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William Blevin (aka Blevins) was the son of of James Blevin and Margery Tosh. He was probably born in about 1720; and it was probably in Westerly, Colony of Rhode Island, but possibly in Prince George's County, Maryland.[1]
William Blevins married Agathy (___), probably by about 1737 based on the estimated birth date of their oldest known children. On 19 September 1760 when William Blevins and Agathy his wife conveyed a tract of land in Halifax County, Colony of Virginia, to "Thomas Wallens," probably this Thomas Walling.[2] Based on this transaction, some researchers believe Agathy's last name at birth was Wallen or Wallin. This is plausible, as these families migrated together from Maryland to the Virginia frontier, but this claim is still speculative.
Sometime between 1718 and 1733, his family migrated from Westerly, Rhode Island to settle on the western Maryland frontier in the Monocacy Hundred of what was then Prince George's County, Maryland.[3]
His father James appears as the head of his household in the Monocacy Hundred in 1733, and his brother Daniel also appears as male aged at least 16 years old in that same household. William does not appear on the list.[4][5] However, he was likely living in the same household and simply too young to be counted as a taxable at that point. His father appears again in the Monocacy Hundred in 1734.[6]
Some time between 1734-36, the family migrated from the Monocacy Hundred to Goochland County, Virginia. His father James and his brother John both begin appearing in the Goochland County records between 1736-37. [7] There are Goochland County land records which indicate that William was also the owner of land in Goochland County in October 1743,[8] land which had been described as belonging to "James Blevings" when the Bollings acquired it a few months earlier.[9]
However, another source places William much further west as early as 1741. He reportedly appears on surveyor's records on the remote southwestern Virginia frontier in what was then Brunswick County in 1741 as one of the early settlers along the Staunton River.[10] Whether or not he was already there in 1741, land records record a "Will. Blevins" with land near Allen's Creek and "William Bliven" with land astride little Cherrystone Creek in Brunswick County in 1745.[11] Lunenburg County was carved from Brunswick in 1746, and William is named as the defendant in a lawsuit for debt in Lunenburg County during the December 1746 term of court.[12] He appears several additional times in those same order books as a defendant in actions for debt during 1748.
Within a few years, the other Blevins men also begin appearing in the Lunenburg County court records. Daniel appears during the December 1746 court term, when he is awarded a bounty of 140 pounds of tobacco for a wolf's head.[13] Similarly, James appears as the defendant in an action for debt in May 1747,[14] and was awarded a bounty of 280 pounds of tobacco for two wolves' heads during the December 1747 term.[15]
There are several additional references to William in the Lunenburg court records in 1748.[16] A "Wm. Blevin"appears on the list of tithables taken by Matw. Talbot for Lunenburg County in 1748. [17] John Blevins begins appearing in February 1748/9.[18]
Shortly before 1750, William Blevins appears to have moved further west to the remote frontier area in Lunenburg County along the Smith River which was later to become Henry County, Virginia. A "Wm. Bleavins" appears on the list of tithables for Lunenburg County taken by Cornelius Cargill for this region in 1750.[19] On 4 April 1751, the land records of Lunenburg County record several land surveys by William Blevins for tracts of land along Beaver Creek and Reedy Creek, both tributaries of the Smith River in what is now Henry County.[11][20] There is a land survey of 400 acres for William Blevins along Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Smith River, dated 4 April 1752.[21]
In 1752, Halifax County was carved from Lunenburg. In 1753, John and Will Blevins were ordered to mark a road in Halifax County.[22] There is a reference to the property of William Blevins along the Smith River in the Halifax County deed records on 14 July 1755.[11]
During the French and Indian War, the frontier settlements in western Virginia were left undefended and exposed after the disastrous defeat of Braddock's Expedition in 1755. As a result of the British retreat back from the frontier, "[t]he French and Indians crossed the Alleghany mountains into the valley and to New river, killing and scalping, in the most horrible manner, men, women, and children without distinction...."[23] Several of the Blevins men in this region, including a William Sr. and a William Jr., appear on the list of soldiers serving in the militia for Halifax County, commanded by Col. Abraham Maury, in Capt. Thomas Callaway's unit.[24] It is likely that the William Sr. on that list refers to this William, and the younger William is his son.[25]
Some or all of the Blevins men in southwestern Virginia appear to have been Tories or Tory sympathizers at the outset of the American Revolution. The records of the Fincastle County Committee of Safety reflect an order on 11 June 1776 requiring that "William Blivens, James Blivens, & John Blivens be summoned to appear at Cap. Evan Shelbies on Saturday the 22d day of this month to answer the following Complaint, that they have refused to bear Arms of muster in Cap. John Shelby's Company of militia agreable to the ordinance of Convention by reason of their Attachment to the Enimies of american Liberty and their Correspondence with Tories in the Cherokee Nation."[26] They apparently relented not long after this summons, and both William Blevins Sr. and William Blevins Jr. (along with several other Blevins men) signed an oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia in Henry County, Virginia, on 31 December 1777.[27]
Both Williams also appear on the property tax lists for Henry County in 1778.[28]
After 1778, it becomes difficult to determine whether the references to William Blevins in the available land and court records refer to this William, his son, or someone else. This William appears to have died after 1778, most likely in Henry County, Virginia, but the details of his death are uncertain. A Find A Grave memorial for him claims that he died in 1777, but contains no gravestone image and cites no source.[29]
William and, probably, Agathy, had at least two children:
Although there is no direct proof of the relationship, the claim that William is the son of James Blevin and Margery Tosh is probable based on the following:
Many published sources and online family trees incorrectly identify the father of William and his siblings as William Blevins. The earliest researcher known to have made this claim is Bill Dwayne Blevins, in his book Blevins Ancestry, self-published in 1972. Blevins does not identify his source.[32] Other researchers have repeated this claim, but all appear to ultimately be relying upon Bill Dwayne Blevins.[33]
This claim has been disproven. For details, see the profile of William Blevins, the profile of James Blevin, and "The Unique Signature Marks of Two James Blevins: A Key Clue to the Origin of the Southern Blevins Family".
Some have also identified their mother as Anna Bunch, or as Mary Bean. These claims are disproven for the same reasons.
The only source cited for the children attached to this profile other than William and Katharine is Leslie Blevins' self-published book The Longhunters.[34] However, he cites no sources for these claims and absent the discovery of a will, family bible, or similar record documenting the relationships between them, they all appear to be highly speculative due to the large number of Blevins men in the area and the common repetition of the same names in each generation. The book The Longhunters makes highly speculative and in some cases provably false claims about the Blevins relationships and should not be relied upon without verification based on the underlying sources.
His estimated birth date is based on the following:
There are two land transactions in Pittsylvania County in May-August 1777, in which a "William Blevins younger son of William Blevins the Elder" first purchases a tract of land along Marrowbone Creek from George Lumpkin and his wife, and then appears to convey the same tract of land back to them a few months later. The William Blevins the Elder" referred to in these indentures is likely this William, and the other is his son. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that the younger William's wife is identified in the second indenture as "Ann," and this William's daughter-in-law was reportedly Ann (Dunn) Blevins.
The relevant land entries can be found on page 156 and page 239 in Pittsylvania Co., Va, deeds Book #2:
--- INDENTURE. 20 May 1771 - Conveyance from "George Lumpkins and Mary his wife of the Colony of Virginia and the County of Pittsylvania" of land along Marrowbone Creek and William Blevins younger son of William Blevins the Elder of the said Colony." “For £ 160 - Current Money of Virginia – the Receipt whereof is acknowledged – Land lying and being in the County aforesaid – on the north side of Marrowbone Creek and Bounded… [35]
--- INDENTURE. August 29, 1771 appears a deed entry between; “William Blevins, Son of William Blevins, & Ann his wife of the County of Pittsylvania, in the Colony of Virginia, of the one part, and George Lumkin of the County and Colony aforesaid of the other part.” This appears to be a resale of the same land referred to in the May 20 indenture for £ 60 less.
WITNESETH that for £ 100 current money of the said Colony by the said George Lumpkin to the said William Blevins Son of William Blevins and Ann his wife have given granted, etc. --- Land in the aforesaid County situated on the East or North side of Marrowbone Creek, Beginning at a maple in a branch, down the branch 134 poles to a Black Walnut to the said Creek – at the mouth of the said branch, down the said Creek 90 poles to a White Walnut at the mouth of a branch, up the branch 284 poles to a White Oak on said branch, North 150, East 225 poles to a Chestnut Oak in Prices’s line, on the said line South 63° East 220 poles to the beginning – containing 300 acres, more or less. With all Appurtenances. So if on May 10, 1771, in Pittsylvania Co. VA, George Lumkin and Mary his wife sold 300 acres for 160 lbs. to William Blevins, 'the youngest Son of William Blevins the Elder'. Both George Lumkin and Mary Lumkin signed their marks.[36]
A William and Jack Blevins were among the Long Hunters on the expedition in 1761 led by Elisha Walling Jr. which was the first well-documented long hunt.[37]
Some researchers claim that this William is the one who participated on those pioneering hunts. That is unlikely, given his age. The Elisha Walling who led the 1761 long hunt was about 16 years younger than this William, and was the son and nephew of the Walling men that are said to have migrated with this William and his brothers from Maryland to the Virginia frontier in the 1730s. In fact, this William was likely the father-in-law of Elisha Walling Jr.[30]
Robert Blevins makes a compelling case that the long hunters named William and Jack Blevins were nephews of this William, William ("Devil Will") Blevins and his brother John ("Jack") Blevins.[38]
A William Blevins was one of the signers of the deed with the Cherokee consummating the the Watauga purchase in Tennessee on 19 March 1775. However, again, it is likely that the man who signed the Watauga deed was a younger William Blevins, possibly the son of this William, who was likely a long hunter in the Tennessee region as early as the 1760s. [39]
Some, without source, identify the last name at birth of his wife "Agathy" as Wallen and claim she was the daughter of either Elisha Walling Sr. (1708-aft.1783) or his son Elisha Walling Jr (abt.1734-1814).[40] There is no known source for this claim, and one researcher refers to it as "[a]nother pervasive Blevins myth."[41]
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William is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 20 degrees from Richard Adams, 16 degrees from Mel Blanc, 23 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 30 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 17 degrees from Sam Edwards, 15 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 18 degrees from Marty Krofft, 12 degrees from Junius Matthews, 14 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 16 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Categories: Maryland Colonists
Related: One of his supposed daughters is said to have been born in 1756 in Hawkins Co., Tennessee . But were William and Agatha still in Virginia then? (Note: per wikipedia, Hawkins Co., TN wasn't formed until 1787.)
1750 tithes list for Luneburg Co VA. William Bleavins. Same list contains the Sizemore family who had later descendants move to Ashe Co NC where James Blevins-1486 married Lydia Sizmeore-77
The Lunenburg Co VA tithes lists are FREE online. Yes, they come from that book you cite, but have been transcribed online. http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/lunenburg/census/sun004.txt
Just google, the year and tithe list Lunenburg and each year, begining with 1748, will pop up
Lilly
"Book 5, page 525, Agatha Blevins grantor and her heirs from Thos. Wallens - 125 acres; Sep. 19, 1765 ... widow, and her heirs sold Thomas Wallen 127 acres in Halifax Co, VA" 4. (Perhaps where confusion starts) ... his wife, of Halifax Co. to Thomas Waltens (sic Wallens?) of same, for & 50, 125 acres, beg."
Not sure what book it is, but it might be the source for Wallens as Agatha/Agathy's maiden name.
Book 5, page 525, Agatha Blevins grantor and her heirs from Thos. Wallens - 125 acres; Sep. 19, 1765 ... widow, and her heirs sold Thomas Wallen 127 acres in Halifax Co, VA" 4. (Perhaps where confusion starts) ... his wife, of Halifax Co. to Thomas Waltens (sic Wallens?) of same, for & 50, 125 acres, beg.
1. William #4 William Jr. b. ca 1742-1745 m. Ann Dunn 2. Mary Margaret Peggy b. ca 1746-1750 m. William Asher Jr. 3. Dillard b. ca 1746 4. Willoughby b. ca 1748 5. Elisha #1 b. ca 1750 6. James #3 b. ca 1751-54 7. Abraham b. ca 1755-56 8. Sarah/Sally b. ca 1757 9. Joseph b. ca 1758 10. John #5 b. ca 1761 11. 13. Nancy, Lucinda, Elizabeth dates unknown
William b. ca 1719 d. prior to 1812 and he and his son William Jr. are likely both buried in the Shipley Cemetery (formerly Blevins Cemetery) and a grave there marked William Blevins is most likely that of William but could also be his son William
1. Mary b. ca 1711 Married Elisha Wallen abt. 1730 2. Daniel b. ca 1714 Longhunter and father of Daniel Jr. 3. John b. ca 1716 Longhunter and Colonial Soldier 4. James b. ca 1718 father of James Jr. #1 b. ca 1738 5. William b. ca 1719 Longhunter and father of William #4
1. William #4 b. ca 1738 m. Ann Dunn 2. Mary Margaret Peggy b. ca 1745-1750 m. William Asher Jr. abt. 1768 3. Dillon b. ca 1746 4. Willoughby b. abt. 1748 5. Elisha #1 b. abt. 1750 6. James #3 b. abt. 1751-55 7. Abraham b. abt. 1755-56 8. Sarah/Sally b. abt. 1757 9. Joseph b. abt. 1758 10. John #5 b. ca 1761 Nancy, Lucinda, Elizabeth dates unknown