Name: William Akins84 
   Born: c1780
  Place: poss Kentucky co VA
   Died: c1822-1829
  Place: prob Clark Co IN122 
Y-Haplo: R-FT75620
Married: 1807

William's last name is found spelled variously as Akin, Akins, Aiken and Eakin. I've adopted the spelling Akins because most of his children appear to have used it. He appears on a 1809 voter list for Clark county IN as William Eakin and on a roster of soldiers who fought at Tippacanoe in 1811, also as William Eakin.

William may have married first Polly Goodwin in 1800.⁷ He married Rebecca McClintick, one would guess, by the time of the birth of their first known child in 1808. That William's step-father may have been William Goodwin makes the first marriage interesting. It appears that William Goodwin's brother, James Goodwin (c1760-) had a daughter named Polly.

The 1820 census indicates that there were ten children in William's household. In 1830, there were only nine. We might assume, then, that one of the eldest children, possibly a son, married by 1830. Basic data for his family comes from The McClintick-McClintock Clans of America, 1998, by George Stuart.¹²²

John Akins	1808–1860	John was born 2 May 1808 and died in Clark county IN, 31 Jan 1860. He's buried in the McClintick Family Cemetery. His widow's name was Margaret. She's found living with the William Adams family in 1860 as Margaret Aikin.
William Franklin Akins	1809-1880+	Shown on census records as Frank, Franklin and Francis. He is said to have been born in Clark county IN. He married Ann Odem or Ann Hazard in 1834. Last found on the 1880 census.
Amos Akins	1810-	Said to have been born in Clark county.
Willis Akins	1812-	He married Louisa Clark, 2 March 1831.
Jane T Akins	1812-1876	Born 5 Jan 1812. Married Jacob Miller. She died 21 Nov 1876 in Le Claire, Scott co IA.
Mary Akins		She married Washington Lewis.
Rebecca Akins	c1817-	Married William Henry Goss 24 Sep 1838 in Clark county IN. Goss m2 Rhoda Ann Tatlock with whom he had his children.
Lusinda Akins	-c1836	She married William H Prather, the second of his four wives. He m2 Rebecca Moore in Clark co IN in 1837. We might assume that Lusinda had died by then.8
Milton J Akins	1819-1897	Married Hannah E Stacey, 5 Jan 1843. The Bloomington World (Monroe co IN), 4 Nov 1897: "Milton J. Akin, one of Monroe county's prominent citizens died at his home four miles north-west of the city Tuesday night after an illness of three months of liver and kidney complications. He was 77 years of age, leaves a family and was a member of the Methodist Church. The funeral occurs from the late residence this morning at 10 o'clock and the interment will be at Rose Hill." Find A Grave Memorial# 53018263.
Laurinda Akin	1821-1855	She married David Cooley.

The 1880 census records for William and Milton state their father was born in Kentucky.

From chapter 4 of The McClintick-McClintock Clans of America:¹²²

William was a bricklayer and built the first jail in Jeffersonville, IN.

In fact, it was William's probable step-father, William Goodwin, who was commissioned to build the jail:

A special session of the court of general quarter sessions for Clark county was held in Jeffersonville on Saturday. August 14, 1802, at which were present Marston G. Clark, James N. Wood, and William Goodwin. A plan for a jail was adopted and filed with the clerk of the court until the 19th of August, at which time the contract for the construction of the buildings was let to the lowest bidder. William Goodwin being the lowest bidder, to him was awarded the contract, with Davis Floyd as surety on a bond of $900. Mr. Floyd was deputed to select the site for the building.⁹ At the session of January 5, 1803, a contract was awarded William Akins to build a jailor's house adjoining the county jail on the north. This house, as well as the jail, was built two stories in height, of hewed logs, with plank floors, stone chimney, and a fire-place in each room.³

The following entries are found on the 1820 census for Indiana. Note that the McClinticks were William's in-laws.

1820 > INDIANA > CLARK > JEFFERSONVILLE Series: M33 Roll: 13 Page: 27 John McClentick Jun 110010 21110 William McClentick 000300 40040 Samuel McClentick 000301 11001 William Akins 420010 31010

Although his grave site is unknown, it has been stated that William died c1844. That's the year his estate was probated. However, this entry is found on the 1830 census.

1830 > INDIANA > CLARK > JEFFERSONVILLE Series: M19 Roll: 28 Page: 42 Mrs(?) Rabecca Akins 0103100000000 0220001000000

In fact, comparing the handwriting with other entries on the same page, "Mrs" might actually read "Wid" Rabecca Akins. Perhaps it's not unusual to find three widows listed on the same page from the 1830 census but it might be worth investigating for an incident that might have left several settlers dead just prior to that year.

An important method genealogists use is to look at persons of the same surname, in the same county and of the same era as the subject. The results can sometimes be illuminating but often lead nowhere, oftentimes because the new information is about persons that were not related.

So, to that end, the genealogy of Ransom W Akin may be helpful. He was born in Clark county, Indiana 18 October 1806. That would put him in the right place and time to have been a son of William but, in fact, he was a son of Josiah and Rebecca (Stewart) Akin, natives of Virginia.¹ Since it is guessed that our William was himself a Virginian, we have a closely matching family.

An online article by Laura Stewart Civey tells us this about Ransom's parents:

Josiah [born 15 March 1777] was major in the Home Guards in New Albany, IN. His parents came to Kentucky from James River, VA. His father William Akin was ambushed in 1782 by Indians and killed on his way to the mill, which was located near the falls of the Ohio Rr. in Beargrass, VA. (now Jefferson Co., KY.) His mother Mary Wallace was born 1745 and died Nov. 1824. After the death of her husband, she remarried William Goodwin, who was born 1758 and died Aug. 1825.²

Could it be that our William was a brother of Josiah and the son of William of Beargrass, Virginia? Consider the following:

William Akin was witness to the will of James Stewart, Josiah Akin's father-in-law: STEWART, James. Will dated 4 April 1810; probated 22 March 1813. Heirs: wife [name not given]; children, Stephen, Isaac, Merchant, David, Elizabeth, Rebecca; Sarah FLEEHART (relationship not indicated). Witnesses: William GOODWIN, William AKIN, Amos H. GOODWIN. pp. 112-13.⁴

Battle of Tippecanoe, Roll of Capt. Norris's Company of Infantry of the Indiana Militia, from September 11 to November 24 1811. Note that William served with the Goodwin brothers and members of the families McClintick, Stacey and Prather:
John Norris, Captain, wounded in action Nov. 7; John Harrod, Lieut.; Joseph Carr, Ensign; George Drummond, Sergeant; William Coombs, Sergeant; Bazil Prather, Sergeant; David Smith, Sergeant; Henry Ward, Corporal; John Harman, Corporal; Joel Combs, Corporal; Robert Hombs, Corporal; David Kelly, Corporal, appointed Corporal Sept. 30; Elisha Carr, Drummer; Joseph Perry, Fifer. Privates: Robert McNight; William Stacey; Gasper Loots; Samuel Duke; Edward Norris; James Shipman; Henry Cusamore; Peter Sherwood; C. Fipps; George Ditsler; John Gray; John Kelly; Jacob Daily; David Cross; Thomas Clendennan, killed in action Nov. 7; Robert Cunningham; Abraham Kelly, substituted in place of Samuel Walker and killed Nov. 7; Henry Jones, killed in action Nov. 7; James Curry; Samuel McClung, Q. M. Sergt., Sept. 27; James Smith; John Perry; Jeris Fordyce; Benoni Wood; James Kelly; Cornelius Kelly; Amos Goodwin; E. Wayman; William Harman; John Newland; John Tilferro; Micajah Peyton; Loyd Prather; Adam Peck; Samuel McClintick; Benj. Thompson; John Weathers; William Eakin; Evan Arnold; John D. Jacob; Hugh Espy; Robert Tippin; Townly Ruby; John McClintick; William Rayson; William Aston; Reubin Slead; Josiah Taylor; George Hooke; Daniel McCoy; Jacob Pearsall; Henry Hooke; Samuel Neal; Thomas Highfill; Robert McClellan; James Taylor.⁵

He appears as a registered voter in Clark county, Indiana Territory, 1809. Clarksville twp: Apraham Appler, John Prather, Basel R. Prather, William Bowman, William Stacy, Isaac Holeman, John McClintick, David Spangler, John McClintick Jr, Aaron Prather, John Douthett, Saml. McClintick, Samuel McClintick Jr, Jeremiah Jacobs, Thomas Jacobs, John Jacobs, Eli Jacobs, William Lemon, Henry Bottorff, Walter Prather, John Swartz, William Eakin.⁶

William had sons John, Willis and Amos. Might they have been named for John, Willis and Amos Goodwin, his presumed half-brothers?

None of this is conclusive but it is a very strong lead and suggests that William's parents may have been William Akin (-1782) and Mary Wallace (1754-1824) who married secondly William Goodwin. The early deaths of both William Akins would explain the paucity of information for the family.

1. History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana. Chicago: Godspeed Bros and Co, 1884. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/6718/sulbioref-11.htm

2. "Descendants of Rebecca Stewart". Mayes & Akin Genealogy. Laura Stewart Civey. http://lauracivey.tripod.com/Akin.html

3. "Chapter XXVIII, Jeffersonville - Civil History". History of the Ohio Falls Cities and Their Counties, With Illustrations and Bibliographical Sketches. Vol 2. Cleveland, Ohio: L A Williams and Company, 1882.

4. http://genealogytrails.com/ind/clark/wills1801-1817.html

5. Filson Club Publications #15, The Battle of Tippecanoe. Read before the Filson Club, November 1, 1897 by Captain Alfred Pirtle. Louisville, KY: John P Morton and Company, 1900. http://www.archive.org/stream/no15publications00filsuoft/no15publications00filsuoft_djvu.txt

6. "IN Periodicals Hoosier recorded as Extract #3018 Naomi Keith Sexton, Hoosier Journal of Ancestry, 1-15: p2 Voters in Clark co, IN Territory 1809" as posted at http://genforum.genealogy.com/goodwin/messages/4911.html

7. R. C. Ballard, and Thruston, Jefferson County Virginia-Kentucky Early Marriages (Owensboro, Kentucky: The Filson Club, 1941).

8. See http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=prather2222&id=I138

9. Davis Floyd was a nephew of John Floyd, for whom there is some discussion in the article on William Eakin.