Four Generations in Virginia
One of the things that always fascinated me about our family is how it migrated, along with the rest of the country, from the Atlantic colonies to the western states. With the passage of time, the individual why and how stories have been lost, but the historical record allows us to trace where and when the Gilliams moved. Where they settled gives us some clues on how they made a living. In some cases, our ancestors owned enough real and personal property to make a will and probate an estate, providing us the best proof of how they lived. This blog entry discusses the first four generations of Gilliams (in our direct line) in North America. The historical record shows that for approximately 150 years, the first Gilliams in America stayed in a relatively small area in colonial Virginia, in and around the James River Basin, just off the Chesapeake Bay. The maps shown at the head of the post will assist in tracing these early steps. The first shows the colonial county lines jus