THE MILLS FAMILY VENTURES TO AMERICA

[1] Edward MILLS (MILLE

Edward and Thamsyn FRENCHSON

were married Nov 1575 at England.

They had the following children:

John MILLS:

John was born in 1578 and was christened

10 July 1578 at Ilfracombe, Devonshire,

England.; and he died between 1621 and 1628

at Barnstaple, Devonshire, England.

[2] John MILLS

John MILLS and Wilmot FRENCHE (the daughter of Johes FRENCHE and Joanna STURE) were married 28 Aug 1606 at England.
 

They had the following children:

Simon MILLS :

Simon was born 13 Apr 1613 at

or near Barnstaple, England; died

19 May 1661 at Windsor, CT.

John MILLS:

John was christened 10 Jan 1616

at Barnstaple, Devon, England.
  Sarah was christened 03 Apr 1607 at Barnstaple.
 

Richard MILLS:

Richard was christened 21 Sep

`1608 at Barnstaple, Devon,

England..
 

Samuel MILLS:

Sam was christened 27 Jan 1611 at Barnstaple, England.
 

Peter MILLS:

Peter was christened 16 Jan 1619 at Barnstaple, England..
 

James MILLS:

James was christened 20 Oct 1621 at Barnstaple, England.
 
 
 

NOTE:.

The preceding information through the efforts of Eugene MILLS of Texas and

Hawthorne MILLS, currently of New Zealand .distant cousins of mine.

Hawthorne hired a professional Genealogist and found out much information concerning

our MILLS ancestors.
 

[3] Simon MILLS Sr.

NOTE: The following information was found in The History of the Simon Mills Family

by Ralph E. Mills 1984.

Vera Elizabeth Mills (Mrs Edmund Haegar) wrote:

Twelve Generations Descended from Pilgrim Simon Mills I from Devonshire, England in 1630.
 

On March 20, 1630, the "Mary and John" set sail from old Plymouth, England bound for new Plymouth, Massachusetts. According to records, a successful passage was made in ten weeks and the "Mary and John" and arrived at new Plymouth May 30, 1630. Aboard this ship was our 18 year old Simon Mills I, the progenitor of all our Mills relations in America. Along with Simon and his older brother John was a band of very Godly and Religious people led by the Rev. John Warham. The Captain of the ship was named Thomas Sqibb.

John died at sea of lung fever (pneumonia) and was buried at sea. There is no known actual list of the ships passengers sailing with Simon, but there is certain documentation that points to several of our ancestors traveling on the "Mary and John" along with Simon. There is a record of 140 passengers who were believed to be in the ship. There were very likely several, maybe 10 to 20 individuals whose names were not given. Simon was assumed to be on this ship that arrived at Nantasket Bay on May 30, 1630.

The following list names people believed to have accompanied Simon on the ship and lived for a time at the Dorchester Plantation in Massachusetts.

In 1635 the Mills clan moved to Windsor Connecticut, and our Connecticut roots were planted.
 

Per The Mary and John by Maude Pinney Kuhns:
 

Simon the elder married Sarah Bissell who probably came over on the same ship with him Sarah was 16 years old at the time and this makes the date about 1635, just prior to the departure of the Dorchester group, of which our ancesters were an important part, to the vicinity of Hartford, CT. Their destination was named Dorchester which later became Windsor in 1650.

Sarah's health turned bad and she died about 1638 or early 1639. Very shortly after, Simon married Joan so that he would have someone to care for his children. No children were born to this union. Joan became a wonderful caregiver and nurturer to both Simons for about 20 years. In fact, since young Simon II married Mary and had Simon III, she looked after three Simons for quite a time all in the family homestead in Windsor.

According to the Windsor land records, Vol. 1, Simon I became a prominent land owner as the years passed. He increased his holdings on a regular basis which leads me to believe that his financial status was steadily improving as well.

Simon the founder, was killed 19 May. 1661 in an Indian raid on his house in Windsor, along with two of his Grandchildren, Simon and Samuel (twins) who were less than a month old. In one instant, two Simons were taken from this earth by a vicious act of aggression by warring Indians.

Per Katie Mills Vol. 1 of The History of the Simon Mills Family
 

SIMON MILLS: According to Katie R Mills' book , tradition is that Simon Mills might have come from Yorkshire, England with Capt Newbury. His brother John Mills came on the same ship. No records exist to prove that Simon or others stayed at the Plymouth Colony. A little book written by Susan Lawrence Mills said that John Mills died in a storm at sea. Another book by Eunice Mills Lamb discounts this story and wrote some 200 pages to try to argue that John Mills could be the progenitor of the Mills family as well as Simon. (She is descended from John Mills) Her book is entitled "The John-Simons Mills Line." She points to the above story about the storm at sea and that Simon's brother John died at sea. A bad storm is recorded for that year. Lamb examined the only existing accounts for that period and concluded that either Simon or John could have been the progenitor of this Mills family. Proof is lacking and there is agreement and also disagreement among the various accounts. G. A. Alexander has chosen Katie's path.

Author note: Since Simon, age 16 and John age 13 traveled together on the same ship, the question arises, who was looking out for them during the trip. It could have been their father John and possibly it could have been he who died at sea. If this were true, both boys arrived at Dorchester and it is possible that either one of them could have married Sarah BISSELL and started our MILLS line. No marriage certification is available to show who actually married Sarah.

Getting back to the story..
 

It was sbout 1635/6 that Simon Mills and Sarah Bissell were married by Minister Warham.

Simon 22 and Sarah was but 16, this being quite common at the time. The new Mills family left Massachusetts colony and travelled to Dorchester , CT. This was said to be the very first colonial settlement in Connecticut. Dorchester was later named Windsor as we know it today. The Mills family settled into a house located on property bordered by Mill Brook.and his house was built west of Mill Road on his meadow lands.
 

Note: information taken from a fragment of an ancient Windsor document.(from Ralph's book)

A son was born to Simon and Sarah in 1637 and they named him Simon II. Simon II thrived and grew larger and stronger daily with the help of Mother Bissell. But alas, Sarah contracted some sudden illness and died very soon after 1637. Sarah's Mother Bissell acted as Simon II's mother until her very poor physical condition caused her death some 2 years later. Simon senior, then had an urgent need for a woman to enter his sons life to carry on Sarah's and her Mother's tender care. He married Joan (last name unknown) on October 18, 1639 and she became Simon II's loving mother until he became 22 years of age and married Mary Buell on Feb. 23, 1639. Joan died a short time after the wedding, and Mary became the Mistress of the Mills household. Simon Sr. died in 1670, at Hartford, Hartford Co, CT.Gene MILLS, a 6th cousin 2X removed, has supplied the foregoing informaton about Simons birth. A cousin of his, Hawthorn MILLS, after reading Genes book The History of the Simon Mills Family vol. 6, became interested in the MILLS account, hired a professional genealogist in England and the early MILLS information was obtained and presented here:
 

With the new information, it now can be said that our Mills line started with a family in Devonshire, England, sailed to New England around 1630. During the reading that I have done in researching this project, I have discovered several important reasons that our Simon's father chose to leave his homeland and venture to a unsettled country in America.

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In the space below, is informantion about Barnstaple and Ilacrombe in Devonshire, England

during the 16^th and 17^th century found in the University of Wisconsin Library.
 

  The photographs shown above were taken from a book called The Blackmore Country by P.J. Snell, published in 1906.It was a well written treatise showing a connection between two well known books, Lorna Doone and Maid of the Mist and the county of Devonshire. There was not much information in this source that would lead to the reasons why our MILLS family would have chosen to leave Devon and come to a strange, unfamiliar country called America. However, there was much information concerning Devonshire in general.

Both Ilfracombe and Barnstaple were, and are seaport towns and much of the local lively-hood was taken from sea trade in the early times. There was not only local income generated from the activities of the ports themselves, but the local revenue derived from the production of the items that were to be shipped.

Author Snell said that one of the greatest events in the region took place once a year at Barnstaple when the annual fair took place. He said "The importance of Barnstaple Fair is beyond

dispute, and formerly was much greater. It is still the largest in the county, both for business and pleasure." The fair lasts three days just as it did during the early times. The first day featured the cattle fair, the second, the horse fair and on the final day, it was fun and games and visiting with neighbors as well as sight-seeing for those who may not have been at the fair before. Per: Devon and it's People by W.G. Hoskins 1959, 1968:

Barnstaple was an early town in Devonshire with a history back to the 11^th century. It is situated at the head of the Taw River estuary in northern Devon. Since it had very easy access to navigable waters, the residents of Barnstaple depended on the port facility to make their living. Many of the residents worked in and around the seaport, and other merchants and laborers alike provided the goods that were to be shipped.

To protect this very early port town, a large earthern wall was erected all the around the town and in the early 1100's the earthern wall was replaced by a stronger, more permanent stone wall.

The Bubonic Plague(Black Death) was rampent in all of England from 1348 to 1650 and did not evade Devon and Barnstaple localities. Perhaps this fact alone may have led to a kind of "flight for life" of people wishing to protect their family from the scourge of the Black Death. Crowded towns like Barnstaple may have suffered more than their counterparts living in the countryside. It is reported that the people were dying by the cartload.

The reformation began during the reign of King Henry VIII. A man named Benet, a school-teacher in Exeter believed that the Pope was an anti Christ. He believed that parishiners should only worship God and not the Saints. He was burnt at the stake and made a martyr for his troubles. Queen Mary ascended to the Throne in 1553 and only lived for 5 years. However, during this short time, she tried very hard to undo what the Protestants had gained during the previous struggle and no fewer than 273 Protestants were burnt to death during this period. Mary died in the Autumn of 1558 and was succeeded by Elizabeth. The new Queen again tried to establish Protestantism by removing all the glitter and Statuary usually found in the Catholic Church. In the next 50 years, Devon was to become one of the most Puritan counties in England.

The word "Puritan", I believe, in this case meant the Episcopal Church being pushed to replace the Catholic Church in England. Our MILLS ancestors, judging from the facts accumulated after their arrival in America, shows that these families were Protestant alright, but more in keeping with the Puritan Congregational beliefs of the early Puritan settlers in America in the 17^th century.
 

per West-Country Historical Studies by H.P.R. Finberg 1961:

Barnstaple was located the the ancient Borough of Tavistock(now Devon). During the approximate period of 1550 to 1640, Devon went from the most Catholic to firmly Protestant as far as religions were concerned. These were very turbulent times in religious history. The local townsman blamed all their troubles on Turkish pirates, Irish rebels and "popish lords and bishops".
 

Added to the preceeding factors, in 1588, the Spanish Armada kept Plymouth, located on the southern shore of Devon, under constant alert concerning the constant threat of attack from the Spaniards.

In looking for a reason why our MILLS ancestors may have chosen to leave Devon, and sail for America, we have to reason that it probably was a combinations of reasons. The Plague had to be amongst the factors considered. Religious persecution by English authorities pushing the Church of England, may also have been a very important factor. I personally believe that any one who left the comforts of home, for a strange mainly uninhabited land across the sea, must have had a tremendous desire for adventure in the land of the unknown. I firmly believe that they felt that they could do better here in America than they could under there existing circumstances in their English homeland. After all, isn't this the American Way?
 

Per Katie Mills (p. 2):

After his marriage to Joan (can only assume that Katie meant our Simon's father.) on 18 OCT 1639-the next year he acquired a home lot at Windsor, thus becoming a resident there in 1640. Later he sold this home lot and acquired another on the east side of Broad Street, where he lived the rest of his time at Windsor.

Per Katie Mills (p. 3):

"It was about 1660 [actually 18 JAN 1659/60] that seats in the [Windsor] meeting house were assigned. They were made by William BUELL and the people paid for them. Simon Mills' seat was called a 'short seat' and it cost him 4s 6d." .

It seems likely, however, that this was his son Simon Jr. who married Mary BUELL the following month.
 

Per Lamb (1976, p.3-6):

The Broadstreet property was purchased on 10 MAY 1653 per the record of its sale in 1672 by Simon Jr.

Editor note:Katie Mills, while espousing the view that there was only one Simon Mills at Windsor ca. 1659 (no Sr. / Jr.), fails to notice that if Jone died childless in JUL 1659, and Sarah (his first wife) had NOT given birth to Simon Jr., then what was the hurry to re-marry on 23 FEB 1659/60? Also, why would 17-year- old Mary BUELL be marrying Simon Sr. in his late 40's rather than Simon Jr. aged 24?
 

Per Ralph Mills in his History of the Simon Mills Family V3

In 1667/8 there was beautiful section of land bordering the Tunxus River (now called the Farmington River) that was set aside by the Windsor officials for use by selected settlers. The area comprised of about 10 square miles and was very quickly taken up by 40 settlers, Simon Mills II was one of the 40. The name of the resulting settlement was called Simsbury, which it remains today. Simon II and Mary, his wife were the first of four generations of Mills families originating from this new settlement named Simsbury . The families labored very hard to clear the land and build their residences. It wasn't until 1669/70 that the settlers could at last take residence in their new homes. Among these settlers were the Bissell, Pettibone and Adams families that were to become part of our ancestral tree. Before Simsbury was used as the place name for this community, it was named Massacoe and then Weatogue . Ancient records show that a fair price was paid to the Indians who claimed ownership of the territory, and thus no trouble was anticipated or experienced

Simon II bought more land in 1668 at Horseshoe Falls at Long Meadow as well as four separate parcels on the "Plains" The fourth lot of the mentioned parcels measured 10 by 80 rods.

Simon MILLS (Sr.) and Sarah had the following children:

Simon and Joan had no children according to records viewed.
 
 
 
 
 
 

[4] Simon MILLS(Jr)

Per Ralph Mills in his book The History of the Simon Mills Family Vol. III

"Simon Mills II, born about 1637 in Windsor, was married on 23 Feb. 1659, to Mary, daughter of William Buell, Mary took good and cheerful care of two Simons , I and II. Simon III and Samuel Mills were born to Mary and Simon II on April 23, 1661 and for a while Mary was mistress of a house containing three Simons. On May 19, 1661 Indians ravaged the Mills farm and killed Simon I and the infant twins Simon III and Samuel. Simon I was but 49 years of age at the time of his untimely death.

The Indian tribes of the area had been battling amongst themselves for centuries before our ancestor, Simon and his fellow settlers arrived in this land. When the White man came, the savage tribes made alliances and banded together to make war against the White trespassers .

Ralph Mills wrote "On April 2, 1672, there is entered a conveyance from Simon Mills II now dwelling at Simsbury" to Anthony Hoskins of Windsor, "my dwelling house in Windsor & ye house lands pertaining to it." Simon I, had purchased said dwelling from Samuel Marshall when Simon II was only 16 years old.

For seven years, life was good at the new location in Simsbury for the Simon and Mary Mills family. The settlers had made every effort to make peace with the Indians in the area. Ralph reports that on a Sunday morning in early spring, March 26, 1676, Indian savagery erupted like a flash flood over the entire village. All of the dwellings in the new Simsbury settlement were ravaged and burned. The residents, who could, fled across the river to Windsor. The leader of these mauraders and murderers was a chief called King Phillip, who held court on Talcott mountain. The story goes that he was himself killed in a raid on the colonists the next July. Hepzibah Buell Wells (sister of Mary Buell Mills) witnessed the massacre of her three children in the town of Deerfield, Mass during this period of infamy. Even 50 years hence, the settlers had to be on watch for Indian attacks, and had to take extraordinary means to insure the safety of their families. Ten men were employed as Scouts in the year 1734 to help maintain the peace in their community. Three men who are of interest of us were Joseph Mills, Samuel Pettibone and William Buell , a descendent of the original William Buell.

Records in Simsbury indicate that Simon Mills II died on 8 June, 1683 at age 46. His last will and testament indicates that he had an estate worth about L220 which was quite significant in these early days. He left 8 children from age 20 to age 5.

The ancesters of Mary Buell Mills served on various commissions to Foreign Courts and were noted in military and diplomatic services. Records are available to show that the Buell (Beville) line extends back to 1270 when the ancestor had negotions with the Pope of Rome.

Mary's father William was born in 1610 at Chesterton, Huntingdonshire, England. He was a descendent of Robert Buell, Knight of Huntingdonshire in 1410. It appears that Williams mother was named Goode Buell, A record of her death appears in early Hartford records as 3 Dec. 1639.

per: MARRIAGE: IGI-FHL; 1600-1910;

Mar 1988 edn, CT; p 2686; The following entries were found.

Mary Beull was married ....

1) 23-Feb-1656 to Simon MILLES at Windsor Batch #7116128

2) 23-Feb-1656 to Simon MILLER at Windsor Batch #7235409 .

3) 1660 to Simon MILLS at Litchfield Batch #7727602.

4) 20-Feb-166 to Simon MILLER at Windsor Batch #7215716.

5) 23-Feb-1660 to Simon MILLS at Windsor Batch #A170516.

The above information submitted by Ray French through GENSERVE.
 

It is possible for any or all of these records refer to our Simon and Mary.

Simon married 23 FEB 1659/60, Windsor, Hartford Co, CT, MARY BUELL, born 3 Sep 1642, Windsor, Hartford Co, CT, died 24 Jun 1718, Massaco, E. Simsbury, Hartford Co, CT. She was the daughter of William ("The Joiner") BUEL and Mary POST.
 

Simon and Mary had the following children:

Information from database: frenchr

and Ralph Mills book.
 
 
 

[5]John MILLS

John married Sarah PETTIBONE 4 Nov 1690 . They were married by Col Giles Pettibone Sr, Justice of the Peace who was Sarah's Grandfather. Sara was born 24 Sept,

1667 at Windsor CT. She died 3 APR 1748, at Windsor,Hartford, CT. She was the daughter of John PETTIBONE and Sarah EGGLESTON. She then married second, 6 JUL 1699, Simsbury, Hartford, CT, Deacon John HUMPHREY. And she married a third time, 1 JUL 1723, Amos PHELPS.
 

Children of Sara PETTIBONE and John MILLS:

.

Information from database: willa2

and from the original database provided by G.A. Alexander
 
 
 
 
 

[6]Deacon Joseph MILLS

Joseph became educated in religious affairs and was made a Deacon and employed as Clergy.
 

An interesting anecdote found in "THE GENERAL HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT" by the Rev Sam Peters LL.D in 1969 says that......
 

In 1746, the Rev Gibbs of Simsbury refused to pay Deacon Joseph Mills the money owed him. Deacon Joe called the Money Collector and gave the story to him. The collector wrestled Gibbs onto a horse and tied his arms and legs under the horse's belly and took him to the local Magistrate's office. The debtor was severely beaten by the Magistrate and sent to one of the nearby asylums where he was pronounced insane and locked up. Deacon Mills did get the money owed to him.

It seems as though debts, in the 18th century, were considered a serious offense and those who developed a reputation of being a deadbeat were very severely punished.
 

Deacon Joseph married Hannah ADDAMS. Hannah was born 22 Oct 1709 at Simsbury CT.
 

Joseph and Hannah had the following children:

[7]Capt Michael MILLS

Capt Michael married Mercy LAWRENCE who was born 22 Jun 1735 at Killingly CT.

Mercy died Abt 1785 at Windsor.
 

Capt

Michael and Mercy had the following children:

[8]Eden MILLS

Eden married:Rosanna WILCOX who was born Abt 1763 at Loomeadow, Norfolk CT.

Rosanna died 30 Apr 1836 at Norfolk CT. She is buried at Norfolk.
 

Eden and Rosanna had the following children:

From Katie R Mills book Vol 1, page 92. Michael was a lawyer by

profession. In 1804 he became the first Postmaster at Norfolk to be appointed by President Thomas Jefferson. In those days, the mail arrived twice each week and only two newspapers were received at Norfolk. In 1812, he became Justice of the Peace until age 70. As J. P.he was authorized to perform marriage ceremonies. In 1822 he was appointedJudge of Probate, and held that office for 20 years. Also, he represented Norfolk at severasessions of the State Legislature.
 

[9] John Milton MILLS

John married Emma PARROTT born 30 Oct 1788 at Loonmeadow ,CT.

Emma died 19 Apr 1860 at Norfolk CT.
 

John and Emma had the following children:

[10] James Hubbell MILLS

James married Sylvia HART (the daughter of Titus HART and Elizabeth ANDREWS). Sylvia was born 10 Oct 1815 at New Hartford CT.She died 13 Oct 1896 at Norfolk CT at age 82.She is buried in Center Cemetary in Norfolk CT.
 

They had the following children:

(Note from G.A. Alexander)

The date 4 MAR 1938 appears in a small note left my my Grendmother Lena (Mills) Fritz in her own handwriting. I recognize the writing since she

wrote to me during Worold War 2 when I was on Okinawa, 600 miles south of Japan. Sheapparently kept track of her immediate family. I was 20 years old at the time of his death but while I heard his name mentioned a few times, I don't remember ever meeting him.

His wife was from Maine and they moved up there and lived there for some time. The 1870 census found them in Norfolk, he was 14.
 

James Hubble MILLS: 1992 IGI said James Hubble was born in New Hartford, CT. but Katie R Mills' book Vol 1 says born in Norfolk. COLEBROOK BIRTHS, MARRIAG AND DEATHS, page 358 proves it to be Norfolk CT. at Colebrook Town Clerk's Office 7 Oct 1993 G.A.A. The spelling of Hubbell is from Katie Mills book, Vol 1, page 374 even

though she spelled it with one L in the last paragraph of that group. Kattie lists a daughte Belle, which could be from the Hubbell spelling. I found no record of this in Norfolk orelsewhere so have chosen to ignore it.(GAA)
 
 
 

[11]George Hart MILLS

George married: Henrietta O SAGE (the daughter of Lyman Burton SAGE

and Jane SEYMOUR) 27 Nov 1872 at Sandisfield MA.and they lived on Bunnell St in Colebrook the rest of their lives.
 

They had five children, He was a progressive farmer, a Democrat, he creditably servedhis town as Tax Collector in 1894 and 1895, Selectman in 1896 and 1906, and a memberand Master of the Colebrook Grange in 1906. In 1906-1907 he represented Colebrook in the Connecticut Legislature. Colebrook Town Clerk'S Office: COLEBROOK BIRTH MARRIAGES AND DEATHS; page 358. 7 Oct 1993.

Anita worked about 10 years at Dano Electric in Winsted. Her mother still lives on Loonmeadow St in Norfolk and this reminds us that several of our Mills relatives had farms in the Loonmeadow section of Norfolk.

George Hart MILLS (the son of James Hubbell MILLS and

Sylvia HART) 27 Nov 1872 at Sandisfield MA.
 

They had the following children:

Note from G.A.Alexander:

She was born in the Mills farmhouse on Bunnell Rd/St in Colebrook.

At a young age, she married Robert H Fritz who lived on a farm in North Colebrook, When I came to know her, I found that she was a kindly, hard working, common sense thinking woman. She knew the farm life and seemed aquainted with every phase, She worked for summer people when they lived on Stillman hill, sold eggs, home made butter and doughnuts. She was a long time member of the Colebrook Congregational church and had many friends in Colebrook.. Her hobbies were knitting, crocheting and quilt making.
 
 
 

Wilber Sage MILLS was born 01 Sep 1887 at Colebrook CT;died 08 Jun 1984 at Colebrook or Winsted.
 
 

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