Sir Walter Raleigh's 1584 Charter

ELIZABETH by the Grace of God of England, Fraunce and Ireland Queene, defender of the faith, &c. To all people to whome these presents shall come, greeting.

Knowe yee that of our especial grace, certaine science, and meere motion, we haue given and graunted, and by these presents for us, our heires and successors, we giue and graunt to our trustie and welbeloued seruant Walter Ralegh, Esquire, and to his heires assignee for euer, free libertie and licence from time to time, and at all times for ever hereafter, to discover, search, finde out, and view such remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries, and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince, nor inhabited by Christian People, as to him, his heires and assignee, and to every or any of them shall seeme good, and the same to haue, horde, occupie and enjoy to him, his heires and assignee for euer, with all prerogatives, commodities, jurisdictions, royalties, privileges, franchises, and preheminences, thereto or thereabouts both by sea and land . . .

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If nothing else, reading this charter will demonstrate that convoluted and well night incomprehensible legal language is not a recent invention.

Lat-Long.com

This site contains the exact latitude and longitude of more than two million places in the United States. This includes churches, schools, cemeteries, county seats, communities and other items of potential genealogical or historical interest.

For example, to see a list of Hancock County cemeteries extracted from Lat-Long.com: Click Here.

To visit Lat-Long.com: Click Here.

Hancock County 1860 Mortality Schedules

Mortality schedules were taken in addition to the regular census; they recorded any person that died within the year of when the census was taken. Note: The mortality schedules like a lot of information are only as good as the person who gave them. Some households may not have reported family deaths to the census taker.

To see the compiled 1860 mortality schedules for Hancock County: Click Here.

Who Were the Parents of the Mullins Children?

Submitted by MHS board member Katherine James

I have seen and heard many discussions on the “three” sets of children from the marriages of Nancy Gibson and Madison Mullins, etc. The following should clarify the confusion on these three sets of children.

I. Nancy Jane Gibson, daughter of Kenner Gibson and Hettie Collins married Elbert Mullins, son of John and Mehala Collins on July 20, 1871 (Taylor notes). The following sons were born to them:

1. Howard Mullins born 1873 .
2. Kinley Mullins born 1876
3. Thomas Mullins born 1879

Elbert Mullins , born 1851 married 2 nd Eliza Seals, daughter of John Seals from below Sneedville. They lived on the Panther Creek side of Newman’s Ridge. Nancy’s sister, Elizabeth Gibson married Elbert’s brother Rubin Mullins.

Madison was the son of Jimmy Mullins and Nance Collins. Jimmy was the son of “hairlip ” Jim and Nance was the daughter of Eva n Collins and Mehala Delp.

Madison Mullins was living in the household of Thomas Bell in 1870.

II. Nancy Gibson Mullins, daughter of Kenner and Hettie Collins Gibson, who had been previously married to Elbert Mullins then married Madison Mullins on January 20, 1879. The following children were born to them:

4. Keener Mullins born 1880
5. Brownlow Mullins , who married Maude Collins daughter of Conoway and Hannah Bell who was the daughter of Burdine Bell.
6. Hillary Mullins, born 1886

Madison Mullins married Eliza Mullins on July 15, 1888. Rev. Abijah Collins officiated.

III. Nancy Gipson Mullins Mullins (who had previously been married to Elbert Mullins and Madison Mullins) then married William Davidson on September 8,1889. The following children were born to them:

7. Marshall Davidson, born February 28, 1888 who married Orpha Collins, daughter of Rev. Lewis Collins (son of Silas who was the son of Solomon Collins and Orpha Collins, who was the daughter of Martin and Elizabeth Collins).

8. Luther Davidson , born May 8, 1892, died April 6, 1938 of pneumonia who married Flora Goins, daughter of Tennessee Goins and Kyra Collins Goins. Luther and his brother Garrett Hobert Davidson both died the same day of pneumonia.

9. Pearly Davidson, born, 1896 married Madison Oaks , son of

Bill and Martha Goodman Oaks.

10. (Garrett) Hobert Davidson, Was born November 6, 1898 and died April 6, 1938. He married Sallie Johnson of Harlan County, KY.

Hill Mullins is listed as born 1886 and stepson of Willie

Davidson on 1900 census for Hancock County, Tennessee . Also living with Nancy and Willie was her brother, Hilary Gibson, shown as a brother-in-law to Willie.

( Willie’s sister Cornelia (Neila) Davidson , married Nancy’s nephew, son of her brother Preston Gibson .)

That it was Nancy Gib(p)son Mullins who mothered the 11 children is further supported by the 1900 census where Nancy is married for 12 years to William (Willie) Davidson , son of Jeb “Gib Davidson and the mother of 11 with 10 still living. She very well could have had one child who was born and died in the 20 years between 1880 and 1900 and was not picked up on the census.

Willie Davidson’s 2 nd wife was Lindy Moore.

Note: Sarah Gibson was a first cousin to my great grandfather, Jarvis Gibson. Jarvis’ mother Mary and Nancy’s father Kenner were children of Joseph Fisher Gibson. Fisher’s children were Morning, Preston, Mary, Kenner, Zachariah and Jim. There are a number of marriages between the Mullins and Gibson families.

Virginia Mountain Music Guide

The Virginia Mountain Music Guide leads to over 160 festivals, jams, concerts, and dances in Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains. Whether you love the fiddle and banjo tunes of old-time string bands, the tight harmonies of bluegrass, the hopeful sounds of gospel singing, the moods of the blues guitar, or the tragedies of ballads, The Virginia Mountain Music Guide shows you where to go for live roots music in Southwest Virginia.

To visit: Click Here.

Melungeons Featured on "Inside Appalachia" This Weekend

The hour long radio program "Inside Appalachia" -- produced by West Virginia Public Radio -- will feature MHS President Wayne Winkler and and academic and author Katherine VandeBrake discussing Melungeons and Katherine's recent book "Through The Back Door: Melungeon Literacies and 21st Century Technologies."

The program airs at various times Saturday and Sunday on various stations but is already available online for broadband users.

For the schedule or to download as an MP3 file: Click Here.

To download as a podcast: Click Here.

Katherine VandeBrake will be one of the speakers at the first Annual MHS Conference June 12th in Rogersville, Tennessee. For more information: Click Here.

Multiracial People Become Fastest-growing US Group

By Hope Yen
Associated Press
May 28, 2009

WASHINGTON – Multiracial Americans have become the fastest growing demographic group, wielding an impact on minority growth that challenges traditional notions of race.

The number of multiracial people rose 3.4 percent last year to about 5.2 million, according to the latest census estimates. First given the option in 2000, Americans who check more than one box for race on census surveys have jumped by 33 percent and now make up 5 percent of the minority population — with millions more believed to be uncounted.

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If only the Melungeons could have known they were ahead of their times . . .