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On the probate record of her grandfather, Samuel KRESS, Sr., dated 1845, the address given for Pauline (KRESS) MARING was Tyrone, Schuyler Co., New York. According to research done by Donald E. MARING: the couple had no children. Andrew was a brother of Samuel MARING, who had married Orpha BUNCE. Andrew MARING [8 Sept 1810, NY—8 Jan 1875, NY] m. Catharine P. KRESS. He became a physician and resided in Tyrone, Schuyler Co., NY. His will was dated 25 December 1874 and proved 5 June 1875 [Book 4, p. 241, No. 1525]. His wife and Ethan W. PRENTISS were named executors; witnesses were Andrew T. KRESS and Ralph GOUNDRY. The probate packet locates family members (Andrew’s siblings) as of 1875:
Samuel was in Conesus, Livingston Co., New York.
George was deceased; his heirs were Lorenzo, of Penn Yan; William, of Warsaw; and Sarah, of Warsaw, a minor.
Margaret, now widowed, was at Warsaw.
Mary Ann Fenton, widow, was at Mosherville, Hillsdale Co., Mich.
Delana Baxter was deceased; her daughter, Mrs. Mary Gilbert, was at Tyrone.
Jacob was deceased; his heirs were Harmon, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and Louisa A. Cook, of Sand Lake, Kent Co., Michigan.
Joel was at Arkwright, Chautauqua (erroneously identified as Cattaragus) Co., NY.
These were the post offices where heirs could be reached. But there was nothing to inherit, since Andrew's debts exceeded the value of his estate.
Belle McLOUD was probably born after 1850, because her name does not appear on the census record for that year in the household of her parents; however, she was listed as a child of Shannon and Eliza (KRESS) McLOUD on p. 919 of S. C. Cleveland’s History and Directory of Yates Co., New York, and a photo of her was found among the family photos belonging to L.R. and V.E. BUNCE. In an index to probate records on the web site for the Yates County Historian in the entry for the estate of her father, it was learned that her full name was Lilly Isabel McLOUD.
The census for Starkey, Yates Co., New York, taken 1 Jun 1850 shows that Eliza Ann (KRESS) McLOUD was 35 years old in 1850, birthplace, New York. She was still living in Starkey, Yates Co., New York at the time her father died in 1869, since his probate record gives that town as her address. The gravestone for Eliza Ann (KRESS) McLOUD in the Starkey Methodist Cemetery state that she was a daughter of J. J. and Margaret KRESS, wife of Shannon McLOUD, born Sept. 20, 1813, and died April 29, 1882. She is buried near her husband, Shannon McLOUD, and son, Montgomery McLOUD. Shannon McLoud gravestone says he was born 31 Aug 1809 and died on 18 Apr 1862. According to a descendant of Shannon and Eliza Ann (KRESS) McLOUD, Bruce S. McLeod, the surname is correctly spelled “MacLEOD.”
The birthdate for Emery McLOUD was taken from his age of 9 years at the time of the 1850 U.S. census for Starkey, Yates Co., New York, where his name appeared in the household of his father, Shannon McLOUD.
The birthdate for Huldah A. McLOUD was taken from her age of 14 years at the time of the 1850 U.S. census for Starkey, Yates Co., New York. A gravestone for Huldah A. (McLOUD) SHANNON is at the Starkey Methodist Cemetery in Yates Co., New York. It states she was a daughter of Shannon and Eliza McLOUD, wife of L. M. SHANNON, and she died at age 55 years, 5 months and 15 days on Aug. 10, 1891. Buried next to her is Lewis M. SHANNON, died 1910, born 1830, son of Thomas J. and Jane (DUNN) SHANNON. It is unknown at this time (July, 1996) whether they had children.
The birthdate for Montgomery McLOUD was taken from his age of 13 years at the time of the 1850 U.S. census for Starkey, Yates Co., New York dated 1 Jun 1850. On p. 1139 of S. C. Cleveland’s History and Directory of Yates Co., New York the name of Montgomery McLOUD appears on a list of men who served as Justices of the Peace for the town of Starkey, and he served for the years 1868 and 1872. The gravestone for Montgomery McLOUD in the Starkey Methodist Cemetery states that he was born May 11, 1837 and died July 20, 1885. His wife, Sarah E. McLOUD, is buried next to him and the dates on her stone state she was born Aug. 17, 1839 and died Feb. 6, 1917.
The 1850 census for Starkey, Yates Co., New York shows that Shannon McLOUD was then age 40, birthplace in New York and he was a farmer with real estate worth $12,000. The book, Genealogical Gleanings Abstracted from the “Yates County Chronicle,” [newspaper] Penn Yan, New York, May 1856 to October 1867, on p. 145, paragraph 1397 states: “Shannon McLOUD, age (2 yrs.? blurred), died 18 Apr 1862 in Starkey, Yates Co.” Based on his age at the time of the 1850 census, in 1862, he would have been age 52. Shannon McLOUD was buried in the Starkey Methodist Cemetery, and the dates on his gravestone say that he was born Aug. 31, 1809, and died April 18, 1862.
A reply to a letter to Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles brought the information that Elmer Douglass MEHAFFEY was interred in Section O. The deed to his cemetery plot was made in the name of J.C. MEHAFFEY, probably his father, James C. MEHAFFEY. See also note for Martha Jane (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY below.
The Los Angeles death certificate for James C. MEHAFFEY states his remains were interred at Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, California, and it also says he was married, but does not provide his wife s name. It also says that his parents were from Ireland, but their names also were not provided. (See also note for Martha Jane (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY below. As a side note, in the early days of the Civil War, there were no prison camps, so when Union soldiers were captured by the Confederate army, they were paroled, or released, if they promised not to fight against the South for six months. On a list of California voters, his name appears next to that of his son, and it shows his middle initial stood for “Clements,” which would tend to support the theory that his parents followed the Scottish naming tradition for naming their children, and so, James was named after his mother’s father, James Clement.
The parents of James C. MEHAFFEY and his siblings were James MEHAFFEY and Rebecca CLEMENTS, dau. of James and Isabella (BROWN) CLEMENTS, who were m. in Guernsey Co., Ohio on 11 Feb 1834. One researcher has traced the CLEMENTS line back to William CLEMENT, b. abt. 1480, of England, which has been tied into the family of author, Mark Twain, born Samuel L. Clements; see Ancestral File No. 13QL-0C8. Sometime between the birth of their youngest son, John Alexander, born 19 May 1848, and the date of the 1850 census, taken 4 Nov 1850, the family moved to Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois where a record of the family appears on the census there on p. 117 under the surname spelled “Mahaffey.” According to a family tradition, James Mehaffey died from an accident while he was working in Indiana as a lumberjack. This happened sometime between 1850 and 1857, but possibly as early as 1851, since a church record shows that Rebecca (Clements) “Mahaffy” was admitted into the Cedar Creek United Presbyterian Church in Warren Co., Illinois on 4 Dec 1851, but there’s no record of her spouse, James Mehaffey/Mahaffy, being received into the same church. Unfortunately, on 22 Oct 1857, Rebecca Mehaffey also died at the age of 42 years 13 days, and only a few days prior to her death on 19 Oct 1857, she signed her last will and testament, filed in the probate records of Warren Co., Illinois, which named her children, including several who were underaged. Her will requested that Isabella, the eldest, raise her youngest daughter Rebecca, and the estate was not settled until 1871, presumably when the youngest child reached the age of majority.
Samuel MEHAFFEY (b.ca. 1770—6 Sep 1845), a native of County Down, Ireland, and his wife Margaret (BINGHAM) MEHAFFEY (b.ca. 1771—10 Mar 1846) came to America from Northern Ireland in 1812, and landed in America on the very day that war was declared between Great Britain and the United States (June 18, 1812). The ship on which the family was traveling was boarded by men from a British warship while in sight of New York City, and it is believed that had those men known that war had broken out between Great Britain and the U.S., the passengers would have been taken prisoner, but the ship was allowed to proceed, and they landed at Philadelphia, where the family stayed a short time. They later relocated to Allegheny county, near Pittsburgh, where they remained until 1819, according to The Household Guide and Instructor With Biographies of Presidents of the United States and a Brief Outline of the History of Guernsey County, Ohio, published by T. F. Williams, Cleveland, in 1882, pp. 3-4. Their eldest daughter, Susan Jane Mehaffey, married James Johnston in 1818, and in 1819, they moved to Guernsey Co., Ohio, settling in Adams Township. In 1819, Samuel and Margaret (Bingham) Mehaffey also came to Adams Twp., Guernsey Co., Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their gravestones in the United Presbyterian Lebanon cemetery in Guernsey Co., Ohio read: “Samuel Mehaffey departed this life Sept. 6, 1845, aged 75 years,” and “Margaret died March 10, 1846, 75 years of her age.” They were the parents of 9 children according to a family Bible:
Susan Jane MEHAFFEY, b. 1 Jan 1798, County Down, N. Ireland, d. 10 Aug 1881, m. James JOHNSTON (1785-1868), bur. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Adams Twp., Guernsey Co., Ohio; parents of 8, namely, Margaret, Alexander, Susan, William, Jane, James, Sarah and Samuel. According to an old letter, it appears that some descendants of daughter Margaret Johnston and her husband, William Lawyer, were residing in the area of Buena Vista, Chaffee Co., Colorado in the 1980s.
James MEHAFFEY, b. 1 Oct 1799, County Down, N. Ireland, d. young in Ireland.
John Russell MEHAFFEY, b. 1 Sep 1801, County Down, N. Ireland, d. 19 May 1887, in Guernsey Co., Ohio, m. Nancy MURPHY; parents of 10, namely, Samuel, Mary Ann, John Bingham, Alexander, Margaret Jane, Nancy, James Anderson, Harriett, Ebenezer and Elizabeth Ellen. Son Samuel and his wife Margaret (Martin) Mehaffey, and their 6 children, as well as a couple of the daughters of John Bingham Mehaffey (Charlie E. and Nannie (Mehaffey) Monroe and Irvin B. and Edna (Mehaffey) Keith) removed to the state of Colorado.
Elizabeth (“Betty”) MEHAFFEY, b. 8 Sep 1803, Ireland, d. 31 Oct 1876, Adams Twp., Guernsey Co., Ohio, m. George BELL (1797-1865), parents of 9, namely, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, John, Samuel, Sarah, George, Jr., Jane and William.
Margaret MEHAFFEY, b. 12 Mar 1806 in Ireland, m. James LITTLE, parents of 9 children, namely, Jane G., Isabella, Margaret, Matilda, James, Jr., Mary E., Samuel M., Sarah C., and Martha.
Samuel MEHAFFEY, Jr., b. 29 May 1808 in Ireland, m. Elizabeth BOYD (1808-1885), he d. 24 Nov 1858, (will dated 11 Nov 1858), parents of 8, namely, Margaret, Joseph, Mary Jane, Samuel III, James, Martha, Elisabeth and John. He and his wife are buried near his parents in United Presbyterian Lebanon Church Cemetery in Adams Twp., Guernsey Co., Ohio.
Francis MEHAFFEY, b. 28 Jun 1810, in Ireland, no further information, but may have died young since his name does not appear in the will of his father.
James MEHAFFEY, b. 28 Dec 1814 in Pennsylvania, d. ca. 1850, m. Rebecca CLEMENTS 11 Feb 1834, in Guernsey Co., Ohio, 7 children (see above). There are also two land records in Guernsey Co., Ohio reflecting that James Mehaffey purchased 40 acres in the NW1/4 NW1/4 of Section 20, Township 2, Range 4, on 1 May 1839, which he and his wife, “Rebeckah” Mehaffey sold a short time later on 24 Jul 1839. Since they owned the property for such a short period of time, it might be an indication that he was a land speculator on a small scale, or perhaps had decided to move to Illinois about that time.
Mary MEHAFFEY, b. 29 May 1817 in Pennsylvania, m. James CULBERTSON, unknown if they had children.
Rebecca (CLEMENTS) MEHAFFEY, through her father, is believed by one researcher to have been a descendant of Thomas Millett of Dorchester, Massachusetts, whose genealogy can be found in a book entitled Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Millett from Chertsey, Surreyshire, England to Dorchester, Massachusetts: and his wife Mary Greenoway by George Francis Millett, published 1959 at Mesa, Arizona. Records on the Millett family can also be found on Familysearch. This is based on the belief that James Clement was a son of Samuel Clements/Clemond and his wife, Hannah Millett of Salem, Massachusetts who had a son named James who died young. While there is no proof, it has been theorized that the James Clement of Guernsey Co., Ohio was a second son of this couple whom they named after the one who had died.
The gravestone records for Samuel and Margaret MEHAFFEY in the book, Pioneer Cemeteries of Guernsey Co., Ohio, compiled by Connor and Goodpaster, ©1963, give the vital records for Samuel as “1740-1815” and Margaret’s vital records as “1741-1816.” This book has no record of gravestones for any other persons named Samuel and Margaret Mehaffey with the dates noted previously, namely, (1770-1845) and (1771-1846), and the source for the inscriptions provided earlier was one of their descendants, who visited the graveyard and took photos of the gravestones. These errors in the book may have resulted from weathering of the gravestones to the extent that the “4” in “1845” now looks like a “1,” or perhaps a typist was unable to decipher the handwriting of a graveyard surveyor. For example the estimated birth date of “1770” may have been read as “1740,” since in handwriting a “7” and “4” can look very similar, and then thinking that “1740-1845” was probably wrong, as it would indicate a 105-year life span, the typist adjusted the ending date. There is no record in other sources of Guernsey Co., Ohio genealogy or history of a man named Samuel Mehaffey who settled there earlier than Samuel and Margaret (Bingham) Mehaffey, and thus this author concludes that the gravestone records in this book were erroneously transcribed, and are not the names of the parents of Samuel Mehaffey, who was born about 1770, as is recorded in other sources. That there was a Samuel Mehaffey born about 1770 does not seem to be in doubt, since another researcher has found a probate record for him in the Guernsey Co., Ohio court records. Also it seems odd on the face of it that an elderly man and his wife would have come to Guernsey Co., Ohio, a wild, unsettled area, more than three years prior to the time his son’s family settled there in 1819.
Assuming that Samuel and Margaret (BINGHAM) MEHAFFEY followed the Scottish naming pattern in naming their own children after their parents, Samuel’s parents were probably named James and Elizabeth (______) MEHAFFEY, and Margaret BINGHAM’s parents were named John Russell and Susan Jane (______) BINGHAM. That Samuel and Margaret (BINGHAM) MEHAFFEY followed the Scottish naming pattern seems to be confirmed by the fact that they named their third son after his father and their third daughter was named Margaret after her mother, which is consistent with this naming pattern. For a more detailed description of the Scottish naming pattern, please see the book, In Search of Scottish Ancestry by Gerald Hamilton-Edwards, published by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Md. ©1984. Also see Kinship: Scottish Naming Patterns or Scottish Naming Pattern.
Another point to consider in evaluating the weight to give this or any book on cemetery records is that most books on researching genealogy state that compilations of gravestone inscriptions are ranked as tertiary sources in terms of reliability, because gravestone inscriptions are ranked as secondary sources. The reason for this ranking is that gravestones may be erected many years after the death of an individual, and therefore mistakes can be made in the inscription. The cardinal rule in researching genealogy is that you should try to gather as many primary records as possible, meaning records that were made at or shortly after the time of the event being recorded, such as birth or baptismal records, marriage certificates, death certificates, probate records, census records and school records, if available. Even Bible records can be suspect, unless one can see the original Bible with its copyright or printing date, and see that the records in it have been inscribed over a period of time, i.e. with different inks and maybe in different handwriting by different individuals, thus showing the events were recorded as they occurred. The more time that passes between an event and the date it is recorded, (or re-recorded) the more likely there are to be mistakes in the record. Sometimes primary records can not be found, so you should try to gather as many records from secondary sources that are consistent with each other. For more discussion on this topic, see Phil Albro's Essay on Evidence and Proof. Also see a chart to aid in evaluating sources which was originally posted to the Roots-L mailing list and is repeated here.
About 2000, a book on Northern Ireland or the Ulster Plantation was obtained through interlibrary loan to see if there is any mention of the Mahaffey/Mehaffey surname in it. The book’s title is An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century, 1608-1620 by George Hill (1810-1900), published in Shannon by Irish University Press in 1970 from the first edition published in 1877. Whereas the webmaster herein did not read this book cover to cover, it appears to name only the heads of families who received large grants of land in Northern Ireland in the early years; there was no one named Mahaffey or Mehaffey in the index of the book. It is possible our Mahaffey/Mehaffey ancestors immigrated to Northern Ireland from Scotland at a later date or came there using the McFie surname, which has been changed into many forms over the years.
Another MAHAFFEY family lived in Guernsey Co., Ohio in the early years, namely that of John MAHAFFEY, who is thought to have been a brother of Samuel MEHAFFEY by some researchers.
The names of Martha Jane (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY and her four then living children appear on the 1880 Kansas census, under the name of “MEHAFFEE” in Shawnee Co., Kansas in the household of her father, Elisha Davis JACKSON. There was no record for Margaret Isabel MEHAFFEY, Martha's eldest daughter in the household, but by 1880, she had been sent to live with her uncle and aunt, William and Amanda (JACKSON) COUNCIL, in Cedar Vale, Chautauqua Co., Kansas. This census record confirms the story told by Estella May (MEHAFFEY) BUNCE that her parents had separated when she was 4 years old. No divorce, however, was sought by Martha MEHAFFEY in Shawnee County, Kansas until 2 Mar 1886, when, through a lawyer, she petitioned the Court for a divorce from her husband, James C. MEHAFFEY, on the grounds that he had abandoned her and his family, throwing her and their children on the charity of friends and family for their support for the previous 6 years. She also asked for and was granted custody of their children, listed in the petition as:
Source: copy of original divorce papers on file in the office of the Clerk of the Court in Topeka, Kansas, Case No. 7574. The divorce was uncontested and granted one month later in April, 1886, since James C. MEHAFFEY, not then a resident of Kansas, probably never saw the notice of it posted in the local newspaper.
What is perplexing is that according to his Civil War pension file, James Mehaffey apparently married a second wife in Missouri perhaps in 1881, five years prior to the date of the divorce from his first wife in Kansas. This conclusion is based on an Application for a Widow's Pension filed by Teresa (TAYLOR) MAHAFFEY with the US government in 1931, 27 years after the death of James C. MEHAFFEY, but a pension was not granted by the government to her, since she had applied for it so many years after his death, and also when asked on a questionnaire whether he was married, James C. MEHAFFEY had earlier written that he was not married. Yet his Los Angeles death certificate stated he was married at the time of his death, but the certificate does not give the name of his widow. It seems probable Martha (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY had threatened to divorce him, when they separated about 1880, and he, believing that she had done so, married his second wife, or there may be another divorce which he obtained, and that record has not been located, since he stated in his pension record in 1902, that he had lived in 28 states and territories during his life, only a few of which are known to his descendants. This is an example of the state of communications in the Old West, where people often dropped out of sight and were never heard from again.
It is an interesting historical fact that the United States led the world during the 1880's in the number of divorces granted to its citizens, so the divorce of the MEHAFFEYs was not an isolated or unusual event. On the PBS television program The Frontier House, it was stated that 1 in 15 American marriages ended in divorce during the 1880s. The grounds for women were (1) drunkeness, (2) abandonment or (3) abuse, whereas the grounds given for men was a wife’s lack of submissiveness.
The full name of Martha (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY’s second husband, not given in this genealogy, was probably Luther Holt ROOT, because an yellowed newspaper clipping of an obituary for Mr. ROOT was found in some papers belonging to Leslie R. BUNCE, that showed that Mr. ROOT had married three times, but the name of his third wife was not in the obituary dated February 7 or 8, 1911. The obituary was probably clipped from a Kansas newspaper by Estella May (MEHAFFEY) BUNCE, mother of L. R. BUNCE, since in 1911, L. R. BUNCE was only 9 years old.
Mattie MEHAFFEY’s complete true name was probably Martha R. MEHAFFEY, but she had the nickname of Mattie, since her mother was also named Martha. See also note for Martha Jane (JACKSON) MEHAFFEY above.
From letters of Joanne (ANDERSEN) WELLS, a descendant of William MILHOLLEN, a younger brother of my g.g.grandmother Isabel Celia (MILLHOLLEN) JACKSON, and Richard M. COFFMAN, USAF ret., a descendant of William and Jemima (TARR) MILHOLLAND, who went to Gordon Co., Georgia, both of whom hired professional genealogists in Iredell Co., North Carolina, we now know for certain that Isabel Celia MILHOLLEN was a granddaughter of James MILHOLLAND whose name appeared on the 1790 North Carolina census. See details in the following Family Group Sheet provided to Mrs. Wells.
| Family Group Sheet — Milhollin by Mrs. Stahle Linn, Jr., Certified Genealogist, Salisbury, NC for Mrs. Joann Wells, 10-Aug-1981 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Husband: | JAMES MILHOLLIN | (in Rowan Co., NC by 7-Feb-1784; bought land from J. Graham that was disposed of by Wm. Milhollin. [RCDB10:170]. | |||||
| Born: | 1755 | Place: | Proof: | his admin. 8 Feb. 1822 [ICDBM:1561]) | |||
| Marriage: | Place: | Proof: | 1790 Ire. Census 1WM-16, 2WM16+ 2WF | ||||
| Died: | 1821* | Place: | Iredell Co., NC | Proof: | 1800 Ire. Census 2WM-10, 2WM10-16, 1WM45+ 1WF26-45 | ||
| Buried: | Place: | Proof: | 1820 Ire. Census - no identifiable | ||||
| Husband's Father: | Husband's Mother: | ||||||
| Wife: | [UNKNOWN] | ||||||
| Children: | |||||||
| Sex | Names | Birth Date | Place | Date of Death & Place | Name of Spouse | Marriage Date & Place | |
| F | dau., name unknown | abt. 1780 | |||||
| M | John Milhollin | abt. 1790 | Peggy Brown | 13 Apr 1809 Iredell | |||
| M | David A. Milhollin† | abt. 1790 | lived on Elk Shoal Creek, was buying and selling [land] in Iredell Co., NC 1822-1838 | [prob. before Oct. 20, 1842, Jackson Co., IN] | Mary Gray, dau. of Hugh Gray | 8 Aug 1815, Iredell | |
| M | William Milhollin‡ | abt. 1792 | went to Gordon Co., GA after 1840 | Jemima Tarr | Iredell Co., NC | ||
| M | James (X) Milhollin | abt. 1793 | left Iredell Co. 1825-30, d. aft. 1850 in Cass Co., GA, which was renamed Bartow Co. in 1861; was a stonemason | Jane Gray, dau. of Hugh Gray | Iredell Co., NC | ||
| Proofs for 1-11 [children] and Remarks: | James Milhollin had a brother John Milhollin whose sons were probably James F., Thomas B., William S. and Alexander. | ||||||
* The sources for the approximate date of death of James Milholland are a couple of land records, which show that 400 acres of land purchased by James Milholland from J. Graham on 7 Feb 1784, then a part of Rowan Co., NC from which Iredell Co. was formed, were sold on 8 Feb 1822, by the administrator of his estate, his son William, so it's assumed James Milholland had died prior to the latter date.
†David A. Milhollin was the father of Isabel Celia Millhollen, my g.g.grandmother, as well as her brother William Milhollen, ancestor of Mrs. Joanne (Andersen) Wells. Additionally, the name of "David Mulholland, Iredell Co., NC, Sixth Company, MR 1812" was found on p. 112 of the book North Carolina Military Muster Rolls 1812 and 1814 by Ronald Vern Jackson. Whether this was our ancestor, I have been unable to determine. The source for the marriage record of David Milhollen to Mary Gray is a book, North Carolinian Vol. 4-6, pp. 649-50.Additionally, in a book Abstracts of Marriage, Death and Estate Notices from the Oquawka Spectator, Henderson County, Illinois Book I, is the following record, which may be an approximate date of death for David Milhollen of Jackson Co., Indiana, since several of his sons and perhaps neighbors in Jackson Co., Indiana had immigrated to Henderson Co., Illinois and the attorney, presumably in Jackson Co., Indiana, although that would have to be verified in the original newspaper, may have thought that notice of his estate should be published there. This also confirms what appears in the Bunce Genealogy and History that he died in 1850.
Milholland, David
Estate Notice — Claims J. J. Hulbert, Admin.
date of newspaper 12-Feb-1851.
| 1840 U.S. Census, p. 2, bottom or 31st line, Jackson Co., Indiana, Household headed by David Milholland | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males 5-10 years | Males 10-15 years | Males 15-20 years | Males 20-30 years | Males 40-50 years | Females 10-15 years | Females 15-20 years | Females 20-30 years | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
It is interesting to note that on the first line of the following page in the census, page 3, at the very top, appears the record for the family of Willington Jackson, whose son married Isabel Celia Milholland, eldest daughter of David. That the census records appear so close together is an indication that the two families lived side by side.
The 1840 census record confirms what was passed down in our family, namely, that Mary (GRAY) MILHOLLAND died early and her eldest daughter, my g.g.grandmother Isabel Celia Milholland (sole female aged 20-30 years), had to help raise her younger siblings. The handwriting on this microfilm was very faint.
‡Research done in Iredell Co., NC by Jo White Linn, a professional genealogist, revealed that William Milhollin was the administrator of his father's estate, as in Feb. 1822, he sold land owned by James Milholland, which was located on Back Creek, (possibly near Statesville) on Robert Gray’s property line. William Milhollin married Jemima Tarr, daughter of Samuel Tarr and then the family moved to Gordon Co., Georgia after 1840. One of their sons was John Fielding Milhollin, the g.g.grandfather of Maj. Richard M. Coffman.For information on a possibly related Milholland family, see Descendants of Thomas Milholland (1798-1864). See also note for Mary Gray.
The BYU researchers hired by Maj. Coffman tried to make a connection between James MILHOLLAND of North Carolina and MILHOLLANDS/MULHOLLANDS in the state of Virginia, but were unable to find any connection.
In a series of books entitled Chronicles of the Scotch Irish Settlement in Virginia by Judge Lyman Chalkley, first published in 1912, Vols. 1 and 2, are the following entries, but these do not show a definite connection to James either. This 3-volume set are extracts from the court records of Augusta Co., Virginia from 1745-1800. In those days Augusta County covered a huge area, including all of what is now the state of West Virginia and even part of western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh.
P. 50, from Order Book No. III — “John Mulholland exempted from public levy on account of great age & infirmity.”
P. 305, Section on “Judgments at Rules 1751" — Bell vs. Borden’s executor, James Bell (one entry for himself and one for John Mulholland, his servant), suit by John Bell [and others] to get deed for 100 acres entered with Benjamin Borden in 1738.
P. 307, from section on “County Court Judgments,” May, 1753, Bell’s executor vs. Benjamin Borden, copy of bond of Benjamin Border to ... James Bell ... John Mulholan ... etc., “Condition, that if Benjamin Borden will give each 100 acres where they have already chosen and shall build and improve on said 100 acres by 1st April next. Witnesssed by John McDowell. Dated 21st February 1738-9.”
P. 309, November 1753, John Mulhollan vs. Thomas Williams Attachment in 1753.
All that can be learned from the above is that a John Mulholland was judged too old in May, 1752 to pay a levy, and another John Mulholand was the servant of James Bell, who along with James Bell apparently purchased land from Benjamin Borden in 1738, but they never received a deed for the property; when Borden died they, and others who had also bought land about the same time, went to court to get the deed, which was issued to them on the condition that they improved the land by next April 1st. Whether there was any relationship between the first named John Mulhollan and second one, who was a servant of James Bell, is not given, but one might assume that since the name was not common that they may have been father and son, or even the same man.
In another volumn of the Augusta County, Virginia court records there are the following records for a man named Thomas Milholland/Milhollan.
P. 25, section on “Judgments” - Gamble &c. vs. Thomas Milholland, of Bath [County] — Bond, 30th July 1795
p. 34, section on “Judgments” - “Thomas Milhollan vs. Balser King — defendant is about to remove to Kentucky 3 April 1802.”
p. 37, section on “Judgments, September, 1806” - “Commonwealth vs. Capt. Thomas Milhollin, Jeremiah Sims & Sarah are about to remove to Ohio. Sarah was dau. of Milhollin - 1804.”
Bath County is still in the state of Virginia but was formed from land in Augusta, Botetourt and Augusta counties in 1790 or 1791. Since the court actions relating to Thomas Milhollan/d occurred about 40 years after those of John Mulhollan, one could safely conclude that Thomas was a younger man. He may have also been near the same age as our James Milholland, who was born about 1755, and settled in what is now Iredell Co., North Carolina by 1784.
In another book, Virginia’s Colonial Soldiers by Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck, published in 1988 by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, Md., there are several entries for the name of John Mulhollan in the chapter on the French and Indian Wars. Rather than list each entry for his name, below is a synopsis of the records, which are mostly muster rolls.
John Mulhollan was a member of the militia company headed by Capt. Andrew Lewis, and he enlisted on April 12, 1754. Capt. Lewis’s company was one of 5 under the command of Col. Joshua Fry, with Lt. Col. George Washington, second in command. His name is also on a list entitled “The party of recruits which joined at Will’s Creek after the Battle of the Meadows (3rd day of July 1754.)" The introduction to the list appears to have been a handwritten note or letter as follows:
“List of all the soldiers which are to be found either upon the pay rolls or muster rolls. The men who received the present of a pistole from the country as acknowledgment of their gallant behaviour upon that occasion and the detachment which marched to Augusta sometime after the defeat. By which (& there appearing to be 350 upon the roll) it is evident there are many men (here) included, that are not entitled (strictly) to a share of the 200,000 acres of land under Gov. Dinwiddie’s proclamation & scare possible that any can be omitted which are. This being carefully attended to at least any might be deprived of their right by not appearing on the list when they applied to.
30 April 1771./s/ George Washington.
John Mulholland got a pistol or handgun for his participation in the battle, but whether he received any land is not known, as his name only appears on the lists dated "payroll ... from enlistment to the 29th of May 1754," "29 May until 29 July 1754," "29 Jul until 29 Sept. 1754," as well as one entitled “returns made at Will’s Creek the 9th of July 1754.” Other than the fact he served in the militia about 5 1/2 months, or from April 12th through Sept. 29, 1754, and he was paid £1.11.4 and £2.0.8 at another time, little else is known of his service. He may have even died during his service, although no record of his death appears in this book. If he did get a portion of the “200,000 acres” of land, referred to in Washington’s memo, more research is required to learn where the property was located, the date it was awarded, and what records are now available. There is also a problem discovering whether he was the same John Mulholland who was a servant of James Bell two years earlier, as appears in the Augusta County court records.
The professional genealogist hired by Joann A. Wells declared that my 4th g.grandfather, James Milholland, had a brother named John, so it is possible, based on name similarity alone and the approximate ages of the individuals, to believe they were both the sons of this John Mulhollan(d) who served in the regiment in the French and Indian Wars in 1754 in the State of Virginia, as the John Mulholland of Virginia was an adult by 1754, and was perhaps the same man who purchased 100 acres of land from Benjamin Barden.
In another source, A Guide to Irish Surnames by Edward MacLysaght, ©1964, Genealogical Book Co., Baltimore, Md., it says on p. 159 that Mulhollan(d) is from "O'Maolchalann" and that the first part of the name — maol — means “follower or servant of” in Gaelic. Also on p. 115 is an interpretation for the surname “Holland” which is an English surname, and was sometimes used in County Limerick as a shortened version of Mulholland.
In the book, Personal and Family Names, by Harry Alfred Long, 1883, republished by Gale Research Company, 1968, in the chapter on “Local Names,” or names derived from places, “Mulholland: mill of the little wood."
The Jackson Co., Indiana marriage records show that John P. MILHOLLEN consented to the marriage and/or vouched for the age of his sister, Isabel Celia MILLHOLLEN, to Elisha Davis JACKSON on 20 Oct 1842. This may indicate that their father, David MILLHOLLEN, had probably died by then, and John Pinckney MILLHOLLEN, then the eldest male in the family, was the one from whom permission was sought to marry.
John P. MILLHOLLEN married Elizabeth MAXWELL, who was born 6 Aug 1820 and died in Stillwater, Payne Co., Oklahoma on 6 Aug 1920, on her 90th birthday as has been passed down in the Bunce family. They were the parents of four children:
The children’s names and approximate birthdates are from the 1850 and 1860 Henderson Co., Illinois census in the household of Andrew FORGEY, who was their step-father.
| 1860 Census of Township 12W 4N, Henderson Co., Illinois Post Office: Oquawka, Illinois. Taken 5 Jun 1860, 41st household, 41st family | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | A g e | S e x | C o l o r | Occupation | Value of Real Estate Owned | Value of Personal Estate Owned | Birthplace | Attended School Within Past Year |
| Andrew Forgey | 65 | M | Farmer | 100 | Tennessee | |||
| Elizabeth " | 40 | F | Kentucky | |||||
| Adaline " | 8 | F | Illinois |  | ||||
| Clark " | 6 | M | Illinois | | ||||
| Elisha J. " | 4 | M | Iowa | |||||
| Lewis " | 2 | M | Illinois | |||||
| James H. Milholland | 17 | M | Farm hand | Indiana | | |||
| David W. " | 15 | M | Illinois | | ||||
| John M. " | 13 | M | Illinois | | ||||
| Harriet A. " | 12 | F | Illinois | | ||||
Andrew FORGEY and his first wife, Anna (ROLLER) FORGEY, were also the parents of John and James FORGEY, who married respectively, Margaret Matilda MILLHOLLEN and Mary Emaline MILLHOLLEN, sisters of John Pinckney and Isabel Celia MILHOLLEN.
After the untimely death of John Pinckney MILHOLLAND, about 1850, his widow, Elizabeth (MAXWELL) MILHOLLAND married (2) Andrew FORGEY, who was a farmer, age 65, born in Tennessee, at the time of the 1860 census (also from Roller Family Association he was b. 10 Dec 1794 in Hawkins Co., Tenn. and d. 8 Apr 1879, Scott Co., Iowa). They had four children:
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