The Templetons

One of the large pioneer families of Doddridge was that of Lawrence and Nancy Luisa Dodd Templeton. Before Lawrence Templeton was born, his grandfather, John Templeton, of Laurens, South Carolina, made preparations to move his family to Arkansas. At the age of fifty John was an adventurous man, who joined westward pioneers to find land in Lafayette County, Arkansas, where he could later bring his family and settle.

John found some desirable land about a mile southwest of Black Diamond, and about two miles northwest of Doddridge. He was one of three men who, in 1837, made the first land entries at the Lafayette County seat.

After having established his claim to the land, John returned to South Carolina to get his wife and family. Unfortunately, at some time after his return to South Carolina, his wife died. This tragic event and the onset of the Civil War, followed by other obstacles, discouraged John from ever returning to his new land in Arkansas.

John did dream, however, of his son or grandson going back and claiming the land. He had a grandson named Laurens C. Templeton (later called Lawrence), who was now eighteen. It was at this age that Lawrence married Nancy Luisa Dodd. Nancy Luisa’s nickname was “Dooley.”

Lawrence and Dooley were both adventurous in spirit, and with the encouragement of Grandfather John, they started out in 1869 in an ox-drawn covered wagon to settle on their grandfather’s land in Arkansas. Upon reaching Euharlee, Georgia, their first child, John Willie, was born, August 29, 1869.

When Lawrence and Dooley arrived at the John Templeton land site (probably in the winter of 1869-70)/ they faced the monumental task of building a home and carving some tillable land out of the wilderness. First, they felled virgin timber and smoothed the logs with an adz, a tool made for removing bark from logs. Next, they notched the ends of the logs so that they would fit (or “dovetail”) together. The logs were then secured with wooden pegs. The spaces between the logs were filled or “chinked” with clay. The whole process, although laborious and time consuming, produced a sturdy house without the use of nails.

This log house served Lawrence and Dooley, and the ten children who came along through the years, until his early death in 1893, at the age of forty-two. Also, at age forty- two, Dooley had become a widow. She never remarried, and in her later years she came to be known by everyone as “Aunt Dooley.” She had worked hard throughout her marriage, and continued to be active until her death. She lived to be almost 100. Lawrence, Dooley, and two of their children, Ida, and Oscar, are buried in the Olive Branch Methodist Church Cemetery. They had been members of this Church throughout the years.

Most of the Templeton children married spouses from their own community. John Willie only had to walk through the piney woods to “court” Laura Pool. They married and lived the rest of their lives on the place she inherited. They had seven children: Ivan, Dallas, Lawrence, Bruce, Clive, Gertrude, and Ewing.

Dora Elizabeth married the boy who lived just “down the road a piece.” He was Milton Wesley Tidwell. Milton was nicknamed “Sug” (as in sugar), and he was known primarily by that name all of his life. Dora and Sug were strong pillars in the Doddridge Methodist Church for most of their lives. Their children were Buie, Ennis, and Vernon.

Leah married J. H. Waldroup of the pioneer Waldroup family who had settled nearby. The early Waldroups had given land for a cemetery and a combined Methodist Church and school which were used by all of the community. Leah and J. H. had two children, Nettie and Ottis.

J. H. died, and Leah later married Scott Brown. Scott’s father, who had also been a pioneer in this area was murdered by the Cullen Baker gang. Leah and Scott had two children, Abner, and Barney.

Cleolia married Gib Wilbanks, and they had no offspring.

Thomas married Fannie Howard, then a second wife (unknown), and a third wife, Minnie Larry, who was a member of the early Larry family.

Estella married M. Fowler. Their children were Milburn and Myrtle. (Myrtle became the wife of Arthur Hartline).

Carl married Jimmie Thomas. Their children were Ione and Roy.

Grover C. married Myrtie Adcock. Their family was large: Vassel, Cleve, Woodrow, Leonard, Howard, Arnold, Grover Cleveland (G.C.), Boyce, and Pansy. Several of these children still live in the Doddridge area.

The Waldroup and Black Diamond areas were adjacent to each other and were home not only to the Templeton clan, but also to several other prominent families: Kelley and Lenora Evers Dickson, Sim and Minnie Poole Evers, Jewel and ? Evers Price, and David and Sarah Waldroup Sams.

It is interesting to observe that the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren of Lawrence and Dooley Dodd Templeton have married into numerous families of Sulphur Township. The names include Brown, Peeves, Pool, Tidwell, Waldroup, Magee, Jones, Thomas, Douglas, Bryant, Harrison, Hemperley, Howard, Larry, McBride, Fowler, Hartline, Adcock, Huckabee, Roberts, Barnett, Bowlin, and others.

One hundred twenty-three years have passed since Lawrence and Dooley arrived in the Doddridge-Black Diamond vicinity where they brought forth a family of ten children, eight of whom lived to maturity.

After the marriage of the Templeton children, and then the marriage of the children’s children, and continuing on, the descendants of Lawrence and Dooley have now increased to the extent that a volume would be needed to trace and describe them all.