>>Click here for John M. Dorris records<<
John was born in or near present day Abbeville County, SC (Ninety Six District) in 1806. He was the son of James Dorris and Elizabeth Merck. His father died about 1807 leaving John and his siblings orphans. He joined the Methodist Evangelical Church at the age of 16. He apparently was taken under the wing of Rev. Robert L. Edwards early in his life and trained as a Minister under Rev. Edwards. He was licensed in SC where he is noted to have served as far away as "The Cheraws" (north of present day Florence). He likely remained a Methodist minister throughout his years in Georgia. His obituary (1884) was written by Rev. John Bolton Quillian, who was a noted Methodist Minister in Georgia.
Map of Early SC Districts. Abbeville was a part of the Ninety Six District.
(Internet sourced non-copyrighted; Author unknown)
John appears to have arrived in Georgia about the same time as his brother James. They both were living in the town of Jefferson in Jackson County in March of 1830.
While his brother James moved to Milton/Crabapple (then Cherokee, now Fulton County), John appears to have divided his time between Milton/Crabapple and Carroll County. This may be because of his duties as a minister.
He can be found on the 1830 census for Carroll County, Georgia living very close to his father-in-law, William Clements, and William Clements' father James Clements. On August 5, 1830, John married Elizabeth Clements in Carroll County. It is not known for certain where they were living in Carroll County at this time but examining some of the adjacent names on this census it is possible that he lived south of present day Carrollton. Christopher Bowen for example, is buried in the McIntosh nature preserve along the Chattahoochee. The McIntosh Nature preserve is very close to where John M. Dorris' 1st cousin, John J. Dorris, later setttled. Note too that Roopville is not too far away and this is where the Bonner family settled. They are buried in the Old Camp Methodist Church cemetery.
On the 1840 census, he is listed in District 892 of Cherokee County, Georgia. He is on page 1 for this district with neighbor Jesse Broadwell. On the next page his brother James Dorris is listed along with Simeon Rucker. The Broadwell and Rucker families are well known to area historians.
>>Click here for John M. Dorris land records in Milton/Crabapple<<
On the 1850 census he is listed as living in the 11th Division of Carroll County. Division 11 appears to be all of Carroll County so it is possible that the area where he lived in Carroll later became a part of Campbell County (where he is shown living in 1860). The counties and county lines in this area changed numerous times (see old maps).
On the 1860 census, he is listed as living in Campbell County. Based on the names of his neighbors on this census, this is the "Dark Corner" region. The "Dark Corner" region was an area that is now split between Paulding and Douglas Counties - just northwest of the present day town of Douglasville.
<<Click here for John M. Dorris land records in Douglas/Paulding County<<
While a resident of Dark Corner, Campbell County, Georgia, John M. Dorris and his son William C. Dorris took the "Reconstruction Oaths" on August 16th. Other names on this same page and date are Winns, Vansants, Weddingtons, McLartys and Polks - all names of note in the history of Dark Corner and Douglasville.
On the 1870 census, he is listed as living in Campbell County, Dark Corner District.
On the 1880 census, he is listed as living in the Weddington District of Paulding County. He is living in the household of his son, J.B. Dorris (John Benjamin) and he is listed as a widower.
I have searched extensively for some indication of how his middle name of McKenzie came to be - He may have been named after the famous Northern Ireland Presbyterian Minister John McKenzie (1648-1696) who was one of the defenders at the Siege of Londonderry.
>>Click here for descendants of Rev. John M. Dorris<<
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Notes:
His obituary states he was born in Abbeville.
Per the 1800 census, James Dorris (father of Rev. John Dorris) was shown in the Abbeville census living near Moses Thompson, Harmon Gable, John Rampy and William Dorris - all names discussed herein. The Abbeville "area' per this census, may have included the land of the German Palatine settlement in 1800 which is where the Dorrises are known to have owned land. The palatine settlement was almost directly south of present day Greenwood, near Bradley.
(This page was updated on 5/21/2023)