Anthony Clopton3 (Benjamin2, Walter1, William0) , born Jun 28, 1770, in Goochland County, Virginia, was the son of Benjamin Clopton and Agnes Morgan. The Rev. William Douglas baptized him at St. James Northam Parish, Goochland, December 25, 1770.
Migrating to Tennessee, he married Rhoda Hoggatt on May 24, 1804, in Davidson County. Rhoda, born December 23, 1785 in Buckingham County, Virginia, was the only daughter of Captain John Hoggatt of Clover Bottom Farm near Nashville, Tennessee, and his first wife Agnes Watkins who died in 1794.
In his will dated 1824, Captain Hoggatt mentions his "beloved wife Dianna (Sandifer) Hoggatt" and leaves Rhoda 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." This will also instructed that 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: John Hoggatt, Benjamin Michaux, Agnes Watkins, Evelina Whitlock, Elizabeth Hoggatt, William Anthony, James Wilford, Virginia Susanne Clopton, and Mary S. Interestingly, their eldest, John Hoggatt Clopton, was born in Virginia April 23, 1805, indicating Rhoda traveled back to Virginia after their marriage. All the other children were born in Davidson County, Tennessee.
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, this work underscores the important part women played in the education and spiritual life of 19th Century America and describes the contributions made by the Clopton and Hoggatt families.
Anthony Clopton donated an acre of land and Rhoda’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 Confederate soldiers who 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; she was buried on the plantation in an area that is today known as the Clopton Cemetery. Her grave’s exact location is unmarked and unknown; although, a memorial marker has been erected by the family. Her actual burial is thought to be the first grave on this 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 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 home of his daughter Elizabeth and her second husband, the Reverend Frank A. Owens, a Methodist minister in DeSoto County, Mississippi. Another daughter, Virginia, was also living in DeSoto County with her husband Frances Asbury Lane. Anthony's son John, in addition to inheriting Clover Bottom Farm, also held a plantation in Mississippi.
Anthony 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, Jane 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 has a rich and valuable past that is shared by all that have been touched by the Clopton Church and Community.
References:
Clopton, Gene Carlton. 1984. The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton of York County, Virginia. Atlanta, GA: Phoenix Printing, Inc.
Cross, Roy. Historian, Clopton United Methodist Church, personal communication, 1990.
Erwin, Lucy Lane. 1939. The ancestry of William Clopton of York County, Virginia: with records of some of his descedants, to which are added royal lines; Magna Carta sureties; charters; wills; deeds, etc. Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc. (https://archive.org/details/ancestryofwillia00erwi)
Thomas, Jane H. 1897. Old Days in Nashville, Tenn.: Reminiscences. Nashville, TN: Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, South. (https://archive.org/details/olddaysinnashvil00thomiala/page/n6)
Wright, John. Dec 1990. The Clopton Family Newsletter.
Wright, Maggie Clopton, personal communication, 1990.