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  • Dorothy Seaton, in front, second from left, was part of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society committee that updated the society’s Whitfield County history book in 1999. (Contributed photo)

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January 16, 2013

Seaton helped preserve local history

From Staff Reports

Dorothy Cecilia Sapp “Dot” Seaton had a passion for this area’s history and a talent for leadership.

“Dot was an amazing leader. She could take a group of people and make them enjoy working together,” said Ellen Thompson, president of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. “Many times, when you have a large group of people working together they each have their own visions. But she had a gift for taking all of those visions and helping them become one goal that everyone was working toward.”

Seaton, a Cohutta resident, passed away on Sunday at the age of 97. She served as the historical society’s first president when it was revived in 1976.

“The historical society was founded in 1952 for the purpose of restoring the Vann House. After that was accomplished, it went along for a while, then faded away,” Thompson said. “But the Bicentennial got a lot of people interested in history, and Dot was really instrumental in helping get us started back on a good foot.”

Seaton also chaired a committee that published an updated history of Whitfield County in 1999.

“We realized we needed to update the history. We had one from the 1930s, and we selected Dot to head the committee that brought it up to date. She did an amazing job. She was always enthusiastic about our history,” Thompson said.

The society created a scholarship at Northwest Whitfield High School for students who complete a paper or project on local history and named it after Seaton.

“That scholarship was to honor the work that she did, and now it will continue in her memory,” Thompson said.

Seaton was a member of numerous local groups and organizations, including the First Presbyterian Church of Cohutta, Dalton Garden Club, Lesche Club of Dalton, Daughters of the American Revolution, Magna Carta Dames and Cohutta Town Council. She was a graduate of Georgia State College for Women and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She had served as the society editor of the newspaper and was a teacher at Cohutta Elementary School.

The funeral service for Seaton is today at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Cohutta. Burial will be at Whitfield Memorial Gardens.

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