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Blankenship - Cemetarian

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other men (all presumably indentured servants) and 70 African slaves were imported or their passages<br />

paid for by Richard Kennon in the year 1686. We further know that Robert Paggin (in London,<br />

England), and Colonel John Pleasants of Bermuda Hundred, Viginia were Kennon's business partners<br />

who presumably arranged for the passage of the indentured servants as well as the slaves.<br />

Additonally, it is known that during mid- to late-1685 Richard Kennon began construction of his<br />

plantation home on Conjurer's Neck (just northeast of present day Colonial Heights, Virginia). I have<br />

made the presumption that Kennon was seeking skilled workmen to build his home and perhaps had<br />

Ralph Blankinship recruited in England as a craftsman to become one of his permanent staff.<br />

Blacksmiths were highly valued craftsmen of that era. We know that Ralph came to America as an<br />

indentured servant because the historical records say that Kennon imported <strong>Blankenship</strong> which means<br />

that he paid for his passage across the Atlantic Ocean. I further presume that Ralph Blankinship had<br />

some metal smithing or metal foundry skills because of the fairly large amount of scrap metal (brass,<br />

pewter and both worked and raw iron) accounted for at the time of his death. I also note the fact that<br />

there was an iron mining operation a short distance southeast of his 200 acre land holding located one<br />

mile southeeast of present day Chesterfield, Virginia. One other fact plays into my thinking and that is<br />

the fact that the first iron smelting operation in America was only a few miles north of where Ralph<br />

Blankinship lived. I'm also aware that there are older iron smelting foundries near his home in<br />

Hernrico County, VA and that the first iron mining in America occured in Henrico County. The last<br />

item for consideration is presented elsewhere in on this "<strong>Blankenship</strong> Origins" web site and that is the<br />

fact that sometime around 1694 a court action was initiated against Ralph <strong>Blankenship</strong> for cutting<br />

down timber on another man's land. The amount the man was attempting to sue for was 100 English<br />

pounds, or about $13,000 in today's money. The court eventually ruled that the land where the lumber<br />

was cut was swamp land and that there were questions concerning the succession of land rights when<br />

two partners predeceased the claimant. Ralph apparently paid nothing. However, the large amount of<br />

timber he cut down suggests to most people that he may have used it to produce charcoal. Charcoal<br />

production for metal smelting in Cumberland, England during the 1600's was one of the likely reasons<br />

the landscape was reported denuded and barren. While we don't know what Ralph did with all that<br />

timber, it must have been a formidable labor and not done in vain. This fact is just another piece of the<br />

unsolved puzzle of what trade or profession the immigrant Ralph Blankinship engaged in during his<br />

lifetime. If we could only excavate in the area of his known residence circa 1700 located one mile<br />

southeast of Chesterfield we might possibly discover the remains of charcoal from a private smelting<br />

operation. The charcoal might then be carbon dated and conclusions drawn. But alas, I'm told that a<br />

small strip mall of some sort with a large parking lot exists today where Ralph and Martha presumably<br />

once lived at the end of the 17th century. Their homestead location is precisely defined elsewhere at<br />

this web site.<br />

In spite of all these assumptions there is no solid proof to link Ralph to one particular trade or<br />

profession. However, the total absence of farming implements listed on his death inventory of goods,<br />

such as we find in the inventories of his sons, suggests to me that he was not a farmer. He therefore<br />

must have been a skilled tradesman. Because he died young, at age 54, may further suggest that he<br />

worked in a harsh trade such as metal smelting where mercury, arsenic and other noxious chemicals<br />

are used. Because Richard Kennon paid a quit rent for Ralph Blankinship sometime before his death<br />

(on at least on one or more occasions), this further suggests to me that somehow Ralph was beholden<br />

to Kennon. In fact, when Ralph died Kennon's heirs, most likely his wife, was still holding an<br />

outstanding debt owed by Ralph to Richard Kennon. A court action was recorded regarding the<br />

collection of the monies owed in tobacco equivalent to cancel the debt paid for the quit rent. [NOTE: A<br />

quit rent is money paid so that one does not have to perform a particular service, such as military<br />

service. In Colonial Virgina men were obligated to serve in the local militia which acted as as a defense<br />

force protecting settlers from Indian attacks, which were quite common then. These Indian attack<br />

persisted until the early 1760's when a Viriginia militia force was assembled by the Virignia Governor<br />

to fight the Indians that were becoming a serious threat. There is an historical record of <strong>Blankenship</strong>s<br />

being called to service in that rather lengthy engagement which preceeded the War of Revolution by<br />

about 15 years. We therefore can proudly say that <strong>Blankenship</strong>s have participated in every American<br />

war, including the Indian war of Central Virginia during the 1760's.]<br />

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