Historic Writings
This Is Extremely Long, Be Prepared For An Extreme Amount Of Information. Composed By Carolyn (Thompson?) As Written
Here are some notes on the TN Dossetts i think you should have. They came from my Indiana correspondent. " In history of TN " a William Dossett came to TN , He married ______and had a son Robert. B.1787 in NC who married Elizabeth Willoughby, Dau of John Willoughby. Edmond Dossetts pension application war of 1812 gives birth dates on serveral documents as 1786,1789,1790. Question: did edmond come to Tenn, as an infant in 1784 or as an 18 year old from NC. I can "Blow your mind" with some of this. Drucilla Forrester had a brother named Edmond, also a brother Josiah who married Rachel Dossett in Orange Co. In 1809. Willis and Robert Dossett were also war of 1812 men, as was Phillip Dossett.... Pension - Bounty Land Records, 1 May 1852 Phillips Dossett Aged 75 B. 1778 residence Campbell Co Tenn, Witness Robert and Alfred Dossett.
22 March No Year Given Tempy Dossett, widow of Phillip, was married under the name of Tempy Coleman 1806-08, Orange Co NC
I think that the Orange Co NC Dossetts, The SC Dossetts, and the Tenn Dossetts are all of one family. I find my part of them in Sumner Co Tenn. At the proper time. Early Tenn tax lists. Sumner Co Tenn,: Thomas Dorset, 1811. Moses Dawset, 1816.
There is more but you get the idea. There was a substantial migration into the Tennessee just after 1800, and from there they spread into KY.
The Orange County Clerk of the court sent me marriage records, too, since i had sent more money then needed. That was thoughtfull of her, Usually they put the extra into there coffee fund, or into their pocket. She also wrote a nice note
Orange County Marriage Records
Groom: Dossett ( First Not Readable ) Bride: Nancy Cates Date: 10,Aug,1785 Bondsman: Benj Brittan, Witness: S Brittan
Groom: Dossett, Newton, Bride: Elizabeth Woods, Date 16 Oct 1866 M 18 Oct 1866 Witness WS Clinton, EW Morris
Groom: Dossett, Unreadable Bride: Tempe Cole Date" 22 Aug 1806 Witness Joseph Pyle and J Taylor
Groom: Dossett Willis, Bride: Jeany Desern 12 June 180? Witness Phillip Bennett and J Taylor
Groom: Dossett ? Bride: Drucilla Forrester 30 Dec 1783 Witness: Jesse Benton
Groom: Dossett Elbert Bride: Anne Cain 11 Sept 1832 Witness: James Leathers and J Taylor
Groom: Dossitt Willis Bride: Sally Waer 7 Mar 1805 Witness Abne Cates and J Taylor
Dorsett-Dosset Chronology Continued
Date Abstracts Of Minutes Of Court Of Pleas And Quarter Sessions
Nov 1761 Natnaniel Harris Jr, Vs Moses Dosset ( "Original Attachment - Meant sheriff was authorized to take property from the defendant and sell it for benifit of plantiff. Many persons were imprisoned for debt. Many declared themselves insolvent" )
Aug 1764 Moses Dossett committed to jail, accused of passing counterfeit Virginia bills
May 1765 Peter Johnston Vs Phillip Dossett Case
Aug 1765 John Meherg Vs Phillip Dossett Sr Case
Aug 1766 Phillip Dossett Sr Bondsman with Phillip Johnston for 250 Pounds - estate of John Manen
1783 Will of Phillip Dossett ( Dated 7 Dec 1783 proved Feb 1784 ) Names wife Seelah, daughters Jeney ? and Susannah, Son William Dossett. Exectors: Benjamin Forrest, Stephen Forrest.
1800 Will of Benjamin Forrester ( Dated 4 Nov 1783, Proved Feb 1784 ) Names daughter Drucilla Dossett, wife of William Dorset
1800 Will of Richard Cate names daughter Nancy Dossett dated and proved 1806
Aug 1768 Francis Dorset signs second petition of regulators to Governor Tryon. His is first name on list
1779 Nancy Dossett on list of tax defaulters for Orange County ( Penalty was four fold payment )
At This point she list's 1790 Census of NC related peoples which i will not retype as its easily accessable on the web.
From Loyalists ?ard index in Columbia SC Archives
Dawsett, Moses ( Dorset ) Col Benjamin Roebuck ( Regt) This was a Patric outfit and this means he deserted, -- though ive learned from history that there were extenauting circumstances. Many Patriots after the fall of Charlston were promised clemency if that would join them then " now that the war is over." Many patriots joined the loyalists then, i meant to say. Moses died not long afterwords; he may have been hanged or otherwise killed by patriots. A lot of that happend, too.
Next page, barley ledgeable will put ? marks where it is unreable.
Tuesday, ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? though i make just as many mistakes, at least i can keep the /////////.Tell your mother there was definitely Indian blood. i dont know how much Zilpha had, whether it was half or one fourth, or less or more. But i have two quick cousins, great-great grandchildren of Zilpha, who had Indian ???? complezions, hair and eyes. One of them, cousin Myrtle quick tyrone i though very quite ( she always considered what she ??? ????? to say before she spoke ) but somehow always wise. Mother said she was a lot like her mother ( mothers mother that is )Margaret Ann HamiltonRush, daugher of Martha Ann. and i have an idea they were both rather like Zilpha, who seemed to have a great many children names for her. All that is of course pure speculation! The civil War Recordof Uncle Bob Hamilton, who died of Measles at Tullahoma, Tenn In 1862 or 1863 says he was dark complected, with dark hair and eyes and 5-6 tall.im going to attemp to send xeroxed copies of the few pictures i have of Dossett descendants, though i have copying problems with the two machines available to me. Tell your mother she wasnt the only one who was sold a "trace". the problem is that this give-away of government funds to Indians and or their decendants about 1910-12 involved only the Choctaw tribe, who has been moved from their lands in central Mississippi ( And perhaps eastern ALa ) to Oklahoma. There's still a Choctaw reservation near Philadelphia, Miss, which was headquarters for the action then, There was an Armstrongs Choctaw Roll made in 1831 which was the basis of this,apparently; some men were apparently not averse to making themselves a little money by taking information given them and connecting it to some one on that Choctaw roll. Here is a copy of Pearle Hesters Trace made by Luke W Conerly.
" Sarah Pearl Beasley Hester: I am a great-Great-granddaughters of Elizabeth Dossett ( Easterling ) , daughters of Reuben Wall son of Toka.
" Zilpha, mother of Elizabeth Dossett, mother of Sarah Ann Easterling, Mother of Elizabeth Kelly, Mother of Fannie P Quick." I suppose the last-names was Pearle's mother.
Yes i think it is very likley that Zilpha could have been Catawba, or else a Cherokee. I once asked and expert about that, and he said there were so many small tribes in S.C. that we probably never would find out.Martha Ann is said to have been very beautiful, also her daughter Martha Mathilda ( Who first married my grandfather Rush at sixteen and who died before she was twenty ) however its probably that ??? ??????? chiely in the over-active imagination of a decendant. Laura Bell ?????said that her mother, who has Black eyes and straight black hair, was beautiful -- moreso than any of her children. I just throw in those bits for what they are worth -- which is exactly nothing. Ove read that either the Cherokees or the Catabas had beautiful women -- I forget which.I think its a great idea to collect as many pictures of Dossett descendants as possible, also any stories that we can. Cousin Myrtle once gave me to Dossett fire-tongs ( which they has been using as a weight on a barnyard gate, until they installed a better gate ) I still have them.and also a pressed glass pickle or jelly dish that William James Hamilton had given to Martha Ann. Ill send you a picture of both sometime.enough for now -- ive got to finish up dinner.
I have seen the Choctaw Indian Roll of 1831 (by armstrong) listing the Indians whose descendants were supposed to be eligible for finds, and i do not think either your grandmothers " trace" or Mrs Hesters qualify.I believe these were only for Choctaw indians; Choctaws were no futher east than Alabama; Zilpha was born in SC ( probably in the Branwell Co area ) so she could not have been a Choctaw. Also in 1831 she was living as the wife of William Dossett, with a housefull of children, and neither she nor and of her ancestors were on a Choctaw reservation. I had an aunt ( by marriage ) who copied the Hamilton family bible in the hope that Zilpha would qualify. She did us a great service, because the original bible long ago disappeared. This aunt had an indian ancestor of her own who actually did qualify; the Choctaw roll of 1831 lists a man named Bryant with an indian wife and two children. Aunt Ella was born a Bryant, and these were her direct ancestors. I dont know whether she received any money or not.but Zilpha's Hamilton decendants did'nt. The Choctaw headquarters were at Philadelphia Miss; there is still an indian reservation there.
Indian Ancestory Of Zilpha Dossett
i quote first of all from letters from Robert H Herring of San Diego, but formerly of the Hattiesburg area; " there is from doubt about the correct Indian lineage as furnished by Mrs ( Pearle ) Hester, but definitely there is Indian Blood." ( Note by CTG: I believe Mrs Hester wrote that her information was supplied by a Mr Luke Conerly about 1910-12 ) My grandmother was able to give me a little bit of information before she died. Generally it is felt that the correct maiden name of Zilpha is Powell. her father was William Powell..." later: " I have been writing to a distant cousin in Texas....who has provided me with a lot of clues..... mother of her information is Ledend but a lot seems to have some basis.... the information Mrs Hester gave you on her Indian doesnt sound too reliable. It appears there was a Mr Alexander Powell in 1900 who was supposed to be registering all individuales with Indian lineage, with the idea that theyw ould be eligible for government money for indians. there is a record that indicated he was arrested in Shreveport La in 1916 for making illegal contracts with the Indians. Mrs Hesters " Trace" was not prepared by Powell, but somehow it sounds like the ( PAGE ENDS HERE )
Transcripts of " Trace " Concerning ZILPHA DOSSETT
This is a copy of the "Trace" given to Pearl Hester April 1912
Sarah Beasly Hester: I am the great great grand daughter of Elizabeth Dossett, daughter of Zilpha, daughter of Reuben Wall, son of Toka ( Indian Chief ) ... Zilpha, mother of Elizabeth Dossett, mother of Sarah Ann Easterling, mother of Elizabeth Kelly, mother of Fanine P Quick.
This is a copy of the " Trace " given to Teddy Reed. Names of ancestors receiving land under script of treaty of 1830. William Turnbull father of Zilpha Turnbull, mother of Elizabeth Dossett, mother of Mary Ann Easterling, mother of Mary Jane Sellers Jones.
there is still another "Trace" made for the descendents of Moses Dossett, the first child of Zilpha and William stating Zilphas father was an indian names SNOW.
The search for the father of Zilpha has been intensive, much credit must be given to Carolyn Gantt, for her intense research and willingness to share the material she has found.
Another Dossett searcher Ms Winnie Rosenberg of White Haven FL adds this insight to Zilphas parents 1984.... " A few years ago i visited Mrs Drucilla Dossett Craven, then in her late 80s , since passed away, she had been interested in Genealogy and remembered quite a bit about her husbands people..... she told me Grandma Zilpha was a Powell and her fathers name was William, she also said Moses's wife's fahter ( Sarah Cody ) was named William, i have not been able to prove either one.
Zilpha, Our Elusive Indian
Zilpha? the wife of William Dossett, has been discussed in the family for as long as i can remember. She was The daughter of an indian chief... or so the story was told. There is no doubt in my mind that she, in fact, was of indian blood, since so many of her decendents say she said she was. The problem that has come about and confused the issue is this, some where around 1910 probably before, people of Indian descent were asked to prove their linage in order to be eligible for givernment money. Evidently descendents of Zilpha tried to do just that. Someone said that they could do the "Trace" of indian linage for a certian sum of money. Who ever this person was, he was not honest. The best i and other researchers can figure out is that he went down the rolls of the Choctaw Indians, and picked out a name ( a white man with indian wife ) and said to the unsuspecting buyer, " Here is your indian lineage". The problem was, the government did not accept and of them. There were at least 4 " Traces " made on Zilpha, each gave her a different father. The name Powell was not a "Trace" name, but one said to have been told to the family of Carolyn Gantt. ( Descendant of Zilpha, through her daughter Martha Ann ). Until we can prove other-wise, Powell is the most acceptable name. The other important thing to remember about Zilpha is that she was born in S.C., and probably would have been of the indian tribes there, not those in Mississippi. She never lived on the Choctaw reservationm abd was never listed on their rolls. Perhaps, now that the old records are being transcribed some answers to Zilphas parentage will be found.
MORE TO ENTERED AS TIME PERMITS