The Dodsons OF Texas

Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Location
Kingsport, Tennessee
A recent discovery of Confederate ancestor/relatives that settled in Texas.

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Constant Dodson (1st cousin 3 x removed, Father's side) was an interesting and controversial figure in the history of Antebellum Texas. He descended from a very old family from Virginia; his father Joel Dodson (1779-) had moved to Alabama. Constant Dodson moved from Talladega to Texas in middle age (about 1848) where he quickly became a prosperous farmer, and was actively involved in Democratic party politics statewide, especially during 1859-60. His eldest son Jasper N Dodson was also politically active, and became commander of the 9th Texas Cavalry early in the war. This son is sometimes confused with a Jasper (Jap) Newton Dodson, who served in Kansas for the Union, but also died in Texas and was approximately the same age.

Constant Dodson was the first treasurer of Tarrant County, a Mason, lawyer, and father of 15 children. His first wife Nancy Small died in 1860, and he remarried, about 1863, Luvinia Finley Young (1842-1932), who was more than thirty years his junior. She was apparently from a well-to-do family in Virginia/Alabama, and my grandfather Horace (her grandson) often recounted that she always insisted that she had arrived in Texas *not* in a covered wagon, but in the family's carriage from Alabama...

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Constant Dodson's wallet, with Confederate money from a land sale

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His Sons:
J.N. Dodson.jpg

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Jasper Newton Dodson:
Enlisted as a Captain (date unknown). Promotions: * Major * Lt Col Intra Regimental Company Transfers: * from company A to Field & Staff He also had service in: "A" Co. TX 9th Cavalry....... J.N. Dodson 26 enlisted at the same time as his brother, Oct.14,1861.He was present till being wounded at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Ark on 7 March 1862. He returned to duty in April 1862 and was elected to Major in May 1862. Present till Mar 1863 when he got sick. He was sick in hospitals and private homes till September. When he returned he found that the situation had deteriorated and the command was excess officers and that he was the Lieutenant Colonel. Due to his illness, the excess officers and a Colonel several years younger, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted in October of 1863. Note: Holt Collier was in Company I of the 9th Texas.

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Dudley William Jones :
Residence Lamar County TX; Enlisted and commissioned into the Field & Staff of the 9th TX Cavalry on 9/1/1861 at Lamar County, TX as it's Lieut Colonel. Later became Colonel of the Regiment.

"I was in Gen.Ross’ Brigade, Col. Dudley Jones Regiment and Capt. Perry Evans Company I 9th Texas Regimentt. My "Old Colonel" (Howell Hinds, his former master from Mississippi) gave me a horse — one of three fine race horses he had brought from Plum Ridge. (The Hinds Plantation) He was a beauty, iron-gray and named Medock. After leaving Bowling Green it was a long time until I saw my "Old Colonel" again".................Holt Collier, from the "Slave Narratives".


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James Polk Dodson: Enlisted on 10/14/1861 as a Private. On 10/14/1861 he mustered into "A" Co. TX 9th Cavalry He died of disease on 8/29/1862 at Okolona, MS He was listed as: * Hospitalized 8/25/1862 Okolona, MS (Estimated date; sick) Other Information: Buried: Okolona Confederate Cemetery, Okolona, MS......James Polk Dodson, 17, enlisted at Reeves County Texas 14 Oct 1861 with a $130 horse and $20 worth of equipment. He rode 150 miles to rendezvous which was the same as his brother, J.N. He was present in Company A, 9th Texas Cavalry until his death on 29 August 1862.

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Jonathan Land Dodson: Enlisted May 1, 1864 at Sabine Pass into Griffin's Battalion, Co.C. The Battalion was assembled during the early summer of 1862 with six companies. The unit served in the Trans-Mississippi Department along the Texas coast and at Galveston, then in November, 1864, merged into the 21st Texas Infantry Regiment. The field officers were Lieutenant Colonel William H. Griffin and Major H. A. Hamner. Jonathan was named for his maternal grandfather, and my paternal 4 x great-grandfather from Wilkes County, NC.

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Excellent post. I have some interests and family ties to Texas cavalrymen. Also, Ross' Brigade participated in the 1864 Battle of Moscow---I will have to see if this regiment was part of it.

Holt Collier, from the "Slave Narratives".
Is that a reference to a book or manuscript by Holt Collier? I guess you know who he was---a black Confederate who witnessed the death of General Johnston. I forgot he had ridden with the 9th Texas Cavalry.
 
Excellent post. I have some interests and family ties to Texas cavalrymen. Also, Ross' Brigade participated in the 1864 Battle of Moscow---I will have to see if this regiment was part of it.


Is that a reference to a book or manuscript by Holt Collier? I guess you know who he was---a black Confederate who witnessed the death of General Johnston. I forgot he had ridden with the 9th Texas Cavalry.

http://newdeal.feri.org/asn/asn03.htm

Collier contributed to the "Slave Narratives" in the 1930's. I've found several posts that quote him about his experiences. He filed for Servant's pension from the State of Mississippi, (that was the only kind he could apply for, being a Black Man). This letter is included in his pension record.

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A recent discovery of Confederate ancestor/relatives that settled in Texas.

cf9f7841-08f2-4498-87e5-ea28033c85fa.jpg

Constant Dodson was an interesting and controversial figure in the history of Antebellum Texas. He descended from a very old family from Virginia; his father Joel Dodson (1779-) had moved to Alabama. Constant Dodson moved from Talladega to Texas in middle age (about 1848) where he quickly became a prosperous farmer, and was actively involved in Democratic party politics statewide, especially during 1859-60. His eldest son Jasper N Dodson was also politically active, and became commander of the 9th Texas Cavalry early in the war. This son is sometimes confused with a Jasper (Jap) Newton Dodson, who served in Kansas for the Union, but also died in Texas and was approximately the same age.

Constant Dodson was the first treasurer of Tarrant County, a Mason, lawyer, and father of 15 children. His first wife Nancy Small died in 1860, and he remarried, about 1863, Luvinia Finley Young (1842-1932), who was more than thirty years his junior. She was apparently from a well-to-do family in Virginia/Alabama, and my grandfather Horace (her grandson) often recounted that she always insisted that she had arrived in Texas *not* in a covered wagon, but in the family's carriage from Alabama...

25d64310-f241-4353-9a7b-1353e0a4efc9.jpg


Constant Dodson's wallet, with Confederate money from a land sale

........................................................................................................................................................

His Sons:

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Jasper Newton Dodson:
Enlisted as a Captain (date unknown). Promotions: * Major * Lt Col Intra Regimental Company Transfers: * from company A to Field & Staff He also had service in: "A" Co. TX 9th Cavalry....... J.N. Dodson 26 enlisted at the same time as his brother, Oct.14,1861.He was present till being wounded at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Ark on 7 March 1862. He returned to duty in April 1862 and was elected to Major in May 1862. Present till Mar 1863 when he got sick. He was sick in hospitals and private homes till September. When he returned he found that the situation had deteriorated and the command was excess officers and that he was the Lieutenant Colonel. Due to his illness, the excess officers and a Colonel several years younger, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted in October of 1863. Note: Holt Collier was in Company I of the 9th Texas.

View attachment 125538

Dudley William Jones :
Residence Lamar County TX; Enlisted and commissioned into the Field & Staff of the 9th TX Cavalry on 9/1/1861 at Lamar County, TX as it's Lieut Colonel. Later became Colonel of the Regiment.

"I was in Gen.Ross’ Brigade, Col. Dudley Jones Regiment and Capt. Perry Evans Company I 9th Texas Regimentt. My "Old Colonel" (Howell Hinds, his former master from Mississippi) gave me a horse — one of three fine race horses he had brought from Plum Ridge. (The Hinds Plantation) He was a beauty, iron-gray and named Medock. After leaving Bowling Green it was a long time until I saw my "Old Colonel" again".................Holt Collier, from the "Slave Narratives".

..........................................................................................................................................................................
James Polk Dodson: Enlisted on 10/14/1861 as a Private. On 10/14/1861 he mustered into "A" Co. TX 9th Cavalry He died of disease on 8/29/1862 at Okolona, MS He was listed as: * Hospitalized 8/25/1862 Okolona, MS (Estimated date; sick) Other Information: Buried: Okolona Confederate Cemetery, Okolona, MS......James Polk Dodson, 17, enlisted at Reeves County Texas 14 Oct 1861 with a $130 horse and $20 worth of equipment. He rode 150 miles to rendezvous which was the same as his brother, J.N. He was present in Company A, 9th Texas Cavalry until his death on 29 August 1862.

e011cd74-e07a-41ca-985e-dd7359178547.jpg



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Jonathan Land Dodson: Enlisted May 1, 1864 at Sabine Pass into Griffin's Battalion, Co.C. The Battalion was assembled during the early summer of 1862 with six companies. The unit served in the Trans-Mississippi Department along the Texas coast and at Galveston, then in November, 1864, merged into the 21st Texas Infantry Regiment. The field officers were Lieutenant Colonel William H. Griffin and Major H. A. Hamner. Jonathan was named for his maternal grandfather, and my paternal 4 x great-grandfather from Wilkes County, NC.

77564166-fed7-4cf2-a865-7b6a29cfe247.jpg


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That is some very good research!
 
I noticed that you are from East Tenn. That is some really pretty country up that way and I even have some friends that live in the Tri-Cities area. There were a lot of Civil War battles that took place in the state of Tenn.

I'm actually from Kingsport. Lived here all my life. I believe Tennessee is second to Virginia in the number of battles. Bitterly divided in this end of the State. I had several ancestors on both sides. I truly appreciate your kind words.
 
I found a hand-drawn map of the Battle of Moscow. I edited it with Paint to improve the looks.
This shows the participation of Col. Ross's Texas Cavalry Brigade. I still have not found a list of regiments in his unit at this time. I know of one because I have a journal from a soldier who detailed their march from Vicksburg area to Moscow.



Map Moscow 1863 - AB.jpg
 
Great reading! I am trying to find some relation, if any, to the Dodson's in this article. I know that we were in Texas during that timeframe and I just recently met a distint cousin from Texas up here in Tn. He states that we are related to some of them. I just need to keep researching my bloodline
 
I found a hand-drawn map of the Battle of Moscow. I edited it with Paint to improve the looks.
This shows the participation of Col. Ross's Texas Cavalry Brigade. I still have not found a list of regiments in his unit at this time. I know of one because I have a journal from a soldier who detailed their march from Vicksburg area to Moscow.



View attachment 125930
Ross' Brigade consisted of the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 27th Texas Cavalry (aka 1st Texas Legion or Whitfield's Legion) from October 1862 until the end of the war. If I remember correctly, Willis' Battalion was also added late in the war.


As to the 9th Texas Cavalry, the book All Afire to Fight by Martha L. Crabb is a history of the regiment, though I haven't read it yet. Have read Douglas Hale's book on the 3rd Texas Cavalry, which is a good read.
 
Great reading! I am trying to find some relation, if any, to the Dodson's in this article. I know that we were in Texas during that timeframe and I just recently met a distint cousin from Texas up here in Tn. He states that we are related to some of them. I just need to keep researching my bloodline

The mother of these brothers was a paternal 4 x great-aunt of mine from Wilkes County, NC if that helps.
 
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