Elizabeth J. "Bettie" Wilkins, born about 1850, married Robert E. Selby who lived in Yazoo County, Mississippi. Their Son, R. E. Selby, was Mayor of Vicksburg when he died in 1945.
vi. Lucy Wilkins, born 1851; died. June 02, 1853, of measles.
vii Mary Wilkins, born 1851; died June 1853,of flue.
viii.Anna Maria Wilkins, born February 14, 1854, died about 1948 at age 95. She married John H. Murphy in Jackson County, Arkansas. He was the younger brother by 18 years of Benjamin Murphy who married Mary Mildred Wilkins. Their daughter, Minnie Murphy, married a Shoffner in Shoffner, Arkansas. Jane Wade states that Minnie Murphy Shoffner, Anna Maria's daughter, wrote "my Aunt Margaret" about some of this, stating that her mother had a half-brother who stayed in Virginia. That half brother was Richard Tuck Wilkins, the ancestor of the author of Pioneers & Patriots. Their son Walter Murphy lived in Batesville, Arkansas.

The information I have on Mary Bolen Burton comes from the book Pioneers and Patriots, published in 1980 by James Richard Wilkins, from references in the letters of Louis A. Dorr, and from e-mail correspondence with Jane Wade and Mary Seamster, and copies of Mary Olson's letters.

Jane Wade sent the following message:
" Josiah's family is shown in the 1850 census in Halifax Co., VA:
Josiah Wilkins, 36, planter b VA
Mary, 36
William, 9
James E., 8
Mildred, 6
Sarah, 4
Elizabeth, 2
Ditron Overby, 16, laborer
John Clyborn, 16, laborer
"Richard Tuck Wilkins, age 11, son of Josiah and Mary Jane Tuck, is living in the household of his grandfather, Richard Tuck, age 75. There is a marriage in Halifax Co., for Josiah Wilkins and Mary Burton, 04 January 1841. Because of this, Mary Jane Tuck must have died soon after her son was born and Josiah remarried. This would make your Sarah the daughter of Josiah and Mary Burton Wilkins."

E-mail from Jane Wade July 20, 2001 to David Bishop: "This came from Mary Olson, 209 McGee St. Apt D, Bamberg, SC 29003-1152 in 1997:
"Mary Bolen Burton was the 2nd wife of Josiah Wilkins and a daughter of Wm. Burton and Mary "Polly" Wade. Mary's sister, Lucy Burton, was the wife of David Whitt (Mary Olson's gg grandparents). Josiah and Mary Bolen Burton Wilkins' last child was Anna Maria Wilkins, born after Josiah died of the measles (1853). She (Anna Maria) married John H. Murphy in Jackson Co., AR, where they went ca 1869/70 after Mary Bolen's two brothers, Hutchens and Thomas Farrar Burton brought her and her children and their parents, William Burton and Polly Wade, to MS in 1861. Anna Maria's daughter, Minnie Murphy Shoffner, wrote my Aunt Margaret about some of this, stating that her mother had a half-brother who stayed in VA. That half-brother was Richard Tuck Wilkins, the ancestor of the author of Pioneers & Patriots.
In another letter, Mary gives this information: Josiah Wilkins m1 Mary Jane Tuck. They had one son, Richard Tuck Wilkins. Mary Jane died, either in childbirth of shortly thereafter. This son was taken from her Tuck family and raised from infancy. Josiah Wilkins then m2 Mary Bolen Burton, daughter of William Burton and and Polly Wade. Josiah and Mary Bolen Burton had 8 children. Their first two children were Josiah William and James Edward, both of whom died in the Civil War. They then had Mary Mildred (m Benjamin W. Murphy), Sarn Jane, Elizabeth J., Lucy (died of measles, age 2, on 29 June 1853, never in a census), Mary (died of flue, age 2, June 1853, so never in a census) and Anna Maria (m John H. Murphy, younger brother by 18 years of above Benjamin) who was born 14 Feb 1854, seven months after her father, Josiah Wilkins, died of the measles on 11 June 1853, Halifax, VA.
". . . William Burton and Polly Wade's two oldest sons, Hutchens and Thomas Farr Burton, married and went to Sumter Co., AL and Kemper Co., MS prior to the Civil War. On a trip back to NC and VA for a family wedding, they brought William, Polly and their daughter, Mary Bolen Burton Wilkins, and her family back with them to AL/MS. This was in 1861 and we think one of the reasons was to get them out of harms way due to the Civil War. I have copies of letters from Thomas Farrar Burton to his brother-in-law in NC in which he refers to "Ma and Pa" and sister, the "widow Wilkins" as "doing fine". After the war, 65 people form this area, all more or less related through intermarriage, came from Al/MS to Jackson Co., AR by wagons and rivers.
". . . Mary Bolen Burton Wilkins left her two, by then married, daughters Sarah Jane and Elizabeth J., in MS. Her two remaining children, Mary Mildred and Anna Maria, came with her to AR."

In the Letters of Louis Dorr, there are two mentions of "Mrs. Wilkins," who must have been Mary Bolen Burton Wilkins. I do not know who the "Mr. Burton" to whom the letters were addressed might have been. He earlier had stated that "I guess you'll never leave Kemper County," and so I had thought it might have been Mary's father, William Burton. However, he died in 1865 in Kemper County, if my facts are correct:

April 1874
Dear Mr. Burton,
Mr. Hutchins Burton passed here about 2 months ago with Mrs. Wilkins, who is going to stay with Narcisse until next spring.
Mr. Burton spoke of coming back on his return from Kemper, but I expect he is in Arkansas long since. Narcisse bought 80 acres of land adjoining my place for $900. He has built a very good house on it. Part of it is creek bottom which made last year a bale to the acre.

July 25, 1875
Dear Mr. Burton,
Mrs. Wilkins, who has been staying here for over a year, has returned to Arkansas 2 weeks ago.

TO DO: TRY TO FIND OUT WHERE THE BOYS LIVED WHEN THEY ENLISTED, WHAT THEIR SERVICE WAS AND WHERE THEY DIED.

12. Thomas Leachmam Boswell, son of Thomas Boswell and Mary Sims, was born on 9 May 1816 in Orange County, NC and died on 12 Apr 1898 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN, at age 81.

Thomas Leachman was born in North Carolina, but his family moved to Henderson County, KY in 1818 and then to Henderson County, TN about 1820. His father, Thomas, died soon after they arrived. He joined the Methodist church in 1831 was license to exhort at the age of fifteen. In 1833 he joined the Methodist conference as a preacher. When he married at age eighteen the Conference "discontinued" him. In 1836 thomas Joyner encouraged him to join the conference again. His wife died in 1837 and he remarried on October of that year, Charlotte Jones, and again the conference "dropped" him. He return home to work on the farm and study law. However, in 1839 he was readmitted to the Tennessee Conference.

His wife was the daughter of a distinguished Methodist minister and their marriage of sixty years was a time of service and sacrifice to each community they lived in as they raised fourteen of their seventeen children to maturity, as well as several grandchildren.

He served in many churches in West Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. His places of service can be traced by noting the birthplaces of his children. He was a very respected Methodist minister for sixty-five years.

Thomas was a self-taught man, spending only three months in school. He had a fine singing voice. He was a timid person but a forceful preacher. He was a constant reader and became a profound theologian. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by LaGrange College of Alabama in 1854.

He kept a large Family Genealogy Bible, which has been preserved and passed down through the family. He also kept, noted and passed on the worn Bible of his father, Thomas.

Thomas married Charlotte Jones on 6 Oct 1837 in Gibson County, TN. Charlotte was born on 19 Jul 1821 in Maury, TN and died on 30 Jul 1904 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN, at age 83.

6 i. Thomas Jones Boswell (born on 13 Jan 1860 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN - died on 1 Apr 1951 in Oakland, TN). Thomas married Laura Ellie Parks on 9 Dec 1879 in Fayette Co., TN. Laura was born on 26 Jan 1862 in Iredell County, NC and died on 28 Jan 1945 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN, at age 83.

13. Charlotte Jones was born on 19 Jul 1821 in Maury, TN and died on 30 Jul 1904 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN, at age 83.

Charlotte married Thomas Leachmam Boswell, son of Thomas Boswell and Mary Sims, on 6 Oct 1837 in Gibson County, TN. Thomas was born on 9 May 1816 in Orange County, NC and died on 12 Apr 1898 in Macon, Fayette Co., TN, at age 81.

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Ancestors of Albert Edward Dorr

Fourth Generation