John Lilly, son of Edmund Lilly
Cullember-Cullumber
Colember-Culumber
Lilly-Lilley-Lillie
Records of John Lilly, son
of Edmund
Lilly
The earliest record I have found
for John Lilly is his purchase of land in North Carolina from
Edmund Lilly for a token amount, suggesting that they were brothers.
William Lilly, John's brother, witnessed the sale.
John Lilly sold the same land to
Benjamin Dumas in 1758 for much more. We don't know John Lilly's
age but he had to have been over 21 to sell land in North
Carolina in 1758. ["Tips for Genealogists", Jo White
Linn, CG, Rowan County Register,
Volume 1, no. 2, May 1986, 77.]
The rest of what we know about about John Lilly comes from
his estate records:
Summary of information:
He wrote the will in 1759.
Will taken to court 13 December 1759
Refers to
father
Edmund
mother
no name listed
brother
William [John's slave left to William which was most of his estate.]
Sister
Mary
No mention of wife or children so he was not married
Note
items in invertory especially the indigo. This is important.
Will of John Lilly:
[Note: peculiar spelling,
phrasing are original]
In the name of God Amen the fifth of November in the
year of 1759 I John Lilly of Albemarle County and colony of Virginia
being very sick & weak of body but of perfect mind &
memory
thanks be to God for it therefore calling to mind the mortality of my
body & knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die do
make
& ordain this my last will & that is to say principally
and
first of all I lend to my well beloved father and mother a negro during
their lives and after their decease I give to my brother William Lilly
the said Negro Boy he paying to his sister Mary Lilly 15 pound I
likewise give to my brother William Lilly my horse bridle sadle
&
appoint my father Edmond Lilly my sole Exschater that is to say
principally give my soul unto the hand of God & my body I
recommend
to the earth to be buried in Christian like maner at the discretion of
my Excheter no doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive
the same by the mighty power God so I acknowledge this to being my last
will and Testament all others to be void & of none effects
&
this only to be in full force as witness my hand seal
John Lilly
Pronounce & declared by the s'd John Lilly as his last will
&
testimony in the presence of us the subscribers, William X Shelton,
William Turbush, Will Martin.
At a court held for Albemarle Co the 13th day of December 1759 this
last
will & testament was presented in court by Edmond Lilly the
executor therein named proved by the oaths of William Turbush &
William Martin two of the witnesses thereto & ordered to be
recorded & on the motion of the said Edmund Lilly who made oath
according to law certificate is granted him for obtaining &
probate
thereof in due form giving security on which he with William Turbush
& William Martin his securities entered into &
acknowledged
their bond for the true & faithful performance of the said will.
Test John Nicholas CLK
----Transcribed from Negative Copy of
Albemarle Co
Will Book 2, p 65, VA State Archives, Richmond, VA. Microfilm
copy illegible, negative copy cannot be xeroxed satisfactorily.
*****
This 10th day of April 1760 The praisement of John Lilly's estate
deceased.
Valued
at
£
S
D [pounds, shilling, pence. Pence was abbreviated with a d]
Item One gunn
1
6 0
Item one man's saddle
1
1 6
Item one small bill
2 0 [I don't know what this refers to. Perhaps it was short
for billford or something of that sort,]
Item three deare skins
7 9
Item One hand joynter
2 0 [ A jointer is a woodworking tool used to
flatten boards so that they can be attached or joined.]
Item One horse
8 12 0
Item 17 t 1/9 of Indigoe @ 8 s / pr p
7 2 0 [8
shillings per pound]
Item 1 lb 5 oz of Indigoe solde @ 10s /p
0
13 1 1/2 [10 shillings per pound]
Item one razor
1 6
Item one suite of clothes
4
9 0
Item one Negro boy
40 0 0
Total
L
63 17 10 1/2
Appraisors of said estate: Phillip King, Hugh Lewis Veneble, John Ashlin
At a court held for Albemarle Co 8th day of May
1760. This
inventory land appraisement was returned into court and ordered to be
recorded.
John
Nicolas CLK
----Transcribed from Albemarle Co, VA
will Book 2, p
71, negative copy at VA State Archives, Richmond, VA
Indigo
Indigo is used for a blue dye. It is the color of blue jeans.
It was a very valuatble commodity.
The
indigo in his estate is a clue to John Lilly. He had quite a
bit in his possession. It looks like trading material, not a
personal possession. As far as I have been able to find out, indigo was
not a popular crop in that area of Virginia. After some struggles with
the subject, it think it might have come from North Carolina or South
Carolina.
According to Wikipeida.com, colonial planters in the Caribbean grew
indigo and transported its cultivation when they settled in the colony
of South Carolina. Exports of the crop did not expand until the mid-to
late 18th century. When Eliza Lucas Pinckney and enslaved Africans
successfully cultivated new strains near Charleston it became the
second most important cash crop in the colony (after rice) before the
American Revolution. It comprised more than one-third the value of all
exports.
This suggests to me that he had been in one of these
two states before
he died. He appears to have been a young man who led an active life.
He has three dear skins which suggests that he had been
hunting. If we suspect that he had just returned from a trip
to North or South Carolina, we should look for records of his stay
there.
In fact, there are a set of Lilly
records in Anson County, North
Carolina. Anson was
formed from
Bladen County in 1750 and it was a very large area with poorly defined
boundaries. Pee Dee river is the current northern boundary of
Anson County.
In
1753, Benjamin Dumas gave 350 acres to Edmund and Sarah Lilly for 5
shillings and fatherly love.
In 1754, Edmund sold 197 acres of what
appears to be the same land to John
Lilly of Albemarle County, Virginia, for 5 shillings Virginia
money. The price is the same as above which
suggests some close family relationship.
In 1758, John Lyly sold 97
acres to Benjamin Dumas for £
100, proc. money. I am not sure what all was going on here but it
seems likely that these were all family transactions. The original
transaction of 5 shillings was a token amount.
After John sells his land, he promptly disappears from the Anson County
records. I personally suspect that as an unmarried young man he went on
an adventure to North Carolina. He may have been a
younger son and if so, would
have needed to make his own way. At that time, his eldest brother
Armiger would have expected to inherit his father's estate
although it was common for fathers to deed something to their other
children. So it is not suprising if he went to North Carolina,
perhaps with Edmund Lilly. This is not the Edmund Lilly of
Goochland, Albemarle and Fluvanna County. He is younger and is
thought by his descendants to be a son of our Edmund. I think it
is likely, particularaly in light of his connection to John, who is
described as John Lilly of Albemarle County, Virginia.
Perhaps John then decided to return home for any one of many
reasons, including his health, since he died shortly after returning
home.
Summary:
His possessions suggest that he had been in North or South Carolina
before his death.
There is a record of a John Lilly of Albemarle County, Virginia, in
North Carolina in 1754.
The purchase price suggests a family tie to Edmund Lilly.
Edmund bears the
same Christian name as John Lilly's father.
John Lilly apparently leaves North Carolina after 1758.
John Lilly died in Albemarle County, Virginia in 1759.
This fits neatly together. It would also suggest that he was born
perhaps about 1733. He would have been an adult to purchase land.
This becomes important because it lends substance to the theory that
his elder brother, Armiger, was born before 1730.
There is
considerable speculation that Edmond Lilly was John's brother on the
basis of the token price for the sale of land to John. If
so, Edmund must have married just before the first land sale. In
which case, he might have been born by 1731. His descendants tell me he
was born ca. 1728. I am not sure on what basis.
There is one record in Anson County, North Carlina
for a John Lilly who was a witness in 1781. However, by that time
a John Ryle had moved into the area and the names might have been
confused. I have not yet found another later record for a John Lilly in
the county. I don't know Edmund's children. He may have had a son
named John.
There is also a problem with the acreage. I
don't know whether the 197 or the 97 acres was right. I am using
a book of transcribed records. There could be an error in the
transcription or there could have been an error when the original deeds
were recopied. I can't tell.
Brent
Holcomb, Anson
County, North Carolina Deed Abstracts Volume 1: 1749-1757, 1974
Sent to me by Nedra Brill.
[These
deeds have been recopied by a county clerk at some time into a
different book. This abstract references several books,
including Deed
Book 1, and apparently the Volume 1 of the title refers to Volume 1 of
Mr. Holcomb's abstracts. He is a very well-known Carolina
genealogist,
edits the magazine for one of the Carolina Genealogical
Societies, and has published
lots of abstracts.]
I
did not copy deeds which Edmond (1758, 1753, with Sarah in 1754
& 1755), and John LILLY (in 1757) witnessed.
[abstract
page 10]
Volume
A, pp. 145-146: 20 Jan. 1756, BENJAMIN DUMAS, planter of Anson
Co., to EDMUND & SARAH LILLY of same, for £100 proc.
money...400 acres
on S side Pee Dee on N side Rockey River, opp. to ANDREW MOORMAN's
land, granted to JOHN CLARK 13 Apr 1749, sold to sd. DUMAS 10 July
1750...BENJ. DUMAS (SEAL), Wit: JEREMIAH DUMAS, ZECHARIAH SMITH, JNO.
COLLSON, July 7, 1756.
[p.
11]
Volume
A, page 147: 26 Apr. 1756, EDMUND LILLY to BENJAMIN DUMAS, for
£100 proc. money...390 A on N side Pee Dee, adj. John LILLY's
corner,
including Buffaloe Island...granted to EDMUND LILLY 1753...EDMUND LILLY
(SEAL), SARAH LILLY (SEAL), Wit: JEREMIAH DUMAS, ZECHARIAH SMITH, BETTY
PRESTWOOD.
[p.
27]
Volume
A, page 292: 15 Jan. 1753, BENJAMIN DUMAS of Anson Co., to
EDMOND LILLY and SARAH for s5 and fatherly love to his child...350 A on
N side Great Pee Dee, beg. at corner of Buffelow Island, S side of Ye
Throwfare in Buffelow Island...BENJ. DUMAS (SEAL), Wit: THOMAS GEORGE,
JEREMIAH DUMAS, DAVID DUMAS, BENJ. DUMAS.
[If
DUMAS becomes of interest, Benjamin also gave to child David, same
date, son Jeremiah DUMAS in 1757 and perhaps others--there are MANY
Benjamin DUMAS references in index. David DUMAS born ca.
1730, died
ca. 1803, mar. Sarah: Rev. public service per DAR. David's
wife not
named in any deeds in this book.]
[p.
38]
Volume
B, pp. 499-500: 16 Oct. 1754, Edmund LILLY of Anson Co. to John
LILLEY of Albemarle Co., VA,
for s5 Va. money...land on N side Pee Dee,
upper end of Buffelow Island, 197 A, granted Edmond LILLEY
1753...EDMOND LILLY (SEAL), Wit: WILLIAM LILLY, WILLIAM
QUEEN.
[p.
57]
Volume
C-1, pp. 437: 24 Nov. 1758, JOHN LYLY of Anson Co., to BENJAM.
DUMAS of same, for £100 proc. money...land on N side Great
Pee Dee,
upper end of Buffelow Island, 97 A...conveyed from EDMOND LILLY to JOHN
LILLY 16 Oct. 1753...JOHN LILLY (SEAL), Wit: JERH. DUMAS, DAVID SNEED,
HILLER WILEDER (I).
[no
explanation given for the (I)--apparently his mark]
I
double-checked these two abstracts and the above is as
printed. This
appears to be the same land--the original might tell if it was 97 or
197.
North
Carolina law did not require a release by wife unless it was her
property before marriage, by inheritance, etc.
It is hard to tell exactly when Edmund Lilly appeared in the area.
Anson County records start in 1749. Anson was formed from Bladen
County. Unfortunately, most of the Bladen County records were burnt in
the fires of 1765, early 1800s or 1893. There is a book of early Bladen
County deeds in my local library. The first deed is in 1788.
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