Eben Tarver Watkins

PROOF CLASS: FATHER = DIRECT (Owen, 12 Oct 2026) - Jefferson Co., Ga. deed p. 740, recorded 1885: Silas Watkins gives land "for and in consideration of the heirship of my son Eben T. Watkins". Register K1010. PROOF CLASS: MOTHER = ARGUMENT (Owen, 12 Oct 2026) - Silas Watkins married Celia Fokes in 1840; the wife in his household is aged to an 1819-1820 birth in every census 1850-1880. Register K1011-K1014. AUDITED 12 Oct 2026 - BOTH PARENTS ENTERED: Silas Watkins (1 Mar 1811 - 18 Nov 1888), farmer, born in North Carolina, and Celia (Fokes) Watkins (born 26 Sep 1820), of Jefferson County, Georgia, both buried at Colemans Chapel near Wadley, where Eben also lies. Eben Tarver Watkins was born 26 Jun 1860 and died at Wadley in November 1925. His own death certificate names no parents. THE QUESTION. Who were the parents of [3420] Eben Tarver Watkins, father of [136] Annie Belle Watkins? THE EVIDENCE. (1) A deed of gift in Jefferson County deed book 1884-1885, page 740, read on the image (K1010): Silas Watkins gives sixty-five acres "for and in consideration of the heirship of my son Eben T. Watkins", the land adjoining S. J., H. A. and W. G. Watkins. Recorded 26 Feb 1885. It names the father; it does not name the mother. (2) The 1870 census, District 83, page 41, read on the image (K1012): Silas Watkins, 59, born North Carolina, with Clarra, 50, Elizabeth 28, Silas J. 23, John E. 20, Henry A. 17, William G. 15, Viana C. 13 and Ebenezer 10. No relationships stated. (3) The 1880 census of Wadley, sheet 257A, read on the image (K1011): Silas, 65, with Rebecca, 60, Wife, and Ebin, 18, Son. (4) The 1860 and 1850 censuses, from the FamilySearch index only (K1013): Silas with Cealy, 40 (1860), and with Celia, 31 (1850). (5) The Jefferson County marriage record, page 280, from the index only (K1014): Silas Watkins and Celia Fokes, 29 Nov 1840. The Find a Grave index for Colemans Chapel (K1014) gives Silas 1811-1888 and Celia born 26 Sep 1820. THE CORRELATION. The deed's Eben T. Watkins is the Ebin, son, of the 1880 household and the Ebenezer, 10, of 1870. The three Watkins neighbours named in the deed are the 1870 sons Silas J., Henry A. and William G. The middle initial T. separates him from Eben N. Watkins (1867-1922) of the same county. The wife in Silas's household is Celia 31 in 1850, Cealy 40 in 1860, Clarra 50 in 1870 and Rebecca 60 in 1880. Every one of those ages puts her birth in 1819-1820, as does Celia's gravestone date. The daughter Cealy C. V., 3, of 1860 is Viana C., 13, of 1870 and Vianna, 21, of 1880, so the household is one family throughout. Celia was about 40 when Eben was born, twenty years into her 1840 marriage. THE CONFLICTS. (a) The 1880 census calls the wife Rebecca. This is read as the enumerator's error for the same woman. Her age follows the same track, no second marriage of Silas has been found, and no Rebecca Watkins of that age appears in the first 50 Watkins rows of the Colemans Chapel listing (K1014). (b) Eben is missing from the 1860 index. He was born 26 Jun 1860, and the enumeration date has not been checked, so a visit before then would miss him. (c) Ebin is 18 in 1880 where 19 or 20 is due, an ordinary drift. (d) The year in the body of the deed is 1882 or 1885, the last digit unclear; it was recorded in 1885, and either way the relationship is the same. (e) The 1850 and 1860 censuses and the marriage were read from the index, not the image. THE CONCLUSION. Father: DIRECT, Silas Watkins, from the deed. Mother: ARGUMENT, Celia (Fokes) Watkins, from the 1840 marriage and the unbroken household 1850-1880. What would overturn the mother: a marriage of Silas Watkins to a Rebecca between 1860 and 1880, or a Rebecca Watkins of his generation buried at Colemans Chapel. What would overturn the father: a second Silas Watkins in the county with a son Eben T.