Catherine Dunnington Lewis

Catherine Dunnington Lewis was born about 1811 in Loudoun County, Virginia, the daughter of William Linton Lewis and Ann Dunnington.  William and Ann Lewis had eight children, and they were all given their mother’s maiden name as their middle name:

• George Dunnington Lewis
• Catherine Dunnington Lewis
• Francis Dunnington Lewis
• Joseph Dunnington Lewis
• Frederick Dunnington Lewis
• William Dunnington Lewis
• Elizabeth Dunnington Lewis
• Ann Dunnington Lewis

I first learned of all the Dunnington Lewis’ through my correspondence with Mrs. Dorothy Thrawley.  Dorothy was a Hodges before marriage to her Mr. Thrawley, who at the time we started corresponding had been deceased for some years.  Dorothy was a delightful woman, a voluminous letter writer (one sometimes every few days) and had a love of genealogy and family to match my own!  Unfortunately we never met, except through our letters and cards, but I felt I knew her very well!

We began our correspondence in 1978, before my marriage, when I taught school.  Every moment not spent on classroom work was spent on genealogy!  Dorothy and I checked every possible avenue on searching our Linton’s and extended families back through the generations.  In her first letter she wr0te, “I have a Lewis Bible which shows that my antecedent, Joseph Lewis of Loudoun County, Virginia, son of Vincent Lewis and Ann (Longworth) Lewis of Westmoreland County, Virginia, married Catherine Linton and it further says that Catherine Linton’s mother was named Susan Hancock.  A piece of paper in the same Bible said in faded handwriting that Catherine Linton’s brother, John Linton, moved from Virginia to Springfield, Washington County, Kentucky, and names several of the children shown on your chart as his (her brother John Linton’s) children.  Do you know how Susan Hancock fits into this family?  I am trying to research the family of my grandmother, Catherine (Linton) Lewis backwards through her maternal and paternal lines.”  Well, we were off and running!  The correspondence lasted effusively for about three years.  Ritchey and I married in 1981 and our son, Linton Edwin Brown, was born in 1982.  Genealogy took a bit of a back seat.  At the same time I was caring for my two young children (Kate was born in 1984), Dorothy had relatives that needed her attention, also.  Our correspondence began to slow to a couple of letters a year.  Once my children were a bit older, the letters came a bit more frequent, but by this time Dorothy had left her home in Houston, Texas, and retired to Black Mountain, North Carolina.  Her eyesight began to fail, but I still sent the occasional card or letter.  She passed away in the 90’s I believe, but I treasure that special time in my genealogy history!

Back to Catherine Lewis.  She was named for her grandmother, Catherine Jennings Linton – the same Catherine Linton Dorothy Thrawley and I corresponded about all these years!  And, the sister of my Captain John Linton!  Catherine’s parents, William and Ann, moved their family to Hancock County, Kentucky, after a brief stop in Nelson County, Kentucky.  On October 1, 1835, Catherine married James E. Stone, the son of William D. Stone and Millane Edwards, born February 23, 1808, in Hancock County.  They had seven children:

• William Lewis Stone
• Ann Million Stone
• Mary E. Stone
• Francis Winter Stone
• Catherine Matilda Stone
• Stephen W. D. Stone
• Sarah Dunnington Stone
• James E. Stone

James and Catherine lived almost 50 years together – he passed away May 21, 1885.  Catherine lived on until October 3, 1904.

One more thought on Dorothy Thrawley – how she would have loved having a blog to discuss her beloved ancestors!  Her inspiration has helped me achieve what I have in my research, and encouraged me to continue on.  Let’s instill that love of genealogy and the inspiration to discover more about our ancestors in future generations!

James E. Stone