(1840-1912)
« return to database list
Lizzie was one of two Watkins sisters who attended the Burwell School. She later married “the boy next door,” Thomas Reade Carrington, of Oak Cliff Plantation, the oldest brother of Elizabeth Morton Carrington , who also attended the Burwell School.
Lizzie Watkins and her sister Lucy were among the "Halifax girls" who attended the Burwell School from the close-knit plantation communities of Halifax County, Virginia, about forty miles north of Hillsborough. Lizzie was the eighth and Lucy the ninth child of Richard Venable and Mary Anne Baskerville Watkins of Mayo plantation, established by Richard V. Watkins in the 1830's. The sturdy large house sat on a hilltop with beautiful views all around into eastern Virginia and North Carolina.
Richard Venable Watkins, born in 1812 in Charlotte County, VA, married three times and had 18 children by his second and third wives. Lucy and her older sister Elizabeth (Lizzie) were the eldest daughters. Based on their ages, the two sisters must have attended the Burwell School in the early 1850's. According to memories set down in 1962 by Richard Venable's granddaughter, Helen Watkins, the busy, lively family valued education for the sons and daughters alike. "In spite of such a large family all of the sons and daughters except one...attended college. The home was 12 miles from town so they were sent in carriages and buggied through the country, baggage in the wagons. There was a grand school for "young ladies" at Hillsboro, NC and a college in Norfolk, VA. The boys went to Hampton-Sydney or the University of Virginia. My father ran away from Hampton-Sydney to join the Confederate Army. He had been made a captain just as the war closed. Two brother were killed during the war. [William and Richard, Lizzie's older brothers]
"One of the nephes spent the winter at "Mayo" where a boy could get the benefit of the good tutors my grandfather always employed to live in the home and teach his numerous family."
(Helen Watkins was likely the daughter of John S. Watkins, Lizzie and Lucy's brother.)
On December 21, 1859, at 18 years of age, Lizzie Watkins married Thomas Reade Carrington, the "boy next door" - or at least nearby.Thomas was the oldest son of William and Jane Carrington of Oak Cliff plantation, only a few miles from Mayo plantation. Thomas's younger sister Betty also attended the Burwell School. She and Lizzie were born within a few months of each other and would probably have been at the Burwell School at the same time - perhaps even traveling to school together.
Lizzie and Thomas moved into Granville County, NC, southeast of their homes in Halifax, VA. In 1861, with baby daughter Jane at home, Thomas enlisted in the Confederate Army and served for an unknown period of time.
In 1860 the couple appeared in the US Census for Abrams Plains, Granville County, NC as T.R. Carrington, wife "Lezzie" and Benji Wilkins, age 25, presumably a farm worker. Thomas's personal wealth is stated at $8,760 and real estate valued ove $13,000.
Thomas was, at least for a period, a very well-to-do farmer and property owner in Granville County. Census records show that in 1860 he owned 15 slaves and then purchased for $14,000 the Lewis Wimbish house, one of the finest houses in Granville County, with accompanying land of 730 acres to which Thomas added 250 acres. (The house was places on the National Register of Historical Places but has since been destroyed).
Thomas survived the Civil War and the couple ultimately had 11 children - all living to adulthood except the last, Richard V. Carrington, who died an infant, born when Lizzie was 47 years old.
In the 1880 census the family was listed in the Sassafras Fork Township of Granville County, NC as Thomas, 44, "Elisabeth", 38, Jennie W., 15, Clemment, 12, Mary A. E.,10, Thomas R., 8, William W., 6, Alice B., 4, Lizzie W., 3, and Susan M., 10 months. Perhaps daughter Jane was married by then, as she is not included in the household listing. Included in the household are a servant and her baby, and an 18-year-old nurse. The three oldest children are listed as "at school" so the Carrington/Watkins families' emphasis on education for boys and girls was clearly carried forward.
Nearby in 1880 were Lizzie's older brother Thomas Algernon Watkins, his wife Mariah and daughter.
Thomas died in 1896 in his early 60's. Lizzie sold the property in 1905 for the much-reduced price of $5,000. She moved at some point to Roanoke, VA, where at least two of her children were living. She apparently lived with Jane until her death at age 71 on June 6, 1912. Lizzie and four of her daughters - Jane, Sue, Margaret and Nancy - are buried in adjacent plots in the Fair View Cemetery in Roanoke, VA. The inscription on her tombstone reads, "Rest in Hope of a Glorious Resurrection." [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Elizabeth was called Lizzie.
, Margaret Watkins (b. 4-45), Virginia Douglas Watkins (b. 1849), Mary Baskerville Watkins, Henrietta Maria Watkins, Isabella Watkins, Sara Alice Watkins, Nellie Watkins (1858-1930), Clara Carrington Watkins and Julia Watkins (d. 1900). (sister-in-law, 1841-1898), Jane W. Carrington (mother-in-law, b. 1810), William W. Carrington (father-in-law, 1808-1880), John Faulkner Betts (nephew), Sallie MaGehee Betts (niece), Richard W. Betts (nephew, 1873-1936), Lucy B. Betts (niece, 1871-1935), Mary Ann Elizabeth Betts (niece, 1874-1905), George Mumfort Betts (nephew, 1878-1947), Alice W. Betts (niece, b. 1881), Julia W. Betts (niece, b. 1886) and Nannie O. Betts (niece, b. 1888).