Pilkinton Genealogy



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RESEARCH

Pilkinton Genealogy at Rootsweb. START here first to see all my current Pilkinton genealogy information.

- I will be gradually adding the chapters of my Pilkinton Book.

My Pilkinton Line descends from William Pilkinton of Essex County, Virginia.

Ambrose Pilkinton to Nicanor Pilkinton to Jesse Pilkinton and his unknown first wife to James Smith Pilkinton and Cynthia D. Renfro to Jefferson C. and Mary A. Renfro Pilkinton  to Thomas B. and Elma Erwin Pilkinton to Fred C. and Clora W. Thompson Pilkinton to James Sr. and Mary Bates Pilkinton to me. This particular branch moved from tidewater Virginia in the 1790's to Guilford County, North Carolina thence to Maury County, Tennessee in 1830 and Giles County, Tennessee in 1849. From there my line moved west a few miles to Lawrence County in the 1900's.  

Send me an E-mail - I love to hear from cousins and others.

                                                       

 

  • Virginia War of 1812 Pilkintons  
  • Pilkinton/Crumley/Shrader Cemetery Archaeological Survey :  This cemetery is located on a farm off of Liberty Hill Road about a mile east of the Lawrence County line. It is located in the 14th District of Giles County and corresponds to the area marked for "S. Pinkleton" on the 1878 map of Giles County. There were no markers in this family cemetery - just rough field stones. In 2001 aided by the notes and directions of Sarah Posey (who was shown the graves by her cousin Linnie Pilkinton Helton), I found the gravesite and with the permission of the current land owner (Mrs. Dortha Yokley) performed an archaeological survey. Tim Pilkinton assisted me in clearing the overgrown area (which had grown up for at least 30 years or so - this kept the cows out). With donations by Sarah Posey, James Pilkinton Sr., Bill and Jerri Gammill, Melanie Thiel, and others, I purchased and placed there a simple granite marker with James and Cynthia's names and dates. The information recorded in the Giles County, Cemetery Book is incorrect: the story.

 

  • Charles W. Pilkinton guardianship court documents : Jesse and Sarah died in Cooke County, Texas as well as their daughter Luella Malone. These documents pertain to Charles assuming guardianship of the minors in the family. 
  • James Dewitt Pilkinton legal documents: James was the son of Jesse Pitts Pilkinton and the grandson of James Smith Pilkinton. James Dewitt Pilkinton's parents died when he was a teenager and he needed a legal guardian. His first legal guardian was his brother Charles. Charles Pilkinton died shortly thereafter and James petitioned the Cooke County, Texas court to make Fred Glasgow his guardian. Fred may have been a nickname for Noah Francis Glasgow - the father of James' sister-in-law Ada.

 

  • James Smith Pilkinton Family Bible: (each page had terrible bleed through and Bill Gammill cleaned the images up. I included both the original and the cleaner version.) The original Bible cannot be located and the copies did not include the title page; however an entry in the front of the Bible indicated that James Smith Pilkinton received the Bible December 1854.
    1. Bible Page 1
    2. Bible Page 2
    3. Bible Page 3 
    4. Bible Page 4   

 

  • James S. Pilkinton Deed 21834: 107 acres surveyed 24 April 1847 entered in 19 September 1850 in Giles County upon the Factory Fork of Big Creek. Bounded by A.J. Quarles, John M. Eskew, Jas. R. Dickey, and John Jeffries. Signed by Gov. Wm. Trousdale.
  • Jefferson Pilkinton , Company H, 48th Tennessee Infantry : Confederate Records and a synopsis of service. (48th Infantry website)
  • John Robert Pinkleton 's Confederate Questionnaire : Dr. Gus Dyer began a project in 1914 to record Tennessee Civil War veteran's stories. John Robert Pinkleton was a veteran of Company K, 53rd Tennessee Infantry drawn from Giles County, Tennessee. This is a transcribed copy of John Pinkleton's questionnaire. Many answers were incomplete, however, there are some important tidbits in here regarding his parents James and Cynthia.    (Hint : the questions are the same pre-printed questions for every questionnaire, therefore you may copy this to use with other veteran's questionnaires, and thereby saving quite a bit of work)

Evolution of the Pilkinton Name: I am generically using the spelling "Pilkinton" on this website because; it is the way I spell my surname and it is just simpler for me. Many of my cousins use an alternate spelling. The following records demonstrate this interesting phenonmenon in the mutation of the Pilkinton name within closely related lines coming out of Giles County, Tennessee. The records prove that the Pilkinton/Pinkleton/Pinkelton/Pilkilton lines are related.  I can only speculate that the most obvious reason for the variations was the common mis-pronunciation of the original combined with a lack of literacy in the South prior to WW2.  Many of these men signed by the X mark, which of course indicates an inability to read or write.  A related factor is the inconsistancy of public schools in that time period and the de-emphasis of education among farming communities. The War Between The States oversaw the destruction of the antebellum infrastructure in the South.  These men were from very rural areas in the South which was effectively a third world country until the advent of the Tennessee Valley Authority, air conditioning and  World War 2 (which were factors for industries to move to the South).  In the 19th century and first four decades of the 20th century, these men were for the most part farmers and saw mill laborers. In fact, the lumber industry appears to have been especially active in north Alabama and Lawrence County, Tennessee in the early 1900s. Just food for thought.

Death Records { I have collected many Pilkinton records in my quest to trace down the different lines and wish to share them with you. Please note that these are all public records available to anyone and were legally acquired. }

    • Obituaries
      1. Jefferson Pilkinton : Not exactly an obituary, but as close as possible for 1893. The paper has "Jeff Pinkerton" of Marcello Falls, but there were no Pinkerton's at Marcello Falls. Many in the area pronounced the name Pinkleton and this is probably a misreading of that name. Jefferson died Tuesday, June 20, 1893 according to the family bible and Mary's Confederate widow's application. He is buried in the Marcello Falls area at Baker Cemetery. Jeff was the oldest son of James and Cynthia.
      2. Charles Woodson Pilkinton : youngest son of James and Cynthia. He married Mary Fine and lived near Rose Hill in Giles County, TN. This obit was given to me and had some bad spots in it that I have filled in as my best guess.
      3. Thomas B. Pilkinton : Jeff and Mary's son.
      4. Elma Ervin Pilkinton : Thomas Pilkinton's wife.
      5. Vonnie Richard Pinkleton: son of Jeff and Mary's son Robert.
      6. Laura Pinkleton Glasco : Vonnie's mother and Robert S. Pilkinton's first wife.
      7. Anthony Robert Pinkleton : Robert and Laura Reeves' son.
      8. Melvin D. Pinkelton : Son of Jeff and Mary's son Albert Ross Pinkelton.
      9. James Dewitt Pilkinton : son of Jesse Pitts Pilkinton of Cooke County, Texas.
      10. Flournoy L. Pilkinton : oldest son of Tom and Elma Pilkinton.
      11. Callie Mae Pilkinton (nee Durham) : wife of Flournoy.
      12. Clint Lee Pilkinton : Tom and Elma's son.
      13. Earl Pilkinton : son of George "Cap" and Minnie Pilkinton. (George was the younson of Jeff and Mary.)
      14. Linnie Pilkinton Helton : Daughter of Charles W. and Mary Pilkinton.
      15. Sudie Pilkinton Helton : Daughter of Charles W. and Mary Pilkinton.
      16. Mack Pinkelton : Son of Albert Ross and Alma Cooper.
    • Death Certificates
      1. Charles Woodson Pilkinton : son of James and Cynthia. Lived in Giles County near Rose Hill and Liberty Hill communities.
      2. Susanna Tracy Ann Pilkinton : daughter of James and Cynthia, wife of John Woodard. They lived in Giles County not far south of Campbellsville.
      3. Mary Renfro Pilkinton :  wife of Jefferson Pilkinton. Note: I am positive this is her even though the name is Mary Pendleton. First there were no "Pendletons" in the 1910 census in Civil District 14 of Lawrence County, Tennessee where Mary died. Second the certificate states that Mary was living with her son, and I know that she was living with her son John in the 14th C.D. when she applied for Widow's pension under Jeff's C.S.A. service. Third the age is about right. Fourth the certificate was filed a year after her death. These early Tennessee certificates have very little information on them.  (some online records list Mary as dying in Springtown, Texas. This information comes from the Renfro book, which I have. This seems unlikely because her children have shown me her unmarked grave at Baker Cemetery in Lawrence County, TN where Jeff is buried.)  
      4. David M. Pilkinton : son of Jeffeson and Mary (note year of birth is incorrect on certificate). He married Lou Ella Whitworth and moved around the Colbert County, Alabama/Hardin County, Tennessee area.
      5. Robert S. "Buck" Pilkilton : son of Jeff and Mary, first wife was Laura Reeves (their children use the Pinkleton spelling while he used the Pilkilton spelling, may have been illiterate). His second wife was Matilda Swader and moved to Colbert County, Alabama. Wife's name on cetificate is "Narassus" -unknown name to me - he may have married a third time after Matilda's death. 
      6. Monroe P. Pilkilton : son of Jeff and Mary. Monroe moved to Collin and Grayson Counties inTexas. His descendants use the Pilkilton spelling.
      7. Tom Pilkinton : son of Jeff and Mary. His descendants live in Lawrence County, Tennessee. He married Elma Ervin. Tom was my great grandfather.
      8. John William Pilkilton : the son of Jefferson and Mary. He married Ella Swader and moved to Colbert County, Alabama.
      9. Edward Motley Pilkinton : Eldest son of David "Dee" and Lou Pilkinton. He died in Colbert County, Alabama, but is buried in Savannah, Tennessee in an unmarked grave.
      10. Raymond H. Pilkilton : 11 month old son of Marshall and Pearl Pilkilton. Marshall was the son of John William Pilkilton.
      11. Ottis Odell Pilkinton : 7 month old son of Roscoe and Martha Pilkinton. Roscoe is the son of David "Dee" and Lou Pilkinton. 
      12. Lura Elizabeth Pinkleton : 7 year old daughter of Vonnie and Lura Wilson Pinkleton. It is interesting to note that they apparently lived near the state line and there was some confusion as to what state should record the death. She died near Veto, TN which is on the state line south of Pulaski, Tennessee and near Elkmont.
      13. Robert Pinkleton : 4 year old son of  Anthony Robert Pinkleton and Mattie Turner. They appear to have had a second son named Robert .
      14. William Cordell Pinkleton : son of William Dewitt Pinkelton and Sarah Davidson. This is John Robert Pinkleton's line.
      15. William Cordell Pinkleton Jr : infant son of  William C. Pinkleton and Ruby J. Strode.
      16. Floyd Pinkleton : son of John Robert and Mary Bailey Pinkleton.
      17. John W. Pinkleton : son of John Robert and Mary Bailey Pinkleton.
      18. James Fred Pinkleton Jr. : infant of James F. Pinkleton and Gladys Hickman. James was the son of Vonnie and Lura Pinkleton.
      19. Nola Pinkleton : daughter of Robert S. Pinkleton and Laura Reeves. She married Robert Jasper Moseley.
    • Social Security Applications
    • Marriage Licenses and Returns 
      1. Tom Pilkinton and Elma Ervin (Irvin)
      2. Albert Ross Pinkleton and Mary Ellen Reeves
      3. Robert S. Pinkleton/Pilkilton and Laura Reeves
      4. John Pilkinton and Ella Swader
      5. Melvin Pinkelton and Octavine Reeves
      6. Edward Pilkinton and Minnie Brannon

Genetic Testing - DNA Genealogy: I wish to explore the possibility of hosting a Pilk* DNA Project. This will involve finding several male members of any line linking to the Pilkington name who are willing to order, submit to and pay for  their own tests through a company such as FamilyTree DNA. The reason to limit the project to males is purely based upon costs and simplicity. At this time, the male only Y marker test is the simplest and cheapest test and the results will connect Pilkin(g)ton lines helping both male and female. Unfortunately this test necessarily limits the known pool of willing participants. If you know of or are a male with the surname Pilkinton, Pilkington, Pilkilton, Pinkleton, or Pingleton willing to join the group then please e-mail me. The subject does not have to necessarily pay the fee himself - a female relative could sponser him. This is the latest in DNA technology and will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $230.00 (US funds) per test. It is not a paternity test, nor is it some way for the government to keep track of the participant. It merely consists of a q-tip mouth swab, which is then sent to a lab. The results are compared to other Pilkinton tests between 24 common markers to determine a generational relationship. This could tie several lines together. 

 

James' Collateral and Maternal Lines:

  1. Bates - Greenville, South Carolina to Wayne County, Tennessee
  2. Thompson - Nash County, North Carolina to Union County, Mississippi
  3. Durbin - Kentucky to Lawrence County, Tennessee
  4. Brazier - Alabama to Giles County, Tennessee
  5. Clayton - North Carolina to Lawrence County, Tennessee
  6. Inman - Giles and Lawrence Counties in Tennessee
  7. Pillow - Virginia to Giles County, Tennessee

 

  1. Speegle - Lincoln County, North Carolina to Cullman County, Alabama
  2. Garren - Henderson County, North Carolina to Cullman Co., Alabama

 

  1. Renfro - Kentucky to Maury County, Tennessee
  2. Abernathy - Virginia to Giles County, Tennessee
  3. Paisley - Guilford County, North Carolina to Giles County, Tennessee

 

Bobbie's Ancestry:

  1. Garren - North East Alabama
  2. Wilson - North East Alabama
  3. Lockmiller - East Tennessee

 

My Favorite Research Links:

 

Other Pilk* Research Sites (Pilkington, Pilkenton, etc.)

Copyright . James F. Pilkinton Jr.. All rights reserved.
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