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[Webmaster's note: The Atkins family is one of Maysville's pioneer families. If you have
additional information on this family, please contact
 .]
Maysville's first known merchant was
Abraham Atkins, affectionately called ‘Uncle Abe.' In the early 1850s Abe
Atkins erected two brick buildings--probably the first north of Athens--one a
store, the other a residence. The former afterwards became well known from
Athens to the mountains of North Carolina as the 'Brick Store of North Georgia.'
Mountaineer B.H. Green, a correspondent for the Banks County Gazette, wrote
on September 25, 1899:
.... I am now 66 years of age. When in my 18th year (1851) I went to
our nearest market, Maysville, only one store and a blacksmith shop. Old unkle
Abe Atkins was the merchant, a negro slave the blacksmith. The road or blazes
that I followed seemed to be heading straight somewhere. I never struck a
curve. When I ascended the cloud capped summit of the Alleghenies I looked in
awe below. It was late. I took for a target a large spruce pine near where
Logan's tollgate is kept. My large white ox held the light till I anchored
somewhere below. My loading consisted of 4 dead hogs nicely dressed and salted
whole, four sacks of dried peaches, a small kraut stand full of honey in the
comb, a few bushels of long red potatoes, two 12 gallon kegs peach brandy, six
bushels chestnuts, and some pop corn, and to my surprise and glory I found out
that Uncle Abe Atkins was able and willing to buy me out, lock, stock, and
barrel, which he did do. I swapped off the pale sorrel to a Simmons later and I
hope that I may never see him again, mean the horse.”
In the 1854 Jackson County Tax Digest, Atkins
is listed in Wilson’s District with 350 acres of third quality land in Jackson
County, 980 acres of pine land in Irwin County, 10 acres of second quality land
in Lumpkin County, and three lots in Early County.
A date on the left side (facing) of the Atkins-Sims residence documents the
building of that structure in 1855. It is believed to be Maysville's oldest
standing structure and is located at 437 Sims Street.
Between 1860-1861, Abraham Atkins must have sold his property in Maysville
to Sherman Jackson Sims, although no record of this could be found in the
Jackson County Courthouse. Sherman Sims moved his family from Madison
County, (he was enumerated on the 1860 Madison County, Georgia Census). In
1861, S.J. Sims has a bountiful 836 acres of third quality land in Jackson
County worth $3700 and 75 acres of third quality land in Oglethorpe County. In
this same year, Abraham Atkins is not listed in the Jackson County Tax Digest.
The selection of this particular site for a
town on the part of the railroad company was due primarily to the business tact
of Uncle Abe Atkins, aided by a donation of a few acres from Uncle Jack Hogan
and the Sherman Sims estate. Abe Atkins agreed to build a depot. This may
have answered the immediate needs, but one can form some idea of its beauty,
architecture and dimensions when the entire structure’s expense did not exceed
fifty dollars. There was few living in the village at the time of the coming of
the railroad; probably the adult males could have been numbered on the digits of
one hand.
Uncle Abe Atkins donated one acre of land for school purposes, on which a
school building was erected. It still stands at 7 Comer Street. Its usefulness
had ceased by 1906 due to overcrowding, and was supplanted by a new brick
academy which was located on what is now College Street. It was burned by
vandals in 1954.
Abraham Atkins (1797-1891) is buried in a family
cemetery on part of his former estate in Maysville.
His wife's grave marker lists her name as Susannah T. Atkins, but she probably
went by the nickname Sarah. Her parents were most likely Frederick and
Wilmoth Tyner McGuire. According
to a manuscript entitled "Genealogical
Record and History of the Descendants of Francis Atkins" written by Mrs. George
Buchanan on file at Samford University
in Birmingham, AL, Abram (Abraham) was the son of Thomas Atkins of Virginia and
Elizabeth Creed Atkins and grandson of Francis and Jane Yeldel Atkins.
This manuscript lists Abram and Sarah Atkins' children as (1) Clarissa,
(2) Louise, (3) Franklin, (4) Hugh,
(5) Emiline, (6) Haline, (7) Jefferson and (8) Fredinan (Ferdinand). There
is some proof that Abraham's brother Benjamin lived in the Jefferson area.
(1) Clarissa was b. May 26, 1828 and d. Aug. 2, 1829.
(2) Louise was b. May 8, 1830 and d. June 26, 1830
(3) Franklin's details unknown.
(4) Hugh Atkins (1834-1905) followed in his father's footsteps in commercial
operations once owning the Atkins merchantile and later the Atkins National Bank
in Maysville. Hugh married Mary Bursheba Sanders (1838-1907) who is believed to
have been the daughter of Harris and Diana Smith Sanders and granddaughter of
Rev. Moses Sanders, founder of Grove Level Baptist Church in Banks County. Hugh
and Mary's children included Fannie Lee Atkins and Thomas Edgar Atkins. Thomas
Edgar helped his father run the Atkins National Bank. Hugh and Mary are buried
in Sunrise Cemetery.
Thomas Edgar
Atkins (1870-1930) married Mary Lillian "Lillie" Comer (1870-1916) in Nov.
1893.* She was the daughter of William Jenkins "Jinks" Comer and Martha "Mattie"
Deadwyler Comer. T. E. Atkins helped his father run the Atkins National
Bank and later became president of the State Banking Company of Gainesville.
He was educated at the University of Georgia. Lillie was educated at the
Home School for Young Women in Athens. Both are buried in Alta Vista
Cemetery in Gainesville. T. E. and Lillie Atkins had two children:
Lawrence Comer Atkins, Sr. and Blanche Armontine Atkins.
(5) Emiline Atkins (1836-1920) married Robert F. Cox
(1839-1862). He was a member of the
GA 43rd Reg Co G and died in the Civil War. Their children included
Gerushia Victoria Cox, Jefferson
Davis Cox, and John Lewis Cox.
Gerushia Victoria "Vick" Cox (1858-1903) married James Monroe
"Jim" Ellison (1857-1932). Some of the children included Charlie Bert
Ellison, John Ross Ellison, Lucy Ethelene Ellison, Clarence Eugene Ellison,
Thomas Fred Ellison, Gerushia Ellison and Victorian Ellison. She died in childbirth with
twins Gerushia and Victoria. She previously lost an infant as well.
Jim Ellison married Lillie Mae Haynes after Vick died. Children from that
marriage included James B. Ellison, Lillie Mae Ellison, R. L. Ellison and an
infant who died young.
Jefferson Davis Cox (1861-1948) married Margaret
Pauline Deadwyler (1867-1915). Their children included Gladys, Rosena and
George B. Cox.
John Lewis Cox (1860-1937) married Anelia F.
Hudson (1868-1944). Their children included Thomas Clyde Cox, Maybelle Cox, Robert Homer Cox,
Iris Cox, Grace Cox, Reba Cox, Ralph Cox and Claudine Cox.*
(6) Haline was b. April 10, 1839 and d. Dec. 15,
1843
(7) Jefferson Atkins was b. Jan. 18, 1841 and served in the Civil
War. He married Martha Ann Susan Chapman on Oct. 24, 1869 in Jackson Co.
GA. She was the daughter of John Henderson Chapman and most likely his
second wife. Jefferson and Martha's children were John Hugh Atkins and
Robert Atkins. After the Civil War, Jefferson and Martha lived near
Springfield, IN. Later, Martha and the children moved to Sacramento, CA*.
It is uncertain when Jefferson died or whether he ever lived in California.
Jefferson is buried in
Sunrise Cemetery, Maysville. Martha was living with son John Hugh at the
time of her death and is buried in East Lawn Cemetery, Sacramento, CA.
John Hugh Atkins (?-1947) graduated
from the University of California where he earned his DDS degree. He
married Ellen Charlotte Everton (1884-1941) in 1914 in Berkeley, CA. Ellen
was attending Stanford Medical School during the 1906 earthquake, which
destroyed the school and its records. All of Ellen's books and medical
instruments were gone, so she never returned to school. Their children
were Jane Bartlett Atkins, Richard Staples Atkins and John Hugh Atkins, Jr.
Later, they relocated to Roseville, CA, and then to Sacramento, where John Hugh
eventually left the practice of dentistry and went into real estate.
(8) Ferdinand Atkins (1844-1854) died young and is buried with his parents at
the Atkins family cemetery on Sims Street in Maysville.
*Research assistance on the T. E. Atkins
family courtesy of Robert C. Whitehead. Research assistance on the
descendants of Jefferson Atkins courtesy of Joanne Kamiya. Research
assistance on the John Lewis Cox line courtesy of Mike Coker.
Page last updated
10/20/2007 |
