Dade County History Book

THE HENRY THOMAS WILSON FAMILY

Henry Thomas Wilson was born in Pickens Co., SC in 1847. His parents were William Wilson and Caroline Frances Spencer. When Henry Thomas Wilson was a child, his family moved to Dade Co., GA. (see article on William Wilson family).

H. T. Wilson married Julia Doyal on January 14, 1874 in Dekalb Co., AL. They had three children: Van, b. @ 1875, Mollie, b. Dec, 1883, and Robert A. b. June, 1887. Nothing is known about the oldest son. Mollie married a man named Black and had one son, Tom. She died in 1926 and is buried in the Hanna Cemetery in Rising Fawn. Tom was raised with H. T. Wilson’s family by his second wife. Tom (Black) Wilson died in 1991. Robert Wilson was killed in an industrial accident in 1914 and is also buried in the Hanna Cemetery.

It is not known exactly when Julia Wilson died, but after her death, H. T. Wilson married Isabel Layne Saunders on Feb. 7, 1891 in Dade Co., GA. Belle Layne grew up in the Sequatchie Valley. She was the daughter of George W. Layne and Rebecca Barker. Belle had previously been married to J. W. Saunders and had son Ben Saunders, who was later known as Ben Wilson. Ben Saunders Wilson married 1) Bonnie Quinton and 2) Ollie Hitt. He had two daughters: Lily Lou Wilson and Bernice Wilson. Ben Wilson died in 1979.

According to census records H. T. Wilson was a carpenter. He and his family lived in Rising Fawn, near the furnace. H. T. and Belle Wilson had five sons. They were Walter H., b. Dec. 12, 1891; William Murray, b. Oct. 7, 1894; James B., b. Apr. 1897; George Leonard, b. 1900; and Milton Randolph, b. 1903. All were born in Rising Fawn, GA.

Walter H. Wilson married Maggie Matilda Highfield on Aug. 27, 1916. She was the daughter of James Nelson Highfield and Mary Ann Wallace. (See article on Walter Wilson family). William (Bill) Murray Wilson married Mary Johnson on July 7, 1927. Their children are Thomas Murray, Jack Randolph and Robert Gene. Bill Wilson died Sept. 30, 1991 and Mary Wilson died on January 29, 1992. For several years, they lived in the Cureton House in Rising Fawn, GA. James B. (Jim) Wilson married 1) Willie Ryan and 2) Komorah Kay. His children are Jimmy, Jr., Jocelyn and Jacquelyn. George Leonard Wilson married 1) Elizabeth Brown and 2) Fleetie. He had no children. George Wilson died in 1987. Milton Randolph Wilson married Electa Smith. They have one daughter Jacquelyn Wilson. Milt Wilson was a mechanic and lived in Rising Fawn, GA. He died in 1975. Mrs. Electa Wilson worked many years for the Dade County School System and was a piano teacher in Rising Fawn, GA. She contributed much of the information in this article.

Wtiten by Linda Hawkins Wilson Rising Fawn, GA 30738