From: Ron Rowell, Oakland, California
To: Patrick Hogue (Samples), Weed, California
Date: 11 Mar 1985
Subject: William Gardner Eakin & Family
Dear Cousin Pat,
It was very nice hearing from you. Your great-grandmother and my great grandfather were brother and sister. Their parents were William Gardner Eakin and Cemantha _____(I still haven’t been able to find her maiden name). They were originally from Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia – I should say that they had settled there by 1860 when they show up on the U. S. Census – and moved away during Reconstruction. I think they moved to Athens, McMinn County, Tennessee after the Civil War. One of the Eakins at the Family Reunion in Ardmore last October had William Alexander Eakin’s Family Bible which showed its having been presented to him in 1872 in Athens, Tennessee. Since W. A. was supposedly Wm. G.’s cousin, and since they both seem to have followed the same route West, and since the U. S. Census for Cooke County, Texas in 1880 shows half of W. G.’s children born in Tennessee, I’m assuming they were in Athens. I haven’t been able to find a trace of them on any records yet, however, Cemantha died before 1880, in Tennessee or on the trail of malaria, some of the older people at the reunion remembered. Wm. G. and the kids moved on to Cooke County, then to Montague County.
Great-great grandfather served in the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, was wounded at the Battle of Cedar Run, VA and was present at the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s troops at Appomattox Courthouse. There are no records of a Confederate pension that I’ve been able to locate in Virginia, Tennessee, or Texas. He remarried around 1890 with Sarrie Allie (Haddox) Dennis producing several more children before his death in 1913. The descendents of this second marriage were also present at the Eakin Reunion in Ardmore.
Several people at the reunion were moved to remember that there had been a falling out between the children of William G.’s first marriage and second marriage after his death due to a property dispute, with our side losing out. It’s amazing how families remember old disputes!
I haven’t been able to get back any further than William Garner, though I haven’t been glued to the microfilm recently. Luckily we have a Mormon genealogical library in Oakland and a Federal Archive in San Bruno.
From everyone I’ve been able to locate, I appear to have the most information. I have some photo’s from the reunion, in particular one of great-great grandfather in his old age. A cousin of ours in Kansas City appears to have the majority of the old photographs of the Eakins and she hasn’t yet gotten around to making the copies she was supposed to. As soon as I get copies, I’ll get some copies made for you and bill you.
I’ll be happy to share any information I come across if you’ll do the same for me.
I’ve enclosed some information. Besides the cousin in Oxnard, we have several others in California, including Venice, Van Nuys, San Luis Obispo, and Fresno.
I have a list of all the Eakins I’ve been able to turn up. I’ll update it, including your name and address, and send you a copy along with the family tree which I’m supposed to get printed up.
Take care and keep in touch
Signed: Best wishes, Ron
