Gilliam Family Genealogy

  Gilliam In-Laws: The Hildreths, Part 1 The American history of the Hildreth family is as deep and broad as that of the Gilliam family. In the next series of posts, I will trace the Hildreths from their emigration from Britain to the American colonies through their migration across the continent. Hildreths tamed the frontiers, pioneered new territories, fought in our nation’s wars and suffered more than their fair share of tragedies along the way.   The surname Hildreth is thought to be a variant of Eldridge, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is one of the names of the original ethnic groups of Britain predating the Norman conquest led by William the Conqueror (attentive readers will recall that the surname Gilliam is derived from William and was adopted by many early English in honor of William the Conqueror). In its earliest incarnation, prior to the Norman conquest, the spelling of the name Hildreth/Eldridge was either “Aelfric”, “Aethelric” or “Aethelred”. Most...