Ann WATKINS^[1]

- 1766

• Name	Ann WATKINS
  Gender	Female
  orphan	18 Oct 1759	Norfolk Co, Virginia Colony   [2]
  	On 18 October 1759 in Norfolk County Court, Ann was named as the orphan of John Watkins. William Conner qualified as guardian, and additional security in the amount of £100 was posted by Thomas Veale.
  Death	1766
  	Ann died during the late spring or summer of 1766.
  Will	20 Apr 1766	Norfolk Co, Virginia Colony   [3]
  	Ann's will appointed her uncle William Conner and her aunt Elizabeth Bayne as co-executors of her estate. She signed the will on 20 April 1766. Her signature was witnessed by James Grimes and Enos Eastwood.
  Will Recorded	18 Sep 1766	Norfolk Co, Virginia Colony   [3]
  	Her will was proved before the Norfolk County Court on 18 September 1766, and ordered recorded.
  Person ID	I56892	mason
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Father	John WATKINS   d. Before 18 May 1753
  Mother	Margaret CONNER,   b. 12 Mar 1710, Virginia Colony d. 27 Nov 1763 (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	Before 17 Jul 1749  [4]
  	The couple had married prior to 17 July 1740 when John Conner's will of that date named "my loving Sister Margaret Watkins".
  Family ID	F4567	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Samuel SOUTHERLAND   d. Before 20 Apr 1766
  Family ID	F4568	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

• Notes

  Three Norfolk County documents concerning Ann Watkins create a conundrum when taken with her above noted guardian bond, dated 18 October 1759, and marriage bond, dated 30 October 1759. The 2 August 1757 will of Ann's cousin Craford Conner names her as Ann Collings. On 18 February 1759, she witnessed the will of Alexander Bayne as Anne Collings. And on 4 October 1759, she was named in the will of her brother John as Ann Watkins Collings. These three documents suggest that Ann had married a man named Collings prior to 2 August 1757. But if that were so, Colonial law would not have required a guardian to act on her behalf in October 1759, nor would the surname on her 1759 marriage bond have been Watkins.

  
  

• Sources

  [S194] Elizabeth B. Wingo, compiler, Wingo, Norfolk Couty, Virginia Will Book 1, 1755 - 1772., ((Norfolk, VA: by the compiler, 1986)). p. 32: John Watkins will (1760) [Will Book 1, f. 48a] & p. 74: Margaret Cornock will (1764) [Will Book 1, f. 116a]. [S212] Elizabeth B. Wingo, compiler, Wingo, Guardian Bonds of Norfolk County, Virginia 1750-1800, ((Athens, GA: Iberian Publishing Co, 1993)). p. 78. [S194] Elizabeth B. Wingo, compiler, Wingo, Norfolk Couty, Virginia Will Book 1, 1755 - 1772., ((Norfolk, VA: by the compiler, 1986)). pp. 94-95: Ann Southerland will (1766) [Will Book 1, f. 149a]. [S169] Charles Fleming McIntosh, compiler, McIntosh, Brief Abstracts of Norfolk County Wills 1710 - 1753, ((1922, Rpt. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1982)), ISBN 0-89308-324-0. p. 262: John Conner will (1750) [Book I, p. 169].