Moses Splawn (c.1777-c.1828) of Rutherford County, North Carolina

It's been well established that Moses Splawn, who appears in the deeds and census records of Rutherford County, North Carolina from 1807 to 1824, was a son of John Splawn (c.1744-c.1794) and Sebara Helms (d.aft.1800) of Fairfield County, South Carolina. What has been less thoroughly documented online are Moses Splawn's own wife and children so that's what I'm setting out to do here with the best documentation available.

Moses evidently co-migrated from South Carolina to Rutherford County with his presumed brother James Splawn ( c.1765-aft.1830), who begins appearing there in the 1810 census and Peggy Splawn (d.1830s), evident widow of his brother John Splawn (c.1767-bef.1810), Peggy having bought property in the county in 1815.

Census records indicate that Moses was born some time between 1776 and 1784. He enters the historic record with a land purchase on Floyd's Creek on December 8, 1807. He appears in only a handful of deeds and two census records. He died sometime between June 6, 1824, when he witnessed the will of Larken Lee, and October 24, 1828 when Nancy Splawn, his presumed widow, bought land from Isham Cook in Rutherford County.

Nancy Splawn begins appearing as a head of household in the 1830 U.S. census and makes her final appearance in the household of Lathy Splawn near Floyd's Creek in 1850. At the time Nancy was enumerated as seventy years of age, born in North Carolina. She makes her final recorded appearance in a deed to her son James Splawn on February 9, 1853 where she seems to have unloaded her real estate.

There are several clues as to Nancy's children: the most obvious being the Lathy Splawn she lived with in 1850. Nancy also appeared on the same page as a Nathan Splawn in the 1840 census and sold her property to the above James Splawn. An 1860 deed shows Nathan Splawn sold land to "Lithia" Splawn. So right off the bat we have three obvious children identified.

Deed from Nathan Splawn to Litha Splawn, 1860.

So how many are missing? The 1820 census shows us that altogether Moses and Nancy had four sons and five daughters. Possibly more were born after 1820. So that leaves at least two more sons and four daughters to identify.

Despite this family's almost complete lack of wills or probate records, there is one incredible document that tells us basically what the rest of the family looked like: the October 1867 deed of sale from the "heirs at law" of Henry Splawn (c.1831-1863), eldest son of Nathan Splawn (c.1802-1860), to William Splawn (c.1820-aft.1881) of Rutherford County.

Henry Splawn was a childless, unmarried man when he died a prisoner of war in January 1863. Being an only child, he had inherited the entirety of his parents' estate following the death of his father in September 1860. With no siblings, parents or descendants to leave his estate to, it ended up in the hands of his "heirs at law" as named below:

Wow, that's a lot of heirs. They can't all be his aunts and uncles, right? As it turns out, they're not. More on this later.

There is an additional document: an estate account for Henry Splawn from March 1872 that states a few of the same names above and a few new ones:

Notice that everyone on this list is getting an equal portion of the estate. We know via Henry's parents' marriage bond in 1829 that his mother was Susannah McDaniel. So the first five on the list were his mother's relatives, the second five were his father's.

We can see from the settlement that William Splawn, who bought the above land from Henry's heirs at law was himself an heir; this places him as one of Henry's probable uncles. We can see the "Lathy Splawn" from the 1850 census -- clearly a daughter of Nancy -- signed in 1867 as "Lithia Splawn" and was listed in the settlement account as "Telitha Splawn" which was probably her full name. Between the two documents we can also identify James Splawn, Hosea Splawn, "Amila" Splawn and Anna Splawn.

But wait -- there's more information hiding in here. In 1867 we have signatures for what looks to be A. S. Green, W. P. Green, Manly Green, Pinkney Green and Artilda Green. Census records show these are children of Thomas Green (c.1808-1882) and Elizabeth Green (c.1807-aft.1860). Interestingly, in the 1860 census this couple had a tenant named Anna Splawn living in their household. Its clear that Elizabeth is another Splawn daughter, evidently not living as of 1867, so five of her children showed up in court to sell their share of the estate.

There's another interesting couple in there: William and Nancy Dills. There would have been no reason for Nancy to show up in court if her husband was the heir, so Nancy is clearly the relevant signatory. William and Nancy lived right next door to James Splawn in the 1860 census. The 1850 census indicates she was 23 years old and recently married, so she could fit as a last child for Moses and Nancy. 

So now we can take these inferences and assemble a list of the likey children of Moses and Nancy Splawn:

1. Nathan Splawn (c.1802 - Sep. 1860) married Susannah McDaniel in 1829.

2. Elizabeth Splawn (c.1806 - bef. Oct. 1867) m. Thomas Green c. 1827.

3. Artilda Splawn (c.1807 - aft. Dec. 28, 1888) m. William Martin by 1840.

4. James Splawn (c.1808 - aft. 1870) m. Artie M. Smith by 1846.

5. Amila Splawn (c.1810 - aft. Oct. 1867) not known to have married.

6. Telitha Splawn (c.1815 - aft. 1880) not known to have married.

7. William Splawn (c.1820 - aft. Dec. 6, 1881) married Jane Waldrop in 1840.

8. Hosea Splawn (c.1822 - aft. Dec. 6, 1878) married Mary Perry by 1854.

9. Anna Splawn (c.1825 - 1905) not known to have married.

10. Nancy Splawn (c.1827 - aft. 1880) married William Dills by 1847.

There may have been others, possibly children who died young and never made it into the historical record. But these are the children we can positively identify. You'll notice Artilda Splawn here -- I found her accidentally searching for Artilda Green. William and Artilda Martin appear in several deeds and census records in Rutherford County and the 1930 death certificate for their son, William gives his parents as William Martin and "Tillie Splawn."

NANCY SPLAWN (1780 - aft.1853)

Now that we've identified the children of Moses and Nancy Splawn, we can turn to Nancy's origins. From census records, we only know that she claimed to have been born in North Carolina in 1780 or thereabouts. Whoever her parents were, they must have been in Rutherford County by the time of her marriage around 1801.

After researching several neighboring families: McClure, McDaniel, Hinson, Robbins, Twitty, Owens, Briscoe and more, I've found only one family that fits: Watkins.

Interestingly, the first tract of land Moses Splawn bought in Rutherford County in 1807 was adjacent Ambrose Watkins. In an unusual move, the deed stated that Moses had Joel Watkins deliver the payment to the land owner in his stead. This shows a high level of trust in someone he must have been very close to, indicating a possible in-law relationship. Moses later witnessed a deed for Joel in 1811.

1807 deed to Moses Splawn, payment made by Joel Watkins for land near Ambrose Watkins

Joel Watkins, who married Elizabeth Dills, moved out of state a few years later and died in Christian County, Illinois in 1839. Census records indicate that Joel had a son named Nathan Watkins, named for his wife's step-father, Nathan Briscoe (d.1807). Moses and Nancy Splawn named their first son Nathan and we know the name didn't come from the Splawn side. Joel Watkins also had a daughter named Nancy and women named Nancy Watkins appear in marriage bonds in early 19th century Rutherford County, probably daughters of Ambrose Watkins Jr. and Isaiah Watkins, among possible others.

There's other inferential evidence as well: the two families stuck together like glue. In the 1830 census, Ambrose Watkins Jr. lived right next door to Nathan Splawn, eldest son of Moses and Nancy. In the 1850 census, J. J. Watkins lived next door to William Splawn, another of their sons. Since Watkins does not appear in the deed books of Rutherford County, he may have lived on William Splawn's land.

Nancy Splawn had two grandsons named Henry, despite the name not appearing anywhere else in the Splawn family. Oddly enough, her son Nathan named his only child Henry. Ambrose Watkins had a likely older brother named Henry Watkins (c.1748-1820s) who lived in Surry County, North Carolina and several nephews named Henry as well.

And finally, the rare given name "Telitha" looks like it might have come from the Watkins family as well, with Stephen Watkins, a cousin of the above Ambrose, having married a Telitha "Lithy" Stewman in 1809 according to their marriage bond, several years before Telitha Splawn was born.

The weight of the evidence suggests Nancy Splawn was likely a daughter of Ambrose Watkins (c.1754-aft.1824) and his wife Martha from Rowan County, North Carolina. While the name Ambrose didn't seem to make its way through many Watkins or Splawn lines, the name Martha appears in both. 

Its an inferential case, but its the best I have given the lack of will and probate records for both the Splawn and Watkins families.

 

Research by Jason M. Farrell

The Watkins Family of Surry, Wilkes, Rowan and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina

Suit of John Bedingfield v. David and Isaiah Watkins, 1771.

This was a tough nut, but I think I've finally cracked it. As it turns out, the name Watkins was very common in the early 19th century South. Many of these Watkins families crossed paths, lived in the same counties, had children with the same names and even appeared together in court and yet remain entirely unrelated. To make matters more challenging, the Watkins family that I've been researching had hardly a will or deed of gift among them to clarify family links so I've done my best with this family.

There are numerous Watkins men that appear in some of the northern Piedmont counties in North Carolina in the 1750s-1770s. There was a James Watkins who began appearing in records in Rowan County in 1754; Henry, George, Joseph and Ambrose Watkins who begin appearing in Surry County deeds in the 1770s. Later there's also Israel Watkins who appears to have come from Richmond County, North Carolina and a David Watkins who could be related to the above list of men... or a brother of Israel from Richmond with the same name (per their father's will).

To make matters even more complicated, these family members appear in records across several neighboring counties (mostly Surry, Rowan and Wilkes), making it even harder track them or distinguish who is related to who.

The genealogies presented below are a best-fit lineage with the imperfect evidence I have. I cannot claim they are all-encompassing and there may be several children (mostly women) missing. 

I believe most of these Watkins men are related and descend from the Quaker Watkins family of Henrico County, Virginia. John Watkins of Henrico County signed his will on July 28, 1743 naming children David Watkins, Isaiah Watkins, John Watkins, Nathaniel Watkins, Lucy Perkins, Constant Woodson, Elizabeth Watkins and Joyce Watkins.

It seems clear that David, Isaiah and Joyce Watkins (who married William Thomas) migrated out of Henrico County within a few years, with David and Isaiah appearing in the court records of Albemarle County, Virginia in 1746. By the 1760s, Isaiah had settled in Halifax County, Virginia, where he begins appearing in deeds in early 1764. Part of Halifax County was sectioned off to form Pittsylvania County in 1767 and Isaiah appears in the first tax list; Isaiah and David Watkins were jointly sued by John Bedingfield in Pittsylvania County court in 1771 and this seems to be the only record in which they appear together; David never again appears in the county. That same year, Isaiah Watkins sold William and Joyce Thomas property in the county, making it crystal clear that this is the family from Henrico.

In 1778, a court ordered the sheriff of Wilkes County, North Carolina to arrest Isaiah Watkins with the sheriff responding that Watkins lived in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and could not be retrieved. Whether Isaiah ever actually lived in North Carolina is unknown, but around this time several Watkins men started buying land in the adjoining counties of Surry and Rowan: Ambrose in 1778; George in 1778; Joseph in 1779; Henry in 1783. A David Watkins later described as "of Salisbury" (in Rowan County) bought land in Camden District, South Carolina in 1783. He also appears in Rowan County in the 1790 US census with another David Watkins, John Watkins and Ambrose Watkins. The same year, Joseph and George Watkins were enumerated in Surry County.

Wilkes, Surry and Rowan Counties as they were in 1780.

George, Henry, Joseph and James Watkins appear in records together and are clearly related; David Watkins, Isaiah Watkins and Thomas Watkins, who appear in later deeds are likely from the next generation of this family group. Ambrose and David Watkins are a second family group who lived in Rowan and whose children had some of the same names. It isn't clear that group one is related to group two just by looking at deeds and census records, but the name carryover among the different families suggests they probably are.

That said, here's how I've put this family together.

ISAIAH WATKINS (bef.1726-1797) and wife Alice of Pittsylvania County, Virginia had the following likely sons:

1. John Watkins (bef.1747-1799) of Pittsylvania County, Virginia; first deed in Halifax County dated 1767; took the oath of allegiance in 1777; appears in 1782 tax list; appeared in court as a witness for Stephen Watkins in 1784. Deed of 1799 names Mary Watkins "widow and administratrix of John Watkins."

2. Stephen Watkins (bef.1757-aft.1799) of Pittsylvania County, Virginia; took the oath of allegiance in 1777; appears in 1782 tax list and 1791 marriage bond of Nancy Watkins. Appears in court through at least 1799.

3. Benjamin Watkins (bef.1762-aft.1794) of Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Appears in 1782 tax list and was a witness with John Watkins for Daniel and Betsy Bates in a 1783 deed. Named son-in-law in the 1794 will of Henry Blanks, which also names Benjamin's wife as Sarah.

4. Willis Watkins (bef.1764-aft.1802) of Pittsylvania County, Virginia; named assignee of Isaiah Watkins in a grant dated 1784 and defendant in a suit against the Watkins family in 1797; Willis is found briefly in the deed books of Spartanburg County, South Carolina in 1788 but seems to have sold off his land quickly and disappeared; he was charged with forgery in Surry County, North Carolina in 1802 and seems to have disappeared thereafter. 

5. Lidwell Watkins (bef.1765-aft.1830) named in a 1797 suit in Pittsylvania County, Virginia with Willis and several other members of the Watkins family; moved to Burke County, North Carolina before 1800; appears in Rutherford County, North Carolina in the 1810 census and appears there through the 1830 census. Probable father of Stephen, Isaiah and Jane Watkins (who married Ephraim Cook in 1812), all of Rutherford County, North Carolina.

DAVID WATKINS (bef.1726-aft.1790) of Rowan County, North Carolina had the following likely sons:

1. Henry Watkins (c.1748-aft.1820) of Surry County, North Carolina, where he first appears in the 1771 tax list. Received a land grant adjacent Stephen Clayton in 1783. May be father of Henry Watkins who begins appearing in Stokes County, North Carolina in 1790 and James Watkins to whom he sold land in Surry County in 1804. Removed to Stokes County, North Carolina in 1803-1804 and a deed there from Henry Watkins to James Davis in 1809 mentions land adjacent Stephen Clayton. Last appears in 1820 US census of Stokes County.

2. Joseph Watkins (c.1750-1827) of Surry County, North Carolina, where he was first granted land in 1783. In an 1801 survey his chain carriers were David and Thomas Watkins. Joseph deeded land to Henry and James Watkins in 1804 before removing to Pendleton District, South Carolina. His will in 1827 names wife Frances and children Jane, Henry, Frances, Thomas, Cassie, Alcey and Esther Watkins.

3. George Watkins (c.1752-aft.1807) of Surry County, North Carolina where he first appears in the 1775 tax list; wife Mary named daughter of Thomas Wooten in his 1793 will. A chain carrier on his first survey in 1778 was Joseph Watkins. In 1798, David Watkins and Isaiah Watkins were chain carriers for another of George's surveys in Surry County; these are likely to be his sons. George and Isaiah jointly sold property to Richard Mendenhall in 1807. Isaiah later moved to Rowan County where he appears in deeds through 1832; David (b.1781) married Dorcas Silvey in 1808 and later moved to Putnam County, Indiana, where he appears in census records. Another probable son, Thomas (b.1788), appears in Putnam County with David.

4. Ambrose Watkins (c.1754-aft.1824) of Rowan County, North Carolina. Ambrose is found in the deed books of Rowan County (1778-1795), Surry County (1779-1786), briefly in Wilkes County (1792-1795), and Rutherford County, North Carolina (1800-1810). He moved to Warren County, Kentucky in 1810 and appears in court records through 1815 when he finally settled in Allen County, Kentucky where he seems to have spent his final years. Two Kentucky records indicate his wife was Martha. He died with no known will or recorded probate but North Carolina and Kentucky records show his likely children were Joel, Nancy, Ambrose, Connie, John, Andrew and James Watkins. Three other daughters remain unidentified. 

5. David Watkins (c.1762-1844) of Rowan County, (until at least 1790), later Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he spent the rest of his life. Described as "of Salisbury" in Rowan when he bought land in Camden District, South Carolina in 1783. A 1789 marriage bond shows he married Ruth Hendricks. His 1844 probate documents and census records show his likely children were Andrew, David, Willis, Joel, Ferebey and Jesse Watkins, all of Wilkes County. Joel was administrator of his estate, Willis and Andrew are also named. The fact that Ambrose and David Watkins, both of whom lived in Rowan in 1790, both had sons named Joel and Andrew suggests they are brothers.

There are other men in Surry, Rowan and Wilkes named Watkins who show no evidence of relation to this family: James Watkins, Beverly Watkins, Spencer Watkins, Leonard Watkins and beyond. In Rutherford, there's also Peter and David Watkins, who belong to a different family from Frederick County, Virginia. There's also Thomas Watkins and George Watkins and probably more in Pittsylvania County, Virginia who either aren't related or come from some other branch of the family. So I'll just leave it here.

A few great resources here:

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~grizzard/genealogy/watkins188.htm

http://sites.rootsmagic.com/KaysAncestry/individual.php?p=17560

https://reynoldspatova.org/histories/Descendants%20of%20HENRY%20WATKINS,%20JR..pdf 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Watkins-994

 

Research by Jason M. Farrell with contributions on Willis Watkins by Marianne Greer