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Mills
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Mills Family

circa 1600 - 1919

The Mills name itself is an English, Scottish or Irish topographic name for someone who lived near a mill, and our Mills family does indeed come from England, though it’s not known exactly where, possibly Yorkshire.

We begin with our immigrant ancestor, George Mills, who was born around 1600-1605 somewhere in England. Not much is known about him, only that he arrived on Long Island, in what was at the time New Netherland, sometime before 1656 when he began appearing in land records in Hempstead. His children were said to be born before 1656 in the colonies though, so he likely arrived in America long before 1656. Hempstead was founded in 1644 by 30-40 families who came from Stamford, Connecticut, but it’s not clear if George was one of them, or whether he arrived in Hempstead later. Hempstead was originally the territory of the Rockaway tribe before the Mohegans sold most of Long Island to the Dutch in 1640, though supposedly at some point the Canarsee had a village there. Theories on why the name Hempstead was chosen include being named after a town in England known as Hemel Hemstead where one of the founders was born, or after the town of Heemstede in the Netherlands since it was a Dutch owned colony.

He married Rebecca Tanner on an unknown date at an unknown location, and they had six known children:

  1. Zachariah Mills (b. abt. 1630-1640, d. 1696 in Jamaica, New York)
  2. Samuel Mills (b. abt. 1631, d. 10 Mar 1726 in Jamaica, New York)
  3. Bethia Mills (b. abt 1633)
  4. Nathaniel Mills (b. abt. 1635, d. 4 Nov 1728)
  5. George Mills (b. abt. 1638, d. abt. 1658)
  6. Jonathan Mills (b. abt. 1640, d. 18 Feb 1717 in Jamaica, New York)

On February 15th, 1656, George was one of seventeen residents of Hempstead who purchased a tract of land adjacent to Hempstead from the Native Americans called Jamaica, now in Queens. The name Jamaica ironically has nothing to do with Jamaica in the Caribbean. The area was originally known to the natives as their word for beaver, “yamecah” but the “Y” sound in English is spelled by the Dutch with a “J”. After the English took over the New Netherlands in 1664 and renamed it New York, they retained the Dutch spelling of Jamaica with a “J” and over time, the fact that it should be pronounced with a “Y” was forgotten.

George was therefore one of the founding members of the town of Jamaica, with a ten acre lot on the east side. His immediate neighbors (all having ten acres as well) were John Townsend, Richard Townsend, Henry Townsend, John Roades, Nathaniel Denton, Daniel Denton, Richard Everet, and Richard Harkert, all on the east side as well. Those on the west side with ten acres each were Nicholas Tanner (believed to be George’s father-in-law), Andrew Messenger (the father of George’s future daughter-in-law), Samuel Mathews, John Lazar, Richard Chasmore, Abraham Smith, and Rodger Linas.

After purchasing the land from the natives, the founders had to obtain confirmation from Governor Stuyvesant, which was received 21 March 1656, signed by Stuyvesant himself as well as de Sille, Van Tienhoven, and our ancestor from another branch, Jean de la Montagne. They finally settled the land beginning February 27, 1658, where George remained for the rest of his life until he died there October 17, 1694. As is unfortunately so typical of colonial women, Rebecca’s vital information is unknown.

Their son, Zachariah Mills, was born sometime between 1630 and 1640, though it’s unknown where. He married Abigail Messenger (daughter of Andrew Messenger and Rachel Manning) sometime after September 1st, 1674, which was about the time Abigail obtained her divorce from Richard Darling. She had two known sons with Richard before divorcing him, Thomas and Samuel Darling. Divorce was very uncommon at the time, though not impossible, and probably scandalous. Abigail was born about 1644, so she was about 30 when she divorced Richard and married Zachariah (who would have been in his 30s or 40s) not long after. They had three known children together:

  1. Abigail Mills (b. abt. 1675)
  2. Zachariah Mills (b. abt. 1676, d. bef. 1761)
  3. Sarah Mills (b. abt. 1683)

        Zachariah died in 1696 in Jamaica. His will was dated May 9th, 1696, and probated September 17th, 1696, so he must have died sometime in between those dates. He gave his wife their house and part of his personal estate, as well as the use of half the orchard and land for the duration of her life. The rest of his land was left to his son Zachariah, and to his daughters Abigail and Sarah, 15 pounds each when they turned 21. His wife was the sole executrix, so he obviously valued her education and competence.

        The junior Zachariah Mills, born in Jamaica about 1676, was married twice and left his hometown for further north into New York. He first married Abigail Clark (born about 1689) around 1702, when he was 26 and she was only about 13. Keep in mind these are approximate dates, so we don’t know exactly how old she was. They had three known children:

  1. George Mills (b. abt. 1702)
  2. Andrew Mills (b. abt. 1704)
  3. Abigail Mills

Abigail Clark died sometime in or before 1711, a tragically short life, at the age of only about 22 or younger. With three young children who needed a mother, Zachariah remarried Martha Miller on December 31, 1711 in Bedford, Westchester County, New York. She was born about 1697, so she would have been about only fourteen years old. It seems Zachariah had a thing for young wives, which is rather disturbing. Although it wasn’t completely unheard of for girls to be married this young during this time period, it was not the norm. Yet he wasted no time consummating the marriage, since their first child was born almost exactly 9 months later.

  1. Daniel Mills (b. 29 Sep 1712 in Bedford)
  2. Zebediah Mills (b. 17 Aug 1718 in Bedford)
  3. Hannah Mills (b. 10 Feb 1721 in Bedford)
  4. Amos Mills (b. 15 Jun 1723 in Bedford)
  5. John Mills (b. 3 Jul 1724 in Bedford)
  6. Zephariah Mills (b. 16 Jan 1726 in Bedford)

        Martha also died somewhat young, about 31 years old around 1728, and Zachariah remarried yet again to Joanna (maiden name unknown), who was born about 1705. Their exact marriage date is unknown, but it must have been after 1728, so she was (finally) in her 20s, though Zachariah was in his 50s. Zachariah lived a lot longer and died sometime before 1761.  

        Amos Mills spent his life in Bedford, New York, where he married Abigail Clark, obviously a different Abigail Clark than the one his father first married. Names were often recycled within families, so it’s possible the two women were related somehow. Amos and Abigail had six children, all born in Bedford:

  1. James Mills (b. abt. 1743)
  2. Zephaniah Mills (b. abt. 1744)
  3. Joseph Mills (b. abt. 1745)
  4. Josiah Mills (b. 7 Nov 1747)
  5. John Mills (b. abt. 1749)
  6. Amy Mills (b. abt. 1751)

        Amos lived a long life, dying just shy of 100 years old on March 14th, 1823 in Bedford, New York, but Abigail vital data is unknown.

        Josiah Mills married Rachel Holmes (b. 20 Apr 1747) about 1767 when they were both 20 years old. They had eight children born over 23 years:

  1. Thomas Mills (b. 11 Apr 1768)
  2. Elisha Mills (b. 29 Jun 1770)
  3. Joanna Mills (b. 5 Feb 1773)
  4. Oliver Mills (b. 3 May 1775)
  5. Elliott Mills (b. 1777)
  6. Amy Mills (b. 19 Aug 1780)
  7. Daniel Mills (b. 18 Jan 1783)
  8. Mary “Polly” Mills (b. 14 Apr 1791)

        Josiah lived in Bedford and served in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War as the Quartermaster of Minute Regiment of Westchester County, while his brother Zephaniah was First Lieutenant of Bedford Company. Sometime in or after 1778, he was among the Associated Exempts, which was a unique class authorized by an act of April 3, 1778. They included: “All persons under the age of sixty who have held civil or military commissions and are not or shall not be reappointed to their respective proper ranks of office, and all persons between the ages of fifty and sixty.” They could only be called out “in time of invasion or incursion of the enemy.”

        Josiah lived most of his life in Bedford, but he appears to have moved to Montgomery, Orange County, New York sometime between 1800 and 1810 when he was in his late 50s or early 60s. He died not long after, presumably in Orange County, on February 7, 1814 at the age of 66. Later records say he died in Bedford, but his probate records and the 1810 Census suggest otherwise. He died intestate (without a written will) but administration of all goods, chattel, and credit was handled by his son, Oliver, who also lived in Orange County. His wife Rachel outlived him by only seven years, following him in death on May 4th, 1821 in Orange County when she was 74 years old. She is buried in Hopewell Church Cemetery in Pine Bush, Orange County, but Josiah's burial place is unknown.

        Elisha Mills was born in Bedford but like his father and brother, moved upstate, even further north to Sherburne, Chenango County. Here he lived with his wife, Martha Raymond (b. abt. 1774) and their many children, although at the moment only one of them is confirmed:

  1. James R. Mills (b. abt. 1800)

        Martha died in August of 1814, when she was 40 years old, and Elisha remarried Helche (maiden name may have been Parks), who was born about 1783. She would have been in her 30s, so it may not have been her first marriage either. They had at least two more children:

  1. Jane Mills (b. abt. 1818)
  2. Harriet Mills (b. 25 Jan 1820)

Sometime before 1820, he moved again into western New York and settled in Jerusalem, Ontario County, which became a part of Yates County in 1823, where he is found again in 1830. By 1850, he was 80 years old, retired, and living just next to Jerusalem in Naples, Ontario County, where he died sometime in between 1850 and 1855.

James R. Mills certainly lived up to his name’s legacy, in 1850 was a mill owner. James married Ann Elizabeth Cadmus, who was born about 1801 in New Jersey. They had five known children together in New Jersey before moving west:

  1. James E. Mills (b. abt. 1827)
  2. William Henry Mills (b. Oct 29, 1832)
  3. Mary E. Mills (b. Sep 1838)
  4. Alvin G. Mills (b. abt. 1839)
  5. Jane Blendena Mills (b. Jun 1843)

Sometime after Jane’s birth but before 1850, the family moved to Ruggles, Ashland County, Ohio where James R. was a mill owner and son James E. was an engineer. By 1860, they had moved to Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County, Ohio where James was a patent dealer.

Mary E. Mills was a teacher before she married John N. Morton, moved to Missouri, and had two daughters there. Jane Blendena married Royal Church and they had four children together before moving out to California.

James R. probably died sometime in between 1860 and 1870. After his death, Ann lived with her daughter Mary in Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri until her death in 1881. She is buried there in Highland Cemetery.

An oil painting exists from the Mills family, it is allegedly of the father of William Henry Mills but his name was believed to be Nathaniel. Since William’s father was actually named James, it’s unknown whether this is a painting of James and his name simply was remembered wrong, or whether this is a painting of some other member of the Mills family, possibly named Nathaniel.

William Henry Mills, was born in New Jersey on October 29, 1832. He married Emma Elizabeth Sherwood on July 7, 1855 in Wyandot County, Ohio when he was 22 and she was only 17. They had five children, all girls:

  1. Wilhelmina (b. 1858)
  2. Edith Louise (b. February 1860)
  3. Matie Gertrude (b. March 5, 1862)
  4. Maggie (b. 1864)
  5. Eugenia (b. 1866)

Unfortunately, Maggie died when she was 3 from poison, possibly arsenic since it was not unheard of in accidental poisonings. Wilhelmina, nicknamed “Minnie,” married a man named Henry Homer Houser in 1880, they had five children and moved to Indiana. Edith first married Nathan Bastian and had two children and after her husband’s death, married Henry Chapman and had another two children. Eugenia married Daniel Cordier and had eight children.

William worked as a Railroad Agent or Operator most of his life until he became a Past Master when he was older. A Past Master was someone considered to be highly experienced or skilled or an expert in their field or industry (the railroad industry, in William's case).

The Mills family moved around a lot. After marrying and having their first child in Ohio, William and Emma moved to Sangamon County, Illinois between 1858 and 1860. Knowing that William worked as a Railroad Agent, the family probably lived near to one of the train stations within the county, which in 1859 were: Illiopolis, Lanesville, Mechanicsburg, Jamestown, Springfield, Ketcham, Berlin, Williamsville, Sangamon, Chatham, and Auburn, though they did not live in Springfield or Chatham since these are listed on the 1860 census and the Mills family were living in “District 16”. Only a few years later by 1863, they were living several counties over in Campbell, Coles County. Campbell is a difficult location to pin since it’s no longer on the map but it had been located along a main road (which may now be Lincoln Highway Road a.k.a. 1520 E) just west of what is now the Fox Ridge State Park. The nearest train station to Campbell would have been Charleston, which was 6.5 miles north. Assuming William reported for work in Charleston, his commute would have taken him about an hour and a half on horseback at a walk but at a consistent trot, it would have taken him less than an hour. Within about seven years in 1870, they had moved back to Ohio, this time in Coshocton before moving yet again to Coldwater, Mercer County of the same state around 1880. Coldwater was host to a principle through connection by 1881. The Mills finally landed in Olmstead, Logan County, Kentucky by 1900, which was not far from where Matie’s husband was from in Pembroke, Christian County.

William was apparently an ideal husband and father apart from the occasional drinking binges when he would disappear and not be heard from until he finally sobered up and returned home. He would be gone long enough that his wife Emma had to sew for money in order to put food on the table and William’s own job would be in jeopardy. When he returned, he would manage to get his job back and everything would return to normal until the next binge. Perhaps sometimes he was not always able to get his job back and this is why the family moved around a lot.

Matie Gertrude Mills was born March 5, 1862 in Illinois and was a Seventh Day Adventist. At some point in her life, she wrote a short story which she submitted to a magazine produced by McFaden Publications but received a rejection letter. On June 15, 1879, when she was 17, Matie married a Kentuckian man ten years her senior, Robert Louis Smith. It’s unclear how and where they met since the Mills were living in Ohio during 1879 and Robert was in Kentucky. It may have had something to do with William working as a railroad agent; perhaps the rail route he worked on took him to Kentucky where he met Robert first and later introduced the two. The fact that the Mills uprooted themselves to Kentucky later on, after Matie’s marriage and settlement there, certainly suggests the family were very close. For more on their life after marriage, see the Smith Family Chapter.

By 1910, William had moved in with his daughter Matie's family, the Smiths, in Tennessee. His wife, Emma Elizabeth, had died in 1901 when she was 63. William died on January 7, 1919 at the age of 86 in Huntsville, Alabama where the Smiths had moved to by that point. Probably less than a week before his death, Matie had written in her journal dated January 1919:

“Answered prayer: That Pa would revive and not die from the apparent neglect that would depress my spirits already under remorseful condition.”

Obviously, William had been ill and Matie was feeling guilty, perhaps because she felt like she wasn’t doing enough to help him. It seems just before he died, it may have looked like he was getting better, since Matie says her prayer was answered, so it must have been quite a shock to Matie when he quickly died soon after her journal entry. William’s cause of death was senility which may mean he could have been suffering from a mental deterioration. This may have made him difficult to look after, and therefore why Matie felt she wasn’t doing enough to help him.

Family legend has it that William was told by a lawyer that he was descended from Anneke Jans Bogardus, who had owned an estate in New York City (New Amsterdam at the time), on which now sat Trinity Church, and that William could claim an inheritance share of it. It is true that descendants of Anneke tried to obtain their inheritance by taking the church to court but the court ruled in the church’s favor. William supposedly had his genealogy drawn up to prove he was a descendant of Anneke but apparently never got any farther than that and never filed suit.

Legend also has it that Anneke herself was a descendant of Dutch royalty, as a daughter of the Webber family. While it’s true the Webbers have Dutch royalty links, Anneke’s relation to them is contested and it’s been suggested that she was instead Norwegian.

William was indeed descended from Anneke, but through his mother.

© Robin Bauer 2010-2021

Sources:

Mills Photos and Documents

Oil painting possibly of James R. Mills or other Mills family member (originally stated to be Nathaniel Mills but there’s no indication of a family member named such)

William Henry Mills

William Henry Mills’ wife, Emma Elizabeth Sherwood

A slightly younger Emma Elizabeth Sherwood

A tintype of Matie Gertrude Mills as a child

Matie Gertrude Mills

Matie Gertrude Mills, possibly as a teenager

A tintype of Matie Gertrude Mills and her sister Edith Louise, the two girls remained close their whole lives.

A tintype of Edith Louise Mills as a child.