Doty Family

The Doty family left Somerset County, New Jersey and settled near Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina. There Moses Doty made his home with two sisters and a brother. It was there that the young Moses married Sarah Berry, a native Carolinian. Shortly thereafter they removed to Pendleton County, settling in the position that later became Grant County. After several years of residence the spirit of adventure again seized Moses Doty. He decided to move to less settle country in the territory of Illinois. He and his family undertook the venture. Land that was both desirable and also available had not been located as yet, when one wintry day in 1808, while attempting to walk across and test the strength of ice on the Saline River in present Gallatin County, Illinois, Moses Doty fell through and was drowned. The widowed Sarah then returned to Pendleton County, Kentucky with her family. The following year, January 24, 1811, she became the wife of Lewis Buskirk. With other members of the Doty family, the Buskirks in 1828 left Kentucky to settle in Adams County, Illinois. Moses and Sarah Doty were the parents of five children.

1. Nancy was married in Pendleton County to Jesse Wilson. This family remained in Kentucky.

2. Reuben was married in Grant County, Kentucky to Mary Hickerson, March 1, 1821. This family removed to Adams County, Illinois.

3. John married Julia Daniels. They too settled in Adams County, Illinois, where he died while still in the prime of life. He was survived by his widow and five children.

4. Elizabeth was married in Grant County, Kentucky, December 4, 1828, to Zachariah Hogan, who had been a member of the county's first jury. The Hogans also removed to Adams County, Illinois.

5. William Henry removed to Illinois and from thence went to Texas.

Researched by James R. Glacking
Published in Footsteps of the Past, June 22, 1995.

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