Anne Dodson 1729-1807

5th Great Grandmother Paternal Side

For February the theme is "Ladies Month". I hope not to disappoint you but the articles will be short due to the extremely limited documents that I can find on most. Anne is a little different since her father died young and she married a "Character" which will be explored next month.

Anne was born on November 12, 1732* in North Farnham Parish (Richmond County), VA. to Fortunatus (**See previous blog post) and Alice "Ellis" Goad Dodson (See Source 1). She was the 3rd or 4th of 6 children. After her father died Anne's uncle William Dodson became her guardian until her mother married a widower John Fowler. Anne was bound to John in 1747 and she was also known as Anne Fowler. (See Source 2)

Anne married Moses Cornelius before 1767 in Northern Virginia. The family relocated to the Pittsylvania County, VA around this same time. There were at least two sons born to this union:
1. William 1754-1842; married Lettice Cargil (Revoluntionary War Soldier)
2. Jeptha 1758-1818; married Margaret "Peggy" Everett

Anne was granted a 202 acres tract of land in Pittsylvania Co., VA on Frying Pan Creek for the amount of 20 shillings sterling. (See Source 3) The grant was signed in 1780 but the original was dated 1753. She sold the land for 100 Pounds to Daniel Kryder in 1790.

After Moses died Anne married George Phillips, son of Tobias Phillips and Hannah Goad, who was her first cousin. George had been married to Anne’s sister, Hannah Dodson, who died around 1760. George’s mother, Hannah Goad Phillips, later married Anne’s uncle William Dodson who had been her guardian. Anne was left personal property in her uncle’s will. The estate was divided in 1786 after Aunt Hannah’s death. They lived in Pittsylvania Co., VA and around the Pigg River area. Confused yet? Research so far has not turned up any children between Anne and George but an article by Benton Beverly Cornelius stated that his grandfather William was one of 7 sons. This could have meant his step brothers or half brothers were his first cousins if you think about it. It all makes my brain hurt!

By 1790, (See Source 4) Anne is shown as a widow and is living in South Carolina not very far from her sons. This may have been why they sold the land on Frying Pan Creek. It is speculated that she remained there until her death. A transcribed bible record puts her death as 4 October 1807 but a burial record is not included and no will has been found as of this writing.

This was the life of Anne Dodson Fowler Cornelius Phillips. She lived a full life in her 75+ years!

Thank you is not enough words to describe how grateful to Francis Cornelius Douglas and Robert Johnston, Jr. for their knowledge and research! If not for them I would have been stuck on Anne Cornelius and this would have been shorter than it is.

*The date of Anne's birth is listed as different years in two records that I have. The date of 1732 is from the "Dodson Book" or Source 1. The transcribed Bible record shown above lists her birth 1729. From a family point of view I would believe the Bible record, however from a genealogist point of view I would have to go with the Dodson Book and let me give a short explanation as to why: 1.) There is no bookplate stating when the Bible was published so we don't know if it was filled in before or some years after her death. 2.) Since it is a transcribed copy the handwriting can not be compared to other entries to see if the entries were made "at one sitting" or if they were filled in by different people as the events occurred. This does not make the transcribed copy invalid by any means I am only following standard guidelines as a very amateur genealogist. Please keep comments coming as they make me re-evaluate my records and I really, really want this to be as correct as possible.

**Fortunatus & Alice Dodson were married on September 9, 1726. Anne was their 3rd or 4th child so it is unlikely she was born 2 months after they were married.

Sources:

1. The Dodson (Dotson) Family of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia; A History and Genealogy of Their Descendants, Volume One by Mrs. Sherman Williams and The Rev. Silas Emmett, Lucas, Jr.:  Southern Historical Press, 1988
2. Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649–1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003
3. Pittsylvania County Virginia (Deed Book 2, Page 246)
4. Year: 1800; Census Place: Greenville, South Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 47; Page: 252; Image: 489;