A treasured gift leads me to my longest line

This past summer I was given the gift of a lifetime. As another genealogist said I hit the jackpot. A sweet cousin of mine who knew I had a deep interest in our family history had came across a folder that she thought I might be interested in. A few days later we met up and she handed me the folder. Looking thru it I was trying hard not to get teary eyed. I was in awe of how much it had in it and was so touched that she thought of me. I won't go into all of the contents right now as I know I will write about them later.

Week 3's theme for 52 ancestors, 52 weeks was Long  Line. I decided to start with my longest line that I can verify, my 4X great grandfather William Dudman. I was blessed with a copy of a handwritten story of William's life starting with where he was born and stopped when he was still alive. He passed in1908, so the notes are well over 100 years old,

William was born Dec 18, 1818 in Chichester England and came to the states with his parents when he was around 2 months old. They landed in Kentucky, but ended up in Clark Co, Indiana. When William was young his father 'was drowned' in Crawford Co, Indiana. I have never found anything else about this. just a short sentence in a book, To me it almost sounds like someone did it on purpose but it's not a known fact. His mother was left with 4 small children and no way to support them so they were adopted out. I had read that William was adopted by a Abalsom Wood family where he received a linited education, but never found any official documents. William did though name his first son George Absalsom so I do believe that Mr Wood had some influence on his life. During his youth he learned the gunsmith trade in Crawford county, which is the county that Mr Wood lived in.

At the age of 22 William left for Illinois and ended up in Clay County, When he arrived in the town of Xenia he invested his savings and opened a gunsmith shop.  About a year later he also took up farming and became the owner of 320 acres. It was here that he would meet and marry my 4X great grandmother Sallie Baity. They were united in marriage on Oct 18, 1841. They would go on to have 8 children including my 3X great grandmother Rebecca Dudman. Sallie died in 1855 and is buried there in Clay County.  At some point during this time he turned his full attention to farming, In 1857 he would marry once again. He and Elizabeth Simms wed in March 1857 and would have 4 children, He would have 12 children in a 24 yr span.

After the Civil War he decided to head west. The notes say he headed for Missouri in 1868 but I have found this is wrong. He is still in Illinois in the 1870 census and I found an ad in a 1870 newspaper where his farm was for sale. Sometime shortly after 1870 he and his family would join a wagon train and head to Missouri where he ended up in Newton Co. He lived there about 7 yrs then moved on to Jasper County Missouri where he would stay the remainder of his life. He became an official citizen in 1878 and was one of the early pioneers of the county. He bought a 500+ acre farm on Center Creek and also raised livestock. He would go on to donate land for a church and a cemetery, Dudman cemetery, where he is buried. This cemetery is very well taken care of and still being used today.

William was a self-made man. He started out as a poor boy, but by hardwork, dedication, his faith in God he became one of the wealthiest and most prominent men in Jasper County MO. He outlasted 3 wives and died in 1908.

My line goes....
William Dudman
Rebecca (Dudman) Oldman
Sallie (Oldman) Smith
Lewis Garner Smith  **he went by Garner
Melva (Smith) Turner
Donna (Turner) Immekus
ME Michelle (Immekus) Morgan