Someone once wrote me and snidel

Someone once wrote me and snidely enquired "What's Significant about Daniel Hankins?" I replied, he's my earliest known Hankins progenitor, and my 7th Great Grandpa -- if that's not significant enough for you, then click elsewhere on the web. Little is known about my progenitor (this Daniel, or his two sons, but a wealth of detail follows for my 5th Great Grandpa, Capt. Daniel Hankins, to wit:

He was born in the British Colony of Virginia in 1715-1720.
He was a pioneer in his own right, and was one of the very first settlers in Western Pittsylvania county, Virginia, Eastern Henry county and Eastern Franklin county, Virginia. Legally possessing, through both purchase and grants, as few as 7,000 to as much as 12,000 contiguous acres.
He was a participant in our American Revolution and acknowledged for both Patriotic and Civil Service.
He was a first county Justice of the Peace in our new nation.
He received Oaths of Allegiance to our new nation.
He provided the necessities of life to Court named families of men who had departed for battle in the American Revolution.
He either owned or had access to a silver mine from which he supposedly made silver coins, and was in some fashion implicated in the Great Pittsylvania County Counterfeiting Scheme of 1773, but was not convicted of any wrong doing, and obviously not because he was soon thereafter appointed as a Justice of the Peace.

What's the Purpose of My Web Site? Although not totally unique, Southside Virginia is one of a very few places in early America where our forefathers first ventured that was away from the Eastern shore. In my estimate, it is one of the early cradles of the birth of our Nation that was truly free from European influence, and thus deserving of a special place in our Nation's early history.

The Eastern shore, though still difficult, was mostly safe, and many still hung onto the ways and beliefs and prejudices of the old life in Europe. Our early ancestors on the Eastern shore were still escaping, and as the West slowly and reluctantly opened, they embarked with enthusiasm into places where they would be truly free and become the roots of our new nation. There were swamps, rivers, Indians, mountains, and great forests to hinder progress. For example, the Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina was a great barrier from moving directly down the Eastern shore, and the only two passes over the Appalachian Mountains weren't useable as yet. However, a few areas were poised to enable our nation's Westward growth., and early Southside Virginia was one!

In Virginia, the famous Cumberland Gap in the North, and the less famous, but equally important New River Gap in the South, were the only doorways to the West. While in the North, the Ohio River Valley served as the Northern passage. But, it too was dangerous and new. The open way to the known South was through Eden & Rockingham County. This is the southern border of Southside Virginia and was a major route to settling the deep South. There were no Eastern ports with the exception of deep South ports held by Spain.

Southside Virginia was a natural draw for settlers who were either settling for good, or waiting to move on. It had much rich land, low rolling hills, rivers and streams, good forests, much game, and most importantly, it could be reached easily, without perilous journey, from the East. A great many of the early Southside Virginia settlers liked it, and stayed for good. This first aspect of my web site is dedicated to the surnames of these early settlers of early Southside Virginia, the marrow of our Nation.

As long as there was a new West somewhere, restless minds always exist. Perhaps they were just restless because it was their nature, or perhaps they felt they'd missed out on the early land grants, or perhaps they were the bits and pieces of new generations who desired to break away from the confines of the secure family and make their own way, elsewhere. Regardless, to satisfy their hunger, they had to travel over difficult terrain, in a mostly unfriendly environment. Often, members of 3-5 family surnames who lived close together in Southside Virginia, intermarried and traveled together. It was convenient, and most neighbors stayed close-knit because travel wasn't easy, and there is safety in numbers. Each generation had its portion who desired to travel and make their way elsewhere, and Southside Virginia was one of our Nation's cradles that produced these new generations of free thinking Americans. The second aspect of my web site is dedicated to the lineages of our extra-adventurous ancestors who also have their early roots in Southside Virginia.