Creed Thomas Haskins, Prudence R. Jeffries & William C. Sandys of Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Creed Thomas Haskins was born 1799 in Virginia, USA[5, 3]. His death on 29 Dec 1887 in Mecklenburg, Virginia, USA (number one district)[6]. Cause of Death was old age[6]. Burial in Warren, North Carolina, USA (Mount Auburn Christian Church cemetery, Manson)[5].

Creed was an educated and established farmer in the Spanish Grove and Palmer Springs areas of Mecklenburg County. Much of his wealth came from inheritances of his wife, Prudence R. Jeffries Sandys. Creed and Prudence were married by Elder William Richards of Bethel [Baptist] Church. Creed thereafter became the stepfather of her three young girls. Creed appears to have been admirable in that role; making certain that the girls received all they were due from the estates of their father and mother.

The Haskins family lived on 428 acres to the right of the road leading from Bethel Church toward Spanish Grove, near the intersection of modern-day Trottinridge Road and Country Way. Creed purchased this property in the mid-to-late 1830s from Asa Garner, William and Mary Richards and Miles Wagstaff, for a total of three dollars. There must have been a logical reason for the low sales price but that reason is unknown to me at this time. Creed sold this parcel to the same Miles Wagstaff in 1856 for $2,600; containing roughly 440 acres.

Around the time of his wife’s death, Creed moved to Palmer Springs, just north of the state line. He lived near his son Thomas and began attending Mount Auburn Christian United Church of Christ in Manson, North Carolina. Creed was probably one of its founding members and was one of the first burials in its cemetery. It was during this time that Creed proceeded to sell most of his personal property, including a sizable number of slaves. He lived a life of content poverty until his passing away at the age of eighty-eight.

Creed Thomas Haskins and Prudence R. Jeffries. They were married on 31 Jul 1828 in Mecklenburg, Virginia, USA[7].

Prudence R. Jeffries [1, 2]. She was born Bet. 1797–1798 in Virginia, USA[3]. She died on 26 Oct 1859 in Mecklenburg, Virginia, USA[4]. Cause of Death was dropsy of the heart[4].

It is hard to say whether Prudence was the daughter of Richard Jeffries or Burwell Russell. She was born shortly after Burwell died and around the time her mother remarried to Richard Jeffries. It is known that Prudence’s brother (or half-brother) Richard Russell was quite fond of the girl. He referred to her as his sister and even left her $1,000 in his will. Richard also served as her guardian after the death of Richard Jeffries and gave his consent when Prudence married. It is also notable that Prudence’s name is frequently given as Prudence R. Jeffries. Perhaps the “R” stood for Russell, keeping her father’s last name despite an adoption by Richard Jeffries?

Prudence grew up in the area around Spanish Grove and attended Bethel [Baptist] Church. She was baptized by Elder William Richards at a young age and he performed both of her marriage ceremonies. Religion was important to Prudence and “she had the pleasure of seeing her husband and all her children gathered into the church” before she passed away.

Prudence first married William C. Sandys but he died after a short and fruitful union. They had three daughters: Mary R. married an unknown Crowder and then Drury Major, Margarete W. married Thomas R. McDearman and Elizabeth C. married Richard Joseph Jeffries, William Holloway and Nathaniel M. Norwood.

Prudence remarried to Creed Thomas Haskins and had four children by him: John R., Lucy Catherine married William D. Gregory and Lewis Jackson Peoples, Jane M. married Cicero A. Coleman and Henry W. Burnett and Thomas Jeffress married Martha Helen Read.

Despite sizable inheritances from her deceased father, first husband and half-brother, Prudence maintained a devout and humble lifestyle. I do not believe Prudence spent any of the money she inherited. The $1,000 from the estate of her brother was still in the bank when she died…seven years later.

According to Prudence’s obituary, “she was beloved by all who knew her. She was always an active, praying Christian and enjoyed her hope more and more as she approached the grave. The day before her death she seemed to get a foretaste of heaven - her faith and hope were in lively exercise. She exhorted all her friends, and spoke of death as only going on a journey. She sung several favorite hymns, and appeared very much improved, so that her friends began to entertain hope of her recovery; but next day she breathed her last whilst sitting in her chair. She filled all the relations of life with credit, and has left an example worthy of our imitation.”

Prudence was probably buried at Bethel Church or in a family cemetery near Spanish Grove. She is not buried at Mount Auburn Church with her husband Creed as that cemetery was not established until 1880.

William C. Sandys and Prudence R. Jeffries. They were married on 02 Jul 1816 in Mecklenburg, Virginia, USA[1, 10]

William C. Sandys[1]. He was born Bet. 1775–1794[9]. He died Bet. Aug 1820–Jul 1828[7, 9].

Not much is known about William and his childhood. He may have been the son of John Sandy(s) of New Kent County. There is a deed in 1829 where William purchased the rights to a piece of land, at auction, for eighty dollars. The land was formerly occupied by a John Sandy but he had since passed away. It is possible that William’s mother was alive, living on the property, and he bought it at a debt auction from Thomas and Martha Haley, through David Shelton. Perhaps John Sandy or his wife put up their property as collateral and could not repay that debt. William thereafter bought the property to keep them from being evicted…just a theory but it seems to make sense.

William possibly served in the War of 1812 as part of the Virginia Militia’s 6th Artillery Regiment, attaining the rank of corporal. He amassed a sizable estate, owned numerous slaves and was always in the market for a good investment. In 1819 William and his wife's relative, Paul C. Jeffries, bought a lot at the corner of Mill and Market streets in the newly established town of Abbyville. I suppose they were going to start some type of business there but Paul sold out of the project a few years later. Paul also sold William his interest in the estate of his father, Richard Jeffries, including his interest in the land upon which William and Prudence were then living.

William died at a young age and rather unexpectedly, having failed to create any type of will. I have not copied his estate papers to date but that is on my list of things to do. It appears that his wife inherited most of his personal property but I am not certain about any real estate holdings. It does not appear that Prudence brought any land into her marriage with Creed Haskins. It was perhaps sold at auction for the support of her three young daughters before she and Creed were wed.

Sources

1. Mecklenburg County, Virginia, Marriage Bonds & Consent Papers, 1800-1820, N-Y, Sandys-Jeffries bond, frame 0373.
2. Local Government Records Collection, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, Chancery Causes, 1783-1941 (Richmond, Virginia: The Library of Virginia), Thomas McDearman & wife v. Creed T. Haskins, etc., 1860-008.
3. Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005), Database online. Regiment 22, Mecklenburg, Virginia, roll M432_960, page 119, image 237.Record for Creed T. Haskins.
4. Religious Herald (Richmond, Virginia: W. Sands, 1828-), Mrs. Prudence Haskins obituary, December 8, 1859.
5. Mount Auburn Christian Church cemetery, Drewry-Virginia Line Road, Manson, North Carolina, Creed Thomas Haskins tombstone.
6. BVS, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, Deaths, 1853-96, C. T. Haskins entry, 1887, p. 1, line 40.
7. Katherine B. Elliott, Marriage Records 1811-1853, Mecklenburg County, Virginia (South Hill: Prestwould Chapter DAR, 1962), 79.
8. Mecklenburg County, Virginia, Will Book 25, 1884-1888, Creed T. Haskins will, 518-519.
9. Ancestry.com, 1820 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004), Database online. , Mecklenburg, Virginia, roll M33_130, page 149, image 286.Record for William Sandys.
10. Vogt & Kethley, Virginia Historic Marriage Register, Mecklenburg County Marriages, 1765-1853 (Athens, Georgia: Iberian Publishing Co., 1989), 122.