Daniel Deskins was born in 1786 in Russell County, Virginia. Researchers have incorrectly stated that Daniel was the son of a John Deskins and Sarah Roark. This repeated error is partly due to a publication written by Ethel Evans Albert of Kingsport, Tennessee in 1980 and other speculations. Much of the material in the original publication Ethel clearly stated as assumption. She meticulously poured over records and by the time this compiler was privileged to exchange conversations with her she was typing revisions. She gave me the last copy of Southwest Virginia Kin complete with typed revisions on onion skin stuck inside the Deskins family section. Ethel had taken "white-out" to the autograph she had intended to someone else and said she felt that this compiler would carry on with the line we had in question. She died shortly after I received that book. I have tenderly carried it from New Jersey to Ohio and back to Kentucky.

© February 2006
Compiled by Teresa Martin Klaiber
22937 Long Branch Road, Rush, KY 41168
tklaiber@deliverancefarm.com

Daniel Deskins was born in 1786 in Russell County, Virginia. Researchers have incorrectly stated that Daniel was the son of a John Deskins and Sarah Roark. This repeated error is partly due to a publication written by Ethel Evans Albert of Kingsport, Tennessee in 1980 and other speculations. Much of the material in the original publication Ethel clearly stated as assumption. She meticulously poured over records and by the time this compiler was privileged to exchange conversations with her she was typing revisions. She gave me the last copy of Southwest Virginia Kin complete with typed revisions on onion skin stuck inside the Deskins family section. Ethel had taken “white-out” to the autograph she had intended to someone else and said she felt that this compiler would carry on with the line we had in question. She died shortly after I received that book. I have tenderly carried it from New Jersey to Ohio and back to Kentucky. Research to determine the correct parents for Daniel is ongoing. Much appreciation goes to D. Browning for her many years of research on the Deskins family and her continued will to "keep digging."


Daniel Deskins first appears in Tazewell County court records in October 1807 when John Crockett took Daniel to court for an unknown cause. The case was dismissed only to be followed a month later when Daniel took Matthias Harmon to court on assault charges. Daniel was 21 years old.

He married Margaret Francisco 03 February 1809 in Tazewell County Virginia. According to family legend her father disowned her when she married him. This is the first year that Daniel appears paying personal property in Tazewell County, Virginia. He also served on the Grand Jury that year. Margaret could not have been happy when Daniel was charged in July, only five months after their marriage, with having an illegitimate child by Nancy Pines. The court required him to pay $96.00 to the poor for support of the child. He was allowed four years to make payment. Daniel was not the only male Deskins who faced these type of charges in the family.

In September 1809 Daniel was once again in court as a witness in the Commonwealth vs. Fanny Green. The cause of this case is not cited in the records. While we do not know the birth dates of all Daniel’s children our ancestor Lucinda was born 17 August 1811. She was one of thirteen children. Daniel paid his yearly personal property tax consistently and without trouble. Throughout the years between 1811 and 1830 He attended several estate sales purchasing items along with Richard Ratliff, William Correl and others from the Deskin Valley area. When his younger brother William became an adult he also attended an estate sale with Daniel making a purchase.

In 1836 John Deskin's [s/o John Sr.] and his 2nd wife Mary “Polly” Deskins sold Daniel 400 acres on Deskins Mountain. Both he and Margaret lived well into their 70's. In 1860 their son Jefferson resided beside them and we assume looked after them. Their exact death dates are not known. We do know that Tazewell County was in shambles during the Civil War and that the families were deeply effected with little grain to eat which would have been extremely hard on elders.