Generation eight: George and Delilah Hodson/Hodgin

Within the lifetime of George Hodson/Hodgin, a Southern sensibility takes shape within the North Carolina Quaker culture even as it bears the tensions of maintaining its unique witness in opposition to a slave-holding society. We find the traditional naming patterns breaking down, and among the boys, at least, popular names begin to include Calvin, Luther, and Wesley – drawn from other Protestant traditions.

We may ask, too, whether his wife’s given name, Delilah, expressed a defiance to her situation at birth. Conflicting information regarding her early years, moreover, creates alternative scenarios that need resolution. What we do know is that if the reported marriage date is correct, George married an older woman after the birth of her first child.

Spousal lines: Rayle or Hunt, Britton/Britain, or possibly Edwards and Stanton.

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George Hodson was born January 2, 1797, Guilford County, the son of William and Diannah (Saferight) Hodson/Hodgin. He married, January 1818, Delilah Britton (the surname is often reported as Rayle or Hunt) (October 10, 1784 or 1794-November 21, 1883). He died November 4, 1878, Guilford County, and is buried with his wife at the Centre Friends burial ground. Perhaps eleven children, one of them born previous to George and Delilah’s marriage:

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1. Absalom Hodgin, born March 21, 1817, Guilford County; died November 29, 1888, Guilford County; married, December 31, 1840, Paulina or Pauline Clark (October 15, 1817-January 15, 1902). They are buried at Rehoboth Methodist, near the source of Polecat Creek. Eight children. His birth date, ten months before the reported marriage of George and Delilah, leads me to believe that Absalom is her child by a previous marriage or relationship with Absalom Hunt. His first name appears in many variations, though I use the Biblical spelling here.
2. Eula Ruth, born Twelfth Month 17, 1818, Guilford County; died Seventh Month 12, 1887, Guilford County; first married George Hodgin ( – ), and they had one son. She married second, on October 11 or 22, 1854, Francis Simpson Davis (1831-1922), a dozen years her junior according to their gravestones, and they had three children. She and her second husband are buried at Centre Friends. In the 1860 Guilford Census, he is listed as Francis S. Davis and their age difference is seven years; on his gravestone, he is Simpson. In both instances she goes by Ruth. Could “Eula” be a variation of Beulah, a Hunt family name – as is Ruth? Ruth, however, is the name of Delilah’s reported mother, Ruth Britton.
3. Jamima, born April 27, 1821, Guilford County; died July 2, 1903, Guilford County; married, September 9, 1844, or May 7, 1846, Samuel S. Davis (June 24, 1821-June 30, 1913). They are buried at Centre Friends. Four children in the 1860 Guilford Census.
4. George Washington Hodgson, born May 4, 1823, Guilford County; died May 8, 1872; married, June 7, 1846, Nancy L. Irvin (1823- ). Six children. He may have been known as Washington Hodgin. He and Nancy are reported in the 1850 Census for Guilford County, but not in 1860; so far, I find him principally in Clay Hodgin’s table of George and Delilah’s children.
5. Diana (Dianah), born 1824, Guilford County; died ( ), Guilford County; married, May 7 or 17, 1846, Wade Hampton Newman ( – ). Four children. They are not listed in the 1860 Guilford Census, although John K. Hodgin reports that she is buried in Guilford County.
6. William, born 1825. Guilford County; died 1910, buried at Concord Friends. Although Clay Hodgin reports that William not marry, John K. Hodgin names Rachel Winters (November 11, 1824-August 6, 1894) as the wife, an account that fits the 1850 Guilford Census, which records a William Hodgson, 25, farmer, and wife Rachel, also 25, with children George, 4, Sophronia, 1/12, and N. Yancy (Nancy?), 3. They appear in the 1860 Guilford Census, with the additions of Alphonso, 8, and Anna, 2. Buried at Concord Friends; a link from the Concord Web page on http://www.findagrave.com listing of interments says, “William Hodson was the son of Delilah Britton and George Hodson. He married Rachel Winters on 22 Feb. 1844 and they had at least five children. William was a long time widower at his death.” Delilah’s surname is supported by William’s death certificate, with the information attested by J.H. Davis of Greensboro.
7. Pleasant, born February 7, 1827, Guilford County; died May 20, 1908, Guilford County; married Eunice OSBAN (May 1, 1834-September 27, 1910), daughter of Elisha and Nancy (Mendenhall?) OZBUN. They are buried at Concord Friends. Four children.
8. Henry “Hooter,” born March 13, 1829, Guilford County; died February 24, 1889, Guilford County; married Rachel S. (November 12, 1833-March 31, 1915). They are buried at Centre Friends. Eight children. In the 1860 Census they are dwelling four households away from his Uncle Henry Hodgin, the miller.
9. Rachel Emmiline, born February 15, 1831, Guilford County; died 1905, Fillmore County, Minnesota; married William R. Reynolds (December 13, 1827, Grayson County, Virginia; March 8, 1905, presumably Fillmore County, Minnesota). Children.
10. Stephen Parker Hodgin, born November 2, 1834, Guilford County; died May 14, 1907; first married Emeline Jenkins (1831-1859). His first wife died, and granddaughters Jane and Emeline were raised by the grandparents. He married second, March 19, 1866, Sarah Jane Dobson (June 1837-1922, in California), and they had five or six children. To him was bequeathed the “William Hodgin tract.”
11. Elias or Ellis Harper, born 1836 or April 19, 1839 (gravestone), Guilford County; died December 11, 1911, and buried at Concord Friends. No mention in his father’s will when it was drawn in 1878. The only reference I find to him as such is in the 1850 Guilford Census, in George and Delilah’s household. There is, however, an obituary for Gertrude Hodgin, died Twelfth Month 19, 1876, age 4 years 9 months and 3 days, the daughter of Elias M. and Rachel E., members of Chester Monthly Meeting, Indiana.

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Pleasant’s brother Stephen

One of the enjoyable parts of posting this genealogy is the interaction it’s stirred up with others.

As I’ve described throughout, genealogy research includes a great deal of swapping with other researchers or family members. Sometimes others have a piece that allows a big breakthrough, and sometimes it’s a colorful insight.

Here’s a newspaper clipping relayed by Diana Stasko showing Pleasant’s brother, who relocated from North Carolina to California.

Note, too, the reference to his mother as Delilah Hunt, reflecting the confusion of her maiden name, which was sometimes also given as Rayle rather than its actual Britton.

The portraits of George and Delilah (the “right” noted in the photo album) will be included in the chapter on them.