July 31, 2008

Which Winright Adkins did what?

You would think that a name like 'Winright' would not be all that common. If you ran across a reference to Winright Adkins in Pike County, KY in about 1880, why that must surely be the Winright that is Jennie's G-G-Grandfather.  How many Winrights could there be?
Well after a little digging, it appears there were at least seven or eight Winright Adkins living just in Pike County around the turn of the century.  The naming conventions that families followed in the 1800's, and the fact that families often had 15 to 20 children meant a lot of grandsons got named Winright.  It takes a program to keep them all straight. 
Three of the Winrights are significant in our family tree.  Winright Adkins who was born in 1775 was among the first settlers in Pike County.   His son Henry had a son born in 1825 whom he dutifully named Winright.  This Winright was Jennie's G-G-Grandfather.   Another of pioneer Winright's sons, Winston, had a son in 1837 whom he also named Winright.  This one was Randy Ratliff's G-G-Grandfather. 
This diagram might make that a little clearer...



In order to keep them straight I will try to include their birth year when referring to them.  Winright Adkins 1775 is the pioneer, Winright Adkins 1825 is Jennie's ancestor and Winright Adkins 1837 is Randy's.   Maybe that way it won't get so confusing when we talk about Winright Adkins 1825 killing Zachariah Phillips who was married to his first cousin Clarinda, a sister of Winright Adkins 1837.

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