THE MILLS FAMILY OF WESTERN WEST VIRGINIA AND EASTERN KENTUCKY sALT ^*s,i\rH*8415 Q by Roger L. Mills us /cy}AJ 1991 H^Hmir COPYRIGHT (C) 1991 By Roger L. Mills 6502 Harrison Pike Chattanooga. Tennessee 37916 All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce in any form may be secured from the author. Please direct all correspondence to the author at the above address. il ,(s^ l* V DISCLAIMER The information in this book was compiled and presented to the best of my ability. I apologize for the omission of any individuals or families and for any errors in the listings. I plan to include any corrections submitted in a future edition. DEDICATION This book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Denver Leo Mills. 1930 - 1991. His advice and support for this project was very helpful in the early stages, but sadly, he passed away before he could see the results. I'll always remember Dad's smile and his ever-present, though sometimes corny, sense of humor. He was a quiet, intelligent man who preferred to be home with his family and hobbies over anything else. It seemed to my brothers and me that he knew everything and could fix anything. Dad didn't give praise very often, but when he did you knew you had done something special. I think this helped encourage me to try to do my best in life's endeavors, because I believe Dad wanted his sons to achieve more than he did. I remember his many hobbies and interests as I grew up. He spent time on his electronic projects, gardening, beekeeping, model airplanes, military vehicle collecting, knife collecting, and most recently, antique motor scooter restoring. I can't recall visiting him and Mom when he didn't pull me aside to show me, with much pride, his latest project. I guess I'll miss those times most of all. The book is also dedicated to my wife, Debra, whose patience, computer expertise, and editorial assistance helped immeasurably toward completion of this edition. i 11 • CONTENTS Disclaimer i Dedication ii Acknowledgements iv Foreword. vi Introduction vii Guide to Using the Book x Abbreviations xii CHAPTER 1 John Mills 1 CHAPTER 2 Thomas William Mills 55 CHAPTER 3 William "Billy" Mills 196 CHAPTER 4 George Mills 283 CHAPTER 5 Polly Mills 293 Bibliography 294 Index 295 i in } ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I offer thanks and appreciation to everyone who provided advice, information, and support in this effort. They are too numerous to list them all. However, I acknowledge the following, listed in no particular order, for providing special assistance: Rodney Mills, my brother, for his expertise in computer programming to convert my data files from Personal Ancestral File format to a format that was used to generate this book. This saved many hours of retyping time and enabled me to edit and add entries right up to printing time. Debra Mills, my wife, for her expertise in coordinating with Rodney to convert the files and write the final program to generate this book. In addition, I thank her for her patience and assistance in spending many hours at libraries and court houses researching files with me, and for urging me to publish the results. She also figured prominantly in preparing the preliminaries to this book. Golden Mills of Pride, Louisiana, for providing me with the bulk of the information on the descendants of Farmer C. and Emily (Adkins) Mills. Victor Mills of Handle, Washington, for providing me with descendancy information for Columbus C. and Mary (Scalf) Mills. Fred Mills of Tomahawk, Kentucky, for assisting me in locating old graves for Mills family members in Martin County, Kentucky, and for showing me the location of the old Mills homestead in Tomahawk. He also gave me a first hand account of the only known Mills murder (his mother Lucinda). Carroll B. Mills of Kenwood, California, for providing me with numerous details on the descendants of Thomas William and Sarah (Ewing) Mills. He also provided his computer data files to merge with my files to save rekeying of information. Carrie (Epling) Thomas of Beech Fork, East Lynn, West Virginia, for providing information on the descendants of Wade Hamilton Mills and selected other lines. Tranquilla Whitt of Red Jacket, West Virginia, for providing information on the descendants of Randolph and Martha Jane (Wooten) Mills. James R. Mills of Clintwood, Virginia, for providing information on the descendants of Richard and Perlina (Vanover) Mills. In addition he showed me the homeplace of Richard Mills, believed also to be the final homeplace of Richard's father William "Billy" Mills. iv James R. "Sammy" Hall of Logan, West Virginia, for providing information on the descendants of Oliver and Mary Jane (Fraley) Mills. Lucian Lee of Claremore, Oklahoma, who also provided information on the descendants Oliver and Mary Jane (Fraley) Mills. Arbie Mills of Tomahawk, Kentucky, for providing descendancy information for Columbus C. Mills. Mae Gravely of Huntington, West Virginia, for information on the descendants of James "Banty" Mills. Elva Whitham of Dunbar, West Virginia, my aunt, who provided much information on the descendants of Farmer C. and Emily (Adkins) Mills. FOREWORD This project was started soon after the death of my paternal grandmother, Rachel (Clay) Mills, as I realized that many of that generation were now gone but little of the history of my Mills ancestors was known. In fact, I could find no one who knew for sure the identity of my great-great-grandfather. My original goal was to determine if any of my Mills ancestors had fought in the Civil War, and on which side. As I started to pursue the family line, I became very interested in going back as far as I could and to determine if all of the Mills in Wayne County were actually related. I found that indeed most of the Mills in western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky were descendants from the sons of one man, William Mills. I also found that many of the Mills descendants were no longer just names but real people who had moved to find better land and futures for their families, to avoid guerilla attacks after the Civil War, and to be closer to other members of their families. I discovered Mills relatives who were farmers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, nuclear scientists, craftsmen, and even a guard at Alcatraz Prison. There were also people who were "distant" relatives that were able to contribute to the collection of family stories and to the feeling of the Mills family. I planned originally to bring all of the known lines of Mills relatives down as far as possible to the present before publishing a history, but the death of my father in the spring of 1991 changed all that. I decided that it was important to publish a book as soon as possible, to allow the older generations an opportunity to see their relationship to other Mills lines. Therefore, this book is being issued as a "First Edition" to allow many of the people whom I've contacted a chance to see what I've compiled with their assistance. It will also allow others an opportunity to provide me with feedback on their lines. I regret not being able to include photographs in this edition. However, I plan to issue another, more comprehensive edition in the future that will include photographs, more descendants, and more of the stories that make the Mills family come to life. vi INTRODUCTION When I started this project, I thought there were at least two different lines of Mills in Wayne County, West Virginia. I had never even heard of any Mills lines in eastern Kentucky. However once I found the link to Washington County, Virginia, I soon concluded that most of the Mills in western West Virginia and eastern Kentucky are descended from one man. In tracing my direct line back, I discovered that my great-great-great-grandfather, William "Billy" Mills, had stated in one of his marriage records that he was born in Washington County, Virginia. From census records, I believed his birth date to be about 1806. I then began searching Washington County records for this time period for clues to his parents' identities. According to 1805 tax records a William Mills was living in Washington County. This was the only Mills living in the county at that time, and there is no record of him in this county prior to that date. According to the 1810 Washington County census records William's family consisted of 1 male between 26 and 45, 1 male between 10 and 16, 3 males under 10, and 1 female between 26 and 45. The 1820 census shows William's family, still the only Mills family in the county, consisting of 1 male over 45, 2 males between 16 and 26, 2 males between 10 and 16, 1 male under 10, 1 female over 45, and 1 female under 10. By comparing these records it is possible to determine the approximate ages for family members. I concluded that this William was the father of Billy. From land records, we know the following about William. In 1813, he purchased 94 acres in Washington County for $55.25. In 1828, he and his wife Betsy sold their land in two parcels, one to a Thomas Mills and one to a William Combs. By 1830 William is no longer in Washington County, but Thomas and his family are now listed as the only Mills family in the county. Through land transactions, I was able to trace Thomas to Floyd County, Kentucky and then on to Wayne County, West Virginia.