Shanklin Family

The Shanklin family is an American family lineage whose name is generally associated with descendants of Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. Members of the family migrated to what became the United States during the eighteenth century, with important early settlements in Augusta County, Virginia, and later in Kentucky. The family’s history is connected with landholding, agriculture, military service, law, education, public administration, and federal government work rather than with a commercial brand or a single incorporated organization. Among the earliest figures identified in the family tradition were Robert Shankland and his brother Edward Shankland I. Robert reportedly came to America in 1747 using university tuition supplied by his father, while Edward settled in the Augusta County area of Virginia. Edward I is associated with the adoption of the Shanklin form of the surname. The family’s Virginia settlement later fell within Rockingham County. Edward Shankland II, the son of Edward I, supplied and served with American forces during the Revolutionary War and received substantial land grants in the Virginia territory that became southern Kentucky. These land connections helped establish the family’s later presence in Kentucky. The family expanded into several Kentucky counties. Edward Shankland III was among the early pioneers of the area that became Todd County, then part of Christian County, and received more than 900 acres through Kentucky land grants. His large family created numerous later branches. Another line was established by John Robert Shanklin, who moved to Jessamine County in 1800. His son George Sea Shanklin became a Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorney, a state representative, and a member of the United States Congress. Related family connections included the Bryan family of Lexington and the Waveland estate. The family’s history also reflects the divisions and conflicts of nineteenth-century America. John Edward Shanklin served in a Confederate cavalry unit during the Civil War, was wounded, and later worked as a regimental ordnance teamster before surrendering in 1865. In the generations that followed, Shanklin family members continued to participate in public life. William Sinclair Shanklin was elected to the Kentucky legislature in 1937 and served one term. He and his brother John E. Shanklin also engaged in land transactions and farming during the Great Depression. At the height of these agricultural operations, family holdings in southern Todd County reportedly exceeded 6,000 acres, with some land remaining near Elkton, Kentucky. The broader family network produced figures in several fields. William Arnold Shanklin served as president of Wesleyan University from 1909 to 1923. James Gordon Shanklin became special agent in charge of the Dallas office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and oversaw the bureau’s investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; the Dallas FBI building was later named in his honor. Other identified relatives served as mayor of Charleston, West Virginia; Indiana secretary of state; a federal legislator and Kentucky prosecutor; military officers; and an attorney involved in the prosecution of Frank James. Roy E. Shanklin was a B-29 pilot who led the first B-29 raid on Tokyo in November 1944 and received several military decorations. The Shanklin family should therefore be understood as a historical genealogy and extended family network, not as a consumer-facing company, product brand, or formal business group. Its significance derives from the documented and reported activities of individual members across American settlement, agriculture, politics, education, law enforcement, law, and military service.

The Shanklin family tradition traces the American lineage to Gilbert Shankland of Enniskillen, Ireland. During the eighteenth century, several members of the family crossed to North America. Robert Shankland is reported to have traveled to America in 1747 with financial assistance from his father, Robert Shankland Sr., intended to support his university education. His brother Edward Shankland I also came to America and settled in the region then known as Augusta County, Virginia. Edward I adopted the Shanklin spelling of the surname, and later family accounts identify him as an important ancestor of the American branch. The Virginia settlement later became part of Rockingham County. Edward’s son, Edward Shankland II, was associated with both agriculture and the Revolutionary War. He acted as a supplier and soldier and received several hundred acres in the Virginia territory that later became southern Kentucky. He also held one of the larger plantation properties in Rockingham County. Family tradition additionally associates Thomas Shanklin with the frontier culture later represented in James Fenimore Cooper’s fiction, although the precise historical relationship between the real individual and literary characters is not established here. A major movement of the family into Kentucky occurred in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Edward Shankland III became one of the early settlers of the region that became Todd County, Kentucky, then part of Christian County. Kentucky Governor Christopher Greenup granted him more than 900 acres. Edward III married Elizabeth Huston, and their large family produced several later branches. His descendants included Edward Shankland IV and the Stuart line associated with Jennie Stuart Hospital in Hopkinsville. A family account also identifies Mary Shanklin as a midwife present at the birth of Jefferson Davis, though this claim is presented as family history rather than independently evaluated here. A separate branch began with John Robert Shanklin, who moved to Jessamine County in 1800 and married Mary Magdaline Sea, commonly called Polly. Their son George Sea Shanklin entered Kentucky public life. He served as Commonwealth’s Attorney, represented the state in the legislature on two occasions, and served in the United States Congress. George Sea Shanklin’s descendants also connected with the Bryan family of Lexington through the marriage of Elliot West Shanklin to Martha Bryan, whose family was associated with the construction of Waveland. The family’s nineteenth-century history included military participation during the American Civil War. John Edward Shanklin, a son of Edward Shanklin IV, enlisted in 1861 in a Confederate cavalry formation identified in the source material as the 15th Kentucky Cavalry, also known as Woodward’s 2nd D Cavalry. After being wounded, he was reassigned to duties transporting military munitions. He surrendered in Washington, Georgia, in 1865. Following the war, he married Georgia Ann, and they had ten children. In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Todd County branch combined farming, land transactions, and public service. William Sinclair Shanklin, a son of John Edward and Georgia Ann, won election to the Kentucky legislature in 1937 as a Democrat and served a single term. He did not seek reelection. William and his brother John E. Shanklin bought, sold, and traded land during the Great Depression. Their farming operations eventually encompassed more than 6,000 acres in southern Todd County at their reported peak, and portions of the family’s landholdings remained near Elkton. The family’s public profile extended well beyond Kentucky. William Arnold Shanklin was president of Wesleyan University from 1909 through 1923. James Gordon Shanklin served as special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI office and presided over the bureau’s investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Dallas FBI building was subsequently named for him. John A. Shanklin served as mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, from 1959 to 1967, while John G. Shanklin served as Indiana secretary of state from 1879 to 1881. Colonel John Henderson Shanklin was a trial lawyer in the case involving Frank James of the Jesse James Gang. Military service remained another recurring theme. Andrew Shanklin and Robert Shanklin are identified as lieutenants who fought in the American Revolutionary War, and Samuel Shanklin served as a captain during the War of 1812. Lieutenant Roy E. Shanklin led the first B-29 raid on Tokyo on November 24, 1944, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. The source material also identifies O’Dell Martin as a musician among the wider family connections. Taken together, these accounts portray the Shanklin family as a dispersed American lineage whose historical importance rests on the activities of individual descendants. It is not described as a unified corporation, commercial house, or branded product enterprise.

• 1959

  John A. Shanklin begins Charleston mayoral service

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  John A. Shanklin began serving as mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, a position he held through 1967.

• 1944

  Roy E. Shanklin leads an early B-29 raid on Tokyo

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  Lieutenant Roy E. Shanklin led the first B-29 raid on Tokyo on November 24, 1944, according to the family account.

• 1937

  William Sinclair Shanklin elected to Kentucky legislature

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  William Sinclair Shanklin was elected as a Democrat to the Kentucky legislature and served one term.

• 1909

  William Arnold Shanklin becomes Wesleyan president

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  William Arnold Shanklin began his tenure as president of Wesleyan University, serving until 1923.

• 1879

  John G. Shanklin serves as Indiana secretary of state

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  John G. Shanklin held the office of Indiana secretary of state from 1879 to 1881.

• 1861

  John Edward Shanklin enters Confederate service

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Edward Shanklin enlisted in a Kentucky Confederate cavalry formation during the American Civil War.

• 1800

  John Robert Shanklin settles in Jessamine County

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Robert Shanklin moved to Jessamine County, Kentucky, establishing a branch that later produced public official George Sea Shanklin.

• 1747

  Robert Shankland travels to America

  [1]Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Shankland is reported to have come to America using university tuition provided by his father.

A historical American family lineage associated with settlement, landholding, public service, education, military service, and government.

1. 1Shanklin familyen.wikipedia.org