BY                                              

                     VIRGINIA WATKINS/EDMONDSON                                                                                                                             

CALVIN WATKINS AND HIS THREE SONS AND THREE DAUGHTERS BY GILLIE HUNTER WATKINS AND HIS THREE SONS  BY MARTHA HUNTER HARRIS ARE NOW DECEASED.CALVIN'S CHILDREN WERE BORN IN LEBANON TENN.IT IS TO BE NOTED THAT CALVIN MOVED FROM LEBANON, TENN TO PADUCAH, KY LEAVING HIS FAMILIES IN TENN.AT THIS TIME NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT CALVIN'S HISTORY IN KENTUCKY. CALVINS TWO YOUNGEST CHILDREN,FRANCEWAY WATKINS,SON OF MARTHA HUNTER HARRIS AND ROI WATKINS,SON OF GILLLIE HUNTER WATKINS WAS BORN AROUND THE  EARLY 1900s (1900-1905). CALVINS SONS,WILLIE AND ROI WATKINS MOVED TO DETROIT MICH..PAUL WATKINS MOVED TO CLEVELAND,OHIO. FRANCEWAY JOINED PAUL IN CLEVELAND AND LIVED THERE UNTIL HE DIED.MARGIE WATKINS MOVED TO PONTIAC,MICH. AND REMAINED THERE UNTIL HER DEATH.OLLIE,JOHN,SALLIE,AND JANIE REMAINED IN LEBANON,TENN.CALVIN WATKINS HAD 25 KNOWN GRANDCHILDREN.TEN GRANDCHILDREN  ARE NOW LIVING.BILLIE WATKINS OF LEBANON TENN,BORN AUG 2,1931 WAS THE YOUNGEST GRANDCHILD AND ELNORA BURFORD FULTS OF LEBANON ,TN .WAS THE OLDEST LIVING GRANDCHILD BORN MAY 23 ,1913.THE AGES OF CALVIN'S LIVING GRANDCHILDREN  RANGE FROM 62-80 YEARS OF AGE. 

 DEMOGRAPHICALLY,THE GRANDCHILDREN  REMAINED

IN MIDDLE TENN.OR SETTLED IN THE DETROIT,MICH. AREA OR THE CLEVELAND OHIO AREA.                                 

THE GREAT GRANCHILDREN HOWEVER ARE SCATTERED THROUGH    THE UNITED STATES,(OHIO,TENN.VIRG.,FLA,

MICH,KY,NV,NEW MEX..)THE AGE RANGE FOR CALVIN"S

LIVING GREAT GRANDCHILDREN( 51) IS FROM 32-52 YEARS OLD.A PROJECTED STATISTIC FOR THE GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILDREN WOULD BE THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST 102.THE AGE RANGE FROM INFANT-35 YEARS OF AGE.THE GROUP OF CHILDREN WOULD INCLUDE SMALL CHILDREN TO YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE MARRIED,ATTENDING COLLEGE,OR HIGH SCHOOL.SOME ARE SINGLE AND IN THE WORKFORCE.SOME OF THESE ARE STILL AT HOMES WITH THEIR PARENTS.

                                 

ORAL HISTORY
                                                                          

1.  JAN.28,1990,LEBANON TENN.NEIL RICE GAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CONCERNING HER GRANDFATHER CALVIN WATKINS AND HER GRANDMOTHER GILLIE WATKINS.GILLIE AND CALVIN HAD SIX CHILDREN  ;JOHN,WILL,ROY,JANIE,SALLY AND MARGIE.          

 

2. GILLIE WATKINS NIECE, MARTHA HUNTER, (CALLED BY THE NICKNAME OF "COUSIN BABE") LIVED WITH HER AUNT GILLIE WATKINS (HER MOTHER'S SISTER).

3. MARTHA HUNTER HAD THREE SONS BY HER AUNT'S HUSBAND CALVIN WATKINS:OLLIE, FRANCEWAY, AND PAUL. (NOTE: OLLIE, HER OLDEST SON, WAS OLDER THAN ROY WATKINS, HER AUNT GILLIE'S BABY SON). 

4. CALVIN WATKINS HAD THE FOLLOWING KNOWN BROTHERS: TOM WATKINS (TOM HAD AT LEAST ONE KNOWN DAUGHTER, ESTELLE. ESTELLE HAD ONE DAUGHTER, ROSETTA. ESTELLE AND ROSETTA MOVED TO CHICAGO)

5. GILLIE WATKINS DIED BETWEEN 1943 AND 1946. SHE WAS 98 YEARS OLD.

6. CALVIN WATKINS LEFT HIS FAMILY BEHIND AND WENT OFF TO PADUCAH, KENTUCKY. NOTHING IS KNOWN OF WHETHER OR NOT HE HAD SONS OR DAUGHTERS THERE. 

7. OCTOBER 25, 1997 LEBANON, TENNESSEE- HOWARD HARRIS, THE SON OF MARTHA HUNTER (HARRIS) GAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY: HIS MOTHER'S SIBLINGS WERE ZELLIE HUNTER (ROBINSON), WALTER AND JOHN. 

8. ZELLIE HUNTER ROBINSON HAD THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN: JANIE MAI (HARRIS), HATTIE SUE, AND FRANCIOLA, CLYDE AND CLEVELAND. TO HIS KNOWLEDGE, ALL THE ABOVE PERSONS ARE DECEASED.

9. MARTHA HUNTER HAD THREE SONS BY CALVIN WATKINS: OLLIE, PAUL, AND FRANCEWAY.

10. INFORMATION CONCERNING THE FAMILIES OF CALVIN WATKINS' SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

OLLIE WATKINS HAD SIX CHILDREN WHO LIVED TO BE ADULTS AND SEVEN CHILDREN THAT DIED OR WERE STILLBORN (WE MENTIONED THE STILLBORN BECAUSE OLLIE COUNTED THEM AND WOULD ALWAYS SAY HE HAD FATHERED 13 CHILDREN): VIRGINIA (EDMONDSON), EUNICE (CARTWRIGHT), CLAUDE, HARRY, BILLIE, AND FRANK. 

JANIE WATKINS (BURFORD) HAD FIVE CHILDREN: ELNORA BURFORD (FULTS), LOUISE (JOHNSON), ETHYLENE (SEAY), MYRTLE (CANTRON), AND ALONZO.

MARGIE WATKINS (SEAY) WAS MARRIED TWO TIMES, BUT HAD NO CHILDREN.

SALLY WATKINS (OFFICER) HAD FOUR CHILDREN: NELL (RICE), CLARA, ANNIE LEE (CASON) AN HUBBARD.

PAUL WATKINS MARRIED TWICE AN HAD THREE CHILDREN BY HIS FIRST WIFE, ANNE: EMMA (EVANS), PAULINE (WENSOM), AND JAMES H.

FRANCEWAY WATKINS MARRIED VALLY WHITE. VALLY AND FRANCEWAY HAD NO CHILDREN, BUT VALLY HAD THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN: MARTHA REE WHITE, ELIZABETH WHITE, BLANCHE WHITE AND SAM WHITE.

JOHN WATKINS HAD ONE SON, J.T. WATKINS.

WILL WATKINS HAD ONE DAUGHTER, GLADYS WATKINS.

ROY WATKINS WAS MARRIED, BUT HAD NO CHILDREN.

11. OCTOBER 25, 1992: HOWARD HARRIS (SON OF MARTHA AND WILL HARRIS AND HALF-BROTHER AND COUSIN TO OLLIE WATKINS) GAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CONCERNING HIS MOTHER'S, MARTHA HARRIS, SIBLINGS: ZELLIE (ROBINSON), WALTER, AND JOHN. 

HOWARD AND WIFE, ESTHER MAI, HAD A DAUGHTER, MARIAN ANN.

JOHNNIE HARRIS WALFORD (A HALF SISTER AND COUSIN TO OLLIE WATKINS) AND HUSBAND, SAM WALFORD, HAD A DAUGHTER, LINDA. 

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Historical Search for Calvin Watkins and Martha Hunter - The great-great-grandparents of Harry Watkins, Jr.

Calvin and Martha were not married and lived in the same household as Calvin and his wife, Gillie Hunter Watkins. Martha was the niece of Gillie. Calvin was born approximately 1872 in Lebanon, TN. Calvin and Gillie were married and had 6 children of their own. Calvin and Martha Hunter had 3 children of their. Ollie Watkins is one of the 3 children between Calvin and Martha, which is the direct lineage of, my father, Harry Watkins, Sr. 

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Why Did Calvin Leave Lebanon, TN? 

The story told by my father, Harry Watkins, Sr., is that Calvin assaulted his master named Moses and fled Lebanon. Did he leave because of that or did he leave because he had sexual relations with his wife's niece, Martha Hunter, whom was 16 years old at the time? In my search of records, I have found Calvin's name mentioned in newspapers working menial jobs in Paducah, KY. Additionally, his name appears as a roomer in a boarding house in Paducah, 1926. What we know about Calvin's parents is limited. We know that on Calvin's death certificate, dated November 8, 1937, he lists the names of his father, Sandy Watkins, and mother, Gilla. We do not know if they were married. We assume that their relationship occurred during slavery when slaves were not allowed to be married. Calvin's age listed on his death certificate is approximately 65 years old, which would place his birth at approximately 1872. We also can assume that Calvin and Sandy took the Watkins name, which is of British origin, from their master. Calvin died in Louisville, KY city hospital on November 8, 1937. The question is: how did he end up in Louisville if he lived in Paducah? In 1937, severe floods in Paducah and Louisville wiped out 70% of the population. Did he go to Louisville seeking care from the aftermath of the floods in Paducah? Maybe there was no medical care in Paducah due to the floods or for African American people. 

One thing we do know, is that Calvin had a brother named Tom. Some of the information we have provided here is consistent with what my father told me before he passed. 

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Additional Information:

Martha Hunter 

Born 1880 - Died 1914

Buried at Rest Hill Cemetery

Zellie Dora Hunter Harris (Martha Hunter's sister)

Born 1882 - Died 1945

Buried at Rest Hill Cemetery   

The sisters were from the Beasley Bend community in Lebanon. When Martha died, Will Harris married Martha's sister Zellie. Their father's name was Henry Hunter. Their mother's name is unknown.