West Virginia Pioneers

Rev William Albert Atkinson

Male 1841 - 1928  (87 years)


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  • Name William Albert Atkinson 
    Prefix Rev 
    Born 3 Mar 1841  Jefferson Co, IL Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3
    Gender Male 
    Died 28 Nov 1928  Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Buried Sunset Memorial Park, South Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 

    • Death Record
      Name: William Albert/Atkinson
      Sex: Male
      Death Date: 28 Nov 1928
      Death Place: Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia
      Age at Death: 87y8m25d
      Cemetery: Sunset Mem Park
      Birth Date: 3/3/1841
      Birth Place: Ill
      Marital Status: M
      Spouse: Lucy/Custer
      Occupation: Retired minister
      Mother: Elizabeth/Mendenhal
      Mother's Birth Place: Tenn
      Father: James/Atkinson
      Father's Birth Place: Temm
      Informant: Mrs A W Atkinson

      REV. W.A. ATKINSON IS TAKEN BY DEATH
      Organized Christian Advent Churches in State 
       
      Rev. W.A. Atkinson, age 87 years, died at his home at 1029 Orange Street Wednesday evening after a short illness. He had retired from the ministry about 13 years ago after serving as pastor and organizer of Christian Advent churches of West Virginia for about forty-five years. He was at one time pastor of the First Christian Advent church, Randolph Street. Rev. Mr. Atkinson was born in Illinois and received his education in that state. He enlisted in the army and served during the Civil war. Before entering the ministry he was engaged in business. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Lucy Custer Atkinson: four daughters, Mrs. Martha Boswell, of Given, Mrs. Laura Staatts, Mrs. Elizabeth Burdette, Mrs. H.M. Rowe, of Charleston. Funeral services will be held on Friday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the First Adventist church in Randolph street with the pastor, Rev. Vern Sizemore assisted by Rev. G.W. Moore, in charge. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Park. Pall bearers will be: active, Marvin Donohoe, Orville Edwards, A.E. Cavender, Byron Taylor, C.E. Dean and J.W. Brookman; honorary, Robert Elmore, Rev. John Elmore, U.S. Albertson, John Donohoe, W.H. Vineyard and J.W. Duff. 
    Person ID I32190  WVPioneers
    Last Modified 18 Nov 2010 

    Father James Newton Atkisson,   b. 1812,   d. 1880  (Age 68 years) 
    Mother Margaret Mendenhall,   b. 1813,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Notes 

    • 1860 Lewis, VA #180
      B F Cozad 30 VA
      Sarah M 22 Tenn
      James B 3 Iowa
      William F 1 VA
      William Atkisson 19 Ill

      More info on findagrave.com

      William and one other brother took the Atkinson spelling, even though their father and two other brothers spelled it ATKISSON. I think they just got tired of fighting it. [Eric Atkisson]

      Birth: Apr. 24, 1812
      Tennessee, USA
      Death: Nov. 21, 1880
      Boone County
      Missouri, USA

      James is believed to be the son of a William and Annie Atkisson, from the Attkissons of Goochland County, Virginia. By the the time he first appeared on record in the 1830 census, living in McMinn County, Tennessee, one or both of his parents were already dead; according to family legend, they died during a wagon trek that was stricken by cholera. James married Margaret Mendenhall, the daughter of John Mendenall and Margaret Gonce, while John's son Isaac married James's sister Elizabeth. Around 1839 both couples and John Mendenall's family moved to Jefferson County, Illinois. In 1850 James and his family lived in Lee County, Iowa, and the 1854 census shows Isaac and Elizabeth's family living next to them. In 1855 James moved his family to a newly purchased property in Wayne County, Iowa, where they lived about a year or more before relocating to Grundy County, Missouri. The 1915 "History of Northwest Missouri, Vol. III" says that James "was one of the early settlers of Grundy County, and had the distinction of operating a grist mill for the benefit of the settlers in the early days."

      His wife Margaret died in Trenton around 1858, and on November 25 of that year he married a widow named Rebecca Burk (Gibson) Shock. In 1860 they appeared on the census in Grundy County with three of James' daughters and two of Rebecca's children by her first marriage. In 1870 he and Rebecca were living alone in Boone County and James was working as a blacksmith. A history of Boone County mentions that he worked as a pastor here at the Rocky Fork Baptist church, and the same history of Northwest Missouri cited above says of James: "He was by profession a Primitive Baptist preacher and was quite successful as a trader."

      Sometime in the early to mid-1870's, he and Rebecca moved to Douglas County, Colorado, where James continued to serve as a "Minister of the Gospel." It may be that he was helping establish a Baptist presence in the county, where Catholics and Methodists then predominated. The last marriage he performed there was in September 1880, and he died two months later back in Boone County, Missouri.

      All four of James' sons rendered service in the War of the Rebellion: Isaac in Company A of Missouri's Mercer County Battalion, Six Months Militia; John W. in Company I of the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry; and William Albert and James Pleasant in Company D of the 15th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry.

      James's sister Elizabeth is buried at the Bentonsport Cemetery in Van Buren County, Iowa near her husband Isaac, who also served in the war. James and Elizabeth had an older brother named Benjamin Atkisson who settled in Greene and Barry counties, Missouri, and who died during the Civil War.
       
       
       Children:
        Isaac Newton Atkisson (1829 - 1891)*
        John W. Atkinson (1835 - 1888)*
        Sarah M. Atkisson Cozad (1838 - 1906)*
        William Albert Atkinson (1841 - 1928)*
        James Pleasant Atkisson (1845 - 1922)*
        Mary Ellen Atkisson Robinson (1849 - 1910)*
        Eliza Pearl Atkinson Ferdon (1853 - 1896)*
        America C. Atkisson Fuller (1855 - 1872)*
       
       Spouses:
        Margaret Mendenhall Atkisson (1813 - ____)
        Rebecca Burk Gibson Atkisson (1812 - 1895
    Family ID F21968  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Eleanor Elizabeth Ransbottom,   b. Feb 1845, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Notes 

    • 1860 Lewis, VA # 218-208 all born VA
      Simeon Ramsbotton 53
      Catherine 51
      Virinda 23 f
      Francis 24 f
      Elizabeth E 16
      Martha J 3/12

      1870 Curtis, Roane, WV # 37-39
      Adkinson, Wm 29 Ill Mar
      Ellen E 25 "" Feb
      Martha 10 WV Apr
      Albert 8 WV Aug
      Laura 5 WV Nov
      Elizabeth 2 WV Sept
      Manerva 2/12 WV Apr

      1880 Ripley, Jackson, WV # 148-149
      Atkisson, William A 39 carpenter Ill Tenn Tenn
      Eleanor E 36 VAVAVA
      Prince A 17 son WV Ill VA
      Laura E 15 da
      Elizabeth C 11 da
      Genevra 9 da
      Olive E 6 da

      Birth Record
      Name: Elnorai I Atkinson
      Birth Date: 28 Jul 1866
      Birth Place: Hackers Creek, Lewis, West Virginia
      Sex: Female
      Mother: Ellen E Atkinson
      Father: William A Atkinson

      Birth: Mar. 3, 1841
      Jefferson County
      Illinois, USA
      Death: Nov. 28, 1928
      Charleston
      Kanawha County
      West Virginia, USA

      The third son of James Atkisson and Margaret Mendenhall, "Preacher Billy" was born in Illinois, but his family moved to Lee County, Iowa around 1849 and then to Wayne County, Iowa in 1856. Around 1858 his mother Margaret died, and the family scattered in several directions, with Billy going to live with his sister Sarah and brother-in-law Benjamin Cozad on their farm in Lewis County, Virginia. There he met his first wife, Eleanor Elizabeth Ransbottom.

      In August 1862, Billy enlisted as a corporal in Company D, 15th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, for service in the War of the Rebellion. His younger brother James also served in the company as a private. Billy was shot in the foot in February 1863 and transferred to the 1st Battalion, U.S. Veteran Reserve Corps in June 1864, where he spent the rest of the war. He and Eleanor had at least six children, one son named Prince Albert and four daughters: Martha Jane, Laura Ellen, Elizabeth Catherine, Geneva, and Olive. Eleanor died sometime between 1880 and 1896, when Billy married his second wife, Lucille "Lucy" May Custer. They had one daughter named Ruth Rebecca.

      Following intentionally or not in his own father's footsteps, Billy pursued a career in the ministry. He served as a pastor and organizer of Christian Advent churches in West Virginia for about 45 years, and was at one time pastor of the First Christian Advent Church on Randolph Street in Charleston. He retired around 1915. The change in spelling of his last name from ATKISSON to ATKINSON was, according to his daughter, the result of a clerical error that began in the Civil War and followed him for years after, and which he eventually gave up fighting.
       
       
      Family links: 
       Parents:
        James Newton Atkisson (1812 - 1880)
        Margaret Mendenhall Atkisson (1813 - ____)
       
       Children:
        Prince Albert Atkisson*
        Martha Jane Atkinson Boswell (1860 - 1936)*
        Elizabeth Catherine Atkinson Burdette (1869 - 1951)*
        Geneva D. Atkinson Jones (1870 - 1926)*
        Olive Ella Atkinson Shaffer (1876 - 1907)*
        Ruth Rebecca Atkinson Shannon (1898 - 1995)*
       
       Spouses:
        Eleanor Elizabeth Ransbottom Atkisson
        Lucy May Custer Atkinson (1860 - 1949)*
    Children 
     1. Martha Jane Atkinson,   b. 3 Apr 1860, Roane County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 May 1936  (Age 76 years)
     2. Prince Albert Atkisson,   b. Aug 1861, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. CA 1892, Kanawha County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 30 years)
     3. Laura Ellen Atkinson,   b. Nov 1864, Roane County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. Elenora I Atkinson,   b. 28 Jul 1866, Lewis County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     5. Elizabeth Catherine Atkinson,   b. Sep 1867, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     6. Minerva Atkinson,   b. Apr 1870, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     7. Geneva D Atkinson,   b. CA 1871, Roane County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     8. Olive E Atkinson,   b. May 1875, Roane County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F9657  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Lucille May Custer,   b. 1860,   d. 1949  (Age 89 years) 
    Married 1896  [3
    Children 
     1. Ruth Rebecca Atkinson,   b. 1898,   d. 1995  (Age 97 years)
    Family ID F21969  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 3 Mar 1841 - Jefferson Co, IL Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S1205] Census.

    2. [S308] Sherry Baker.

    3. [S766] Eric Atkisson.