Elizabeth (Parker) Atkinson (abt. 1695 - aft. 1756)

Born about 1695 in Charles City County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1756 after about age 61 in Pittsylvania County, Colony of Virginia

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Elizabeth (Parker) Atkinson resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

Elizabeth Parker was born about 1695 to Richard Parker. Her year of birth is assumed based on her being 21 years old at the time of her marriage.

The "Annals of Henrico Parish" record the marriage of "William Atkinson to dr. of Richard Parker, Jan. 17, 1716." ^[1][2] A land deed for 150 acres was recorded the same year of the marriage where Richard stated "For love and affection to my daughter Elizabeth, wife of William Atkinson" and is stated again on the 4th page of Richard's will when he states "I give to my daughter, Elizabeth, wife of William Atkinson..." ^[2][3]

In the book, "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone" by Ronnie Adkins ^[2], he mentions that "William and Elizabeth lived on a tributary of the Savannah River known as Machumps Creek; having been named after an Indian that told early settlers much about the country in which they lived. All of their children were born here and the family is mentioned in many records of both Henrico and Goochland Counties.

Ronnie continues on to add that "Sometime around 1743 William, Elizabeth and children undertook a Westward move that again would place them on the very edge of the frontier. This move took some ten years to fully complete.

After 1748 records and listings proliferate in [Lunenburg] while those in Goochland almost cease and after 1756 when Henry married they completely cease. This Westward movement (a part of the White Man's first penetration across the Blue Ridge Mountains) was to what is today Franklin County, Virginia. The family lived in the Snow Creek District District [sic] on the [Harpen] and Story Creeks of the Pigg River. When the move was initiated this area was in Brunswick County becoming [Lunenburg] in 1746, Halifax in 1752, Pittsylvania in 1767, Henry in 1776, and Franklin (as Today) in 1785. Records of the family appear in all these counties making it extremely difficult to find the vital statistics.

William and Elizabeth had the following children: ^[2]

1. Richard
2. Parker
3. Mary
4. William
5. Joseph
6. Sherwood
7. Jacob
8. Henry

It is unclear when Elizabeth passed away as there are no records. Her children were born between 1717-1735 so all we can say for certain is that she passed away after 1735. Her husband William died sometime after 1753 and there is no record that he had remarried so it could be possible that Elizabeth and William died around the same time.

Deeds

1717 Jan 7 Henrico Co., VA Land Transfer: From Richard Parker of Henrico Co., VA for love & affection to his daughter, Elizabeth, wife of William Atkinson a tract of land next to Daniel Patrick's land bought of John Woodson, the land given to his daughter Mary, wife of Lewis Jenkins and John Woodson. - 150 acres. Witnesses: John Woodson and Thomas Owen. Elizabeth, wife of John Parker, relinquishes her dowry rights. Note: this deed was previously transcribed here. It is unclear why Elizabeth, wife of John Parker would need to relinquish her dowry rights on a deed of land from Richard Parker.

1729 Mar 5 Henrico Co., VA Land Transfer: Francis Wilkerson of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent Co., VA to John Law of Henrico Co., VA. all land that Richard Parker sold to Wilkerson at head of Turner's Run next to Robert Morgan, William Adkins and Lewis Jenkins - 100 acres.

Research Notes

Uncertain Facts

Parentage

This profile previously contained the following note:

From Family notes of Virginia Pierce:

"Elizabeth Parker is the daughter of Richard Parker and Mitha of England... As mentioned above she was the daughter of Richard Parker who with his family lived on the James River at the head of Four Mile Creek in Henrico Parrish." On Ancestor chart from Virginia Pierce, it lists Elizabeth's birth as 1695, in Lawrence Co., Kentucky Ancestral File has an entry that list Elizabeth's death place as Goochland, Va. This entry also takes her line back several more generations.

Longtime family lore has held that Elizabeth was the daughter of Richard and Mitha. Some show Mitha as born in England and others show Ohio. Many family members believed her to be Nimeetha "Mitha" Straight Tail, a Native American and a daughter of Straight Tail and Hokoleskwa Cornstalk. ^[4] This information is found in the book "Shawnee Heritage, Volume V" by Don Greene. The genealogical community, including WikiTree, has found many errors in his work and have discredited much of what he has written. The only information that can be found on Nimeetha are derivative sources mainly from online family trees, including GEDCOMs, LDS ancestral files, World Family Tree, RootsWeb, Geni, Ancestry Member Trees, etc.

Another thought is that Elizabeth was the daughter of Richard Parker and Elizabeth Ballard. On 29 Dec 1691, John Ballard wrote a will leaving his entire estate to Richard Parker and also made him the executor. Witnesses were James Morris, Robert Sharp, and William Pierce and the will was received by the probate court on 1 Feb 1691/2. ^[5] It is believed that John Ballard was the father of Elizabeth and that she was his only surviving child which is why John left the estate to her husband, a common practice with married women in colonial times. Elizabeth is listed as Richard’s wife in an indentured servant contract in February 1696 ^{[citation needed]} which leads to the identification of Elizabeth as the most likely mother to Elizabeth (Parker) Atkinson.

In "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone", the author, Ronnie Adkins, writes "William married Elizabeth Parker b ca 1695 d/o Richard and Mitha Parker." He offers as evidence a photo of the will of Richard Parker which is half written and half typed. Mitha is mentioned as Richard's wife in that will dated 27 Feb 1726. ^[2] The book does not discuss the possibility that Richard was married twice. It also incorrectly transcribes the name as "Mitha" but is actually "Micha". The curators on geni.com have come to the conclusion that Micha is also Michall and that she had four husbands with the last being Richard Parker. Michall and Richard had no children together. Please see the pdf document attached to Michall Harris for the research and sourcing.

Children

The following children are attached as William and Elizabeth's children but are not sourced enough to determine paternity, more research is needed.

1. Elizabeth, wife of Nathaniel Davis.
2. Elizabeth, wife of Zachariah Doss and Richard Shockley. Note: there is an Elizabeth that married a Richard Shockley that is the daughter of William Adkins and Lydia Owens.
3. William (Adkins-Webb), Note: used to account for a non-paternity event (NPE) in DNA results with ties to the Webb surname. It is unclear why the first name was changed from Unknown to William.
4. Nancy, wife of William Guillaume Sallee Jr. Note: most genealogies do not provide parents for Nancy.

"Richard Parker of County and Parish of Henrico, for love & affection to my daughter Elizabeth wife of William Atkinson, a tract of land next to Daniel Patrick's land bought of John Woodson, the land I gave to my daughter Mary, wife of Lewis Jenkins and John Woodson, 150 acres. Dated 7 Jan. 1716 Wit: John Woodson, and Thomas (I) Owen Signed: Richard (RP) Parker Recorded 7 Jan. 1716 Elizabeth, wife of Parker, relinquished her dower right"

Sources

1. ↑ Burton, Lewis W., "Annals of Henrico Parish, Diocese of Virginia, and Especially of St. John's Church", William Printing Company, Richmond, VA: 1904. Page 228.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Adkins, Ronnie, "The Adkins Family of Wayne County, West Virginia, Also Cabell, Lincoln and Boone", Bookcrafters, Virginia: 1990.
3. ↑ 1716 Deed from Richard Parker to Elizabeth Atkinson: "Henrico County Records 1714-1737, pages 143-144."
   Catalog: County Court records, deeds, wills, settlements of estates, etc., (Henrico County, Virginia), 1677-1787
   Film number: 007645095 > image 97 of 548
   FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-89P6-SLTN
4. ↑ Greene, Don, "Shawnee Heritage, Volume V"
5. ↑ Book £3 Wills and Deeds 1688-1697, p. 269

See also:

• Annals of Henrico Parish, Diocese of Virginia and Especially of St. John's Church The Present Mother Church of the Parish, From 1611 to 1884, Lewis W. Burton (1904), p. 228. Accessed 4/2015. William Atkinson to dr. of Richard Parker, Jan 17, 1716; Digitized by Google, Google Play (http://play.google.com). Annals of Henrico Parish, Diocese of Virginia and Especially of St. John's Church The Present Mother Church of the Parish, From 1611 to 1884, Lewis W. Burton (1904), p. 228. Accessed 4/2015. William Atkinson to dr. of Richard Parker, Jan 17, 1716; Digitized by Google, Google Play (http://play.google.com).
• Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Marriages (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Record for Elizabeth Parker
• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Source number: 1816.075; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1. Record for Elizabeth Parker, Record for William Adkins
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 18 September 2019), memorial page for Elizabeth Parker Adkins (1695–1733), Find A Grave: Memorial #120181259, ; Maintained by Robbi (contributor 46844223) Unknown. (contains likely but unverified information)
• Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, complier, "Henrico County Virginia Colonial Deeds 1706-1737," Iberian Publishing Company, Athens, GA: 1995. Pages 60-1.