Our Unique Stories

thomas adkins, jr.

1884-1932

Life Story

Early Life in the Adkins Household

Thomas Adkins was born in March 1884 in Newton County, Mississippi, to George Adkins and Sallie Thompson Adkins. He grew up in Beat 4 in a large farming household that would become one of the steady Black landholding families of the Lawrence community.

The 1900 U.S. Census records Thomas at age 16, living at home with his parents and ten siblings. At that time:

  • He was working as a farm laborer
  • He attended school for one month that year
  • He was able to read and write
  • He spoke English

Literacy within the Adkins household reflects the family’s emphasis on education despite the limitations placed on Black schooling during the Jim Crow era.

By the 1910 Census, Thomas was 26 years old and still living on the family farm. He continued working as a farm laborer and remained literate, showing economic consistency and stability within the household.

Draft Registration and Physical Description

During World War I (1917–1918), Thomas registered for the draft in Newton County. His draft card provides rare physical details:

  • Build: Stout
  • Height: Short
  • Hair: Black
  • Eyes: Black
  • Spouse: Louella (Luella) Monroe Adkins

Interestingly, the draft card lists his birth date as March 10, 1880, which conflicts with census records showing March 1884. Given that he was listed as age 16 in 1900, the 1884 birth year is more consistent with earlier records. The discrepancy likely reflects clerical error or age adjustment common in draft registrations.

Marriage and Family Life

Thomas married Luella (Louella) Adkins around 1908–1909. The 1930 Census shows him as:

  • Age 45
  • Married at age 24
  • Head of household
  • Owner of his farm
  • Employer (not just laborer)

By 1930, Thomas had established himself not merely as a farm worker but as a landholding farmer and employer, marking a significant generational progression from his father’s post-slavery beginnings.

Thomas and Luella’s known children included:

Their household in 1930 reflects stability:

  • Owned farm
  • Literate household head
  • Children of school age
  • Continued residence in Beat 4, Newton County

Role Within the Extended Family

Thomas played a critical role in the Adkins family network. When his sister Annie Adkins Dobbins and her husband John Dobbins both died within 26 hours during the influenza pandemic of January 1919, Thomas served as the informant on both death certificates.

This detail reflects his position as a responsible male figure within the family structure. It also suggests that he was closely involved during one of the most devastating episodes in the extended Adkins lineage.

illness and Death

In late October 1932, Thomas fell severely ill and was under the care of Dr. O. Simmons for his final days. On October 27, 1932, at 5:00 P.M., Thomas J. Atkins passed away in Lawrence, Mississippi, at the age of 45. His primary cause of death was tuberculosis of the lungs, further complicated by tuberculosis of the throat. His death certificate was officially filed on October 27, 1932, by local registrar J. X. McMullan, with family acquaintance Jim Wash serving as the personal informant.

He was part of the first full generation of the Adkins family born entirely after Emancipation and raised during the tightening structure of Jim Crow. His life spanned:

  • Post-Reconstruction Mississippi
  • The agricultural transition era
  • World War I
  • The 1918–1919 influenza pandemic
  • The early years of the Great Migration

Though his burial location is not listed here, his life remained rooted in the Lawrence/Beat 4 community of Newton County.

Generational Significance

Thomas Adkins represents a critical generational shift:

Grandfather (Thomas Atkins, b. c. 1812)
→ Born likely enslaved, illiterate

Father (George Adkins, b. 1858)
→ Literate farmer, landholder

Thomas (b. 1884)
→ Literate farmer, landowner, employer

His life illustrates upward mobility within severe structural limitations. From slavery to land ownership in three generations, the Adkins line demonstrates both resilience and strategic adaptation.

Following his passing, Thomas was buried the next day on October 28, 1932, in Lawrence, Mississippi. His final arrangements were handled by the local undertaking firm Whitehead & Co. of Newton, Mississippi.

Resting Place

Union Chapel United Methodist Church

Photos/Albums

Sources

  • 1900, 1910, 1930 Federal Censuses
  • U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
  • U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
  • Mississippi, U.S., Index to Deaths, 1912-1943
  • Mississippi State Board of Health, Standard Certificate of Death (State File No. 14833, Reg. No. 9163)

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