Benjamin Atkins
From Wally Atkins Family Wiki
Quick Facts
- Full name: Benjamin Atkins
- Born: 1781, Charlotte County, Virginia
- Died: between 1840 and 1850, likely Charlotte County, Virginia
- Parents: John Atkins (1740-1804) (working reconstruction)
- Spouse(s): Dosha Lawson or partner relationship not fully documented
- Children: Amanda Atkins, Andrew Jackson Atkins, Patrick Henry Atkins, Zachariah Atkins
- Places: Charlotte County, Virginia; Sandy Creek, Virginia
Verified Facts
- A key bridge generation in the direct paternal line of Wally Atkins.
- Charlotte County records in the family history place his birth in 1781, show him with 245 acres in 1806, and record a 20-acre Sandy Creek purchase in 1809.
- The book's conclusion that he was the father of Patrick Henry Atkins and the other children of Dosha rests on a careful family reconstruction rather than a single direct record.
- The same family history also places Benjamin in the Revolutionary generation, recording his enlistment on December 10, 1777, his service as a sergeant, and even his illness at Valley Forge.
Biography
Benjamin Atkins stands at one of the most important and difficult crossings in the Wally Atkins family story. In A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families, the descent from John Atkins Sr. was described as the hardest and most elusive part of the chain. Yet Benjamin is more than a genealogical problem. He is also a man of the Revolutionary generation, remembered in the military record as a sergeant who endured the hardships of wartime service. Through him, the family story moves from an uncertain bridge into the far more vivid world of Dosha Lawson, Patrick Henry Atkins, Keats, Palmer Springs, and Mt. Auburn.
Family Stories and Recollections
- The family reconstruction around Benjamin became one of the key turning points that made it possible to connect the modern family back into the older history preserved in the book.
Sources
Research Questions
- Can probate, deed, tax-list, estate, and service records be found to make Benjamin's link back to John Atkins still stronger?
