|
| Green Adkins/Atkins, we believe was likely born in Franklin County and his mother perhaps sold or moved to West Virginia; and the possibility exist that Henry Atkins was rented out to a pre-Civil War coal company in West Virginia where he met and impregnated Evelyn Hill who may have been a free-woman or relative of Hill family members in Franklin County, Virginia. Whatever the facts might be, there were many men and women of African and Cherokee heritage who were able by hook or crook to pass for White and live a better and safer life doing so. Darker complexioned family members normally encouraged them to do so. It is all hearsay and speculation that can only be proven or dismissed with DNA studies. "Of the slaves in the Kanawha Valley, half were owned or hired by salt firms. Forty percent of these slaves were used to mine coal for the salt works because they could be hired from their owners for much lower wages than white laborers demanded. These slaves were usually leased and insured rather than bought due to the risk of death or injury in the coal mines." http://www.wvculture.org/history/blachist.html
Many Adkins/Atkins, Hill and Woody young men from Franklin & Roanoke Counties, ... including William Thomas Atkins and Fred Woody, had close family members like Green Adkins and others who worked in various West Virginia coal mines. It is only a few days travel between Roanoke and Bluefield, West Virginia via horse or wagon. And, via the Norfolk & Western Railway line on which many young men were employed, ... the distance is a matter of hours.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Email: Editors, More Mary Matters bradyenterpriseassociation@gmail.comwith questions or comments about this web site. |
