Hodges Family Down line
John Robert Hodges 1736 – Tabitha Ebby Little 1735
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William Henry Hodges 1770 – Ann Blitch 1770
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William Riley Hodges 1808 – Nancy Leigh 1812
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William Lee Hodges 1843 – Victoria Sweat 1868
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Ella Hodges 1902 – Charles Henry Hamilton 1872
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Evelyn Hamilton Distefano 1920 – Earl Hamilton 1924 – Myron Hamilton 1927
Floral City Florida
February 14, 1910
I am Lela Hodges, daughter of William Lee Hodges and Victoria Sweat. I am writing the history of my Hodges family as told to me by my Daddy today.
I am William Lee Hodges, I was born on September 30, 1843 in Charlton Co. Ga. My father was William Riley Hodges and my mother was Nancy Leigh. They were married in Camden Co.in about 1842. I have four Brothers and 2 Sisters all of us born in
Charlton Co. Ga.
Father died when I was 15 years old but I can remember the story of our family he told us children the year before he died. He told us the story of the Hodges family as he had been told by his father, William Henry Hodges. At this time my Father, William Riley, and his younger brother Willis were leaving home to move to Camden Co, and later named Charlton Co. Ga. The following is the family story William Henry Hodges told his two departing sons.
William Henry Hodges reports: My father John Robert Hodges was born on June 26, 1736 in England and I could not remember for sure who his Father was but I think he remembers it was Joseph and that he was a rich man in England. (Joseph is actually Richard R Hodges.) My father, John Robert, came to America before the Rev War and settled in the eastern part of North Carolina with his two younger brothers, William and Howell. They had been given land grant by the King of England, and though I (William Henry) was only 6 years old at the time of the beginning of the Revolution, I remember that my Father, John Robert and Uncle William were loyal to the King.
There was some bad words between the bothers, because Uncle Howell was for the revolution. My Father (John Robert.) and his brother William were called Torries and the other settlers treated them bad, so they hooked up their wagons and started for the Spanish Territory in Florida. We traveled in the waterways to cover our tracks and finally reached the east part of South Carolina. My mother, Tabitha, who was a Little before she married Daddy, took sick with fever and died in S.C. Everyone was very sad and Daddy John never got over her death.
The family decided to move on to Spanish Territory where we felt we would be safe. We crossed the Savannah River and stayed in Burke Co. which later became Screven Co. My oldest brother, John Jr., liked it there in Screven County, Georgia and stay there while the rest of the family went on to Florida.
When we attempted to cross the St. Mary’s river Daddys wagon overturned and my sister, Julia drowned. We went on and farmed in the eastern part of Florida for awhile, but when we heard the war was over, we wanted to go back to our mountain home in N.C.
However, when we got back to Screven Co. Georgia where John Jr. was living we liked it except Daddy John Robert. He still wanted to go back to N.C. and after a few years he did. I met this girl in Screven Co. named Ann Blitch and after awhile we got married.
Nathan and I moved on over to Tattnall Co. and John Jr. and Uncle William and his family stayed in Effingham Co. Georgia. This ends William Henry’s account.
William Lee says: I’m telling you this story so you can be proud of your family.” Now this is the story as I remember my Father William Riley told me about his father, William Henry before the Civil War. Now a long time after the civil war, I heard that there a large sum of money that had been left in the bank in England for the Hodges family, but I did not know how to look into it.
End of Interview
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