Patrick Henry Atkins
From Wally Atkins Family Wiki
Quick Facts
- Full name: Patrick Henry Atkins
- Born: January 21, 1833, Charlotte County, Virginia
- Died: October 21, 1906, Mecklenburg County, Virginia
- Parents: Benjamin Atkins and Dosha Lawson
- Spouse(s): Paulina Sue Lawson
- Children: William Andrew Atkins, Robert Drury Atkins, Martha Adosia Atkins, David Franklin Atkins, Joseph Henry Atkins and others
- Places: Charlotte County, Virginia; Cub Creek, Virginia; Keats, Virginia; Palmer Springs, Virginia; Mt. Auburn Church Cemetery
Verified Facts
- Described in the family history as the second son of Benjamin and Dosha.
- Married Paulina Sue Lawson on January 12, 1855.
- Moved from Charlotte County to Mecklenburg County around 1866.
- Worked at Boyd's mill across from Keats and purchased 1411 acres on Keat's Branch in 1882.
- Served in the Civil War after enlisting in 1859 at Robey's Shop in the Charlotte Rifles under Capt. Thomas J. Spencer, later associated with Company K, 18th Virginia Infantry and Staunton Hill Artillery context.
- The family history places him in or with units engaged at 2nd Manassas, South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg including Pickett's Charge, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Bermuda Hundred, Petersburg operations, and Saylor's Creek before Appomattox.
Biography
Patrick Henry Atkins stands near the center of the later Charlotte and Mecklenburg branch. In him, the family story gathers land, war, migration, faith, work, and memory into one life. He links the harder-to-prove earlier generation of Benjamin Atkins and Dosha Lawson to the much more vivid world remembered by later descendants. His Civil War service, especially the family's memory of his place in the Charlotte Rifles and the later campaigns of the 18th Virginia, gives his life a broader historical weight without separating him from the homeplace, the move to Keats, and the stories told at Palmer Springs.
Family Stories and Recollections
- Family tradition says Patrick Henry once fired at the lead goose in a high migrating formation and dropped the last goose instead.
- Wally still possesses Patrick Henry's bullet mold, a physical family artifact tied to his Civil War service.
Sources
Research Questions
- Can the Keat's Branch deed, military service records, and burial/reinterment documentation all be brought together on this page with primary citations?
