John 'the Tray Maker' Watkins^{[1, 2, 3]}

Est 1683 - 1744  (~ 61 years)

• Name	John 'the Tray Maker' Watkins
  Born	Est 1683	Henrico County, Virginia Colony
  Gender	Male
  Died	May 1744	Henrico Co., Virginia Colony   [4]
  	Another John Watkins Will is located in Buckingham Co., VA records; his identity is unknown at present. =mfe
  Person ID	I9770	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	15 Jun 2017

  
  

  Father	Henry Watkins, Jr.,   b. Est 1660, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony ,   d. 1715, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony  (Age ~ 55 years)
  Mother	Mary Crew/Crispe,   b. Est 1660, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F6733	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Parker,   b. Est 1690,   d. Yes, date unknown, Halifax Co., Virginia
  Children	1. Constant Watkins,   b. Abt 1716, Prince Edward Co., Colonial Virginia ,   d. 15 Nov 1773, Prince Edward County, Virginia Colony  (Age ~ 57 years)   2. John s/o Traymaker Watkins, Jr.,   b. Est 1720, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony ,   d. Abt 1799, Albermarle County, Virginia  (Age ~ 79 years)
  Last Modified	15 Jun 2017
  Family ID	F5446	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents

  marbon9678-9770RuthCarterMitchelVaughan.jpg

  
  

  Histories

  Descendants of HENRY WATKINS, JR. Descendants of HENRY WATKINS, JR..pdf

  
  

• Sources

  [S86] Our Southern Cousins, http://oursoutherncousins.com/watkins.html. One thing that endears Henry Watkins, to me, is his disbursement of his lands to his children prior to his death. He mentions his love for his children when he gave land to each of his sons on the south side of Chickahominy Swamp in 1691/2. The tradition of primogeniture was still common in the early colonies. However, by making a will you could distribute your property as you saw fit. Henry went even further than this when he partitioned his land to his sons prior to his death. I feel it showed a great deal of confidence in the ability and integrity of his sons. In January 1691/2, he gifted, ?With love and affection,? the following to his sons: William: 120 acres next to Edward Finch Joseph: 120 acres ?in the lower part? Edward: 120 acres ?in the lower part? Henry (Jr.): ?the tract where I now live? Thomas: 200 acres on ?Three Runs? Watkins Family There are several sources that state there was an early HENRY WATKINS (born about 1585) who was the father of Henry Watkins of Henrico County, Virginia, who married Katherine. Most particularly, there is the application of Miss Jamie Hess to the Daughters of the Pilgrims, which stated that ?Henry Watkins was born in Wales, 1600, was Burgess of Henrico Co, VA, 1623, listed as dead same year, References provided: Copies with applications of family records, wills and deeds filed with application. Virginia House of Burgesses, 1619-1658.? [I don?t know the truth of her proofs, and can?t help but wonder if those records still exist somewhere!? It seems to me that he would have been born earlier than 1600, and he seems to have been alive in February 1624, although that is the last mention of him I can find.] The first representatives of Accomack in the Assembly were "Captain John Wilcocks" and "HENRY WATKINS" both of whom signed a paper as Burgesses from the Eastern Shore in 1624. Henry is listed in Henry Watkins of Henrico County: His Descendants and Their Allied Families. States he was born 1585, which gives this list: I. Henry Watkins (1585-___) II. Henry Watkins m. Katherine Pride III. Edward Watkins (c 1665-1771) IV. John Watkins (c. 1710-1765) Phoebe Hancock V.Henry Watkins,(1758-1829)m. ElizabethHudson Clay VI. John Watkins (1785-1845) Catherine T. Milton Henry Watkins, alive on the Eastern Shore in 1623, after the great Indian massacre of March 22, 1621. In 1621, John Rolfe, in his "Relation of Virginia" writes of being at Cale's Gift near Cape Charles, where there were 17 inhabitants under the command of Lt. Craddock. By 1623 there were 96 inhabitants, 9 of whom were females. Of the 87 men and boys, the only names preserved were: Edward Rodgers, Benjamin Knight, Henry Wilson, William Andrews, John Parsons, Thomas Hall, Walter Scott, William Williams, Robert Edmunds, John Evans, Thomas Powell, Thomas Parks, HENRY WATKINS, William Davis, John Wilkins, William Smith, John Barrett, Thomas Ancient Savage, John Fisher, James Vocat Piper, John Parramore, and Thomas Gascoyne. Henry Watkins subscribed with twenty-five other Burgesses means with which to send Mr. Pountis , in 1623 , with a petition to the Crown. - (Campbell , 178, and Hening I, 129.) In February 1624, Accomack Plantation was represented at a stormy session of the General Assembly. Captain John Wilcox, overseer of the Company land, and HENRY WATKINS, overseer for Lady Dale, were the Burgesses. King James I had annulled the charter of the Virginia Company and only a decree of the highest court in England was needed to make the annulment final. The fate of the representative government which had functioned for almost five years was unknown. The King had never favored it and some members of the Virginia Company who sought Royal favors had criticized it. This Assembly was also concerned about the ownership of land in fee simple when the charter was annulled. Some existing laws were strengthened and additional ones were passed to make this government more closely conform to the English Parliament. After the General Assembly of 1624 adjourned, Burgesses Wilcox and WATKINS returned to Accomack Plantation to explain the laws to the people. At the census at this time there were 79 men, women and church. The charter of the Virginia Company was annulled on June 24, 1624, and Virginia became England's first Crown Colony. A church was built on the Secretary's land. After the harvest was finished in the fall of 1624, the rest of the Company tenants were transferred to Elizabeth City. The census of 1625 shows 51 people. Other than in Miss Hess?s application, I can find no further proof that this early Henry Watkins was the father of our Henry Watkins. There is no will of the early Henry Watkins, that I know of, and no land records, etc., that might tell us the truth of the matter. There are proofs that we descend from the following Henry, however. HENRY WATKINS is documented in Henrico County, Virginia. He was a Quaker, a member of the Society of Friends, and appears in officials records in Henrico County, VA as early as 1677. One quote says: "One of the most interesting families in Virginia from the point of view of economic, social and political development is the distinguished family of which Henry Watkins is the immigrant ancestor." 1677: assisted Richard Cocke, Col. Ligon, and Gilbert Jones in the survey of ?Mawburne [Malvern] Hills,? which he owned. 1678: Henry Watkins paid tithes in Varina parish. 1679: Deed patented for 170 acres of land on the north side of the James River in Henrico County. Henry Watkins held land in the "Turkey Island" district of eastern Henrico County, north of the James River, when a militia roll was taken in June 1679. [also the area where Giles Carter is found] 1684: Henry Fined for continuing in his Quakerism. 1690: Purchased 360 acres of land in Varina Parish, Henrico Co, south side of Chickahominy Swamp from Lyonel Morris. That same year, he bought 60 acres of land adjoining his own land and touching a run of Turkey Island Creek. His religion, at times, caused him to clash with the ruling authorities in Virginia. In 1660, the Virginia Assembly passed a strict law against Quakers, who they described as ?"... an unreasonable and turbulent sort of people, who daily gather together unlawful assemblies of people, teaching lies, miracles, false visions, prophecies, and doctrines tending to disturb the peace, disorganize Society and destroy the peace, disorganize society and destroy all laws, and government, and religion.? You?ll find many mentions of Henry Watkins in "Quaker Records of Henrico Monthly Meeting" by F. Edward Wright. When his wife was assaulted, he refused to prosecute the criminal because the law required actions contrary to the Quaker doctrine. In 1661 an act was passed that anyone who failed to attend services of the established church for a period of one month would be subject to a fine. And again in 1666 an act was passed imposing fines on 'refractory persons' for failure to comply with the militia laws and regulations. In 1684 Henry Watkins was fined by the court for "continuing in his Quakerisms." His fine was later remitted. Other Quaker families in the area were the Pleasant?s, ?Makeney?s,? and the Woodson?s. [S100] Internet Source, http://www.tidewatervirginiafamilies.com/watkins.html. John Watkins of Henrico County, 1743 by John Hale Stutesman "John Watkins of Henrico County" made his will there 28 July 1743, signing it with his mark `W'. That document was probated on the "first Monday in May 1744", which suggests that the testator died in early 1744. He named four sons: David, Isaiah, John and Nathaniel. The first two received only a sterling shilling each, which suggests that they had already received an inheritance. Son John was bequeathed 150 acres in Henrico County "whereon I now live" with "all my carpenter's and cooper's tools". Son Nathaniel received 400 acres in Goochland County on Green Creek "joining on Squire Randolph's line". John Watkins named four daughters: Lucy Perkins, Constant Woodson, Elizabeth and Joyce Watkins. He appointed his "wife Elizabeth" and son John to be executors. Witnesses were Henry and Ann Stokes, and "Honour Sullavent". The origins of John Watkins are unknown. Assertions have been made that he was a grandson of the Henry Watkins who was a Quaker farmer on Malvern Hill in Henrico County in the seventeenth century, but assertions are the enemies of truth. No evidence has been found to prove that case, although it is not implausible. The first official notice of this man that has been found is in a deed dated 1 May 1732 when Henry Stokes bought land in Henrico County "at the mouth of Beachem Run, near John Watkins's Mill" and touching "Upuans Brook". This is the Henry Stokes who would witness his neighbor's will in 1743. "Upuans Brook", now known redundantly as "Brook Creek", was also know in the eighteenth century as "Ufnam", "Oughnom" and "Upland" Brook. It rises north of Richmond and flows easterly to enter the Chickahominy near Meadow Bridge. "Beachem Run", a tributary stream, was named for an early landowner of that region, John Beauchamp, pronounced today as in England, "Beacham". The site is known as Chamberlayne Heights. The 1743 will of John Watkins identifies the land which he bequeathed to his son, John as "100 acres that I purchased of Richard Parker" with fifty adjoining acres that he received in a grant in 1733 "on north side of Ufham Brook, adjoining Beacham's Branch." There is no other surviving record of the purchase from Parker, but the deed of May 1732 indicates that John Watkins had a mill on his land before that date. In September 1736, Michael Sullivan made his will in Brunswick County, naming among his heirs "my daughter Honour" whom he left "to the care of her aunt Elizabeth Watkins, wife of John Watkins, liveing in Henrico County near the brook bridge." That bridge on the main road north out of Richmond crossed Upuan's Brook, now Brook Creek, about a mile west of Watkins's Mill. "Honour Sullavent" was a witness to the 1743 will of John Watkins. This is evidence that Elizabeth, wife of John Watkins was either a sister of Michael Sullivan or a sister of Sullivan's wife, whose name was "Joyce". It is pertinent that the Watkins named a daughter Joyce. In 1738 the Brunswick County Court directed that "all the estate left by will to Michael Sullivent's sons John and Michael and to his daughter Honour Sullivant" should be delivered "to John Watkins" by the widow who had married William Reynolds. In 1739 John Watkins was a processioner for Henrico Parish of "all land between Chickahominy Swamp and Upland Brook". In 1742 he and his neighbor Henry Stokes appraised an estate in Henrico County. In 1743 he obtained a grant of 400 acres in Goochland County that he would bequeath promptly to his son Nathaniel. He died soon thereafter. His widow was mentioned in August 1758 when the Henrico County Court gave permission to Henry Stokes to make a road from his land to "the main road leading to the Brook Bridge" by passing through the lands of his neighbors, William Bacon and "Elizabeth Watkins". After that she was not found in the records. Eight children were identified in the 1743 will of John Watkins. His unmarried daughters, Elizabeth and Joyce, named in that will, are subsequent mysteries to this researcher. Son David Watkins may be the man of that name for whom Joshua Fry surveyed 296 acres of land in Albemarle County in 1746. Son Isaiah Watkins probably is the man of that name who served on a jury in Albemarle County in 1746, with David Watkins. Son John Watkins can be more clearly identified. In 1744 he inherited the land and mill of his father a few miles north of Richmond. In 1784 his executors sold that land. At that time they were disposing of the estate of "John Watkins, deceased, of the County of Buckingham". This leads to that "burned record county"; but there is a fortunate bit of evidence. In 1859 a man wrote from that county to his kinsman, F.N. Watkins, who was preparing his Catalogue of the Descendants of Thomas Watkins of Chickahominy. I have found in Buckingham County Court the will of John Watkins made the 8th day of February 1768 and submitted to record the 9th day of March 1768. Wife is mentioned in the will but her name is not given. Names of four sons: John, Robert Bolling, Fleming, [and] Lewis. In it he refers to the will of David Watkins of Henrico County. Why it took so long, about sixteen years, for that estate to be settled, is a mystery today. Probably there was a struggle between heirs. Two of those heirs, John and Robert Bolling Watkins, migrated to Harrison County, Kentucky. Nathaniel Watkins, another son of the John Watkins who died in 1744, died intestate in Albemarle County in 1797, leaving a widow, Celia. Two daughters of John Watkins left surviving records. Lucy Watkins married William Perkins, a son of Constantine and Anne Pollard Perkins of Henrico County. They lived on land in Albemarle County which would be included in Buckingham County in 1761. Constant (not Constance, as many chroniclers assert) was named in her father's will in 1743 as "Constant Woodson". She had married Obadiah Woodson, a son of Richard and Anne Smith Woodson of Henrico County. A child, Obadiah, was born circa 1735. In March 1740/41, Obadiah, joined by his wife "Constant Woodson" sold some land in Goochland County. Obadiah Woodson was a land dealer, acquiring great tracts of unsettled land. In September 1766, he made his will in Prince Edward County, leaving to "Constant my dearly beloved wife this plantation whereon I now live" and he appointed her to be executrix. In July 1773, "Constant Woodson" made her will there. It was probated the following November. [S49] Henrico Co., VA Deeds1750-1774, http://oursoutherncousins.com/Descendants%20of%20HENRY%20WATKINS,%20JR..pdf. "Henrico County, Virginia Deeds, 1706-1737": Pg 671 11 October 1737. JOHN WATKINS, son of Henry Watkins, late of Henrico County, planter, to John Pleasants of same, merchant, for 40 (pounds) land at Malborn Hills, adjoining where Stephen Woodson now lives, being land where Henry father of said John, and Henry Watkins grandfather of said John, dwelt the last part of their lives, 100 acres. Recorded 1st Mon. Dec. 1737. Pg 675 11 October 1737. JOHN WATKINS, eldest son and heir of Henry Watkins, late of Henrico County, planter, to James Cocke of same, for 5 (pounds) , land on Chickahominy Swamp that said Watkins might have as heir at law of his grandfather Henry Watkins, adjoining said James Cocke and land of Edward Watkins. Wit: John Pleasants, James Hatcher, William Hatcher, Edward Bennet; recorded 1st Mon. Dec. 1737 John Watkins was processioner of lands next to Chickahominy swamp 1739, with Nathaniel Bacon and Peter Patrick. - (Henrico Records.) [S100] Internet Source, http://www.tidewatervirginiafamilies.com/watkins.html. Found in Buckingham County Court the will of John Watkins made the 8th day of February 1768 and submitted to record the 9th day of March 1768. Wife is mentioned in the will but her name is not given. Names of four sons: John, Robert Bolling, Fleming, [and] Lewis. In it he refers to the will of David Watkins of Henrico County. Why it took so long, about sixteen years, for that estate to be settled, is a mystery today. Probably there was a struggle between heirs. Two of those heirs, John and Robert Bolling Watkins, migrated to Harrison County, Kentucky. Nathaniel Watkins, another son of the John Watkins who died in 1744, died intestate in Albemarle County in 1797, leaving a widow, Celia. Two daughters of John Watkins left surviving records. Lucy Watkins married William Perkins, a son of Constantine and Anne Pollard Perkins of Henrico County. They lived on land in Albemarle County which would be included in Buckingham County in 1761. Constant (not Constance, as many chroniclers assert) was named in her father's will in 1743 as "Constant Woodson". She had married Obadiah Woodson, a son of Richard and Anne Smith Woodson of Henrico County. A child, Obadiah, was born circa 1735. In March 1740/41, Obadiah, joined by his wife "Constant Woodson" sold some land in Goochland County. Obadiah Woodson was a land dealer, acquiring great tracts of unsettled land. In September 1766, he made his will in Prince Edward County, leaving to "Constant my dearly beloved wife this plantation whereon I now live" and he appointed her to be executrix. In July 1773, "Constant Woodson" made her will there. It was probated the following November. Will of John Watkins, Henrico County (23d Jul 1743, p. 9 May 1744), mentions sons David, Josiah [Isiah], John and Nathaniel (lands in Goochland, Now Cumberland); daughters; Lucy Perkins and Constant Woodson (Henrico Records) Per "Colonial Wills of Henrico County 1654-1781" his will read as follows: Names wife Elizabeth; ....John married Elizabeth BUTLER on 1720. "Quaker Records of Henrico Monthly Meeting" by F. Edward Wright, pages 1 - 11 October 3, 1700. Elizabeth Watkins was among many who witnessed the marriage of Thomas Lankford and Martha West, daughter of Giles West, of New Kent County, who married "28th day, 2nd month [Apr], 1700". [S40] Will. John Watkins named four daughters: Lucy Perkins, Constant Woodson, Elizabeth and Joyce Watkins. He appointed his "wife Elizabeth" and son John to be executors. Witnesses were Henry and Ann Stokes, and "Honour Sullavent".