WOODSON to MOSBY to JAMES to HOBDY to WARREN Family

2007-12-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

In November of 2006 my husband and I visited the Williamsburg area for a vacation. I picked up a pamphlet and it talked about a James River tour of historical places. One location jumped out at me -- Flowerdew Hundred. I knew that John Woodson had settled in Flowerdew. There was a phone number listed for a Flowerdew Museum, so I called it and made arrangements to visit there later that week. On that day, we followed the map to find Flowerdew and arrived at the site and drove up to a small white building that was the museum. There was one woman inside and she said she was a volunteer and she asked me if I was a Flowerdew descendant. I told her yes, that John Woodson was my 10th great grandfather. She showed me a T-shirt that had the Flowerdew families on it, and there was John Woodson shown on one of the branches on the tree on the T-shirt. I of course, purchased the T-shirt. She then let my husband and myself look around the museum. I found the typed muster (census) from 1624 and it is shown below:

THE MUSTER OF THE INHABITANTS
OF PEIRSEYS HUNDRED TAKEN THE 20TH
OF JANUARY 1624

Pierseys hundred
THE MUSTER OF JOHN WOODSON
JOHN WOODSON }
} in the George 1619
SARAH his wife }
Corne, 4 bushells; Powder, 1 lb; Lead, 3 lob; Peece fixt, 1; Sword, 1.

Dr. John Woodson was born in the year 1586 in Devonshire, England. He married Sarah Winston who was born in the year of 1590, also in Devonshire, England. Dr. John Woodson came to Jamestown as a surgeon with Sir George Yeardly. The young couple embarked on the ship GEORGE, January 29, 1619 and landed in Jamestown, Virginia in April 1619. (This was one year before the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Mass. on the Mayflower.)
Dr. John Woodson located at Flowerdew Hundred (also called Fleur de Hundred, Flour De Hundred, or Piersey's Hundred), which is on the south side of the James River some thirty miles above Jamestown, in what is now Prince George County. Two Woodson sons were born at Flowerdew Hundred; John born in 1632 and Robert born in 1637.
In 1632, Dr. Woodson was listed as the Surgeon of the Flour De Hundred Colony in Virginia. On April 19, 1644, Dr. Woodson was killed in sight of his house by Indians, who had called him out apparently to see the sick. After killing him, they attacked his home which was successfully defended by his wife and a shoemaker named Ligon. Ligon killed seven of the Indians with an old muzzleloading gun eight feet long, now one of the prized possessions of the Virginia Historical Society. Mrs. Sarah Woodson killed two Indians who came down the chimney; One with boiling water and one with a roasting spit. The boys, John and Robert, were concealed during the attack under a washtub and in a potato pit, respectively.
The Indians were led by Chief Opechancano, who was the son of Powhaten and he had killed 300 settlers on April 18, the day before. Opechancano had also led the Massacres of 1622 at Martin's Hundred. Several weeks later Opechancano was captured by the colonists and executed. The Indians were permanently driven out of that part of Virginia as a result of the uprisings of 1644.

Dr. Woodson's many descendants include Dolley Madison and Jesse James.

Unfortunately, the Flowerdew Hundred Museum was on private property and was closed in October 2007. Over 1/2 million artifacts were put into storage (where I do not know). It's such a shame that such an important part of American History has been lost.

2006-02-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

I have gathered source documentation for myself back through to my grandparents. I will not post that information to the blog due to security concerns. I will, however, start posting scanned images of the birth, marriage, & death certificates for my great grandparents and back further to my ancestor Dr. John Woodson on a website, as I acquire them. My direct descent from Dr. John Woodson to myself is as follows:

1 John Woodson b: 1586 in Dorset, Dorsetshire, England d: 18 Apr 1644 in Charles City, Prince George Co., Virginia
... +Sarah Winston b: 1590 in Of, Devonshire England m: 1619 in Dorsetshire, Devonshire, England d: 17 Jan 1659/60 in Prince George, Virginia
....2 Robert Woodson b: 1634 in Fleur De Hundred, Prince Georges Co., Virginia d: 1707 in Varina, Henrico Co., Virginia
......+Elizabeth Ferris b: 1638 in James City, VA m: Abt. 1656 in Curles, Henrico Co., Virginia d: 1689 in Henrico Co., VA
.......3 Sarah Woodson b: 1665 in Curles, Henrico Co., VA d: Bef. 12 Aug 1716 in Henrico Co., VA
.........+Edward Mosby b: 1665 in Of, Henrico Co., VA m: Bet. 1688 - 1689 in Henrico, Virginia d: 03 May 1742 in Henrico Co., VA
......... 4 John Mosby b: Jun 1689 in Henrico Co., VA d: 20 Nov 1718 in Henrico Co., VA
............+Martha Womack b: 1680 in Henrico Co., VA m: 21 Nov 1708 in Henrico, Virginia d: 06 Oct 1758 in Cumberland, VA
..............5 John Mosby b: 1710 in Henrico Co., VA d: 07 Dec 1801 in Cumberland, VA
.................+Lucy Allen b: 1713 in Henrico Co., VA m: 1738 in Henrico, Virginia d: 1801 in Henrico Co., VA
.................6 Lucy Mosby b: 1762 in Henrico Co., Virginia d: 26 Sep 1819 in Beaver Dam, Ohio Co., Kentucky
................... +John James b: 1750 in Armsfield Plantation, Hanover Co., Virginia m: 1780 in Henrico, Virginia d: 16 Sep 1819 in Beaver Dam, Ohio Co., Kentucky
......................7 William (Billy) Samuel James b: 1780 in Hanover Co., Virginia d: Bet. 1840 - 1848 in Butler Co., KY
....................... +Catherine Ann Parker b: Abt. 1785 in VA m: 06 Apr 1801 in Ohio Co., Kentucky d: Bet. 1840 - 1848 in Butler Co., KY
........................... 8 Sarah Ann "Sally" James b: 1825 in Butler County, Kentucky d: Aft. 1880
.............................+Alexander Hobdy b: Abt. 1820 in Kentucky m: 29 Jun 1843 in Butler County, KY d: Bef. 1880
............................... 9 Evelyn Hobdy b: 28 Jan 1846 in Ohio or Butler Co., KY d: 16 Apr 1938 in McHenry, Ohio Co. KY
................................. +Samuel Francis Warren b: 07 Aug 1835 in Garrard Co., KY m: 04 Feb 1863 in Corning, Clay Co., AR d: 09 Dec 1911 in Warren's Mill, Butler Co., KY
.................................... 10 Alexander Arthur Warren b: 29 Apr 1868 in Butler Co., KY d: 15 Nov 1947 in Kane, Greene Co., IL
.......................................+Martha A. Short b: Abt. 20 Feb 1874 in Missouri m: 02 Jan 1894 in Greene Co., IL d: 04 Feb 1899 in Warren's Mill, Butler Co., Kentucky
...........................................11 Catherine Evelyn Warren b: 12 Jan 1895 in Warren's Mill, Butler Co., Kentucky d: 07 Oct 1983 in St. Louis, MO
............................................ +Ora Ezrah Hatfield b: 08 Dec 1897 in Elsberry, Lincoln Co., Missouri m: 10 Apr 1917 in Alton, Madison County, IL d: 14 Mar 1944 in San Francisco, CA
.................................................12 Edsel Hatfield
................................................... 13 Elaine Hatfield ME