I’ve begun to understand why there have been so many twists and turns in figuring out what happened to the five sons of Thomas and Elizabeth (Woodson) Williams of Bedford County, Virginia in the 1800s.
It’s been necessary to develop a FAN club for widow Elizabeth and that, in turn, brought more details to sort out.
One of those details is the conflation of two men, both named John Woodson. I’m not sure how these men came to be considered one person, except for the fact that they have the same name.
The Woodson family, even in the 1800s, was large and lived in many different Virginia counties.
These two John Woodsons were very close in age – both apparently born in the early 1780s, BUT lived over sixty mils away from each other in two different counties.
Think about it. Today, we might consider 60 miles away almost next door. In 1805, when John of Albemarle married, sixty miles was not a quick journey.
In addition to the distance, the fact that the men regularly appear in census records in both Campbell County and Albemarle County should have been enough for any serious researcher to determine that what we have is two men of the same name.
Tomorrow’s post will continue the saga of John E. Woodson and his connection to the orphaned Williams boys, but today, I’ll share the story of John Woodson of Albemarle County, Virginia.
John Woodson was born c1781, per his age in the 1850 census of Albemarle County, Virginia. I don’t know who his parents were, but for any descendants, I’d suggest a dig into Albemarle County records.
John Woodson married Susannah Wheeler on 15 January 1805 in Albemarle County.
Albemarle County records tell us:
c1810 – Only child, daughter Elizabeth, born c1807, per her death certificate and censuses.
1810 – Male, 26-44, Female 26-44, Female under 10
John Woodson married (2) Frances Garland, 1 December 1817, Albemarle County, Virginia.
1820 – Male, 26-44, Female 26-44, Female 10-15 [Note that John E. Woodson is found in the Campbell County census.]
John and Susannah Woodson’s only daughter, Elizabeth, married Robert Wheeler on 17 December 1827, Albemarle County, Virginia. Her death certificate states her parents were John and Susan Woodson.
1830 – Male, 40-49, Female 40-49, Female 10-15 [Note that John E. Woodson is found in the Campbell County census.] [Unknown who this female, 10-15, is. Perhaps a servant.]
1840 – Male, 50-59, Female, 50-59, Female, 20-29 [Unknown who this female is since Elizabeth had married. Perhaps a servant.]
1850 – John Woodson, 70, Francis (sic) Woodson, 60, Susan Wheeler, 17
1860 – John Woodson, 80, living with the family of Robert (60) and Elizabeth (Woodson) Wheeler (50) and their seven daughters still at home.
1870 – John Woodson, 89, living with the family of Robert (69) and Elizabeth (Woodson) Wheeler (59) and their four daughters still at home.
1880 – Robert and Elizabeth Wheeler are living in Albemarle County, Virginia with one servant plus the family of daughter Lucilla.
John Woodson isn’t found in the 1880 census or the mortality index so he died between 1870 and 1879, likely in Albemarle County, Virginia, where he lived most, if not all, of his life.
However, because his daughter Elizabeth had at least seven children, and likely eight if 17 year old Susan [named for her grandmother] living with John Woodson in 1850 is his granddaughter, John has descendants today.
This family sketch is very different than that of John E. Woodson, who we will look at tomorrow, and there is no way that John Woodson of Albemarle County is the same man.