William Lazarus Hardiman Dotson
William Dotson and Henrietta Landrum were baptised (into the LDS Church) in the Weber River, at Coalville, Utah, by Bishop Herry Wilde and confirmed by W.W. Cluff.
History of William Lazarus Hardiman Dotson
History of William L. H. Dotson and Henrietta Landrum. Compiled by Chaundelle Hill Brough in July 2004.
William Lazarus Hardiman Dotson was born to Reuben Dotson and Nancy Hogan McConnico on February 13, 1833, in Pickens County, Alabama. At his birth he weighed 12 lbs. and was a robust resolute boy. William was the 14th child in a family of 19 children, all which grew to manhood or womanhood. He had a leading spirit among boys his age, and even those older, throughout his childhood and adolescence.
Throughout his juvenile life not much could discourage him. Whatever he set his mind to do he accomplished, if within the range of possibilities. When he grew to manhood he had a voice almost like the deep tones of an organ. It was said of him that if a loose board was anywhere about the building in which he was singing it would rattle as if in a current of wind. As a young man he wooed and won the heart of Miss Henrietta Landrum. Henrietta was born on October 1, 1832 in Jefferson County, Alabama. She was a beautiful and accomplished young lady whose father (Isham Landrum) lived near Bear Creek Church; in Attala County, Mississippi. His wife (Jemina Tannehill) had the same indomitable will and perseverance as he had. They agreed in everything that conduced to make life pleasant; perhaps no couple in all the varied walks of life were more perfectly united in all the noble purposes of life than they were.
W.L.H. Dotson was bold, fearless, and had a commanding appearance that challenged the respect of all wherever he went. During the time of the Civil War he could come and go almost when and where he pleased and was seldom questioned by the sentinels on duty; who almost always permitted him to pass. After the war had waged along almost to its close, and all hope on the final success of the south had disappeared, he determined to go west. He was honorably discharged from the army.
William set out with the intent to go to California. He barely had enough means to pay his expenses. He took a steamboat at Whitworths Landing on the Mississippi River to the Missouri River and on to St. Joe. Here he arrived with a nearly invalid wife, and five small children; Reuben William (Nov. 29, 1854), Violet Ann Yerisha (Nov. 1, 1856), Ada (Jan. 1, 1859), Ida (July 22, 1861), and Henrietta Willia (Dec. 8, 1863). William found an emigration company ready to head west over the almost trackless plains. He acquired an outfit consisting of a wagon, yoke of oxen, and a yoke of cows, and started west with the company. One of the cows furnished a scant supply of milk for the children, which was a prairie delicacy. The family mainly survived on “big white gravy” bread and water. Big white gravy bread was made of water and flour mixed and boiled, the flour being made of wheat ground in a coffee mill.
At the time (1864) the western plains were infested with hostile Indians. If a company was not strong enough for self-protection, the Indians would murder them, burn their wagons, and take their stock. At one place a number of wagons had been burned, the stock run off, and the members of the company murdered. At another the wagons were left standing, the stock gone and the owners killed. At one or two different places Indians were seen in the distance, but the number of immigrants (about 100 wagons) must have made them afraid to tackle. At any rate William and his company were never harmed. However, he had many times to go ahead of his team and break ice before they would cross a stream. This was only necessary when the ice was not sufficient to hold the weight of the wagon and team.
When William arrived in Coalville, Utah, he sold his traveling outfit for supplies to live on as he had only $.50 in money. He secured a home there and hauled wood during the winter with another man’s wagon and team. He was able to secure a load of wood for his family every other day. Except for what he needed in his own fireplace he sold wood for $6.00 a load, the same price as a bushel of wheat. In the evening he worked late into the night by the light of burning cedar bark to make chairs with a drawing knife and an inch auger. These he was able to sell for $5.00 in trade.
During the winter his wife Henrietta taught a small school. In the spring he took a trip to Virginia City, Montana, 600 miles away and returned in 6 months with a wagon and team of his own. With this outfit he hauled coal to Salt Lake City. From Coalville he moved to Cove Creek. Here his sixth child Nancy Jemima (Nov. 19, 1868) was born. From Cove Creek he moved to Pine Creek and then on to Minersville, his final destination, where his seventh child Henry Petty (Aug. 26, 1871) was born. After a few years in Minersville he engaged in the mercantile business. He matured every enterprise he ever engaged in and all of them were successes.
In William’s own words he never failed to ask God for guidance in all he undertook to do and met without failure in anything. He was a Democrat and was elected to the legislature in 1898, over his Republican opponent, not withstanding his county being largely Republican. He was a member of the county court as a long as he was able. Few men have similar successes under such adverse circumstances. William told his son H.P., that at no time was he the least discouraged, or even regretted the steps he had taken. His wife never grumbled, or reproached him with “I told you so,” or something of the kind, during all their hardships to “keep the wolf from the door.”
William died March 5, 1920 in Minersville, Beaver County, Utah. His lovely wife Henrietta died 18 years prior on September 11, 1902, also in Minersville. They are both buried there.