Joseph Henry Atkins

Quick Facts

Full name: Joseph Henry Atkins
Born: May 11, 1866, Charlotte County, Virginia
Died: August 12, 1912, Richmond, Virginia
Parents: Patrick Henry Atkins and Paulina Sue Lawson
Spouse(s): Adelia Jackson Paynter
Children: Charles Henry Atkins, Robert Alexander Atkins, Albert Jackson Atkins, Thomas Patrick Atkins, Minnie Minerva Atkins, William Tanner Atkins, Joseph Perkins Atkins
Places: Charlotte County, Virginia; Keats, Virginia; Palmer Springs, Virginia; Palmer Point, Virginia; Wise, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia

Verified Facts

Married Adelia Jackson Paynter on January 18, 1888. Confirmed: Primary Source
Worked as both a farmer and carpenter across Mecklenburg County and North Carolina.
Lived in the Mecklenburg area between Keats and Palmer Springs, later identified in the family history as Palmer Point.
Moved to Wise, North Carolina around 1909, then to Richmond in 1911.
Family history records that he died after being caught beneath falling timbers while working at the city canal locks in Richmond. Secondary Source

Biography

Joseph Henry Atkins is one of the central figures in the later family story preserved in A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families. Through him the family is seen not only as a line of descent, but as a household rooted in real places: the farms near Keats and Palmer Springs, the churches at Bethesda and Mt. Auburn, the move to Wise, North Carolina, and finally the last chapter in Richmond. He worked hard, moved often in search of stability, and left behind a large family whose lives carry the branch forward.

Family Stories and Recollections

The famous Nutbush Creek Buck Story belongs to Joseph Henry's Palmer Point period.

Sources

A Long Time Ago: A History of the Atkins-Paynter and Allied Families
Adelia Jackson Paynter and related family pages

Research Questions

Can newspaper and city records confirm the exact details of the Richmond canal-lock accident?

Family & Lineage Chart

The diagram below illustrates Joseph Henry Atkins's immediate pedigree and children with Adelia Jackson Paynter:

graph TD PHA["Patrick Henry Atkins<br/>(1837–1908)"] --> JHA["Joseph Henry Atkins<br/>(1866–1912)"] PSL["Paulina Sue Lawson<br/>(1838–1915)"] --> JHA TP["Thomas Paynter"] --> AJP["Adelia Jackson Paynter<br/>(1869–1954)"] EFE["Elizabeth Frances Ellington"] --> AJP JHA --- AJP JHA --> CHA["Charles Henry Atkins"] JHA --> RAA["Robert Alexander Atkins"] JHA --> AJA["Albert Jackson Atkins"] JHA --> TPA["Thomas Patrick Atkins"] JHA --> MMA["Minnie Minerva Atkins"] JHA --> WTA["William Tanner Atkins"] JHA --> JPA["Joseph Perkins Atkins"]

Household Lineage Tree

Geographic Journey

Joseph Henry Atkins's life traversed the Virginia Southside Piedmont, the North Carolina borderlands, and the urban center of Richmond:

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