Hezekiah Adkins (1759 - 1842)

Born 20 Sep 1759 in Halifax, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Polly (Levon) Adkins — married after 30 Oct 1784 in Montgomery County, Virginia

Descendants

Died 19 Mar 1842 at age 82 in Winslow, Wayne County, Virginia, USA

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Colleen Eary [send private message] and Sylvia Bryan [send private message]

Biography

Private Hezekiah Adkins served with Montgomery County, Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.

Hezekiah Adkins is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A003581.

Hezekiah was born on 20 Sep 1759 to Mary and Parker Atkinson (Adkins). ^{[1] [2]}

"Hezekiah, the second son [of Parker], came about 1907 [sic; should be 1807] and settled on Beech Fork also [along with brother "Berry"]. He was a minister of the Old Primitive Baptist Church.

"The story is that after Berry and Hezekiah settled here, they went to Barboursville, which was then the county seat, to lay claim to the land that they settled. When they reached Barboursville they found that Tommy Ward had already taken title to the land. Tommy Ward was a prospector, and their nearest neighbor...

So Berry and Hezekiah bought the land from Ward. The brothers must have divided the land because Hezekiah came into possession of the land from Bowen Creek to what is now [1955] the Jim Morrison line, and Berry took the part that was above the mouth above Steer Branch. "^[3]

The book "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone" ^[4] mentions the following ...

Hezekiah at age 15, along with the other members of his family, moved to what is today Craig co. Virginia. At the time (1774) it was Fincastle co. becoming Montgomery in 1777, Giles in 1806 and Craig in 1838. He and his family lived on the Sinking Creek of the New River near John's Mountain.

Hezekiah began his Revolutionary War service at the Garrison on Sinking Creek (name listed in DAR Patriot Index, page 21). He was in the company of Capt John Lucas and is listed on the 1780 roll of this company. Other assignments of Hezekiah in the war were ...

• Three months in Summer of 1780 under Captain George Peris at Garrison's Fort on New River
• Three months under Thomas Burk at Farley's Fort at Culverson's Bottom on the New River
• One of Fifty men under Lieutenant Bowen who guarded two wagon loads of lead from Chissel's mines in Virginia to the Moravian town in North Carolina
• Hezekiah along with Edward Hale and Jacob Snidow served as Indian spies during 1780 and 1781.

Hezekiah's name is listed on the Revolutionary War Plaque of Giles County soldiers at Perisberg, Giles County, Virginia.

Hezekiah married on 02 October 1784 in Montgomery County, Virginia, USA to Mary Levon ^[5] (b: 25 De 1768). Many researchers have Mary's surname as LeFon while others have Levin and Lemon. The original marriage bond, now on file in Montgomery County, clearly shows the surname to be Levon. ^[6]

Sometime between 1800-1807 their family made the westward move over the mountains to Kanawha County, Virginia, USA. They settled on the Beech Fork of Twelve Pole Creek near present day Winslow in the vicinity of Hezekiah's brother Littleberry.

This area was in Kanawha co. at the time becoming Cabell in 1809 the area became part of Cabell County and in 1842 it became part of Wayne County. On 20 June 1863 part of Virginia went into the creation of West Virginia, USA. So today the area is in Wayne County, West Virginia, USA.

In addition to his large land holdings in the Bowen Creek, Raccoon Creek area of Cabell and Wayne counties, Virginia, Hezekiah also owned land in Lincoln County.

Hardesty's Lincoln County has him there in the year 1807 and his sons Elias and Isaac settled on this land in the 1830s.

Hezekiah appears on the Cabell County Census of for 1810, 1820, ^[7] 1830 ^[8] and 1840 ^[9] at all times living in the Bowen's Creek, Raccoon Creek area of present day Wayne Co. There are many land transactions between Hezekiah and others in the Cabell Co. deed books; some of these follow:

* Hezekiah Sr. and Polly sold 50 acres on Twelvepole to Hezekiah Jr. in 1821- Deed bk 3 pg 508

* Hezekiah Sr. to Elijah Adkins 35 acres on Beech Fork in 1832-Deed bk 5 pg 65

* Hezekiah Sr. and Molly sold 105 acres on Steer Branch to James Maye in 1835-Deed bk 5 pg 468

On 26 January, 1835 Hezekiah applied for his Revolutionary War pension from Cabell Co. The pension application states his birth day and place of birth. It also states the places where he served in the war. The application is printed in Harold Frederick Dorman's "Revolutionary War pension App�lications-Vol. 1".

Hezekiah (by all the descendants and others named after him) was very respected and well liked person. In addition to running a large farm he served many civic duties including the 1st jury in Wayne Co. in 1842 as well as the 1st jury of Cabell Co. in 1809. He also served his fellow man as a Missionary Baptist preacher for over 57 years.

Hezekiah d 19 March, 1842 and is buried at the Hezekiah Adkins Cemetery at Winslow, Wayne Co. West Virginia.^[2]

Mary (Polly-Molly) d 03 March 1855 and is buried beside Hezekiah. Their children are all named in Deed bk A pg 66 at Wayne Co. Courthouse.

Research Notes

The above biography is largely a direct quote from the book "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone" ^[4], was originally attributed on this profile as written by Mike Adkins, however, the author of the book was Ronnie Adkins.

Sources are added as inline references within the text from the book where possible.

The marriage record of Mary and Hezekiah is shown with different dates depending on which source is looked at ...

m: 30 Oct 1784 per Family Search

and the following on ancestry.com ...

m: 30 Oct 1784 per Virginia, Select Marriages 1785-1940

m: 20 Oct 1784 per Virginia, Select Marriages 1785-1940

m: 02 Oct 1784 per Virginia, Compiled Marriages 1660-1800

Because the marriage was before 1800, it does not appear on the West Virginia Culture website. The actual bond is posted as a photo to this page and the date appears to be the 30 October 1784.

Sources

1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed May 9, 2020), "Record of Hezekiah Adkins", Ancestor # A003581. NOTE: This link provides no mention of Hezekiah's parents. BETTER SOURCE SOUGHT.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #112008414 for Hezekiah Adkins (20 Sep 1759–19 Mar 1842); buried: Morrison Cemetery, Wayne County, West Virginia, USA; NOTE: This find-a-grave memorial profile offers no source for the identification of Hezekiah's parents. BETTER SOURCE SOUGHT.
3. ↑ Adkins, Golza B., Complier, "The Name and Family of Adkins," Privately Published, Huntington, West Virginia: 1955. Page 23-4: "Early Adkinses of Beech Fork and Tri-State Area," Information obtained from Hiram Atkins [great grandson of Parker], 84 years old"
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Adkins, Ronnie, "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone", Bookcrafters, Virginia: 1990. page 8-10.
5. ↑ "Virginia Marriages 1785-1940" on FamilySearch database (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XR8J-GZW : 29 Jan 2020) m: 1784 for Hezekiah Atkins
6. ↑ Marriage register book-A p4; security was Samuel Cecil, Sr.; parents not shown; see p11
7. ↑ United States Census 1820" on FamilySearch database with images; citing NARA#M33; image #2/29; Virginia > Cabell > Guyandotte
8. ↑ "United States Census 1830" of Cabell County, Virginia; on FamilySearch database with images; citing NARA#M19; image #7/77
9. ↑ "United States Census 1840" of Cabell County, Virginia; on FamilySearch database with images; citing NARA#M704; image #53/90