Virginia focused genealogy and history
Category: Amelia County Connections
My 6x great grandfather Thomas Atkinson (c. 1731-c.1803) operated a store for many years in Amelia County and Nottoway County (formed out of Amelia in 1789). A photocopy of his “daybook” survives among the holdings of the Library of Virginia.[1] A daybook was portable and used to record transactions to later record in an account book, … Continue reading Thomas Atkinson’s Daybook – my 6x great grandfather
Well, it's getting to look a lot like Christmas around our house. We decided to have an additional tree this year - a Virginia history book tree! The idea came from a friend (thanks Annette) who is a fellow book lover and a regular A Son of Virginia reader who recently posted about a book … Continue reading Happy Holidays from A Son of Virginia
My 6x great grandparents Hector and Sarah (Holt) Truly’s arrived in Amelia County in 1743.[1] Truly was then – and is now – an unusual surname. The American Dictionary of American Family Names states that the surname is “probably English, perhaps a variant of Truelove.”[2] The given name Hector is also unique in my family … Continue reading The Truly family of Amelia County, Virginia
I have an old copy of A. R. Hudgins History of Amelia County published in 1965, which includes the following information about Robert Vaughan I [my 6x great grandfather] and Jeter’s Mill: “In 1740 Robert Vaughan [my 6x great-grandfather] was granted 800 acres of land on the lower side of Flatt Creek. (When a … Continue reading History of Jeter’s Mill – Amelia County, Virginia
My first known Atkinson ancestor was my 8x great grandfather Charles1 Atkinson of Essex County, Virginia (c.1665-c.1702) who was covered in an earlier blog post you can check out here: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2022/08/24/charles-atkinson-c-1665-c-1702-of-old-rappahannock-and-essex-county-virginia/. Charles1 and Ann (Copeland) Atkinson left four children including Charles2 (c.1695-1761), Nicholas2 (c.1697-1773), John2 (c.1699-1478) and Mary2 (c. 1701- ). My 6x great grandfather … Continue reading Thomas Atkinson of Essex County and Amelia County, Virginia – my 6x great grandfather
![Part 4 – Dick and Martha (Jones) Walker Holland, their children & Edy [Patt], Jenny and Dinah, some of the people they enslaved](https://i0.wp.com/asonofvirginia.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/photo1dickhollandexecutors.png?resize=975%2C461&ssl=1 "Part 4 – Dick and Martha (Jones) Walker Holland, their children & Edy [Patt], Jenny and Dinah, some of the people they enslaved")
Hello A Son of Virginia subscribers, here is the last in my Holland series. I'd appreciate your feedback. Hope you enjoy it. Steve
If you missed Parts 1 & 2, you really should start here: Part 1: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/08/15/richard-and-sarah-hudson-holland-of-hanover-henrico-louisa-and-prince-edward-counties/ Part 2: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/09/06/richard-sarah-hudson-holland-and-patt-and-hannah-daughter-of-judy-part-2/ CONTENT GUIDANCE: When I undertake a study of my Virginia ancestors, I find every source I can about a person or a group of people and find that it usually tells a story. Sometimes one record, … Continue reading Richard & Sarah (Hudson) Holland (my 6x great grandparents), Dick & Martha (Jones) Walker Holland (my 5x great grandparents) and the descendants of Patt and Hannah, daughter of Judy (some of the people they enslaved) – Part 3
CONTENT GUIDANCE: When I undertake a study of my Virginia ancestors, I find every source I can about a person or a group of people and find that it usually tells a story. Sometimes one record, such as a will or estate inventory tells a story by itself. Sometimes there is more. The Holland story … Continue reading Richard & Sarah (Hudson) Holland and Patt and Hannah, daughter of Judy – Part 2
My 6x great-grandparents Richard (c.1718-1784) and Sarah (Hudson) (c. 1720-1795) Holland were born with proverbial silver spoons in their mouths. Both came from very well to do Hanover County families. Richard Holland was a son of Michael Holland (c.1690-1746) who amassed nearly 45,000 acres during his lifetime in the counties of Hanover, Henrico, Goochland, Louisa … Continue reading Richard and Sarah (Hudson) Holland of Hanover, Henrico, Louisa and Prince Edward Counties
In Part 1, I introduced Michael Holland and his family and started our exploration of early Virginia records to see what they might have to say about his origins, his age and/or his marriage. Based on the records found I concluded that he (1) was not Virginia landowner in 1704, (2) became a landowner in … Continue reading Michael Holland of Hanover and Goochland Counties, Virginia (my 7x great grandfather) – Part 3
Have you ever wondered about how your ancestors celebrated the Fourth of July? Well, these celebrations have been held from the earliest days of our republic. In fact, the Virginia Gazette reported on 18 July 1777 that in Philadelphia on 4 July, “the anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America was celebrated … Continue reading Fourth of July celebrations in the old days
If you missed Part 1 you can check it out here: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/06/20/michael-holland-of-hanover-and-goochland-counties-virginia-my-7x-great-grandfather-part-1/ Despite catastrophic records loss in Hanover County, Michael Holland left a sizeable paper trail because he owned acreage in several counties. In all, I found 60 patents, petitions and deeds from 1724-1746 where Michael Holland was a grantee or grantor. I am attaching … Continue reading Michael Holland of Hanover and Goochland Counties, Virginia (my 7x great grandfather) – Part 2
There is a gravestone at Jetersville Methodist Church in Amelia for Willie Holland Morris who was the youngest son of my 2x great-grandparents John Rives & Ann Octavia (Vaughan) Morris. Willie was born at Creekland farm near Jetersville where he lived the entirety of his short 20 year life. According to my grandmother Rebecca Blanton … Continue reading Willie Holland Morris (1876-1897)
When I was first starting my family history pursuits as an eleven-year-old, I remember my maternal grandmother telling me that her parents were cousins. She said, “They were kin through the Gills.” I laughed having no idea Gills was a last name. Her parents - my great-grandparents - were second cousins connected through the Gills … Continue reading “They were kin through the Gills” – my 6x great grandparents John & Elizabeth (—————) Gills of Louisa and Amelia County, Virginia
My 8x great-grandparents were Thomas and Rosamond (----------) Webster who lived in Henrico County, Virginia. Formed in 1634, Henrico County was one of the eight original shires. According to the Library of Virginia, all Henrico County court records prior to 1655 and almost all prior to 1677 are missing. They note that many records were … Continue reading Webster Family of Henrico & Amelia County, Virginia Part 1 – Thomas and Rosamond (———-) Webster
On 14 February 1861 in Amelia County, Virginia, my 2x great-grandmother, Ann Octavia Vaughan, received a proposal of marriage. Born on 2 February 1844 in Amelia County, Virginia to Augustus and Mary Spencer (Farmer) Vaughan, Ann had just turned 17 years old. Ann’s parents both died when she was just a child – her mother … Continue reading A Marriage Proposal on the Eve of the Civil War – And A Vaughan Family Mystery
If you missed my post about Nicholas Vaughan’s father William Vaughan, check it out here: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/01/18/william-vaughan-c-1625-c-1694/ Nicholas Vaughan was born in Charles City County, Virginia probably during the early 1670s[1], the youngest of seven sons born to William (c.1625 - c.1694) and his wife Sarah (----------) Vaughan (c.1634 – aft. 1694). His father wrote his … Continue reading Nicholas Vaughan (my 7x great grandfather)
My 8x great-grandfather William Vaughan was the first of my line to arrive in Virginia, first appearing in the records of Charles City County, Virginia on 20 April 1658 when he was granted a nonsuit by the county court in a case against Francis Gray. No details and no outcome are provided.[1] Nothing is known … Continue reading William Vaughan (c. 1625 – c. 1694)
Today's post is about letters to Santa Claus written in 1902 and 1903 from Jetersville, Virginia by my 1st cousin twice removed H. Preston Morris. I hope that you enjoy it and that you and yours have a Merry Christmas!
Today's A Son of Virginia post is about Minerva Vaughan of Amelia County, Virginia. She's been a part of my family history as long as I can remember. Want to know more? Read on and I hope you enjoy it.
A Son of Virginia 