Contributed by Robert G. Lawson bob58273 at yahoo.com
Please contact him if you have additions
Updated January 10, 2007:
Lawson families are documented as living in Tennessee while it was still part of North Carolina. Records of the “Hawkins County Store” mention William and Jacob Lawson in 1783, Reuben Lawson in 1786, and Reutter Lawson in 1787. Reuben Lawson bought a sorrel horse, and William Lawson bought a black heifer. Lawson families are also found in neighboring southwest Virginia and in western North Carolina (primarily Stokes County) in significant numbers.
The earlier documented ancestor that I can find is Jonas Lawson, who also went by “James”. Census records list him as born circa 1800 in Tennessee. No record has been discovered to confirm who Jonas’ parents were, but there are clues. These clues include: 1) He may have been related to “Morman” Lawson, since he signed a Revolutionary War widow’s affidavit for Morman’s second wife; 2.a.) Jonas’ two oldest sons that survived to adulthood (#3 and #4) both named their male children “William” and “Thomas”; 2.b.) Jonas’ son John Baxter named his third male child “William Preston” – the name of the third child stands out for reasons listed later; and 3) DNA results of male descendants of Jonas have narrowed the potential candidates. My speculative guess is that Jonas’ father was named Thomas or William, an idea first proposed to me by a California descendant of Joseph G. Lawson a decade ago.
Jonas Lawson is living in Hawkins County, TN, during the 1830 Census. It lists Jonas, a wife, two boys (under five) and one girl (under five). He may have married Sally Bailey on May 26, 1821 in Hawkins County; however, there was another Jonas Lawson in adjoining Sullivan County who also could have married Sally Bailey. The wedding was performed by Reverend Thomas McClain. NOTE: A Lawson researcher told me in a letter that a Jonas Lawson is listed in the records of Richardson Creek Church in Hawkins County in 1822, but I have not verified this.
Other than tax records, the next mention of Jonas is in the 1840 Census. Jonas was living in the same area of Hawkins County as when the 1830 Census was taken, based on the names of neighboring families. However, the three children born in the 1820’s are no longer listed, and his wife’s age is younger than what was recorded in the 1830 Census. Apparently, the children (and possibly his wife) died. There was a national cholera epidemic that swept across the U.S. from 1832-33 that is one candidate for what happened to them.
By 1840, Jonas is married to the former Sarah Jones, who was born circa 1812 in North Carolina. She may or may not have been the same woman Jonas was married to in 1830. Sarah Jones Lawson is listed in different sources as being born in North Carolina and Tennessee, but an early record (1840 Census), and the last known records (Nicholas Fain Lawson's death certificate and Joseph G. Lawson's death certificate) list North Carolina. However, since Tennessee was part of North Carolina before it became a state, both Jonas and Sarah’s birth state listings are suspect.
Jonas and Sarah’s oldest child surviving to adulthood was Joseph G. Lawson. He was born on January 25, 1834. In 1840 Jonas and Sarah had three boys (Joseph G., Orville B. and Jesse R.). Both Jonas and Sarah were illiterate, which was not unusual for that era. Jonas was a farmer and Sarah was a "domestic" (housewife). There is no record of Jonas and Sarah ever owning slaves. On December 20, 1843, Jonas bought land on Beech Creek, in the area of Bays Mountain and Cove Mountain, from Obadiah Fields, but did not register the land transfer until March 25, 1856. NOTE: There are three items of interest about this property. First, there is an earlier property record for the Sizemore family, which includes a reference to a “William Sizemore”, on Beech Creek whose boundary adjoined the “Fields” property. Two of the Lawson boys would later cross paths with a William Sizemore in Hawkins County during the war. Second, Revolutionary War soldier Daniel Jones (1757-1841) of NC owned 144 acres on both sides of Beech Creek; I have not determined whether he had a daughter named Sarah. Third, Beech Creek and Bays Mountain appear to be south of Rogersville, towards Greene County. In the 1830 census, Greene County residents included Thomas McClain, numerous Baileys and a Thomas Lawson who was old enough to be Jonas’ father.
The 1850 Census finds the Jonas Lawson family still residing in Hawkins County. It records the additions of Nicholas Fain, John Baxter, Martha Jane and James Benjamin, giving the family a total of six boys and one girl. The family farm was worth $1,000.00.
On November 14 (?), 1855, Jonas Lawson of Hawkins County, age 56, gave a Revolutionary War widow’s affidavit for Morman Lawson’s second wife “Elva Collins”, married in 1803 and a resident of adjoining Hancock County. Jonas’ relation to Morman is not known, but he is not listed on the roster of Morman’s known children by his first wife. NOTE: Morman Lawson was a Revolutionary War soldier. He was born circa 1751 in Henry County, VA, later lived in both Lee County, VA, and Stokes County, NC, before his death in (what was then) Hawkins County on September 16, 1842. (This area became Hancock County in the early 1850’s.)
NOTE: Since Jonas apparently lost his first three children, including two boys, in the early 1830’s, we do not have the benefit of knowing if they were named after his father or grandfather. For his later children, Jonas appeared to name at least some of his sons after prominent citizens from the region. Nicholas was named after "Nicholas Fain", a prominent local leader (banker, postmaster, mayor and state representative), as well as an acquaintance of Jonas. (Nicholas Fain was a witness for Jonas on a document.) Orville B. Lawson may have been named after “Orville Bradley”, who had a spacious home on land near the present Pearson Cemetery in Hawkins County and was in the Tennessee Legislature. If so, he is not the only person from this era named after Mr. Bradley. Jesse R. Lawson may have been named after Jesse Rogers, another significant resident of Hawkins County. Less clear is whether John Baxter Lawson was named after John Baxter, the speaker of the NC House from western NC, who later moved to Knoxville as an attorney and finally served as a federal appeals court judge. It is a mystery who “Joseph G.” is named after.
On March 27, 1856, Jonas sold his land in Hawkins County, and moved to Anderson County, Tennessee. We do not know why an older man, after 56 years in upper east Tennessee, decided to sell his land and move. However, I recently came across a possible economic reason for this. An article was written for the Knoxville Sentinel by Dr. George F. Mellon on February 16, 1907. The article states that circa 1855 a “speculative mania, created by the discovery of copper ore in Southwest Virginia, swept over the country . . . (Orville Rice) invested in lands said to contain rich copper ore. . . (Orville Rice) generously endorsed the note of friends who were buying as unwisely as himself. Eventually, with failure to sell lands or to secure returns, and with creditors clamoring for money lent, and with the approach of the Civil War, he was threatened with destitute circumstances. Fortune was swept away, lands were sold, and home was taken from him.” It is speculation on my part, but economic conditions in Hawkins County brought on by “speculative mania” on the part of multiple citizens of upper east Tennessee is a possible cause of this sale. The link to the article is: http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnhawkin/marblehall.htm .
Jonas and Sarah moved their family to Anderson County, Tennessee. From other documents (church records, marriage certificates, etc.), they were involved in the community of Oliver Springs (where Anderson, Roane and Morgan Counties converge). There are also some links to nearby Robertsville, Anderson County, TN – since absorbed by the city of Oak Ridge – but still close to Oliver Springs. In fact, they and several of their children are linked to all three counties from 1860 to the 1870’s.
NOTE: Why Jonas and Sarah chose Anderson County is not known. However, there are clues: First, there were Lawson families living in adjoining Morgan County; Nicholas and John even worked as laborers on the Adkisson farm adjacent to the these Lawson farms. Second, 1-2 of the Lawson men listed in the 1830 census in Morgan County may have been old enough to be Jonas' father – and one of them was named “William”. Third, Joseph G. Lawson is linked to the Robertsville post office in 1870 (part of Oak Ridge today, but in the same part of Anderson County as Oliver Springs). Fourth, Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Lawson had a grant for land on Emery/Emory Creek in Anderson County.
The 1860 Census is the last record I have of Jonas (who by this time was going by the name James) Lawson. He may have still been living in the 1870 Census (taken during Reconstruction and spotty in the southern states), but I have found no record of him or Sarah. By 1860, two boys had left home (Joseph and Orville); two boys are listed both as living at home and as farm laborers in adjoining Morgan County (Nicholas & John); and two more boys were born (Bartholomew and Samuel). The Lawson children are first recorded as attending school when they moved to Anderson County.We also know the Lawson family physician from this era. There is a letter of reference for Nick’s Confederate Pension application dated March 16, 1911 (1913?) from Henry Sienknecht, M.D., of Oliver Springs. He states “I have known him for a number of years, was his family physician before the war and since . . . I knew of his enlistment and met him at different times later during the war.” Dr. Sienknetcht was a medical doctor who originally moved to the Swiss German settlement at Wartburg, Morgan County, TN. In Wartburg, he practiced medicine and opened a drug store. After serving in the Confederate Army, he returned home and practiced medicine near Robertsville, Anderson County, TN – the post office for the Joseph G. Lawson family. Dr. Sienknecht moved back to Oliver Springs in1889, where he was living at the time he wrote this letter of reference, and later died in 1916. http://www.oshistorical.com/octsky.htm .
The following is a listing of the entire Jonas Lawson family, with their ages in 1860, and their states of birth:Jonas James Lawson age 60 b. TN
Sarah Jones Lawson age 48 b. NC
Joseph G. Lawson age 25 b. TN
Orville B. Lawson age 22 b. TN
Jesse R. Lawson age 21 b. TN
Nicholas Fain Lawson age 18 b. TN
John Baxter Lawson age 16 b. TN my ancestor
Martha Jane Lawson age 14 b. TN
James Benjamin Lawson age 11 b. TN
Bartholomew Lawson age 9 b. TN
Samuel P. Lawson age 7 b. TNJoseph G. Lawson (January 25, 1834 - July 11, 1916) married Malinda in the 1850's. There were listed in Anderson County in the 1860 Census with two girls, Sarah E. (age 7) and Malinda A. (age 4). Joseph would later father a son named “William Thomas Nicholas Lawson” in 1861. (I suspect that he named his son “Nicholas” as a way of honoring the brother that saved his life during the war.) Since Joseph volunteered for the Confederate Army in Rogersville in 1862, he apparently moved his family to upper east Tennessee within two years of this census.
Orville had remained in Hawkins County. In 1860, he is listed with his wife Bettie S. Falkner (age 22), and children Thomas (age 2) and William (2 months). They lived next to her parents. Orville would father a third son shortly before joining the Confederate Infantry, according to his widow's Confederate Pension Application. The pension application also notes that “Rev Wm Beston (Restor, Baxter?)” married them. A descendant says that the third son was born in 1862, and was named “Orville Edward Lawson”, whose first wife was “Katherine Kinnard Lawson”.
Jesse R. Lawson married Mary E. Kyle on April 25, 1861, in Knoxville. TN. W.T. Parham, who was in the “mercantile business” before the war, provided the bond.
Nicholas and John were listed as living at home in Anderson County in 1860, and as working as farm laborers on the James & William Adkinson farm in neighboring Morgan County. As noted earlier, there were Lawson families nearby (Hiram & Elizabeth, as well as Malinda & Ann). Also nearby was the Butler family, which may have been where Nicholas met his future wife. John and Nicholas were close to each other in age, married cousins, joined the war together, moved back to the same area after the war, and visited each other until their deaths.
THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES (1861-1865):
The War Between the States began in 1861. Although Tennessee seceded from the Union, the state was badly divided over the issue. West and Middle Tennessee voted overwhelmingly to secede, but sixty-nine percent of East Tennesseans voted against secession. As a result a lot of Tennessee families had brother fighting against brother. This was true of Jonas and Sarah Lawson's sons. At least four fought for the Confederacy, and one fought for the Union. One died fighting for each side. Two served in the cavalry, two served in the infantry and one served in artillery. (A sixth son, James Benjamin could have fought, but the evidence is sketchy.)John Baxter Lawson and Nicholas Fain Lawson, who found their first jobs together, also joined the Confederate Army together. Although they were not from a slave-owning family, both the Adkisson family (their employer) and the neighboring Butler family were local confederate leaders and supporters. The brothers enlisted in the First Tennessee Cavalry ("Carter's Cavalry"), Company E, in Knoxville on August 8, 1861. According to John’s pension application, this was originally the “Brazelton”, but was consolidated with the 1st Tenn. Calvary; John B. Lawson also referred to this as “John Robinson’s company”. Nick and John were privates. Among the battles they listed in their pension applications were the Battle of Stones River in Murfreesboro, TN; the Battle of Perryville, KY; the Siege of Knoxville, TN; the Battle of Cumberland Gap, and "various skirmishes in East Tennessee".
Orville and Joseph joined the Confederate States Army on September 16, 1862, in Rogersville Tennessee; Captain R.F. Powell enrolled them; he would later provide a reference on Orville’s widow’s pension application. They were in the 63rd Regiment, Tennessee Infantry. They were both privates. Among the battles they fought in was the Battle of Chickamauga, which was fought in and around Chattanooga, TN. NOTE: Joseph is listed as "Joseph" and "J.G." in C.S.A. records, and may have gone by Josiah in census records.
Jesse R. Lawson was the only brother to fight for the Union - what we do not know is whether he also fought for the Confederacy. There were other examples of men who fought for both sides, so his later service for the Union would not rule out his involvement with the Confederacy. “J.R. Lawson” enlisted with John and Nick on the same day, same city and same enlisting officer. J.R. became a corporal. However, there is not enough documentation to link this man to brother “Jesse R. Lawson”. We know little of Jesse, other than his military records, his widow’s pension application and the census records. He was 21 years old in 1860. By 1860, his two older brothers had families of their own, his two younger brothers (John and Nick) were working away from home, but he remained on the family farm in Anderson County. Whether he was more cautious at this time is unknown, but a later action would show a measure of independence. Jesse became a private in the First Tennessee Light Artillery Battalion, Company C, USA, under the command of Colonel Crawford. The Confederate Army vacated Knoxville in August of 1863. Union General Burnside entered Knoxville without a fight on September 3, 1863, and Jesse joined the Union Army 14 days later - on September 17, 1863. Jesse may have stayed in Knoxville after his wedding to Mary Kyle, or - if he was “Corporal J.R. Lawson” - then he may have returned to Knoxville after leaving the Confederate Army to reconnect with his wife. Regardless of the details, he joined the Union side shortly after the Union Army took over Knoxville – and nine months after the Emancipation Proclamation. We do not know how Mary Kyle met Jesse. NOTE: Company B of this Battalion was from Hawkins County. Whether he chose Company C partially due to Company B’s link to his birth county is unknown.Orville B. Lawson was seriously wounded in the Battle of Chickamauga on September 21, 1863. He was taken to the Academy Hospital in Marietta, Georgia, where he died on October 28, 1863, as a result of wounds received in battle. His death certificate lists fair hair, fair skin and fair/blue eyes. He is buried in Marietta, GA. Orville left a widow and three small children. Bettie Lawson’s Confederate widow’s pension application includes references from an “E. Fain” and “W.P. Lype” of Hawkins County - both swore that they were in the same regiment and lived near her. The pension application also includes a 1905 reference from R.F. Powell, Orville’s Captain. Powell notes that he lived in the same neighborhood as Orville, Orville enlisted in Powell’s regiment, he was “acquainted with Orville” and “knew Bettie all my life”. NOTES: “E. Fain” was probably Earnest Fain, son of Hiram and Sarah Fain, age 17, in the 1860 Census of Hawkins County’s 10th district. This was the same district that Orville and Bettie Lawson lived. He would have been living at the time of her application, since an “Ernest Fain”, age 72, didn’t die until 1918 in Hawkins County. One interesting aside is that John W. Parham was the “trustee” on Bettie’s pension application. Whether he was related to the Parham who posted bond for Jesse’s wedding in Knoxville has not been determined.
Jesse R. Lawson contracted Small Pox while serving with the Union Army. He was taken to General Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where he died on February 22, 1865. His death certificate lists fair hair, fair skin and fair/blue eyes. Jesse's widow was left childless, and later moved to Clark County, Indiana, where she lived with her sisters, and later filed a pension request via a Louisville, KY, attorney. She is listed as 28 years old in 1865. There is no record of any post-war contact between Mary E. Kyle Lawson and Jesse’s siblings.
Joseph G. Lawson became ill in December of 1863, and deserted at Bean Station (near Morristown), Tennessee. His record notes that he left with an “Enfield Rifle and accompaniments”. The records of the 63rd Infantry state that "the marches from Chattanooga to Knoxville, and from Knoxville to Rogersville were made in very severe weather, and nearly half the command entirely barefoot. . . On the march from Knoxville, 80 men deserted from the 63rd in one night." Nicholas states in a 1910 letter that his brother was seriously ill, and he helped him get home to Hawkins County. "Jos. G. Lawson" identifies himself in an accompanying letter as that brother. How Nicholas found Joseph in the midst of the war is unknown. On their way home to Hawkins County, they were attacked by "Tennessee Bushwhackers". They were captured, and held by Union sympathizer William Sizemore in Rogersville, and were told they would be killed if they tried to escape. (According to Nicholas, several Confederate P.O.W.'s were killed by Sizemore while trying to escape.) Joseph and Nicholas were later transferred to Knoxville, where they were paroled in 1864 (according to Nick's account). Joseph’s signed (“x” his mark) Oath of Allegiance survives; he took the oath on December 23, 1964; Hawkins County is listed as his residence. NOTE: The February 3, 1892, issue of the Rogersville Herald goes into more detail on Sizemore’s guerilla tactics: http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnnews/rh003.htm.
John Baxter Lawson’s Confederate pension application states he was captured by Union soldiers near Whitesburg, Tennessee (which is near Morristown) in April of 1864, while scouting. He was taken to Knoxville, and paroled immediately. On January 30, 1865, John Baxter Lawson reports in the same application that he was shot in the neck near his home in Oliver Springs (west of Oak Ridge) by Union Soldiers. He had taken an oath not to go back to his unit if paroled, so I assume: a) that the Union soldier was in error; b) John had violated his oath; or c) he misrepresented the incident to make it more likely that he would qualify for a pension.
THE LAWSON'S, 1864-1914:
John and Nicholas went back to the Oliver Springs area after being paroled. John married Mary M. Winters on November 24, 1864, in Morgan County, Tennessee. Mary was a member of a founding family of Oliver Springs (the original name of Oliver Springs was "Winters Gap"). Her parents were Moses C. and Leah Winters. How John and Mary met is unknown. Mildred Query, granddaughter of John and Mary Lawson, told me that Mary M. Winters Lawson kept the books for her father – a wealthy man.Nicholas married Elizabeth Butler in 1865, and had three children by 1870, Martha, Moses and Angelina. The Knox County Court Minutes, September 14, 1880, include the appointment of Nicholas Lawson as “Overseer of road from Anderson Co line to Clinton and Heiskels Mill Road”. This is near the present-day Powell community in Knox County, and also near Anderson County. It is my understanding that residents were appointed to fill in pot holes and maintain roads in the vicinity of their residences, rather than have a paid county work crew. On April 22, 1910, Nicholas applied for a pension in Tennessee – the application is made in Morgan County. In addition to the doctor listed above, Nick also had a reference from a H.C. Fanell of Knoxville, who said he knew him beginning in 1863. Nick’s pension request was rejected, due to his failure to stay in prison until the final surrender and/or his failure to return to his unit. After 1910 and before 1913, Nicholas moved to southwest Virginia, where he applied to enter the “Lee Camp Soldiers Home” in Richmond. His brother Joseph G. Lawson was a witness on that application. Nicholas also mentions a son living in Big Stone Gap, so it is possible he moved there for financial reasons after the rejection of the Tennessee pension application. NOTE: Confederate soldier’s military benefit applications were made in the southern state where they lived, and not in the state where they served.
Both John and Nicholas were Baptists, but we do not know whether they became Baptists when they were married their wives (who were from Baptist families), or if Jonas and Sarah had raised them in that denomination. There is no record of Jonas and Sarah Lawson's religious affiliation, other than Jonas’s possible 1822 link to Richardson Creek Church in Hawkins County.
[Note from Pat McD: "Origin of First Baptist Church of Oliver Springs, TN" by Snyder E. Roberts page 8, mentions Middle Creek Baptist Church, Morgan County, being organized in October 10, 1886, and a charter member was Nicholas Lawson. At the first meeting, one of the candidates for baptism was Drialie Lawson. "History of Oliver Springs Post Office" by Pauline H. Roberts, page 2, says that in 1860 people receiving mail from Oliver Springs Post Office included William Lawson, wife Delila, children: Avie, Mary, William, Anna.]
Joseph G. Lawson is living in Hawkins County (District 10) in the 1870 Census with his wife, two daughters and son. He is listed as a farmer. The 1880 Census shows Joseph G. Lawson living with W.T.N. Lawson (age 20) in Hawkins County, so Malinda presumably died. William Thomas Nicholas Lawson married Susan Jane Fry of Rogersville September 18, 1881, they had two children, but he died of “consumption” at age 23 (according to a descendant). Joseph G. Lawson's daughter-in-law remarried after William Thomas Nicholas Lawson’s early death, and moved to Montana with Joseph's grandson. Joseph G. Lawson eventually moved to Big Stone Gap, VA, where he died on July 22, 1916. According to the same descendant, Joseph G. Lawson corresponded with his grandson Joseph Thomas Lawson (January 15, 1884 Rogersville TN – September 18, 1936 Billings, Montana) – mentioning his desertion from the war and a “Wes Lawson” that lived near him (in Virginia). Joseph Thomas Lawson married Laura Melvina Jacobs on December 25, 1909.
NOTE: A Lawson researcher told me that Joseph’s daughter Ann (“Malinda A.”?) married James Wesley Lawson on Sept. 27, 1876, and later moved to Wise County, VA. The 1900 Wise County, VA, Census, “Gladeville District (part of)”, lists: “James W. Lawson, carpenter, born TN May 1856, parents born in TN; Marilda Lawson, born KY April 1856, parents born in TN. If this relationship is accurate (which is problematic since we have no record of Malinda born in Kentucky), in his old age Joseph G. Lawson was living with his younger daughter and her husband. If this is not accurate, since Joseph wrote of a “J.W. Lawson” and this name is on confederate records as a witness, it is likely that Joseph was living with this family as a “boarder”. This family had seven men living as “boarders” in the 1900 Census.
James Benjamin moved back to Hawkins County, and married Ellen (Burton?). In 1870, he is listed in Hawkins County District 9 with his wife (b. circa 1850) and a child called “Matilda Burton”. He had two sons by 1880, James (born 1870) and Sankford H. (born 1878). Joseph’s Wise County, VA, death certificate is witnessed by a “J.B. Lawson”. This was almost certainly his brother James, who was also living in Big Stone Gap, VA in the early 1900’s. NOTE: One unsubstantiated source lists a James B. Lawson, March 14, 1846 – 1923 (died: Big Stone Gap, VA). The same source lists his wife’s full names as Elender Nellie Burton, died 1914, Coeburn, VA.
Sarah Jones Lawson, and her son Bartholomew Lawson, are both living in Hawkins County by 1872. This is known from recently discovered “lose Hawkins County Records”. (I have not seen the source documents.) These documents include a criminal complaint filed by Joseph G. Lawson (listed as Josiah) and Malvina Lawson against James B. Lawson for the abduction of their daughter Sarah (dated May 28, 1872) in Hawkins County. James was found guilty and served three years in jail. Reuben and Martha Jane Ferrell, as well as Sarah Lawson and Barton Lawson were called as witnesses for James. Joseph was a witness against James.
A California descendant of Rueben C. and Martha Jane Lawson Ferrell (through their son John Frank Ferrell) told me years ago that Martha was the daughter of Jonas and Sarah Lawson. He said their marriage certificate is missing, but they are buried in the Rogersville Presbyterian Church cemetery. Martha’s descendant said she was born March 21, 1846, and she died January 14, 1903. A Reuben Ferrell is still found in District 4 of Hawkins County in the 1910 Census. Hawkins County marriage records list a “Reuben Ferald” and “Martha Jane Lawson” as being married on September 20, 1866. NOTE: Martha Jane Lawson was back in Hawkins County in time to meet, date and marry Reuben Ferrell by 1866. We do not know when she returned. With a war starting, two sisters-in-law raising children without their husbands, the possible death of her own father (Jonas) and Reconstruction, there are numerous possibilities.
If all the other witnesses in this court case are family members, it follows logically that “Barton Lawson” in James Benjamin’s trial would be “Bartley Lawson”, the second youngest son of Jonas and Sarah. That would put him back in Hawkins County after the war also.
NOTE: Samuel Lawson is the only child of Jonas and Sarah who has not been located yet. Although highly speculative, I cannot rule out that he died before 1866. John Baxter Lawson named his first child “John”, presumably after himself. But he and Mary named their second child “Samuel” – the same name as his baby brother. One might expect John to name a child after the brother he was closest to (Nick), rather than Samuel – who was still a child when John left home – unless Samuel died and he wanted to carry on the name. Interestingly, his third son is named “William Preston Lawson”; the name “William” surfaces for a third time amongst the grandchildren of Jonas and Sarah.
By 1880, John and Mary had moved back to Hawkins County. They lived on a farm, along with their children, a white child laborer, and John’s mother Sarah. (Sarah also lived with James Benjamin and Ellen part of the time.) Jonas James Lawson had died, but we have no record of when or where he died. I was told by Mildred Query (Beatrice Lawson Query’s daughter) that there is an old Lawson Family Graveyard in the Oliver Springs area, but she said the graves are unmarked. NOTE: On the Oak Ridge National Laboratory property east of K-25 is an unmarked graveyard (1-1/2 miles west of Silvey Cemetery, south of the curve in the West Quarry Road and about 3/8 of a mile north of the Oak Ridge Turnpike) with sunken graves that was part of property sold by Clem Lawson.
During the 1880's the John B. Lawson family moved to Knoxville. John gave up farming and became a carpenter. They lived in the Lonsdale section of Knoxville, which was occupied by a large number of rural Tennesseans who had moved to the city.
The full family included:
LAWSON FAMILY MEMBER BIRTH/DEATH SPOUSE
John Baxter Lawson 4/6/44-8/11/11
- Mary M. Winters 7/7/47-1/2/14 John's 1st wife
Children:
John* born circa 1865 died before 1907 (d. 1887?)
Samuel* born circa 1866 died after 1905/before 1907
Alice born 12/67 Never Married
William Preston 4/18/68-8/31/47 Mary Bryant 4/28/79-7/9/61- Henry Leroy, Charles Clarence & Elsie
Mary Ella 12/27/70-2/18/47 Arthur Wilson
Beatrice 1/8/72-8/27/51 Wilson Augustus Query
Martha (Mattie) born circa 1873 J. Thomas Stewart
Laura** 10/15/75-8/13/25 James N. Poe
Flora (Dollie) born circa 1876 Charles Drain (1st) Clyde Hall (2nd)
Avaline (Arva) born circa 1878 W.C. Johnson
Maggy born circa 1879 Mr. Frank (1st) Mr. Hurst (2nd)
Charles Harvey 9/1/81-5/2/1951 Agnes Hoffmann- William Baxter, Richard, Charles Harvey, Mary, Lorraine, Agnes & Ruth
Genann P. (Jenny)* born circa 1884 George Cunningham
Grover Cleveland 3/22/85-1930's Mary McGuiness
Fairy Lee born 1880's Mary Lou _____
- Nancy Jane Holloway 8/46-9/30/24 John's 2nd wife
* a) There is a September, 1887, Knox County Court record of a death of a John C. Lawson with John B. Lawson as executor. Whether John C. Lawson was John and Mary’s son has not been confirmed, but Mary’s father was “Moses C. Winters – and Charlton was Moses’ mother’s maiden name. b) Jenny is rumored to have died in childbirth (according to Mildred Query.) c) Samuel is not listed in John Baxter Lawson’s 1907 confederate pension application, as John lists four living boys and 9 living girls. Mildred Query said she vaguely recalled Samuel was involved with a business called “Lawson’s Salads”, but she was not positive.
** Donna T. Brumby, great granddaughter of Laura Lawson (genforum post) lists her mother’s middle name as Belle.On July 25, 1890, Mary M. Lawson's divorce request was finalized. She obtained custody of Flora, Avaline, Maggie, Charley, Genann P., Grover C., Farry Lee and "Lavina". (Lavina may be "Laurina", because: 1) Laura was not an adult yet and should have been listed with the minor children; 2) there is no other record of a sixteenth child named Lavina; and 3) the family tradition was there were 15 children.) John was required to pay $200.00 per year in alimony, in four quarterly payments of $50.00, until the children were 21 years old. He was also given visitation rights on Sunday afternoons, and "expressly prohibited from in any manner interfering with the control of said children . . . or in any manner by himself or others . . . enticing said children to leave their mother."
Mildred Query said that the reason for the divorce was never discussed. John Baxter Lawson married Nancy Jane Holloway on Christmas Eve in 1895 in Knoxville. However, events continued to spiral down. On March 31, 1896, a guardian for some of Mary’s minor children is listed in the county court minutes. William P. Lawson is appointed guardian of Arva and Maggie on August 24, 1896; he adds Annie on January 31, 1899. “Fary Lee” and “Grover C” are committed to the Knox Co Industrial School July 26, 1899 – which probably means they were not behaving. The 1900 Knox County Census shows John’s daughter Alice (age 32 and never married) living with John and Nancy. The John Baxter Lawson family appears to have gone through difficult times.
John and Mary at times lived in the same neighborhood, and on the same street, for the rest of their lives. Mildred Query said that she sometimes stayed with Mary (her grandmother) overnight as a child because Mary did not like staying alone. They did, however, attend separate churches. John went to Lonsdale Baptist Church. Mary went to one of the largest churches in the city, Deadrick Avenue Baptist Church. There are two family reunion photos from 1906/06 and circa 1908/09 taken in a park in Knoxville.
Ella, Bea, Mattie, Laura, Ave and Maggy were employed by "Knox Woolen Mills" (a textile factory) around the turn of the century. William P. Lawson and W.A. Query owned a furniture shop. Grover and Charles were painters. Alice may have been a seamstress. John B. Lawson states on his pension application of January 22, 1907, that an unmarried son was in the Army.
John Baxter Lawson's condition deteriorated. His right side became paralyzed, and he died in 1911. He is buried in Knoxville's New Gray Cemetery. His obituary says that Charles and Grover were living in Cincinnati at the time of his death. Mary M. Winters Lawson, the daughter of Moses C. Winters and Leah Shaw, died in 1914. She was buried in New Gray Cemetery in Knoxville, but not next to John. Nicholas Lawson, who appears to have been the closest to John, entered the Lee Camp Soldiers Home in Richmond, Virginia. Joseph Lawson was a witness to his application, which was written in the early 20th Century. Mildred Query told me that Uncle Nick made several trips back to east Tennessee, and visited John's children. He died on April 22, 1923, in Richmond; an unsuccessful attempt to notify “Lizzie Solomon, Route 3, Oliver Springs, TN” was made. His death certificate lists him as having dark complexion and dark hair, quite different from Jesse and Orville.By the first part of the 20th Century, the Lawson family descendants had “clustered” in the textile mills of Knoxville, Tennessee the mining area of Wise County, Virginia and back in Hawkins County. Charles Harvey Lawson married Agnes Hoffmann of Kansas City, Missouri; Agnes’ mother was related to the Winters by marriage. Grover Cleveland married Mary McGuiness; they lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. One daughter of John and Mary Lawson is listed as living in Philadelphia, PA. They had endured a lot of struggles, but remained a family through it all. From an early loss in the 1830’s, to relocation at age 56 in the 1850’s, thru war, a lawsuit, poverty and injury, the family continued to stay in contact with each other and help each other out.
NOTE: DNA test results for a descendant of John Baxter Lawson are underway through FamilyTree DNA. The partial results shown the haplogroup is I1a. The link is http://carl.lawson.net/LawsonDNAProject.html . Kit #73866 is the line through Jonas and Sarah’s son John Baxter Lawson; when testing is complete, it will cover 67 alleles. Kit # 67041 is the line through Jonas and Sarah’s son Joseph G. Lawson; testing is complete but it is less extensive.
PARTIAL REFERENCES
1830, 1840, 1850, 1870, 1880 U.S. Census for Hawkins County, Tennessee.
1860 U.S. Census for Anderson County, Tennessee.
1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 U.S. Census for Morgan County, Tennessee.
1900 U.S. Census for Knox County, Tennessee.
Confederate Service Records for Tennessee. (Orville, Nicholas and John; Joseph went by J.G. Lawson. Corroborating evidence of this is found in a letter he signed on behalf of Nicholas' admittance to the Soldiers Home as "Jos. G. Lawson" of Stone Gap, Virginia. Although the letter was signed "Jos. G. Lawson", his witnessed it "Joseph Lawson". )
Confederate Widow's Pension Applications for Tennessee. (Orville's widow.)
Confederate Pension Applications for Tennessee. (John and Nicholas; the pension board did not dispute their service, but rejected their applications. An obscure letter states that Nicholas was rejected because he did not return to his unit after being paroled from the Union stockade in Knoxville. The pension board did not feel that the Union's agreement to free him if he gave his word not to return to his unit was acceptable. He should have gone back and fought for the south by their reasoning. Presumably, the same was true about John.)
Nicholas Lawson's Application & File for Lee Camp Soldiers Home, Richmond, Virginia (which includes one of only two references to his mother's maiden name. This is critical because a Jonas Lawson married a Sarah Bailey in 1821 in Hawkins County. The Bailey's also lived in Beech Mountain and Cove Mountain, which may mean that Sarah Jones was Jonas' second wife.)
Union Service Records for Tennessee. (Jesse)
Union Widow's Pension Applications (Jesse's widow filed in Louisville, Kentucky. Resident of Indiana.).
Joseph G. Lawson’s July 11, 1916 death certificate, signed by "J.B. Lawson, Big Stone Gap, VA".
Knox County Court Records, 1887, 1890, 1895-1905. (1) The 1887 listing is for the death of a John Lawson, whose executor is John B. Lawson. This is the most likely explanation of John's death, particularly since Mary Lawson’s father was “Moses C. Winters” (the “C” stood for Moses’ mother’s maiden name); 2) The 1890 reference is the divorce; and 3) there are miscellaneous records on the children around the turn of the century. Several of the boys misbehaved.
Knoxville Marriage Applications & Records. (The marriage of Jesse does not exist in these records, only the application. His widow says the person who officiated neglected to file the record.)
Morgan County, Tennessee, Court Records. (Justice of the Peace records include 2 weddings.)
Knoxville City Directories.
Knoxville News-Sentinel Obituaries.
Knoxville Journal Obituaries.
History of Oliver Springs. (Winters Family, primarily).
Public Library Reference Room, Rogersville, Tennessee.
Newsletter, Hawkins County Genealogical Society.
Miscellaneous church and community records of Oliver Springs.