Most of our male ancestors can be traced back at least one or two generations. Not so with Benjamin Hawkins, father of our great grandmother Mary Jane Hawkins who married Atison Roper. When we get to Benjamin Hawkins the trail turns cold.

He was probably born in 1813 or 1814 in Greenville, South Carolina. The photo to the right was taken in the late 1800s in Greenville. Click for a slightly larger view. We have no clue to who Benjamin Hawkins parents and siblings were or his ancestors. Actually, we do have some clues, and maybe even too many.

One of many The Hawkins name is a very popular one in the Greenville area. One William Eaton Hawkins moved to the area from North Carolina along with most of his seven brothers and probably a few uncles. William Eaton produced 18 children, 13 of whom were sons. Many of these 13 sons would have been having children in Greenville about the time our Benjamin was born.

Unfortunately, the census records up until 1850 did not list the names of the children in the home, only the age ranges. From the Greenville census records of 1820 and 1830 we found ten Hawkins -- mostly sons of William Eaton -- who had a son in the age range of our Benjamin.

After hours of ancestry searches we could account for the children of some of William Eaton's sons. But for three sons, Pink, Jesse and Robert, we could not find the names of their offspring. So these are the most likely suspects. If we were to guess, we would say this could easily be our ancestry line, mainly because there were just two other Hawkins in Greenville at the time with sons our Benjamin's age. And they might easily be related to William Eaton as well.

Possible History William Eaton Hawkins' family traces backward from South Carolina to North Carolina, then Virginia and then England. William Eaton himself was born in Virginia. If you want to take a look at this possible Hawkins link, click the 'Possible Ancestor' link which goest to to Ancestry.com.

The name Benjamin was very popular for the Hawkins clan(s), so that further complicates the issue. A famous Benjamin Hawkins, Indian Agent from Georgia, was stationed around the area at the time and was having a number of children by his common law wife who was said to be from the nearby Creek Indian nation. So here is yet another possibility. Ft. Hawkins was named for this Benjamin Hawkins and there was also a 'Hawkinsville' in that area of South Carolina. If you want to read about this Benjamin Hawkins and the Indian issues of the time, click the portrait to the right.

Our Benjamin's Family We do have a list of our Benjamin Hawkins' offspring with his wife Anna Eliza (or maybe Elizabeth) Findley. To learn more about Anna be sure to read the 'Irish Connection' section on the Histories page. Click the 'Hawkins Family' link if you wish to see the all the children of Benjamin and Anna Hawkins, including our ancestor Mary Jane Hawkins. If you wish to see the 1860 listing for Benjamin Hawkins and his family, click the picture of the old census record. You will see our great grandmother Mary Jane's name when she was eight years old.

That's all we know about our Hawkins roots. Good luck if anyone wants to take on the challenge of learning more. All the Hawkins' we have communicated with, many with ancestors named Benjamin, have come up against the same problem with the Greenville gang. It is simply a black hole at this point.

If you want to know more about the Greenville area where our ancestors lived, click the 'Old Bridge' link to the right. This bridge was built in 1820, just after our Benjamin Hawkins was born. To continue to other family histories or other parts of this website, use the buttons at the top of this page or the 'Return to Histories' link below.

B. Hawkins, Indian Agent

Return to 'Histories'