Cain Hawkins

Portrait photograph of Cain Hawkins and his wife Alice Wood Hawkins, taken by Rufus W. Holsinger in 1915. Reproduced from Jefferson's University.

Cain Hawkins was a Black citizen of Albemarle County in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with his portrait photograph forming a part of the Holsinger Studio Collection.

Biography

Hawkins was born into slavery on August 9, 1862 in Millington, Virginia. His parents were Frank and Elizabeth Wheeler Hawkins, the latter of whom was owned by the Gillums in Millington off Garth Road (near White Hall) before being sold to the Harrises. His siblings were Charlotte, Texie Mae, Leslie, Willie Ann, Elizabeth, and Emma Louisa. Hawkins never attended school but was able to read and write. He worked as a farmer and owned his own home.

At an unknown date, Hawkins married Alice Wood Hawkins (September 1, 1867 - December 29, 1948) of Albemarle City, the daughter of B.F. and Cinthia Speck Wood. The couple had three sons and a daughter together. According to a 1911 issue of the Daily Progress, Hawkins had been elected as vice-president of an upcoming fair being held by the Charlottesville Colored Agricultural and Industrial Fair Association, with the vote taking place at one of the organization's meetings during that same year.

Group portrait of the Hawkins family in 1917, with Cain Hawkins depicted second from left in the front row. Reproduced from Jefferson's University.

On August 20, 1915, Hawkins and his wife Alice were photographed in formal attire by Rufus W. Holsinger. On August 24, 1917, Hawkins was portrayed sitting in a chair in a Hawkins family photograph taken by the same photographer. Both of these pictures now form part of the Holsinger Studio Collection.

Hawkins died on February 4, 1939 in Charlottesville. The J.F. Bell Funeral Home handled arrangements for burying his body in White Hall. The same organization buried his wife in the same location following her death in Charlottesville in 1948.

Relations

Hawkins' sister Texie Mae, with whom he was reportedly very close, eventually married Hugh Carr of Union Ridge - River View Farm (now known as the Ivy Creek Natural Area), being his second wife. They had six children together, with the eldest of them (Mary Carr Greer) having Greer Elementary School in Charlottesville named after her. All of these children attended the Union Ridge Graded School. The Carrs and second generation Greers were known to travel to Whitehall regularly for family visits.

Hawkins' youngest sister, Emma Louisa, married Bezeal "Bee" White, with Marcha Howard of Union Zion Church being their great-great-granddaughter. Bee's brother, John Flournoy White, married Sarah Lewis and had five children, the oldest of whom was Randolph Louis White (the founder of The Tribune).