Most of the author's research on his Pinkston ancestors is confined to his paternal 5th great-grandfather Shadrach Pinkston who was a Patriot soldier during the American Revolution who served in General George Washington's elite Life Guards unit. Please visit this page for a compilation of Shadrack's service records.
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The Pinkston name origin is likely old English and variations of the name are Pinkstone, Pinkerton and possibly Pilkington.
Much of the early history research of the Pinkston family in America appears to be largely anecdotal. One researcher claimed that three brothers arrived in Connecticut in the mid 1700s. They and/or their descendants then moved to Maryland and then on to Virginia. There are records for Pinkstons in Anne Arundel County, Maryland as early as 1695. There are also documents for a Peter and Elizabeth Pinkston in Anne Arundel County and Queen Anne County, Maryland. [1]
Peter Pinkston and Elizabeth (lnu) are said to have had the following known children:
- Hannah - married Henry Jarman
- William - married Martha Nelson
- Peter, Jr.
- Greenberry
Possible descendants of Greenberry Pinkston:
- Henry - remained in Virginia
- Shadrack - moved to Wilkes County, GA
- Greenberry - moved to Montgomery, AL
As noted above, the author's research is limited to his ancestor Shadrach who arrived in Wilkes County, GA in the late 1700s.
Before he arrived in Georgia, Shadrach probably lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, possibly along the Occoquan River. He may have also owned land in Fauquier County. He may have moved to Loudon County which is likely where he met his future wife Athaliza/Athalia Carroll who was the daughter of Dempsey Carroll [2] and Rebecca (lnu) also of Loudon County, VA.
We have numerous records for Shadrach's Revolutionary War service as well as his estate documents when he died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1794. Also, many researchers have done considerable work on his descendants. Since there is a large amount of work out there already on Shadrach and his descendants, the author will only hit the "high spots" here.
Shadrach was born about 1755 in Virginia. He married Athalia/Athaliza Carroll before 1773. Shadrach was in General Daniel Morgan's 11th Virginia Continental unit in 1776 and then he joined General Washington's elite Life Guards unit in 1777. Shadrach was discharged in 1779 and he returned to Virginia. He was awarded 100 acres of land in Ohio County, Kentucky for his service.
Shadrach then may have moved to Rowan County, Kentucky where they lived for a short period of time before then moving to Wilkes County, Georgia about 1785. Shadrach died in 1795 in Wilkes County and we have proof of his descendants from his estate records. [3] After Shadrach died, his widow married another Virginia Revolutionary War soldier Fadda Jarrett (see below). Fadda died in 1813 and Atha then moved with her daughter and grandchildren to Fayette County, Georgia where she later died and is buried. The grave of Shadrach has not been located.
The Will of Shadrach has faded over the years and is mostly illegible; However, we do have some of his estate documents which clearly specify his wife and descendants. [3]
It is hard to determine the exact size of his estate but it was not very large, probably no more than $5000 (about $125,000 today). There are four or five slaves in the records. There was some later legal "squabbling" about his estate not being divided correctly as it would appear that Fadda Jarrett may have claimed a portion of the estate in right of his wife that was due to flow to Shadrach's five living children.
Fadda Jarrett, Atha Jarrett, formerly Pinkston, Shadrach Pinkston and Greenberry Pinkston
(GA Archives)
Notable names found in Shadrach's estate records:
- Athaliza Pinkston - wife
- John C. Pinkston - son
- Fanny Pinkston - daughter
- Charlotte Pinkston - daughter
- Sally Pinkston - daughter
- Green Pinkston - daughter
- Fadda Jarrett - married Shadrach's widow Athaliza
- John Talbot - possibly John Williston Talbot whose son Mathew was Governor of GA
- Thomas Talbot - probably the brother of Governor Mathew Talbot
- Thomas Eidson -brother of John Eidson (below)
- John Eidson - died about 1816. Grandfather of Jane Frances Pinkston the daughter of Greenberry Pinkston and Anne Eidson.
- Benjamin F. Starr - son-in-law, married Charlotte Pinkston
Note - With the exception of Fadda Jarrett and Benjamin Starr, all of the above individuals are proven ancestors or cousins of the author - often in more than one family line.
Athaliza Carroll Pinkston Jarrett gravesite
(Internet photo - unknown author)
Descendants of Shadrach Pinkson and Athalia/Athaliza Carroll (listed in no particular order)
- Shadrach, Jr. - may have remained in VA or moved to Kentucky and died before his father
- John Carroll - married Elizabeth Lawson Kain [4]; one known child named Greenberry
- Jean Frances - married Peter Bennett
- Sally - married James Hurley, Jr.
- Charlotte Ann - married Benjamin Franklin Starr [5]- moved to Fayette County, GA
- Greenberry - b. 1780;d. 1828; married Anne Eidson
- Shadrach - b. 1801; d. 1841; married Susan Rice, moved to Fayette County, GA
- Annie Amelia - no info
- Thomas Manuel - no info
- Atha Carroll - b. 1810; married David Cosby
- Jane Frances - b.1812;d.before 1880; married John Staples June 1827
- Lucy Staples - married David Cosby
- Sarah Elizabeth Staples - b. 1838;d.1912; married Francis G. Colley
Marriage of John Staples and Jane Pinkston - Felix G. - married Polly Combs
Greenberry Pinkston (1780-1828)
Greenberry was likely born in Virginia. He married Anne Eidson who was probably the daughter of John Eidson and Judith Richardson. Greenberry died November 19, 1828 in Wilkes County, GA. The estate records for Greenberry can be found at the Georgia Archives. The administrator of his estate was his son Shadrach. Benjamin Starr was the Justice of Peace that attested to the accuracy of the appraisal of the value of the estate.
His estate appears to have been fairly large. The bond was $8,000 (about $275K today!). One of the public sales of his estate was held in January 1830 where 273 acres of land was sold to Peter Bennett, 12 acres was sold to James Wingfield and 1 acre was sold to John Combs. 3 slaves were also sold. The 273 acres of land is shown to have been the plantation where Greenberry lived. The author does not know where this particular tract of land was located; However, it would appear that they lived just south of the present day city limits of Washington, Georgia - east of Georgia Hwy 44 possibly along Rocky Creek or one of the tributaries of Beaverdam Creek.
In another document, Greenberry's widow Ann filed won a lawsuit against several men for several tracts of land that her deceased husband Greenberry owned contending that the proceeds were not properly divided upon his death. One of the tracts mentioned in the suit was the 273 acre plantation.
Shadrach Pinkston, Greenberry Pinkston (deceased), Mary Owens
Note: Francis Colley appears to have been a witness to this document
(GA Archives)
"Rec'd of Shadrack Pinkston, adm. of Greenberry Pinkston, dec'd, Two Dollars for selling (?) land and negroes in the Town of Washington on the first Tuesday in January 1830. John Burl...(?) Sheriff"
(GA Archives)
Fadda Jarrett
Fadda was born about 1730 in either Maryland or Virginia and he died about 1813 in Wilkes County, Georgia. Some researchers claim that he was a soldier in the American Revolution but so far the author has found no evidence to support this. If he was born in 1730, he would have been quite old to have been a soldier (late 40's). More likely that his sons would have served. His estate was administered by Thomas Talbot. Other names found in the documents are Richard Sappington, Atha Jarrett, Greenberry Pinkston, Benjamin Starr, Nathaniel Jarrett and Howell Jarrett. The Georgia Archives has many documents pertaining to his estate settlement.
An interesting tidbit about the Jarrett family. Today near Toccoa, Georgia there is a historic landmark known as Travelers Rest that is now owned by the state of Georgia where it is a part of the state parks system.
This was once was an early stagecoach inn and plantation home but there seems to be some disagreement as to when it was built. Some say it was built 1815 by a man named James Wyly but according to a study by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1936, it was built in the 1780s by Major Jesse Walton and it was also a frontier fort and the site of an Indian massacre. [6] This James Wyly might be Revolutionary War soldier Colonel James R. Wyly of the 64th Regiment Georgia Militia. Wyly sold the building and grounds to a man named Devereaux Jarrett in 1833. Devereaux was apparently very well off financially. The home is often referred to as Jarrett Manor. His descendants owned the building and grounds until 1955 when the state bought it. Devereaux is said to have been born in 1785 and he lived in Wilkes County before moving to Franklin County. If this is true, he could be related to Fadda Jarrett. [7] This connection is of interest to the author because most of his maternal ancestors lived along the Tugaloo River very close to this site but the Pinkstons are his paternal ancestors. This is an example of how the early settlers of Georgia lived in very defined areas with interesting interactions and/or interrelationships.
Historic "Travelers Rest" near Toccoa, GA
Shadrack's Revolutionary War Service Records
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Footnotes
[1] There are several mentions of landmarks named Pinkston's Delight, Pinkston's Folly, Pinkston's Fancy, Pinkston's Random and Marlborough Plains in the area around present day Baltimore.
[2] Per Will of Dempsey Carroll.
[3] Georgia Archives. Linda Sparks Starr has transcribed most of these papers and they are easily found in an internet search or Ancestry.com.
[4] John Carroll Pinkston died about 1806 and his widow Elizabeth married Silas Starr, the brother of Benjamin Franklin Starr.
[5] For more on the Starr family, see The Georgia Frontier, Vol. I by Austin.
[6] Possibly both accounts are true: The site may have once been a fort built in the 1780s but the current house may not have been built until the 1800s. The article also claims the building as the oldest still standing in NE Georgia which would likely place it as being built in the 1780s. Note that the home that my mother grew up in is still standing in downtown Carnesville Georgia and it has been estimated that it was built in the late 1780s.
[7] There is no mention of a son named Devereaux in the estate records of Fadda Jarrett; However, estate records did not always mention every child especially if the child lost touch with the family and of course first & middle names of children were not always used consistently.
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References
- History of Stewart County, GA, Vol. II
- Research of Linda Sparks Starr (an internet search will provide several links to her research)
- Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, VGS_1989_01_01_0237
- The Georgia Frontier, Vol. I: Colonial Families to the Revolutionary War Period, Jeannette Holland Austin.
This page was created on 2/24/2025