Article copied from the Eldon Mo. Advertiser published on October 26, 1972
First Bilyeu came to county over 150 years ago
By Clyde Lee Jenkins
The first Bilyeu in what is now Miller County was, without any doubt, Isaac. He appeared in the Gasconade River country on a hunting expedition in late 1818, and having found game so plentiful, camped for more than a year near the Shawnee Alleges by the Marles River. During this time he made several excursions into the wilds of the Big Richwoods with Indian Chief Rodgers, hunting for deer and bear.
An excellent hunter, old Chief Rodgers was a white man, having been removed from the breasts of his mother by Indians raiding settlements near the falls of the Ohio River before the Revolutionary War.
Isaac found wild game in the Big Richwoods so abounding that he raised a log cabin near the mouth of the Atwell, Johnston, and Little Tavern forks probably on land now owned by Leonard Keeth.
In the summer of 1820, having married an Indian maiden, Isaac moved with his new bride, both under 20 years of age, into their log cabin home. Their closest neighbors were John Wilson by the Barren Fork Creek, and Daniel Brumley by the Big Tavern Creek to the north.
Isaac kept his wife supplied with sugar by gathering wild honey. Every season, at the Missouri River, he got salt from the canoes, coming down from the Boone’s Lick. For three or more years he got corn from James Harrison at the mouth of the Piney River. He kept the corn inside his cabin, concealed in a hallow-log barrel, and when needed for bread-stuff, a small portion of the grain was placed in a bowl-shaped rock and crushed with a round stone by hand. The bear and deer furnished meat for food, and skins for leather breeches, skirts, jackets, moccasins, and hammocks.
Having a trio of Indian dogs for chasing bear made Isaac a wealthy hunter. These animals were vicious, a cross between early puritan mongrels and domesticated prairie wolves.
In fact, it may be said, Isaac hunted like an Indian, was married to an Indian, and generally lived like an Indian.
Little or nothing is knows of his ancestors, and upon his death in late 1829, his wife returned with at least two children, to her own people. Without any doubt he was a relative of the Bilyeus who commenced entering the area before his demise. In fact, he may have been a son of the Isaac who followed him.
Isaac Bilyeu, born in Maryland in 1780, grew to manhood there, then, after his marriage to Mary Ann, moved into Tennessee, where they settled in Overton county about 1799. Their known children included Jacob, born 1803; Mary Ann; John Witten, born 1809; Elizabeth, born 1813; Margaret Ann, born 1821; and Stephen, born 1826.
During the War of 1812, Isaac served in the First Regiment of Bradley’s Tennessee Volunteers. After the war he moved with his family into Green County, KY., and from this point in time, Isaac was always on the go, following the fur trade.
During the 1820’s he often visited the area now Miller County. His first trips were made to obtain saltpeter, a necessary ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder. The soil in the floors of the many caves in Central Missouri, heavily saturated with nitrate of lime, when leached with wood ashes, yielded nitrate of potash. In this manner saltpeter was manufactured by the patriots in Kentucky and Tennessee for the government during the War of 1812.
By 1830, Isaac Bilyeu and his family were situated in present day Glaze Township, Miller County, then Crawford County, Mo.
Jacob, the eldest known son of Isaac and Mary Ann, was married to Catherine Elizabeth Williams, a daughter of William Williams and Sarah Ann Sullens Williams. They lived in Miller County until the middle 1840’s, then moved to Taney County, Mo., and after a few years there, moved to Carroll County, Ark., where Jacob died in the early 1850’s. He was buried at the head of the Big Indian Creek.
After Jacob’s death, widow Catherine Elizabeth lived wherever she could find a home; mostly with her brother, Rivers Williams, in Taney county; ; her children scattered among relatives. One son, Hosea, lived with his uncle, John Witten Bilyeu. Hosea, in 1856, was married to Charlotte Angeline Cecil in Christian County, Mo. Another son, James Marion, eventually settled in Hunt County, Tex.
Mary Ann, daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Bilyeu, was married to John T. Davis, and they settled in Pulaski County, Mo., in 1835, now Osage Township, Miller County. In the first election ever held in the new county of Miller on July 1, 1837, the log cabin home of John T. and Mary Ann was the polling place for voters in Osage Township. He was an associate justice of the Miller County Court from 1838 to 1840; president of the County Court from 1840 to 1843. He served as county treasurer in 1840, most of ’41, and all of ’42, ’43, and ’44. He was sheriff and collector from 1844 to 1846. He erected the first courthouse and jailhouse in Miller County. He was an officer in the Miller County Militia.
In the winter of 1846, when the County Court removed Judge Davis as superintendent for the improvement of the river banks at Tuscumbia, he soon left the place, moving with his family to Taney County, Missouri.
John Witten, son of Isaac and Mary Ann, was married in Crawford County, Mo. now Glaze Township, Miller County, on July 27, 1932, to Sarah Harp, born 1810 in Tennessee, the ceremony performed by Squire Andrew Bilyeu. Like his father, John Witten Bilyeu was possessed of a roving nature. He was situated in present day Glaze Township from 1830 through 1837, a postmaster in Carroll County, Ark., in 1838, back in Miller County before 1840. In Taney County by 1848, in Greene County during the Civil War where he served under Captain Galloway in Co. L of the Stone County Home Guard. He died March 2, 1898, at Spokane, in Christian County, Mo., during the 88th year of his lifetime.
John Witten Bilyeu and his wife, Sarah Harp, were the parents of nine children; the first two, Wiette and Mildredge, born in the area now Miller County. Wiette, born Dec. 25, 1835, first married Mary Jane Lewallen. Mildredge, born in 1837, married Daniel, son of old Daniel Brumley by his second wife.
Other children of John Witten and Sarah included Isaac, born Oct. 1, 1838, who married Charity Hammond; John Henry, born May 19, 1840, in Miller County who married Catherine Hanks; Jacob M., born June 20, 1842, who married Susan Elizabeth Cecil; Martha, born Sept. 13, 1844, who married John Lewallen; Stephen, born Oct. 25, 1846, who married Elizabeth Lewallen; Martin Fisher, born Feb. 24, 1849, who married Ellen Hilton; and Caldona, born Feb. 11, 1852, who married Thomas Williams.
Elizabeth, a daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Bilyeu, was married to Henry C. Clinkenbeard, born about 1808 in Kentucky. They lived for a while in Tennessee after marriage, then moving in to Illinois and lived there approximately three years before moving to Pulaski County, Mo., where they settled, in 1835, southwesterly of Iberia now, by the creek which bears their name. They moved around considerably, living in Arkansas and Missouri. Their children included Dianna, who married Carter Harp; Elizabeth, who married John S. Mahan; Mary Ann or Polly, first child born in the area now Miller County who married William Moore; Lydia Ann, who married William Henry Leonard; John, born Dec. 24, 1841, in Tuscumbia, Mo., who married widow Elizabeth Moore; William, who married Matilda Sanders; Hyrum, who married first American Razor, and second, widow Mariah Johnson. Four other children were Isaac, Nancy, Martin, and Greenberry, but whom they married is unknown to this author.
Margaret Ann, daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Bilyeu, was married on Oct. 21, 1838, in Carroll County, Ark., to Martin T. Melton, born Dec. 10. 1817, in Indiana, a son of Reuben Melton and Allie McAdams.
Stephen, the last known child of Isaac and Mary Ann Bilyeu, was married to Fannie M. Baker, born 1830 in Missouri, Her father was Aaron Baker whose parents were old General John Baker of South Caroline and wife, the former Barbara Schell. Stephen and Fannie M. were the parents of Sarah E., Isaac A., Mary Ann, John S., Barbara, Margaret, Alice and Adam.
It is known that Isaac Bilyeu, the old fur trader, was living with his son, Stephen Bilyeu, in Carroll County, Ark., in 1860, in the 80th year of his lifetime. It is believed he died soon afterward; his wife, Mary Ann, having died a few years before in Taney County, Mo.
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William Bilyeu journeyed from Illinois into the area now Miller County as early as 1831 to visit relatives. He was a miller by profession, and while in Central Missouri found a suitable site for a grist mill by the Big Tavern Creek. He returned with his family to Tennessee, but by 1835 was back in the Big Richwoods, cracking corn for the inhabitants. The mill stones were powered by a water wheel pushed by the current of the Big Tavern Creek. Even though 137 years have passed since its building, the millrace is visible today. Bilyeu’s mill was situated where the Big Tavern watercourse is not crossed by Hwy. 42, northeasterly of Iberia.
William Bilyeu, born in Kentucky on March 17, 1795, served in the War of 1812 as a private in Captain John Kennedy’s Company of the First Regiment, Western Tennessee Militia volunteers, in General Jackson’s campaign against the Creek Indians, and was honorably discharged from the service at Monroe, in Overton County, Tenn.
On December 30, 1816, he was married in Overton County, to Diannah Coker, born 1801 in Kentucky. They were the parents of 12 children, nine born in Tennessee, one born in Illinois, and two born in Missouri. Their eldest child was Lydia, born in 1817, who was married in 1835 to William Kinder in Pulaski County, Mo., now Miller County. William and Lydia were the parents of Nancy, born in 1836; John, born in 1838; Greenup, born in 1841; and Hubbard, born in 1843. Lydia died in Miller County, Mo., in 1844, and William then married her sister.
Nancy, the second child of William and Diannah, was born on Jan. 27, 1819, in Overton County, Tenn. She was married to John Smathers on Oct. 2, 1838, in Miller County, Mo. They were the parents of three children, William Henry, Nancy, and Bertha. John Smathers was killed while on a hunting expedition in the Kinderhook country in 1841, and his widow, Nancy, then married William Richmond McCubbin on Sept. 18, 1842, in Miller County.
Wm. R. McCubbin, born May 18, 1815, in Kentucky, and Nancy, were the parents, of Diannah, born Nov. 27, 1843; John Hubbard, born Oct. 25, 1845; Elizabeth, born Feb. 8, 1850; Lucinda, born March 23, 1854; Thomas Pleasant, born Feb 14, 1856; and Rhoda, born Feb. 11, 1859. The Smathers children by Nancy, and the first three McCubbin youngsters were born in Miller county, the remainder in Oregon.
George W., the third child of William and Diannah, was born in 1820, in Overton County, Tenn. He was married to Hester Jane Reed on July 24, 1839, in Miller County. They were the parents of William, born in 1841; John, born in 1842; Lucinda, born in 1846; Hubbard, born in 1848; Jackson A., born Feb. 12, 1851; Elizabeth, born in 1853; Peter born in 1855; Amanda, born in 1856; Martin , born in 1858; George, born in 1860. Jackson A. was the last child born in Missouri, the remainder in Oregon, including six more children whose names are unknown to this author.
Julia Ann, the fourth child of William and Diannah, born in Overton County, Tenn., in 1822, was married to William Kinder on May 27, 1845, in Miller County. Julia Ann was a sister of William’s first wife, Lydia. At least two of their children were born in Miller county, Alva, born in 1846; and George, born 1848.
John Martin Van Buren, the fifth child of William and Diannah, was born on Feb. 22, 1822, in Overton County, Tenn. On Feb. 20, 1844, he was married to Hannah J. Wasson in Pulaski County, Mo. Soon after their marriage they moved into Miller County, and were the parents of William, born 1846; Jacob, born 1848; Deannah, born 1850; and Sarah, born 1851, before they departed from Miller County. Several more children were born in Oregon. John Martin Van Buren Bilyeu, known as “Little John,” died in 1903 at Scio, Ore.
Hubbard, the sixth child of William and Diannah, was born in Overton County, Tenn., in 1825. He was married to Mary Ann on Jan. 9, 1850. All of their children were born in Oregon.
Lucinda, the seventh child of William and Diannah, was born in Overton County, Tenn., in 1828. On Aug. 19, 1847, she was married to John Bryant in Miller County. They were the parents of Hubbard, born in 1849, and Susan, born in 1854 before they departed from Miller County. More children were born to them in Oregon.
Andrew Jackson, the eighth child of William and Diannah, was born in Illinois. He was yet single when he left Miller County, taking a wife and raising a family in Oregon.
William Jr.,, born in Tennessee in 1832; Rhonda, born there in 1835; Peter, born in Miller County in 1837; and Martin, born here in 1839, were the other children of William and Diannah Bilyeu. They married and raised families in Oregon.
William Bilyeu and Diannah Coker remained in the Big Richwoods until 1852. Then they got the fever! Peter Bilyeu, having already settled in Oregon, returned to take them up the Trail into the great Northwest. In the spring of 1852, with the customary ox teams, this entire family, 52 in number with others, commenced the westward trek. After a journey of six months and ten days across the plains by way of the Platte river and over the old Barlow road,,, they entered the promised land, on Sept. 16, and engaged at once in farming.
Other relatives crossing the plains in 1852 were not so fortunate. One group, headed by Captain Peter Neal, who married Mahala Bilyeu, in the train commanded by Captain Cornelius Gilliam, lost many members. Except for one child the entire family of Valentine Neal, a brother to Capt. Peter, died on the trail.
Hubbard Bilyeu, a brother of William who married Diannah Coker, was the father of at least five daughters. Four of them married Neal brothers, but the fifth Neal brother balked, saying one more would more would be too many. The Neal boys were children of old Cornelius O’Neal of North Carolina and Virginia, later situated by the Nolechucky in Green County, Tenn.., before coming to Missouri. The surviving child of Valentine Neal’s family was taken in by brother, Calvin, who married Alcy Bilyeu.
The children of William Bilyeu and Diannah Coker became outstanding citizens in Oregon, but Nancy who married Wm. R. McCubbin, must be especially mentioned, since she raised beside her own children by two marriages, 11 orphan children to adulthood. These included Bert Foster; Adrian Skymer, Eugene Arthur, William Healis, Edna Bacon, Albert Garrison, Ralph Bacon, Roxy Rhoadermel, Celia Garbeson, Ephraim Barnes, and Jane Elizabeth Potter.
An industrious woman, once a week Nancy rode into town, astride a little mule, peddling eggs, butter and produce to Oregon merchants for staples needed on the farm. By her own admission, she daily baked a “wagon load” of biscuits. One morning, having closed the door upon an oven filled with biscuits, she was startled by several loud cat squalls, but paid no heed, thinking the yelling feline was in the yard outside. However, upon opening the oven door, old tom, the household pet, was found baked with the biscuits, the cat having jumped in the oven before the stove was fired and the oven door closed. Dumping old tom outside, the hairs were brushed from the biscuits and then rapidly consumed by hungry mouths around the dinner table; no lamenting given the cat’s demise. Nancy died on Feb. 6, 1901, and was buried in the Logan Cemetery near Oregon City, Ore.
Like his father William, when in Miller County, George W. Bilyeu, who married Hester Jane Reed, was the proprietor of a grist mill in the Jordan Valley or Oregon a number of years. He died Feb. 6, 1898, at Scio, Ore., in the 78th year of his lifetime.
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About 1832, Andrew and John Bilyeu arrived in the northernmost reaches of Pulaski County, Mo.; now Miller County. Natives of Maryland, they were of French-Huguenot descent, and relatives of William Penn., founder of the Pennsylvania Colony. John settled in the Big Richwoods, Andrew in the Little Richwoods, and their children settled around them.
Generally, they had traveled out of Maryland into Virginia, then from the Old Dominion state into the Carolinas, through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and the country of the Illinois before entering Missouri; some traveling one route, some another.
Andrew Bilyeu, born in Maryland about 1792, was married to Anna, born in South Carolina, about 1788. They settled near present day Ulman, where he served as a justice of the peace, first in Crawford County, then in Pulaski County, and after 1837, in Glaze Township, Miller County. Their children included Simon Peter, Lydia, Betsy Ann, John R., and Mary or Polly.
Simon Peter was married to a woman named Mary, and upon her death, about 1844, was left with a number of children. On April 4, 1854, he was married to Matilda Smith, and they moved to Camden County, where he died in the early 11860’s, leaving heirs in Camden and Osage counties.
Lydia, born about 1825, in Kentucky, was married to Felix G. Hale, on Nov. 27, 11842. Betsy Ann, born about 1828, in Illinois, was married to Alexander Colvin on March 12, 1846. During the 1850’s they lived in Richardson County, Neb., but returned too Miller County before the Civil War.
John R., born in 1818, was married to a woman named Elizabeth, born in 1817, both natives of Tennessee. They were the parents of Andrew Jr., Diannah, William J., Simon N., and Minerva. Upon John R.’s death in 1861, he owned approximately 700 acres in the flatlands of the Little Richwoods. An inventory of his personal property, on Jan. 3, 1862, revealed among many items, a scythe and cradle, a no. 1 jewett plow, a diamond plow, 2 sets of harnesses, 2 mules, 11 horses, 29 head of cattle, 19 calves, 5 sheep, and 14 hogs, besides numerous stacks of hungarian and timothy hay, oats, rye, and wheat, and 154 shocks of corn, having an appraised value of $522.91.
John R.’s widow, Elizabeth, died in 1875. Of their children, Andrew Jr., was living in Moniteau County, while Diannah, having married Ephriam Whyckoff on Sept. 17 1871, was living in Miller County. So were William J., Simon N., and Minerva. William J. lived near Ulman, having married Livonatt Brumley, a daughter of William Carroll Brumley, on Jan. 25, 1872. They were the parents, before her death, of William C., who died July 14, 1891, Clayton, and Francis William J. engaged in the raising of apples, having an orchard of Limber Twig, Winesap, Ben Davis, and Jenneton trees. He died Oct. 7, 1888, and 363 bushels of apples were sold at his estate sale on Oct. 25, 1888, John W. Waite, clerk.
Other Bilyeus were in the Little Richwoods country who left the area before 1850. Names can be obtained from many sources, and an example will be given. In May, 1841, John Brockman while surveying a state road from Tuscumbia to Springfield, Mo., reported that, having run from the Dog Creek, passed “through poor barrens to the Little Richwoods, which is a settlement of fertile lands. William Bilyeu relinquished the rite of way. Thence to the land of John R. Bilyeu, he relinquished the rite of way. Thence through the land of Simon P. Bilyeu, non-resident, no damages assessed, to land of Emly Golden. He relinquished the rite of way. Thence to the land of John R. Bilyeu, he relinquished the rite of way. Thence to the land of Lydia Bilyeu, a non-resident, no damages. Thence to the land of Jesse Gott and on to James Gentry at Mill Creek.
John Bilyeu born in Maryland, in 1775, settled in the Big Richwoods, northeast of Iberia, in the Bray’s county. He was married to Rachel, born in 1810, a native of Kentucky. No doubt she was a second wife. Their children included Isaac, William, Cornelius, Joseph, Mary or Polly, Delilah, Lydia, James, John, Didamia, Susannah, Peter, Sarah, Andrew Jackson, and Larkin.
In the war with the Creek Indians, John had fought under General Jackson, serving as a private in the First Regiment of Bradley’s Tennessee Volunteers. He rushed to arms on Oct. 4, 1813, to avenge the frightful massacre of nearly four hundred men, women, and children at Fort Mimms in Alabama on Aug. 30. At Talladega, Ala., on Nov. 9, the Tennessee troops engaged the Indians, killing nearly 300 warriors. After two more battles in November, and one in December, in which the Indians were defeated with great slaughter, John returned home.
Cornelius, born in Tennessee in 1815, was the first of John’s children to die in Miller County. He was married to Eliza Jane McClain on Sept.16, 1838, and before her death in 1843, they were the parents of Dee, John W., and William J. Soon afterward, on March 1, 1846, Cornelius was married to Malinda Melton. They were the parents of Eliza Jane, Reuben M., James Simpson, and Green Berry. Daughter Eliza Jane was married to John T. Thompson on Oct. 16, 1865.
Cornelius suddenly died in 1856 and the personal property belonging to his estate was sold on Sept. 4. Items auctioned included one yoke of oxen, purchased by William Gibson for $46; a young horse purchased by Thomas Anderson for $66; a mule colt, bid-in by James Morrow for $46.75; a rifle gun to James Bolen for $8.25; a wheat fan to P.G. Turner for $8.10; thirteen head of sheep, purchased by E.L. Short for $18.25; total amount of sale, a sum of $207.10. On Jan. 11, 1859, widow Malinda, was married to Elijah Pittman, a widower, and a native of North Carolina, living in the Big Richwoods. Nellie C. Dodd, on March 31, 1869, was paid $1.60 for tuition for schooling of Reuben M. Bilyeu’ with Dr. W.M. McAdams paid a small sum for medical attention to Melinda’s children.
Peter, born Sept. 29, 1802, in Kentucky, was the first of John’s children to move to Oregon. On March 18, 1821, he was married to Mary Jane Dyer in Tennessee. When Miller County was established as a governmental unit, he was elected a justice of the peace in Richwoods township, serving a number of years. He was an officer in the Miller County Militia. In the spring of 1850, with others, he crossed the plains, arriving in Oregon on Oct. 17. His glowing reports on the fertile land there was reason enough for others in Miller County to want to follow him. In the spring of 1852, returning to Richwoods Township, he led a wagon train of Miller countians to Oregon, arriving on Sept. 16. Peter died on July 27, 1877; his wife, Mary Jane Dyer,. Born Dec. 4, 1801, died April 9, 1878, both at Scio, Ore.
They were the parents of a number of children, one daughter, Nancy, born in January, 1822, having died in Miller County on Oct. 1, 1849. Their eldest son, John L. Bilyeu, born July 23, 1824, who married Nancy Workman in Illinois on March ;9, 1848, arrived in Oregon on Aug. 19, 1853. They were the parents of 14 children. George, born in 1826, moved to Oregon with his parents, Peter and Mary Jane.
Sarah, daughter of John Bilyeu who married Rachel, was married to Daniel McLaughlin in Miller County on Dec. 26, 1838. They were the parents of Rachel, John, Bluford, and Priscilla before moving to Oregon.
Joseph, son of John Bilyeu who married Rachel, was born near Cumberland, Tenn., in 1823. He moved, with his parents, into the area now Miller County, when seven years of age. On Sept. 25, 1842, he was married to Anna Osborne in Miller County. Born in Sangamon County, Ill., in 1825, she was a daughter of William Osborne, a farmer, who died in that state.
Joseph cleared a wilderness farm in the Big Richwoods of Miller County, and improved upon his holdings until 1960; then he sold out, and moved to Putnam County. Soon afterward, with the customary ox and horse teams, having outfitted a number of wagons, he left Missouri, with others, on May 5, 1862, moving up the Oregon Trail. They camped by the Columbia River for three days in September, and on Oct. 7, 1862, entered Portland, Ore.
Joseph settled in Linn County, but ;soon moved to Polk County, where he purchased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. Later, he farmed in Marion County, where his wife, Anna, died in 1899. He then moved to Albany, Ore., where ;he; died on May 29, 1902.
Joseph Bilyeu and Anna Osborne were the parents of 10 children, John, William R., Larkin, Larkin, John, James, Lydia, Tabitha, Joseph, and one infant who died after birth on the Oregon Trail. Joseph was the only child born in Oregon, and he died in Linn County when 20 years of age. John, born in 1845, and Larkin, born in 1849, died in Miller County, but their names were given succeeding children. The second John died Linn County, Ore., when 27; years of age. The children of Joseph and Anna became prominent legislators, lawyers, and lawyers, and educators in the state of Oregon.
Continuing with the children of John Bilyeu, husband of Rachel, his daughter Polly, or Mary, was married to William H. Melton on Nov. 12, 1843, in Miller County. Polly a native of Illinois was born in 1824, her husband, a native of Indiana, born in 1815. Daughter Delilah was married to an Osborne, believed to have been a brother of Joseph’s wife, Anna, and they lived in Illinois. Daughter Lydia was married to Samuel Parrack in Miller County on Feb. 4, 1841, and soon afterward, they moved to Illinois. Daughter Didamia, who married John Denny, a native of Poland, on January 31, 1821, lived in Indiana. So did sons John and James, raising large families in the Hoosier state. Daughter Susannah was married to a Carmack, and they lived in the state of Tennessee. Two of John’s sons Isaac, who settled on the Cattail fork of Dog Creek, and William, who settled on Humphrey’s Creek, remained in Miller County.
John Bilyeu, father of the aforementioned children, died at his home in the Big Richwoods, near Bray’s Mill now, on Jan. 21, 1853. By will, he had given his plantation, livestock, mechanical, blacksmith, and farm tools to his widow, Rachel, and upon her death, or marriage, to his sons Andrew Jackson and Larkin equally. The sale of personal property belonging to his estate was held on March 15, 1853; 400 pounds of bacon excepted to the use of the widow.
John Bilyeu was truly an outstanding pioneer citizen. Having entered the Big Richwoods when; the Indians were leaving it, he cleared a wilderness farm in the area now Miller County. His large family carried the Bilyeu name from Maryland to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. His son, Andrew Jackson Bilyeu, was at home upon his death, but what became of him is unknown to this author. His youngest son, Larkin, was also at home, and he married Ann Liza Runnels on August 16, 1855, and they lived with his mother, Rachel. What happened to Ann Liza Runnels is also unknown to this author, but in the autumn of 1861, Rachel’s place in the Big Richwoods was raided by sympathizing forces moving South; her cattle, livestock, and provisions taken, and the torch put to her buildings. Rachel then moved to Lebanon for protection; Larkin joining the Union Army. While a member of Co. D. 24th Mo. Inf., he died at Rolla, Mo., of measles, on Dec. 23, 1861, in the 22nd year of his lifetime. He was buried by Polly and William Melton, his sister and brother-in-law, who were living near Rolla at this time.
Isaac Bilyeu, son of John who married Rachel, born about 1813 in Tennessee, was married to Mary or Polly, born about 1820 in the same state. After their marriage in 1840 they settled on the Cattail fork of the Dog Creek in Miller County. They were the parents of Nancy C., born 1841, who married George T. Martin on April 24, 1870; Andrew, born 1843, who married Amanda Wyrick on Jan. 5, 1862; Richmond B., born 1849, who married Nancy Barton on March 15, 1869; Sarah Ann, born 1852, who married William P. Martin on April 24, 1870; and Mary, born 1859; who married Thomas Lamb on Aug. 26,1875.
On January 29, 1897, Andrew Bilyeu, while attending circuit as a juryman in Tuscumbia, was taken violently ill, and immediately carried to his room at Judge Bacon’s hotel. He was soon unconscious, paralyzed from meningitis, and during the night, without having regained consciousness, died. The following morning his body was carried over the river by his brother-in-law, William P. Martin, to be interred beside his father and mother.
William Bilyeu, son of John who married Rachel, settled on Humphrey’s Creek. Born about 1809 in Kentucky, he was married to Mary McClark, also a native of Kentucky, born about 1815. They were the parents of Susan, born in 1834; Sarah Jane, born Dec. 25, 1837, who married James C. McDonald on Dec. 20, 1858; William Washington, born Feb. 7, 1840, who married Rebecca Ann Crane on Feb. 16, 1860; Fielding, born Dec. 28, 1842 who married Marian Capps on March 1, 1868; Henry, born 1845, who married Mary E. Capps in 1873; Mary Ellen, born 1841, who married Andrew J. Pendleton on Dec. 8, 1867; Lucy, born 1854, who married Richard L. Ramsey on Dec. 25, 1870; and Peter, born 1857, who married Caroline Stark on Feb. 17,1864.
William Washington Bilyeu, son of William and Mary, was born near Paoli, in Orange County, Ind. As a boy he came with his parents to Miller County. On Aug. 21, 1862, when 22 years of age, he was enrolled in Captain Henry Cochran’s Company E, 33rd Regiment of Mo. Vol. Inf.; honorably discharged from the service on Aug. 19, 1865, at Benton Barracks in St. Louis. He died on June 3, 1912.
William Washington Bilyeu and Rebecca Ann Crane were the parents of James, Jeff, John Henry, Frank, Clinton, Lewis, Martha, Mary, Charles, Sarah Jane, and Walter.
Fielding Bilyeu, son of William and Mary, was born in Orange County, Ind. When 19 years of age he enlisted in Company H of the Osage Valley Regiment of Home Guard, then on Aug. 22, 1862, was enrolled in Captain Henry Cochran’s Company E, 33rd Regiment of Mo. Vol. Inf.; honorably discharged from the service on Aug. 10, 1865, at Benton Barracks in St. Louis.
Fielding Bilyeu and Mariah Capps were the parents of Laura E., Julia A., Arthur A., Austin E., Evelyn L., Everett, Hilda V., Linnet E., Roscoe R., Vesta L., and John H.
In May 1909, while Fielding Bilyeu was postmaster at Ramsey, the postoffice located in his home, a tornado destroyed his dwelling and outbuildings. He died on Dec. 21, 1928.
Mary Ellen Bilyeu lived for many years with her husband, Andrew Jackson Pendleton, on a farm where the village of St. Anthony is now situated. They were the parents of Ulysses J., Mattie, Henry, Owen, Iva, Harvey, Perry, and Everett.
Henry Bilyeu and Mary E. Capps, before his death, were the parents of Augustien or Gusta, Charles Wesley, and Leona or Ona.
Lucy Bilyeu died a few; years after her; marriage to Richard L. Ramsey. He then married Mary E. Capps, widow of Lucy’s brother, Henry.
Children of Peter Bilyeu and Caroline Stark known this author included Clara, Dona, and Blanche.
(The author is especially indebted to Mildred Roden of Cassville, Mo.; Mrs. John S. Lowery of Falls Church, Va.; Evelyn Slapnik of Greenville, Calif.; Wythle Brown of Portland, Ore.; Prof. B. K. Swartz Jr. of Muncie, Ind.; and many local citizens for local information.)