This John Hawkins of Orange Co., North Carolina is the first in the line of North Carolina Hawkins which our family line is descended from. As is often common with these early linages, our John is the subject of some confusion and there is on going research to clarify his ancestry. From a Hawkins Family history compiled in 1976 by Mrs. Willie H. Shearer (copy from Robert Hawkins), p. 6:

IX. JOHN HAWKINS, eldest son of JOSEPH and JANE (NICHOLAS) HAWKINS, was born February 14, 1733. He married MARY WALLER before or about 1753. In August, 1767, he was living in Hanover County, Virginia as shown by a mortgage of that date, executed to him by one Edward Coleman.

Shortly after the death of his father he moved down to Guilford County, North Carolina. He was appointed high sheriff of that County under the ROYAL GOVERNMENT, just before the Revolutionary War, and maintained some state, keeping a coach with a Coat of Arms painted on it's doors. When the Revolution began he adhered to the cause of the Colonies; consequently he was deemed by the English and Tories (English sympathizers) to be a great traitor, especially because of the official position he had occupied. They captured him cut his right ear and imprisoned him on a ship in the Charleston harbor.

He was Captain of the 5th Maryland Battalion 1777-1781. (Ref; Heitman's Official Register, Page 214.)

At the close of the Revolutionary War he returned to his family in Guilford County.

From: Orange County, North Carolina Abstracts of Minutes of the Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Orange County. The following are articles noted in the book pertaining to JOHN HAWKINS.

Page 1. 1-1. The 4th Tuesday In may 1777. JOHN HAWKINS appointed Justice of Peace by Richard Caswell, Governor.

Page 4. 4-7. August 26, 1777. JOHN HAWKINS present at Court. Nine Justices present.

Page 5. Deed from William and Elizabeth O'Neal to Tobias Smith, proved by JOHN HAWKINS, August Court 1777.

Page 6. 5-105 1/2 JOHN HAWKlNS appointed to take the Lists of Property in the District of St. Asaphs, Orange County Court of August 1777.

Page 11. Court of February 1778. JOHN HAWKINS re-appointed Justice of Peace.

Page 12. 15-30 1/2 JOHN HAWKINS at Court adjournment.

Page 13. 16-31 1/2. JOHN HAWKINS and others Justices appointed to take "Oath of Allegiance" of all male persons above the age of 16 years.

Page 20. Court of May 1778. JOHN HAWKINS reported on Job of Oath of Allegiance and affirmation of all males over 16 years of age.

Page 25. 30-292 1/2. JOHN HAWKINS elected Sheriff for County of Orange for succeeding year 1787). May Court 1778.

Page 26. May 25, 1786 Court. John G. Rancher appointed Deputy Sheriff under JOHN HAWKINS, for Orange County, Page 27. 32-297. Court of May, 1786. JOHN HAWKINS, Sheriff, protests against sufficiency of the Common Goal.

Page 30. 36-308 1/2 September Court 1786. License granted to JOHN Hawkins to keep A Tavern at his now dwelling home.

Page 31. Saturday, September 2, 1786 Court. HARDRIP HAWKINS qualifies as Deputy Sheriff, under JOHN HAWKINS, HIGH SHERIFF.

Page 32. Tuesday, November 28, 1786 Court. John Shady appointed Overseer of Road from Allemande to CAPTAIN JOHN HAWKINS - in room of Tobias Smith.

Page 38. Court of March 3, 1787. Inquisition on body of JOHN HAWKINS, deceased, returned and recorded. JOHN HAWKINS accidentally drowned In the HAW RIVER

Page 39. Administration of Estate of JOHN HAWKINS, deceased, granted to __________

NOTE: The above space was left blank. But John's wife, Mary (Waller) Hawkins and his two sons, John and Hardress (Hardy) were the executors of the estate. I have a copy of the estate papers, They were zeroxed at the State Archives at Raleigh, North Carolina, by Mr. William Perry Johnson, Editor of the North Carolinean Magazine and Professional Genealogist. It is Amazing how much money was owed to John Hawkins.

**** JOHN HAWKlNS left his wife, MARY (WALLER) HAWKINS and the following children:****

1. John Hawkins

2. Hardress (Hardy) Hawkins

3. Elizabeth Hawkins, married John Dick, who died in a year, leaving a daughter Mary Hawkins Dick, who subsequently become the mother of Mrs. Mary Hawkins Jackson of Nashville, Tennessee. Elizabeth Hawkins Dick married Thomas Crowder and left several children, one of whom married Mr. Nash.

4. Mary Hawkins, born September 9, 177l, married Emsley Parke on October 16, 1794.

Children:

1. Pleasant S. Parke

2. Alfred W. Parke

3. Frances Eliza Park

5. Frances K. Hawkins married a Mr. Duggar.

Children:

1. EIizabeth Duggar, married a Dr. Willlams

2. Caroline Duggar, married a Dr. Battle Dr. Williams and Dr. Battle were from La Grange, Ga.

NOTE: The foregoing family history was given to Mr. Mays or Judge Edward Mays by in a letter bearing the date of October 30, 1893,. she being then 72 years old, and having gathered the same from family letters and family conversations.

FROM THE TENNESSEE D. A. R. STATE RECORDS, I HAVE A ZEROXED COPY OF THE FOLLOWING:

Captain John Hawkins - born February 14, 1733, Died December 19, 1786. married Mary Waller.

Captain John Hawkins was Captain of the 5th Maryland Battalion 1777-1781.

Reference: Heitman's Official Register Page 214,

Descendants: Lady Mary Hawkins Ward (Charles) Membership No, 57285

Robert Hawkins, a long time Hawkins Family researcher (Genealogy of One Hawkins Family), has pointed out several errors in this description of our John Hawkins' history. According to his researches in two detailed essays available here, "our" John was in North Carolina when the Hawkins described by the Shearer account, had already died in Hanover Co., VA and that our John then later lived in Spottsylvania Co. VA. Records show several individuals with the name John Hawkins, who were living in this area of Virginia at the time described in the Shearer biography, and Mr. Hawkins reasons that Shearer's John Hawkins of Hanover county was actually the son of William Hawkins (and Mary Langford), the brother of the Joseph she asserted was his father. Furthermore, Mr. Hawkins cites information indicating that our John was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was not the Captain John Hawkins, of the 5th Maryland Regiment in the Revolutionary War mentioned in the Shearer biography.

From Robert Hawkins (email 28Dec2005):

I sent you an email recently referring to information I found in the Baldwin County History text. I recently uncovered the Bible of Thomas Crowder and a scrapbook of Mary Hawkins Brooks, nee Crowder. Both of these are what I think is the source documents for the information in the history text and they clear up some of the questions from the text...

...Thomas Crowder was the second husband of John Hawkins and Marry Waller's daughter Elizabeth after the death of Elizabeth's husband John Dick. He was the grandfather of the author of the Baldwin County History. The scrapbook reiterates the birthplace of John Hawkins as Baltimore Maryland as well as his birth date; gives King and Queen County Virginia as Mary Waller's birthplace and Halifax North Carolina as her home before moving to Hillsboro NC (more later); and gives 1768 as John and Mary's marriage date. Moreover, it lists all the children, with birthrates, which indicates that they were all children of John and Mary , i.e. born in NC. As far as I am concerned, this takes our John out of the running for the John Hawkins in the 5th Maryland during the war. That John joined in 1776 and stayed until 1881. It's apparent to me from these data and the Orange County Court records that our John was in Orange county during this time.

Early Hawkins Family genealogy is quite extensive and developed. There are several books and websites devoted to the subject. My many thanks to Robert Hawkins for helping to connect what little we knew about our own Hawkins line to this enormous genealogy.

Summary of the Hawkins Family genealogy:

1. John Hawkins d. before 1490

2. William Hawkins

3. William Hawkins, d. 7 Oct 1589.

4. Sir John Hawkins, b. 1532, Plymouth, England; d. at sea 12 Nov 1595.

5. Sir Richard Hawkins, b. 1560, Plymouth; d. 17 Apr 1622.

6. John Hawkins, baptized 16 Mar 1604; d. before 1678.

7. John Hawkins, b. 21 Sep 1643.

8. John Hawkins ?, b 1680

9. ? Hawkins.

10. Capt. John Hawkins.

Sir John Hawkins is perhaps the most well known of all the Hawkins ancestors and there are several books written about him including the recent, Sir John Hawkins: Queen Elizabeth’s Slave Trader, by Harry Kelsey (Yale University Press, 2003) and The Queen's Slave Trader : John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Trafficking in Human Souls, by Nick Hazlewood (William Morrow Pub., 2004). Sir John, who was essentially a slaver and a pirate harassing the Spanish for personal profit, was also a contemporary of Sir Francis Drake. Hawkins was Drake's superior and mentor, during the laters first forays upon the high seas. Drake is believed to have been a cousin of Hawkins'.