… here is what I have uncovered.
Littleberry Adkins the son of Parker Adkins and his wife Nancy Adkins daughter of Mary Adkins and (Jacob Harley) were married on 29 May 1790 in Franklin, Virginia. Together they had 9 children. One of which; a daughter named Christena Adkins (1805-1884 VA) married David Daniel Fry (1801-1884) son of Peter and Mary Ann Johnston Fry. And together, they had 6 known children. One Mary aka Polly 1836 married late, if at all. She was still living at home at the age of 44. I don’t have a marriage license yet for her nor found a document that said, Parker had a son named Parker. Their two older children Andrew Jackson Adkins and Hezekiah Fry Adkins are believed to be from a previous marriage. No documents found to support that.
I have read many books with references to them and thousands of documents from Virginia and I haven’t found one that shows Parker son of William having a son Parker Adkins. As a result of this; on my family tree, I’ve never married him off to either sister. I have a lot of notes on them. But until I get the documents, a will or census, tax records something, I don’t add them.
Also, I did email the other tree owners about removing the Fry from Mary Alexander’s last name. I have hyphenated it on mine, due to a possible second marriage reference I found. On my tree it will stay that way; since I have found the wills. I try to put a copy of my findings on this blog as they appear with the reference they were placed.
Now for Tecumseh Peekishnoah And Margurette Ice Tecumseh he married 3rd wife White Wing Nancy “Big Nancy” Cornstalk (daughter of father Nenpemeshequa-Wneypuechsika-Stout Man-Young Chief Cornstalk son of Keigh-taugh-quah Hokoleskwa Cornstalk and 1st wife Helizikinopo and mother Elizabeth Catherine See) after she ran off with him. This is Ohio and we have a lot of material on Tecumseh. Did I get anything wrong here?
We welcome all facts, opinions, reference articles and documents (even rumors at this point) as I’m sure if you have read “ALL” of the Adkins’ and Parker’ posts on this blog, you already know. We’re all just searching for the facts here.
Bring it!!!
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“I am addicted to e-mail. Is there a support group for people like me?” …Sound familiar?
March 7, 2009 at 11:26 am
Researchers and some documents refer to Millitan/Millington Adkins as Parker Millington Adkins. In a small college library I found records of Virginia marriages that clearly showed Millitan/Millington as the husband of Mary Fry. Noted researcher and author, Ronnie Adkins, also posted response on GenForum that Parker Adkins Sr. was not Mary Fry’s husband, and that Mary Fry was Millitan/Millington’s wife. He also explained how the idea that Parker Sr. was her husband evolved.
Mary was daughter of George Fry, who came before my ancestors (mentioned above), David Fry & Christina Adkins. I also descend from Littleberry in another line. According to the date of her birth, she would have been much too young to have married and had children with Parker Adkins Sr., however she does show up in record as being the wife of Millitan/Millington Adkins, who was also known as Parker Adkins.
And as far as the Ice information you are quoting above…I am good friends with the author who’s work you are quoting, talk to him almost daily in either email or on the phone. He too would confirm everything I have posted if you care to contact him about it. He’d know as soon as you tell him who I am.
March 7, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I have Millington Militan Adkins
Birth: 20 Sep 1755 Halifax, VA and Death: 1829, Vigo, Indiana, on my tree, I hadn’t found anything suggesting his first name was Parker. I haven’t done much research on the Fry’s except for the David that Christena Adkins married and I have George Peter Fry who’s parents were George Fray and Margaret Scott that married Keziah Mallory Adkins. Maybe a few other’s, I would have to look. I try to keep to records that I can prove. Where did you find a record saying that Militan Adkins first was Parker?
I have Mary ? (either Alexander or Fry -second marriage) born in 1730-1777 according to marriage bond.
March 8, 2009 at 3:53 pm
You would have to ask the various researchers online where those documents lay…in a Google search there are a few referring to him as Parker Millitan, or Parker Millington Adkins.
Regardless of whether or not
Millitan/Militan/Wilitan/Millington was a “Parker” Adkins, the record from the book on Virginia marriage records clearly showed that Millitan/Millington was the husband of Mary Fry, d/o George Fry. I would have to dig through piles of paperwork to find the transcription that my sister wrote out by hand from the book to see if it says Parker Millitan/Millington, or just Millitan/Millington.
But it was proof enough for me that it wasn’t Millitan/Millington’s father Parker Adkins who was married to Mary Fry, it was Millitan/Millington.
And from what I read, it was Mary of Alexander, and not Mary Alexander. Again, reminding me of Mitha NONE slowly becoming Mitha Nunn.
There is no proof at all supporting Parker Adkins’ wife Mary having the surname of Fry or Alexander. It is mentioned in my friends book as a possibility, but these books are meant to be revised as new information surfaces. One of which is being revised as we speak.
March 11, 2009 at 2:43 pm
1850 United States Federal Census
about Millington Atkins
Name: Millington Atkins
Age: 31
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1819
Birth Place: Virginia
Gender: Male
Home in 1850(City,County,State): District 10, Cabell, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarissa Atkins 33
Emmerine Atkins 9
Frances Atkins 0
Leander Atkins 3
Millington Atkins 31
Nancy Atkins 5
Parker Atkins 8
Reecay Atkins 6
A Ronnians 33
Hesther Ronnians 26
John E Ronnians 5
Rebecca A Ronnians 7
William H Ronnians 1
March 11, 2009 at 2:48 pm
1880 United States Federal Census
about Millington Adkins
Name: Millington Adkins
Home in 1880: Union, Wayne, West Virginia
Age: 7
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1873
Birthplace: West Virginia
Relation to Head of Household: Brother
Father’s birthplace: Virginia
Mother’s birthplace: Kentucky
Neighbors: View others on page
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Gender: Male
Cannot read/write:
Blind:
Deaf and dumb:
Otherwise disabled:
Idiotic or insane:
View Image
Household Members:
Name Age
Ovington Adkins 34
Matilda Adkins 22
Mary Adkins 3
Earnest Adkins 2
Lavanea Adkins 10M
Millington Adkins 7
March 11, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Virginia Marriages, 1740-1850
about Clarrissa Gilgerson
Groom Name: Millington Adkins
Bride Name: Clarrissa Gilgerson
Marriage Date: 13 Nov 1840
County: Cabell
State: Virginia
This is the one from 1850 census.
March 11, 2009 at 3:37 pm
The name of Millington, carried on down through the Adkins family. So it must have something to do with their Lineage. Either Surname: I assuming the mother’s family since I hadn’t seen it prior in the Adkins line.
Have you given any credence to the idea that maybe they were both named Mary Fry? Maybe a distant aunt or cousin? We did have two Elizabeth Parker’s about that same era. Married into the family. It stands to reason two Fry’s could have. We may just need to look up a generation for her parents.
Admittedly, I hadn’t done much research on the Fry family but after seeing the number of the Surname: Fry, listed at the Virginia Colony and taking into consideration that Mary is such a common name, it stands to reason that there could have easily been two of them. Give it some thought…
At this point, I’m not ruling that out. I’m looking for more info on the Fry family; data to cross reference it with. If the name Militan actually does run in the Fry family then she would have to have been a Fry.
I just found it very odd that no one had a marriage or any other family data on him, when he should have had descendants, because the name carried on down the line.
Looking for more documents and reference material.
March 11, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Rhode Island Births, 1636-1930
*Name: Mary Fry
Parent 1: Thomas Fry
Parent 2: Mary Fry
Birth Date: 15 Jul 1722
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Thomas Fry
Parents:Thomas Fry
Mary Fry
Birth: 29 Dec 1723
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Ann Fry
Parents:Thomas Fry
Mary Fry
Birth: 14 May 1725
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Name: Sarah Fry
Parents:Thomas Fry
Mary Fry
Birth: 21 Dec 1726
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Name: Hannah Fry
Parents:Thomas Fry
Mary Fry
Birth: 16 Apr 1730
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Name: Elizabeth Fry
Parents: Thomas Fry
Mary Fry
Birth: 18 Nov 1732
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Here is a Thomas and Mary “Fry” Fry from Rhode Island that had a Mary Fry born 1722. I listed the siblings so they could be tracked. She could have very easily been born in Rhode Island and married someone from another state.
March 11, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I’m checking all Surnames:
Essex, Massachusetts Probate Records, 1638-1840
Court, Land, Wills & Financial
Name: Mary Fry; Frye; Frie; Frey
Civil: 07 Sep 1747
Residence: Andover
March 26, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Millington Adkins son of Parker V was born 1755 and married Mary Fry. Parker Millington Adkins was son of Millington Adkins, born about 1800 and married Kiziah Marrs, with sons including Parker and Millington, and a daughter Mary “Polly”… from my paternal grandmother’s research around 1970-80. Hezekiah’s wife was Mary “Molly-Polly” Levon, to make things more confusing…
I don’t have a last name for Mary “Polly”… but you have her dying 1777 and Parker marrying Cornstalk and having children with her in 1767… do you have some evidence that he ran off with Cornstalk, or what is your guess?
March 27, 2009 at 8:25 am
Does your Grandmother report whether Militan born on 20 Sep 1755 in Halifax, VA was married to the daughter; Mary Fry born 1788 of George and Keziah Mallory Adkins Fry? or some other Mary Fry? There were numerous Fry families living in the area at that time, any one of which could have sired a Mary. Do you have any proof as to which one he married?
Hezekiah Adkins’ descendants are very luck for he has two marriage license; one to fix the misspelling of his wife’s Surname on the first. It’s those mistakes that kept the documents current. If someone went/needed to go back and fix them, the record was put in many files. If there were no mistakes made, they were just filed away or lost, rarely if ever pulled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I find it funny no one has ever commented on my original post for Parker Vincent Adkins: http://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/page/3/?s=Parker+Adkins
but here is the link to my post on Parker the second son of William V and Elizabeth Parker Adkins. Should some one care to reference it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now for the date of Mary Fry-Alexander’s death. I don’t think the old records are wrong. I think maybe at that time, Blue Sky Cornstalk was awarded to Parker, as a true “TROPHY WIFE” in every since; “Meaning” of the word. She would have been “Property” and given in exchange for some kind of treaty, maybe??? I have read only bits of that treaty, and that was the conclusion I came to, from it.
Mary Fry-Alexander was still living and giving birth to sons William and Shadrack Adkins after the other two were born two Littleberry and Charity born to Blue Sky also called Mary or they were given/adopted to/by Mary Fry-Alexander, for some reason???
I’m sure Mary the 1st wife; lived in full denial of any impropriety or dalliance her husband may or may not have undertaken with Mary Blue Sky Cornstalk as “was the way” at that time. They just looked the other way, and denied… denied… denied. So they kept their marriage in tact and rumors at bay. Along with their standing in the “CHURCH” and Colony. This would have been a major priority for her. Bringing no shame on her household.
I will keep looking for any other documents suggesting that Mary left him or took another residence, but I honestly don’t believe she did. I think she would have merely told him, that the CHURCH would never recognized or even speak of such a thing… so it was not a real marriage; it was like it never happened. Nor has anyone ever found their Parker & Blue Sky’s marriage bond. I think all references to a union are in the Treaty.
Just a theory on my part; during the Civil War a lot of these so called dalliances went on and their wives just rolled with it. It was their way.
I wouldn’t try it NOW, but THEN a guy could get away with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please show me any documents you have for Militan and I will put it on my tree. Children’s death certificates or Wills with both parents names, anything. Old bible references. Something/anything. I have gone through tons of stuff and I cannot find any record of Militan’s marriage unless they are using the name Parker to Mary Fry’s bond. Do you have any records?
March 27, 2009 at 8:32 am
Here is something I always found funny; marriage bond: Parker Adkins male 1763 VA 1792 Mary Levon 1765. Now we both know she married Hezekiah Adkins so what’s up with that?
March 27, 2009 at 8:34 am
and then…
Hezekiah Adkins male 1801 VA Susannah Adkins.
March 27, 2009 at 8:35 am
Nancy Adkins female 1800 VA Richard Adkins 1775
Nancy Adkins female 1778 VA 1797 James Drake 1775 VA
March 27, 2009 at 8:42 am
Parker Adkins male 1720 VA 1754 Mary ??? if someone could only get their hands on the original to read it this one. It would be golden…
March 27, 2009 at 8:53 am
Edward Atkinson VA Virginia Colony Virginia 1607
William Atkinson VA Virginia Colony Virginia 1607
Thomas Addison VA Elizabeth City County Virginia Pioneer 1624
Charles Atkinson VA Elizabeth City County Virginia Pioneer 1624
Ann Attkinson VA Elizabeth City County Virginia Pioneer 1624
Richard Atkins VA Maine Virginia Pioneer 1624
John Atkins VA Warwicksqueake County Virginia Pioneer 1624
Alles Addison VA Virginia Colony Virginia 1651
James Adkinson VA Virginia Colony Virginia East Shore 1651
Wm Atkins VA Richmond County Rental Rolls 1744
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Township: Virginia Pioneer
Year: 1624
Database: VA Early Census Index
Richard Atkins VA Maine Virginia Pioneer 1624.
John Atkins VA Warwicksqueake County Virginia Pioneer 1624.
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Eliza Atkins VA Richmond County Farphan Parish 1746
March 28, 2009 at 7:48 am
“Blue Sky Cornstalk was awarded to Parker, as a true “TROPHY WIFE” in every since; “Meaning” of the word. She would have been “Property” and given in exchange for some kind of treaty, maybe??? I have read only bits of that treaty, and that was the conclusion I came to, from it.”
Question…
What treaty? The only treaty from that time period, that anyone knows of, is the Bouquet Treaty, which has nothing of the sort, nor any way one could draw such a conclusion, contained in it.
March 28, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I haven’t heard from you in awhile, I’m glad to hear from you.
I merely stated that “I think… maybe at that time” she was probably property.
Think about it 1700’s; British Rule, hard core Church rules, Indian uprisings, etc. this is the time in which we are speaking of here… 1700’s. I’m not saying he didn’t love her, I’m just stating the facts.
These are my notes on Mary Blue Sky Cornstalk:
The above was assembled from treaty signings and other affairs where the name is recorded as “son of or daughter of Cornstalk “About 6′ tall & attractive, a Christian Chalakatha/Mekoche, daughter of Cornstalk & Helizikinopo, wife 1st about 1760 of John Swift-adopted white, 2nd 1767 of Parker V. Adkins, a white man.
Father: Keigh-taugh-quah Hokoleskwa 1712 PA -10 Nov 1777 WV.
Mother: Helizikinopo 1715 PA – 1756 Ohio
Grandfather: Wawwaythi Whitefish Okowellos”Ionoco” Sunfish 1672-1740 VA
Grandmother: Bird 1682-1740 Ohio
March 28, 2009 at 5:49 pm
He meant for the other names, males who participated in various treaty signings and things of that nature. Bluesky came from another source “…and other affairs”.
Chalakatha and Mekoche are tribe divisions/septs.
Women didn’t particpate in battle, regardless of what some fraudulent author states in her newest fiction novel about one of Cornstalk’s other daughters. So no female name would be on any treaty. Nor, to my knowledge, was any female Shawnee given away to the whites to keep peace.
More on some of your response when time allots…concerning the 1700’s paragraph.
March 28, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Chalakatha and Mekoche are tribe divisions/sects. I had actually learned that since I posted my original notes; stuff that I had jotted down. I went to her file and copied and pasted what I had on her. I should have gone over the notes. That was stuff people had sent me and what I had read on some odd references and books. I did see some treaties, but to be honest, it was so long and boring… I just skimmed over them. Nothing jumped off the page at me. I should have gone back and changed it, but she really wasn’t a top priority for me.
Since, I am descended from William V Adkins Jr. and not Parker Adkins, I only kept the history of for reference notes, that people sent until I had so many I needed to put them all somewhere. Later, I decided we’re family, he’s a great-uncle and we do share the same DNA so I would track them. Mine has come back 100% William V Adkins 1689 VA here. Which has only made me more determined to add them.
I’m not writing a book nor am I selling anything here; now or in the future. I’m not endorsing anyones books. I just wanted a little place, hence the word “Mews” where we could all share our thoughts, ideas, and notes to speed up our family genealogy research.
I’m not spitting on anyones research here and I welcome everyones comments whether I agree with them or not. That’s how we learn; we discuss it… and it fuels the fire so to speak, to continue.
Since we none lived back then, we are all merely thinking out loud here, using every method of research available. You continue to want to “SCHOOL ME” or “JEWEL ME IN” as if I haven’t done my homework, I assure you I have, (I have spent countless hours on my research) but I do welcome and love the debate. Nothing is written in stone here.
Furthermore, I don’t think just because someone writes a book, all their data is correct or incorrect. It’s just what they have complied and brought to the table. Then we can work that much harder to prove or disprove it. Thats our job.
We’re all in it for the same thing here… The thrill of the hunt.
March 28, 2009 at 11:04 pm
“I have read only bits of that treaty, and that was the conclusion I came to, from it.”
and…
“Chalakatha means Blue Sky? I guess.”
For every one person who questions, one-hundred will take as fact, regardless of what was meant in the statements above. Which will then lead to it being spread around, by a thousand, all over the internet like wildfire. Thus slowing down the process, not speeding it up.
I am not trying to school, jewel, or fool anyone. Look at it as Quality Control. Regardless of the intent of your blog, people will look at it in another way.
March 29, 2009 at 9:58 am
http://www.answers.com/topic/shawnee
here is where I learned the difference:
Ancient residents of the Ohio Valley, the Shawnees (“Shawanos” or “Southerners”) are an Alqonquian-speaking people who were living in villages scattered across southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois when they first encountered the French in the 1670s.
Groups
Before contact with Europeans, the Shawnee tribe consisted of a loose confederacy of five divisions which shared a common language and culture. These division names have been spelled in a variety of ways, but the phonetic spelling is added after each following the work of C. F. Voegelin
Chillicothe (Chalahgawtha) [Chalaka, Chalakatha]
Hathawekela Thawikila]
Kispokotha (Kispoko)[kishpoko, kishpokotha]
Mequachake (Mekoche, Machachee, Maguck, Mackachack, etc.)
Pekuwe (Piqua, Pekowi,, Pekowitha]
Membership in a division was inherited from the father. Each division had a primary village where the chief of the division lived; this village was usually named after the division. By tradition, each Shawnee division had certain roles it performed on behalf of the entire tribe, although these customs were fading by the time they were recorded in writing by European-Americans and are now poorly understood.
I can go back and delete that line in my comment (as I did) and in my notes as I should have done prior to my posting the comment but since you have referenced it here, it won’t go away that easy. Unless I play GOD and delete it from your comment well. As the admin I have to power to do that here. Is this what you would prefer?
I do feel that if you’re the Professor: a person who professes to be an expert teaching the class, Shawnee Chief Cornstalk 101 then where is your Curriculum, reference material and/or notes? What are you bringing to the table here? You’re quick to dismiss everything, everyone else has said but offered no proof… nothing here on this matter; facts, ideas or references… only opinions, as far as I can see. With this being the case: why are you right and the rest of us wrong?
I did delete “my guess” part of that comment. And yours as well, should you decide for me to do so… that much of it will go away… but I think for YOU to be RIGHT… you need to provide some proof on your theories.
FEEL THE POWER… BRING IT… We’re all ears…
March 29, 2009 at 12:36 pm
My references are those you are referencing here on the site. You quote their work while I talk to them and am in good standing with them… including a few of the Shawnee as well. I don’t profess to know everything, you’ve done that for me.
Anyone questioning me can easily trace who I am and where I stand with these people. Feel free to do so if you wish. My references are people who have been doing this sort of thing for more years than anyone here. Noted not only in the historical research world, but with the Shawnee themselves.
March 29, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Name one… I guess your not a name dropper?
Your from Cincinnati and I’m from Germantown both cities in Ohio. We have access to all the same information. One of the women I deal with weekly, teaches crafts & Indian relations at Fort Ancient, she throws out more Indian stuff than most people could ever own. She used to work at Sunwatch. Does that make her an expert? NO, just a person doing a job. What would you like to ask and I’ll see has an opinion. I drive by a Shawnee mural daily in Sunsbury. It never goes away. That doesn’t make mine data any more or less factual than yours. It’s not WHO we know but WHAT we know!!!
How could you possibly know whom I’m in contact with? Nor does that matter. We’re all on a genealogy fact finding mission here, right? And from where I’m sitting, I can’t see where I have directly quoted anyone. Can you? So, where do you get I’m quoting THEIR work? The information I have is common everyday knowledge where I come from. If anyone bothers to ask the right questions.
Lay all your cards on the table here… what do you know?
March 29, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Don Greene, Noel Shultz…and quite a few of their associates, Folks from the heads of the Piqua Shawnee & Mekoce Shawnee (who are in my proverbial back yard…which isn’t Cincinnati as my ISP suggests).
You’re quoting Don’s work left and right. I just got off the phone with the man…whom I talk with almost daily. The Absentee Shawnee, which he also is in good standing with, use his work as well…which says something about the man’s credentials.
Google book search Don and “Shawnee Heritage” and you will see exactly where this common knowledge originated.
My statements come from those sources and hours and years of research they have done, and discussions I continually have with them all.
March 30, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Okay, I’ve decided to give you points for this one… they have done their homework.
Score one for your side.
March 30, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Condescension seems to be one of your attributes.
What you do not know is that THEIR homework involves alot of my findings as well. And unlike what you implied in the post you just deleted, I do go to libraries and have stuff in piles…photocopies and such…of everything I find.
To imply that I am just another armchair genealogist is incorrect on your part. Some of which winds up in just about everything you have posted so far on this blog site. And stuff you haven’t even seen or scratched surface on.
THEIR would include me.
March 30, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Since we have never met, nor have we spoken in person (to the best of my knowledge), I just cannot figure out where you get that I have somehow taken the words right out of your mouth, or copied your work???
Care to explain?
March 30, 2009 at 4:46 pm
You like to take everything I say out of context don’t you?
What I SAID was that alot of my findings are sent to the names I DROPPED above and some of it winds up going into THEIR WORK.
The thing is that you are never going to be happy unless I agree with you 100%…which is never going to happen. You say you welcome the debate but go off in a fit whenever you are debated. Placing words in mouths…perhaps only mine…and condescend and come down on everyone as well.
I told you to contact Don if you don’t believe me. Instead you debate me???
So contact him…pretty easy to find him online …I’ll even call him later when he gets home and tell him I sent you if you’d like. He knows all about this anyway and would gladly fill you in on my standings with him and the forementioned.
Tell him Garen sent you.
March 30, 2009 at 6:11 pm
I love to debate…
This is a Debate; not a Roast. You don’t have to agree with me, ever. I encourage you to say whatever you want and/or believe. What fun would it be if we all agreed on everything? No point in even looking.
I merely asked, “What you’ve brought to the table?” I have gone over all of your comments and I have failed to see where you placed a single who, what, when, where or why. Just that you don’t agree with my findings or what I have written down except for the content; I somehow have taken from your findings.
I don’t need to phone a friend, poll the audience or use my 50/50 to have a great debate. I simply pose a question and wait for a response; PROS & CONS. I give my view point of view and you give yours, hence the word: DEBATE! I do give credit… where credit is due.
Please feel free to hone in on any post where my findings are lacking the proper data; fill in the blanks. We will all benefit from the newly found data.
Thanks as always,
Sheila J Metcalf
PS: Your critique of my deleted comment: You know I never called you an armchair genealogist in that comment. That was a cheap shot.
I deleted it because it did sound belittling, and my intent was not to discredit anyones findings. A lot of people have come before and hopefully even more after, and there is a lot of data scattered about, it would be in our best interest to get it together. That was the complete basis of that comment. Hopefully, you saved it so you can paste it back here. I deleted it without saving it first.
Thanks again,
Sheila
March 31, 2009 at 11:15 am
If you snagged the RSS feed to this topic as I suspect you did, you should still have that comment in your feeds. You can simply repost it here.
April 1, 2009 at 10:03 am
Oh… It’s on now!
April 1, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Sheesh…I didn’t see the guy who posted the Mitha related to Tecumseh post get grilled as much as I have over showing proof of what he stated…but here you go…
Mitha ~ I asked a noted Shawnee linguist about the name (not mentioned above…but associated) and was given a much more in-depth translation from the work in the link below…but this should suffice I HOPE.
The letter “I” in Shawnee is pronounced “ee” as in “Me” or “We”, not the way our English language is pronounced for the short vowel sound of the letter “I”…”With”, “Shift”, and “Lift” for example. Therefore “Mitha” is not pronounced “Myth-uh”, but pronounced “Meeth-uh”
http://www.shawnee-bluejacket.com/stories_from_Gatschet/words_part2.htm
…search the list and you will find the translation pronunciation, not how the word would be spelled in English.
How anyone can determine that the definition found for the descriptive Shawnee word “Mitha” is somehow related to Tecumseh in any way is beyond rational thinking and is bogus on all accounts. Geronimo’s wife has about as much chance of being related to Tecumseh if that were true.
The mention of how this all started came from an old post I am still trying to locate that is in the archive of some site. Again, someone I know was trying to figure out what “Mitha” meant using Tecumseh’s mother’s name “Metheotashe”, “Methotasa”, or “Methoataske”…all varients of her name. It is hard to locate because it is in an archive, but if I find it, I will post it here.
The Bouquet Treaty is a no-brainer to find information on. And the poster (above) posted Millington’s name as “Parker Millington Adkins”, so I am not the only one who feels that was his real name…as do quite a few other noted Adkins researchers, who have posted about it online…and I am too busy to go tracking down.
If I have left anything out, which I doubt, let me know. I don’t have an RSS feed, nor did I copy the post you made & deleted. And it’s not worth worrying about…to me anyway.
April 1, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Mitha: Well, I was glad to see I was pronouncing it right. Thanks.
Militan: I have gone through hundreds of documents and have never seen, where he was ever called, Parker. Except for this marriage bond. Yes, I too have seen three websites that claim his first name was Parker; it would just be nice to find a something of a will or land related document to verify that fact, even an old family bible would be good. It would have been a no brainer if his middle name had just been “VINCENT”. lol
No one has ever posted a comment on these to correct anything: http://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/parker-vincent-adkins-1720-1792/ or
http://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/richard-parker-1650/
But anyway, my oldest son goes by his middle name, as does his son. But there are still a lot of paper to link the two names. Maybe if the family ordered the bond, it would show proof positive of parentage and/or ages of both parties. Or travel to thnewspaper archives to get his obit. The paperwork I have for the Parker’s:
The International Marriage license:
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
about Parker Adkins
Name: Parker Adkins
Gender: male
Birth Place: VA
Birth Year: 1720
Spouse Name: Mary ???
Marriage
Year: 1754
Marriage State: VA
Number Pages: 1
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Wife: Matilda Shockley
Husband: Parker Atkins
Marriage: 14 Jul 1831 – Grayson, Virginia
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Obituary for Parker Adkins:
Raleigh County Deaths: May 11, 1857; Parker Adkins 94 died. He was a farmer and son of Jacob and Juda Adkins, was born in Franklin County, Virginia. Death reported by son Rickles Adkins, wife was Mary Willis Adkins.
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This may be the case here and if it is, I feel it needs a little more study before we all jump on board. I would almost bet with as many Parker Adkins’ I’ve seen in that decade, several of the brother’s may have had Parker’s.
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I, myself am trying to get my hands on the original will of William V Adkins Jr. I’ve seen it quoted or referenced on every Melungeon website going. But would love to read it for myself. A cousin and I are trying to get that ordered. If someone would give me the exact location of the will, I’d drive down and photograph it. I think its funny that, as many people that have claimed to have read it or seen it has yet to post or reprinted a copy, anywhere. If William V Adkins Jr had a will I would suspect they all did. We just have to find them. One William Atkinson was one of the two warranters on almost all the wills of that decade. And I read one sisiter’s husband was an attorney. So the paperwork is out there. We need to go get it. I have a ton of first cousins living in Virginia so they could possibly get it. If they knew where to look.
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Thanks again, for taking the time to that research.
Sheila
April 5, 2009 at 1:17 am
Is anyone familiar with Joseph Adkins b. 1807 Virginia and married Elizabeth Connelly in 1832. Does Joseph belong to this Adkins line? My gggrandmother Elizabeth Susan Adkins said that she was of Native American origin and I have not found anything that would indicate this.
April 5, 2009 at 9:56 am
In a nutshell yes. You cannot Y-DNA because your from a daughter but his time line puts him there with all of William V’s Grandsons so he descends from one or the other… same breed – different litter.
I checked over 100 family trees and your GGG Grandmother isn’t listed???
Joseph married Elizabeth Connelly in Morgan County, Kentucky and left her before or immediately after she went to Wisconsin. You will need to order that marriage bond for the family details. No one seems to agree any lineage. They claim his father was Joseph SR. The bond may hold the key. I found a tree who claims he died in Butler, Kentucky in 1845 but everyone else has him alive and well tied to two census with different wives as I’m sure your well aware of. Best bet: Get that marriage bond.
April 6, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I’m looking for information on my grandfather’s family. His parents were James M. Adkins b.abt 1846 Whitley, Ky, married Cynthia Anne Gatliff, her parents were John Speed Gatliff and Louvisey Jones, they disowned her after she married into the Adkins family. Their son, my grandfather, Edward J. Adkins b. 1869 Whitley, Ky married Laura E. King and they all moved to Oklahoma City around 1910. I know that some of the brothers and sisters lived in and around Major County. I could use any help.
April 6, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Here James M Adkins Family Tree:
Father:
Elizah Adkins
Birth: abt 1821
Kentucky
Death: 1880
Whitley, KY, USA
Mother:
Pevandry Adkins > seriously doubt this
Birth: abt 1822
Kentucky
Grandfather:
Jeremiah Adkins
Birth: 1785
of, , Kentucky, USA
Death: 25 Aug 1854
, Whitley, Kentucky, USA
Grandmother: Valentine Bolin
Jeremiah son of
Thomas Adkins
Birth: 1760
Camden,,South Carolina,USA
Death: 5 Aug 1845
Northport,Tuscaloosa,Alabama,USA
and
Ruthy Lynch
Birth: 1760
, Laurens, South Carolina, USA
Death: 11 Aug 1853
, Whitley, Kentucky, USA
Thomas was the son of
Benjamin Atkins/Adkins
Birth: 1730
, Pitt, North Carolina, USA
Death: 1810
, Pitt, North Carolina, USA
Ben was the son of
John Adkins
Birth: 1705
, Lunenburg, Virginia, USA
Death: 10 Mar 1763
, Lunenburg, Virginia, USA
and Mary Jackson 1693-1754
John was the son of
John Francis I Atkins
Birth: 1682
, London, , England
Death: 1763
, Lunenburg, Virginia, USA
and his wife Mary UNK.
Hope this helps…
April 13, 2009 at 10:50 am
Marriage:
ADKINS, Melleton ~ THACKER, Sallie 25-APR-1829 in Pike, Kentucky. Here is one that needs a little reseach. I also found two Middleton Adkins’ living in MD.
April 13, 2009 at 11:03 am
Virginia Marriages, 1740-1850
about Clarrissa Gilgerson
Groom Name: Millington Adkins
Bride Name: Clarrissa Gilgerson
Marriage Date: 13 Nov 1840
County: Cabell
State: Virginia
April 13, 2009 at 11:11 am
1850 United States Federal Census
about Parker Adkins
Name: Parker Adkins
Age: 64
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1786
Birth Place: Virginia
Gender: Male
Home in 1850(City,County,State): District 66, Wayne, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Keazia Adkins 60
Parker Adkins 64
William Broth 25
Peggy Eplin 18
April 13, 2009 at 11:51 am
Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850
about George Fry
Name: George Fry
Date: 1 Jun 1791
Notes: This marriage record was originally published in “Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia, 1745-1800. Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County” by Lyman Chalkley.
Remarks: Bride is the sister of Joseph Long and orphan of Isaac Long, deceased.
Description: Spouse
Bond Date: 31 May 1791
April 15, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I am impressed with the Adkins informatin here.
I have came across an Adkins/Atkinson/Adkinson that I can’t identify or connect.
Maybe someone can help?
Here is what I have on him so far:
James Atkinson or Adkinson (shows this way on the RW document.), born 3 April 1747 in Pittyslvania Co, VA and died abt. April 1837 in Pike Co., KY.
He was in the Battle of Gilford where he was wounded.
Applied for pension 24 December 1833 in Pike Co., KY
When he died he left no widow but he left several son’s, names not given.
(All of the above information is documented in his RW Pension records.)
It appears that James and Mary Adkins had a son also named James Adkins, born abt. 1785 in Giles or Montgomery Co., VA and died after 1870 in Pike Co., KY.
James Adkins, the younger married Nancy Bishop. James and Nancy Bishop Adkins can be found in Pike Co., KY in
the 1850 census also in their hh is an Andrew Adkins who shows as deaf and dumb, age 28 born KY.
I think it possible this record found in Floyd Co., KY is for the same James Adkins, since Floyd was a parent county of Pike.
Annals of Floyd Co. 1800-1826
On the third day of June, 1815 came James Adkins before me, Spencer Adkins, one of the Commonwealth’s Justice of the Peace in and for the County of Floyd and State of Kentucky, and made oath that he lost one certain mare, her color was black and perhaps one saddle mark white or curled hair and she left himself one wart on her left ear and her age is about 8 years old and in about this spring I James Adkins do certify that I traded the certain mare above mentioned. The said mare left me, was in and about the 10th of May
in the year 1814, and Jane Ross was a witness. Be it known that the above mentioned mare had one certain bell that I had about 15 years, it had a double strap with leather like old stirrup leather….The 13th day of June came John Belcher before me, Spencer Adkins, JP and made oath that he hear James Belcher buy of Charles Drake one certain black mare that strayed away from James Adkins could ever was found and said that the same mare above mentioned was saw in the possession in and about the 11th or 12th of May of Gorden Cloyds, and the same mare was to be the same James Belcher’s own property.
SIGNED: James Adkins
Anyone?
Shirley AKA Sabo
July 6, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Waunita Powell did NOT use LDS material (Grim has her confused with Sarah Elizabeth Rose who DOES use LSD or any material that leads her to someone famous). Yes, LDS stuf is notoriously unreliable – as I found when I tried to sort out the antecedents of my great-great-great grandmother Magdalene Bowen, wife of William Joseph (“Sleepy Billy”).
Since I assume none of your contactees have read Mrs. Powell’s work, I must mention that the “Three Richard Parkers” is ONLY concerned about proving (which she DID using church records, parish records, wills, deeds, land transfers, death records, adoption papers, horse-racing debts, etc.) which of the “Richards” was “Dr. Richard Parker of Cornwall” She is NOT concerned with Shawnees, Meleugeons, or any other Adkins except William V. Atkinson who married Elizabeth Parker on Friday, January 17, 1716.
“Dr. Richard Parker of Warleggan, Cornwall” whose November,1630 birth is recorded in church records there, as well as his brother Rowland’s family birth-list at Browsholme Hall in Lancashire (Richard’s grandfather, Rev. Will Parker moved from Lancashire to Cornwall in the late 1500s). Dr. Richard Parker (as his brother recorded)
“went into Virginy” in 1652 when he was 22 (he didn’t like Cromwell), obtained a “headright” of 50 acres in Charles City County (it is recorded) and – by 1659, bought land in Henrico County (later Henrico Parish, Goochland County) Note that Virginia Counties changed names in the 1600s and new counties were created, while the persons living there did not move. Richard Jr. inherited his father’s land (“in ye uplands at Four-Mile Creek”), raced horses at Varina track, and married a woman named “Elizabeth” (Mrs. Powell DOES speculae about the name “Ballard” because Richard was an executor of the will of one “John Ballard”, whom she takes to be an in-law) whose death on January 6, 1716 is recorded at St. John’s Church, Henrico Parish. Richard Jr.’s daughter Elizabeth married William V. Atkinson (Adkins) a week later (Friday, January 17, 1716). Yes, “Mitha” (or whoever) appears in Richard’s will, recorded 27, February, 1726 (Henrico Parish). He leaves property to his “devoted” daughter “Elizabeth, wife of William V. Atkinson”. To “Mitha” (2nd wife) he leaves “three cows or calves, four sows, and the bed and furniture” … William and Elizabeth Atkinson (Adkins) go to live on Mauchumps Creek, Goochland County (“Mauchumps” WAS An Indian chief … Later, Parker V. and his family relocate to Snow Creek in Giles (later Montgomery County) … I too have researched the Adkins/Ferguson family (my mother’s people) for 35 years. My first source was “The Adkins Family of Wayne County, WV” located in the Cabell County Library in Huntington, WV … It was the source used later by Ronnie Adkins and Jane Leavell …
I am descended from ADKINS(Stina Ferguson/Pharaoh Ferguson/Milton Ferguson/Mary LEVON (ADKINS)wife of Edmund Ferguson/William Joseph Adkins/Hezekiah Adkins/Parker V. Adkins) and via Milton’s wife Sarah from two of the sons of Mary Adkins by “Oxford” Jacob. I have a degree in history from Marshal U. where I also studied anthropology. I am descended from FERGUSONS as well (Stina/Pharaoh/Milton J./Edmund/William/Samuel who fought at King’s Mountain). Until 1986, I OWNED the old Washington Adkins farm on Enoch Branch (Fisher-Bowen Branch) Miller’s Fork of Beech Fork, Wayne County, WV …
Some corrections are in order 1. WP did NOT use LDS info (they DID steal some of her’s however), 2. Hezekiah Adkins married Mary LEVON (Millington Adkins married Mary Lefon – there WAS a LeFon family in the region) 3. My great-great-grandmother (wife of Edmund Ferguson) was Mary Levon ADKINS.
4. The word you assumed as “women” is “YEOMAN”, a common colonial virginia term for a small gentleman farmer 5. “indigenous” was a term used to refer to Colonial Virginians born in America 6. You seem to confuse my ancestor Parker V. Adkind (b. c. 1724) with Parker s/o Jacob Adkins (brother of Parker V.) Charity (wife of Randolph) Adkins d/o Parker V. and “Bluesky” is the only one I’ve ever heard about who was said to have “Indian” features. I don’t really care (like “Grim” I have other things to do) whether other branches of the family are of Native American “blood”. Anything’s possible …
I will not bother you further at this time, since I’m sure you also have plenty of work to do!
“A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep or taste not the Spring.”
– Alexander Pope
July 6, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Dear Fred,
I do thank you for your comments and your quote, its one of my personal favorites, I’ve quoted it myself once or twice.
We’re all family here and like family, we all share the same quest for answers and we’re sure to disagree on more than one issue from time to time. I personally have no degree in genealogy or anthropology, but have more years experience in this field than I would care to admit.
I have read many LDS records and most are contributed by family members so I never rule them out entirely. I’ve had cousins (that reamin nameless) steal their family records from courthouses and later feel guilty and upload them to the LDS records so the others could have them.
I too, like Garen, always try to do my own research and never take any one persons research as an absolute, I did that once and later after finding many other documents realized they were wrong.
I feel whether we’re from the hills of Kentucky with limited means or Anaheim Hills with more than one degree in few fields, as a couple of my cousins or even someone like me, whom trained to be a Chef and later realized that was the last thing she ever wanted to do, from the top of the hill in Germantown, Ohio; we can all “Agree to Disagree” as my mom always said and put our heads and our talents together from wherever the Hill we are standing on and just enjoy the fodder.
We’re not puffed up or blinded by our own self-image that we can’t admit that we are wrong or so perfect that we cannot be challenged or make a mistake.
No the word was “Woemen” from the tallies on March 1619 – I do know what a Yoeman is…. I can fax or email you the documents, if you’d like. They were translated or interpreted. I read the translation but like I said, I spent hours working on it and I would not have sworn to that in court.
Here was the first ship: At James City {Able men – 84 Woemen – 24 Young person’s 09} Qr all – 117 and they go on down from there. I have it in my hand. Let me know and I’ll upload it for you. But that is neither here nor there. I just wanted to clear up the fact that I had made that reference not Grin.
Garen and I don’t see eye to eye either but I do enjoy his uncanny knack for making me dig for something, I would have otherwise only scratched the surface on.
I do have a vast knowledge of seemly insignificant things now, but I combine that with my work and add my own flair to make it my own. I enjoy what I do and love sharing it and that’s what we do here.
I do hope you will continue to bring your vast knowledge and personal findings to the family round table, so we can all decide for ourselves, what we will take away from it. And, our future generations will dig even deeper than we as it should be.
On a very personal note: S. Freud was my youngest son’s (his IQ 148 – no matter) hero, long after he was disproved. He respected his work. My son started his own research in sleep deprivation and learning and interpretation of dreams at age 11. Nah, I don’t have any idea either??? Now he’s learning to speak Japanese just for fun.
My IQ isn’t too shabby either but I choose to just be myself, I consider myself to be a well rounded person, with or without my credentials.
I love my life, I love my husband and I love my family… All of my family! So come back and sit around, swap stories, and be thankful they are not all war stories. LOL
If you write something, I’ll post it for you… then the family can hear other view points. I’m sure they get a little board with listening to me babble all the time.
Thanks again for the quote; I use the “Quotes” because I honestly believe everything worth thinking, knowing or saying has already been thought about, known or said by someone in the past… and if I look hard enough, I can find that person or person’s who embraced my way of thinking, long before I, and give them credit for understanding me and for a life well lived.
“We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don’t know.” – W. H. Auden (Wystan Hugh Auden may have been born long before I, but he sure understood what I was going to think, one day).
July 6, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Sheila:
I like that quote too, but you might note I left out the word “Pierian” (“Let whomsoever is without sin …!”) which, I think, is a reference to Greek mythology (not to be confused with “Mithaology” Ha!) … But enough on that topic …
In my previous post I hope I didn’t appear to be dismissive of Native American traditions, genealogy, etc. Not trying to be “superior” either (I guess I might have been reacting a bit to “Grin” and his seemingly dismissive attitutde about books, family history records of others … I DO think there is something important to be gained from searching out Native traditions that have been tossed aside by earlier historians (Parkman,Hale, etc.) who regarded “Indians” as either “Noble Savages” – or just plain “savages” …
A genuine mystery in the Adkins Family story is the identity of “Mary” (“Frye?” I wasn’t familiar with “Alexander”) the wife of Parker V. Adkins (c. 1720/24 – 1792) who is first recorded in records of Fincastle, Giles, Montgomery Counties around 1774. He is listed as early as 1740, along with William V. Adkins (who used a WA beside his signature on land records)in Henrico Parish/Goochland Co., also in Lunenberg, and Pittsylvania Counties (as I said, these names morphed from about 1740 to 1790 and may refer to the same general area). He participated in Dunmore’s War (I have no wish to argue about its status as part of the “Revolutionary War” – to me, it was an extension of earlier Indian/white conflicts like the French/Indian War, Pontiac’s War, etc.) and marched with Colonel Andrew Lewis to Point Pleasant in October, 1774 …
I was just taking a look at the generally accepted list of the children of Parker V. and “Mary” when I noticed something odd. Here, for refreshment’s sake is that list (I have taken it from Jane Leavell’s account which puts the birth dates in chronological order):
SHERROD (sometimes printed as “SHERWOOD”)B. ADKINS, born c. 1755
MILLINGTON ADKINS Also b. Sept. 20, 1755
(could these guys have twins?)
ISOM ADKINS, b. c. 1757
HEZEKIAH ADKINS (my ancestor) Sept. 20, 1759
(same birthday as Millington, four years later?)
CHAMP ADKINS b. c. 1760
THEN, THERE IS A FIVE-YEAR GAP!
ELIJAH ADKINS b. c. 1765
LITTLEBERRY ADKINS b. May 10, 1767 d. 1847
and finally CHARITY ADKINS b. c. 1768 (married Randolph Adkins & died Racoon Creek, Cabell County, Va (later WVa) c. 1835. Great, great, great, great “Aunt Charity” is the supposed offspring of Parker V. Adkins and Bluesky, daughter of Ho-ko-les-qua/Keigh-tug-wa, a.k.a. “Cornstalk”.
Why the above gap between 1760 and 1765?
In standard Anglo histories, Cornstalk is first mentioned as the alleged perpetrator of the “Clendenin Massacre” (May, 1767 in Rockbridge County in the Greenbrier River region)I say “alleged” because, as with Dillinger and Jesse James, EVERY massacre of later years was blamed on Cornstalk. This incident happened during the Pontiac Uprising. The Shawnee, Delaware, Seneca joined the Ottowa, Miami, and other western tribes in trying to drive out white settlers … Next, he appears as the great war chief at Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, and a short time later as the signer of a treaty near Circleville when confronted by Dunmore’s army. Finally, in 1777, Cornstalk is assassinated, along with his son, Elinipisco, and another Shawnee, “Red Hawk” at Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant). All this, of course is Anglo history! What was he doing during the intervals of peace? … As to “Grin’s” reference to “treaties” … Which one? There was the 1763 treaty following the F & I War wherein France (and her Indian allies) gave up the Ohio country. Britian established the “Proclamation Line” marking the Appalachians as the boundary between white settlement and Indian lands. Next came the “Bouquet Treaty” of 1768 that followed Pontiac’s War. Next was the Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1774 wherein the Seneca of New York signed away Ohio lands belonging to the Shawnee, Deleware, etc. I’m not bragging here, but, before arthritis did me in, I worked as a “salvage archaeologist” in the Sinemahoning Valley in northern Pennsylvania. We found traces of many “lost” tribal groups – Conestoga, Susquhannocks, Mohican, etc. – who were virtually exterminated during this period (note the “smallpox infested blanket” incident reported by Theodore Roosevelt, but NOT by Parkman!) The treaties and betrayals after the Revolution are too well-known to be described here…
To cut to the chase, the “Aracoma” story (which I checked out and found to be based upon fact) happened during this period … It was also during this time (and this might be important) that the last three(or four)offspring of Parker V. Adkins were born!
Did Parker leave “Mary”? Did she leave him? Did she die? Was “Mary” (a.k.a. “Polly”) actually “Bluesky”? Was “Bluesky” Parker’s “now wife” according to white AND Indian law? … It’s worth checking out further! I need to do more research myself!
– Fred
July 6, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Thanks for your comment and we have no need to apologize here, that’s what we do, we discuss and/or debate. We challenge each other to do more – work harder.
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Reports show Mary Fry-Alexander still alive after the birth’s of Littleberry and Charity to “Blue Sky”. It is tradition (contention) in the family that Blue Sky, also took the Anglo name of Mary. Not sure why. We have debated it many times.
The gap is when 1st wife Mary leaves (UNK reason) and he marries Mary Blue Sky Cornstalk. I have different dates on Elijah’s birth than you have reported here.
There are numerous posts on this blog, where we have debated it, believe me. Until we find some written account, as to, why Mary Fry-Alexander departed (if she actually did) and Parker took up with Blue Sky, we will continue to hash this one out, I’m sure. Many of Littleberry’s descendants have honed in on this one. Some family members kill Mary Fry off at this stage and others report her living with her son. But we could use some concrete answers here, I just hope they come in my life time. Who knows, we may send out a search party. lol
“Aracoma” is up my line and little is ever written here about her. I may need to write a few more posts on her. Carolyn Mae Pigg just sent me several emails concerning her. I may need to do some major research on her as well. Or do as I always do, run it up the flagpole and see if she flies. LOL
Take a few moments and read some past “Adkins” posts under surname and the comments, I know there are a lot on here but that’s how we get answers, by asking the right questions. I tend to forget some of the past discussions myself. I’m unsure where all of Littleberry’s information comes from but the family has a lot. I have many notes. I too, had him listed as son of Mary 1 but was set straight by his descendants. He is of Mary 2. More questions… More questions?
I did love your “Mithaology” joke. I do hope someone writes a book about her and uses this as the title. Giving you full credit, of course.
Best Wishes,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
PS: Some family members, only send me emails, they never comment on the individual posts, especially if they think they need to set me straight on a few things. LOL And, later revisions were made to the original post, only after I weigh the evidence. So, lots of corrections have been made over the last year.
Thanks as always,
Sheila
July 7, 2009 at 5:43 am
“Seemingly” this, “Seemingly” that..
Family histories/oral histories are so full of false information that it isn’t even funny. The Shawnee were not even in the area when the story that Parker let the Shawnee camp on his land and married Blue sky under Mary “Whoevershewas”’s nose.
There were no cabins in Point Pleasant during The Battle of Point Pleasant/Dunmore’s War for Parker to have hid Blue Sky in, under, or behind one. It was all wilderness.
So he couldn’t have hid her and brought her home as some “trophy” wife as some others have hinted at happening either. The Shawnee never brought women to battles, nor did the other people involved in Dunmore’s War.
And anyone can look up online where the whole “Mary Littleberry” thing came from. Some woman said in so many words that it just made things less confusing for her to give her that surname. Then a ton of people started putting “Mary Littleberry” as her name/surname.
Someone even took the broad assumption that Charity was named Charity because she was given away to the Shawnee to raise…as in it meaning she was a “Charity Case”…then came back and lived with the Adkins when she was grown… Total nonsense stuff that people dream up, cannot back up, and believe as fact…or gets twisted into fact.
And I know more than alot of people might think I do about some fraudulent people claiming to be of native descent…and proven to be no such animal…stating in public media that they are working with those who make and distribute school history books and giving back to us all their so-called “Real Story” of the Native American people. Oh…and they just so happen to write books…They can keep their story because it is all made-up, just like their claim that they are of native descent.
So how is it that I cannot be skeptical and abrasive in my thinking when there is so much nonsense online…and elsewhere… that people are falling for?
And as far as me bringing up the whole “Treaty” thing…that was not me. That was this site/blog’s owner, with a thought that “perhaps” the Shawnee gave away the women as a way to appease the opposition in the treaties. Never happened, cannot be found on any treaty.
Funny that I am blamed for that one, when I was the one who said basically the same thing you did, Fred, in response to her thought process at the time…. “What Treaty?”
July 7, 2009 at 7:30 am
Yes, I did throw that out there, like I said, it was merely speculation on my part. Knowing how men and politics are, we argue politics in my household, on a daily basis, and also knowing there are always things agreed to when making deals, that are not written down. There is nothing new under the sun here. A side bet or a handshake was all it took in those days to get things done, the same with some people, today. My Grandfather, if he gave you his word, it might as well have been written in stone. Nothing legally binding anywhere, no one held him to that agreement, but himself. My husband is the very same way.
I did read some treaties looking for; places, dates, names, etc. as we all do. Then I started thinking about what all may have gone on, that was not written down. If we don’t pose “A Theory,” how then can it be disproved?
Also, there is no way you could know that there was “NO CABIN” that sat on that property with any real certainty. I’m not even saying, I believe any part of the story but for an example: Here in my tiny little town, sits the original and very old Post Office. As cute as it is and later decorated but needs to be restored. Too my mind, is not any bigger than a one room house with a dirt floor, shed or a two or three seat-er outhouse. And to answer the next question; Yes, I have used an outhouse, 1,2 and 3 settee before. Lot’s of relatives that lived in KY and you don’t turn down the facilities, when need be. Some outhouses still remain, although not usable, as a reminder of the past. Most were torn down and plowed under, then planted with sod. If you didn’t know they had ever existed, you’d never know it now. My Grandmother’s mom refused to use the indoor bathroom, long after her kids put one in her house. She thought it was nasty! So she kept hers outdoors. Okay, moving on.
If people hadn’t have maintained the tiny wooden structure, to some extent, it would have been reclaimed by Mother Nature, termites are known destroyers, as is lightening and no one would have ever known it existed. Who knows they could have chopped it up for firewood, and yes, I’ve seen that happen, as well.
Just because, someone didn’t write something down, doesn’t mean it never happened. It just says, you lack evidence and can not prove it in a court of law. The only people that would know, are the people involved and the people they shared it with, when they returned home. You remember those people, their called FAMILY!
July 7, 2009 at 7:39 am
I’m very sorry, I forgot to say thank you for your comments and I do appreciate the time and effort you’ve put forth on this query. I enjoy a really good debate and try to take all information and view points, into consideration. I do value all.
Thanks as always,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
July 7, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Of course there was no cabin. When the Andrew Lewis Virginia militia arrived at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers on October 9, 1774, the area was a wilderness. There were scattered cabins upriver of squatters. The 1767 Treaty (following Pontiac’s War) moved the “Proclamation Line” from the Appalachian ridge to the Kanawha River. The British authorities decreed that this was the line separating white settlements and “Indian” lands. Like the French before them, they wanted protection for the fur trade. Virginians who lived on the Bluestone, Greenbrier, Clinch, Holston wanted new lands for settlement and also protection from Native American raids (like the May 1767 Clendenin Massacre and the 1756 raid that resulted in the capture of Mary Ingles (Ingles Ferry south of Bluefield). Dunmore, the Virginia Royal Governor, meanwhile was involved in a scheme to seize the forks of the Ohio (Fort Pitt) from Pennsylvania. In 1773 he sent a rather disreputable character named Connolly to set up shop at Fort Pitt (British regulars were removed after the Bouquet Treaty of 1767 and part of the fort was dismantled). He arrived with a party of thugs (one of whom was Simon Girty) and renamed the place “Fort Dunmore”. He proceeded to distribute circulars among the few squatters around the Wheeling area warning of an “imminent” Indian uprising (Connally was the Dick Cheney of his day). The result was several attacks upon innocent Indians. A Wyandot chief named “Captain Bull” was killed on the Little Kanawha (near modern-day Parkersburg). Cornstalk, his brother Silverheels, and his sister, Non-he-lema (“Grenedier Squaw”) went by canoe to “Fort Dunmore” to complain. They were detained by Collolly, but ordered released by the at-the-time Pennsylvania judge Arthur St. Clair. On the way downriver, they were fired upon by unknown thugs and Silverheels was killed. Later, another group of thugs (Cresap was blamed) killed the entire family of the Cayuga (Mingo) chief Logan. This was the beginning of Dunmore’s War which culminated in the October 10, 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant and the later treaty with the Shawnee at Circleville (former site of “Logan’s Elm”). Cornstalk took up the peace belt, but Logan refused to sign the treaty and retired into obscurity … You will note that the birth of Charity Adkins (as well as Littleberry and Elijah) occurred between 1765 and 1768. This period was interrupted by the Pontiac War. “Charity” was NOT a babe-in-arms, but a child of anywhere from six to eight years old. In 1774, Parker V. Adkins would have been 50-54. In 1777, when Cornstalk was assassinated at the newly-built Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant) Parker would have been between 54 and 57. “Charity” would have been around 9. … There are accounts that Cornstalk’s Shawnees ranged the Greenbrier/Montgomery Co./Fincastle Co.) area in the 1760s (in peace and in war). Some verisons of his life have him born in that area, NOT Pennsylvania (Mr. Greene is the “expert” in THAT area). Parker’s relations with the Shawnee during the previously-mentioned period were typical(was he hiking the Appalachian Trail when he met “Bluesky”?). Many long-hunters, settlers, traders acquired Indian “wives”.
I think I have already given the example of Sir William Johnson (“Uncrowned King of the Mohawks”) and his “wife” Molly Brant; also John Gibson, a sympathetic trader who later was Governor of Ky. was “married” to the ill-fated sister of Logan. I first heard the story of “Bluesky” from a historian at Tu-endie-wei Park in Point Pleasant. She mentioned another Cornstalk daughter named “Greenbrier”, but I’ve never obtained other evidence of her. We know about “Aracoma” (also 1760s). A lot was going on in those days. I have no quarrel with speculations about Native American connections – as long as they are based upon established historical records (well-founded Native traditions fit in this category) and NOT on “New Age” beliefs, faked “traditions”, or wishful thinking! … For instance, I have a book about the “Melungeons” which cites “Marietta” as a “Melungeon” name – it ISN’T! It may not really be the “First Organized Settlement” of Ohio (Native settlements were “organized” as was the Shawnee villages on the Scioto) but this town was named for “Naughty Marietta” – Queen Marie Antoinette of France!
LOL Fred
July 7, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Sheila:
I guess I owe Garen an apology. I felt that his comment “What treaty?” should have been “Which treaty?” … Actually, I seem to mostly agree with him, but get a bit put off by his choice of words … Yes, there were several treaties (the one ending Dunmore’s War in late October, 1774 was the “Camp Charlotte Treaty”) most of which were violated by our Virginia ancestors. My point is that Parker’s alleged relationship to Bluesky is NOT based upon any particular treaty, but (and this is important) the conditions on the frontier created by these various treaties. For example, my great-great-great-great-great grandfather Samuel Ferguson arrived in the area near present-day Tazewell, Va. around 1770, but, since the Proclamation Line of 1763 (Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years’ War/French & Indian War) was still in effect, he and his neighbors (Peerys, Bowens, etc.) were chased off their claims. In 1771-72, they became involved in the Battle of Alamance Creek in North Carolina which was an early protest by the frontier dwellers of British policies … After 1767 (the Bouquet Treaty) the line was moved from the Appalachian Ridge to the Kanawha River (which included the New, Gauley, Greenbrier River basins). Samuel and the other settlers were no longer “squatters” and (having lost the battle in North Carolina)returned as legal “settlers” to their original claims in the Bluestone region. They lived there until around 1803 when they – along with Sherrod Adkins, Mary Adkins, her son Jacob, some Fryes, Bowens,
& other families – moved to Kanawha(later Cabell, later Wayne) County, Va. and set up farms on Beech Fork (Hezekiah, Mary & other Adkinses established themselves on the Miller Fork branch of Beech Fork … Meanwhile, Parker V. Adkins and (sorry, “grin”) MY GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDMOTHER Mary (“whatshoozername?) lived on Sinking Creek in Montgomery (formerly Fincastle, formerly Giles)County on the Greenbrier River. As I said, there are earlier records of Parker – whose name appears beside that of his father, William V. Adkins (WA and PA initials beside name) -as early as the 1750s on “Snow Creek” in Giles County, as well as land transfers in Pittsylvania and Lunenberg Counties (all in the same area, west of Staunton)… Here’s the deal – there is NO other “Parker Adkins” in Virginia from 1750 to 1780. Millington (NOT “Militan”) brother of Parker V. had a son named Parker Millington (who died in the 1850s). There was anothr later “Parker” as well, but he was later … On “Mitha”, I’ll go further than “grin” and say that (having seen it used in other genealogical records) “None” means the same as “No Issue” … I rechecked my copy of the “Adkins Family of Wayne County” (you can find it at the Cabell County Library, Huntington, WV – also check records at the Wayne, WV courthouse, Point Pleasant, WV Library, and records of Montgomery, Fincastle or Giles Counties in Virginia) which contains a photostat copy of the will (Feb. 1726) of Richard Parker Jr. of Henrico Parish. The handwriting (I assume) is Richard’s. The name of his second wife “Mitha” appears. I have scanned it with a magnifying glass and (to me) the “T” looks like an “R”. I could be wrong. Check it yourself! …
Now for a correction – I checked “Chronicles of Border Warfare” by Alexander Scott Withers (p. 90-95) and discovered that the “Clendennan Massacre” on Muddy Creek in the Greenbrier Valley happened in June, 1763 (NOT 1767). Withers, Hale and others say (and this is open to question) that one of the reasons the settlers on Muddy Creek were taken by surprise was that there had been many “friendly” visits with the Indians who often visited the region (with their
women? … So, in other words, this bit of hostility occurred at the END of the French and Indian War (1755-63). The Pontiac uprising was in 1767 (and there were other “massacres” during that period) … Here’s my tenative conclusion. Parker’s farm was near the Great War Trail which the Shawnee (long before the Anglos arrived) took to attack their traditional enemies, the Cherokee (the Cherokee took the same path north). The “Appalachian Trail” is “Nemacolin’s Path” used for a similar purpose … FYI, traders often journeyed to Fort Pitt or Fort Loudon to trade with the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandot, Seneca during the long intervals of peace between wars. Parker MAY have met “Bluesky” during a trading sojourn to the north. After the F & I War, land along the Upper Ohio was parceled out to veterans of that conflict. The area from below Wheeling to the Kanawha was purchased from the vets by George Washington and his land agent William Crawford (signs marking “Washington’s Land” dot the WV side of the river). In 1770 Washington himself came down the river as far as Reno, Ohio(five miles above the later site of Marietta)There WERE scattered cabins in that area! … Hope this info helps provide some context to your research. As I said earlier, the chief “mystery” is the identity of Parker’s wife “Mary”. Parker V., by the way, was with Capt. William Russell’s company at Point Pleasant on Oct. 10, 1774.
Fred
July 7, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Sheila:
Oops! I did it again (I told you book larnin’ is a “dangerous thing”) I’ll be brief. Samuel Ferguson (b. c. 1744 in Scotland or N. Ireland) arrived on the Bluestone around 1762. The 1763 treaty with France established the Appalachian divide as the Proclamation line for permitted settlement. Parker and family (Giles County/Fincastle/Montgomery Co.)were on the “right” side of the line in the 1760s. The Bouquet Treaty (1767) pushed the line to the Kanawha River and the Holston in the south(enabling Samuel and others to return to the region in 1772). Boone and others violated the line by crossing into Kentucky. The 1774 Camp Charlotte Treaty after Point Pleasant pushed it to the Ohio. The 1792 Treaty of Greenville opened the entire area to settlement. That’s why Wayne County (1844) was named after the victor at Fallen Timbers, “Mad” Anthony Wayne (but you know that from Ohio History class)… For ALL Virginia families at the time, the 1771 Alamance Creek battle (“Regulators” and “Watauga Men” against Royal Governor Tyron) in N.C./the 1774 Battle at Point Pleasant/King’s Mountain during the Revolution (1781) were benchmarks. The same family names (Fergusons, Adkinses, Peerys, Childresses, Bowens, Fryes)appear in all three and later turn up in Wayne County, WV. … My interest in this era probably started in the 1950s when I first saw Cecil B. DeMille’s “Unconquered” with Gary Cooper(based on a novel by Neil Swanson, it’s a highly fictionalized account to be sure – but no more fictional that Alan Eckert’s dumbed down, highly popular, so-called “nonfiction”). Fred
July 7, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Thank you so much for that information. Ass for, Garen is an alright guy, he tends to think I’m a little sassy, though. lol It’s hard not to show emotion when expressing an idea. Or to know how it will sound to other readers. I value everyone’s input and the family is especially grateful for all the work done here. We’re all after the same information and if we delve far enough, I do believe we will find it. For me I will keep Mitha, as we know her now. And, I do believe that “Mother Mary Whatshoozername” name was Mary Fry of Alexander. But we just need to prove it and I believe we will. The name has carried for many generations and was only recently called into question. So we will continue the search.
Thanks as always,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
July 7, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I would agree with the conclusion that “Indigenous” is a term of those born in Virginia. However, it is used with the word “Race”. If it wasn’t used, then my opinion would differ greatly. I will post the text from the book below. Draw from it what you will. I just cannot see how it could be describing a family born in VA, when one reads the writing as shown here…
“ADKINS.
One of the oldest families of people in all this region of the New River Valley was that of Adkins, or Atkins. They are said to have come into this region during the time of the Revolutionary War, and were first discovered living under cliffs on the Summers side of the river from New Richmond Falls, supposed to be the magnificent cliffs in the canyon at the mouth of Laurel Creek which empties into New River half a mile from the mouth of Lick Creek at New Richmond Post Office. They were hunters and trappers in the earliest days, and have so continued as long as there was game in this region, and there are descendants scattered one place and another throughout this region and adjoining counties. Once in a while you find a member of the generation rising above the common level, but no great advancements have been made in the race. There was Parker Atkins, a man noted for his nose, the end of it being half the size of a, man’s fist; Rilev Atkins, known as the “Chestnut Mountain Lawyer”; Leonard Atkins, living in the Chestnut Mountain country; Albert Atkins, one of the most intelligent, lives near Hinton. Hen Atkins, one of the race, was drowned in Laurel Creek with L. M. Alderson’s wedding suit on. Mr. Alder- son was married twice, and this was the suit he had purchased for his first marriage. Tie said that he sold a steer to secure this broadcloth suit. Sometimes the name is spelled Atkins and sometimes Adkins. The Gills were supposed to have come into the country about the same time and to have lived about the same way. The Gills and Atkins have intermarried. There is an intelligent family by the name of Atkins now residing in the Little Bluestonc country of a different generation. A thriftless, harmless, indolent, unambitious race of people as a race, but without malicious cunning or dangerous, indigenous races are the Gills and Adkins. Possibly the ancestors were Tories who emigrated into this then fastness to escape military service.”
July 7, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Here’s that nose thing again, “There was Parker Atkins, a man noted for his nose, the end of it being half the size of a man’s fist;” you know, I got chewed out the first time I posted this on the blog.
I later added a separate post, just to explain it. I got emails; WOW! When all I should have done was show pix of my Dad and Papaw Kell. This would have removed any doubt. LOL We call it the Adkins nose; I joked once about having mine fixed.
We need to be careful when we bandy this one about. Some family members find it very offensive. Even though, I have explained it here: http://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/page/2/?s=Parker+Adkins. Please people don’t send me any hate mail, over this one, again.
It is exhibit A: Adkins/Atkins Early Virginia http://adkinsmetcalffamily.wordpress.com/page/2/?s=Parker+Adkins. Written by: James H. Miller. < NOT ME!!!
Thank you, the ADMIN.
July 8, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Sheila:
Just a few random notes that might prove helpful:
Here is a different list of children of Parker V. and Mary (Frye?/Alexander?) from “The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia” (I have put these in the order of birth). This was one of my first sources. It was published (I think) sometime
in the 1960s and the Cabell County Library in Huntington, W.Va. has one of the few copies. It is probably where Ronnie Adkins and Jane Leavell got some of their info – althought there are some differences:
MILLINTON (I believe this is supposed to be “Millington” because it is the most frequently found spelling but I could be wrong) b ca 1755 Halifax County
ISOM b ca 1757 Halifax County
HEZEKIAH b. 20 Sept. 1759 Halifax County
CHAMP b ca 1763 Halifax County; moved to Granger Co. Tennessee in 1789.
LITTLEBERRY b. 10 May, 1767 Pittsylvania County, Va.; m. 29 May, 1790 Franklin County, Va. to his first cousin Nancy Adkins (#137) with his line carried under her.
CHARITY b. ca 1768
SHERROD B. ca 1775/1 Fincastle County, Va.; m. Feb. 1798 Montgomery County, Va. to his first cousin Christena Adkins (#134) with his line carried under her.
Note that there is no mention of ELIJAH and that Sherrod’s birth is a bit late! F.O.
Military records are useful. I have a copy of William Armstrong Crozier’s “Virginia Colonial Militia, 1651-1776″. I have already mentioned that Parker V. Adkins serving under Captain William Russell (Montgomery County Militia) at Point Pleasant on October 19, 1774. In May, 1774, he is listed as serving under Captain John Lucas (Captain Burke’s Regiment/Montgomery County Militia)… In the 1760s, Parker and family are listed on tax records as living “on the south side of the Pigg River/Snow Creek/”Halifax County becoming Pittsylvania Co” (now Franklin County, Va. See Pittsylvania Deed Book 3 pp. 343-44) The “Adkins” book says that “all the children were born there”. In the late 1760s or early 1770s it says Parker and “Mary” moved to the Sinking Creek area of Giles County/Fincastle County (later Montgomery County). These statistics may differ from those found elsewhere, but remember that Virginia Counties were created rapidly in those days. Parker and his family lived at this site until Parker’s death in 1792 … It is interesting to note that Parker’s sister, Mary (“companion” of “Jacob Oxford”) took her sons David and Jacob Jr. and went with Parker’s son, Hezekiah to the Bluestone region/New River (where Hezekiah operated during the Revolution). David married Judith Adkins and lived in Kentucky/later Logan County, Va. Around 1803, Jacob Jr., his elderly mother, Mary, Hezekiah, Sherrod joined Samuel Ferguson & his three sons and others moved (probably down the Guyandotte River) to Beech Fork in Kanawha (later Cabell/after 1844 Wayne) County, Virginia … Some of your readers, I think, are confusing Mary Adkins (Parker’s sister) with Mary Frye? …
Other militia records contain mention of “James Alexander, Sgt.” in the roster of soldiers in Andrew Lewis’ army at Point Pleasant/Capt. Philip Love’s Volunteers (Augusta County). A “George Fry Sr.” and “George Fry Jr.” are also in the Point Pleasant roster (Montgomery or Fincastle Militia)… In the militia book, there is an more intriguing mention (p. 102) of a “Robert Littleberry”, foot soldier in the Surrey County Militia, 1687 (so it WAS a surname after all!) …
Another thought occured to me as well … Cornstalk (Keigh-tugh-qua/Ho-ko-les-qua)
was murdered along with his son Elinipisico at Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant) in October, 1777 … The history lady at Tu-endie-wei Battlefield Park in Point Pleasant told me that “Bluesky” committed suicide after her father and brother’s murder … What did you say was the recorded death date for Mary “Frye”?
Fred
July 8, 2009 at 2:11 pm
According to my records as of today:
Mary Polly (Alexander) Fry 1730 Henrico, VA – 1777 Montgomery, VA married 1754 Halifax, VA to Parker Vincent Adkins. She would have been 47 years of age.
What about other kids:
Keziah Mallory Adkins 1754 – 1824
Millington Militan Adkins 1755 – 1829 (Militan – is on land docs and other papers.)
Isom Adkins 1757 – 1854
Hezekiah Adkins 1759 – 1842
Susanna Adkins 1760 – 1831
Champ Adkins 1763 –
Elijah Adkins 1764 – 1840
Sherrod B Adkins 1765 – 1859
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William Adkins (always been iffy as is Shadreck – but family reports them as children of 1st Parker Vincent Adkins)
1771 – 1848
Shadreck Adkins
1774 –
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marriage abt 1767 VA to Mary Blue Sky Cornstalk 1744 Goochland VA – 1791 Giles, VA
Children:
Littleberry Adkins 10 May 1767 Pittsylvania, VA 1848 Lick Creek , Cabell, West Virginia
Charity Adkins 1768 – 1825
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What does the Will to the date of his death? as to the name of his wife?
~ Sheila
July 8, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Keziah Mallory “Adkins” death 10 Oct 1824 Cabell, W VA. Married George Peter Fry 1750-1793 – in 1775 Giles, VA.
Some speculation about her that she may have been confused with the sister of Martha Mallory and not an Adkins at all. But I’m not beating that dead horse today. Just pointing out George Fry Jr s/o of George Fry and Margaret Scott, was there.
July 8, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Sheila:
There is no record of a will for Parker V. Adkins. I can’t find any mention of “Shadrack” or “Shadreck”!
If Mary (Watchamcaller) was 47 years old in 1777, she WASN’T “Bluesky”. There’s something weird here! You may be onto something about her name being “Alexander” (see my ref. to “James Alexander, Sgt.” in Montgomery or Fincastle County Militia). That 1760-65 gap between children bothers me.
“Keziah” may be a shortened form of “Hezekiah” (a frequently-found name in the Adkins Family). I read somewhere where Hezekiah (my great-great-great-great grandfather) was called “Hezckar” by his friends (remember that dialect also plays a part). Hezekiah Sr. by the was was also called “Preacher Hezekiah”. In Wayne County he became a noted self-ordained “Freewill” Baptist minister.
Remember, the first “MILLINGTON” (or whatever) was the son of JACOB ADKINS (NOT Mary’s boyfriend or her son), son of WILLIAM V. He was the NEPHEW of PARKER V. (b. 1720-4). He married MARY FRY (from whence may come all the confusion) on Christmas Day, 1794. She was a daughter of George Fry (Sr. or Jr.?). Their son was PARKER MILLINGTON ADKINS (c. 1786- October, 1851). He married CAROLINE KIZIAH MARRS daughter of Archibald Marrs and Deborah Gwinn. One of his sons was PARKER ADKINS (b. c. 1826) who m. Rebecca ? … To confuse matters further, JACOB ADKINS (son of William V. and BROTHER of Parker V.) also had a son named PARKER (b. c. 1763 in Franklin County – died 1857). HE’S the guy who married MARY LEFON (not to be confused with Hezekiah’s wife Mary LEVON or my great-great grandpa Edmund Ferguson’s wife Mary LEVON ADKINS d/o WILLIAM JOSEPH (“Sleepy Billy”) ADKINS and MAGDALENE BOWEN … I’ve been trying to nail down the Bowens (I DO get a kick out of telling “DaVinci Code” fans that I’m really descended from “Magdalene”). MAGDALENE BOWEN was apparently d/o John Bowen (b. c. 1756 Frederick County, Va.) and Elizabeth Owen. “Bowen” was originally the Welsh name ap Owain (Owen). Some researchers have them descended from someone named Ewan ap Owen in Pentoc (Carmarthenshire, Wales. The most famous of the Bowens was Reese (Rhys) Bowen who fought at Point Pleasant and was the Captain of my ancestor Samuel Ferguson’s company at King’s Mountain (1781). He was killed in that battle and his grave is on the battlefield (King’s Mt. is on the border of North & South Carolina near Mt. Airy) From all accounts, Reese was a mighty man (like Davy Crockett, whose pa owned a tavern down the road from Tazewell, Va.) who engaged in boxing matches, fought Indians, an whupped his weight in wildcats … He MAY have been MAGDALENE’S Uncle? THe Bowens ended up in Wayne County, WV where they married into the Adkins family several times. Washington Adkins (whose name is on the old vellum (sheepskin?) deed to the Miller’s Fork farm I owned) was married to MAGDALENE BOWEN’S sister … Whew, I’m tired. Remember, I’m an old person. F.
July 8, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I completely understand. We have been hashing this one out for quite awhile now. I’ve read a lot of stuff over the years so much of this sounds familiar. I had to laugh today when Tim Boddington, posted this “Did you know? In WV more than 1% of the entire population is an Adkins! I think this is the highest density anywhere in the world. Or perhaps you know better?”
I said, “Well this explains why were all so tired. Too many people to find.” LOL Although when you think about it… with all those Adkins people there, one of them should have found the records, already. What are they doing down there – get to work? lol
So, are you thinking that Keziah Mallory Adkins 1754 – 1824 belonged to Hezekiah instead of Parker? This will make ‘em all crazy?
Thanks again for your comments and we will get to the bottom of this sooner or later. Just keep looking.
~ Sheila
July 9, 2009 at 3:57 pm
“Know that I glory in this nose of mine,
For a great nose indicates a great man -
Genial, courteous, intellectual,
Virile, courageous – as I am – and such
As you – poor wretch – will never dare to be.”
– Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac
… Or, “a nose by any other name!”
Does Garen have photographic proof of his assertion about Parker’s snozolla?
Speaking of names, I forgot to mention that, before gettin’ “book larnin” at Marshall University, I lived on the old Adkins farm on Miller’s Fork – 1962 – 1966 (I was born in Charleston, W.Va. but my mom wanted to live in the country). I sold the farm in 1986. The place had a house built in the 1930s, but – up the “holler” – was an old, falling-apart cabin built (I suppose by Sherrod, Washington, Hezekiah, or Jacob Adkins) in the early 1800s. Walking in the woods on the ridge above the cabin when I was about 16, I stumbled over some deteriorated tombstones. If I recall correctly, there were about four adult graves and two or three smaller ones. No markings on the worn sandstone. Now, I think that may have been the final resting place of either Mary Adkins (d/o William V.), Magdalene Bowen Adkins, or some of that branch (up the hill from Miller’s Fork is what they call “Bowen Ridge”). One of the reasons I sold the farm was that Beech Fork Dam was constructed in the 1970s. As with the TVA project in Tennessee, farms were abandoned and families moved away to Huntington, W.Va. about 20 miles away. The main road is probably now underwater, but the farm is still there I think (I sold it to a former Sheriff named Plymale). In 1962 – 1963, I attended Wayne High School in Wayne, W.Va. This was good preparation for my later study of “Appalachian Culture”. Names are important. One can detect the different branches of the Adkins/Ferguson family by the names of their neighbors. Lots of Adkinses, Peerys (this became “Perry”), Fryes, Spurlocks, Prestons, Crocketts (Davy’s people took the Clinch/Holston River route into Tennessee, but lots of Crocketts drifted into Wayne County), Bowens, Bootons … Samuel Ferguson and Reese Bowen were in Capt. William Preston’s Company at King’s Mountain … First names tell a lot too. “Hillbilly” names like “Billy Bob”, “John Boy” enable family members to tell one “William” or “John” from a myriad of others. For instance the “Molly”, “Polly”, “Polly-Molly” thing! A nickname often stuck because of some childhood trait (hill folks never let one forget childhood habits). An example of this might be calling William Joseph Adkins “Sleepy Billy”… I attended High School with girls whose names were “Icy”, “Dicie”, “Roma”, “Fannie-May”,
“Becky-Sue” even a “Mitha” (a chubby little thing who, I think, spelled it with
a “y”). In recent years, these named have been replaced by names like “Drema-Sue”,
“Rhonda-Mae”, “Crystal-Lynn”, etc. … NASCAR has replaced moonshinin’, horse racin’, and “rasslin’” …
Most of these folks signed (or whatever) an oath of allegiance to the American side during the Revolution (for some reason, many waited until about 1777- 78 to sign on). The only “Tory” I’ve heard of was MARK ADKINS (s/o Mary Adkins & Jacob “Oxford”). He was hung as a “tory traitor” in 1778 (he was about 25 at the time). He may have encountered “Judge Lynch” (from whose name we get the term) Mark’s brother David (married Judith Adkins) served in William Washington’s Mounted Militia at the Battles of Camden and Guilford Courthouse (where they “whupped” Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s “Black Dragoons”). Pension records exist to prove his service. David served two 18-month hitches. He and his relatives and neighbors went home after Guilford Courthouse to protect their families from Shawnee raids. The British were stirring up young braves like “Black Fish” who replaced “Cornstalk” as chief of the Chalagathawa Shawnees when the latter was murdered (by Rockbridge militiamen – especially the Gilmores – who bore him a grudge because of the 1763 Clendenin Massacre) at Point Pleasant in October, 1777… That same year, Mohawks under Joseph Brant swept down the Mohawk Valley (good 1939 John Ford/Henry Fonda movie about that one). For these reasons, it was called “The Year of the Three Sevens” …
I think Sherrod Adkins served under George Rogers Clark … I see you have Hezekiah Adkins Sr.’s Revolutionary War record correct (he guarded wagon trains bringing lead from the lead mines to the Moravian towns and later was an “Indian spy”). F.
July 9, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Sheila:
P.S. There ARE Adkins records “down here” – i.e. the “Adkins Family” book I mentioned that is in the Cabell County Library … Not OUR fault that you “Yankees” haven’t checked it out!
LOL, Fred
July 9, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Thanks for that info and your comments… but in Garen’s defense, I don’t think he needs photograph proof, it’s as clear to me, as the NOSE on my face. lol
July 9, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Yeah! Mine ain’t small! … No, I’m not saying that “Keziah” was of Hezekiah Sr. branch. I never heard the name before. He WAS (apparently, from his birth date) of the same generation (the one after Parker V.) … I did read someplace that more West Virginians, Kentuckians are descended from Adkinses (stemming from Parker V. and Mary Adkins – d. 1814 Miller’s Fork – than any other single source … Once again, if you can, check out land transfer records, death records, birth records, wills, deeds, military pensions, et. al. for Henrico County/Halifax County/Henrico PARISH of Goochland County/Halifax County/Pittsylvania County/Lunenberg County/Giles and Montgomery Counties (Sinking Creek)/Tazewell, Virginia (there’s a monument there commemorating that the town was founded upon land donated by my ancestor, Sam Ferguson – Hezekiah, Mary and Jacob Adkins lived there too – Bluestone River/new River/Wayne County, W.Va (the Wayne Historical society has a website)/Cabell County, W.Va. (It was Kanawha County in 1803/Cabell County in 1808/Wayne County after 1844)/Point Pleasant, W.Va. (besides the “Mothman” junk – DON’T say it’s “junk” to locals – they have much info on Cornstalk, the 1774 Battle, its participants and aftermath) …
I checked out both volumes of Don Greene’s “Shawnee Heritage” & I must agree with Garen that a lot of it is speculation & some of it is sheer nonsense – because certain Anglo names SOUND vaguely like Shawnee words do not present proof of any relationship whatsoever. Too much of this irresponsible “wishful thinking” leads to irreparable damage to serious research. I think I have demonstrated – via actual 1687 Surrey County. Va. militia records that “Littleberry” wasn’t a Native American name. It was as Anglo as “Thornberry or “Wilbury”! … Go with what you want – but believe that there WILL be contradictions when you look at the actual records (as Waunita Powell did!). We ALL make mistakes, but sticking with a “don’t confuse me with the facts” attitude when bonified records are out there is not helpful to anyone!
– Fred
July 14, 2009 at 1:16 pm
“Keziah” was (I think)a son of Parker Millington Adkins s/o Millington, brother of William V. Atkinson (Adkins) and the uncle of of Parker V. William II. Keziah is buried in Wayne County. W.Va. near all the other Adkinses. There are LOTS of “Hezekiahs” as well. I assumed (forgive me) that “Keziah” might be a shortened version of that name. The Adkins book in Cabell County says that Hezekiah Sr. (s/o Parker V.) was called “Hezkar” … The aforementioned book says that “90%” of the Adkinses of West Virginia are descended from either Parker V. or his sister Mary. The other 10% are from other sons of William V. and Elizabeth Adkins of Henrico Parish. Fred
July 17, 2009 at 1:38 pm
“Keziah” (one of them at least) was the son of Parker Millington FRYE … Check Adkins records in Wayne County, W.Va. … Most of my research is concerned with DIRECT ancestors. Yes, there are some interesting cousins out there (my great-grandfather Milton Jameson Ferguson’s first cousin was the Confederate cavalry colonel who had the same name) but I lose less sleep if I don’t stray too far from the trunk of the tree.
July 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Sheila:
Some personal notes … My “nose” is akin to that of the late Charlton Heston. Someone mention “ears”? Mine are possibly a bit smaller than Gables … When I was a small child, we often visited some elderly relatives in Huntington, W.Va. My Aunt Nora
(maiden name Ferguson) Adkins married my
Uncle Pete Adkins sometime in the early 1900s … This was about the third time Adkinses and Fergusons tied the knot. The first was when g.g. grandfather Edmund Ferguson married Mary Levon (“Polly”)Adkins, d/o William Joseph (“Sleepy Billy”) Adkins. The second was when Milton Ferguson (1849-1925) s/o Edmund and Mary, married Sarah Adkins (1849-1938), d/o David and Cinderella Adkins … The third was when my Aunt Nora married Uncle Peter Adkins … He died in 1954 and afterwards, for a time, we lived in Huntington with Aunt Nora. Pete was an interesting, funny old guy. One thing I remember was that he tried to entertain me (when I was about 4 or 5 years old) by making funny faces and wiggling his rather large ears. He was bald and had what you have called a “Roman” nose … I really don’t know what branch of the Adkins family he came from. They were probably either fourth or fifth cousins … Aunt Nora was a rather domineering lady who now puts me in mind of Queen Victoria. She was obsessed with Tennessee Ernie Ford and Lawrence Welk … I think I told you about the old picture of Lamech Adkins I found in a 2001 Adkins book from Wayne County – His brother, my great-great grandfather William Joseph Adkins, married Magdalen Bowen (1820s). Lamech married her sister, whose name I forget.
Fred
July 27, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Oops! That’s “Clark Gable’s”, not house gables!
October 16, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Fred:
We are working on a non-commercial project of our family for our kids and grandkids. We can show that my wife (Sandra (Lewis) Kenny) is a direct lineal descendent of the children of George Peter Fry and Keziah Fry. We have found various, but as yet undocumented, reports that Keziah was an Adkins. This is the same woman referenced by Sheila in Note 58. Various individuakls have carried her as a Maars, Mallory or Mowerie rather than an Adkins. Some have suggested that “Mallory” was a middle name or a prior married name.
Because we apparently share with you an affinity for documentation, before reaching any conclusion in this respect, we continued to develop this line. For that purpose, we contacted Ronnie Adkins who has authored an extensive book on the Adkins from Beechfork, with William V Adkinson as progenitor. Becise of the numerous connections we also sought the assistance of the Fry’s who authored another book about that family.
In his book, Ronnie Adkins alluded to Keziah, but did not identify her as a child of Parker Adkins and Mary _______. However, I had found a webpage purporting to be from Ronnie in which he (or whoever put the info in the net in his name) indicated that he was considering a second book and suggesting that he had discovered new information which included a conclusion that Keziah was an Adkins. He has not written a second book as yet.
Therefore we contacted him by phone and in writing, finding him to be quite cooperative and very forthcoming. In one response he wrote in pertinent part……….
“At the time the book was being finished all researchers were carrying Kiziah as a Mallory. Records, found just before the book came out, were starting to prove she was an Adkins. Clinton Mays found her tombstone-Page XXI-at Beech Fork. It is in the oldest cemetery in Wayne County. Then when the Fry book came out there was more proof. There is no doubt that Kiziah is a daughter of Parker and Mary. After her husband died she left Giles County and came to Wayne County settling amongst all the Adkins, I felt there just had to be a connection-her brother, Millington, married George’s sister, Mary.”
We had seen the photo of the headstone in his book, but not being satisfied, we further we indicated our desire to obtain(and wwhether he could identify for us) the records that you are alluding to in the first paragraph of the excerpt or otherwise exist evidencing that she was an Adkins.
We also noted that if Keziah were an Adkins, then her daughter Susanah married her first cousin (the son of Hezekiah)not necessarily unusual but not ordinary either — even at this time.
Ronnie responded again as follows:
”’ Re: Kiziah “Adkins” From: ronmar (ronmar@knology.net) Sent: Tue 7/22/08 11:05 AM To: Timothy Kenny (timothy_kenny@hotmail.com)
Timothy, As far as I know there are no records proving Kiziah an Adkins or any other maiden name. When I started work on the book I assumed that anyone doing research on a particular family would only put out what was proven. An old researcher in Virginia was carrying Kiziah as a Mallory. When I spoke to him, it turned out he had zero proof. As you know the records of women were not kept as well as those of men. Lots of reasons for this-the man was legally responsible, he owned the possessions, etc..However, I am 99% convinced that Elizabeth[married Thomas Childers} and Kiziah were children of Parker and Mary. Their birth dates fit perfectly with the other children of Parker. Both came to the Cabell/Wayne area same as Parker’s other children. Kiziah came after husband died and settled among all the other Adkins. She bought land from Jesse Adkins andshe is buried in a cemetery that is the oldest and was primarily an Adkins cemetery. As to Elias and Susanna being first cousins-this happened a lot. The folks lived on the frontier and when their kids were grown up everyone in miles were related. I have never done any family in depth that that there were not first cousin marriages. Ronnie”
In the Fry book, the authors shed a bit more light. They note references to various family related land ttransactions, relationships between the parents of Kiziah and her husband (as contemporaries and soldiers), her burial near Hezekiah and bordering Littleberry’s farm. The relationship of Littleberry’s children to her children. They also note that the 1911 DAR application of a woman named Fletcher which indicates her ancestral ties to George Fry who married a Keziah Mallory through their son, Louis. That George died in Kentucky. The Fry’s note that none of the George’s in this area had a son named Louis and none are known to have been had a son named Louis. Their conclusion, which wuld seem accurate, was that this is a different family.
We want to be painstaking in our documentation since we want to eliminate as best possible any misconceptions or mis-interpretations in the project for our kids. We simply don’t want to re-invent history. Once again, your help and thoughts are greatfully appreciated. Do you have any added information in respect to this arm of the Adkins family?
As an aside, we have been in touch on several occasions with Waunita Powell, whose work you reference in note 58. She is an aging, somewhat difficult person to deal with, cantankerous with her age, and tired of defending her work. She is quite forthcoming, and while tired of the indivuals harranging her over her conclusions, was generous with her time and has sent us many of her notes and documents. It is interesting that both Douglas Richardson and Robert Boyd have acknowledged and accepted her concusions in their most recent works related to the ancestry back to Katherine Bullar.
October 16, 2009 at 5:57 pm
One additional matter. While until fairly recent times, the Battle of Point Pleasant was considered the first battle of the Revolutionary War, it is my understanding that it is no longer regarded as part of that war at all, but at best an end to the French and Indian War, everywhere that is except in West Virginia. Can anyone shed a light on that. For example, while the DAR originally championed the event for that purpose, it no longer supports that conclusion and hasn’t for an extended period. What does that do for those whose membership in the DAR inured from that battle, such as the George Frys and the Parker Adkins.