Black History - Solomon Dotson

Solomon Dotson

1894-1940
World War I Veteran
 
Buried in Cementerio Lindo, exact location unknown

[image - two unidentified World War I soldiers, courtesy of
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)]

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Although no contemporary record of his birth has been found, Solomon Dotson is believed to have been born on Christmas Day, 1894, in Jacksonville, Cherokee County, Texas.
 
As early as August 1916, Dotson was serving as a private in Company H, 365th Infantry, U.S. Army. The 365th was a racially-segregated, all Negro regiment. However, it was somewhat unusual in that, unlike most other segregated units, it had African American officers. Dotson’s commanding officer was Captain William Washington Green. Green was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for his heroic actions during World War I. Therefore, it seems likely that Solomon Dotson too saw combat during the War.
 
Promoted to the rank of private first class, Dotson continues to appear on the 365th ‘s roster until January 31, 1919, when he was presumably discharged.
           
The federal census of 1920 found him in Okfuskee, Oklahoma, living in the household of George Gray and working as a farmhand. In March of that year, Dotson married Gray’s daughter, Angeline. They soon had a son, Julius, and daughters Lonnie and Alice.
 
Sometime before 1930, the Grays moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where they resided at 14th Avenue and Buckeye. A news article from that year reports that Solomon was injured in a car accident, the vehicle being driven by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Maggie Gray. 
 
By 1933, Solomon Dotson was working as a barber at the Palm Barber Shop.
 
Proud of his World War I service, Dotson was active in veterans’ organizations throughout his later years. In 1936, he was the finance officer for the William F. Blake American Legion Post #40 (the post appears to have been renamed the Tilden White Post at a later date). Dotson’s teenaged daughter, Lonnie, was president of the post’s junior auxiliary. Dotson also belonged to the Virgil Bell Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1710, which still exists.
 
Son Julius Dotson graduated from the Phoenix colored high school in the spring of 1939. By the following year, he was enrolled at Phoenix College, taking art classes.
 
1940 was an election year, and Solomon Dotson was active in the "Wilkie for President" club. However, he didn’t live to see the outcome of the election as he died on October 15th of a cerebral hemorrhage associated with hypertension. His funeral took place at the Calvary Baptist Church, after which he was laid to rest in the Maricopa County Cemetery (now Cementerio Lindo).
 
© 2023 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 28 January 2023.

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