More Gilliam In-Laws and Outlaws
Picking up from the last two posts, we are going 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), his son Hinchea Gilliam (1663-1734), his grandson John Gilliam (1696-1738) and his great-grandson Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794). This post will discuss the family tree of Mary Clanton (my generation's fifth great-grandmother), who married John Gilliam (1745-1828). This John Gilliam was my generation's fifth great-grandfather and the great-great grandson of the original John Gilliam who immigrated to North America. Like the Gilliams in between, this John Gilliam was born in the Virginia Colony, but he would be the first to begin the migration south and west. The family lines in the Virginia Colony by this time had five or six generations to interconnect and make their mark. Let's see what we know about this "great" grandmother and her family's tree.
Mary Clanton was born about 1750 to John Clanton and Amy Wyche Clanton. Focusing first on the Wyche side of the family, Mary's second great-grandfather, Henry Wyche (my generation's eighth great-grandfather), was born in England in about 1648, the son of Rev. Henry Wyche, a rector in the Anglican Church in Surrey, England. According to Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Vol. III, the Wyche family can trace its ancestors to that monarch of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry immigrated to the New World in 1665 and was a foot-soldier in the Virginia militia. The first connection between the Wyche and Gilliam families occurred when Henry's daughter Elinor (Mary Clanton Gilliam's great-great-aunt), married Elizabeth Gilliam Mabry's grandson, Francis Mabry, Jr. (Elizabeth Gilliam Mabry was the eldest child and only daughter of John and Margery Henshaw Gilliam). Unfortunately, not much is known about Amy's mother, Margaret Wyche, her grandmother Sarah Wyche, or her great-grandmother Frances Wyche, or their families.
The Clanton side of the family tree is very well-documented and has some famous members. Mary Clanton's father, John Clanton, was a fifth generation North American, his great-great grandfather John Clanton (my generation's tenth great-grandfather) having arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1635 (the same year as John Gilliam) on the ship Abraham. There is some documentation that the Clantons had some royal roots in England, indeed, John named his son (my generation's ninth great-grandfather) Marmaduke.
The Holt branch of Clanton tree is also rich with history. The first of the family to depart England for the New World was John Bailey (sometimes spelled Bayly) (my generation's 11th great-grandfather). John departed England on August 24, 1618 on the ship William and Thomas. The ship was part of the Pilgrim voyages and carried Elder Francis Blackwell and the remnant of the Ancient Church bound for the Virginia Colony. Normally, the voyage across the northern Atlantic would take two to three months, but due to still northwest winds, the ship went too far south. The ship did not arrive in Virginia until March of 1619. By the time it finally arrived, only 50 passengers of the original 180 still survived. John Bailey was one of the passengers who perished, but his daughter Mary arrived with her five servants alive. As John Bailey's sole heir, Mary Bailey made her husband quite rich upon their marriage in about 1626.
Mary Bailey married Randall Holt (my generation's 10th great-grandfather) shortly after he was released from his status as an indentured servant at Christmas, 1625. Randall had arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1620 on the ship George (You may recall that the George was the ship that brought John Gilliam to the New World in 1635. The George made several trips between England and Virginia bringing supplies and new immigrants to the Colony). Randall (through Mary's inheritance) developed a plantation on Hog Island on the James River that eventually grew to over 1000 acres.
Randall's son Randall Holt (my generation's 9th great-grandfather) married Elizabeth Hansford, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Hansford, wealthy landowners in York County, Virginia. One of Elizabeth's brothers, Col. Thomas Hansford, was the first American patriot hanged for treason due to his participation and leadership in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. According to Boddie, Southside Virginia Families, Vol. II, after Thomas' capture by loyalists, he pleaded to the colony Governor Berkeley to "be shot like a soldier not hanged like a dog." Berkeley supposedly replied that Hansford was not condemned for being a soldier, but as a rebel who had committed treason against the King.
Later on in the Holt family, Mary Clanton's grandmother, Mary Seward Holt had a cousin, James Holt, who served on the Constitutional Convention for the creation of the Virginia state Constitution in 1775 and 1776. Among the notable Virginians serving with James Holt were James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson. The Virginia state Constitution would be used as a model for the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) branches of the Clanton family tree are the Clantons associated with the notorious "Gunfight at the OK Corral." Mary Clanton Gilliam's great-nephew was Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton whose Cochise County, Arizona ranch was the hideaway for a loosely organized group of outlaws known as "The Cowboys". His sons (and great-great-nephews of Mary Clanton Gilliam) Isaac "Ike" and Billy Clanton were members of the Cowboys gang. As the result of The Cowboys' ongoing feud with Wyatt Earp and the other "lawmen" of the area, Billy was killed in the gunfight that has been the subject of many Westerns, including My Darling Clementine, Gunfight at the OK Corral and Tombstone. In relation to our direct line of ancestors, Old Man Clanton was Hardy Gilliam's second cousin. Ike and Billy Clanton were the third-cousins of Thomas Jefferson Gilliam, which would make them third cousins four times removed for my generation.
John and Mary Clanton Gilliam had nine children. They left Sussex County, Virginia in about 1791 when John obtained a grant of land in what would become Hawkins County, Tennessee. Most of their children made the move to Tennessee about the same time. Mary Clanton Gilliam died in about 1803. Her burial place is unknown. John would move to Franklin County, Tennessee in 1807 where he died in 1826. John is buried in the family cemetery he created in his will from the land he farmed in Franklin County, Tennessee.
In the next post, we will discover the first Irish roots of the Gilliam In-Laws.
We started with the women who married John Gilliam (1613-1673), his son Hinchea Gilliam (1663-1734), his grandson John Gilliam (1696-1738) and his great-grandson Hinchea Gilliam (1718-1794). This post will discuss the family tree of Mary Clanton (my generation's fifth great-grandmother), who married John Gilliam (1745-1828). This John Gilliam was my generation's fifth great-grandfather and the great-great grandson of the original John Gilliam who immigrated to North America. Like the Gilliams in between, this John Gilliam was born in the Virginia Colony, but he would be the first to begin the migration south and west. The family lines in the Virginia Colony by this time had five or six generations to interconnect and make their mark. Let's see what we know about this "great" grandmother and her family's tree.
Mary Clanton was born about 1750 to John Clanton and Amy Wyche Clanton. Focusing first on the Wyche side of the family, Mary's second great-grandfather, Henry Wyche (my generation's eighth great-grandfather), was born in England in about 1648, the son of Rev. Henry Wyche, a rector in the Anglican Church in Surrey, England. According to Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants, Vol. III, the Wyche family can trace its ancestors to that monarch of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry immigrated to the New World in 1665 and was a foot-soldier in the Virginia militia. The first connection between the Wyche and Gilliam families occurred when Henry's daughter Elinor (Mary Clanton Gilliam's great-great-aunt), married Elizabeth Gilliam Mabry's grandson, Francis Mabry, Jr. (Elizabeth Gilliam Mabry was the eldest child and only daughter of John and Margery Henshaw Gilliam). Unfortunately, not much is known about Amy's mother, Margaret Wyche, her grandmother Sarah Wyche, or her great-grandmother Frances Wyche, or their families.
The Clanton side of the family tree is very well-documented and has some famous members. Mary Clanton's father, John Clanton, was a fifth generation North American, his great-great grandfather John Clanton (my generation's tenth great-grandfather) having arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1635 (the same year as John Gilliam) on the ship Abraham. There is some documentation that the Clantons had some royal roots in England, indeed, John named his son (my generation's ninth great-grandfather) Marmaduke.
The Holt branch of Clanton tree is also rich with history. The first of the family to depart England for the New World was John Bailey (sometimes spelled Bayly) (my generation's 11th great-grandfather). John departed England on August 24, 1618 on the ship William and Thomas. The ship was part of the Pilgrim voyages and carried Elder Francis Blackwell and the remnant of the Ancient Church bound for the Virginia Colony. Normally, the voyage across the northern Atlantic would take two to three months, but due to still northwest winds, the ship went too far south. The ship did not arrive in Virginia until March of 1619. By the time it finally arrived, only 50 passengers of the original 180 still survived. John Bailey was one of the passengers who perished, but his daughter Mary arrived with her five servants alive. As John Bailey's sole heir, Mary Bailey made her husband quite rich upon their marriage in about 1626.
Mary Bailey married Randall Holt (my generation's 10th great-grandfather) shortly after he was released from his status as an indentured servant at Christmas, 1625. Randall had arrived in the Virginia Colony in 1620 on the ship George (You may recall that the George was the ship that brought John Gilliam to the New World in 1635. The George made several trips between England and Virginia bringing supplies and new immigrants to the Colony). Randall (through Mary's inheritance) developed a plantation on Hog Island on the James River that eventually grew to over 1000 acres.
Randall's son Randall Holt (my generation's 9th great-grandfather) married Elizabeth Hansford, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Hansford, wealthy landowners in York County, Virginia. One of Elizabeth's brothers, Col. Thomas Hansford, was the first American patriot hanged for treason due to his participation and leadership in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. According to Boddie, Southside Virginia Families, Vol. II, after Thomas' capture by loyalists, he pleaded to the colony Governor Berkeley to "be shot like a soldier not hanged like a dog." Berkeley supposedly replied that Hansford was not condemned for being a soldier, but as a rebel who had committed treason against the King.
Later on in the Holt family, Mary Clanton's grandmother, Mary Seward Holt had a cousin, James Holt, who served on the Constitutional Convention for the creation of the Virginia state Constitution in 1775 and 1776. Among the notable Virginians serving with James Holt were James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson. The Virginia state Constitution would be used as a model for the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) branches of the Clanton family tree are the Clantons associated with the notorious "Gunfight at the OK Corral." Mary Clanton Gilliam's great-nephew was Newman Haynes "Old Man" Clanton whose Cochise County, Arizona ranch was the hideaway for a loosely organized group of outlaws known as "The Cowboys". His sons (and great-great-nephews of Mary Clanton Gilliam) Isaac "Ike" and Billy Clanton were members of the Cowboys gang. As the result of The Cowboys' ongoing feud with Wyatt Earp and the other "lawmen" of the area, Billy was killed in the gunfight that has been the subject of many Westerns, including My Darling Clementine, Gunfight at the OK Corral and Tombstone. In relation to our direct line of ancestors, Old Man Clanton was Hardy Gilliam's second cousin. Ike and Billy Clanton were the third-cousins of Thomas Jefferson Gilliam, which would make them third cousins four times removed for my generation.
John and Mary Clanton Gilliam had nine children. They left Sussex County, Virginia in about 1791 when John obtained a grant of land in what would become Hawkins County, Tennessee. Most of their children made the move to Tennessee about the same time. Mary Clanton Gilliam died in about 1803. Her burial place is unknown. John would move to Franklin County, Tennessee in 1807 where he died in 1826. John is buried in the family cemetery he created in his will from the land he farmed in Franklin County, Tennessee.
In the next post, we will discover the first Irish roots of the Gilliam In-Laws.
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