Person:John Dugger (21)

John A. Dugger was born ca 1805/1806 in Kentucky, county unknown. He lived in Whitley Co., KY in the early to mid 1830's but by 1838 was in nearby Washington Co., TN where he lived until the 1860's. After that he moved to Knox Co., TN.

John's parentage is unknown, but one theory is that he is a son of Julius A. Dugger (c1778) of Carter Co., TN. The reasoning for this is that Julius had Kentucky connections; also lived in Washington Co., TN for a time; and that no other evidence has come to light about who John's parents were. Having said all that I can say it is far from proven that John A. Dugger is a son of Julius A. Dugger.

John married Elizabeth Comstock on 2 Oct 1830 (source?) in Whitley Co., KY. She died sometime ca 1836 probably in Kentucky.

John Dugger married Malvina Morris on 29 Nov 1838 in Washington Co., TN. She is listed as "Lavina" on most records.

John is listed on the 1840 census in Washington Co., TN, the only Dugger listed there at the time. Analysis:

• Washington Co., TN page 198 John Dugger 000001000000-1000100000000
• 1 male 30-39 (1800/1810)=John A. Dugger (c1806)
• 1 female 20-29 (1810/1820)=Lavina Morris Dugger (c1821) wife
• 1 female 0-4 (1835/1840)=Mary F. Dugger (c1840) daughter

John and family were still in Washington for the 1850 census. Again the only Dugger in the county at the time.

John and family were still in Washington for the 1860 census. They were in Knox Co., TN by 1870. I couldn't find him on the 1880 census.

                              ' DESCENDANTS OF JOHN A. DUGGER
                                    ABOUT 1806 TO AFTER 1883'

John A. Dugger may be the son of William Dugger, born November 09, 1784, in Wilkes County North Carolina and Elizabeth Storm, born about 1784, in Kentucky, William probably died in Whitley County, Kentucky and Elizabeth died in Shelby County, IL. One of the proofs that John A. could be a descendent of William, or closely related to him, is that the names Isaac and Milton appear in both John A.'s family (Isaac S. and James Milton) and the Storm family and neither of these were used in the Dugger family before then. William's parents were Benjamin Dugger, (born before 1747, in Brunswick County, VA) and Elizabeth, (born before 1855). Elizabeth's will does not list any offspring, but it was contested by William's illegitmate daughter, Nancy.

Benjamin or his brother Julius, may have been the father of Julius Arnold Dugger, who some think could have been John A.'s father. Julius Arnold is known to have been in Somerset, KY about the time John was born. John A.'s youngest son's death certificate lists John's birth place as Somerset, KY. By 1813 Julius Arnold was back in Tennessee. I am fairly certain that even if William is not John's father, he and Elizabeth raised him. Julius and Benjamin were sons of William son of Daniel And Mary. John's descendents' DNA matches Daniel's proven son Henry. DNA does not prove who was John's father, since Benjamin and Julius were brothers, and William and Julius Arnold were first cousins. John's youngest son was named Julius A. which would make it appear that John was Julius Arnold's son.

William first appears in Knox County, KY in 1804, when he filed a land patent # 75 for 200 acres on Lynn Camp Creek, which is near Corbin, KY and again in1807, when he filed land patent # 230 for 200 acres on Lynn Camp Creek.  It is not known if this was for a total of 400 acres or a repeat filing.  Sarah Dugger, who is thought to be William's sister, filed a land patent # 259 for 200 acres on Meat House Fork of Lynn Camp Creek. William is listed in the 1810 with a male under 10, a male  16-25, one girl 16-25, one adult male and female 26-44.  The boy under 10, I believe is John A. and the boy between 16-25 is probably William's brother, Daniel or William Sneed, Sarah's husband, who she married February 12, 1808, in Knox County, KY.  The girl between 16-25 is either William's sister Sarah or Polly Minton who was bound to him in 1808 to learn weaving. In 1820 William's brother, Daniel, is shown as living in Knox County, KY and William is listed in Whitley County, KY as William Duggen.  On this census he is shown with his wife and one male, possibly, John A.  There are various references to land that William and Sarah had in this area.  This area of Knox County eventually became Whitley County in 1819.  There is no reference to William and Elizabeth in KY after 1830 when they sold their land and bought land on Robertson Creek in Laurel County, KY.  

John Dugger appears on the Poll Tax rolls in 1831 and 1833 in Whitley County, KY. On October 02, 1830, he married Elizabeth Comstock. They probably had four children, Perlina in April 1831, William in 1832, Thomas on October 23, 1833, and Amanda in 1835. Evidently Elizabeth died shortly after Amanda's birth because in 1850 each of the children is with a different family. I am certain that Perlina and Thomas are their children. Amanda and William may or may not be.

Perlina is with Arad Comstock, who was apparently Elizabeth's brother. She married John Stover on August 14, 1870, in Scott County, TN, which is just across the state line from Whitley County, KY. The Stovers returned to Whitley County and lived the rest of their life. William is with the Willis Watkins' family, who was a tailor. Thomas is with Rev. James Storm, who is probably his great uncle. Thomas, born October 23,1833, was bound to Storm on November 11, 1836 as an apprentice. Thomas joined the 12th Kentucky Infantry on September 26, 1861. He died March 28,1862 of typhiod fever, and is buried at the Lebanon National Cemetery in Lebanon, Kentucky. Amanda is with Larkin Maxsey. Amanda married John D. Marsee.

John came to the Washington County, TN and married Malvania (Lavania) Morris on November 29, 1838. Lavania was born November 29, 1838 in the Washington/Carter Counties area. She died June 22,1865 in Powell Station, TN and is buried in the Brown Cemetery on Beaver Creek. John and Luvania had nine children, who were all born in Washington County, TN.

1840 Living next door to Isaac E. D. Bacon and John Hail, Regiment Five, Washington County, TN

1850 Living next door to Dr. Isaac Taylor and Micajah Brumit, 4th Subdivision E., Washington County, TN

         Brummit Land as recorded in Deed Bk 18 - page 108 3/12/1828 Grant from the State of Tennessee 
         was in the 6th District of Washington County

1860 Living next door to Dr. Lucious Tucker in District 6, Washington County, TN, Post Office was Cox Store

Mary the oldest was born in September 1840; she never married and lived at various times with her father and brothers. Although her date of death is not known she last appears in the census of 1900 living with Isaac.

Isaac Samuel, the oldest son, was born April 19, 1843 and died May 30, 1927 in Knox County, TN. He is buried in New Gray Cemetery, although he has a tombstone in the Beaver Ridge Methodist Church Cemetery beside his wife, Martha J. Watson, who was born May 20, 1852 and died June 19, 1878 in Knox County. Isaac, who had three children, never remarried, this probably is the reason Mary lived with him. The three children were Cora, who married C. S. Mays; Murtie, who married W. A. Lister; and Edgar, who married Mary Keith. Isaac is probably the reason the family moved to Knox County, TN.

On September 27, 1862, Uncle Ike, as Isaac was known, was mustered into the Confederate Army at Jonesborough, TN. His unit was Company F, 60th Mounted Infantry. In January 1863, he was reported AWOL just prior to the unit moving to Murfreesboro and eventually to Vicksburg, MS. According to Robert Nave, who has done extensive research on this area of TN, the following is a probable scenario. After Uncle Ike went AWOL, there was a need for them to get out of Jonesborough area. The founder of Powell Station was Columbus Powell who was from the Washington/Carter Counties area and it is highly likely that John A. probably knew him. Columbus was married to Sarah Drake who was a sister to Jacob Dugger's wife Mary. Jacob lived in Carter County near Julius Arnold Dugger. When they needed to leave the area they simply got on the Emory Road and came to Powell Station. This is supported by the fact that the cemetery where Lavania is buried on the Brown property, is adjacent to Columbus Powell's property, which became the Knoxville Brickyard after the Civil War. The house where Columbus Powell lived is still being used today.

Uncle Ike must have created problems for the family from time to time. In 1883 John A. pledge a spotted milk cow and an eight year old blind horse for a $34.00 judgement a Mr. Vick got against Uncle Ike. This is the last record of John A.

The third child was William Marion Dugger, who was born July 22, 1845 and died in Kewanee, IL on January 8, 1931 and is buried in the Pleasant View Cemetery in Kewanee, IL. He married Mary Ellen Lowe, who was born June 08, 1843 in Ohio, on April 27, 1873, in Knox County, IL. Mary Ellen died on October 12, 1912, and is buried in the Pleasant View Cemetery in Kewanee. William and Mary Ellen had three children, Hattie, who married Fredrick G. Fritz; Emerson, who married Nora Hensley; and Blanche, who married Francis H. Tucker. All of William's Children were married in Henry County, IL. William worked in a steel mill in Kewanee.

A daughter, Sarah Ellen, was John A. and Luvania's fourth child. She was born in 1846 and died in July 1912. She married Uriah Norman on March 27, 1873, in Knox County, TN (on her marriage license, she is listed as Sarah E. Douglas). Uriah was born January 1848 in Anderson County, TN and died June 1901 in Knox County, TN. They had six children Matthew Norman, who married Edith Fowler; Mary E. Norman; Anne Norman, who married Alonzo Phillips; Henry Norman; Nancy L. Norman, who married Ulys Overton; and Thomas Luther "Shine" Norman, who married Barbara Melinda Hatcher. Sarah Ellen "Aunt Ellen" and Uriah along with most of their children are buried at Bell's Campground Cemetery, Powell, Knox County, TN.

The fifth child was a boy, James Milton, who was born in June 16, 1849; he died January 28, 1943 in Knox County, IL and is buried in Abingdon, IL He married Eliza J. Mather on June 21, 1878 in Knox County, IL. Eliza was born December 26, 1853 and died August 28, 1913. She is also buried in Abingdon, IL. James and Eliza had six children John Samuel; Albert R., who married Maude Brown; Addie, who married Jay Bates; Clara E., who married Pearl Channel; Elmer Dugger: and Ephiram Dugger who died in 1891.

The sixth child was John M. "Jack" who was born October 10, 1851 and died October 2, 1924 in Knox County, TN. John M. lived at various times with his brothers and sisters and was living with Murtie Lister, his niece, when he died. He is buried in Lynnhurst Cemetery, Knoxville, TN. He married Mary Jane Crawford on March 25, 1917, in Knox County, TN.

Alexander Dugger was the seventh child and was born in 1853. He is unaccounted for.

Daniel B. was born October 09, 1857 and died June 22, 1865 and is buried in the Brown Cemetery beside his mother.

The ninth and youngest child of this marriage was Julius A., who did not like his name and changed it to Richard Henry. He is listed as Julius A. on the 1930 census. Richard Henry was born April 13, 1862 and died April 7, 1937. He married Malinda Ford, born October 3, 1867 and died June 10, 1938, on November 08, 1891 in Knox County, TN. They had nine children, Russell, who married Stella Helms: Delsie, who married Arthur Caldwell; Clara, who married Walter Pelleaux; Benjamin Harrison, who married Rhea Oliver; John, who married Grace Gentry; Raymond, who married Rosalee Watkins; Hubert, who married Geneva Aultom; Willa Dean, who married Lafayette Cooper; and Margaret, who married Tommy Sellers. Richard and Malinda are buried at Bell's Campground Cemetery, Powell, Knox County, TN.

William and James went to IL in the late 1860s. According to stories that they told their descendents, they left TN when Union bushwhackers killed their mother and one child. That would account for the fact that Luvania and Daniel died within two days of one another. Supposedly the grown-up men were out hunting for food and when they returned everything in the house was torn up, also every dish and glass in the house was broken. It is not certain they left immediately because it appears that William may have married a Lizzie Warner in 1867 (records are sketchy and there was a William M. Duggin in the area at the time). But according to Uncle James' great grandson, Gary Dugger, that is the story that has been passed down through their family. This story has some validity, since according to Arvin Brown, grandson of Hardy Brown, Hardy's home was burn by Union renegades in June, 1865. Hardy's home was within a quarter of a mile of where John A. was living. The Brown farm and the Columbus Powell farm were side by side. Brown was Union soldier who was wounded during the Battle of Atlanta and had been mustered out shortly before his farm was burned. Columbus Powell was a Confederate Conscription agent and slave owner. He laid low immediately after the war, but came on strong in the 1870s. When he died in 1885 he was known as Col. Powell.

On July 06, 1873, John A. married Lucy Kelly in Knox County, TN. They had two childern, one born in 1873 and died in June 1874 when a door which had not been hung was blown on him, and Henry Jefferson, "Uncle Jeff", born July 11, 1875 in Knox County, TN, died August 15, 1926 in Kewanee, IL. He married Minnie V. Johnson on September 28, 1904. She was born February 11, 1880 in Fancy Gap, VA and died August 27, 1947, in Kewanee, IL. They are buried in Pleasant View Cemetery, Kewanee, IL.

1.   Thanks to Dan Dugger who shared a great deal of information on this family.