The Gilliam In-Laws: Back to Virginia, Part 2
We are circling back to discuss the women married to the Gilliams in our direct line and their families.
We started with the women who married John Gilliam (1613-1673), and his son Hinchea Gilliam (1663-1734). In this post, we pick up with his grandson John Gilliam (1696-1738) (my generation's seventh great-grandfather), and his great-grandson Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794) (my generation's sixth great-grandfather), both of whom stayed in the James River Basin of Virginia. The families in the Virginia Colony by this time had four or five generations to get interconnected. In some cases, to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, "the family tree did not fork". Buckle up and let's see what we know about these "great" grandmothers and their families.
Hinchea and Fortune Gilliam's son John (1696-1738) is the next Gilliam in our line. Unfortunately, we do not have much to go on regarding his wife, Sarah. One of the best sources regarding the early Gilliam line is Historical Southern Families (Vol. I), by John Bennett Boddie. He identifies John's wife as "Sarah", but no family name. He places their marriage around 1717 and her death in 1770. Similarly, Greg Gilliam, author of the website Gilliams of Virginia and the author of perhaps the most comprehensive family tree for the first five generations of Gilliams in America (his work can be found on the public side of ancestry.com as Gilliams of Virginia and Beyond), has been unable to definitively identify Sarah's last name. He states "Many maiden names have been proposed for Sarah, the wife of John Gilliam. Until primary sources are secured, she will remain last name unknown."
Some of the family trees you might find on the internet will identify John Gilliam's wife as Jane Henry (sometimes referred to as Lucy Henry), daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry. She was a cousin of Patrick Henry, the first Governor of Virginia best known for his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech prior the American Revolution. However, Jane Henry was not married to this John Gilliam in our direct line. She was married to his second or third cousin, also named John Gilliam, thus causing the confusion. It is interesting to find that the early colonial Gilliams were contemporaries of some of our country's great historical figures, but Jane Henry and Patrick Henry were not blood relatives of our direct line.
Some genealogists believe Sarah to be Sarah Briggs, daughter of Samuel and Mary Briggs. Sarah was a distant (second) cousin of John Gilliam, through the Flood/Browne line. However, the same source mentioned above, John Bennett Boddie, this time in Southside Virginia Families (Vol. I), states that Sarah Briggs was married to John Collier (NOTE: This same Sarah Briggs and John Collier will be mentioned below). Boddie indicates one of Sarah's sisters, Faith Briggs, married John's brother, Hinchea, and a niece, Amy Briggs, married one of John's nephews (also named Hinchea). Because he identifies the Gilliam-Briggs family connection in those two instances, I do not think he would have been mistaken regarding Sarah's husband's identity. Therefore, I am not crediting the genealogists that think John Gilliam's wife was Sarah Briggs. Until someone is able to find better proof of a family connection, she will be listed in my family tree as simply "Sarah". Sarah and John Gilliam had 12 children: John, Hinchea, Burwell, Levi, Amy, Mary, Mildred, Anselm, Isham, Tabitha, Lydia and Sarah. Except for Burrell and Lydia, both of whom moved to North Carolina, their children remained in Virginia.
John and Sarah Gilliam's son, Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794) (my generation's sixth great-grandfather), married Mary Johnson (my generation's sixth great-grandmother). Hinchea and Mary were one of three connections between the Johnsons and Gilliams: Hinchea's brothers Anselm and Burwell married Mary's sisters, Martha and Ann, respectively. The Johnson sisters were the daughters of Moses Johnson and Mary Collier.
Further complicating the tracing of Mary Johnson's ancestors is the fact that her parents were first cousins. On top of that, Moses' father was also named Moses Johnson. Still yet, that Moses Johnson also married a Mary Collier. This branch of the family tree looks like this:
Otherwise, the family lines that Mary Johnson brought into the Gilliam line enjoyed deep roots in the Virginia Colony for four or five generations. The Collier branch of the Johnson family line appeared in Surry County Virginia as early as 1668 and were plantation owners throughout the period. The John Collier and Sarah Briggs mentioned above appear in this line of Mary Johnson's ancestors.
The Lucas family branch of the Johnson family tree also goes deep into Virginia history. The earliest of the Lucas family members came to the Colony in 1628 (predating John Gilliam's 1635 arrival in North America). William Lucas was a ship owner, and his ship The Supply made several trips back and forth to England in support of the Colony. His son William was named guardian to the older of the Moses Johnsons when Moses was a minor. That connection to the families makes the later series of Johnson-Collier marriages a little easier to understand.
The Briggs family connections to Mary Johnson's family tree is the same Briggs family that Margery Gilliam married into after John Gilliam's death in 1673 or so. That line of the Briggs family can trace its ancestry back to another of our grandfathers, John Flood, through John Flood's first wife, Margaret Finch. Similarly, the Baileys in Mary Johnson's ancestry can trace their roots back to the same Jordan family which the first Hinchea Gilliam joined when he married Fortune Flood. As we will see, these roots in the early Virginia Colony will turn up in several more family lines farther down the Gilliam family tree.
Hinchea Gilliam and Mary Johnson Gilliam had eight children: John, Lucy, Mary, Sarah, Lucy (this second daughter named Lucy was born after the first Lucy died before the age of ten), Margaret, Edna and Elizabeth.
Their son John married Mary Clanton. In the next post we will discover that our Clanton family relatives were patriots and outlaws.
We started with the women who married John Gilliam (1613-1673), and his son Hinchea Gilliam (1663-1734). In this post, we pick up with his grandson John Gilliam (1696-1738) (my generation's seventh great-grandfather), and his great-grandson Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794) (my generation's sixth great-grandfather), both of whom stayed in the James River Basin of Virginia. The families in the Virginia Colony by this time had four or five generations to get interconnected. In some cases, to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, "the family tree did not fork". Buckle up and let's see what we know about these "great" grandmothers and their families.
Hinchea and Fortune Gilliam's son John (1696-1738) is the next Gilliam in our line. Unfortunately, we do not have much to go on regarding his wife, Sarah. One of the best sources regarding the early Gilliam line is Historical Southern Families (Vol. I), by John Bennett Boddie. He identifies John's wife as "Sarah", but no family name. He places their marriage around 1717 and her death in 1770. Similarly, Greg Gilliam, author of the website Gilliams of Virginia and the author of perhaps the most comprehensive family tree for the first five generations of Gilliams in America (his work can be found on the public side of ancestry.com as Gilliams of Virginia and Beyond), has been unable to definitively identify Sarah's last name. He states "Many maiden names have been proposed for Sarah, the wife of John Gilliam. Until primary sources are secured, she will remain last name unknown."
Some of the family trees you might find on the internet will identify John Gilliam's wife as Jane Henry (sometimes referred to as Lucy Henry), daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry. She was a cousin of Patrick Henry, the first Governor of Virginia best known for his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech prior the American Revolution. However, Jane Henry was not married to this John Gilliam in our direct line. She was married to his second or third cousin, also named John Gilliam, thus causing the confusion. It is interesting to find that the early colonial Gilliams were contemporaries of some of our country's great historical figures, but Jane Henry and Patrick Henry were not blood relatives of our direct line.
Some genealogists believe Sarah to be Sarah Briggs, daughter of Samuel and Mary Briggs. Sarah was a distant (second) cousin of John Gilliam, through the Flood/Browne line. However, the same source mentioned above, John Bennett Boddie, this time in Southside Virginia Families (Vol. I), states that Sarah Briggs was married to John Collier (NOTE: This same Sarah Briggs and John Collier will be mentioned below). Boddie indicates one of Sarah's sisters, Faith Briggs, married John's brother, Hinchea, and a niece, Amy Briggs, married one of John's nephews (also named Hinchea). Because he identifies the Gilliam-Briggs family connection in those two instances, I do not think he would have been mistaken regarding Sarah's husband's identity. Therefore, I am not crediting the genealogists that think John Gilliam's wife was Sarah Briggs. Until someone is able to find better proof of a family connection, she will be listed in my family tree as simply "Sarah". Sarah and John Gilliam had 12 children: John, Hinchea, Burwell, Levi, Amy, Mary, Mildred, Anselm, Isham, Tabitha, Lydia and Sarah. Except for Burrell and Lydia, both of whom moved to North Carolina, their children remained in Virginia.
John and Sarah Gilliam's son, Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794) (my generation's sixth great-grandfather), married Mary Johnson (my generation's sixth great-grandmother). Hinchea and Mary were one of three connections between the Johnsons and Gilliams: Hinchea's brothers Anselm and Burwell married Mary's sisters, Martha and Ann, respectively. The Johnson sisters were the daughters of Moses Johnson and Mary Collier.
Further complicating the tracing of Mary Johnson's ancestors is the fact that her parents were first cousins. On top of that, Moses' father was also named Moses Johnson. Still yet, that Moses Johnson also married a Mary Collier. This branch of the family tree looks like this:
Otherwise, the family lines that Mary Johnson brought into the Gilliam line enjoyed deep roots in the Virginia Colony for four or five generations. The Collier branch of the Johnson family line appeared in Surry County Virginia as early as 1668 and were plantation owners throughout the period. The John Collier and Sarah Briggs mentioned above appear in this line of Mary Johnson's ancestors.
The Lucas family branch of the Johnson family tree also goes deep into Virginia history. The earliest of the Lucas family members came to the Colony in 1628 (predating John Gilliam's 1635 arrival in North America). William Lucas was a ship owner, and his ship The Supply made several trips back and forth to England in support of the Colony. His son William was named guardian to the older of the Moses Johnsons when Moses was a minor. That connection to the families makes the later series of Johnson-Collier marriages a little easier to understand.
The Briggs family connections to Mary Johnson's family tree is the same Briggs family that Margery Gilliam married into after John Gilliam's death in 1673 or so. That line of the Briggs family can trace its ancestry back to another of our grandfathers, John Flood, through John Flood's first wife, Margaret Finch. Similarly, the Baileys in Mary Johnson's ancestry can trace their roots back to the same Jordan family which the first Hinchea Gilliam joined when he married Fortune Flood. As we will see, these roots in the early Virginia Colony will turn up in several more family lines farther down the Gilliam family tree.
Hinchea Gilliam and Mary Johnson Gilliam had eight children: John, Lucy, Mary, Sarah, Lucy (this second daughter named Lucy was born after the first Lucy died before the age of ten), Margaret, Edna and Elizabeth.
Their son John married Mary Clanton. In the next post we will discover that our Clanton family relatives were patriots and outlaws.
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