The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Birth: 17 Mar 1756 / Orange / VA Death: 16 Jan 1835 / Wilkes / NC
Qualifying Service Description:
1776, he served as a Private in the company of Captain John Hopkins.
1777-1778, served as a Private in the company of Captain David Laird.
1779, he served as a Private in the company of Captain Jeremiah Beasley of Rockingham County, Virginia.
Additional References:
Rev War Pension file R3112 V
Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Rev War. Micropublication M881, rolls 1005, 1064. Washington: National Archives.
Rev War Soldiers Buried in North Carolina. Incomplete manuscript.
Spouse: Theodocia/Theodosia Beaslay/Beasley McMullan Children: Thomas; Nancy Ann; William B;
Inscription: "Capt. Dula was a Patriot and Soldier of the Revolution and served in more than one engagement in the war for American Independence. He was a kind Husband and Father, ever ready to extend charity to the poor, and much esteemed by those who knew him.
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Author: Peter Kristian Widell
This biography was edited and augmented by PRS staff
William Dula was born on 17 March 1756 in Orange County, Virginia, per his affidavit in his pension application.
Eventually, he moved to Rockingham County, Virginia, where he enlisted in 1776 as a Private in Captain John Hopkins Company. He served over three months, engaging with Shawnee Nation warriors near Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
Shortly after he returned home, he volunteered for an eighteen-month engagement. His company marched to White Plains, New York, where they joined the company of Captain David Laird. That attachment marched to Fort Putnam. They spent the summer and fall of 1777 carrying stone for the construction of the fort. When it became too cold to work that winter, they marched to Middlebrook, New Jersey, to winter quarters, where they were under the command of General George Washington. In the spring, they traveled to various locations in New Jersey and New York without engagement.
A year and a half later, William volunteered for a three-month tour in a company of militia under the command of Captain Jeremiah Beasley in Rockingham County, Virginia. He was in an engagement at Jamestown, Virginia. He returned home at the expiration of his tour.
Soon after the war, he moved to Henry County, Virginia, where he remained for about three years, then moved to Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he had an estate on the North side of the Yadkin River (now in Caldwell County).
William married Mrs. Theodocia "Docia" (Beasley) McMullen. The marriage bond was issued on 5 April 1790 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. In his 1817 Last Will and Testament, he left his estate in trust to his wife and instructed that, after her death, it would revert to his children. They were listed as:
Thomas was born on 7 March 1768 and married Elizebeth Hulme.
Nancy was born in about 1778 and married Catlitt Jones.
William was born in about 1788 and married Sarah Pogue.
Elizabeth was born on 12 July 1781 and married John Witherspoon.
Mildred "Milley" was born on 8 January 1792 and married William Horton.
Sarah "Sally" was born on 29 April 1797 and married David Horton.
Based on the date of his marriage to Docia, we can conclude that older children were from a prior relationship.
He applied for a pension on 1 August 1833 while a resident of Wilkes County, North Carolina. However, he died before the process was complete, so the application was rejected.
He died in 1835 and was listed as Captain William Dula. It's unclear where and when he took on the title of Captain, but it was not during the Revolutionary War.
Sources
DAR Lineage Book, Vol 128, page 33
Alexander, Nancy, Here Will I Dwell, the Story of Caldwell County, 1956, pages 56, 63
Author: Thomas Lesser
William Dula was born on March 17, 1756 in Orange County, Virginia, to Thomas Dula and Elizabeth Fennel Beasley. He had 15 siblings, including Thomas, John, Valentine, and John Brown. He moved to Wilkes County, North Carolina, with his family around 1768.
He served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, fighting in the battles of King’s Mountain and Guilford Courthouse. He was also a member of the Wilkes County militia and a justice of the peace.
He married Theodosia Beasley, his cousin, on April 5, 1790 in Wilkes County. They had seven children: Elizabeth, Thomas Beasley, Nancy Ann, William Beasley, Franby, Mildred Amelia, and Sarah Jane. He owned a large plantation in Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, where he grew corn, wheat, tobacco, and cotton.
He died on January 16, 1835 in Wilkes County and was buried in Horton Cemetery in Yadkin Valley.
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