Sheila, et al – my great great grandfather was named Oseola Adkins. This is a link to a copyrighted photo of him that was taken on the Hazel River in Culpeper Virginia around 1901.
I have been to the site of the photo shoot in Culpeper and have extensive other research and artifacts on him.
Many members of my family received copies of this photo directly from Oseola in his later years. At least two of those family elders are still living. According to his marriage certificate, Oseola was born to Britton Adkins and Martha Ann Reed in Sussex County, VA in 1850. My grandmother was raised by Oseola and Oseola’s wife (my grandmother’s grandparents); she maintained that Oseola either was a chief or was descended from a line of tribal chiefs. Given the prominence of the Adkins name, we had theorized that perhaps Oseola’s father was a Chickahominy (of which there were many in nearby Charles City County VA) and that perhaps his mother was a Cheroenhaka (apparently the Reed surname was common among the Cheroenhaka). When I stumbled on your site with the information about Parker Adkins taking a bride from the Shawnee… and the link to the Reed family name, it piqued my interest. I believe that I have found some line of the Parker Adkins family that eventually made their way to Sussex… and further members of that branch who settled in Charles City County. But I was wondering whether you or the others on this site have any record / recollection of Oseola Adkins or his parents.
Thanks,
Art