The Patillos of Warren County, Kentucky and Fannin County, Texas

As we approach the end of 2021, I thought it appropriate to write about some interesting religious discoveries I have made in my paternal line. Most of my Sutton line who lived in East Tennessee were members of the Baptist church with memberships found in the Thompson Settlement Church in Lee County, Virginia; Rob Camp Baptist Church in Claiborne County, Tennessee; the United Church of Christ at Providence in Grainger County, Tennessee; and the Baptist Church at Big Creek in Hancock County, Tennessee. However, there were some extended family members that joined the Methodist Church. I recently began to look over my paternal grandmother’s line (Trentie Alice Leonard) because of a DNA connection to my sister. I had forgotten that there were some very interesting stories in Grandma Trentie’s tree. 

My grandma’s paternal grandmother along with her siblings and parents hail from Kentucky. Her name was Mahala Patillo, born June 16, 1849, in Warren County, Kentucky to Davis J. Patillo and Mahala Duke Smith. Davis met his bride when he was hired to brick the home of William Smith – Mahala’s father. In fact, family researchers say Davis was raised in the South Union Shaker Community in Logan County, Kentucky where he learned the trade of a brick mason. The Shaker community called him Servateus and possibly Veet.

Apparently, his parents joined the Shaker community sometime after 1809 when the family was going through some hardships. A religious movement known as the Second Great Awakening was happening in Kentucky and other parts of the United States. According to Wikipedia, Camp meetings became part of the frontier ministries of the Methodists, Baptists, Shakers, Disciples and Cumberland Presbyterians. The Shakers began attending the camp meetings most likely in hopes of attracting new members. When they felt the Holy Spirit they would quiver and shake and speak in tongues. Their members lived a communal lifestyle in that all property was shared. In addition, men and women were considered equals, they opposed marriage, and practiced celibacy. According to the Smithsonianmag.com, there are only two Shakers left in the world (hmmm…I wonder why?). 

It is said his parents’ names were William Patillo and Sarah Davis and had supposedly divorced before joining the Shakers but I have not found a record of the divorce. I also can't definitely say these were his parents but it is definitely possible.  I decided to investigate the connection to the Shakers in hopes of validating the stories from previous research. 

William Patillo was a Revolutionary War soldier who filed his pension paperwork in Logan County, Kentucky on September 2nd, 1833. He stated he was born in Charlotte County, Virginia in May 1760 and enlisted in this county in the summer of 1780. His character witnesses were Thomas Porter and John Rankin. In researching John Rankin, I discovered he was a presbyterian minister who became dissatisfied with Presbyterian orthodoxy and became a member of the South Shaker Union Community (Source: Black, William R, “Went off to the Shakers: The first Converts of the South Union” (2013), Masters Theses & Specialist Projects, Paper 1243). The 1840 census of Logan County, Kentucky lists William Patillo as an 80-year-old blind Revolutionary War pensioner in the household of Eli McLean and U.E. Johns, trustees for the South Union (Shakers). 

Back to Davis and Mahala Patillo, they are located in district 2, Warren County, Kentucky, in 1850 and his occupation on the census does indicate that he was a brick mason and farmer.  There were nine offspring in the household named William B., Martha J., John D., Harriet, Thomas J., Elizabeth, Lannes, Trenton A., and baby Mahala Patillo (my 2x’s great-grandmother).  Researchers also state that Davis became a lawyer, and by 1860 the census would reflect this occupation in Warren County. The couple had been blessed with another daughter named Alice.  Checking the location of Warren County shows it borders Logan County, so they probably didn’t live far from the South Union Shakers.

Another decade passes and the country has gone through many turbulent years due to the Civil War.  Davis is enumerated in Warren County, Kentucky once again and he is still a lawyer; however, he is no longer with his family.  In fact, he is listed in the household of Zachariah Keel and his family who is a Black lawyer.  Zachariah is blind.  Davis’ wife, Mahala, is enumerated in Fannin County, Texas along with their sons Thomas and Trenton.  What has happened?  Luckily, a family member in Fannin County, Texas (Mrs. John Welch) tucked away a couple of letters that her husband had inherited and shared the information with family researcher Patricia Edwards.  Luckily for descendants of this family, Patricia shared the information on Ancestry.com.

Readers, please keep an open mind as you read the following letters because they discuss race as and the War’s impact on this family’s way of life.

 

Nov. 6^th, 1869

Bowling Green

Warren County, Kentucky

 

To my family in Texas,

 

I now write to inform you that I am as well as common & all.  The children & grand children & the neighbors are generally well at present—but chilling [     ]  sickness has been common here this year.  I have no news of importance to state at present--.  As to John D____ we hear nothing from him.  I think it best to be at rest about him—so as to let prejudice dye away to some extent—all parties appear to be & perfectly still concerning [    ] at present…but if I were to make a move in his favor all the fat would be in the fire…for his enemies have their eyes on me & by my being perfectly still all things are going peacibly.  I intend [       ] visit him at the proper time—but I shall do nothing unlawfull about him.

 

We have had a very cold spell of weather here for 10 days in the latter part of October…it killed all the oak mast & injured the sweet potatoes.  Among the others Dr. Dorhorty had in 12 acres in sweet potatoes.  He lost all of his.  He has turned his hogs on them.  The corn crop in that country was cut very short by the drouth this season…

 

W.W. Johnson did not make more than 5 bu. To the sale but that was as much as the neighbors made generally—corn is worth one dollar per bu prk 9 & 10 Cts. Gross.  Other things in proportion except wheat—it is [      ] per bu.  The most of people here have not ½ enough to do them.  John L. Thomas & Billy Johnson will fall very short of supplies.  I don’t know what will become of them—but it won’t do to let them starve—as to John S. Thomas he keeps up pretty high & has the Missouri fever on him very high—it rises & falls with his steam—no satisfaction with him nor where he is.  He is trying to manage to force me to sell the land on which he lives & let him have the money to pay for land in Missouri as he [          ] but I say the money would [      ] for whiskey.  He would soon have nothing & then Patsey & her children will have no home at all.  But I think I will see to that-----  

 

I stated in a former letter that I would send you some tobacco…a sewing machine…  The Wel… (torn copy)….the tobacco sewing machine, brass kettle and some other little tricks ready for shiping but [         ] I have tried the Shakers & their factory here but can’t get them.

 

Now as to shiping the articles at present… I saw Charles Vanmeter the other day & he stated that if I shipped any thing to go up Red River when said river is low, that the articles would stay in the werehouse at New Orleans 4 weeks and then be sold for charges.  He says he knows that to be the werehouse laws & then the articles would be lost en… [      ] he also stated that to ship them when Red River is full navigation then the articles would go safe.

 

June 22, 1873

P.O. Box 164

Bowling Green, Kentucky

To Cousin Henry Philips, Hannah Philips, & to all inquiring friends,

Dear Cousins and friends,

 

This is the second letter I have written to you since I have been here – the first one was returned to me from the dead letter office long since.  I hope you get this one.

 

I am not well but I am able to sit up and get around a little & go to see my sick daughter, Harriet Johnson, occasionally.  She is mending well except Harriet.  All my grandchildren are well – I hope this will find you all well.  As I came to town I stopt in at your Aunt Prudie Smiths & took dinner – peas & snaps for dinner. She & her family wished to send their best respects to you all – would be glad to see you.  Her family consists of herself – her youngest son Jonathan & her oldest son John & his wife & three children & her son William his wife & children all well & doing well – her daughters all married – the oldest one Elizabeth first husband Pond died – she then married a man by the name of Tye Pock. They are gone to parts unknown – her daughter Artimesa married Henry Cotton – they have two children – her youngest daughter named Mary married Basel Edwards – they have three children.  Henry Cotton & Basel Edwards are living in this neighborhood on homes of their own & doing well…. There has been so much wet weather here for the last six weeks that the farmers are very much in the grass & weeds, corn is yellow which is very bad.

 

Well cousins I have seen two people from Fannin County Texas, who stayed all night with me lately – though they left Texas six or eight months since – they gave me much information from that section – some of which is too bad for me to speak of at present.  It is all concerning my wife -- & myself.  I will not at present say anything about my wife & her friend Mr. _______.  But I will speak of myself in as truthful as God rules the universe.  When the war began – I left all my land here as well as other property & went to Texas -- & when the war was over – at the request of my wife I returned to Kentucky -- & as I was old & sick & not able to work – all of the family thought it best for me to come here & try to save some of the earnings of ourselves made before the war – well when I got here I found that all my property was claimed by grabers & rong doers – nothing left for myself or children – of course I had to go to law for my rights -- & that was what I came for – to save something for my children.  Well now for what I have done since I have been here – first I have paid upwards  of sixteen hundred dollars as security for me son W.B.  $1600.00 (2) also for John D. Thomas upwards of $500 (3) also for W.W. Johnson the rise of $300.00 (4) also for fees – clerks, sheriffs -- & witness $872.00 besides current expenses for I have to eat $794.00 making the sum of $4166.00.

 

Besides all that, I expected to die this spring with my sickness & made a will disposing of what property I had left as follows 00 to wit I gave to my daughter Patsey the farm on which she lives worth $6000.00 also a house and lot in town worth $3000.00 & to my daughter Harriet Johnson a home worth $6000.00 besides the mill I gave to them & to my daughter Betsey’s children 376 acres of land in this county below Gaspar River – say $20 per acre & to the children of J.D. Patillo a house and lot in Bowling Green & 200 acres of land in Goshen in this county & to the children of W.B. Patillo town property $7000.00.  Besides this I have sold land to A. Hayes on time with interest from date to the amount of $3500.  But a part of this I am hindered from collecting – because – Williams’s widow goes among the Negroes & tells them that at my death she & the children will take their homes from them so they refuse to pay – the negroes are so ignorant they know no better – but the lots stand good for pay….

I have not stated all the items in my will.  But all I have stated I have saved by coming here.  Also I have land yet in law worth $4000.00 & if I keep able to attend to the cases I will gain them & if not may loose them….

 

Now I think it my duty to stand & attend to winding up this business that is what I came to do … if I had not come back all of my children & grandchildren here would be renters or worse.

 

Now I think it pretty tough to have so many hard things said of me by the mother of the children I am at work for – I have made myself a slave for her & the children ever since the 10^th of January 1828 -- & have never received nothing but hard & bad words for my services.

 

P.S.  Now as the report that I won’t let her come here – or that I am not willing for her to come – that is all false, for I have frequently written to her to come – and especially when I finished my framed house in Bowling Green.  I then wrote to my wife to come & stay with me until I was ready to go back to Texas – I stated to her that I had finished the house 3 rooms the front room & middle room had good carpets on the floor – good stove in front room & the other rooms had good fireplaces – that if she should had choice of rooms either in the brick house or framed house – stay in town or in the country – or first one place then the other, as suited her best – that she need not wash nor cook, nor do any work of any kind – that I would get a nice buggy for her to ride in – that she might go to the store & get anything she wanted.  I would pay for it & give her money to put in her pocket to spend, & that I would furnish her a good servant to wait on her – that she should not lack for anything she wanted as far as I was able, & she answered she was coming.  I waited 2 years & she never came.  I now have taken up the carpets – rented out the rooms to negroes – they are now in said rooms.

Well Cousin Henry, I will say something about my late sickness – on the first of last February I was taken with the colic & a chill & went to throwing up & it took the doctor 3 days to stop the puking.  I was nearly dead when it stopt & I have had several very bad spells of it for two months – then I got better.  I was in town then, & got a woman to wait on me there until the first of April, then she went to Shaker Town to live & I went to the country & was again attacted with colic & had 3 or 4 more severe spells of it.  I went to your Aunt Prudy Smiths & she & Patsey waited on me but I have missed them for 4 weeks & hope to get clear of it – but if I get sick again I will try to get to Prudy Smiths to be taken care of.  I am in town again & have no person to wait on me there but Negroes & they don’t understand nursing bad cases of sicknesses & when I am sick, I am sick all over.  I live in the parlor of the brick house – Negroes in all the other rooms, but they pay slowly.  I will close for this time.  Write to me & let me know how this world trouble serves you, then I will answer.

Yours as ever,

 

D.J. Patillo 

 

Reading those letters just makes me sad that Davis no longer had the companionship of his wife.  Moving forward with the research, I discovered Survetus in records through the Library Special Collections at Western Kentucky University.  The following is a transcript of the South Union Shaker Minutes that mention him:

 

Thursday, 6 Jun 1822: Stone cutting The stone cutters began to cut stone for the cellar story of Center House - viz: Jesse McComb, Matthew Houston, Herban(?) E. Johns, Robt Wittiston(?), Davis Barnett & Survateus Patillo.

 

Tuesday, 8 Feb 1825:  Shingle making Taken from the South Union Shaker Community minutes:  Shingle making: Brethren went to Mill Point Camp to make shingles for the new office. Viz: John McComb, William Rice, David Barnett, Aaron Nash, Wm Small, Survateus Patillo, Milton H Robinson, Solomon Rankin & Casey Barnett.  Cooks David Smith, Magy Naylor & Fanny Lacy went up on the 11th to cook for them.

 

Wednesday, 22 Jun 1825: Backsliding Survetus Patillow runs off.

 

Tuesday, 19 July 1825:  Brot him back -- Samuel Whyte went in a Dearborn yesterday for Survateus Patillow who is lying very sick about 40 miles distant -- brot him back today.

 

Monday, 12 Sep 1825: Backsliding -- Surveteus cured of his sickness goes off again.

 

10 May 1866: Re-Admitted, Some two or 3 weeks since, Survetus Patillo was admitted.  He left here when about 16 years old - has raised a family is worth in property & money about $20,000.

 

Listed on the membership list: Jan 1867, Jan 1868, Jan 1869, Jan 1870, Jan 1873, Jan 1875, Jan 1876, Jan 1877.

 

19 Oct 1874: Returned home - Survateus Patillo who returned on the 15th instant -- has been some years trying to get all his wordly business settled -- went up to see to some matters in Bow Green -- got him this morning.  We hope he may, as he wishes to do -- spend the remnant of his days inside the fold.  He left here when he was a boy -- was considered one of the best boys of the whole flock -- I think he helped to lay the brick walls of the centre house before leaving has some property he wants now to the cause.

 

According to the family bible, Davis Jackson Servetus Patillo died November 4^th, 1877, and his estate was inventoried in Warren County, Kentucky in 1878.  If he was buried in the South Union Shaker cemetery then his remains were desecrated along with the 425 people buried there between 1810 and 1921 when the 4,000-acre farm was auctioned off to a new owner in 1922.  This individual destroyed years of the South Union Community history by razing several of the buildings including the 1818 Meeting House.  He then removed the fence to the cemetery and had the stone markers ground into lime for use on the fields and built barns over much of the cemetery.  The rest was used for crops.  A non-profit named South Union Shaker Village purchased the property in 1997  and removed the barns.  In 2009 the cemetery was surveyed by archaeologists at the University of Kentucky that revealed the original perimeter and used ground penetrating radar to identify individual grave shafts.  A new fence has been erected and a single grave marker erected to honor the individual buried there (Source: South Union’s Shaker Cemetery Grave Marker to be Dedicated, Kaelin Veron, The Logan Journal, April 2011).

 

Mrs. Mahala Smith Patillo died on August 7^th, 1889 and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery located in Savoy, Fannin County, Texas along with her son Trenton Patillo and his family.

 

Find a Grave image by Gary Hancharik

 He did not think when sowing those wild oats in his youth how uncomfortable the gritty oatmeal would prove to be for his aged teeth.  

Source: Shaker Sayings for Shaker Stories by Ann H. Gabhart, October 21, 2018.

Week 4 (2020) #52 Ancestors: The Name

 With each generation, parents get the opportunity to give their offspring their lifelong label.  For me, it was an important task at hand and one that did not come without arguments from my better half.  My children are of Polish descent through their father and choosing a first name that seemed appropriate for their surname was important to me but the middle name just needed to flow with the first and last name.  Perhaps you can relate?  At any rate, as I dabbled in genealogy during my twenties, then I turned to the names in our family lines.  My son could have been a Paul, Lewis, Oris, Stan, Boleslaus, or George if I named him after a grandfather or great-grandfather.  My husband was extremely opposed to naming our son Stan and Boleslaus was not used in the U.S. and the other names just didn’t seem right so we settled on Nicholas.  I was given permission to decide the middle name without much argument.  One name stood out as I learned about my family so I settled on Evan.  The name has been handed down many times by descendants in my maternal Watkins’ family.  It starts way back in this country's colonial period! 

It was about 1709 in Maryland when my 6^th great-grandfather, Evan Watkins, was born.  He was most likely a son of Peter Watkins and Mary Griffith and became the founder and operator of Watkins ferry on the Potomac River[1] located between Falling Waters, Virginia (now West Virginia) and Williamsport, Maryland.  He transported many travelers including General George Washington who was on his way to Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) in 1755 during the French-Indian War.

Source: 1778 map, Library of Congress

Evan was married to Mary Finnicum who gave birth to four sons named Evan, Thomas, David, and Peter and three daughters named Jean, Ann, and Eleanor.  While living at his house (built circa 1741) known as Maidstone-on-the Potomac, he expanded the original one-room house so beds could be rented to travelers and supplies could be sold. His ledger book listed ferriage rates, blacksmithing charges, and the costs for refreshments such as wine slings, toddies, and “ciderloy.”[2]    

 

Maidstone-on-the-Potomac is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.  

Photographer: Debry Becker Jones Source: The Historical Marker Database

Evan’s land deed granted in 1762 as transcribed by me:

 

The Right Honorouable Thomas Lord Fairfax Baron of Cameron in that part of Great Britain called Scotland Proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia To all to whom this present writing shall come Sends Greeting Know Yee that for Good Causes for in consideration of the composition to me paid for the Annual Rent herein after Reserved I have Given Granted & confirmed & by these presents for me my Heirs & Assigns do Give Grant & Confirm unto Evan Watkin of Fredrick County a Certain Tract of waste & ungranted Land on Potomach River in the said County & Bounded as by a Survey thereof made by Thomas Rutherford Beginning at a Sugar Tree on the bank of Potomach corner to Maidstone Common thence along the One of the said Common (land coordinates) three hundred & sixty poles to three red oak saplings corner to the common extending thence (land coordinates) one hundrend & nintyeight poles to a chesnutt oak near the head of a spring corner to Jeremiah Jacks line thence with his line (land coordinates) forty poles to a hiccory on the bank of Potomach River extending thence down the same (land coordinates) sixty poles & thence (land coordinates) three hundred & twelve poles to the Beginning containing two hundred & fifty two acres Together with all Rights Members & Appurtenances thereunto belonging Royal Mines Excepted & a full third part of a Lead Copper Tin Coals Iron Mine & Iron Ore that shall be found thereon to have & to hold the said Two hundred & Fifty two acres of Land Together with all right profits & benefits to the same belonging or in anywise appertaining except before excepted to him the said Evan Watkin his heirs & assigns forever.  He the said Evan Watkin his heirs or assigns therefore yielding & praying to me my Heirs or assigns or to my certain attorney or attorneys agent or agents or to the certain attorney or attorney of my heirs or assigns proprietors of the said Northern Neck yearly & every year on the feast day of St. Michael the Arhangel the fee rent of one shilling sterling money for every fifty acres of land hereby granted & no proportionably for a Greater or lesser quantity provided that if the said Evan Watkin his heirs or assigns shall not pay the said reserved annual rent as aforesaid so that the same or any part thereof shall be behind or unpaid by the space of two whole years after the same shall become due if legally demanded that then it shall & may be lawfull for me my heirs or assigns Proprietors as aforesaid my or their certain attorney or attorneys agent or agents into the of one granted premises to render & hold the same so as if this grant had never passed given at my office in the County of Frederick under my hand & seal dated this twentyfourth day of May in the second year of his Majesty King George the third’s reign AD 1762.

 

Fairfax

 

Evan Watkin’s deed

For 252 acres Frederich County

 

Ex of Thos Bry Martin

Just two years after receiving the land deed, Evan created his will on May 02, 1764. Proved, August 06, 1765. Frederick Co., Virginia.  Will Book # 3, Page # 298:

 

To wife Mary Watkins, 1/3 part of estate for her widowhood. To son Evan Watkins, all lands, paying to Evan Watkins, son of my eldest son Thomas, deceased, sum of 5 pounds. To son David Watkin, all my wearing apparel. Personal estate to be equally divided among my children, viz: Peter, Evan, Jean Watkin, Ann Lewis wife of Roger Lewis, and Eleanor Franks the wife of Henry Franks. Executor: Son, Evan Watkins. Witnesses: John Paul, Thomas Adams, John Champion.

 

The son named Peter was my fifth great-grandfather.  He and his wife Hannah (her maiden name is not proven and some say it is Lewis, Reynolds or Boone) settled in Berkeley County, South Carolina near the Tyger River and later moved onto Rutherford County, North Carolina where he died circa October 1801.  His will probated on 31 Jan 1801 lists the following children: David, William, Evan, Daniel, Esther, Nancy, and Ellanor.  

My 4^th great-grandfather is the son named Evan, born circa 1767 in North Carolina. He married Mary Ann “Polly” Dill about 1788 and the couple started their family in the Spartanburg district of South Carolina.  In 1810, they are enumerated on the Rutherford County, North Carolina census and finally settled in St. Clair County, Alabama around 1820.  Evan appears on the Early Land Ownership and Township Plat for Alabama, Huntsville Meridian (Northern Part of Alabama) along with Joseph Dill who is most likely a brother to his wife.

Source: U.S., Indexed Early Land Ownership & Township Plats, Alabama, Huntsville Meridian, Ancestry.com

Around his 74^th year of age, Evan passed away circa November 1840 in St. Clair Co., Alabama.  His last will and testament was found on thehennesseefamily.com website and transcribed as follows:

 

I, Evan Watkins, of St. Clair County State of Alabama, contious (maybe meant to be conscious) of the uncertainty of human life, and not willing to die intestate do now in the full possession of my faculties make this my last Will and Testament. I do hereby will and bequeath to my loving wife, Polly Watkins, all my real estate during of her natural life consisting of land and house where I now live, also one horse and two cows and all the house hold furniture and at her death to be divided between my five sons John Watkins, Philip Watkins, Evan Watkins, Jr., Bennet Watkins, and Green Berry Watkins viz the land at her death to be divided between my said sons as they may agree on and at the death of said wife, John Watkins, Philip Watkins, Evan Watkins, Jr., Bennett Watkins and Green Berry Watkins is to pay my son Willis Watkins each one severally of them the sum of twenty dollars which is to be his part of said land. I do further will and bequeath to my four daughters Rebecca Philips, Patsy Wesson, Frances Wesson, and Susannah Humphrey all my personal property and moveable effects to be sold and the money equally divided among my said daughters, at my death it is further my will and desire that my said wife, at or before her death, to give or dispose of all house hold and perishable property as she may think proper.

I do hereby nominate and appoint my two sons my executors viz Philips Watkins and Evan Watkins, Jr. of this my last will and testament. I testamony (unsure if "testamony" is correct) of the a will and testament I have set my hand and affix my seal this the 17 day of May 1834.

(signed) Evan Watkins (seal)

In the presence of
John F. Dill (nephew of Mary Ann "Polly" Dill)
Lorenzo Dow Whisenant (s/o Henry Whisenant, and brother of William Jenkins Whisenant)
Nanny Dill (wife of John F. Dill)
The State of Alabama Personally appeared before me, James Rogan, Judge of the County Court for said county, John F. Dill and of the subscribing witnesses to the forgoing
St. Clair County forgoing will who being duly sworn sayeth that he did see Evan Watkins, whose name appears to said will, sign, seal and deliver the same on the
day and date therein mentioned and that he did also see the other two witnesses attest and sign their names as such sworn to before me this 21^st day of Sept 1840.
James Rogan John F. Dill
Judge of CC
Recorded November 9th 1840 Joshua W. Hooper

 

Moving onto my 3^rd great-grandfather, Evan Watkins, Jr., born July 3, 1811 in Rutherford County, North Carolina and married Margaret Ann Brown on December 28, 1837 in St. Clair County, Alabama.  

Source: Familysearch.org

According to the Broadaway Family Facebook page, the couple remained in Alabama until 1850 or so then departed with a wagon train of 11 families who were headed to Arkansas. They settled near an area now known as Jonesboro. Evan Watkins of Big Creed Township was awarded the contract for clearing away the brush and trees for the townsite” (Mr. Harry Lee William’s “History of Craighead County,” page 179; published in 1930 copyright 1932).  

 

As with many southerners of large farms during this time period, Evan is on the 1850 slave schedule that listed a male and female, and the 1860 slave schedule listed one 28 year old Black female.  The outcome of the Civil War may have affected their way of life in many ways such as the loss of two sons who fought for the Confederacy.  Miller Watkins born in 1843 died at Ft. Pillow in Tennessee and John born circa 1840 and died July 4, 1863.  In addition to these sons, there were an additional 11 offspring named James, Eliza, Joseph, Nancy, David, Marzee, Ross, Payton, Unity, Marion, and Cordelia.  Whew!

 

Evan’s investment in a cotton gin turned out to be profitable as his fee to his neighbors was one pound of lint for every ten pounds of lint ginned.  He often had enough bales to ship his cotton to the New Orleans Market via Jackson Port located on the White River in Arkansas.  It is said he sometimes accompanied his goods to New Orleans.

Source: Jacksonhistory.net

Evan died on February 28, 1891 and I have not located a will but his son Payton Ryan Watkins handled the sale of his land to pay debts owed, etc.  Evan was laid to rest in the Herman Cemetery in Jonesboro, Arkansas. 

Evan Watkins, Jr.  Source: Photo provided by Jvhyde-1, member, Ancestry.com

David Watkins was the seventh child born to Evan and Margaret on June 3, 1847 in St. Clair County, Alabama and my 2x’s great-grandfather.  He followed in the footsteps of his father making a living as a farmer in Craighead County, Arkansas and married his first wife, Sarah Ellen Burns, around 1867.   They had seven to eight children that included a son named John Evan but he was not my great-grandfather.  

Their firstborn son James Andrew Watkins (known as Andrew) was my great-grandfather.  His other siblings were Missouri Emma, Elbert Houston, William Autman, Joseph Warner, Mary Ollie, and Pearl Victoria, and maybe a daughter named Zina.  After the death of Sarah in 1886, David married Mrs. Susan Gambill nee Harden who gave birth to another daughter named Cora Caldonia.  David lived most of his life in Arkansas then moved to Wall, Stephens, Oklahoma and lived with his daughter Pearl and her husband Ben Horn.  He died April 10, 1934 and is buried with many family members in the Marlow Cemetery in Stephens County, Oklahoma.

David Watkins  Source: Photo provided by Allanfain54, member, Ancestry.com

Great-grandfather Andrew came into this world on January 18, 1870 in Craighead County, Arkansas and did not marry until the age of 30.  Edith Ellen Puckett became his wife on December 23, 1900 in Jonesboro, Craighead, Arkansas.  Around 1910, the couple moved their boys named Lloyd Everett, Nathan Francis, and Oris Lavell to Wall, Stephens, Oklahoma to farm in the newly formed state of Oklahoma.  The 1910 census recorded that Andrew and Edith were renting the farm.  The couple had another son named Audie Brent who died while they were living in Arkansas.   Five daughters were born after the move to Oklahoma named Odell Vivian, Burnice Susan, Loda Deola, Venita Florence, and Lois (my mother’s namesake who, I believe, died very young).  

 

Watkins’ Family 1^st row (left to right): Oris, Venita, Loda, Odell.  2^nd row (left to right): Lloyd, James Andrew, Edith, and Nathan. Taken before 1947 as their daughter Venita passed away that year.

Although Andrew eventually owned his farm in Wall, Oklahoma, he lost it during the Great Depression.  Andrew lived to be 95 years old and his obituary was published on September 5, 1965 in 

The Lawton Constitution & Morning Press:

 

Marlow (Special) – Services for James Andrew Watkins, 95, who died Thursday after a year’s illness, were Saturday 2 p.m. in the Callaway-Smith Funeral Home chapel.  Rev. Richard Moody, pastor of the First Baptist Church, officiated.  Burial was in Marlow Cemetery.

 

Mr. Watkins was born Jan. 18, 1870, in Jonesboro, Ark.  He had lived in Marlow since 1907.  He married Edith Ellen Puckett in Jonesboro Dec. 23, 1901.  He was a retired farmer.

 

Survivors include three sons, Lloyd and Orris of Marlow, and Nathan, Oklahoma City; three daughters, Mrs. Frances Etier, Marlow; Mrs. Roy Barnes, Oklahoma City, and Mrs. M. R. Fisher, Chattanooga; a brother, W. A. Marlow; two sisters, Mrs. Ollie Fain, Michigan, and Mrs. Cora Hill, Marvel, Ark.; 24 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

Oris, my grandfather, married Clellie Ruth Winchester on January 2, 1923 and began struggling with mental health issues in his twenties as he suffered from schizophrenia.  My grandfather tried to work but it was a struggle for him.  The family eventually moved away from the Marlow area and settled near Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, Oklahoma only to have their home demolished by a tornado on April 12, 1945.  The tornado claimed 8 lives and injured 200.  It was an F4 rated tornado that started near the Cleveland county line and destroyed over 160 homes in the communities of Valley Brook, Del City, and Choctaw.  Most fatalities were family members of military personal at Tinker Air Force Base (Source: April 12, 1945 tornadoes).  That day became known as the tornado outbreak of April 1945 and was overshadowed by the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

 

My grandmother Clellie’s health was failing by 1947 and Oris checked her into the Capital Hill Hospital where she died at the age of 44 from uterine cancer.  This was a turmulteous time for my mother and her siblings and their father was not capable of caring for them.  Oris lived to be 74 years old but most of those years were spent in a Marlow nursing home.  Lloyd Watkins, Oris’ older brother, was able to get monetary assistance and health care for grandpa.  Mom took me to see my grandfather once at the nursing home when I was 13 or 14 years old.  I doubt he knew we were there but he was awake and sitting “Indian style” on his bed while smoking a cigarette.  He passed on July 9, 1979 and his children met at the Marlow Cemetery to reflect on his life and enjoy each other's company.

Oris' children arranged from youngest to oldest (left to right): Larry Dean, Coy Lynn, Cleta Joy, Benny Lavell, Hazel Loree, Mary Alice, Lois Maurine, and Melba Fern (Source: LBposse, member, Ancestry.com)

This group added another generation of men named Evan.  So what does the name mean?  According to Wikipedia, it is a Welsh name derived from "lefan", a form of John and means "Yahweh is gracious";  "Young Warrior" in Gaelic; "Right-handed" in Scots; and "Good messenger/Good man" in Greek.  

 

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[1] A Newcomer to Maryland Discovers his Deep Family Roots in the Old Line State, Brent Evan Newton.

[2] “The Great Wagon Road”, Parke Rouse, Jr., p. 68-69

Week 49 #52Ancestors: Craft

Craft brought to mind the women in my line and after much reflection and study then my thought was the art of childbirth fit this theme.  The craft of the Appalachian "granny women" was intriguing to read including a few published about them.  Granny women were the mountain midwives who provided their services in many Appalachian communities well into the 1940's according to an article published in Central Issues of in Anthropology, Vol. 4, Issue 2, December 1982, by Shaunna Scott, Grannies, Mothers and Babies: An Examination of Traditional Southern Appalachian Midwifery.  Her article describes the traditions handed down as childbirth was like a social gathering attended by women who would offer support during the process while the men might be play cards and consume alcohol nearby (however, some fathers were present during the birth).  Younger family members were sent to a neighbor's house until the baby was born.  A community "granny woman" might be invited a few days before the birth to deliver the new babe and she would bring medicinal herbs and perhaps some supernatural techniques to aid during the delivery.  Mothers were encouraged to drink warm beverages and allowed to labor upright.  The placement of burned feathers under the mother's covers might even be used as it was believed they would hasten the delivery.  Various teas were part of the arsenal and used according to the problem at hand.

Angelica was harvested by "Jellico diggers" near the old Jellico Mountains in Campbell Co., Tennessee and thought to alleviate afterbirth pains.

Were there any well known "granny-women" in East Tennessee?  There are a few but one Kentucky woman has a connection to my Ogan family line.  Her name was "Aunt Molly Jackson" but her birth name was Mary Magdalene Garland.  The moniker of "Aunt" may have been acquired when she began working as a midwife in the Kentucky coalmining communities as a young woman.  Her connection to my family is through her half-sister, Sarah Garland, who married Andrew Ogan in Claiborne County, Tennessee (or perhaps the Cumberland Gap) about 1925.  Andrew is my 3rd cousin 2x's removed and he is part of my family tree from on Ancestry.com.

Ancestors of Andrew Ogan

Why was Aunt Molly Jackson so well known?  Her family had worked in the coal mining communities of Kentucky and, by the time she was 30, she had been married at least twice and given birth to two children with her second husband, who was a coalminer, named James Stewart.  Both children had died by the time she was enumerated on the 1910 census.  By 1930, she had married another coalminer named William Jackson and was working as a midwife in her community located in Bell County, Kentucky.  According to Wikipedia, she delivered 884 babies during this career.  Molly had become active in the United Mine Workers Union and in 1931 came to the attention of the Dreiser Committee (a group investigating the violence against coalminers and their unions by coal operators that became known as the Harlan County War).  The other craft she became famously known for was singing and writing protest songs like Ragged, Hungry Blues that she sang for the Committee. In December 1931, she traveled to New York to raise money for the Harlan County coalminers and spent most of the next decade there.

Source: Newspapers.com, The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York), 02 Dec 1931, page 7

Andrew Ogan and Sarah also moved to New York by 1935 due to the violence caused by unionization of the coalminers.  Unfortunately, Andrew was suffering from tuberculosis and when his condition worsened then he moved back to Knox County, Kentucky leaving his family behind and he succumbed to the disease on August 14, 1938 at the age of 33.  He is buried in the Detherage Cemetery in Knox County.

During Aunt Molly Jackson's musical career, she performed with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Earl Robinson, Will Greer, her half-brother Jim Garland, and half-sister Sarah Ogan Gunning.  A couple of biographies state she was involved in a bus accident in Ohio and became incapacitated which forced her to live life in her New York apartment.  I could not verify this and it seems that information regarding her life could be difficult to ascertain as discovered by folklorist Archie Green who attempted to interview her in the late 50's.  She died in Sacramento, California on August 31, 1960 at 79 years of age.

Obituary of Aunt Molly Jackson has some incorrect information as Bill Jackson was most likely her third husband.

Hungry Ragged Blues, song lyrics

www.protestsonglyrics.net

Lyrics: Aunt Molly Jackson

Music: Aunt Molly Jackson
Year: 1930
Genre: A Cappella Folk
Country: USA

(Part I)

I'm sad and weary, I've got the hungry ragged blues;
I'm sad and weary, I've got the hungry ragged blues;
Not one penny in the pocket to buy one thing I need to use.

I woke up this morning with the worst blues I ever had in my life;
I woke up this morning with the worst blues I ever had in my life;
Not a bite to cook for breakfast, poor coal miner's wife.

When my husband works in the coal mines he loads a car most every trip;
When my husband works in the coal mines he loads a car most every trip;
Then he goes to the office at the evening and gets denied his scrip⁽²⁾.
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.n
Just because it took all he made that day to pay his mine expense;
Just because it took all he made that day to pay his mine expense;
A man that'll work for coalite⁽³⁾ and carbide⁽⁴⁾ ain't got a lick of sense.

(Part II)

All the women in this coal camp are sitting with bowed-down heads;
All the women in this coal camp are sitting with bowed-down heads;
Ragged and barefooted, and their children a-cryin' for bread.

This mining town I live in is a dead and lonely place;
All the women in this coal camp are sitting with bowed-down heads;
Where pity and starvation are pictured on every face.
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
Oh, don't go under that mountain with the slate hanging over your head;
Don't go under that mountain with the slate hanging over your head;
And work for just coalite and carbide and our children a-crying for bread.

Oh, listen, friends and workers, please take a friend's advice;
Oh, listen, friends and workers, please take a friend's advice;
Dont' load no more, don't pull no more, till you get a living price.

If you want to listen to one of her recordings then here is a link to one found in the audio catalog of The Library of Congress: Roll on Buddy