Over the Mountains They Came, One by One

   I'm fairly certain all my relatives came over the mountains to settle in the hills of Tennessee. Probably they traveled different routes. One of those ancestors was William M. Evins.  He was born  August 11, 1787. There is some confusion as to exactly where he was born.  His children at different times said he born was born in Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina. So, who knows which path he took over the mountains..
   About 1810 William married Elizabeth Woolsey. Together they had thirteen children over a span of 22 years. One of their children was my ggg grandfather, William A. Evins. Other children included Martha, John, Aaron, James, Elizabeth, Samuel, Wesley, Elvira, Manerva, Susanna Matilda, Nancy and Sarah. On a Culleoka side note Samuel became a preacher, and at some point he was the pastor at  Friendship Baptist Church in Culleoka.. Two of Samuel's sons, Wesley and Benton, operated the Evins' Brothers Store in Culleoka beginning in 1893.
   By the early 1800's William had moved into Middle Tennessee. The first official record of a land purchase was in 1818.  He bought 69 acres of land in Bedford County for $241. Not much is known about William or his children.  He was probably a struggling farmer raising a house full of young'ems.  He and his wife were buried in Old Flat Creek Cemetery in Bedford County.  Near their graves are three broken headstones bearing the names of Manerva, Martha and Wesley, their children.  William A. and his wife were buried in this cemetery as well..

William M. and Elizabeth Evins

William A. Evins