| Appalachian Roots The Chaffin Family By Mary Jo Allen Brown The Chaffin family is found in records of our area as early as 1808, when Sarah Chafin married Elisha Wellman in Floyd Co. The name is sometimes spelled Chafin, Chaffin, Chaffins, and even Chafers. In Floyd County Court records of 1814, John Chaffins was requires to provide workmen for road duty along Blaine Creek, an area that later became Lawrence County. This is probably the John Chaffin who married Clara Cains, daughter of Jobe Cains on 4 Sept. 1811. A James Chafin was exempted from road work and taxes in 1820, probably because of age; a Christopher Chafin was living on Big Creek (later Pike Co.) in 1821. By 1860 there were only two Chafin families still in Floyd County; most had lived in parts of Floyd County that were spilt off to form new counties. The family of Fred Chafin, born 1833 in Va., included his wife Rachel born 1836, and children Nancy 1854, John 1856, and Miriam 1859. The other family was that of Samuel Chafin born 1830, wife Nancy born 1834, and children John 1854, William 1856, Harvey 1858, and David P. 1860. No Chafins were found in Floyd County in 1870. By far the greatest number of families were in Lawrence County in 1860 and 1870. These included Simon Chafin, born 1785, and his second wife Amanda born 1811. Their household included Nancy 1845, Mary 1846, and Clarinda Sison, apparently a widowed daughter with her children Ann 1857, and Emanuel 1959.(typo?1859) Living next door to Simon Chafin was Owen Chafin born 1829, his wife Mary born 1830, and their daughter Cynthia born 1857. The next household was that of Thadius Chafin born 1833, Katherine born 1835, Martha born 1857, Amanda 1860, Cynthia 1862, John 1865, James 1867, and Emeran born 1869. Another probable child of old Simon was found in the next house: William Chafin born 1830, his wife Amanda born 1840, and their children Simon 1859, Mary 1862, Ellen 1863, Oliver 1865, and William 1867. Another group of Chafin families living near each other apparently was headed by David Chafin, born 1877, (1777?) who was living with his son David T. Chafin born 1830. Nearby was James born 1827, with wife Jemima (or Emily) born 1836 and children Emily E. 1855, Mary J. 1857, Florence 1859, David 1861, James 1863, Percy 1866, George 1868. Also in his home was Mary Chafin born 1818, a widow. Also nearby was the family of William Chafin born 1818, wife Mary born 1829, children Jemima 1849, Frances 1853, and David E. 1856. In yet another location was found three Chafin families next door. James born 1827 with wife Mary 1830 and children Sidney 1855, Millard 1856, Willburn 1858, Laura 1859, Ranson 1860, Pamelia 1862, Thomas 1863, Edward 1866, and James M. 1868. Next door was Harry Chafin born 1831 as head of household, with John Chafin born 1787 and Clara born 1800 (parents?), along with Sarah born 1835, Frances born 1838, and James born 1826. The next household was headed by Martha Chafin, a widow, born 1826, with children John born 1856 and William born 1858. Quite apart from the other Chafin families was John Chafin born 1824 with wife Elizabeth born 1822, and children Lorenzo born 1849, Mary 1855, Ellis 1858, and Julia born 1860. The next ajoining Chafin families included Kenas M. Chafin born 1837 with wife Margaret born 1844 and children Alexander 1858, James M. 1861, Calpana 1864, Caroline 1866, and Robert B. 1869. Two doors away was John Chafin born 1834, wife Harriet born 1838, children Mary 1856, Kenas 1858, Judith 1862, Margaret 1866, Virginia 1867, and Frederick 1869. Also in this area was another John Chafin born 1834, with wife sarah born 1836 and children Trinville 1859, Sidney 1864, Cordelia 1867 and Shadrach 1869. The last two families found in Lawrence County also lived near each other. One was headed by Joshua born 1815 and his wife Sarah born 1825; their children included Thomas born 1850, William 1851, Julia 1852, Thomas 1855, George 1858, and Joshua 1860. The other was headed by Thomas born 1820 and his wife Jane, born 1819. Their children included Michael 1840, Catherine 1842, James 1844, Sarah 1846, Elizabeth 1848, William 1850, Mary 1852, Nancy 1854, Phoebe 1859, and Thomas 1860. In Martin County in 1880 we again find many of these same Chafin families and some new ones. John Chafin born 1813 is shown with his wife Sarah born 1830, and children James born 1857, Joshua born 1861, Moses born 1864, John C. born 1868, Sarah Ann born 1870, and Nancy born 1872. The next oldest Chafin family in Martin County was that of Thomas Chafin born 1820, with his wife Jane born 1819, and children Nancy born 1855, Phoebe 1859, and Thomas D. 1862. Other Chafin families included: Michael Chafin born 1843 with wife Catherine born 1852, and children John 1867, James 1869, William G. 1870, Thomas 1873, Nichati 1876, Riley 1877, and Mary Ann 1879. Another chafin born in 1843 was Matthew Chafin, found with his wife Juliana born 1843, and children Matilda born 1870, Columbia 1872, and Dixie 1878. James Chafin, born 1846, and his wife Sarah "Sally" Mosley were married on 24 Nov. 1874. In 1880 they were found with two children, Mitchell born 1879 and Albert born 1870. (1880?) Nearby was William Chafin born 1950, his wife Emily born 1855, and their children Thomas 1870, James 1872, Jane 1876, and Bailey 1879. Thomas Chafin, born 1853, and his wife Arey Jane Muncy born 1859, were married in Martin County on 8 Oct. 1872. By 1880 they had Monterville born 1874, Alice born 1876, and Laura 1879. The only other Chafin found in Martin County in 1880 was Martha, born 1840, a housekeeper in the home of James A Barrett. The Martin Countian, Wenesday, May 18, 1988 |
| The Chafin Family first appeared in the Appalachian area around 1808. Below is an article I found on them at the local library. I hope any Chafin researcher's out there find this usefull in your research. The names at the bottom of the article that are Bold are part of my husband's line. If any of you have any additional information, question's, or comment's please feel free to send me an e-mail. Thanks, Charlie Murphy |
| Below is an articale published in The Mountain Citizen that features our own Grandpa Ken, whom our oldest son Kenneth is named after. So sit back, relax, and we hope you enjoy getting to know a little about Grandpa Ken. I was told this was to be part of a series told by Ken but sadly, it was not followed through and he died March 6, 1999, just short of his 95th birthday. |
| Chaffins recalls early days in Martin County By Gary Ball CITIZEN EDITOR LOVELY---Ken Chaffins, of Lovely, is a wealth of information to those who want to know about the manner of life in Martin County during the first part of this century. Chaffins, who will celebrate his 95th birthday April 18, 1999, has seen days when he and his dad would travel by horse and wagon to get supplies on old, narrow roads. On one of these trips, Chaffins recalled an incident in Smokey Bottom (behind the Lovely Freewill Baptist Church), where "bad men" from Wolf Creek and the Riverfront area, had chased law enforcement officers, including the state police, into the Tug River with gunfire. "My dad and I hid the wagon so the bullets wouldn't hit it," Chaffins said, adding that he was about six or seven years old. " I called them the 'bad men association.' They were a rough bunch and they chased the state police and made them get down in the water. "I guess that's how Smokey Bottom got its name because of all the gunfire. I remember picking up a gun on the road and I really thought I had something. But a big man pulled up on his horse, looked down at me, and I pulled the gun out of my belt and handed it over to him." Chaffins, who likes to talk about the Bible and the strength he gets from reading it, took a little time to describe conditions at Eden, Naugatuck and Oppy. During this period, coal was just beginning to bring minors into Mingo County, W.Va., and the area was a bustling place with a train depot at Naugatuck. "I used to walk through the hills at Peter Cave to get to Eden," he said "A lot of folks thought it was a big place. I guess the name 'Eden' was suppose to mean that it was a paradise. That isn't the way I remember it. You couldn't walk in the bathrooms over there without stepping on old tobacco juice and other things on the floor. "Now, Naugatuck was a pretty mean place. They had three saloons and a train depot. There was a saying that a colored man couldn't get off the train there or they would kill him. It was a mean place. There were a few colored folks around the area then, but these were older folks who used to be slaves. When they were freed, I guess they decided to stay with the families that used to own them. "I remember a colored man that everyone called Mick who used to cook for folks. He always tried to stay on the good side of people. That area was pretty mean. When they first built the tunnel over at Kermit, outlaws used to hide in the little man holes and rob people who walked through it to get their paychecks." Chaffins began his vocational career as a minor at age 12, at the Winco Block Mine. He began as a "back hand"(helper) for Joe Dowden during the "pick and shovel" days, when men blasted coal and hand loaded it into horse-drawn buggies. "I retired from the mines after 43 years in the late '50s or early '60s," He added. "One thing I have to say. I never got black lung. The doctors examined me once and told men I didn't have black lung. I told them that was good because I didn't want it." Mr. Chaffins has a remarkable gift for reciting poems and other pieces that he memorized during his early years. He recalled his early childhood teachers making their pupils memorize certain passages. This exercise has stayed with him all these years and "helps keep me from loosing my noodles," he said. "Although I only went to the third grade, I got a certificate for reading the Bible completely through," he noted. "I learned to read during my early years and our teachers were strict on us about memorizing things. I still can recall certain things that I learned years ago." Chaffins then recited one of his favorite pieces called " A Drunkard's Hell." His recitation was colored with emotion as he pondered and paused during each break in verse, emphasizing the key points. "I had a young Christian woman come to me once and she told me about her husband who drank all the time," he said. "I told her to recite this to him. She came back and told me that he never touched another drop." Chaffins is strong in his faith in the Bible. He attributes his longevity to his repentance and trust in God. His counsel to everyone is that people would "be better off if they knew their 'do's and 'don'ts' better than the alphabet." "I believe the Bible says what it means and means what it says," he added. "I don't like to see people lost. I believe God reveals Himself to those who put their trust and faith in Him. But, it has to be real. Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. That is what I advise people to do. Go and sin no more." Mr. Chaffins is the father of 11 children, ranging from 50 to 74 years old. He was married to Gay Evans and Jessie Marcum, both deceased. His children are : Mary Hinkle, Aaron Chaffins, Jeff Chaffins, Carol Webb, Columbus Chaffins, Lulie Chaffins, Shirley Chaffins, Linda Chaffins, Thelma Chaffins, Anna Gay Chaffins and Doris Chaffins. THE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1998 FEATURED ON FRONT OF PAGE B AND CONTINUED ON B2 |
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| Mary (Chaffins/Murphy) Hinkle is the one who supplied the article and almost all my Chaffin family info...Thank's for our heritage Momma, Love you....Charlie, Baxter, Kenneth, and Alexander |
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