Family of Edmund Lilly of NC
Cullember-Cullumber
Colember-Culumber
Lilly-Lilley-Lillie
Family of
Edmund Lilly
[II] of North Carolina
Links:
Edmund
Lilly [II]
The
following report was
researched,
written, and sent to me by Lou Poole who
has graciously shared his work with us. My own comments and
opinions are marked as such.
The
date
and place of birth
for Edmund Lilly [II] are unknown. However, since he
married by 1750, we must assume he was born a
couple
of
years
before 1730. The
traditional date given by the family is 1728, which is probably a guess
based
upon his marriage. He might have been a year or so
older. Since the earliest records for him are in Virginia, he
was
certainly born there.
His
exact date of death is not known.
His last known child, Elizabeth
Lilly, was
born in 1808 according to her tombstone and he is not in the 1810
census, although his wife is there. So he must have
died
sometime shortly before
1810.
Sarah
Dumas
First Wife of Edmund Lilly II
There is
no
doubt that
Rev. Edmund Lilly married Sarah Dumas, daughter of Benjamin Dumas Sr.
by 1750 in Louisa County, Virginia.
Edmund Lilly was married (first) to
Sarah Dumas, daughter of
Benjamin
Dumas. This is proven by the 1753 deed in which Benjamin
Dumas
sells land for a nominal fee to Edmund and Sarah Lily for
"fatherly love." For
more
information on the Benjamin Dumas family see Dumas
Family. See
also Edmund
Lilly II Land and
Court Records
Brent
Holcomb, Anson
County, North Carolina Deed Abstracts Volume 1: 1749-1757, 1974.
Sent to me by Nedra Brill.
[These
deeds were 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. This was necessary because many of the records
burned.]
[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.
We do not
know the exact date of
the marriage of Edmund Lilly and Sarah Dumas.
However, they
must have married well before July of 1750 when Edmund Lilly was
disowned by the Quaker Church for marriage to a non Quaker.
Lou
Poole tells me that a disownment was commonly not done immediately
after a marriage. Usually, some time was given to make sure
that
the spouse was not going to convert to Quakerism. Their first
probable child was born somewhere around 1750 which fits with
this
theory. It also suggests that they married in Virginia before
moving to North Carolina.
William
Wade Hinshaw, Encyclopedia
of
American Quaker Genealogy. Vol. VI: (Virginia), page 286.
Edmund Lilly attended the Camp Creek Meeting in Louisa County, Virginia
for a short time.
1748, 2, 16 Edmund Lilly
rq mbrp
[Requested membership] [Note: Pre 1753 Quaker Calendar, 2nd month is
April.
1750, 5, 21 Edmund Lilly
dis mou
[disowned for marriage out of
unity] ]Note: pre 1753 Quaker Calendar 5th
month is July. ]
Benjamin Dumas purchased
land in 1748 in Anson County. See Dumas. However, we
do not know when he moved to North Carolina. Nor do we know
when
the rest of the group came. It is possible
that Benjamin went
to North Carolina
and purchased land and then brought the families to North Carolina at a
later date. Benjamin Dumas, with or without the rest of the
group, could have come a
little earlier because any earlier records would have been in Bladen
County where the courthouse also burned.
We do not have a death date for Sarah,
but the last
record found for a Sarah Lilly was in 1777. There is
a
female in the 1790 and the 1800 census with Edmund Lilly senior who
might be her. She is of the right age.
But we can't
prove that this was or was not Sarah Dumas.
[Note from June Byrne: There is
a rumor afloat
on the internet that Sarah died around 1760. See Research
Errors
below. ]
Elizabeth
Billingsley, Second Wife of Edmund Lilly
Married
ca. 1801-2 Edmund Lilly
Edmund
Lilly married (second) Elizabeth
Billingsley, daughter of Sias Billingsley, about 1801-1802. This date
is based upon the birth date of their first child who was born in 1803
according to her tombstone.
Excerpted from Harry
Alexander Davis’s The
Billingsley Family in America, pages
111-119.
“Sias
Billingsley … Born St. Mary’s County, Maryland, 14
July 1751. He migrated to Anson County, North Carolina in or about 1772
where he had a grant of land containing 100 acres 24 May
1773. He
married in 1774 Elizabeth Wilson, born North Carolina in 1758.
… They removed to Montgomery County, North Carolina about
1778 where he entered 200 acres of land on 10 May 1779… Most
of this land was in Montgomery County and located on Clark’s
Creek on East side of Pee Dee River… The land in Anson
County went to one of his sons who later disposed of it to John
Billingsley… Elizabeth was living in 1830 and appears to
have been deceased before March 1835 as on 30 March 1835 Sias
Billings-ley, Senior, deeded to Thomas Scarborough 21 acres of land
part of a 30 acre tract granted to Sias Billingsley.110 No wife waives
dower on this deed. Sias died before March 1836 as on 28 March 1836 a
deed from Christian Billingsley, widow of Sias Billingsley, Junior, to
Thomas Scarborough of sd County, for $100 conveys all right &
title, etc. in estate said to contain 1,000 acres of land on waters of
Clark Creek & Pee Dee River, said land or one ninth part of
the same, or its value for self and heirs, etc.111 This one ninth part
represents Sias Billingsley, Junior, his share of his
father’s estate.
Children
of Sias Billingsley: :
i.
Clement; b. Mar 1775, died 1787
ii. John; b. June 1776
iii. Elizabeth; b. 1777 NC, she m (1) prior to 1800 Edmund Lilly, his
2d wife. Lilly stated to have been a soldier of the Revolution in Va.
and married (1) Sarah Lightfoot by whom he had 10 children, she died
and he m (2) as stated above. Lilly died about 1810-1811 and Elizabeth
m (2) John Billingsley, his 2d wife… There are said to have
been five children by this Lilly marriage but we have only definite
records of three, as follow:
1.
Elizabeth Lilly; b. ca. 1800, m. Daniel Carpenter
2. Mary Lilly; b. ca 180_, m. William May
3. Sarah W. Lilly; b. ca. 1805, m prior to 1827 Walter F. Burns, b. NC
1793, resid-ed Anson Co, NC…
iv.
Elias; b. 4 Sep 1778 NC
v. Wilson; b. May 1780 NC
vi. Thomas; b. 16 Feb 1781 NC
vii. Bowles; b. Oct 1782, died 1793
viii. Sias; b. 1784 NC
ix. James; b. 1786 NC
x. Clement; b. Jan 1788, died infancy
xi. Mary; b. Oct 1789… m. prior to 1826 Matthew
Smart…
xii. William; b. 1792 NC”112
“Elizabeth (Billingsley) Lilly
married second, John Billingsley, a first cousin of her
father, Sias Billingsley. John Billingsley was born St.
Mary’s County, Maryland in 1756, moved to Charles County,
Maryland with his parents… He married (1) 28 October 1782 by
Reverend John Macpherson of William & Mary Parish, Charles
County, Charity, the daughter of Charles Allison Ford, born 1714, his
will dated 23 January 1783 names ‘My daughter, Charity, who
married John Billingsley’ giving date which agrees with
license record in Charles County… Charity died in Richmond
County [NC] in 1807. He moved to Anson County prior to 1812 and married
(2) Elizabeth (Billingsley) Lilly, born Anson County, North Carolina in
1777, daughter of Sias Billingsley, and widow of Edmund
Lilly… The last definite record of him is the deed of 1822
above, he was deceased before 1830.
She had two children with John
Billingsley who appear in the court records below. Nathaniel Carpenter
married Nancy Billingsley, the first child of John Billingsley and
second wife Elizabeth (Billingsley) (Lilly) Billingsley.
Nathaniel Carpenter was the brother of David
Carpenter. Hezekiah Billingsley was the second child born to
John Billingsley and his second wife, Elizabeth (Billingsley) (Lilly)
Billingsley. [In case anyone cares, this relationship between Elizabeth
and John is referred to that of first cousins, once removed.
]
These court records below prove the
children of Edmund and Elizabeth as well as those she had with John
Billingsley.
“In
January 1829 there is division of the estate of Edmund Lilly, decsd. as
follows:
“189
acres of land to Elizabeth Billingsley, $1250
“127
acres of land to Elizabeth Carpenter, $1250
“320
acres of land in Montgomery Co., NC & house to Mary May, $750
“320
acres of land on Rocky River to Sarah W. Burns, $750
“Surveyed
& certified 5 January 1829 by Allen Carpenter, Surveyor.
“The
above shows the Edmund Lilly children by Elizabeth. She was living in
1830 and deceased before January 1832, division of her estate made in
January Court 1832 as follows:
“Lot
1: 25 acres
of land at $225 to Walter F. Burns in right of his wife, Sarah, sd
Burns is to pay to Nathaniel Carpentera & wife $75.20,
& to David Carpenter $4.50, difference in valuation
“Lot
2: 30 acres of land at $210 to William May in right of his wife, Polly,
he to pay to David Carpenter $26.80 difference in valuation.
“Lot
3: 44 2/3 acres of land at $206 to Nathaniel Carpenter in right of his
wife Nancy.
“Lot
4: 44 2/3 acres of land to Hezekiah Billingsley, he to pay David
Carpenter $16.80 differ-ence in valuation.
“Lot
5: 44 2/3 acres of land to David Carpenter in right of his wife
Elizabeth
Common
Errors in Books and on the Internet
Notes
from June Byrne:
There are
three major sources of
mythology about the Lilly Family. The errors
produced
become pervasive like urban legends. I want to take this
opportunity to warn you about them and to thank Lou Poole for his
assiduous research. He has collected together all of the records from
the 1700s which survived. Knowing what is really in the records allows
us to separate facts from mythology. If information
from
secondary sources cannot
be substantiated by the records, we have to be
suspicious of
it.
One of
these sources of mythology
on parts of the Lilly family
is Gustav Anjou who luckily never even mentioned the North Carolina
Lilly's, so he caused no problems.
Gustav Anjou was in the habit of creating records.
He
didn't make errors, he made up fictitious families and records.
His most famous caper was the creation of a whole county in
England. He created a new county and started quoting records
from
it. This was early in the 20th century and it took a long
time
for him to get caught. He is the most famous fraud in the world of
genealogy.
The
second source of mythology in
the Lilly family is in the
writings of Julius Whiting Lilly who was busily publishing books about
the Virginia Lilly families and some New England Lilly Families. Julius
didn't create whole counties. He primarily was guilty of
attaching the wrong records to the wrong people and rearranging
families so his are not, strictly speaking, fraudulent. They are
just full of egregious errors of fact. He has
so many errors in his books that anything he says has to have separate
proof. He wrote a number of books on the Lilly family. They are very
similar in format. I don't know, but I have theorized that he
would receive a request for information on such and such and Lilly so
he stirred the same Lilly information, added a little bit of mixed up
information, and republished it time after time. The
mythological
family of Edmund Lilly II below includes several
children of
Armiger Lilly born in Virginia who moved to Kentucky. These
Lilly's are listed as children of Edmund Lilly II. Julius is supposed
to have created a Virginia marriage for Edmund Lilly and attached
Armiger, William, and Pleasant Lilly to this family in order to sell
more books. The earliest source of these errors that we have
seen
cites Julius Lilly as her source. I have not bothered to
collect
all of his books because there are so many errors that I don't even
want to see them.
The third
major source of errors
is based on the Julius Whiting Lilly books above with additional
errors. Rev.
John Samuel
Staton published a Bicentennial
History of Rocky River Missionary Baptist Church, Burnsville Township,
Anson County, North Carolina, 1776-1976, Vol. 1, p. 9.
In this
case, at least, the
mythology was not intentional. I think that some
inexperienced genealogist provided information to him that
is mostly wrong because it was based on the work of Julius Whiting
Lilly, and very questionable at its best. He just
accepted
everything he was told and printed it as truth.
More recent genealogists have naively repeated
these errors
on the theory that if it is printed or on the internet it must be true.
We know this kind of thinking leads into serious errors and I
want to point out some of them here. I cannot trace down who originated
all of these errors and that is not important. I just know
that
they are out there in books and on the internet.
Error One: Edmund
Fleming
Lilly
Please note that
Edmund's
middle name
was
not Fleming. None of the children of this
Lilly
generation in Virginia had middle names. There is absolutely
no
contemporary evidence that he had any middle initial or
name, much
less one of
Fleming. Please remove it from your records.
From this site, we find the following
interesting
information on the subject of middle names. http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question67996.html
It
turns out the use of middle names in the United
States is relatively new. In fact, they were almost unheard
of
before the late 1700s. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and even
Abraham Lincoln did not have middle names.
It was German immigrants who first brought the custom to the U.S. in
the early 19th century. They traditionally gave their
children two
names: a spiritual one, usually named for a saint, and a secular one
to be used on a daily basis. Secular names eventually became known
as middle names and by World War I almost all Americans had one. Today,
they are used for identification and to tell people apart, but middle
names are mostly used as a way to honor or preserve family names.
Error Two:
Miss Lightfoot
Julius
Whiting Lilly is quoted as
saying that Edmund Lilly married a Miss Lightfoot in Virginia in 1760.
I think what happened was that Julius didn't know about Sarah Dumas or
Elizabeth Billingsley. Remember he was writing in the very
early
1900s with few printed records in existence. So he married
off Edmund II a wife in Virgina in 1760. Now that is
obviously wrong because Edmund was already in North Carolina by this
time and he already had a wife. And there is no evidence that Sarah
died in 1760. Indeed, we have
records of a Sarah Lilly in 1765 and 1777.
This was
still at the time when
secondary sources were prevalent. By the time of the 1952
monument dedication, people had figured out about Sarah Dumas and
Elizabeth Billingsley. But they "knew" that Edmund had
married a
Miss Lightfoot in 1760 because Julius Whiting Lilly said so,
(forgetting that Julius thought Edmund married in Virginia).
So they
brutally killed off Sarah and ruthlessly married off Edmund to Miss
Lightfoot. I can imagine Sarah Dumas turning over in her
grave.
There
is no contemporary evidence
that Miss Lightfoot ever existed or that she was ever connected to
Edmund Lilly in any way, much less as a wife. There is also
no
contemporary evidence that Edmund ever returned to Virginia, much less
to marry a non-existent Miss Lightfoot.
Please remove
her from your records.
Error Three:
Edmund Lilly
married a second wife, name unknown, and had a number of children
between 1770 and 1880.
This error is of later origin. Once Miss
Lightfoot was removed from the family, several children were left who
just didn't fit. These leftover children are supposed to have been
from Julius Lilly's work. Some were born too late to
be
children of Sarah Dumas. So a second wife was
postulated.
However, after the list of probable children was corrected, we
were left with only one person who might have been a late child of
Edmund Lilly. That person was Armistead Lilly possibly born
ca.
1774-5. But Sarah signed as witness in 1777 so even if she died, and he
remarried, it would have been too late for Armistead to have been a son
of Edmund. However, Nathaniel Lilly, born ca.
1750-1751, died young and his children are not known.
I think that Armistead is more likely to have been his son.
It
seems simpler to just place Armistead as a possible son of Nathaniel
than to postulate a mysterious second wife who left no records or to
have Sarah Dumas as a mother well into her 50s.
At this
point, we have no Lilly
children left to be accounted for. So there is no evidence
which
suggests Edmund remarried prior to Elizabeth Billingsley.
Indeed, I think he did not. I am of the opinion that the
second
wife theory was a result of the original Julius Whiting Lilly myth of
Miss Lightfoot and the wrong children. So I have removed this
mysterious, hypothetical wife from the family group.
Tax
Lists
These are all of the tax lists we have found. There is a two volume set
of tax records.
North
Carolina
Taxpayers by
Clarence
Ratcliffe. It contains no other Lilly tax records for this
group.
There is a set of Lilly's in the far NorthEast corner of
North
Carolina. There are several records for that set of Lilly's.
There are some Anson County Tax lists available in:
Brent H. Holcomb, Anson
County,
North Carolina, Deed Abstracts, Volume II: 1757-1766
& 1763
Tax List, p. 9. “Pp.
167-168”
The first Montgomery County Tax Lists are for 1779 when the county was
formed from Anson County. These lists do not appear to
be complete.
http://www.ncgenweb.us/montgomery/taxlist1780.htm
1779
Montgomery Tax
List Benjamin Dumas, David Dumas no Lilly
1780
Montgomery Tax
List Edmond Lilly, no Dumas
1782:
“Montgomery County Records,” McBee, May
Wilson, Anson
County, North Carolina: Abstracts of Early Records, pp. 143-145. Also, North
Carolina Genealogical Society, The
North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Vol IX, No. 2, May 1983,
p. 112.
Montgomery
County, 1782
tax list
Sias
Billingsley, 800
acres [Note: Father
of Elizabeth Billingsley.]
David Dumas,
inv. 2563
acres, 11 slaves. [Brother in law of Edmund Lilly. He apparently died
shortly before the tax list was compiled in 1782.]
[Note: inv probably means invalid. ]
Edmond Lilly,
invalid,
1450, 23 slaves
John Lilly,
300 acres, 2
slaves
Benj. Lilly,
single…
Later Tax Lists:
Due
to a number of
disasters, the next Montgomery County Tax Record to survive is in 1845.
So we have 60 years of nothing when it comes to tax lists.
Census
Records
1790
Montgomery
County, NC census: Notice two Edmond Lilly's in
1790, and
one Elizabeth. I can't be sure, but Elizabeth Lilly may have
been the “widow Lilly” mentioned in the
1785 deed
between Edmund Sr. & Jr. If so, she may have been the widow
of the Nathaniel Lilly who apparently died at a relatively
young
age. The following are on the smae page with 406 written across the
page in Montgomery County, North Carolina.
They are in the bottom half of the page. The males less than
16
in Elizabeth's household may be a number one or something else.
|
Head
of
Household
|
Over
16
|
Less
than 16
|
Females
|
Other
|
Slaves
|
|
Lilly,
Elizabeth
|
1
|
1*
|
1
|
|
6
|
|
Lilly,
Edmond
[Jr]
|
1
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
Lilly,
John
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
|
6 |
|
Lilly,
Edmond
[Sr.]
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
28
|
1800
Montgomery County, NC census: Two Edmund Lilly's again. But no
Elizabeth. But notice that young Nathaniel Lilly (who may have been the
son of Elizabeth Lilly and Nathaniel Lilly) has an older
woman living in his household – is this the Elizabeth
of the
1790 census?
The first four names are on the same page in the order given.
The
pages are not numbered, nor is there a township or other designation.
Ancestry labels it page 496. Edmund jr is on page 486 near
Nathaniel Lilly.
|
|
Males
|
Females
|
|
Head
of
Household
|
0-10
|
10-15
|
15-25
|
25-45
|
45+
|
0-10
|
10-15
|
15-25
|
25-45
|
45+
|
|
Edmond
Lilly Sr.
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
Armsted
Lilly
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
3
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
John
Lilly
Sen.
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
John
Lilly
Jun.
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
1 |
3 |
|
Edmond
Lilly Jun.
|
2
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
3
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
Nathaniel
Lilly
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
1810
Montgomery
County, NC census: Only one Edmund (“Edwd”) Lilly
listed in
1810, who is the “Jr” of previous years. But two
Elizabeth's. One, the last one listed, is surely the older one who was
listed in 1790, and then was probably the older woman in Nathaniel
Lilly’s household in 1800. We know that Edmund Lilly Sr.
married
Elizabeth Billingsley in 1802-1803, and that they were the parents of
three daughters, all born between that date & 1810. Elizabeth
(Billingsley) Lilly was considerably younger than Edmund Lilly Sr., and
she had children by Edmund who are in her estate
records. So
the first
Elizabeth listed, below, has to be Elizabeth (Billingsley)
Lilly.
Edmund Lilly Sr., therefore had died, and I do not know who the younger
male living in the household was. He could have been a relative or a
hired hand.
Armsd
Lilly: Captain James Kendall, Montgomery County, NC
page 585.
Elizabeth
Lilly: next to Armsd Lilly page 585 [widow of
Edmund sr]
John Lilly
sr: Captain James Kendall, Mortgomery Co, NC page
582
John Lilly: Brown,
Montgomery County,
NC page 551
Elizabeth
Lilly: Brown,
Montgomery
County, NC page 551 next
to
John Lilly
Edwd
Lilly:
Brown, Montgomery
County, NC page 551
next to
John and Elizabeth This could be Edmd
I can't
tell.
Nat Lilly page
550 Brown, Montgomery County, NC
Lou
Poole tells
me that he believes that the Captain James Kendall area was on the west
side of the Pee Dee River and Brown was on the east side of
the
river.
|
|
Males
|
Females
|
|
Head
of
Household
|
0-10
|
10-15
|
15-25
|
25-45
|
45+
|
0-10
|
10-15
|
15-25
|
25-45
|
45+
|
|
Armsd
Lilly
|
3
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
Elizabeth
Lilly
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
John
Lilly
|
3
|
|
|
1
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
Edwd
Lilly
|
4
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
Elizabeth
Lilly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
John
Lilly
Sr.
|
2
|
|
2
|
|
1
|
3
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
Nat
Lilly
|
5
|
1
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
The
Mythological List of Edmund Lilly's Children
From a history of the Rocky River Missionary Baptist Church we
obtain a listing of his children by his "three" wives that seems to be
the one that so many people are using, and which apparently
has
never been checked for accuracy. I don't want to omit this here because
the information is so widespread. However, the
information has so many
errors that I need to differentiate between fact, reasonable
supposition, and rampant error.
Consequently, the actual children
of
Edmund are in blue, errors are in red, and probables are in green.
My comments are added in [ ]. The Arminger, William and
Pleasant
Lilly of the following list were actually the children of Armiger Lilly
Senior of Fluvanna County, Virginia.
These are proven by the estate records of Armiger
Lilly senior in Virginia. See
Children of Armiger Lilly Sr.
I
believe that Julius
Whiting Lilly is the source of this error because he is
quoted by
an early source. I have no idea why he thought that they were
in the wrong state with the wrong father and the wrong
mother. However,
their being in the list at all proves the generally dangerous
quality of this information.
Rev. John Samuel
Staton, Bicentennial
History of Rocky River Missionary Baptist Church, Burnsville Township,
Anson County, North Carolina, 1776-1976,
Vol. 1, p. 9. The
following list is taken from this book and is the source
for many
of the
errors floating about the internet.
“Reverend
Edmund
Fleming
Lilly [Sic: There is no contemporary
record that he has any middle name, much less this one. None
of
the
Lilly family of this generation had middle names.] Edmund first married
Sara Dumas about 1750 and their children are:
:
1. Frances
Lilly,
1750-1790,
and she
married Joel McLendon in 1768.
2.
John
Lilly,
1753-1825, married Eleanor
Dumas in 1777
3.
James
Pleasant Lilly, married Nancy Hendrix
[ Sic: Pleasant Lilly,
born before 1774. He is listed on a 1795 tax list where only males over
21 were listed. He married Nancy Hendricks, 8 March 1803 in
Harrison County,
Kentucky. He was the son of Armiger Lilly senior. ]
4.
Robert
Lilly
married
Martha Richardson [Sic:
There is no Robert
Lilly of the right
age to be found in Anson, Montgomery, or Richmond County records. In
other words, there is no reason for anyone to think that Rev. Edmund
Lilly had a son named “Robert.” According to
unconfirmed
Internet sources, there was a Robert Lilly who was married to Martha
Richardson in Culpeper County, Virginia. And I cannot find a Robert
Lilly there, either!]
“Reverend Edmund
Fleming
Lilly [Sic: No Fleming in his name.]
married second a Miss
___ Lightfoot in
1760, and their children are,
[Sic: Sarah (Dumas) Lilly appears
in a deed in 1765 and there is no contemporary evidence that she died
before then or that he married
a Lightfoot at any time at all. It is possible that he married
a
second time, but there is no evidence which
suggests this. The
theory of the second wife is based upon this erroneous list of
children and a need to explain the late children in the
list. See
comments on Error Two and Three above.]:
1. Edmund
Lilly, Jr., 27 October 1761
– 21 August
1819, married Mary Marshall
in 1792, born 1 March 1775, died 10
March 1859
2.
Arminger
Lilly, born 1763, married Mary McCutcheon [Sic:
This is the son of Armiger Lilly of Fluvanna County, proven by estate
records.]
3. William
Lilly, born 1765, married
Lucy Bybee. [This is
the son of Armiger
Lilly of
Fluvanna
County, proven by estate records. ]
4. Henry
Lilly [Sic:
There is no
Henry Lilly of the right age to be found in Anson, Montgomery or
Richmond County records. I suspect that someone was confused by the
fact that Edmund Lilly Jr. & Mary Marshall did have a son named
Henry.]
5.
Betsy Lilly, born 1787,
died
1866, married Thomas Scarboro
[Sic:
There was an Elizabeth Lilly who married Thomas E. Scarbrough 3 January
1822 (Scarbrough Bible record), but in the 1850 census she listed her
age as 46 (born 1804) and in the 1860 census she listed her age as 55
(born in 1805). Edmund married Elizabeth Billingsley by 1803, and their
children are proven. Consequently, there is no way
that Elizabeth Lilly was a daughter of Rev. Edmund Lilly. She
may
well have been a daughter of one of Rev. Edmund’s
older sons
– John or Nathaniel, or even a granddaughter.]
“Reverend Edmund Fleming
Lilly married a third time
to a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth
Billingsley by 1807
[Sic:
He married an
Elizabeth Billingsley by 1802 because his daughter was born 1803. There
is no evidence that she was a widow. Her father, Sias Billingsley is
known.] She
was born in 1769. [Sic:
1777]
and died in 1830
[Sic:
Before January 1832.] There is also no evidence of the so-called second
marriage. This Billingsley marriage is surely the actual second
marriage.
Children of Edmund Lilly
and
Elizabeth Billingsley:
1.
Sarah White Lilly,
born 1812[Sic:
Born 1803] and died 1895,
married Walter Farr Burns.
2.
Mary Lilly married William May.
3.
Elizabeth B. Lilly,
born 1808 and died 1883, married David Carpenter in 1828.
Likely
Children who were
omitted
from Staton's list:
1.
Nathaniel Lilly, born
ca. 1751; d. before 1785; m. Elizabeth ____?
2. Benjamin
Lilly, born ca.
1759; d. aft. 1782
3.
David Lilly, born bef.
1769; died after 1785
The
Likely List of the
Children of Edmund Lilly
1. Frances
Lilly, born ca. 1750; died before
1789;
married Joel McLendon in 1768.
[Source: Staton, Rev. John Samuel, Bicentennial
History of Rocky River Missionary Baptist Church, Burnsville Township,
Anson County, North Carolina, 1776-1976, Vol. 1, p. 9;
unpublished manuscript, “The Lilly Family of England,
Virginia, Stanly, Montgomery, and Anson Counties, North
Carolina” by John Paul Lilly dated 1992, and provided via
Internet exchange.]
[Note: Although it is likely
that Frances was a daughter of Edmund Lilly, it is certainly not
proven. And I have to question her age. Since we know only that Edmund
was married by 1750, and possibly a year before that, and we
don't have solid dates for any of these children, it is important to
remember that she may have been born slightly later than this.
With
only two children, one born in 1779, she could easily have been
born a bit earlier or later. I wish the author of
the book
had given a basis for the birth
date.] I would very much like to see a Family Finder DNA test for a
descendant.
Rosalind
McLendon Redfearn, The
McLendons of Anson County, pp.
32-38.
“Joel McClendon, born about 1744, died about 1789 in
Montgomery County, North Carolina; married 1768 Frances Lilly, born
about 1750, died about 1789. Their two children were Joel McClendon,
born 13 May 1779, died 4 April 1855, buried in Anson County, and
Benjamin McClendon who went to Mississippi in 1803.
“Joel McClendon was the son of
Dennis McClendon, Sr., and his wife, Mary Ingram. Joel settled in that
part of Anson County which was formed into Montgomery County in 1778.
Joel McClendon, of Anson, sold his Cumberland County land to Thomas
McClendon. Witnesses: Jacob McClendon, Samuel McClendon.
“The Court House in Montgomery
County was destroyed by fire in 1840 and only a few of the old records
were saved. However, sufficient proof has been found showing that Joel
McClendon owned land in Montgomery County and that he was an
influential citizen, being a Justice of the Peace. He was on a
committee appointed by the Assembly of North Carolina to lay off a town
for the county seat of Montgomery County. He was also a member of the
Grand Jury in 1771 to inspect the public buildings and to make
recommendation for their maintenance and improvements. Reference:
‘Anson County Minute Book Pleas and Quarter
Session’ 1771…
“The name of Joel McClendon or his wife, Frances McClendon,
do not appear in the 1790 census, therefore it is logical that both
had died.
“Although it has not been
definitely proven by a will, a
Bible record, or a marriage bond that Joel McClendon married Frances
Lilly, daughter of Edmund Lilly and Sarah Dumas, yet the now living
descendants of his son, Joel McClendon II, born 1779, whose wife was
Susannah (Boggan) have evidence handed down by word of mouth and scraps
of paper from one generation to another, that this is true …
For example, Joel McClendon Jr., born 1779, and his wife, Susanna May
Boggan, named their oldest daughter Eleanor Dumas, we think for Eleanor
Dumas who was the wife of John Lilly, and a daughter of Benjamin Dumas,
II, being first cousins. A son was named Edmond Lilly McClendon, born
1819, and a son Benjamin. Edmond Lilly McClendon named a son Benjamin
and a daughter Frances, who died very young. Mrs. Helen McLendon
Gulledge named a son Edmond and a son Benjamin. Walter J. McLendon
(born 1847) named a son Edmond Lilly. Preston A. McLendon (born 1845)
of Texas named a son Edmund Lilly.”
2. Nathaniel
Lilly, born
ca. 1751; probably died before 1782, m. Elizabeth ____? There is
again no actual proof
that Nathaniel was a son of Edmund, but again, at the time he
was
born,
there was no other likely Lilly in the area. See
Family of Nathaniel Lilly.
3. John
Lilly, born
ca. 1753; died
1825; m. Eleanor
Dumas
(119)
There is
again no actual proof
that John was a son of Edmund, but again, at the time he was born,
there was no other Lilly in the area. Every Lilly of the
previous
generations of this entire family has a son named John, so we
can
assume that Edmund also would have had one.
For
more on John see John Lilly
of North Carolina.
4. Benjamin
Lilly, born
before 1759; died after 1782.
Again we
have no proof that
Benjamin was the son of Edmund Lilly. Sarah (Dumas) Lilly was the
daughter of
Benjamin
Dumas, so I would have expected to find her with a son named Benjamin.
Benjamin
Lilly witnesses
a deed 30
September 1775 between his uncle, David Dumas, and his father, Edmund
Lilly. In order to witness this deed, he had to have been at
least 16. He could have been older. The last record
in
which his name is found is the 1782 tax list when he was listed as
single.
No trace of him
after that has been found. We have no evidence that he
married or
left children.
5. Edmund
Lilly, Jr,
27 October 1761
– 21 August
1819, married Mary Marshall
in 1792, born 1 March 1775, died 10
March 1819.
For more information, see Edmund
Lilly III.
Edmund is the only early child of Edmund Lilly whose
father can be 100% proven.
6. David
Lilly, born
no later
than 1769, possibly earlier; last
record found in
1785. He signed as witness to the 1785 deed where Edmund sr gave land
to Edmund Jr. Consequently, he must have been at least 16 at
this
date. He could have been older. He was also a chain carrier
in
1785. He did not appear in the 1782 tax list. There are
several
possible reasons for this. There
is
again no actual proof
that David was a son of Edmund, but again, at the time he was
born,
there was no other likely Lilly in the area. Sarah (Dumas) Lilly had a
brother named David so it may have been a family name.
See David Lilly of South
Carolina who
may be this person.
Children
of the marriage of Edmund Lilly and Elizabeth Billingsley: [Proof of their parentage
is in the estate records of their mother. See second wife
above.]
8.
Sarah
White Lilly, born 5
October 1803, died 5 November 1895, buried in Rocky Mount Baptist
Cemetery, Anson County, North Carolina, where her tombstone reads: Wife
of Walter F. Burns. [See stone on findagrave.com.] Sarah
married Walter Farr Burns.
31 December 1822, WESTERN
CAROLINIAN
(Salisbury, Rowan Co., NC)
“Married: Walter F. Burns to Miss Sarah M. Lilley, 18 Dec
1822 in
Anson county.”
9.
Elizabeth B. Lilly, born 1808 and died 1883,
married David
Carpenter in
1828.
10.
Mary Lilly married William May.
The
Proof
The problem with proving the children of
Edmund
Lilly II, is that he left no bible record, estate record, etc that can
be used to prove most of his children. His children with Elizabeth
Billingsley are proven by her estate records. Of his earlier family,
only Edmund Lilly junior [III] is proven to be his son. All of the
other children are included on the basis of circumstantial
evidence. One Lilly descendant has proof of a connection to
the
children of Edmund and Elizabeth Billingsley by virtue of a DNA test.
But it is not clear which son he is descended from.
The Edmund Lilly Senior
is Edmund Lilly
[II]. The Edmund Lilly jr is his son. This
1785 deed offers
the proof that Edmund Lilly
Jr.
(married Mary Marshall) was the son of Edmund Lilly Sr.
(Reverend). It also offers a couple of other most interesting clues.
Notice that this 1785 tract named in the following was
described
as
being near WIDOW LILLY (proving, I think, that one of the sons had
died, leaving a widow), and the David Lilly who witnessed the deed is
probably another son of Edmund Lilly Sr. (heretofore unidentified).
There were 300 acres in the original patent from the crown.
Edmund Lilly junior received 150 acres of the tract.
Later
Nathaniel sold the other half to Edmund Lilly junior. The
deed
records
are not complete so we don't have proof that Edmund senior gave half of
this to to his son Nathaniel, but that is very probably what happened.
I have underlined some words which are particularly
important.
We also can't be sure who the Widow Lilly was.
However, the
only thing that works out logically is that this widow was the widow of
Nathaniel Lilly. We believe that this is the Elizabeth Lilly
of
the later censuses.
Transcribed
from original on microfilm
– “Lilly Collection, 1785-1880”
microfilm owned by the Dallas Public Library. Explanatory note says
“Edmund Lilly Sr. to Edmund Lilly Jr, 300 acres, 1785.
Montgomery
County June Session. Reg. Book #C, No. 3, Folio 244-5-6.”
[Note:
Both of the following deeds are from here.]
“This
Indenture
made this fourteenth day of March and For the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred & Eighty five. Between
Edmund Lilly
Senr
of
Montgomery County and State of North Carolina of the one part and
Edmund Lilly Jun of the Said County and State of the other part
Witnesseth that the said Edmund Lilly Senr for and in consideration of
the father by love to the son Hath Given granted and do by these
presents Give and Grant to the Said Edmund Lilly Jun his heirs and
assigns the upper part of the Rich Lands on the No Et of Great Pee Dee
river, Containing one hundred and fifty acres Beginning on the bank of
said River near the upper End of the widow Lilly’s field and
runs
thence No 46 Et 160 poles to a stake No [crease in the paper
–
unreadable] … 46 Wt 160 poles to a stake on the River bank
then
Down the River to the first Station it being part of a tract of three
hundred acres that was Granted to Benjamin Dumas by his Majestys letter
patent baring date the third of February 1754 also another tract or
parcel of land Joining the said Richlands Containing three hundred
acres Beginning at a Stake among a Black oak turkey oak and being Said
to Be Benjamin Du mas's upper Corner and ___ No 45 Et 36 Chains and _5
links to a Black Oak then No 45 Wt 54 Chains and 78 links to a stake
among 3 pines and a ___ then So 45 Wt 54 Chains and 78 links to a stake
among a pine ___ and then Direct to the Beginning it being a tract of
land which was granted by his Majestys Patent baring date the 22 of
January 1773 to Edmond Lilly Senr Containing three hundred
acres
Be the
said more or less with all and Singular the woods ways & waters
and
water Course Rights liberties Heradiments and appurtenances what so
Ever there unto Belonging or In any wise appertaining in as full and
ample manner as the same was granted and Confirmed to him By Deeds of
Conveyance and that he the said Edmund Lilly Senr Doth give grant and
Confirm the said one hundred and fifty acres of land and the said three
Hundred acres of land with Every ___ and parcel there of to him the
Said Edmund Lilly Jur his heirs Executors Administrators and Assigns
against him self his Heirs Executors Administrators [paper fold
–
unreadable] … I have here unto set my hand and seal the day
and
year above written.
Signed
Sealed
Edmond Lilly Senr
Delivered In presence of Chesley (mark) Morris, and David
Lilly”
This following is not proof positive
that Nathaniel
Lilly II was the son of Nathaniel Lilly I and that Nathaniel I was a
son of Edmund Lilly II, but it makes it very likely. There were 300
acres in the original grant. In the above deed dated 1785,
Edmund
Lilly senior sold 150 acres of this patent to his son Edmund Lilly
junior. In the following deed dated 1803,
Nathaniel (II?) sold the remaining 150 acres from the original
grant to Edmund Lilly junior. There is
nothing in the
surviving records about how Nathaniel got the 150 acres.
This Indenture made
this fourth day of Jany one
thousand Eight Hundred and three Between Nathaniel Lilly
of
Montgomery County and State of North Carolina of the one part &
Edmd Lilly Jn of the Said county and State of the other part.
Witnesseth that the said Nathaniel for and Inconsideration
[sic]
of the Sum of Five Hundred Dollars to him in hand paid the ___ is
hereby Acknowledged Hath given granted Bargained and Sold unto him the
said Edmd Lilly Jun a Certain tract or parcel of Land lying and being
in Said County on Lower Richland Creek Beginning at a Black Oak at the
foot of a Hill on the Lower side of said Creek about 14 mile from the
mouth and Runing _35 W 38 chains and 73 Links to a Stake among two
White oaks and two turkey Oaks, then So 55 W 38 Chains and 73 Links to
a Stake among two White Oaks and a turkey oak then So 35 Et 38 Chains
and 73 Links then a Direct Course to the Beginning Containing in the
whole one Hundred & fifty Acres be the same more or less with
all
and Singular the woods ways water & water courses with the
Improvement buildings and every ___ledge thereunto belonging it being a
tract or parcel
of Land
which was Granted to Edmd Lilly Senr by his Majesties Letter patent
bearing date the 22 day of Jany 1773 and that he the Said
Nathaniel Lilly doth give grant and Confirm the Said 150 Acres of Land
against him Self his heirs and Assignees [paper fold] heirs &
assigns forever and the Said Nathaniel Lilly doth further
warrant
and for Ever Defend the above mentioned Lands and premises from himself
his heirs Execrs Administrators & assigns and from the Lawfull
claim of any person or persons whatsoever unto him the Said Edmd Lilly
Jur his heirs Execrs Administrators and Assigns forever in witness
whereof I have here unto Set my hand & Seal the day and date
above
written.
Signd Seald & Deliverd
in presence of us
-
Nath Lilly”
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