Click here to see the George Mills line of Jamaica, Queens, NY (eliminated as our line)

My gg grandmother, Martha Jane Mills Kirwin has been a real stinker to research! Several family members have given it a shot and all have come up empty handed. The member who has come the closest reports:

"After spending two weeks looking at every Mills name on the North Carolina 1850 census for a fifteen year old girl named Martha Mills, I now find that she had a second name which is Jane. I didn't find her under the name Martha, and I'm not sure that I'll find her listed under Jane, but I'll have to look."

Family history claimed Martha was born 4 July 1835, Charlotte, Mecklenberg, NC and died 27 April 1891 West Cherry Town, Montgomery, Kansas. Her Obit published in the local newspaper 30 April 1891 states:

"Mrs. Martha Kirwin, died at her home in West Cherry township, Montgomery County, Monday, in the 53rd year of her age. She leaves six children to mourn her loss, all of whom were absent at the time of her death except Albert. Her remains were buried in the Westcott Cemetery Tuesday, surrounded by a large number of sorrowing friends." Neodesha Sun Times

This appears to make her birthdate 1838 instead of 1835. Census records are equally unhelpful; in 1860 Martha is 25 (b.1835), in 1870 she is 34 (b. 1836), in 1880 she is 46 (b. 1834). Average it and we have 1835 ...

On 22 July 1855, Martha married Patrick Kirwin, an Irish Famine Immigrant whom she met while she was visiting her kin in Shelbyville, Shelby County, Indiana. Their children; Francis Marion (legend says named for the Swamp Fox), William H., Mary A., John Arthur, Thomas Jordan, Charles Edward were all born in Addison Township, Shelby Co., IN between 1855 and 1862. They went to Kansas where their last child, Albert W. Kirwin was born in 1870. This far we have gotten...

From here the quest to give Martha a family has been tedious and difficult. With lots of help and much time, I have finally found a family in the right time frame who at least know HAD a daughter named Martha Jane...Suddenly, I am into Quaker records (we should all be so lucky!) and though everything is fitting together, including the places they lived and the occupations they had, I still have no one official document which shows Martha Jane until her wedding certificate in 1855!  There is still no concrete link to the Swamp Fox story, however, given the places these people lived, it makes sense to me that what I am about to present will link together one day someway, somehow. At this point, I am not willing to throw out anything!

I have researched thoroughly two family lines; the line of George Mills out of Jamaica, Queens County, New York and the line of John Mills, a Quaker. I have no evidence so far that the George Mills line had Quaker ties, but I have nothing to dismiss this either and these two lines did intermarry. I suspect we will eventually prove that Martha Jane is the daughter of Enos Mills and Edith Mankins - this is the John Mills Quaker line.

Cheska Callow Wheatley (now deceased) documented the descendancy of John Mills on her website which unfortunately was removed after her death. She and I spent many hours researching the John Mills line together via email in the early days of the internet and I am forever in her debt for helping me. Summaries of her background data is copied here, here, and here.

NOTE: the question remains as to whether John was b. in England or Pennsylvania.

NOTE: many researchers have specifed Rachel Bates as the wife of this particular John, however the Quaker Records do not support that - see below.

Family of John Mills and (1) Rebecca Wright

[1] Probably came to America circa 1708 with Richard Harrold and worked in Philadelphia in the construction business for several years before moving to Maryland. In 1730 he was described as John Mills of "Manoquisy near ye River Potomac." On the marriage certificate of his son Thomas who married to Elizabeth Harrold, a daughter of Richard Harrold. In 1731 he witnessed a marriage at the home of Josiah Ballinger at "Monoguisie Province of Maryland." He owned 1315 acres in what is now Berkeley Co., WV described as being "on a branch of Opeckon, near but not adjoining Lewis DeMoss' land." In 1743 he deeded land to sons Thomas, Hur, Henry and John Jr. recorded in Frederick Co., VA. In 1757, he was visited by William Reckitt during the French and Indian War. John was then living within two or three miles of a place where not many weeks before Indians had killed and taken away people. He made his last will and testament 28 Sep 1759 which was probated Jul 1761 Rowan Co., NC. The will made specific bequests to his children Thomas, John, Hur, Henry, and Mary. He left one shilling each to the children of his then wife Rebeckah referring to the support of her children. John died 24 11th month 1760 and his death is noted in the monthly meeting records of New Garden MM, Guilford Co., NC.
In 1730 John witnessed the marriage of his eldest son Thomas, followed by the signature of a Rebecca Mills who was most likely his first wife and the mother of Thomas. Children by his first marriage were born between 1709 and 1724. Children from a second marriage to a woman also named Rebecca are recorded in the minutes of New Garden MM, NC. These children were born between 1742 and 1757. It would appear that John's first wife died after 1730 and he remarried circa 1740 to the second Rebecca. The second marriage no doubt occured while John and his children were members of Hopewell MM, VA. Unfortunately, the early records of this monthly meeting burned so there is no record of this marriage. The surnames of both wives remain unknown.

THE LAST WILL & TESTAMENT OF JOHN MILLS

ROWAN COUNTY, NC
Probated July 1761
Recorded Book A, p. 124
In the name of God Amen, the 28th day of Sept. 1759, I, John Mills Sr., of the County of Rowan & province of N.C. being sick & weak in body, but of sound & perfect memory, thanks be to Almighty for the same & calling to mind the uncertainty of this frail & mortal life & that it is appointed for all men once to die & after death to come to Judgement, do make & ordain this my last will & testament, disannulling & revoking all former wills made by me and as for such wordly estates it has pleased God to bless me with in this llife, I devise, dispose of & bequeath of as followeth.

Imprimis. First & principally I recommend my soul to Almight God my creator. Secondly I recommend my body to the earth to be buried in a Christian & decent manner at the discretion of my executrix hereafter named.

• Item. I give & bequeath to my well beloved wife Rebecah Mills all my movable goods, chattels, lands debts & demands owe to me to be left to her discretion for the support of her children, to her & her heirs, executors, administrators & assigns forever.
• Item. I give & bequeath to my son Thomas Mills by my former wife 1 shilling sterling with that part he hath alredy received, to him his heirs & assigns forever.
• Item. I give & bequeath to my son John Mills by my former wife 1 shilling sterling with that part he hath alredy received, to him his heirs & assigns forever.
• Item. I give & bequeath to my son Herr Mills by my former wife 1 shilling sterling with that part he hath alredy received, to him his heirs & assigns forever.
• Item. I give & bequeath to my son Henry Mills by my former wife 1 shilling sterling with that part he hath alredy received, to him his heirs & assigns forever.
• Item. I give & bequeath to my daughter Mary Beeson by my former wife 1 shilling sterling with that part he hath alredy received, to him his heirs & assigns forever.
• Item. I nominate & appoint my well beloved wife Rebeckah Mills whole & sole executrix of this my last will & testament.

In witness therof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this Sept. 28, 1759.

John Mills
Witnesses:
.....William Buis
.....William Baldwin
.....John Baker
**********
HOPEWELL was the first Quaker meeting established in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It was originally known as Opeckan and was set off from the Concord Quarterly Meeting of Pennsylvania in 1734. The actual date of first settlement is thought to be around 1730. The meeting house is located about 6 miles north of Winchester, Frederick Co., Virginia.

A land grant of 100,000 acres was purchased on the Opeckan River. Many of the earliest settlers moved into the area from the Valley of the Monocacy in Maryland. MILLS, John 1,315 acres, now in Berkeley Co., WV on a branch of Opeckan.
**************
John Mills was received at Cane Creek Monthly Meeting in North Carolina on 8/1/1752 on a certificate from Hopewell Monthly Meeting, Opeckan, Virginia dated 6/1/1752. Cane Creek Meeting at that time embraced a large area but John probably settled in Rowan County as he was a charter member of New Garden Monthly Meeting, Rowan County, when it was established in 1754. Sons Thomas, John, Hur & Henry followed on 9/1/1753 by certificate from Hopewell dated 5/7/1753.

John Mills and son John, Jr., are called "Fathers of the Colony" by Hinshaw in writing of Hopewell Monthly Meeting in Virginia. Unfortunately the early Hopewell records have been lost and we only know of the Mills family move to North Carolina from the minutes of the receiving meeting. Fortunately, as was often the case, children were recorded at New Garden Monthly Meeting even though born in Virginia and it is here that we learn that Rebeckah was second wife of John and find birth dates for the second set of children.

[2] "Wright" as the surname of John's first wife was supplied by Harold Curryer email him!

[3] Henry, Thomas, John & Hur Mills would have been automatically transferred to New Garden when it was set up in 1754 and they are mentioned as part of the original membership.

Family of John Mills and (2) Rebecca Harrold

[1]1786 Rowan County Tax List shows Rebecca Mills widow of John Mills. Between 1747 and 1753 the family moved from Virginia to North Carolina.

Family of Henry Mills and Hannah Thornburg

Family of Aaron Mills and Charity Mendenhall

[1] Aaron Mills died at Lost Creek, Jefferson County, Tennessee, while his youngest child was still a baby. He left the following will:

"I Aaron Mills of the County of Jefferson, and Western Territory South river Ohio, this third day of the eighth month in the year of our Lord 1794, being in perfect health of body mind and memory, but calling to mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that its appointed for all men to die, I make and ordain this my last will and Testament and as touching such worldly Estate as it has pleased the almighty to bless me with in this life, I give and dispose of the same in manner and form following:

I give and bequeath to my loving wife Charity all and the whole of my Estate during her natural life, for the support, education and bringing up, of my Children, believing that she will do the best in her power for their preservation everyway, and what shall remain of my Estate at the decease of my wife, I will and desire that it may be equally divided amongst my Children then living, born before, or after this time. And lastly I do hereby appoint my trusty Friends Elihu Swain and Samuel Mills to be my Executors jointly with each other to this my last will and Testament. And I do hereby disannul, revoke and make void all other wills by me made, ratifying this, and no other, to be my last will and testament. Whereunto I have set my hand and seal the day and year above written.
Published in the presence of us (no names)
/s/Aaron Mills (seal)"

[2] Charity Mendenhall was b. 19 April 1754, Guilford Co, North Carolina and d.19 February 1836, Wayne Co, Indiana. Charity Mendenhall Mills was granted a certificate to Lick Creek Monthly Meeting in Indiana August 27, 1814, and traveled to Indiana with her sons Henry, Seth, Moses, Isaac & William, and sons-in-law John Gwin & William Lock. Son John Mills had gone to Ohio in 1807 but met with the rest of the family in Wayne County, Indiana. Son Aaron had preceded them in July of 1814 or perhaps had his certificate early and accompanied them.

Certificates for the families were received at Whitewater Monthly Meeting in Indiana instead of Lick Creek: 11/26/1814 Henry and son Josiah; Hannah and daughter Anna Maria, and mother Charity; 12/31/1814 Rachel (wife of Isaac); 1/28/1815 Moses and son Milton; Elizabeth and daughter Garelda; Seth and son Aaron and Kinsey; and Charity and daughters Betsy Ann and Mary Ann.

The children are scattered about in Wayne County in the 1820 census and mother Charity is living with son Moses and family. Charity Mendenhall Mill's death is recorded at Springfield Monthly Meeting in Wayne County, Indiana.

[3] Isaac eventually went to Oregon on the Applegate Wagon Train in 1843. His son, John Beales Mills accompanied him with his 1 year old son, William Riley Mills. William Riley married Adaline Miller. Contact Harold Curryer for more info and see the charts for this family here.

Family of Seth Mills and Charity Thornburg

(NOTE: I have all the names of the grandchildren of Seth & Charity as well, email me if you need them)

[1] Seth Mills is mentioned in the History of Wayne Co (1872) as building the second grist-mill in Dalton Township about 1826.

[2] Aaron L and Pamelia Samuels Mills had a son, their 3rd child, named Enos (perhaps with middle initial "L") b. 1835-40 in Indiana. This Enos married Margaret Roberson in Washington County, AR 28 September 1855 and died on the Mills Farm in AR 29 September 1863. He is sometimes confused with the Enos who married Edith Mankins... they are two different men!

[3] Jacob and Edith "Edy" Lewis Mills also had a son, their 4th child, named Enos Plesant Mills b. abt. 1852 in Washington County, AR. NOTE: From Roy L Carter (click on his name to contact him): My great grandfather was Enos Plesant Mills. His parents were Jacob Mills and Edy Lewis. Enos married Rebecca  Jonnes; from this marriage he had four children: Willy C, Audie, Humphrey, Emma Gertrude (my grandmother). Rebecca passed away from unknown causes. Then Enos P. remarried to Sarah Rozella Ramsey; from this marriage was born Waco Plesant, Flossy, Dewy, Zena. Enos Plesant Mills during his time in Arkansas was a deputy U.S Marshall who worked for Issac Parker, the "hanging judge" in Fort Smith Ar. He was in the posse which killed the Indian outlaw Ned Christie. I have pictures of the posse and  Ned Christie. My grandmother married my grandfather John Jordon Carter and when my grandfather and grandmother moved to Mckinney, Texas in 1918. Enos moved his family as well to Mckinney; this is where he died  in the 1920s and is buried in the Pecan Grove Cemetery in Mckinney, Texas. I never had the privilege of meeting any of the Mills as I came from my father's second marriage - he was 66 years old when I was born. I am only thirty years old. My father did tell me quite a bit about Enos and my grandmother and the whole family. I did know Enos' three youngest daughters never married and and my father took care of them until their deaths."

Family of Enos Mills and Edith Mankins

[1] one researcher lists the date as 14 June 1834, but offers no source.... LDS Temple Film # 1761123 shows the above date and a location of Washington County, AR. We have since established the marriage took place in Edith's county of birth as shown.

[2] Enos (and brother Henry) both show up in a book of Dade County, MO Abstracts of Wills and Admrs. "A" 1841-1867 in 1971 published by Mrs. Howard W. Woodruff as follows:

"MILLS, ENOS, died intestate. Admr. Silvester C. Massey, 9 Nov. 1849 (A-74)" (note: Massey is son of Enos' sister Mary Ann Mills Massey)
"MILLS, HENRY, died int. Admr. Jacob Reed, 14 Nov. 1848 (A-65)" (note: Reed was Henry's wife's maiden name, thus this is a relative of hers)

[3] Click on Edith's name to see her ancestry charts

[4] Martha Jane is listed as "1 female under 5" in 1840 Washington County, Arkansas Census; listed as age 10 in 1850 Dade County, MO Census... As I mentioned, this family group chart is what I HOPE to prove - it is looking good so far, but so far, it is still not proved! I would love to talk to any descendents of this family group!

[5] The 1860 census shows Lidia as a Mc Clinto?? and a marriage between John McClintock and a Lidia is found in Barry County in 1859. Lidia lives with her 1 year old daughter, Lewisea. It was common for newlywed couples to live apart until they could afford to set up a household. John McClintock is enumerated living close by in the same township in1860, age 27 and born in Tennessee. I cannot find them in 1870. If you are related to this line, please contact me! Civil War records show: McClintock, J. S. 2nd Lt. 13th MO Inf.

[6] On a trip into Greene County, Missouri, my aunt has learned that our William Riley Mills joined the Union Army Missouri Volunteers, 8th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry which was "organized at Springfield, Mo., August 6 to September 15, 1862." He died of wounds received in the Battle of Little Rock aka Battla of Bayou Forche, 10 September 1863: "The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South." See notes at the bottom of this page regarding previous datas thought to apply to this man but dismissed as incorrect!.

[7]  There is a record in the 15th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps for a Pvt. Henry M. Mills, Company E, but no proof that this is the same man, nor any information on whether he survived the Civil War.

NOTES on the family of ENOS and EDITH/EDA MANKINS MILLS: The couple first shows up in Washington County, AR in the 1840 census as follows:

WHITE RIVER TOWNSHIP
PAGE 6 - LINE 2

Enos MILLS; 1 white male 20-30 years, 1 white female under five years, 1 white female 15-20 years

1. this Census puts Enos' birth in a range of 1810-1820 matching the known information for Enos Mills, son of Seth and /Charity Thornburg Mills - this is important because there were four Enos' in this family and some researchers have them all grouped as one person:
#1 Enos as listed above ( I have never seen a middle name or initial associated with this Enos)
#2 Enos L., b. abt. 1836-40, son of Aaron L. and Pamelia Samuels Mills (grandson of Seth & Charity and nephew to #1 Enos - Aaron was brother to #1 Enos)
#3 Enos P., b. after 1845, son of Jacob and Edith/Edy Lewis Mills (another grandson of Seth & Charity and also nephew to #1 Enos - Jacob was also brother to #1 Enos)
#4 Enos, Jr., son of #1 Enos born May 1850, Dade County, MO after #1 Enos had died.

2. this Census puts Edith's birth in a range of 1820-1825 which is important because there were TWO Edith Mankins born in Floyd Co., KY and some researchers seem to have them confused:
#1 Edith Mankins, b. 1810, Floyd County, KY, daughter of Peter and Rachel Bracken Lewis Mankins
#2 Edith Mankins, b. 16 Oct. 1821, Floyd County, KY, daughter of John Bracken and Mary "Polly" Sloan Mankins. John Bracken Mankins was the son of Peter and Rachel Bracken Lewis Mankins and also the brother of #1 Edith Mankins. The dates for this Edith match the information on all the censuses from 1840 to 1860, whether she was married to Enos Mills, on her own as a widow, or married to John R. Williams. Click here to see Edith's Ancestry including the information on her Aunt Edith. Also note that John Bracken and Mary Sloan Mankins went to Washington County, AR by 1834 where their son Walter W. Mankins and successive children (John Bracken Mankins, Jr. and Samuel Walter Mankins) were born. John died in 1876 in Mariposa County, CA.

A letter written by Jacob Mills, brother of Enos, 5 June 1843 mentions the marriage of Enos and Edith and the date of the marriage. You can read the letter here. It also lists the following children's names: Martha Jane, Lydia, William Riley and a four-day-old unnamed son (Henry). The letter mentions some of the family has gone to Dade County, MO, so I looked there for the family in the 1850 Census... BINGO!

I found Edith listed as EDA MILLS in the 1850 DADE COUNTY, MO Census with all the children. At this point, I did not know Enos had died in 1849, so I was puzzled to find Eda alone on the Census. She was living "next door" to Permilia "Milly" Reed Mills (the two sisters-in-law who had both become widowed) and all her children. Living with Edith is Samuel Mills who is the right age (to be her brother and the son of John Bracken Mankins b. 16 April 1837, Washington Co., AR (I suspect the associated MILLS surname is a typo on the census). Here is the census (note: Edith's age is 28, matching the birth year for Edith Mankins, dau. of John Bracken Mankins):

1850 Census - Dade County, MO - Film M420 - 22 Oct 1850, 302R

Next, I read the letter from Seth T. Mills, another brother of Enos (you can read it here) written 24 February 1852, which includes the following statement: "Out of seven brothers there is but two of us left." I went back and looked at the material on the children of Seth and Charity Thornburg Mills and was able to ascertain that by 1852, only Seth T. Mills and Jacob Mills survived. Of the sisters, Mary Ann Mills Massey, Sarah (Sally) Mills Camp, Rachel Mills Van Hoose and Lettie Elizabeth Mills Lewis did live full lives. Both of the remaining two brothers had died by the end of the Civil War. Jacob was "killed by bushwhackers" and Seth contracted measles and died. Seth and Charity Thornburg Mills lived until 1876 and 1875, respectively. Shortly after all this was sinking in, I found the information regarding the Intestate Deaths of Henry and Enos.

So, I am now up to 1852. Edith, at age 28 is a widow with 6 children aged 2-12. So far, I have been unable to find any further record of this root family. However, by 20 February 1855, my Martha Jane Mills, age 15-17 has given birth to son Francis Marion out of wedlock in Indiana. Perhaps she went there to hide her pregnancy? She does not marry Patrick Kirwin until 22 July 1855 and the Kirwin Family Ballad says she met Patrick "while visiting kin" in Indiana. There surely were members of this family in Indiana!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This has been a long chilly summer both in terms of actual weather and progress! I suspect I am still on the right track and the Fall offers new promise. If my aunts are able to find documentation, I will have all kinds of collateral data to add to these charts. The good news is that IF this is right, the rest is very well documented!

I noticed that 1)Enos' brother Aaron L. Mills named a son Francis Marian Mills and 2) Enos and Edith's daughter Lucinda married a man whose middle name is Marion...... perhaps all this somehow explains why Martha Jane Kirwin named her first son Francis Marion Kirwin??? I also note that Aaron L. Mills and his brother Jacob Mills both named sons "Enos" after their brother.

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WINTER 2002 - The plot thickens or thins; depends on your outlook!

My aunt and her new hubby have made a major breakthrough! They have discovered that Edith Mankins Mills married her neighbor, John R. Williams after Enos died. In 1850, Edith and John were enumerated as follows:

[1] John was born 3 March 1813 in Floyd County, Kentucky and died 1 March 1878, buried Harrington Cemetery, Greene County, MO. Sarah ??? was born 1817 in Tennessee and the marriage took place in Missouri, 1834 according to US Marriage Records 1560-1900. Sarah (nee Russell) must have died soon after the census was taken. Enos' estate was not settled until December 1853. John R. and Eda had sold all the property the owned in Dade county between the months of July and October 1853. They probably then moved to Barry county the last of 1853 or early in 1854. Both of their names show up on the land sales, so they must have married by then.

In 1860, the MILLS/WILLIAMS family shows up in Barry County, Missouri as follows (note adjacent Williams families):

[1] Children of John R. Williams with Sarah Russell; Eliza J., b. 1836; Emmaline N. b. abt. 1839; Jaspar Newton Williams was b. 17 Octobe 1840 and d. 11 January 1916 - he did not marry. Francis M. b. abt. 1843; George W. Williams b. 29 June 1845, d. 28 May 1919 - he did not marry; Sarah Ann b. abt. 1849

[2] This child would have to be the issue of John and Edith, b. about 1855. UPDATE April 2015: Narcissa Clementine Williams b. 19 October 1854 Cassville, Barry, Missouri, USA, m. Alvoree Davidson Lamberson 4 November 1877 in Brooklyn, Green Co., Missouri. Issue of this couple: Myrtle Lamberson b. 1878, Carrie Lamberson b. 1800, Everet Lamberson 1881, Jessie Lamberson b 1886, Ova E Lamberson b. 1889, Ray Lamberson b 1893. By 1900, the couple had moved to Seward, KS, then by 1930 to Gore, GRant Co., OK. Narcissa died 17 November 1931 and is buried In Banner Cemetery, Seward County, KS.

[3] So far this is the last trace I can find of Henry M. Mills - did he die in the Civil War along with William Riley?  There is a record in the 15th Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps for a Pvt. Henry M. Mills, Company E, but no proof that this is the same man.

[4] a marriage between Johnathan McClinton and a Lidia is found in Barry County in 1859. It was common for newlywed couples to live apart until they could afford to set up a household. John McClinton is enumerated living close by in 1860.

Our Martha married Patrick Kirwin in 1855, so she would have moved on by the 1860 census and does not show up in this census with her mother. I am now looking to find the obituary of Edith listing there whereabouts of her children.

UPDATE 2004: I found John, but where is Edie??? Note that John has a new wife. Since Edith already had a documented daughter named Martha, it would be unlikely that she would give another daughter the same name. Thus, the age and name of the five year old child "Martha" in this household suggests Edith had died by 1862 and Martha* and Malinda are the issue of John Williams and Elizabeth, wife #3.... this narrows the field to find a likely death notice for Edith in Barry County between 1860 and 1862...

1870; Greene County, Wilson Twnsp; pg. 225 (aka 269b)

[1] Marriage of John and Elizabeth performed by William Cliborne, JP and is on page 282 of book B: 5 Feb 1863, to "Elizabeth Roberson" aka Elizabeth Hagewood Robertson (information contributed by Megan Zurawich - email her for more info).

[2] Martha E.* was born 20 Dec 1865 and died 4 Jul 1906 - she is buried next to her father in Harrington Cemetery.

[3] Malinda Cordelia Williams was b. 28 October 1869, m. Samuel Edward McCrosky, d. 28 March 1965 in Greene County. This couple had five children; Bertie, Edith, Lillie, George and Flo.

FALL 2004: The death of John R. Williams from an article in the History of Greene County, Missouri - 1883; R. I. Holcombe, Editing Historian; Chapter 23 -
Brookline Township:

ITEMS: "February 25, 1878, John R. Williams, living a few miles south of Brookline, and an old citizen of the township, was hauling a load of wood. The mules he was driving became frightened at a hog and ran, throwing Mr. Williams from the wagon and fracturing his skull. He died in a few days, aged 64."

A look at the 1880 Census record for Elizabeth Williams shows that she and John added two sons, James A. and Josefhus (sic) to their family before John's death. This likely explains why contact between the Williams and Mills families was lost over time. Daughters Sarah (now 30) and Narcissa (now 27) had by 1880 moved on. This makes John, at his death, the father of 11 children.

Bio of Jaspar: History of Greene County, Missouri - 1883; R. I. Holcombe, Editing Historian; Chapter 31 - Resume of the City's History from 1876 to 1883; Part 2 - Biographies:

J. N. WILLIAMS (Jaspar Newton Williams): Mr. Williams is the son of John R. Williams, who came to this county about 1833, and was born here in October, 1840. He lived in Dade County, Missouri, from 1852 to 1856, and than removed to Barry county. He returned to Greene county in 1860, and in 1861 enlisted in the 8^th Missouri volunteers, U.S.A., under Col. W. F. Geiger, and served about one year. He was a non-commissioned officer of company K. He was disabled and discharged. Since coming to Springfield, he has been actively engaged in business, and for the last twelve years has been in the produce business, most of the time with J. M. Garrett, and still remains at the old stand with A. Koenigsbruck. Mr. Williams was married March 19, 1865, to Miss Matilda P., daughter of Junius M. Rountree, one of the most prominent citizens of this county. Their union is blessed with five children, three boys and two girls.

Still be found is an obit for Edith ... If you have anything to add to our search, do email!

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!!! DISMISSED INFORMATION !!! ~ from FALL 2000

WINTER 2005

Correspondence from Harold Curryer in Oregon, a direct descendant of the William Riley Mills described living in Oregon has led me to information proving "our" William Riley Mills is a different man. However, this William Riley is cousin to "our" William Riley. Both were born in Washington County AR, but one year apart. The William Riley shown below is the son of John Beales Mills, son of Isaac, son of  Aaron. Aaron was also the father of Seth who was the father of Enos, so the two William Riley's were second cousins. See the footnote #1 under chart #4 and footnote #6 under chart #6 above. See the charts for cousin William Riley Mills' family here.