Anthony Clopton of Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi

Anthony Clopton was the son of Benjamin Clopton and Agnes Morgan. A direct descendant of William Clopton, Gentleman, of Virginia and Ann (Booth) Dennett, Anthony was born June 28, 1770 in Goochland County, Virginia. The Rev. William Douglas baptized him at St. James Northam Parish, Goochland, December 25, 1770.

He migrated to Tennessee and married May 24, 1804, in Davidson County, Rhoda Hoggatt. Rhoda was the only daughter of Captain John Hoggatt of Clover Bottoms Farms near Nashville, Tennessee, and his first wife Agnes Watkins. She was born December 23, 1785 in Buckingham County, Virginia. The Hoggatts moved to Tennessee at some point where she married Anthony Clopton. Her mother died in 1794. In his will dated 1824, Captain Hoggatt mentions his "beloved wife Dianna Hoggatt." In this will he leaves his daughter several generous parcels of land and two slaves, "John a negro man and George a Small Boy the boy to be delivered at any time after my descease, and John to be delivered in Six months after my descease." The will also instructed Rhoda was to take possession of two more salves, "each worth the Sum of three hundred and fifty dollars," following the death of Dianna Hoggatt.

Anthony and Rhoda had nine children. Interestingly, their eldest, John Hoggatt Clopton, was born in Virginia April 23, 1805, indicating Rhoda had traveled back to Virginia after their marriage. Their other children were born in Davidson County. Following John’s 1805 birth came three other sons and five daughters. Their children were John, Benjamin Michaux Clopton, Agnes Watkins Morgan Clopton Moncrief Roseborough, Evelina Whitlock Clopton Bernard, Elizabeth Hoggatt Clopton Harding Owens, William Anthony Clopton, James Wilford Clopton, Virginia Susanne Clopton Lane, and Mary Clopton Gray.

Anthony Clopton’s name appears among those on the Muster Roll Militia 1812, Nashville, Tennessee, serving under Captain Jesse W. Thomas. The Tennessee Census of 1820 for Davidson County lists "Anthony Clopton, head of family; two males under 10 years; two males 10 to 16; one male over 45; two females under 10; two females 10 to 16; and one female 26 to 45."

About 1820 Rhoda Hoggatt Clopton joined the Methodist Church. When she and her husband established a plantation in Tipton County, Tennessee, near Covington, she became a friend of Miss Jane H. Thomas. Together the two women realized the need to build a Methodist church in the community and decided to build one by raising a subscription. Miss Thomas wrote a 123 page book, Old Days in Nashville. Originally printed by House of M. (Methodist) E. (Episcopal) Church South, Nashville, underscores the important part played by women in the education and spiritual life of nineteenth century America and describes the contributions made by the Clopton and Hoggatt families.

Anthony Clopton donated an acre of land and Rhonda’s brothers, Abraham Sandifer Hoggatt, Dr. James W. Hoggatt, and John H. Hoggatt, Esq., contributed $250. With that humble beginning, Miss Thomas writes, "They built a cedar hewn-log church at McCrory’s Creek and put a stove in it." The church was called Clopton’s Camping Ground. The church grounds became a mustering place for the Confederate soldiers whom camped and drilled there. The area was by then known as the Clopton Community. In 1863 the shelters of the campground and the church building were burned by Federal troops.

Anthony and Rhoda did not overlook the social life of the community. Rhoda’s "Sewing Bees" were eagerly anticipated affairs each spring and fall. Young boys were invited to thread the needles and to "wait on the girls." Games were played and dancing continued sometimes as late as ten o’clock at night! An abundant dinner was always served.

Nor was the education of their children overlooked. Private tutors educated all their daughters as well as their sons.

Rhoda died on November 23, 1831 when her youngest daughter, Mary, was only ten years old, and was buried on the plantation in an area that is today known as the Clopton Cemetery. The grave’s exact location is unmarked and unknown. It is thought to be the first grave on the site and is possibly located near the graves of William L. Winston and his wife, which are marked.

Anthony’s many deeds of gifts and sales can be found on record at Tipton and Davidson County’s courthouses. He gave the county of Tipton the property, which is now known, as the town of Clopton.

In 1844 at the age of 74, Anthony sold his beloved plantation to William L. Winston and moved to the Desoto County, Mississippi home of his daughter Elizabeth and her second husband, The Reverend Frank A. Owens, a Methodist minister. Another daughter, Virginia, was also living in Desoto County with her husband Frances Asbury Lane. His son John held a plantation in Mississippi.

He died at Elizabeth’s home on July 17, 1848 where he was buried. However, the legacy of his generous gifts to the little Tennessee community continued. Following the Civil War, the first school, known as Clopton Academy, was established and located very near the campgrounds. The Clopton Academy continued to operate until 1938 when it was closed and classes were consolidated with Brighton.

In Old Days in Nashville, Miss Thomas wrote:

The school-house was built on Mr. Clopton’s land at his big spring on Stewart’s Ferry road to Lebanon where Major Exum taught. All the young men who went to war went to school, if able – the Hoggatts, Coopers, Halls, Jack and Benjamin Clopton, Issac Winston, Maj. Baskerville, Alfred Flournoy, Thom Mason and Purnell Jones. Issac Winston was later Governor of Alabama, James Hoggatt an eminent physician, and Sandifer Hoggatt prominent lawyer.

The present Clopton United Methodist Church building was completed in 1948 and is the fourth structure used by the Clopton Methodist Church. The name "Clopton" is engraved in stone and set between stained glass windows in the church. The life of the church and the people it served for over 150 years has been punctuated by events that shaped both our nation and our world. It is a rich and valuable past that is shared by all that have been touched by the Clopton Church and Community.

[#128]

Contributed by :

Suellen Clopton Blanton bblanton@fast.net

Based on:

An Article Originally Appearing in the December 1990 Issue of The Clopton Family Newsletter by John Wright.

Clopton, Gene Carlton, The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton of York County, Virginia. Privately Printed - Limited Edition, Phoenix Printing, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, 1984.

With special thanks to Maggie Clopton Wright, and to Roy Cross, Historian, Clopton United Methodist Church.