LAWSON
  DYS Numbers  
Kit # Ancestor                                                     G Y Y                 H
                  3   3                             A C C                 A
        3 3       8   8   4 4             4 4 4 4   T A A         C C     P
3 3   3 8 8 4 3 4 9 3 9 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 4 A I I 4 5 5 5 D D 4 4 G
9 9 1 9 5 5 2 8 3 | 9 | 5 9 9 5 5 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 H I I 5 0 7 7 Y Y 4 3 P
3 0 9 1 a b 6 8 9 1 2 2 8 a b 5 4 7 7 8 9 a b c d 0 4 a b 6 7 6 0 a b 2 8  
1971 Jacob Lawson b. 1761 Bedford Co. VA, d. 1833 Hawkins Co, TN + Polly > Lazarus Lawson b. 1794 VA d. 1863 + Helen Maria Rogers > George R. Lawson b. 1831 13 22 14 10 13 14 11 14 11 12 11 28 15 8 9 8 11 22 17 20 28 14 14 15 15 10 10 19 21 14 13 16 18 35 36 12 10 I1a
111699 Jacob Lawson b. 1761 Bedford Co. VA, d. 1833 Hawkins Co, TN + Polly > Lazarus Lawson b. 1794 VA d. 1863 + Helen Maria Rogers > Joseph Rogers Lawson b. 1833 13 22 14 10 13 14 11 14 11 12 11 28 15 8 9 8 11 22 16 20 28 14 14 15 15 11 10 19 21 14 13 16 18 35 36 12 10 I1a
29618 Jacob Lawson b. 1761 Bedford Co. VA, d. 1833 Hawkins Co, TN + Polly > Lewis Kendrick Lawson b. 1792 VA + Mary Rowan > postulated Jacob B. Lawson b. 1819 + Ardelia French 14 22 14 10 13 14 11 14 11 12 11 28 15 8 9 8 11 22 16 20 28 14 14 15 15 10 10 19 21 14 13 16 18 35 36 12 10 I1a


The DYS Numbers in red have shown a faster mutation rate than the average, and therefore these markers are very helpful at splitting lineages into subsets, or branches, within a family tree. DYS 19 is also known as DYS 394. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) test, which is used to confirm the haplogroup, has been performed on the haplogroups written in bold, red print in the right hand column. It is necessary to do an SNP (commonly called "snip") test for only one individual within a family group in order to determine the haplogroup for everyone in the group.


THE LAWSON FAMILY
Copyright August 2005, Revised 2007, 2010, 2013
Mary Fern Souder

Generation 1: Generation 1: Jacob Lawson was born in 1761 in Bedford County, VA. He enlisted in the Revolutionary War in 1779 as a resident of Henry County, VA, and served as a private in Capt. Shelton's company of the Virginia Militia in pursuit of Tories. In December 1780, he served two months in Capt. William Cloud's company, Capt. James Lyon's Virginia regiment, and marched to North Carolina. He reenlisted the latter part of February 1781, and served two months in Capt. George Maston's company, Col. Penn's regiment.

Jacob married Mary "Polly" (maiden name unknown*) in August of 1784 at the home of Capt. Thomas Amis in Hawkins County, TN. On 28 November 1832 he applied for a pension based on his military service, it was approved retroactively as of this date, and was in force until his death on 8 September 1833. On 6 May 1839 Polly applied for a widow's pension based on Jacob's military service. Her pension application listed their seven surviving children (some spouses were listed in the application and those not mentioned are added in parentheses by this researcher): Elizabeth Lawson md. William Finnell; Lewis Kendrick Lawson living in McMinn Co., TN (md. Mary Rowan); Lazarus Lawson (md. Helen Maria Rogers); Russell Carroll Lawson (md. Lavinia Lawson, alleged daughter of Peter Lawson of Hawkins County, TN); Anna Lawson md. Thomas Haynes, living in Bradley Co., TN; Samuel "Reynolds" Lawson (md. Jane); and Matilda Lawson md. Anderson Campbell of Hawkins County, TN. (Some researchers believe that an additional deceased daughter not mentioned in her mother's pension papers was Nancy Lawson who md. William Miller. Since several documents in Polly's pension application mention her "surviving" children, it is assumed that she had one or more children who predeceased her).

*Possibilities for the maiden name of Jacob's wife, Polly, include Dodson, Reynolds, Lewis, Kendrick, and Russell.

Some Lawson families who lived in Bedford County, VA, were referred to as the "Falling River Lawsons" by early researchers because their land adjoined the Falling River. Jacob Lawson's land was on the Holston River in Bedford County, and his Y-chromosome markers are a very close match (36- out of 37-markers) with some of the men who descend from the Falling River group.

Polly Lawson's pension papers stated that her husband, Jacob Lawson, died in the home of his son, Lazarus Lawson

Generation 2: Lazarus Lawson was born ca. 1794 in Virginia and was married ca. 1829 to Helen "Maria" Rogers (spelled as Maria but pronounced as Mariah). Helen Maria died in childbirth on 19 February 1846 in Hawkins County, TN. Five of their nine children died in infancy. Two more of their children died in their 30's. After Maria's death, Lazarus took his surviving children and moved to Franklin County, TN. The only three of their children who survived long enough to marry and have children were George R. Lawson, Joseph Rogers Lawson and Hannah "Eliza" Lawson who married Tyree Riddle.

Because of the extensive estate papers for Lazarus Lawson that were filed in Franklin County, TN, there is a clear and repetitive paper trail to his children. The following two participants represent his two surviving sons:

Participant # 1971: George R. Lawson was the oldest child of Lazarus and Maria Rogers Lawson. He married Nancy Hawkins Warren on 23 December 1855 in Franklin County, TN. She was the daughter of David H. Warren and Dicey Kendrick. In view of the fact that the uncle of George R. Lawson was Lewis Kendrick Lawson, it is suspected that Nancy Warren was somehow related, through her mother, to George R. Lawson. George and Nancy Warren Lawson moved to Benton County, AR, in 1858, and he was killed by Bushwhackers at Pea Ridge, AR, in 1864. He was age 32, and left Nancy with four children, ages one through seven. They were George Buchanan Lawson, Mary Eliza Lawson, Jasper L. Lawson, and Mariah (spelled Maria but pronounced Ma-rar) Josephine Lawson. George is buried in the Twelve Corners Cemetery at Pea Ridge, Benton County, AR. There have been four transmission events between Jacob Lawson, born 1762, and Participant # 1971.

Participant # 111699: Joseph Rogers Lawson, born 28 November 1833, was the second son of Lazarus Lawson and Helen Maria Lawson. In about 1858, while he was still single, he left Franklin County, TN, and removed to Caldwell County, Texas. He was married there on 24 October 1861, to Susan Margaret Briggs. She was born 5 November 1845 in Clark County, Missouri, the daughter of Milton Briggs and wife Jane Thompson. Joseph died in 1918 and Susan died in 1943. Both are buried at Cypress Mill, Blanco County, Texas.

Joseph and Susan Lawson were the parents of ten children, all born in Texas: Elizabeth Lawson, William Butler Lawson, Annie Kate Lawson, Clay Orien Lawson, Ida Susan Lawson, Leslie Joe Lawson, Mabry Biggs Lawson,* May, Pearl Margaret Lawson, Lillie May Lawson, and Oscar Irl Lawson. Research on this family was compiled in 1968 by Argie Ella Hoskins Reneer of Mesa, Arizona. There have been four transmission events between Jacob Lawson, born 1762, and Participant # 111699.

*Mabry Biggs Lawson was a professional ranchman who was the foreman on a 55,000 acre ranch owned by Demming and Helen Isaacson in Cochise County, AZ. Mabry’s daughter, Elizabeth Lawson Henderson, along with the owners’ grandson, Robert Isaacson, co-authored “The Muleshoe Cattle Company: Anthology of Memories of Life on an Arizona Cow Ranch, 1906-1928,” published ca. 2010 by Muleshoe Press, with copies available through the Cochise County Historical Society.

Proposed Generation 2: Although there is not an inviolate paper trail, the following participant is speculated to also descend from Jacob Lawson, born 1761, and his wife Polly, through their oldest son, Lewis Kendrick Lawson, Sr.:

Particpant # 29618: This participant has a very strong paper trail from Jacob B. Lawson, born ca. 1819 in Tennessee, who was a teacher and a Methodist minister. Jacob B. Lawson married Ardelia A. M. French on 2 June 1849 at the home of the bride's mother in the Wolf Creek Area, Giles County, VA. Circumstantial evidence suggesting that he may have been the son of Lewis Kendrick Lawson, Sr., is based on two factors:

1. Jacob B. Lawson’s wife, Ardelia M. French, was a proven sister to Susan French, wife of Lewis Kendrick Lawson, Jr., proven son of Lewis Kendrick Lawson, Sr.

2. During the Civil War, Rev. Jacob B. Lawson wrote a letter to his wife, Ardelia, which mentioned George Washington “Wash” Lawson and Alfred Henderson Lawson (also a Methodist minister). This letter allegedly implies that these three men were brothers. The letter may have also have mentioned Lewis K. Lawson, Jr., proven son of Lewis K. Lawson, Sr. This letter is in the possession of a descendent of Alfred Henderson Lawson, Mrs. Nettie Fay Lawson Holt, who in 2003 lived at 62496 East Amberwood Drive, Saddlebrook, AZ 85739. An attempt to obtain a copy of this letter has not been successful to date.

(Louisa B. Lawson, born 1821, who married Thomas C. Carson, has been placed as a daughter of Lewis K. and Mary Rowan Lawson, based on Cantrell family records).

In 1850 Jacob B. Lawson, a teacher and husband of Ardelia, was enumerated in Giles County, VA. They lived near Ardelia’s widowed mother Margaret Day French. By 1860 Jacob B. and Ardelia were living in Bradley County, TN, where he was a Minister of the Gospel, C.P. (Bradley County, TN, is where Lewis K. Lawson, Sr., and wife, Mary Rowan, lived in 1850 (along with several unidentified Lawson families).

During the Civil War Jacob B. Lawson contracted measles with the contributory condition of encephalitis, and he died on 7 April 1864, at age 45, in Hospital # 19, Nashville, TN. He is buried in the National Cemetery in Nashville. His children were James Andrew Lawson, Rufus French Lawson, Tennessee Virginia Lawson, Josephine A. Lawson, and Erastus Granger Lawson.

A brief summary of the life of Lewis Kendrick Lawson, Sr. follows:

Lewis Kendrick Lawson (who sometimes went by his middle name) was born ca. 1792 in Tennessee, and died between 1859-1860. He was married to Mary Rowan, daughter of William Rowan of Hawkins County, TN. Mary received 1/6 interest in her father's estate in Hawkins County, and on 20 December 1858 Lewis K. and Mary of Bradley County, TN, gave their son Lewis Kendrick Lawson, (Jr.) Power of Attorney to sell her inheritance in Hawkins County. The land was sold on 17 October 1859 to John D. Riley.

In 1830 Lewis K. (Sr.) and Mary lived in Hawkins County, in 1833 his mother's pension application mentioned he was in McMinn County, and in 1840 they were back in Hawkins County.

By 1850 Louis Kendrick and Mary were living in Bradley County, TN, and their five youngest children were enumerated with them. Census records indicate that they had ten children, but only the youngest five that were enumerated with them on the 1850 census have a definitive paper trail that links them to their parents. These children were Lucind (27), Louis K. (Jr). (25), Lazarus R. (23), Mary (21), and Mahala (18).

Four children who are speculated to be the older children of Lewis K. and Mary Rowan Lawson are Rev. Alfred Henderson Lawson, George Washington “Wash” Lawson, Jacob B. Lawson and Louisa B. Lawson.

Lewis K., Lawson (Jr.) was enumerated as Lewis R. Lawson, with wife Susan, on the 1860 census in Bradley County, TN. They were ages 30 and 20, respectively, and had their two young children with them, as well as Susan's mother, Margaret French. In the adjoining household were Louisa B. Lawson and her husband, Thomas C. Cantrell, who had married 1 March 1843 in McMinn County, TN. They named their oldest son Lewis Kendrick Cantrell. One disadvantage of using geographic proximity as the basis for a precise relationship is that one household from the Cantrells was John Lawson, born ca. 1800, alleged son of Peter Lawson, b. ca. 1770, of Hawkins County, TN. If the above postulation that Jacob B. Lawson was the son of Lewis K. Lawson is true, Jacob B. could be no closer than a first cousin to John Lawson, b. 1800, and not a brother, as might be suggested if only physical proximity is used for placement.

There have been three transmission events between Jacob B. Lawson and Participant # 29618, and five transmission events between Jacob Lawson, born 1761, and Participant # 29618.

A clear analysis of the results for the entire Lawson study, with pedigrees included, may be viewed at the working genealogy chart of Carl Lawson at: Carl Lawson 37 Marker Page. The official Lawson DNA Website may be viewed at: FTDNA Public Lawson. Those wishing to join the Lawson surname project may do so at: Join Lawson DNA Study.

After viewing the 37-marker results on the chart made by Carl Lawson, one can see that DYS # 393 and DYS # 437 are not always defining markers that can discriminate among different lineages. The results on DYS # 437 for descendents of the two sons of Lazarus Lawson of Hawkins County, TN, differ by one, as do the results for descendents of Hennis Lawson, also of Hawkins County, TN. (See Participants 1971 and 111699 for results of Jacob Lawson through his son, Lazarus Lawson, and see Participants 89569 and 98605 for descendents of Hennis Lawson). These four men do have a unique match, however, on DYS # 393.

The occurrence of the identical mutations on DYS #'s 393 and 437, independently, in two different Lawson lineages suggests the likelihood that the Lawson family is susceptible to a "parallel mutation" or a "back mutation" on these particular markers.

I am deeply appreciative of all the assistance which the following cousins have provided: Illah Lawson Ruppert, Bonna Lou Woods, Morris and Hazel Lawson, Miss Agnes Lawson, Dorothy Bell, Randy Lawson, Elaine Boswell Laue, Dema Buttram Shewmake, Mrs. Ben J. Lamb, Floydaline Limbaugh, Buell E. Corner, Becky Cloud, Darral Lawson, Paul Lawson, Haynes Alvis, Carl L. Lawson, and Miss Mary Alice Lawson, former publisher of "Lawson Letters."




Last Updated on 4/3/2013
By Wallace W. Souder