General Notes

Henry was a member of the House of Burgesses.

Early Virginia Families Along the James River, Volume I, Foley, 1974, indicates Henry Wadkins, 60 acs. Henrico Co., in Varina Par., N. side of James Riv., 23 Oct. 1690, p. 122 (Patent book #8).  Adj. his own, Tho. Wales, and land of Madam Bland, on run of Turkey Island Cr.  Import of 2 pers:  Robert. Fellows, Jno. Trotman.
Source: Henry Watkins of Henrico County, Jane Allen 1985.  He was a sometime member of the House of Burgesses.  His will "Wadkins" was proved 7 Feb 1715. The order of children in this text is:John, Benjamin, Joseph, Henry, Stephen, and Mary.  Only Mary had a birthdate (1682).

Virgina Mag. of Hist. & Biog., Vol. 25, pp. 52-58, an article by William Clayton Torrence begins "One of the most interesting families in Virginia
from the point of view of economic, social and political development is the distin- guished Watkins family."  He gives some of the records of the first Henry Watkins, and then says "His life was to all appearances a rather hard one.  As a member of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, he naturally clashed with the authorities."  Mr. Torrence went on to enumerate several clashes that Henry had with the law and said
he also encountered rebuke from his "brethern in the faith."  He said further "The name of Watkins in the South has ever been synonymous with strength of character, and mental ability, and it is interwoven with the fabric of her spiritual and material life.  The church, the school, the state all bear the impress of this family's influence."

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 44, p. 168, says "The Watkins genealogy includes many men and women of prominence, e.g., George Walton, signer of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, U.S. Senator from Virginia, and Madame Octavia Walton Le Vert, the writer."