William Shanklin Gaines 1757 - 1846 My 4th Great Grandfather on My Father's Side

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 1^st 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.

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. 

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.

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.”

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.

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 4^th day of March 1831. His certificate of pension was issued on the 2^nd 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.

The Swift-Oliver House from the 1850s in Elberton, Georgia
from Brian Brown's website

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.

This screen shot is from Ancestry ThruLines. It shows my genetic connection to William Shanklin Gaines

Elbert County Courthouse

William Shanklin Gaines's will, page 1

William Shanklin Gaines's will, page 2

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.