ANCESTRAL LINES OF THE WOODSON WIVES

I.   WINSTON (Sarah Winston m. Dr. John Woodson)
       I have seen a question mark after the Winston name in some books and can
       only state that this Sarah who marked Dr. John Woodson, came to Virginia
       with  him in 1619, and battled the Indians to protest her children deserves
       a better place in our history.

II.  FERRIS (Elizabeth Ferris m. Robert Woodson)
       Elizabeth was the daughter of Richard Ferris and the granddaughter of
       Nicholas Ferris who came to Virginia in 1619.  This family was originally
       from Leistershire, England. They were descendants of Girelchelme de Ferris,
       Master of Hounds to the Duke of Normandy.  Richard lived at Curles, a plan-
       tation on the north side of the James which was later owned by the Randolphs.
       There was a grant of 1785 acres of land Oct 21, 1687, to Robert Woodson,
       Richard Ferris, and Robert Comins at White Oak Swamp on the north side of
       the James River at Varina.  In the Seventeenth Century the Ferris family
       intermarried with the Lawrence Washington family, progenitors of George
       Washington.

III. SMITH (Ann Smith m. Richard Woodson, Sr.)
       Until just prior to the publication of this book, every source that I had
       seen gave Obadiah Smith as the father of Ann.  Obadiah married Mary Cocke,
       and the Cocke and related families were illustrious in Virginia history.  I
       was shaken to see that Mr Womack said that she was probably Obadiah's sister,
       and further research showed that she could not have been his daughter.  J.D.
       Eggleston said in the Va. Mag. that serious genealogical damage was done
       by some of the errors in Henry Morton Woodson's book on Page 34 which has
       to do with Richard and Richard, Jr., and their wives, in spite of the great
       genealogical value of the book as a whole.  I went into this research as a
       novice and no item has given me a better education in the pitfalls of accep-
       ting genealogical "facts" without checking them.  If Woodson gave the wrong
       information, he is not alone, as I have found the same in literally dozens
       of books.  So be it.

       1. John Smith m. Hannah Dwast
            John was a member of the House of Burgesses in 1632 and Southall says
            he was probably an ancestor of Obadiah and Ann.

       2. Ann Smith m. Richard Woodson, Sr.

IV.   WATKINS  (Constance Watkins m. Obadiah Woodson)	
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