JMO's Lawhon Genealogy Home Page

Lawhon Genealogy

This is the start of a web site dedicated to researching the ancestors and descendants of William M. Lawhon (1832/35-1902) and Julia Sophia Norman (1851-1892).

I have information about almost all known descendants of William and Julia Sophia. I am interested in exchanging data with any Lawhon or Kinzel researcher. See this page for contact information.

Or visit: JMO's Genealogy Home Page for other additional information.

Lawhon Place Name Trivia

William M. Lawhon

William M. Lawhon married Julia Sophia Norman, daughter of Fredrica Kinzel and Charles Norman (Naumann)

Three generation chart of William M. Lawhon & Julia Sophia Norman

Other Lawhon Pages:

None that I know of....

William M. Lawhon

Much of the information about the William M. Lawhon family and his siblings comes from records found in the effects of Ada Christina Lawhon and currently in the possesion of Doris Lawhon Stout and family. It would appear that much of this was actually gathered by Ada's older brother Charles and became her hobby sometime after his death, when she began corresponding with Douglas Chester Lawhon, a Lawhon researcher in Atlanta who had been working (at least since 1913) with Charles in developing a Lawhon history. The following letter contains the information that seems to be the basis for everything we know today about William and his family.

In a letter from Douglas C. Lawhon to T. J. Lawhon, Attorney at Law, Houston TX and dated 7 Mar 1914, Douglas printed the following which he stated was an excerpt from a letter received from Charles Luther Lawhon, first child of William M. Lawhon. Douglas and Charles had engaged in significant research and correspondence on the Lawhon family, with Douglas intending to write a book. It seems that as late as 1933 Douglas had been unable to obtain additional information from William's descendants, as is evident from several letters to Ada Lawhon. Douglas does make reference to additional detail provided by both Charles and Ada, but no copies of their correspondence have been found in Ada's papers, although numerous letters to and from Douglas have been preserved. The extract:

"My grandfather Lawhon moved to Tennessee with his bride with whom he had eloped from North Carolina. She was a Miss Green. They settled at Kingston, Tenn. (in the forks of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers in Roane County). The foundation of the old house is still standing. It is called the 'old Lawhon Mansion', because it was an unusually good house at the time it was built. There were twelve children of whom my father was the youngest. I can give you the names off-hand of a part of the family: James was the oldest; Rebecca was the next; Benjamin, Sarah, and William. They lived to a good age. The last to die was Aunt Sarah who died at about 90. My father, William, was about 76. Uncle Ben was 85 or 86. My grandfather Lawhon died when father was about three years of age, and his wife died within about six months. I only know that they were highly respected farming people during the life in Kingston and they had quite a little property there."

"After the death of the parents the children rather scattered. One brother went to Kentucky, and the other six of the family, whether brothers or sisters I can't say, went West. It is the names of those that is unclear to my mind. I will get them for you. I know that they wrote repeatedly and tried to persuade my father to come West where they all accumulated much land and were all doing well. They were finally lost track of entirely. That was about the Civil War time, or shortly afterwards."

Charles evidently never did obtain the other names; numerous other references indicate some or all of the missing siblings went to Texas. Douglas also states that the above 'is only part of [Charles'] statement.' If only the original statement could be found!

Finally, on another chart in what may be Ada's writing there is the following confusing notation: "SIX OTHER CHILDREN. One had a son who was a merchant in Little Rock, and died suddenly in 1911. His widow married a Mr. Thorn. One went to Ky. Others went west. One settled a little out of Little Rock."

To summarize, we have the following from family tradition:

? Lawhon born in NC, died about 1838; married in NC and moved to TN
? Green Lawhon born in NC, died about 1838
James Lawhon oldest child, moved to Texas prior to 1861.
Rebecca Lawhon second oldest child.
Benjamin Lawhon died Feb 1899 in his mid 80s in TN.
Sarah Ann Lawhon died at age 90 in TN
William M. Lawhon born 28 Dec 1835, died 25 Feb 1901
At least 7 more whose names are not known. An entry in Doris Stout's book states there were 13 children, so perhaps 8 are missing. It is likely not all survived to adulthood. Most of those surviving moved to Texas, although there are indications some went to Kentucky and at least one male went to Little Rock AR.

There is one obvious discrepancy in Charles' statement: if William was about 76 when he died in 1901, he would have been born about 1825, not 1835. The obituary states he was 68, in any event.

Over the past few years, David Stout, Joe Oglesby and Dr. Joe Bistowish have been trying to research William's origins and trace other members of the family. The following is a summary of the results todate (note - I have not received any information from David Stout since 1990, so he may have updated information to add). I hope to present evidence to slightly support the following family structure:

(Joel?) Lawhon, father, died sometime after late 1840.
? (Green) Lawhon - still unidentified; also died after 1840
Rebecca, born abt 1820, was the oldest child and raised the family after her parents' death; she was single at the age of 30 and there is no evidence of a later marriage.
James, born abt 1823, was the oldest male and second oldest child; he married Joannah Lawhon(?) 6 Dec 1843 in Knox Co. They lived in Roane Co. through at least early 1860, where they appeared on the census. They may have moved to Texas at that time. Some children stayed in the Knox Co. area, however.
Benjamin, born abt 1828, died Feb 1899 at age 71 or so. He married Margaret Lawhon(?) on 20 Dec 1854 in Knox Co. His last descendant, Rosa, died in the last few years in Knoxville and was good friends of Doris Stout. It is a shame that there are no additional sources of information from her.
Sara Ann, born abt 1830 and died abt 1920. She married Robert Byrd on 30 MAR 1852 in Roane Co.; it was performed by W. Penossett MG and bond was provided by a James Lawhon. It would seem reasonable that James, as an established older brother, would provide the bond for his sister in the absence of their parents.
William, born 28 Dec 1832 (not 1835!). Died at age 68/in his 69th year on 25 Feb 1901.
Elizabeth A. "Milly", born abt 1836, youngest child; she married Wiley B. Wright on 11 Apr 1858 in Knox Co. (rampant speculation: her brother William, running out of family names in his large family, named one of his youngest sons Wiley Blount after his brother-in-law! Doris Stout states that a Luther Wright was a very good family friend and sometimes referred to her as 'cousin'. Research is needed to determine if he was perhaps a descendant of Wiley & Elizabeth.)
The other children are not known. There is an obvious gap in years between James and Benjamin, but could 6-7 more children be squeezed in there? Maybe one between Rebecca & James, another between Sara & William. Twins?

Much of the above is pure speculation. The names are real, the dates are real, but some of the relationships may not be:
the James who married Joannah may not be the brother James we seek
same for the James who provided the marriage bond for Sara.
"Milly" E. A. appears in the 1850 census living with Rebecca et. al., but may be a boarding cousin and may not be the Elizabeth A. that married Wiley B. Wright. Research is needed to substatiate these claims.

Supporting Marriage, Census & Roane Co. Data

Research Items

Need original marriage records of James, Benjamin, Sally/Sara Ann, etc., Elizabeth A.
What is the relationhip of Wiley B. Wright to Luther Wright and William Lawhon?
Need to check Tennessee and Texas 1870 census to see if James and Joanna can be found.
Tax records for 1824 and later need to be checked for Lawhons in Roane Co.
Does anyone know Cora May Renfro or her descendants?
Knox county death records need to be checked for Rebecca and Sarah Ann.
Is the Joseph E. Norman who married a Mary Lawhon the Joseph E. Norman who was the brother of Julia Sophia Norman, wife of William Lawhon? A William Norman provided a bond for a Lawhon marriage - is he related to Julia?
Would like Old Gray Cemetery map showing plots 107, 120, 341, 496, 869
Need to check local International Order of Odd Fellows to see if they have records for William Lawhon. They did provide an obituary.
Get copy of newspaper obituary.

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Last updated: 20:00 22 Sep 96

accesses since 13 Feb 1997.