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Courthouse in Albemarle, Virginia where
William was born |
William Shanklin Gaines is one of my fourth great
grandfathers. He is the father of Hiram W. Gaines and the son of Hierom Gaines
and Margaret “Peggy” Taliaferro. William was born in what is now Albemarle
County in Virginia but at that time it was still part of the British empire. He
was born in 1757 and was the fourth child of Hierom and Peggy. William had two
older sisters – Ann born in 1750 and Martha born in 1754, and one older brother
Richard born in 1752. He also had four younger brothers – Francis 1759, Humphry
1760, Hierom Jr., and Henry 1761.
Service During the American Revolution
The earliest records I have found for William are from
the time period when he served in the American Revolution. These records show
that William was a Private in the 1st Regiment of Virginia. On one
of these documents William is one of 32 enlisted men who were commanded by
Colonel George Gibson and served with three commissioned officers – Captain
John Camp, Peter Stubblefield and Wyatt Culver. This record covered the period
March of 1777 to April of 1778.
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| Pay Roll for Jan. 1779 |
The Pay Roll of Col. George Gibson for December 1778
listed William Gaines as one of twenty-nine men. This document indicates that
William was paid 6 2/3 dollars per month for his service. Salaries varied on
this page from 40 dollars per month for the three officers, to 26 2/3 dollars,
10 1/3 dollars and 7 1/3 dollars for other higher-ranked men. The officers also
got “subsistence pay” of 10 to 20 dollars on top of their monthly salary.
On the Pay Roll for January of 1779 William was still
earning the same amount. One thing that is of interest on this document is that
an Edward Shanklin, Private is listed as well. It seems likely that Edward and
William are related somehow – cousins probably. I also have a Pay Roll for
February 1779 that lists both William and Edward.
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Cover page for William's American Revolution
pension application |
A fourth pay document is in a different format. It is
titled “An Account of all Monies Received and Paid by Lieut. Charles Russell
Pay Master to the First Virginia State Regiment to the Officers and Soldiers of
Capt. Angus Rucker’s Company for the Months of September, October, and November
of 1779.” William and Edward are both listed on this document. On this pay
record, William’s salary had increased to $16.60 per month, which matches that
of the other privates.
The Geni website says that William re-enlisted in 1780
and served under Captain Marks and Colonel Gaskins until early in 1782 but I
have found no records for that year.
After the War
Three years after completing his military service William
purchased four hundred acres on Plumtree Creek in Albemarle County. He bought
the land from Thomas Cawthan. His brother Hierom Gaines and brother-in-law,
David Nimmo witnessed the document which was executed on February 15, 1782. Two
months later he paid taxes on the land and either a horse or mule that he owned
at the time. That tax record shows that he did not own any cattle, a riding
carriage nor a billiard table – a curious notation. Over the decades census
surveys have tracked a variety of details about the lives of Americans, for
example, the 1930 census asked if the family owned a radio. In 1920 they asked
if each individual could read and write. The year of immigration was asked
about in 1900. Sadly, the 2020 census, that is currently being collected, asks
very few questions about our lives.
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| Highway sign for Albemarle County Virginia |
On July 13, 1785 William married Mildred “Millie” Banks
in Fluvanna, Virginia. They had five children between 1788 and 1803. In
December of 1885 William and Millie sold their 400-acre property on Plumtree
Creek to William’s brother Hierom for $70. The sale was witnessed by William’s
brother Humphrey, his father and by his brother-in-law David Nimmo. He sold the
land because he was planning to move to Elbert County Georgia which is where he
was in 1792. Records indicate that William and two of his brothers received
land grants in Georgia as part of their compensation for serving in the
American Revolution.
Elbert County was settled in the 1780s so our Gaines
ancestors arrived soon after the county began – at a time when new farmland was
readily available and only a few improvements had been built.
In her book
Greenwood County Sketches: Old Roads &
Early Families, Margaret Watson wrote the following about William Gaines
and his family.
“I
became interested in the Gaines lineage in the early 1920s and inquired at
every opportunity of the older people who might know. One of the first with
whom I talked was Cousin Wesley Gaines of the Strother Gaines line; he thought
that three Gaines Brothers came down from Virginia to Elbert County, Georgia,
one of whom was Billy (William). One might conjecture that the other two were
(his brothers) Francis and Hierome, Jr. Or, he could have had reference to the
three sons of Francis, who were Taliaferro, Strother, and Levingston, though
neither of them was named Billy. In an interview with Rossie Alexander Craft
about forty years ago, she told me that the children of the Taliaferro Gaines
line spoke of “Old Uncle Billy” Gaines but she didn’t know whether this was
from courtesy or a blood relationship.” Watson continues to site several other
sources who testified about this family and how these three brothers arrived in
Georgia. In 1790 Hierome, Francis and Humphrey Gaines were all residents of
Albemarle County, Virginia. Watson’s sources did not know where William was
when the 1790 census was taken.”
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This shows the location of Elbert
County in Georgia |
On October 19, 1794 a man named Hezekiah Baillie sold a
250-acre plot on Coldwater Creek to William in Albemarle County Virginia. This
seems strange because William had moved to Georgia by that time – why would he
want the responsibility of owning property in Virginia? The distance between
the two places is about 470 miles – as the crow flies – so it is not likely
that William would routinely travel between the two places.
William received a gift of slaves and one horse from his
father when William was 40. This was in 1797 a few years prior to his father’s
death in 1805. When his father died, he willed property in Baldwin, Georgia to
his son William.
The Ancestry website has censuses that list a William Gaines
in Elbert, Georgia for 1820 – 1850. Other researchers have attached these
census records to our William. None include a middle name or even the letter S.
None include the names of spouses or children, so it is impossible to be
certain that these records are for our ancestor. If the William Gaines listed
on the 1820 census really is our William, it showed that there were four
individuals living in his household and the family had six slaves working for
them. Most likely they were engaged in farming grain, sweet potatoes or fruit.
Georgia was famous for growing watermelon at that time. While names, other than the head of household, were not listed on the 1820 census the noted ages jibe with
those of William, Milly and their two youngest children Ralph and Sally.
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A map of Elbert County from 1796. The town of Elberton
is in the middle. South Carolina is to the east. |
Pension Application
In 1833 at the age of 76 William applied for a pension
based on his years of service during the Revolutionary war. His pension packet
was number 6817. It shows that he was then living in Elbert County, Georgia. It
confirms that he had been a Private and that he served for nineteen months
under Captain Jones of the Regiment commanded by Col. Cole in Virginia. His pension was for $63.33 per year and
started on the 4th day of March 1831. His certificate of pension
was issued on the 2nd day of March in 1833. This document shows a
total amount of $126.65 being owed to William. In the margin a note was added
saying, “Error corrected and certificate forwarded to applicant March 29,
1834”.
I believe that William Shanklin Gaines died in Elbert,
Georgia in October or November of 1846. Many records online give his death year
as 1851 but his will is dated October 26, 1846. It seems
very unlikely
that he executed his will five years before he died. In his will he left his
home, land and “all of his perishable property of every disposition” to his
wife Milly along with eight slaves named Wiloby, Aggy, Pais, Juda, Ned,
Abraham, Milly and Frank. William stipulated that after Milly died everything
was to be distributed to his children and grandchildren. Article 4 of his will
specifically noted that his grandsons were to get all the land he owned between
Big Coldwater Creek and Little Creek. The will does not indicate how many acres
this was. William’s will was proven in the Elbert County Court of Ordinary on
September 1, 1851 – long after William’s death. I believe this is the source of
the incorrect death date on many records that one can find online.
William is buried in the Coldwater Cemetery in Elberton,
Georgia. His headstone, which appears to have been placed some years after his
death, is engraved with the incorrect death year.
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| This screen shot is from Ancestry ThruLines. It shows my genetic connection to William Shanklin Gaines |
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| Elbert County Courthouse |
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| William Shanklin Gaines's will, page 1 |
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| William Shanklin Gaines's will, page 2 |
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| Watermelon Culture - an image from The Library Atlas by Appleton, 1891 |
Sources for this Post: MyHeritage, Ancestry,
Genealogy, Rootsweb, and Find-A-Grave websites, various military and
pension records, the book Greenwood County Sketches by Margaret Watson,
Tax Record from 1782, "Gaines Family Has Royalty in Heritage" by
Curtis Thomasson 17 Sept 2011, the wills of Hierome and William Gaines, Timeline
for Hiram Gaines & Family by Margaret Amundson 7 Sept 2002, posted by Gerry
Hill 4 Sept 2002, and census records.
