ELEVENTH GENERATION

4280. William Amos Dotson was born on 28 May 1903 in Wirt County, WV. He died on 30 Apr 1974 in Point Pleasant, WV. Bill was born shortly before his father had turned 19 and his mother was still 20. Bill was what would now be called a preemie -- he wighed less than 3 pounds. He never was a large man. He was about 5'8" and weighed around 138 pounds. He was quick in temper and action, very versatile, musically talented. He could sing, paly a harmonica and a guitar, and to some extent an autoharp. He had a high sprano voice and loved to sing folk songs and the popular blues numbers of the 1920's. Bill's talents ran to carpentering and related trades in ouse building. In early life fromt eh early 20's to the depression he drifted from job to job from Canada to New Orleans, working at anything from brick laying to cooking in one of New Orleans' major restaurants. Bill had a valid teaching certificate issued by WV State Dept of Education and taught several terms fo school in Wirt and Roane Counties. It was during the era of his life that he tried his hand at owning and running an ice cream parlor in the town of Creston, WV. When it became apparent htat he had a greater volume of ice cream than he had business, he dediced to have quite a 4th of July "bash" at home. So, with the help of some of us brothers, he built a large perimeter of counter space with benches out under the cherry trees in the front yard and sold ice cream, home made cake, and cherries at the lowest price anyone had ever heard of. Most of the "overhead" cost of the sale was for dry ice. This was many years before there was any electric power to that part of the country. The youngest of Bill's siblings, a sister was born while he was "Bill the Rambler", and by the time he saw his baby sister, she was in high school and his next younger brother had gone to California. The entire "clan", twelve in all, 8 boys, 2 girls and the parents, were all together twice in their lives; one in 1938 when the youngest was 15 and Bill the oldest was 35. The occasion was a high school graduation in which two of his brothers and the older of his two sisters graduated. The second and last time they were all together was in 1952 at their parents' 50th wedding anniversary.

In the 1950's "Bill the Builder" was well known in the lower Kanawha valley and Pomrohy, OH areas as a real estate developer, home builder and seller.

Bill was successful because of the quality of his workmanship and an inborn ability to visualize the essential ways and means of using his talent for turning out a satisfactory product. He used his experiences and on-th-job training beginning with his carpenter father and continuing throughout his adult life.

He had tried many things and was successful in very few; if one measures success in accumulated wealth. His farming experience was mostly as a hired hand after he left home. He told of his experience along with several other hired hands on a large farm near Looneyville, WV where the "hands" were required to harness their teams by latern light before breakfast, so they could be in the fields by daylight. One morning about 4 am one of the men came down stairs with his suitcase. Mr Vinyard, his boss said, "What's going on here?" The man replied with an oath, "By God, I'm going somewhere to spend all night." Bill never married until late in life, but he and his daughter, Virginia, lived in many rented homes after he had "settled down" on Spring Creek. One country neighbor of his told everyone that when Bill came out of the house with his hat on, all the chickens lay down and stuck their legs up in the air to be tied together. It was a custom then to tie a chicken's legs together and then carry maybe 2 to 4 of them at time.

Bill, as might be expected, was the first in our family to own a Model T Ford. We kept it in what was called the feed room of our barn. The area was about 36 feet long. I learned to drive a car forward and in reverse that distance when I was about 11 years old. One day Bill and I were going home in his Model T. We had crossed the Beaver Dam ford of Spring Creek and were about home after making it up a very sttep grade on the Snoma-Grace Road which passed our house. We only had a about a quarter of a mile to go, but something caused the exhaust to backfire through the carbuerator, igniting the fuel in the carbuerator. I jumped out and raised the hood on the carbuerator side. The whole engine seemed to be in flames. Bill jumped out and started trying to beat the flames out with his hat. His wonderful sombrero which he prized. All he succeeded in doing was to fan the flames into greater height. I ran to the road bank and scooped up double hans ful of that good old WV clay and threw it into the base of the flames.

Daughter Virginia Lorene Boyce (Boice) born 7/20/1925. Her name was changed to Dotson when she went to live with grandparents when she was 3 years old.

Sister Evelyn 2/1994:
He was not around much after I was born. I mostly thought of him as Virginia's dad. When I was seven or eight, he got Darrell and me a steel runner sled for Christmas, which I still have. Then when I graduated from eighth grade, he bought me a new dress and shoes.

Obituary 1974

Mason (WV) -- William A Dotson 70, Mason, was found dead at his residence Tuesday. Mr. Dotson died of natural causes. Born in Wirt County, he was a son of the Rev W. D. and Mary Emma Miller Dotson. He was a carpenter and a member of Carpenters Local No. 1159.
Survivors include a daugher, Mrs. Virginia Barrett, Parkersburg; his step-mother Mrs. Nora Dotson, Spencer, three step-sons, Ezra and Charles Sheets, both of Pomeroy, and John Sheets, Jr. of Middleport; six brothers, H. T. Dotson, California, Delbert and Clyde Dotson, both of Florida; Charles Dotson, Rio Grande; Quentin Dotson, Illinois, and Darrell Dotson, Portland, Ore, Two grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren; two sisters, Mrs. Pearl Dequasie, Parkersburg, and Mrs. Evelyn Newlon, Reedy, WV. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Alice, in 1969. Services will be Friday, 1:30 p.m. at the Foglesong Funeral Home, the Rev. Chester Tennant will officiate with burial in Kirekland Memorial Gardens. Friends may call at the funeral home after 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

He was married to Viola Boice in 1924. William Amos Dotson and Viola Boice had the following children:

+4935 i. Virginia Lorene Dotson.