I hadn't known it, but my search for the family of Martha Atkins Palmer was like a well of water just sitting there, waiting for a bucket to drop into its depths. I started with the Rev. Arthur Atkins, because one of the only tidbits of information I had gleaned from the Palmer family files concerning Martha, a Palmer by marriage, was from an interview done some decades ago with a surviving Great Granddaughter. This lady was a Granddaughter of James and Martha Atkins Palmer's only son, William Pearson Palmer. People have a tendancy when looking for the oldest of relatives to interview in their journey, to go for the ones of the same surname. I say go for the women, descendants of the same in question, but maybe not a carrier of the name. Daughters are the scions of the family, the keepers of knowldedge, often of keepsakes and treasures.
Her statement was simple, that her Grandpappy Bill, as William Pearson was called, was a first cousin to the well-known local minister, Rev. A. F. Atkins. She then clarified that A. F.'s father, was a brother of Bill's mother, Martha. So begins a meager tree of connection.
Martha Atkins Palmer ....................... Brother of Martha
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Martha Palmer Davis Arthur Freeman Atkins
So I began to take a closer look at Rev. Arthur F. Atkins, a name I was familiar with. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the name of someone who had added some information to the online profile of Rev. Atkins on ancestry.com.
I checked to see if this person was a DNA match. They were not, however, I was a match to the profile of someone this person was the manager of. Sometimes, people like myself, will manage the family tree of someone they are not biologically related to, like a spouse, or a stepparent. Among the generations of this particular persons family tree was one, and only one, shared family name - Atkins. Remember, we started out with looking at Arthur Freeman Atkins, a likely 'known' relative of Martha Atkins Palmer, a nephew. Then I find this individual, from a different part of the country, with whom I share DNA with. Below is a portion of their family tree, knocking off all of the more recent individuals. They descend from a George Atkins, born in North Carolina and died in Henry County, Tennesee. He was married to a Nancy Moore Dargan. Their son was William James Atkins born in 1816, who married a Nancy Stewart.
Could I find more? I could! What were the things they held in common, besides the Atkins name? Two, things,a connection not only to North Carolina, but to Henry, or Stewart, Counties in Tennessee.
So who was George Atkins? I started with his son, William James Atkins, on whom there was more information. Could I find a connection to Arthur Freeman Atkins, whom they, themselves, had researched?
Arthur Freeman Atkins seemed to be an oddment. While the early records of Montgomery County, which included the part that is now Stanly, contained the names of many Atkins, particularly Lewis, John and James, they seemed to disappear by 1830. In 1840, there were none. Then in the early records of Stanly County, the court records before its first census in 1840, there is Arthur F. Atkins. Just one Atkins, it appears, remained in Stanly County, except perhaps females who had married out of the name, like Martha.
But in Henry County, Tennesee, there were many, including one man named George.
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| William James Atkins |
William James Atkins was born on January 12, 1816, in Montgomery County, North Carolina of all places. Already, I feel like I could call him "Cuz". There is not an 1820 census of Montgomery County, it was destroyed or lost. We can't know which of the Atkins had remained in Montgomery at that time. However, we can know that George did.
| George Ackers[George S Atkins][] | |
| Home in 1830 (City, County, State) | West Side Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Free White Persons - Males - Under 5 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - Under 5 | 2 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
| Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35 | 1 |
| Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23 | 1 |
| Free White Persons - Under 20 | 8 |
| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 | 2 |
| Total Free White Persons | 10 |
| Total Slaves | 2 |
| Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored) | 12 |
George, father of William, was probably this George, shown in the 1830 census of Montgomery County, with a family of 10 and two enslaved persons, in his home.The adults were a man in his 40's and a woman in her 30's. There were 4 girls from 0 to 14 and 4 boys from 0 to 19.
By 1836, they were in Henry County, Tennessee. There was more than one George in NC and more than one George in Tennessee, and it seems the two may have been confused. For this particular George, I think he has been mixed up with another George from Rockingham County, NC. As people who are not from here easily mix up the town of Stanley, in Gaston County with Stanly County, an entirely different place, they also mix up the town of Rockingham, in Richmond County, with the County of Rockingham, two different places.
In 1818, a George Atkins recieved a grant in Montgomery County, NC on Racoon Branch, adjoining his own property.
This odd looking tract was witnesses by Valentine Shankle and Samuel Dunn and was located on the South West side of the Pee Dee River, consisting of 30 acres.
There are a few mentions of a George Atkins in the Montgomery County land records. In a deed dated July 6, 1802, Merit Randal was issued 7 acres by Joseph Parsons on the southwest side of the Pee Dee River (Stanly County) at the mouth of Halls Branch, joining his own lines, Wyatt Randles, formerly William Randles line and Pee Dee River, surveryed in 1804 by James Chappel, on the SW side of the Pee Dee and mouth of Hall's Branch, beginning at a Persimmon Tree on the river. Chain Carriers were John Atkins and George Atkins.
Another deed dated October 21, 1818 involved a deed on the waters of Racoon Branch that bordered the properties of George Atkins, Samuel Dunn and Thomas Allen. Isaac Smith and William Ferrell were chain carriers. Was this the same George Atkins of 1830?
The Early Atkins
As mentioned earlier, there were multiple Atkins in the early years of Montgomery County.
1790 census saw Lewis Atkins in Anson (he's important) and Hezekiah, James and John in Montgomery.
1800 saw John Atkins Sr., Asa, Ephraim, James and John. All Montgomery, no Anson.
1810 saw James and John in Montgomery.
No 1820.
1830 saw George, John C. and Mary.
1840 saw Arthur, James D , John C and Thomas H.
But there were more, not mentioned in the census.
Several Atkins had land grants
- Abia Atkins #2337 for 50 acres on the Southwest side of the Yadkin River on Long Creek, bordering the properties of Job Calloway, George Smith, Mary Rowland and James Palmer. Entered 3 Oct. 1814/ Recorded 3 Nov. 1815.
- Abia Atkins #2327 35 acres adjoining the property of Nehemiah Hearne. Entered 2 Mar. 1813/Recorded 29th Nov. 1815. (Note: Job Calloway is an ancestor who lived in the Kendall Valley area between Albemarle and New London for awhile, and also near the location of Badin for awhile. James Palmer was my ancestor who was married to Martha Atkins. George Smith lived in an area that is now part of Albemarle. There were alot of connections to Smiths in the Palmer and Atkins families.The Hearnes were the founding family of Albemarle.
- Abner Atkins 1778 Rowan County, 60 acres along Ellis's Creek near a heap of stones.
- Abner Atkins 1783 Rowan County, 255 acres on the East side of the Yadkin River and on Davis's Creek, adjoining John Kelly's land and Russell's corner. I don't know if Abner Atkins is connected to this group of Akins, but I know that Asa Atkins does and...
- Asa Atkins 1778 Rowan County on the north bank of Davis's Creek and Ellis' Lick Branch, 387 acres next to Robert Shipman and William Daniels.
- Asa Atkins 1783 Rowan County, 150 acres on the southside of Hunting Creek, Grises Fork of Ellis's Creek, adjoining the properties of Thomas Davis and James Russell's line. The fact that both Abner Atkins and Asa Atkins both recieved grants in 1778 and then again in 1783 and all four grants mention Davis's Creek and Ellis's Branch, added to the fact that I disocvered some time ago that Thomas Davis owned land in the Northern part of Stanly County, (then Montgomery) as well as in Rowan County, makes this seem a bit more than coincidence. Then...
- Asa Atkins 1797 Montgomery County 50 acres on the southwest side of the Pee Dee River, on the waters of Long Creek beginning at Henry Travers line, meeting Kendalls Corner.
- Ephraim Atkins 1792 Montgomery County, 50 acres on the southwest side of the Pee Dee River on the waters of Ugly Creek, meeting John Lee's line and Robert Turner's line. This was exciting, because I have also been researching Calvin Lee, William Lee, and Alfred Lee, in this area, northwest of Norwood, and never knew John Lee, or a John Lee, had lived on this side of the Rocky River.
- George Atkins 1818 Montgomery County, 30 acres on the SW side of the P. D. on Racoon Branch.
- James Atkins 1802 Montgomery County, 300 acres on Long Creek, William Kendalls corner, Ibeford Bass's line William Weavers line, and his own corner. There's the mention of Kendall again, and a previously unheard of Bass. Having a Bass line, this is interesting. The given name is difficult to decipher, perhaps "Ichabod" instead?
- James Atkins 1802 Montgomery County, SW side of Yadkin 20 acres on Long Creek, beginning at Malachi Mann's property. The Mann's were known to live near the Palmers.
- James Atkins 1813 Montgomery County, SW Pee Dee, west of Little Long Creek beginning at Nehemiah Hearne's corner. Again, a mention of Nehemiah Hearne, also mentioned in Abia Atkins grant.
- James Atkins 1808 Montgomery County on Long Creek, not recorded in patent book, mention of Nehemiah Hearne. Nehemiah Hearne and William Atkins were witnesses. There were many deeds for a James Atkins in Cumberland and Moore Counties. I don't know if there's a connection or if any of them could have also been this James Atkins.
- John Atkins 1779 Montgomery County, NE Pee Dee, 1795 Southwest Pee Dee and 50 acres on Davids Creek.
- No. 764 was 200 acres on Little Rocky Creek, ran with Mark Allen's line to James Smith's corner. Mark Allen is an ancestor I know was one of the three Allen Brothers who founded Allenton, the first town in what is now Stanly County. This was in the southern part of the county on the Pee Dee river before the Rocky River fork. There was a time the Rocky River was referred to as Rocky Creek.
- No 1529 John was granted 100 acres in Montgomery County on the waters of Long Creek, bordering Barnabas Dunn's line and John Poplin's corner, dated June 7, 1799.
- Unindexed, John Atkins was granted 50 acres on David's Creek, meeting his own lines, John Lee, and John Atkins own 200 acre tract. Witnesses were Osborne Randle, John Lee, also mentioned was an A. Atkins.
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| This map of the Pee Dee River area, shows a few of the Creeks mentioned, Buffalo, Ugly, Jacobs, Long. |
Speaking of Tennesee, I need to get back to the family of my genetic matches, the children of George Atkins of Henry County, Tennesee. From the Tennessee records, George Atkins was born on March 22, 1790 in North Carolina. They have his early life mixed up with a different George Atkins who was older and from a different part of the state. I can tell for two simple reasons, he wasn't a head of household as an infant, and neither could he have been in two places at once at a far distance. The ones I agree with start in 1836, when he arrives in Henry County, Tennesee.
George is recorded in Tax Records in 1838 and 1837, in Henry County, Tennesee. He appears there in the 1840 census, the 1850 census, where he is listed next to John Atkins, 28, a son. George is showing as 61 and a farmer. Nancy is 54. George C., 19, is also a farmer, Martha is 22. Oddly, 16 year old Eldridge is listed as a "Lawyer".
And in the 1860 census, his last, he appears next to his son, William James Atkins, and his son George C. W. Atkins is living with him and Nancy. George is 70 at this point and Nancy is 66. It doesn't seem like they made it another decade.