William Lawson: Finding Our True William

Dear Lawson Family,

It appears there are some questions as to if the William "the rebel" Lawson is our ancestor or if perhaps another William from Scotland is the true patriarch of our family.

I found this note at the William Lawson (1731 - 1826) Wiki Tree Page:



William “Our Scottish Immigrant” Lawson

Birth 26 Jun 1733 Montrose, Angus, Scotland

Death 18 Apr 1826 Snowflake, Scott County, Virginia, USA

Burial Lawson Confederate Memorial Cemetery Snowflake, Scott County, Virginia, USA

Memorial ID 19302244


Please refer to www.lfhp.org for further information on William Lawson. Many people are still actively researching this ancestor and as of 2017 new data has been found. The LFHP website will be updating this information and sharing it with all on their mailing list. Correcting the information on the website is ongoing.

Please understand there is no disrespect intended to any others who have devoted years of research to this ancestor. To those who paid for his beautiful gravestone and the memorial stone placed in Culloden, Scotland. But we now know that some information that has been believed, published in books and passed around by hundreds of us is in error. When doing genealogy we must always have an open mind. Our William from Montrose, Angus, Scotland who settled in Virginia is NOT the man who came on a prisoner ship in 1747. I am one of many who had thought our William was a transported prisoner.

After four extensive research trips to Scotland by a direct descendant, it has been discovered that this William Lawson of Scott County, Virginia was not the one transported on the Gildart prisoner ship in 1747. And this would also indicate he was probably not in the Battle of Culloden and the Prisoners of 1745 list. This William was born June 1733, not 1731 as listed on his marker. The two year difference may not seem like much but when we find the actual age of the William on the prisoner list it becomes a big difference.

The research in Scotland has proven that the William on the 1747 Gildart prisoner ship simply can not be our William of Snowflake, Virginia. The man of the prisoner ship was listed as 25 years old on October 26, 1746, Indicating a birth year of 1722 and he was a Jacobite from Durham, England.

Our William was 17 when he came to the colonies and was from Montrose, Scotland. His age at immigration and birth date of 1733 came from the writings of his Great Grandson Martin Byrd Wood who was born in Scott CO, Virginia in 1845. The family bible of Henry & Sarah "Sally" Lawson-Wood included the 1733 birth and 1826 death dates for William.

Martin B. Wood was the grandson of Sarah Lawson-Wood who was the daughter of William. Sarah died in 1862 and Martin no doubt had direct knowledge of his Great Grandfather via Sally. Writings by the Quillen family who descend from William Lawson II and his daughter Rebecca Lawson-Quillen also state these dates and refer to William as an immigrant, but not a prisoner.

I will add more specifics here as time permits to validate these statements. Some people will probably choose not to accept the evidence. There are a lot of family trees online that are going to need some correcting. Some will probably never get the changes added. Please refrain from any negativity. Thank you. And Happy Hunting!


Family Members:

Spouse:

• Rebecca Lawson unknown–1827 

Children:

• William Lawson 1764–1852 
• Travis Lawson 1766–1855 
• Sarah Lawson Wood 1770–1862 
• Jeremiah Lawson 1773–1862 [2]

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Genealogy is not an exact science and is much like piecing together a puzzle. I think of genealogists as history detectives as we piece information together and hope to present a fairly accurate picture of our ancestry, especially here in America where records are often hard to find. So, when new information comes to light, I try to keep an open mind and remain objective as I examine the new "puzzle piece" I am presented with.

I found this pdf file Finding Our True William at the Lawson DNA Project and plan to examine the evidence presented and continue to follow the mystery of the two Williams as it develops.

Thank you,
Angela Somers-Wittman