The George W. Dodson Family

Source: Dodson File, Herman Brown Free Library, written By William H. Dodson, March 6, 1979

---

 

My father, George W. Dodson, was born January 24, 1840, in Dade County, Georgia. He was a confederate soldier. He trained for a short time under General Hardee at Mobile, Alabama, was in the battle at Vicksburg, but was ordered out of there before the surrender. However, he was captured in the battle of Murfreesboro. He was sent to a prison in Indiana where he spent 3 years. He told me that he almost froze and starved to death, that indeed at least half of the prisoners in that place did die.

 

He was exchanged at Harper's Ferry and was in a Company that was guarding the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, when Lee surrendered. They were in North Carolina. He had been sent down a road as a picket, and when he saw the Union soldiers surround the rest of the Company, he knew that he would be captured and put in prison again, and as the war was over, he laid his gun down and started the walk back to Georgia. I think it took him over a week to get back to Summerville, Georgia. He said that he could hardly get in the house.

 

He and his sister took care of their old parents until they died.

 

After about 2 years he married a Miss Huie, but she only lived about six months.

 

He taught school for a time, farmed and studied law; was admitted to the Bar and practiced law with his brother, Col. Mosley Dodson in Chattanooga Tennessee for a while, but becoming disgusted with the conduct of the courts under the "Carpetbagger" administration, he gave up the law and went back to the farm.

 

He married Naomi Kendrick of Summerville, Georgia. They raised a family of eight children: Mattie, Mary, Ed, Sam, Amy, Sarah, Carrie, and William (Bill). Only two survive, Sarah, who lives in a rest home in Austin, and myself.

 

In 1890 we moved to Texas and located near Santa Anna in Coleman County. Later we moved near Coleman City where we all went to school, but the floods of 1900 and droughts of 1901 were too much for us and we left there and came to Burnet in the Fall of 1902. We rented the Wingren place, which Gerome Felps now owns and lived there until 1907 when we moved to the city of Burnet.

 

Mattie and Mary taught school in several places, including the Burnet school. Both of them had attended Daniel Baker College in Brownwood, as did Ed and Sam. Ed taught in the Burnet schools and also sutdied law in Mr. Dayton Moses office until he was admitted to the Bar. He was elected to the Texas Legislature and served one term, then located at Marlin, where he served 2 terms as County Judge and 2 terms as District Judge. He is buried in the Marlin Cemetery.

 

Sam and Mary attended Austin Theological Seminary. Sam graduated in 1906. They both went to Korea as missionaries. Sam had married Miss Knox of Steel Bridge, South Carolina. About two years later she died while in Korea and left a baby girl. Mary took the child and kept her until Sam married again. After a time he came back to the States and served several Presbyterian churches in Georgia and Alabama. Finally he lived in Hamburg, Arkansas until he retired. He is buried near Hot Springs, Arkansas.

 

Mary spent half a lifetime in Korea and wrote a book with that title.

 

Mattie, Mary and Sarah never married, but are remembered for the great work they did in teaching, not only knowledge as learned from books, but principles of right and wrong.

 

Amy married Dr. Henry Garrett, who was practicing medicine in Burnet at that time. They moved to Bertram and then to Marlin where they lived until she died. They had two children, Dodson and Mary Ruth. Dr. Dodson Garrett is a dermatologist in El Paso and has 2 children, Dr. Bertram Garrett of Houston, and Cindy of El Paso.

 

Carrie taught school in Round Rock and Marble Falls. She married Dr. Rufus Lacy. They had a home in Pittsburg, Pa., for several years. They had two children, George and Bettie. George is a Doctor and lives in Asheville, South Carolina. He has a son and daughter.

 

As to myself, I started to school in the first grade in Coleman in 1900. My first teacher was Miss Della Larch and I still believe she was the best. I went there one more year, but do not even remember my teacher's name. The next year the four of us that were left at home went to school in Burnet. After the second year in Burnet, Amy and Sarah went to Professor Richie's school, while Carrie and I went to the Burnet Public School.

 

Amy and Sarah soon graduated and started teaching. Amy taught at Fairview, Dobyville, Steven's Bend, Fairland. Sarah taught at Hairston Creek, then in Professor Richie's school for about 3 years. She then obtained a place in the Austin schools where she taught for a few years and then took off long enought to go to the University of Texas until she got her Doctor degree. She then taught English in the University until she retired. (31 years)

 

My father and mother went to Austin to live when Mattie and Sarah went there to teach. My father and mother are buried in Oakwood Cemetery. He died in 1917 and was 77 years old. My mother lived to be 90.

 

I graduated from Burnet High School in 1910 in a class of eight, three of whom are still living. The class graduated under the guidance of Prof. M.B. Brown, Miss Florence Slye and Ed Dodson. The class was Grace Edman, Helen Knox, Ruth Lamon, Sadie Coffee, Anna Cheatham, Fred Rogers, Tom Cheatham, Q.C. Tayler, and myself--W.H. Dodson. Three are still living, Tom Cheatham, Helen Knox and myself.

 

After graduating I worked at several jobs and started my life's work by accident--I went to work in Fry's Drug Store, worked there a while, then went to Marble Falls, with Michel's Store for a year, then to Kingsland to manage a small store for Leslie Phillips, from there to Bertram to renovate the Dr. Lion store.

 

By this time I knew I needed more education than I already had--a Pharmacy License. I enrolled in the University of Texas and put in a year and a half, when World War I broke me and most of my friends. I worked anywhere I could get a job--Temple, Bangs, and Santa Anna.

 

On Feb 18, 1917, I married Maudena Lauderdale, and we lived on South Main Street in Burnet for a while, but soon went to Santa Anna where we lived for a year. At this time her father got too feeble to take care of the farm and ranch at Naruna, so in November of 1918 we took over the place and lived there until both he and his wife died. That was a good neighborhood to live in.

 

In 1935 we moved back to Burnet to send our children to school. They were Margaret, Bill, and Ross. They all graduated from Burnet High School.

 

Margaret married Cecil Glass and lived in Austin, where she died in 1962. She left 2 sons, Randy Glass and Larry Glass. They are both married. Randy has two sons--Jonathan, aged 4, and Joshua, aged 2. Randy works for Bell Telephone in Austin. Larry had just graduated in Electrical Engineering and has gone to work for Woodard Co. in Austin. He married Barbara Hahn of Fredricksburg.

 

My son Bill is an engineer and has been with the Highway Department for over twenty years. They have a home in South Austin and have 3 boys--William David, James, and Thomas.

 

Ross has never married and lives by himself in our home in Burnet. He works for the Burnet Consolidated School, has done so for over twenty years.

 

Maudena died in 1972 after a long fight with leukemia and is buried in the Burnet Cemetery.

 

On September 10, 1977 Edith Lacy and I were married and are living in Marble Falls.

 

Last update:  Saturday, 11-Jul-2020 16:03:42 MDT