Husband of Frances Moseley Dawley, son of William Jordan and Martha Bidgood. According to family records, Col. Josiah William Jordan was buried in a family plot in Isle of Wight County, near Christ Church in Smithfield ("2 miles out"). The location of the plot has been lost, but we assume it is somewhere on or near the old Jordan farm property, which included Fort Boykin.

There is a memorial window dedicated to the memory of Col. Josiah William Jordan and his wife in St. Luke's Church in Isle of Wight County. This window was installed by his surviving children, who organized the restoration of the church in the late nineteenth century. There is also a memorial in his honor in the Greer Garden at Fort Boykin, dedicated by his granddaughters: Ella, Sue, and Elizabeth Jordan. Col. Jordan and his family lived at "The Rocks" in Isle of Wight County from roughly 1841-1849.



According to Hardesty's Historical and Geographic Encyclopedia 1884, Col. Josiah William Jordan "was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia on the 1st of September, 1801. He was a man of superior intellect, high sense of honor, and of undaunted courage. He held several public offices of trust in his native county and was honorably esteemed by all who knew him. In 1830 he was commissioned major of the 29th Regiment of Virginia Infantry, and was subsequently promoted to colonel of the same regiment, and ranked as such from the 4th day of October, 1836…In February, 1827, he was married to Fanny Moseley Dawley, daughter of the Rev. James Dawley, one of the most highly esteemed and influential citizens of Norfolk, Virginia. A family of ten children six sons and four daughters, graced this union, and when the civil war between the states commenced, five of those sons were among the first to go forward to battle in defense of Southern rights and freedom from oppression. He died on the 8th of January, 1852, and was buried with Masonic honors, of which fraternity he was at the time of his death district deputy grand master. His widow survived him only a few years. She died on the 12th of October, 1855, and her remains were interred by the side of her late husband. For more than thirty years, she had been a true and devoted wife, a fond and self-sacrificing mother, and to the surviving children her death was an irreparable loss."

**If you have any information relating to the site of this burial please contact Jordan Sellers.**

Children of Col. Josiah William Jordan and Frances Moseley Dawley:
1. Alonzo Bidgood Jordan 1827 – 1906
2. Frances Dawley Jordan 1829 – 1834
3. Walter Baker Jordan Sr. 1832 – 1892
4. Martha Ella Jordan 1835 – 1890
5. Oliver Paley ("Opie"/"O.P.") Jordan 1836 – 1901
6. Frances Dawley Jordan 1838 – 1843
7. Imogene Dawley Jordan 1840 – 1913
8. Josiah William "Joe" Jordan 1843 – 1933
9. James Dawley Jordan 1845 – 1916
10. William Francis "Billy" Jordan Sr. 1849 – 1903

Husband of Frances Moseley Dawley, son of William Jordan and Martha Bidgood. According to family records, Col. Josiah William Jordan was buried in a family plot in Isle of Wight County, near Christ Church in Smithfield ("2 miles out"). The location of the plot has been lost, but we assume it is somewhere on or near the old Jordan farm property, which included Fort Boykin.

There is a memorial window dedicated to the memory of Col. Josiah William Jordan and his wife in St. Luke's Church in Isle of Wight County. This window was installed by his surviving children, who organized the restoration of the church in the late nineteenth century. There is also a memorial in his honor in the Greer Garden at Fort Boykin, dedicated by his granddaughters: Ella, Sue, and Elizabeth Jordan. Col. Jordan and his family lived at "The Rocks" in Isle of Wight County from roughly 1841-1849.



According to Hardesty's Historical and Geographic Encyclopedia 1884, Col. Josiah William Jordan "was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia on the 1st of September, 1801. He was a man of superior intellect, high sense of honor, and of undaunted courage. He held several public offices of trust in his native county and was honorably esteemed by all who knew him. In 1830 he was commissioned major of the 29th Regiment of Virginia Infantry, and was subsequently promoted to colonel of the same regiment, and ranked as such from the 4th day of October, 1836…In February, 1827, he was married to Fanny Moseley Dawley, daughter of the Rev. James Dawley, one of the most highly esteemed and influential citizens of Norfolk, Virginia. A family of ten children six sons and four daughters, graced this union, and when the civil war between the states commenced, five of those sons were among the first to go forward to battle in defense of Southern rights and freedom from oppression. He died on the 8th of January, 1852, and was buried with Masonic honors, of which fraternity he was at the time of his death district deputy grand master. His widow survived him only a few years. She died on the 12th of October, 1855, and her remains were interred by the side of her late husband. For more than thirty years, she had been a true and devoted wife, a fond and self-sacrificing mother, and to the surviving children her death was an irreparable loss."

**If you have any information relating to the site of this burial please contact Jordan Sellers.**

Children of Col. Josiah William Jordan and Frances Moseley Dawley:
1. Alonzo Bidgood Jordan 1827 – 1906
2. Frances Dawley Jordan 1829 – 1834
3. Walter Baker Jordan Sr. 1832 – 1892
4. Martha Ella Jordan 1835 – 1890
5. Oliver Paley ("Opie"/"O.P.") Jordan 1836 – 1901
6. Frances Dawley Jordan 1838 – 1843
7. Imogene Dawley Jordan 1840 – 1913
8. Josiah William "Joe" Jordan 1843 – 1933
9. James Dawley Jordan 1845 – 1916
10. William Francis "Billy" Jordan Sr. 1849 – 1903