Introducing John Rollins
Steven Weaver
Can anyone contribute further information?
PARENTAGE
John Rollins was a likely native of Virginia and possibly a son of
Gregory and Sarah (Holt) Rawlings of the Sussex or Surry region.
However, further research is necessary to confirm this.
BIRTH
John Rollins' birth date is unknown and unfortunately census records
are not very helpful in answering this question. The 1790 and 1820
federal censuses only indicate that he was born before 1775; the
1800-10 censuses suggest he was born circa 1756-74 and 1766-84,
respectively. Considering his wife's age and the approximate birth
dates of his children, a birth date falling roughly in the middle or
latter 1750s appears most likely.
MARRIAGE
John Rollins likely married during the second half of the 1770s.
Unfortunately the North Carolina State Archives does not have a
marriage bond for this union.
His wife's given name was Amy but her surname is uncertain. James M.
Rollins recalled in his 1910 booklet memorializing his deceased
daughter Gladys that Frederick Rollins' wife's maiden name was Goodwin
but there is some primary evidence to suggest that it was actually
Booker. Perhaps James M. Rollins misremembered and it was actually
his great-grandmother, not his grandmother, who was a Goodwin.
MIGRATION
The date and circumstances of John Rollins' removal to North Carolina
are currently unknown.
CENSUS
John Rollins appears as a Chatham County, North Carolina head of
household in census records for the years 1790-1820. He was the only
Rollins head of household recorded in Chatham County in 1790 and 1800,
making him the likely progenitor of the Rollins family in that county.
In 1790 the John "Rolins" household consisted of himself and Amy, five
boys 0-15 years of age, and one additional female. The five boys
likely include sons Young, William, Burwell, and Frederick; the fifth
boy might correspond to son Jesse or be an as yet unidentified male
who died young or left the household before 1800. The second female
is almost certainly daughter Elizabeth.
In 1800 the John Rollins household consisted of himself and Amy (both
26-44 years of age), four boys 10-15 years of age, one girl 10-15-
years of age, four boys 0-9 years of age, and one girl 0-9 years of
age. The children born circa 1785-90 probably correspond to sons
Young, William, Burwell, and Frederick and daughter Elizabeth. The
children born circa 1791-1800 probably correspond to sons Jesse,
Thomas, James, and Henry and daughter Salley.
In 1810 the John "Rolland" household consisted of himself (26-44 years
of age) and Amy (45+ years of age), three males 16-25 years of age,
one female 16-25 years of age, one boy 10-15 years of age, one girl
10-15 years of age, and one girl 0-9 years of age. The three males
born circa 1785-94 likely correspond to sons Jesse, Thomas, and
James. The female born circa 1785-94 corresponds to daughter
Elizabeth. The children born circa 1795-1800 correspond to son Henry
and daughter Salley. The girl born circa 1801-10 corresponds to
daughter Nancey. Son Young headed his own household in 1810; sons
William, Burwell, and Frederick remain unaccounted for.
In 1820 the John Rollins household consisted of himself and Amy (both
45+ years of age) two females 16-25 years of age, and one male 16-25
years of age. The three people born circa 1795-1804 likely correspond
to daughters Salley and Nancey and son Henry.
PROPERTY
John Rollins purchased property in Chatham County from one John Sexton
in February 1793. In November 1802 he sold property to one Edmund
Cox.
WILL
John "Rollings" prepared his last will and testament on 27 July 1820.
In it he named his wife Amy and three children (Henry, Salley, and
Nancey) as legatees and Burwell "Rollings" (relationship unstated) as
executor. Guilford Carpenter and Solomon Carpenter witnessed the
will. In it he loaned the 80-acre tract of property on which he lived
to his wife Amy during her life or widowhood, after which it was to
pass to his son Henry. Henry, Nancey, and Salley each received a
feather bed. The remainder of his property he loaned to his wife Amy
during her life or widowhood, after which he directed that that
property be equally divided between "all my children."
DEATH
John Rollins date of death, like his birth date is uncertain. We know
that his will was probated in August 1821 so it seems likely that he
died during the spring or early summer of that year. His burial place
is also unknown.
CHILDREN
As noted, John Rollins identified as children only Henry, Nancey, and
Salley by name in his will. Since John Rollins was the only Rollins
head of household in Chatham County in 1790 and 1800, younger male
Rollins heads of household who begin appearing in census records from
1810 and forward are presumed to be his children (e.g., Jesse,
Burwell, Frederick, and James). Burwell was the executor of John
Rollins' will; James M. Rollins identifies Frederick Rollins as a son
of John Rollins in his 1910 booklet memorializing his deceased
daughter Gladys.
A name resembling Young Rollins appears as a Chatham County head of
household in the 1810 census and is possibly also a son of John
Rollins (the original is almost illegible). I wonder if he may not
also be the John Rollins who appears in Chatham County deed records in
1826 some five years after John Rollins' death, i.e., "Young John
Rollins."
Elizabeth Blackmon's headstone at Brown's Cemetery in Madison County,
Tennessee reportedly identifies her as the "daughter of John and Amy
Rollins." Also buried in this cemetery is a Thomas Rollins
(1792-1860) who is likely her brother. An online list of interments
is available at http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/madison/cemeteries/brown.txt.
01. YOUNG ROLLINS born before 1784
02. Unidentified Male Rollins born circa 1785-90; possibly died young
03. WILLIAM ROLLINS born circa 1786; died circa 1866; married MARY <?>
04. ELIZABETH ROLLINS born circa 1786; died 10 November 1854; married
FORDHAM BLACKMON
05. BURWELL ROLLINS born circa 1790; died circa 1865; married
ELIZABETH RAGLAND
06. FREDERICK ROLLINS born circa 1790; died 1843; married REBECCA
BOOKER?
07. JESSE ROLLINS born circa 1791; died before 1870; married MARY <?>
08. THOMAS ROLLINS born 11 October 1792; died 16 March 1860; married
REBECCA <?>
09. JAMES ROLLINS born circa 1795; died before 1860; married SUSAN
DENNIS
10. HENRY ROLLINS born circa 1795: died before 1870; married <?>
11. SALLEY ROLLINS born circa 1795-1800
12. NANCEY ROLLINS born circa 1805; died circa 1876; never married
SOURCES
1790 Federal Census, Chatham County, North Carolina, page 196
1800 Federal Census, Chatham County, North Carolina, page 207
1810 Federal Census, Chatham County, North Carolina, page 195
1815 Tax List, Chatham County, North Carolina, Capt. Partridge's
District, accessible online via http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncchatha/partrtax.html
1820 Federal Census, Chatham County, North Carolina, page 57
Deed of Sale from John Rollings to Edmund Cox, November 1802, Chatham
County, North Carolina Deed Book M, page 169, listed in the Index to
Deeds, Mortgages, and Real Estate Conveyances, Chatham County, N.C.,
Grantors at http://www.chathamncrod.org/
Deed of Sale from John Sexton to John Rawlings, February 1793, Chatham
County, North Carolina Deed Book G, page 18, listed in the Index to
Deeds, Mortgages, and Real Estate Conveyances, Chatham County, N.C.,
Grantees at http://www.chathamncrod.org/
Rollins, James M. Gladys Mays Rollins, Born May 29, 1891 - Died July
22, 1907, Aged Sixteen Years - Musing of a Father on the Nineteenth
Anniversary of the Birth of his Daughter; and the Third Year After her
Death.
Will of John Rollings, dated 27 July 1820, proved August 1821, Chatham
County, North Carolina, Will Book B, page 37, copy obtained from
Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives & History,
Archives & Records Section, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, NC
FURTHER RESEARCH
01. Chatham County deeds, tax lists, county court minutes