One More Lawson Family Post: Is it William Lawson?

If you want to be frustrated----just try to figure out the correct ancestry of a well-known ancestor, or how you fit into that ancestry.  

For a while, I thought our family was related to Mary Todd Lincoln.   That was a rumor long held by my older cousins and family members.    Then, about five years ago, I helped finance a DNA study that was being done by one of my Todd cousins.   Sure enough, DNA proved that our branch of the Todd family was not related to Mary Todd Lincoln.

In looking at the Lawson Family, the ancestors of my paternal great great grandmother, Ann (Lawson) Clark, wife of James E. Clark, I have run into the same kind of problem.    Ann's father was Willis Lawson, born in Virginia.  He was born into farming and remained a farmer on the frontier in Kentucky and Indiana.    Most genealogists seem to agree that his father was Robert Lawson, although there are a few who believe it may have been Robert's brother, Nathan Lawson.   Both Robert and Nathan Lawson were born in Virginia and then migrated to Kentucky and Tennessee.

I chose to think that the father of Willis Lawson was Robert Lawson, although there are no written records of Robert Lawson saying that Willis is his son.   Robert Lawson was born in Virginia in 1764 and had moved to Shelby County, Kentucky by the 1810 US Census.   There he was surrounded by a number of Lawson relatives.

Robert Lawson was born in 1764 or 1765 in Spotsylvania, Virginia and was married to Anne Goad, who was born in 1768, also in Virginia.   There seems to be disagreement about the date of their marriage and about also the children born to their marriage.   Here is one list of children that I feel is fairly accurate:

William Lawson - born 1787 in Virginia
Thomas Lawson - born 1790 in Virginia
Boswell Lawson - born 1792 in Virginia
Willis Lawson - born 1794 in Virginia died about 1845 in Putnam County, Indiana
Andrew Lawson - born 1794 in Virginia and died  died about 1855
Henry Lawson - born 1798 in Virginia and died 1861
Barnes Lawson - Born 1800 in Virginia
Malinda Lawson - Born 1802 in Virginia.

Since only the head of each household was identified on the US Census prior to 1850, it is very difficult to use that information to identify each of these as the children of Robert and Anne (Goad) Lawson.    However, all names in each household and their relationships were identified in the US Census after 1850 and that helps genealogists sort out families.

From the US Census, I have been able to identify that William Lawson, Bowsell Lawson, Willis Lawson, and Barnes Lawson all moved their families from Kentucky to Indiana during the mid to late 1830s.   In fact, some of the brothers are living fairly close together.    I will continue to work on that and see if I can find additional information.

Now comes the real dilemma!!!    Who is the father of Robert Lawson?    Most genealogists believe that William "The Scottish Rebel" Lawson is Robert's father---however there isn't much primary documentation to support their conclusion.    William Lawson is a "folk hero" in both Scotland and Virginia and as a result, everyone wants to be related to William Lawson.

William "The Scottish Rebel" Lawson was born at Montrose, Angus, Scotland on June 26, 1731 and at the age of 15, joined hundreds of his compatriots at the Battle of Culloden in Scotland.    The battle took place on April 16, 1746.

A painting in the British Museum of action in the Battle of Culloden in Scotland.

William earned his badge of honor by being arrested by the British and serving time in prison.  He was finally put on a prison ship to America in 1747, where he was indentured out to pay for his voyage.  He eventually was freed and moved to Fincastle County, Virginia where he settled on 300 acres of land along Laurel Creek.  

Little did William expect that he would be fighting the British again, but as a result of the American Revolution, William did just that, fighting in the Battle of King's Mountain on October 7, 1780.

William married Rebecca (?) and there is much disagreement about her maiden name.    However, on his tombstone in the Lawson Confederate Cemetery, Snowflake, Scott County, Virginia---it says "wife Rebecca - died January 16, 1827."

There are literally more than two dozen genealogies for William and Rebecca Lawson on Ancestry.com and I don't think any of them are in complete agreement.    Some list them having nine or ten children and others up to fourteen or fifteen.    I have not done any original research, but I'm going to list below, what seems to be a general consensus for the children:

Rhonda - 1851
Drury or Drewry - 1756 - 1847
Ann - 1761- 1822
William, II - 1763 - 1852
Robert - 1764/1765 - 1830
Travis - 1766 - 1855
Catherine - 1769
Sally - 1770 - 1862
Jeremiah 1773 - 1862   ( a well-known Methodist Minister of "The Great Awakening."

The Entrance to the Lawson Confederate Memorial Cemetery, Snowflake, Gates City, Scott County, Virginia.   This cemetery began as a family burial ground for the Lawson Family but has since become a veteran's burial ground with soldiers of the Revolutionary, War of 1812, and Confederate Army having been buried there.

I have not been able to find any definitive listing of children done by a professional genealogist.   Will we ever know for sure----anyone's guess!

Most genealogists list Robert Lawson, born in 1864 or 1865 in Virginia, and son of William Rebecca (?) Lawson, as the father of Willis Lawson and grandfather of Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark.   I agree with that assumption and will provide his genealogy, although I have not done any primary research.   I am taking this information from Ancestry. com:

Robert Lawson born about 1764 or 1765 to William "The Scottish Rebel" Lawson and Rebecca (?) Lawson.    Robert Lawson was married to Anne Goad and they moved to Shelby County, Kentucky.  They were the parents of:
William - born 1787
Thomas - born 1790
Boswell - 1792
Willis - 1794
Andrew - 1795
Henry - 1798
Barnes - 1800
Malinda - 1802

It is believed that Robert Lawson died in Shelby County, Kentucky before 1830.    Several of his children were found living in or near Putnam County, Indiana on the 1840, 1850 and 1860 US Census.    They include at least:   William, Boswell, Willis, Andrew, and Barnes.

I'm going to stick my neck out now---and make an educated guess at the lineage of Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark, wife of James E. Clark:

Ann (Lawson) Clark
Father and Mother:    Willis and Mary (?) Lawson
Grandfather and Grandmother:  Robert and Anne (Goad) Lawson
Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother:   William "The Rebel" and Rebecca (?) Lawson

Now that I have eased my conscience over the mistake I make concerning Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark, I will return to writing about the children of Robert and Mildred (McCauley) Corbin.

Happy Trails!!!

More About The Family of Ann (Lawson) Clark and the Lawson Family

Before I continue writing about the Corbin Family, I want to continue providing a little more information about the ancestry of my paternal great great grandmother, Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark, wife of James E. Clark.

I feel so badly that I have misled anyone concerning Ann Lawson.   For at least the last twenty years, I have mistakenly provided her maiden name as "Larson" not Lawson.  I always thought it was strange because I was not able to find anything about a Larson family living in Clay or Putnam County, Indiana where I new my Clark ancestors lived.   I had always heard that Ann was from the same general community as James E. Clark, whose family lived at Harmony, Clay County, Indiana and yet I couldn't find a Larson family living anywhere near them.

So when I received an inquiry asking if her name could have been Ann Lawson, I began to do the research and found that yes, indeed, Ann Larson was really Ann Lawson.   The main fact that verified it for me was that my paternal grandmother, Mabel Rachel (Jones) Clark, had given me two pictures of Ann, and had written her maiden and married name on the back of the photos.   When I examined them closely with magnification, she had clearly written "Lawson" and I had just misinterpreted it.

As a result, I have done some extensive genealogical research on the Lawson families in Clay and Putnam County, Indiana and I have found that they were ABUNDANT!   There were no fewer than a dozen Lawson families living in those two counties during the 1840s, 1850s, 1860s, and even up until the turn of the century.     So let me present the family of Ann (Lawson) Clark in genealogical format.

Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark's Parents and Siblings

Father:  Willis Lawson - Born about 1794 in Virginia.
                                        Died about 1845 in Washington Township, Putnam County, Indiana
Mother:  Mary (?)           Born about 1805 in Virginia
                                        Died about 1860 in Washington Township, Putnam County, Indiana

Children:  James Lawson - born 1827 - Died 1901
                 Elizabeth Lawson - Born 1834 - Died 1894
                 Nancy Jane Lawson - Born 1841 - Died About 1900
                 Amanda Lawson - Born About 1842
                 Sarah Lawson - Born February 1844 - Died December 31, 1915
                 Ann "Annie" Lawson - Born October 1845 - Died February 2, 1917

I'm fairly certain that I have determined the parents of Willis Lawson, but I'll speak to that later.

I have not been able to determine the maiden name of Mary (?) Lawson.   I know from census records that she was born about 1805 in Virginia and died in Washington Township, Putnam County, Indiana.  I have not been able to find the location of her grave site.

Willis and Mary (?) Lawson were the parents of at least six children and may have had more.   Some genealogists also assign Leason Lawson to them as their oldest child.   However Leason Lawson was born about 1820 and that would mean that his mother could not have been more than 15 or 16 at the time of his birth.   This in itself is not unusual for the time, but I just want to see if I can find any additional facts that indicate he is the son of Willis and Mary (?) Lawson.

Willis Lawson was born in Virginia and was most likely married to Mary (?) in Virginia before moving to Shelby County, Kentucky.   He and his wife Mary Lawson are shown as farmers in Shelby County, Kentucky on both the 1820 and the 1830 United States Census.

In 1834, Willis Lawson moved his family to Washington Township, Putnam County, Indiana where he purchased 40 acres of land and farmed.   He later purchased an additional 120 acres of land, enlarging his holdings.   The family as shown above, are all recorded on the 1840 US Census living on their farm in Putnam County, Indiana.

Sometime between 1840 and 1850, Willis Lawson died.    I have not been able to find his grave site but it is assumed that he died while living on his farm in Washington Township because his widow, Mary (?) Lawson and all of his children, are recorded as living on that farm in the 1850 Census.  Mary (?) Lawson and her three youngest children, Amanda, Sarah and Ann, are all recorded as living on the farm when the 1860 US Census was taken.   Mary died after the 1860 Census was taken.   I have not been able to find any record of her death or burial.

I have been able to find additional information about five of the six children of Willis and Mary (?) Lawson. and it indicates that there was a close friendship between the Lawson and Clark families. 

James Lawson, the eldest son of Willis and Mary (?) Lawson, was born in 1827 while the family still lived in Shelby County, Kentucky.   He moved to Indiana with his parents in 1834.  His wife's name was Margaret, but her maiden name is not known.   The date of the marriage has not been found as of this writing.   However, James and wife Margaret (?) Lawson eventually followed other family members to Wabaunsee County, Kansas because he is recorded living in Mission Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas on the 1880 Census.    Here are the children of James and Margaret (?) Lawson:

Maria Lawson - 1857
Thomas Lawson - 1857
Jane "Janie" Lawson - 1867 - 1843
James Lawson, Jr. 1867
William Lawson - 1868
Arthur Lawson - 1870
Charles Lawson - 1874
Ida M. Lawson - 1876
Frankie A. Lawson - 1879

At least one of the children of James and Margaret (?) Lawson married into the Clark family.

Jane "Janie" Lawson was born in January 1867 in Clay County, Indiana and grew up knowing Lewis C. Clark, son of John and Sophia (Rice) Clark.   The Clark family moved to Wabaunsee County in a group of 16 people in three covered wagons, in 1878.   Jane Lawson moved to Wabaunsee County, Kansas with her family soon after that.

Lewis and Jane "Janie" (Lawson) Clark were married on November 5, 1882 at the home of the groom on Dog Creek in Newbury Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas.   They would live on farms in Newbury and Maple Hill Townships, and in the city of Maple Hill, the remainder of their lives.

This is a photograph of Lewis and Jane "Janie" (Lawson) Clark taken on the porch of their home in Maple Hill, Kansas in 1927.

Lewis and Janie (Lawson) Clark were the parents of six children:
Etta Mae Clark (1883-1912)
William John "Bill" Clark (1888-1969)
Roy Clark (1891 - ?)
Clarence McKinley Clark (1896-1984)
Oney Cecil Clark (1905-1987)

The James Lawson family moved to Soldier, Shawnee, Kansas sometime around 1890.   They lived in Shawnee County, Kansas the remainder of their lives and both James and Margaret (?) Lawson are buried in Rochester Cemetery, Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas along with several of their children and grandchildren.

So Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark was the aunt of Jane "Janie" (Lawson) Clark, and Ann (Lawson) Clark was the youngest sister of James Lawson, Jane's father.

There is yet another connection between the Clark and Lawson families.   Ann (Lawson) Clark's sister, Sarah Lawson, was married to John A. Clark.   John A. Clark was the oldest son of Oliver Clark and his wife Letta (Roberts) Clark.    Oliver was the youngest brother of John Clark, Sr. and Charles "Charlie" Clark, who both moved from Harmony, Clay County, Indiana to Wabaunsee County, Kansas in 1878.    So far as I'm able to determine, Oliver Clark never lived in Wabaunsee County, but he did visit his brothers and he did attend the funeral of at least John Clark, Sr.

John A. Clark was married to Sarah Lawson, on January 17, 1853 in Putnam County, Indiana.   Susan Lawson and her parents, Willis and Mary (?) Lawson had lived on a farm in Washington Township, Putnam County, Indiana.   They may have been married at her mother's home.

John and Susan lived in Putnam, Clay and Vigo Counties in Indiana before moving to Wabash Township, Clark County, Illinois before 1880.   Their family is recorded as living there on the 1880 US Census.   They were the parents of the following children:

Stephen Clark (1862 - ?)
Frank Clark (1863 - ?)
Nancy "Nan" Clark (1870 - ?)
Susan Clark - (1871 - ?)
Oliver Clark - (1872 - ?)

John A. Clark died on his farm in Wabash Township, Clark County, Illinois in 1891.   His wife Sarah (Lawson) Clark died there in 1915.

According to the 1900 and 1910 US Census, Sarah (Lawson) Clark and her sister Nancy (Lawson) Johnson, were living together in Sarah (Lawson) Clark's home.    I have not been able to find a death record or burial location for either of these sisters.

I was able to find a photograph of Sarah (Lawson) Clark with her daughter Nancy "Nan" Clark.   I want to use the photograph with one of Ann "Annie" (Lawson) Clark, to show the close family resemblance.

This is a photograph of Sarah (Lawson) Clark, wife of John A. Clark, and her daughter Nancy "Nan" Clark.  The resemblance between Sarah and her sister, Ann (Lawson) Clark, wife of James E. Clark, is amazing.

            This is a photograph of Ann (Lawson) Clark, wife of James E. Clark and sister of Sarah (Lawson) Clark.

    
This is a photograph of the entire family of John A. and Sarah (Larson) Clark taken about 1890 before John's death in 1891.


As an amateur genealogist, I so much enjoy all of the detective work that goes along with trying to unravel our ancestry.    I am so glad that I received the inquiry about Ann (Lawson) Clark.   It has led me on a very pleasant journey of discovery---a journey that was greatly aided by those family genealogists that have gone before me.  I am so grateful to them and to my grandmothers, who instilled a love of family---my kith and kin!

Happy trails!!

Major Correction in the Clark Family Tree!!

Last week, I received an inquiry on Ancestry.com which caused me to do some major research.   It read, "I think you have made a mistake in the last name of the wife of James E. Clark.   I believe she was Ann Lawson, not Ann Larson."

I immediately brought out the original copies of the two photographs I have of James Clark's wife.   They were both given to me by my paternal grandmother, Mabel Rachel (Jones) Clark.   I had asked both my grandmothers to identify the photographs they gave me, and they complied.    One of the photos of Ann has a wide black broader.   Grandmother Mabel must have had a hard time writing on it but chose pencil.   Sure enough, I had mis-read what she had written.   Using a magnifying glass, I carefully examined the writing and found the name on the back to be:   Ann Lawson Clark.    I looked on Ancestry.com, and I believe that several distant cousins have copied my genealogy work there.   As a result, you will all need to change Ann "LARSON" to Ann "LAWSON," wife of James E. Clark.

This is a photo of Ann LAWSON Clark taken about 1890.   She and her husband James E. Clark were both photographed at the same time, but separately.

 

 

 

This is the photograph of James E. Clark taken about 1890 and a companion to the photograph of Ann Lawson Clark above.

 

 

This is a photograph of Mrs. Ann Lawson Clark taken in 1910 after the death of her husband, James E. Clark.  The handwritting is that of Mabel Rachel (Jones) Clark.

 

 

I knew that Ann and James E. Clark moved from Putnam County, Indiana to the Snokomo Community, Newbury Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas in 1878.    I had searched the U. S. Census for 1850 and 1860 but had found no Ann Larson or any Larson family that could have been the parents of Ann Larson.

 

 

Now that I know the name was incorrect, I began a new search of Clay and Putnam Counties in Indiana, this time looking for Lawson.    It didn't take long at all to find Ann with her family living on a farm in Washington Township, Putnam County, which her father had purchased from the Federal Land Office in Vincennes, Indiana in 1843.    This farm would have been about five miles from the farms of the extended Clark family near the little settlement of Harmony in Clay County, Indiana.

 

As I did further research, I found other marriages between the Clark and Lawson Family and also that one of Ann's brothers, James Lawson, had moved his family from Indiana to Mission Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas and is shown there on the 1880 U.S. Census.

 

Here is what I know at this time about the Lawson Family.    The parents of Ann Lawson Clark were:

 

Willis Lawson born in 1794 in Virginia, and his wife Mary, whose maiden name I have not yet found.   However census information indicates that his wife Mary was also born in Virginia in 1804.  I have not found the exact death date or location for Willis Lawson but it is believed he died in Putnam County, Indiana in about 1845.    Mary died in Putnam County, Indiana in 1860.

 

There may be more children, but I'm pretty certain they were the parents of the following:

 

Leason Lawson, born in Shelby County, Kentucky in 1820 and died March 20, 1854 in Vigo

                             County, Indiana.

James Lawson, born Shelby County, Kentucky in May 11, 1825 and died at Soldier, Shawnee

                          County, Kansas on December 28, 1901.   He is buried in Rochester Cemetery,

                          Shawnee County, Kansas.

 

Martha Elizabeth "Betsy" Lawson born 1834 and married James Graves

 

Sarah Ann Lawson, born 1837 and died 1915

 

Nancy Lawson, born 1840 in Putnam County, Indiana

 

Amanda Lawson, born 1842 in Putnam County, Indiana

 

Ann Lawson, born 1845 in Putnam County, Indiana and died 1917 in Wabaunsee County, Kansas.

 

Since Ann Lawson was born in the year her father likely died, she is the youngest and last child of Willis and Mary Lawson.

 

 

I'm still doing research on the parents and grandparents of Willis Lawson, but they are believed to be

Robert and Anne (Goad) Lawson of Montgomery County, Virginia and William "The Scottish Rebel" Lawson and Rebecca Jane (Banks) Lawson of Scott County, Virginia.    I'll report more on that after I've done considerably more research.

 

I have more information about the siblings of Ann Lawson Clark and will write about that at a later date.   I wanted to get this major error corrected as soon as possible for I do ask for forgiveness from others who I have send down the wrong genealogical road.