ALICE RAMEY ATKINS

ALICE RAMEY ATKINS, 92, of Route 2, Harts, W.Va., went to be with the Lord at her home, Saturday, Sept. 5, 1992, after a long illness. She was born July 10, 1900, in Wayne County, the daughter of the late James and Tennessee Osborne RAMEY. She was a member of the Guyan Freewill Baptist Church, Harts, W.Va. She was preceded in death by her husband, Sidney ATKINS. She is survived by three daughters and sons-in-law, Mae and Wondel Smith of Seminole, Fla., Dolly
and Birthel Hayner of West Hamlin, and Myrtle Hanna of Huntington; three sons and daughters-in-law, Bill and Patti ATKINS of Hamlin, Jay and Lillian ATKINS of Taylor, Mich,. and Sidney and Ruth ATKINS of Harts, with whom she resided; 16 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Guyan Freewill Baptist Church, Harts, by the Rev. David Lucas. Burial will be in the Mountain Home Cemetery, Little Harts. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday at the McGhee-Handley Funeral Home, West Hamlin.

Hey Y'all,


'Granny Alice' was my grandmother and I lived on the family farm in Little Harts Creek, Lincoln County, West Virginia from May 1968 (death of Sidney) until 5 Sept. 1978. (date I joined the army)

The most shocking thing that I learned as a child was the fact that Alice had a set of twins that died at birth.

If that wasn't bad enough Sid & Alice had a daughter who was killed at the age of 9 years. Maria was sitting behind Alice one day in the family store when a brother of Sidney came to rob them and shot Alice in the head. The bullet also struck little Maria who died a short time later.

Sidney & Alice were the two kindest people that I've ever had the pleasure to meet upon God's green earth.

The family home was built in 1917 as a wedding gift to Alice and Sid. Sidney's parents (RG) Robert Gilmore & Delia Anne owned a saw mill on the lower lot and were timber merchants, store keepers and farmers.

RG & Delia (daughter of 'Little Aaron' Theron Adkins) had a home on the upper lot but was destroyed by a fire during the late 40's. Aaron b. 15 Aug. 1845, a Gettysburg veteran, lived in a house at this same location. Its believed that home was built by Elias (son of Hezekiah) and Suzanne Adkins (founders of Ferrellsburg, W.Va.) the grandparents of Aaron Adkins during the 1820's.

I'd be more than happy to entertain any questions you might have concerning this family.

We were a very close family and I have many stories to pass along to the next generation.

In fact, I've published some stories concerning this family on the Internet a few years ago so they should be searchable by doing a google search.

Sidney was a WWI veteran and served in France near the end of that horrible war also known as the war of attrition. Its hard to tell what was worse the mustard gas or the artillery. Located in Douaumont, France is a WWI monument which overlooks the town of Verdun and marks the graves of 100,000 unidentified French soldiers. Its one of the saddest places in the world.

Alice and Sidney are survived by three sons, Sidney Jr., Bill, & Jay who reside in Lincoln County, W.Va. Two daughters Myrtle and Mae reside in Florida.


Best Wishes,

Philip Atkins
Tacoma, Washington
8 June 1960 ~ present

Public Profile;
http://www.google.com/profiles/atkins.philip


Quote;

Abraham Lincoln on September 30, 1859 to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society:

It is said an eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent for him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and in all situations. They presented him with the words "and this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depth of affliction!


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My mother was an Atkins. Are your Atkins from Woodford Co, KY, or King and Queen County, VA?

Also, I am gathering data for a history on the Ramey family, and now have over 8000 names distributed among nearly 2500 families. Are you interested in your Ramey genealogy?

Rick Ramey
rrramey@aol.com

Hi Philip,
Cousin Lynda here. Would love to hear any other stories about the family from Little Harts. You don't happen to know what happened to Aaron's parents Allen Adkins and Fanny McNeely do you?
I'm a great-great granddaughter of Aaron's brother - William Tolbert Adkins. My line is: William Tolbert m. his 2nd cousin Martha Ann Adkins, their daughter Clementine 'Tina' m. Jesse Marion Chaffin and their son Jesse Hubert Chaffin was my maternal grandfather.
My mother could remember sitting and listening to her great-grandfather - 'Grandpa Bill' -(William Tolbert Adkins) talk about "Little Harts Creek".
As far was we know he never went back to Little Harts after he and Grandma Martha were married in 1869 in Lincoln Co.
They moved across the river to Blaine, Lawrence Co., KY and their 5 children were all born there.
They stayed over in KY until about 1901 (my grandfather was listed as age 3, living in his grandfather's household in the 1900 Lawrence Co.KY Census).
When they moved back to WV they settled out at what was then Crete and now is called Crockett - out on Miller's Fork in Wayne Co., WV.
Grandpa Bill's baby sister - Mary Margaret Adkins was sent up to Wayne Co. to live with their Aunt Arminta Adkins and her husband - William Joseph 'Billy Joe' Adkins Jr.
Arminta was Allen's sister.

Would love to hear anything that you might know.

Lynda

Hey Sweetie,

To the best of my knowledge it appears that Arminta (I even saw a photo of her once) raised Aaron's brothers and sisters in the home that no longer exitst across the creek from my grandfather Sid's old home place. Aaron being the eldest of the siblings.

Its a great mistery as to what happened to Aaron's parents in 1859 to this day.

I also understand that when they wanted Aaron to join the Civil War efforts the first time he was only 14 or 15 years of age.

However, toward the days of Gettysburg they got him anyway and he was wounded three times in that battle at around the age of 19. Perhaps at the battle of Little Round Top as it now appears. Have you seen the Turner Movie Classics movie entitled Gettysburg?

Did you know that my father has Aaron's Civil War gravestone awaiting to be delivered to his gravesite?

When I was a child I remember seeing his crude stone gravemarker and told my father that this is wrong and that we needed to correct this injustice.

Thank God that I was able to accomplish this mission in my life.

Isn't this just a great story or what but then again that's life.

Now I too can rest with my grandfather's after turning 49 years of age this past June 8, 2009.


Best Wishes,

Philip


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Hi Philip,
Got you beat in the age department-I turned 60 on May 14. I was always under the impression that the kids were sent hither and yon after Allen & Fanny disappeared.
I was told that Billy Joe and Arminta lived up in Wayne Co. and that Mary Margaret was sent to live with them and that's how she met John Henry Stephens who she later married. She was my gg-grandpa's baby sister and John Henry Stephens was my great-Grandma Laura Huff Blankenship's 1st cousin. John Henry and Mary Margaret just lived up on the ridge above my great-grandparents John and Laura Huff Blankenship.

I'd heard that they were getting a marker for Aaron but hadn't heard anymore about it. Would love to come when they have the ceremony.

William Tolbert was just enough younger than Aaron, but I'm surprised they didn't take him anyway. He was born in 1848 so somehow just escaped the War.

No I haven't seen the movie Gettysburg. Sounds like my kind of movie...I love "Patriot" about the Revolution - had a 4th Great-Grandfather James Asher Crockett who was at the Battle of Cowpens and some of the other battles. I've been to Cowpens in SC and the feeling is just indescribable as we drove around listening to the CD we'd just purchased of music from that time period. You could almost bring it to life!!

I believe that Allen and Fanny disappeared sometime after 1862 because Allen reported when their daughter 'Louisa Emarine' died and her death is just recorded under '1862'. They were also listed in the 1860 census with their children but not the 1870.

My gg-grandparents - William Tolbert and his 2nd cousin Martha Ann Adkins were married in 1869 in Lincoln I quess, but they moved over to KY before their first child was born in 1871.

Lynda