William Baskin, Jr.

II. William Baskin, Jr. (born abt. Feb. 14, 1735/36 in PA, died Apr. 9, 1804 in Abbeville, SC)

married Ann Reid (born Dec. 25, 1747, daughter of George Reid) on Jan. 12, 1769 in

Abbeville, SC.

1. Mary Baskin (born Oct. 5, 1769 in Lowndesville, Abbeville County, SC, died Dec. 25,

1840 in Polecat Springs, Macon County, GA) married Adam Jordan Files on Apr. 30,

1790 in SC.

2. Margaret Baskin (born Mar. 20, 1771, died young).

3. Elizabeth Baskin (born Nov. 19, 1772 in SC, died Aug. 6, 1860 in MO) married her cousin,

John Craig Baskin (son of Charles Baskin & Mary Craig) on Dec. 24, 1795.

4. Ann Reid Baskin (born Apr. 3, 1774 in Abbeville, SC, died about 1844 near Clinton, AL)

married William Harkness.

5. Rosannah Baskin (born Mar. 17, 1776 in Abbeville, SC, died Aug. 9, 1840 in Botts County,

GA) married James Harkness.

6. William Cander Baskin (born about May 24/28, 1778 in Abbeville, SC, died Feb. 12, 1853

in Buena Vista, MS) married his mother's cousin, Margaret Reid, about 1803.

7. George Reid Baskin (born Jan. 13, 1780, died young).

8. Thomas Stuart Baskin (born Feb. 6, 1782 in Abbeville, SC, died about 1837 in Lexington,

MS) married Mary Noble on Jan. 21, 1806.

9. John Alexander Baskin (born Oct. 21, 1783 in Abbeville, SC, died June 1, 1869 in LA)

married Sarah Noble on Jan. 11, 1811 in Abbeville County, SC.

10. Margaret Cander Baskin (born Dec. 9, 1786 in Abbeville, SC) married John Hamilton on

Mar. 12, 1807.

11. James Hall Baskin (born Dec. 9, 1786 in Abbeville, SC, died about 1877 in Lowndesville,

Abbeville County, SC) married Margaret Hartgrove Thomson on Dec. 23, 1813.

William Baskin, Jr.

William Baskin, Jr. was the third son in a large colonial family. As such, he would have known from a young age that he would have to make his own way in the world. His older brother, John, would have received most of any inheritance, and his many sisters would likely have required dowries upon their marriages. This would leave little cushion for William Jr. to count on for his future. Many "second sons" in well-to-do families at this time would be expected to join the military, and growing up on the frontier would certainly have encouraged this path as well. Young William and his family grew up in very dangerous areas of the colonial frontier, and fear of Indian attacks would be very real to them. Add to this the fact that the Baskins were Scotch-Irish, still outcasts among the English colonists, and it's no wonder William Jr. was a fighter - he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

William was born on the Pennsylvania frontier about Feb. 14 1735/36. The family moved to newly opened lands in Orange County (later Augusta County), Virginia in 1740 with John Pickens' family and others where they were granted land to settle. This would have been more frontier land meant to be settled in order to provide a buffer between the colonists in the east of Virginia and the native population of that land. Obviously this would not have been an ideal situation to move into, but the Scotch-Irish had little choice if they wanted to own land. William Jr. undoubtedly learned to work the land and hunt during this time as the family grew. While growing up in Virginia, William's family attended Augusta (Stone) Presbyterian Church where the noted Rev. Craig led the congregation. For the Scotch-Irish and all Presbyterians at this time, the church was important in both spiritual and secular matters. Disputes between neighbors, cases of adultery, punishment for crimes were all handled by the elders of the church in these communities, not local government agents, for often there were none. The records of the church mention the Baskin family often as William Baskin, Sr. seems to have been very active in the church. William Jr. and his siblings must have grown up in a strict, harsh, hard-working community of survivors.

It is no surprise then that John and William both joined Captain Christian's company on Aug. 9, 1756 when war was declared on France and their Indian allies. Although too sickly to fight, their brother, Thomas, helped by collecting provisions for the militia as well. William seems to have really taken to military life as he continued his service at Fort Ligonier in 1761-62, and received 40 GBP (Great British Pounds) on Dec. 11, 1766 from the Virginia House of Burgesses for meritorious service under Col Bouquet on the expedition against the Shawnee and Deleware Indians.

We can assume that young William returned home after the French and Indian War, and soon moved to Abbeville, SC with the rest of the family. There the family attended Rocky River Presbyterian Church, and there are still Baskins in the area today. John, James, Thomas's widow, Margaret, Charles and William, Jr. all took up land near each other in Abbeville County, but soon after the move, William Sr. died. A few years later, in 1767, John died, too, and Charles chose to return to Virginia. When rumblings of revolution began in New England, the Baskins were in South Carolina, one of the last colonies to join the war. The Baskin brothers, however, seem to have wanted this break from England, as William, Jr. and his younger brothers, James and Hugh, joined the fighting in 1777. At Charleston on April 18, 1777, William Jr. was commissioned Captain in the South Carolina Militia under Col. Andrew Williamson, and his brothers were a lieutenant and sergeant, respectively, in their brother's command. William Jr. was taken prisoner at the battle of Carr's Fort in 1779, and released after the Battle of Kettle Creek in Feb. 1779. He lost a horse at Sawty on November 15, 1781 on campaign against the Cherokee Nation under General Pickens. On this expedition, James was wounded, but lived to tell the tale.

By the time William returned home, the world was a different place. The Baskins now lived in the United States of America, which was a new country indebted to France for aid during the war and trying to create a new form of government. It was an unstable place to be, but the Baskins were used to instability from years of frontier living. Now it was time for Captain William Baskin, Jr. to return to his farm and make a life for himself and his own family. His wife, Ann, had made due while William was away fighting, and had been raising their growing brood. Sadly, two of their children died young - Margaret and George - but the others seemed to be well. When he came home from war, William seems to have become an authority figure in the community. He began to be called "Esquire" in records from the time, which means he was an attorney, which makes sense since he served as Justice of the Peace in Abbeville in 1785. In the first census of the United States in 1790, he is listed as "Captain William Baskin" and had in his household 3 free white males age 16 and up, 5 free white males under 16 years of age, 7 free white females, and 7 slaves. In 1796 he served as executor of his brother, Hugh's, estate; and in 1804, at about the age of 69, Captain William Baskin, Jr. finally died. His children and grandchildren would be the first generation of Baskins to grow up in the United States of America thanks to men like him who fought for that opportunity.

Note: My research into the history of these times continues. I have found an account of the Battle of Carr's Fort which I intend to share with you, and I am always trying to flesh out the details of life on the frontier. As you may have noticed, we are beginning to touch on sensitive areas of American history: the treatment of Native Americans and slavery. There is a lot of history to be learned, and I find it more rewarding and interesting when I can attach these issues to our family history. I'll keep you all posted on my findings, but if any of you are history buffs, please feel free to share information/thoughts with me as well!

Books and Links on the Scotch-Irish

I will post more family history tonight, but if anyone wants to know more history of the Scotch-Irish (or the Scots-Irish, Ulster Scots - whatever you want to call them!), here are a few books and links that I have used in my research:

Books:

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by Jim Webb - Very readable and entertaining as well as informative. Mr. Webb's family took a different migratory route from ours, but I'm sure there are similarities regardless.

Women of the Frontier (Scots-Irish Chronicles) by Billy Kennedy - This is another entertaining but still informative book. It gives personal stories of individual women who would otherwise have been lost to history. The men weren't out there on their own, after all!

The People with No Name: Ireland's Ulster Scots, America's Scots-Irish, and the Creation of a British Atlantic World, 1689 - 1764 by Patrick Griffin - This is a more academic, less entertaining book, but still worth reading. The Rev. Craig (who you may remember from the story of William Baskin, Sr.) is mentioned. This book emphasizes how the church structure and politics of the time affected these people, our ancestors, lives.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch-Irish_American

Good for a quick overview...

http://www.tinklingspring.org/

I've emailed the museum here for any genealogical information they may have for us - I'll let you know what I find out, of course! William Baskin, Sr. and his family attended services here and 3 of his children were baptized by Rev. Craig here. Check the "History" section under "About Us" for more information and drawings of the old church.

http://augustastone.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=41485

I'll have to make a pilgrimage to get info from this church. This site explains how this church and Tinkling Springs are related. The Baskin family may have attended services here as well.

William Baskin, Sr.

I. William Baskin, Sr. (born about 1705 in Ireland, probably Donegal; died about. 1765 in

Abbeville, SC) married Mary Stuart/Stewart (likely born about 1700 in Chester County, PA)

in about 1730. William and Mary had eight children together:

1. John Baskin (born about 1731 in PA, died about 1767 in SC) married Elizabeth Craig on

June 11, 1765 in Augusta County, VA.

2. Thomas Baskin (born about 1733, died about Nov. 1765 in VA) married Margaret

Hartgrove about 1759 in VA.

3. Margaret Baskin (born about 1735, died about 1808 in Elbert County, GA) married John

Patterson.

4. William Baskin, Jr. (born about Feb. 14, 1735/36, died April 9, 1804 in Abbeville County,

SC) married Ann Reid (born Dec. 24, 1747) on January 12, 1769 in SC.

5. James Baskin (born about 1739, died 1790 in Abbeville, SC) married Margaret Pickens on

Sept. 28, 1765 in Augusta County, VA, then married Prudence Reid Crawford on April 3,

1782.

6. Charles Baskin (born about March 1740/41 in Tinkling Springs, Augusta County, VA, died

Aug. 10, 1822 in Augusta County, Va) married Mary Craig in October 1765.

7. Hugh Baskin (born about March 1742/43 in Augusta County, VA, died June 1797 in

Abbeville County, SC) married an unknown woman in 1779, then married Sarah McKinley

Calhoun, widow, about 1786.

8. Elizabeth Baskin (born Dec. 1745 in Orange County, VA, died before 1790) married Isreal

Pickens on March 6, 1768 in SC.

William Baskin, Sr. was the first of our ancestors to come to America. At that time, we were still a loyal British colony on the outskirts of the known world. William and his family, being Scots-Irish, inhabited the edge of the colonies: the Pennsylvania frontier. Many Presbyterian immigrants from Northern Ireland, the Scots-Irish, settled here. They were considered outcasts on both sides of the Atlantic because of their religious beliefs and ancestry. As such, they tended to stick together in groups of like-minded people on the dangerous American frontier, which was the only place they were allowed to settle. As in Northern Ireland, they were generally poor, hard-working people with dreams of a better life in a new land. Some were successful. I would argue that William Baskin, Sr. was one.

William was born in Ireland, probably County Donegal (for there are still many Baskins there today) in approximately 1705. We cannot know what his life was like there, but we can assume it wasn't easy, and he longed for a change. So, in about 1730, William and his friend, John Pickens, came to the Pennsylvania colony in the New World, as had so many of their countrymen in the few years prior. William first settled in East Nottingham Township in Chester County and moved to the newly opened Paxton region a few years later. William may have been married before he came to Pennsylvania, but it seems more likely that he married there.

Little is known of William's wife, Mary Stuart/Stewart, but it seems she and William began having children shortly after William's arrival in Pennsylvania. Whether she was born in Ireland or the New World we may never know, but we can be sure her life wasn't easy. She must have shared William's religious beliefs, and she surely lived on the frontier with her growing family. William and Mary had eight children who lived to be recorded - 6 boys and 2 girls. Mary must have been pregnant and/or nursing for the better part of 14 years! First came John in 1731, then Thomas in 1733, Margaret in 1735, William, Jr. in 1735/36, James in 1739, Charles in 1740/41, Hugh in 1742/43, and finally Elizabeth in 1745. It appears Mary Stuart/Stewart Baskin would have been about 40-45 years old by the time she gave birth to Elizabeth. Imagine it: 45 years old, living on the American frontier with your husband and 8 young children. I think we can safely assume that Mary was a tough lady!

In the middle of all of this, about 1740, the Baskin and Pickens families moved again - this time to Orange County (later Augusta County), Virginia. There the family clearly joined the congregation of Rev. John Craig at the (Augusta) Stone Presbyterian Church. Rev. Craig, a prominent minister, baptized Charles Baskin on March 15, 1741. This would prove fateful for Charles, as he later married Rev. Craig's daughter, Mary.

Life seems to have improved for the Baskins after they moved to Virginia. In 1742 William's name appeared on the muster roll there. He apparently served as constable for the area until 1745 when he resigned. In 1747, 42 year old William became a road overseer and purchased 212 acres on Lewis Creek. In 1749 he purchased another 232 acres from John Pickens on Buffalo Run, and the family had a servant in 1752 and 1761. Clearly the Baskins were living the American dream of their time - they had joined the land-owning class. William and Mary must have been glad to have so many sons to help with work on the farm.

But work on the farm wasn't the only work available to a young man on the frontier. There were constant threats to the safety of the settlement from the native people of this land. When the Indians joined forces with the French to make war on the British colonies, young men were called to fight. Both William, Jr. (age 21) and John Baskin (age 25) were members of Captain Isreal Christian's company August 9, 1756. William, Jr. continued his service during the French and Indian Wars in Pennsylvania, and was stationed at Fort Ligonier in 1761 - 62.

All of this fighting opened up a new land on the South Carolina frontier new the current Georgia border, and in 1763, after the war concluded, John Baskin moved there and purchased land. He must have been doing well there, because soon he had convinced the whole family to join him - around 1765. William and Mary had already celebrated the marriage of their son, Thomas, to Margaret Hartgrove in 1759, and in 1765 the had more reason to celebrate. In that year Charles married the Rev. Craig's daughter, Mary, and John married Elizabeth, who may have been Mary's sister. But this happiness was short-lived as William, Sr. died that year, too.

Do you know these people?

(Left to Right:  Gertrude, Willie, Lillian, Abner Mack, Rose Ella, and George Baskin)

From Aunt Vada & Uncle Red's collection, contributed by Fred Baskin.

     Do you know these people?  Well, neither did I until I started researching our family history!  Now they and their (our) ancestors are very familiar to me although I never knew them.  That's what this blog is going to be about:  keeping our ancestors alive in our memories and learning where we came from in the process.  I won't post anything about living people unless you give me permission as I know that identity theft is a big concern, but those who have passed will be explored in as much detail as I can manage.

     So, let me get to answering that question:  Who are these people?!  Well most of the people reading this, myself included, are descended from Abner Mack Baskin.  The other people in this photo are his siblings and one sister-in-law, Gertrude (who is Willie's wife).  I don't know exactly when this photo was taken, but from the clothing and the people in the photo, I suspect it's from the 1930s or 1940s, probably in Texas.  I'll tell you more about them as we go along.

     This post is meant as an introduction to this blog, so I wanted to explain how I plan to lay all this information out for you.  I'm going to start with our first ancestor who came to America, then a British colony, William Baskin, Sr.  From there we will move forward following our ancestral line to the present.  Let me tell you now, our family has always been prolific, so there will be a lot of names introduced.  However, I will only expound upon those we are actually descended from.  I may make an exception here and there for a particularly interesting uncle or cousin, but otherwise they won't be included.  There are just too many of them!

     My plan is to post once a week for now, and if you have anything to add - photos, stories, recipes, etc. - please email me so that I can include these things!  Hopefully this will become a collaboration and a way for all of us to come together now and then.  I hope you like it!

Alicia