| 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
|
| Children |
| | 1. Sarah Atkisson, b. CA 1838, Tennessee  , d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 2. Rev William Albert Atkinson, b. 3 Mar 1841, Jefferson Co, IL , d. 28 Nov 1928, Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia, USA (Age 87 years) |
| | 3. James Atkisson, d. Yes, date unknown |
|
West Virginia Pioneers
1813 - Yes, date unknown