John Hankins (abt. 1747 - abt. 1794)

Born about 1747 in Overwharton Parrish, Stafford County, Virginia Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Amy (Jones) Hankins — married about 1769 in Lunenburg County, Virginia [uncertain]

Husband of Felicia (Collins) Hankins — married 22 Mar 1792 in Charlotte County, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1794 at about age 47 in Charlotte County, Virginia Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: James Taylor [send private message] and N. Ott [send private message]

Biography

The following history of John Hankins was provided by Melissa Hankins Pearman. According to Melissa, her father gave this family history to her some years ago, but she does not know who did the original research although there is mention of a letter dated Nov 11, 1896 written by John James Hankins. The present whereabouts of this letter are not known.

John Hankins and his wife, Amy Jones, were the great great grandparents of John Keen Hankins of Lexington, NC. John lived for most of his life in Charlotte Co., Virginia. He appears in the household of his father, Daniel, on the List of Tithables of Cornwall Parish, Lunenburg County, in 1764. ^{[1] [2]}

John Hankins was a tithe payer in Cumberland Parish, Lunenburg County in 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775. Charlotte County was formed in 1765 and Cumberland Parish remained in Lunenburg County. Also, John Hankins was listed as a Colonial soldier of Lunenburg County during the period of 1754-1774.

By 1774, John and Amy were living in the vicinity of Spring Creek in Charlotte County on land adjoining Thomas Read, John Foster, James Foster and Clement Read. Note: The Hankins and Foster families were closely linked by marriage as will be shown in the following paragraphs. Clement Read of Williamsburg was one of the early settlers of Cornwall Parish, settling there about 1733. Amy was probably related to Richard Jones and Phillip Jones who were mentioned in the deeds cited earlier. John and Amy must have been on good terms with Daniel Hankins as he gave them land on two occasions (1774 and 1778) and left the bulk of his estate to their son, Robert; this decision may be because the Courts had appointed Daniel as the guardian of Robert when his father died."

The 1782 Census of Heads of Families in Charlotte County shows him with eight family members and one slave. ^[3] Tax lists for Charlotte County, Virginia 1782, 1783,1784 and 1785 have listings for John Hankins. Interesting details for the1783 household included the names Jack and Amey, 1 slave, 3 houses and 16 cattle. Supposedly Jack and Amey were slaves but I found the names of John's slaves strange. Jack is a nickname for John and Amey was also the name of John's wife. In the same tax list (1783) the categories show 1 male slave above 16, presumably this would be "Jack". However, the category for Total slaves shows only one slave, not two. You would think if "Amey" was a slave she would have been counted for tax purposes in the total slave category.

After the death of John's wife Amy's he married in 1792, Felicia Collins, daughter of Mary Collins.^[4] After the death of John Hankins, Felicia married 1798 Silas Johnson. ^[5]

John Hankins died in late 1794 or early 1795. His estate was appraised by Ben Watkins, Josiah Foster and Richard Watkins on 2 February 1795. ^[6] The inventory includes furniture, livestock and slaves.

On 2 February 1795, Felicia Hankins, widow of John Hankins, petitioned the Court in Charlotte County and Daniel Hankins, administrator of the estate of his father, John Hankins, for a division of his slaves, personal estate and land, on which there was a grist mill. The Court named Josiah Foster, Jacob Martin, Thomas Spenser, and Reuben Johnson to make the division. ^[7] On 7 April 1795 the Court named Josiah Foster as guardian of Peggy and William Hankins, George Foster as guardian of Amy Hankins and Daniel Hankins as guardian of Polly and Robert Hankins, all orphans of John Hankins, deceased. ^[8]

On 7 September 1795, Daniel Hankins, James Woodall and his wife Elizabeth, George Foster and his wife Sally, Peggy Hankins, Amy Hankins, Polly Hankins, Robert Hankins, and William Hankins, representative of John Hankins, deceased, petitioned the Court in Charlotte County for a sale of the land of John Hankins and for a distribution of the money arising there from. On 8 March 1796 the Court commissioners reported to the court that they had sold the land and that one of the parties to the suit, Elizabeth Woodall, had died, leaving children, Susannah and Daniel Woodall. ^[9]

At the July 1798 Court in Charlotte County, "Josiah Foster guardian of Peggy Hankins, orphan of John Hankins, came into court and produced a receipt of David Hairfield, who hath intermarried with the same Peggy Hankins, in full of his guardianship." ^[10]

On 3 October 1814, Felicia Johnson, formerly the second wife of John Hankins, and her son William Hankins conveyed to Daniel Hankins, all of Charlotte County, sixty acres in Charlotte County adjoining the lands of William Watkins, Capt. Richardson, Samuel Durham, John Foster, and "my own land". ^[11]

John and Amy Hankins had seven children as confirmed by the above records and by the letters of John James Hankins in 1896: two sons and five daughters. John and Felicia Hankins had one child, William. The names vary somewhat between the two records. For example, John James Hankins does not list Amy Hankins, but lists Julia Hankins who married a Mr. Cox and raised a numerous family of children in the neighborhood of the old Hankins settlement where there are many of her descendants living today (1896). Another family document gives the following information:

"My mother's father was named John Hankins. His wife was a Jones before marriage but I don't remember her given name. My mother, Sallie, daughter of the said John Hankins, had two own brothers, Daniel and Robert, and one half brother called Buck. She had three sisters named Bettie, who married James Woodall, Peggie married David Hairfield and Polly married John Divin, brother of old Jimmy Divin."

Epilogue: We know little of the personal life of John Hankins and his family. He was apparently a successful farmer and left a substantial estate at his death. The records do not show that he was active in politics or that he personally participated in the Revolutionary War. He was probably several years older than his brother, William, and may have served as a militiaman during the Colonial period. Considering the records, the period, and the area where he lived, we can conclude that he was a prosperous, energetic man -- a solid citizen -- who gave priority to his family and his home.

Sources

1. ↑ Bell, Landon C. Sunlight on the Southside: Lists of Tithes, Lunenburg County, Virginia, 1748-1783. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: George S. Ferguson, 1931.
2. ↑ List of Tithables Cornwall Parish, Lunenburg County, Virginia. 1764, page 3
3. ↑ Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published by the United States Census Bureau. 1940; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1978.
4. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Marriage Bond, 22 March 1792
5. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Marriage Bond, 11 October 1798
6. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Order Book 2
7. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Order Book 10, page 15
8. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Order Book 10, page 41
9. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia OrderBook 10, page 146
10. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Order Book 11, page 179
11. ↑ Charlotte County Virginia Order Book 13, page 73

• Pankey, George Edward. John Pankey of Manakin Town, Virginia and his Descendants. Ruston, Louisiana. Vol 1 (1969), p458-462; Vol 3 (1981) p50-55 The Hankins Family.

• Charlotte Co., Virginia Order Book, Feb. 5, 1804, Pg 117--mentions lawsuit between John Hankins heirs over land division.
• Court Orders - Charlotte Co., Virginia, Extracts from Book-7, 1786 - 1789, 2 March 1789, page 228--Jury duty
• Charlotte Co., Virginia, Extracts from Book-7, 1789- 1792, Pg 160--serves on Grand Jury