| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 11-14:
"A "List of the Town of Jamaica Anno 1683" included:
Jonathan Mills, 2 horses, 2 oxen, 6 cows, 3 swine, 16 acres, I head, £119
Zachariah Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 19 acres, 1 head, £83
Samuell Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 4 cows, 0 swine, 30 acres, I head, £105
George Mills, 0 horses, 0 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 4 acres, 1 head, £34[26]
Jonathan2 MILLS (George1), son of George and perhaps Rebecca (___) Mills, was born perhaps about 1637. It has been said that "He was living at an advanced age at Jamaica 1718."[41] But no confirmation of this has been found. He was surely living on January 21, 1714 and probably on January 18, 1717 (see below). Although he lived in the area of Jamaica called Springfield, there is no gravestone for him in the cemetery on Springfield Avenue. This contains many Mills but none early enough for Jonathan's family.[42] He married, probably in the mid-1660s, Martha WOOD. It has often been said that Martha "was born about 1644, probably in America, and died after 1710 in Jamaica, L.I., daughter of Jonas Halstead" of Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Jamaica.[43] However, Martha was much more likely the daughter of Timothy and ___ (Strickland) Wood.[44] She was living on January 21, 1714 (1714/15?) when she and Jonathan sold land.
Records at Jamaica:
On November 7, 1668 the town of Jamaica voted that (illegible) Mills "should have 4 acres of Land by the South side of Mary Fosters Lot by the Bever Pond to get a hous on and to improve for his own use."[45] The first time Jonathan definitely appears on Jamaica records was on January 24, 1675. On that date four men, including Jonathan Mills, were freed from an alteration in the country pay of "Me" Wooddrop,"[46] the minister.
On August 1, 1677 the court at Hempstead confusedly recorded what is apparently two cases, both involving horses claimed by Jonathan Mills, both given the same earmark. The horses had evidently been wandering around the common land for a year or more.[47]
Jamaica records contain more information about Jonathan's lands during the 1680s and 1690s.[48] In 1683 Jonathan had the most stock and land of any in his family.[49] The subscription list for the quarterly salary of the minister, Mr. Phillips, dated January 1, 1693/4, assessed "Sam Miles 1 sh, Jothan Miles 10d, Timothy Mills 5d, Zary Mills 10d."[50] On a tax list of February 4, 1708/9 Jonathan Mills Senior was listed with 4s ld and Jonathan Jun 2d.[51]
By a deed of gift dated November 10, 1710 Jonathan Mills of Jamaica and his wife Martha "for love and affection" gave their son Samuel Mills half of the homestead farm of 80 acres in the Springfield section of Jamaica, a piece of fresh meadow on the "further East Neck in the said township, And also two small lotts ... on ye said Neck in ye Cove, Containing about three acres," reserving for themselves the largest room in the house, half the orchard and a third of the crops during their lifetime. After their deaths Samuel was to pay their executors ₤25 current money of New York. Jonathan and Martha made their marks and it was witnessed by Joseph Smith and William Ludlum.[52] On January 20, 1714 Samuel transferred this back to Jonathan and the next day, January 21, Jonathan and Martha sold it to Peter Noorstrant of Jamaica in two documents.[53] It has been said that they moved to Smithtown with all four of their sons.[54] But no record confirming this has been found. Perhaps Jonathan and Martha did go to Smithtown, but the only son found there is Timothy.[55]
Children of Jonathan and Martha (___) Mills.[56]
i. Timothy3 Mills, born about 1667;[57] died at Mills Pond in Smithtown March 30, 1751 age 54;[58] married firstly Elizabeth ___. They were living at Jamaica on Nov. 26, 1698 when Timothy and Elizabeth sold a house and land on Sherman's Neck in Hempstead, "formerly in the tenure & occupation of Richard Manwaring of Hempstead."[59] Perhaps Elizabeth was Richard Manwaring's daughter or widow. Timothy married secondly Sarah Longbotham of Brookhaven, L.I.1[60] who was named in Timothy's will dated March 16, 1741.[61] The first record of him was on Sept. 22, 1693 when he sold land in Jamaica to Thomas Wellin.[62] On March 19, 1705 Samuel Smith of Smithtown sold Timothy Mills 100 acres in Smithtown "in a place commonly called Stony Brook necke."[63] In 1715 Timothy was a member of Capt. Samuel Smith's Smithtown Co. in the Suffolk Co. Regiment of Col. Henry Smith[64] and was elected to his first recorded town office at Smithtown, as a surveyor of highways, on May 3, 1715.[65] The settlement of Mills Pond was named for Timothy and "is composed of a number of dignified old houses surrounding a small pond, situated on the North Country Road about four miles east of the village of Smithtown Branch."[66]
ii. Samuel MILLS; born say 1673,[67] probably married firstly ___; secondly Abigail Smith.
iii. Isaac Mills? See comments under Isaac, a possible son of George. Earlier researchers have assumed that the Isaac who first appears in Smithtown records in 1723 was Timothy's brother. However, Timothy named "my eldest son Isaac Mills" in his 1741 will, Isaac having been born March 13, 1697 according to a Bible record.[68] It would seem reasonable that Timothy's son Isaac would have inherited the proprietorship and that he would have been the Isaac who held various town offices at Smithtown.[69]
iv. Jonathan Mills, born June 5, 1677;~01 On July 22, 1695 Jonathan Mills senior of Jamaica agreed with Jacob Hendrickson "Zuytdam" of Flatbush, Kings Co., Smith, that Jonathan Mills Jr., son of Jonathan senior would serve Jacob for three years beginning June 5, 1695. Jacob would provide "washing, sleeping, victuals and drink." Jonathan would "have the liberty to go in night school in winter, and at the expiration of said time his master is to give him a good suit of clothes for Sabbath-day, and also two pairs of tongs and two hammers, one big and one small."[71] This must be the "Jonathan Jun" who was included on the Feb. 4, 1708/9 tax list at Jamaica. There is no reason to believe Jonathan went to Smithtown.[72]
ENDNOTES
41. Edward C. Mills, 1:4.
42. William Applebee Eardeley, "Springfield, Jamaica, Queens County, Long Island, New York, Cemetery, 1735 or 1760 to 1909," typescript (Brooklyn, 1912), FHL #0,017,931.
43. William Leon Halstead, "The Story of the Halsteads of the United States" (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1934), p. 58, which says Jonas had a daughter Martha who married Jonathan Mills and had Timothy, Jonathan, Samuel and perhaps others but gives no evidence. She may have been born in Stratford, Connecticut, since Orcutt's history of that town says, "Jonas Halstead was among the early dwellers of Stratford, went to Jamaica, L.I., before 1660" (Samuel Orcutt, "A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut" [New Haven, 1886], Part I, p. 136, his source unknown), but no deeds for him appear in Stratford land records. The English origin of the Halsteads is treated by Arthur S. Wardwell, "Jonas Halstead and John Lum of Hempstead, New York," "The American Genealogist," 18 [19421:146-47. He concludes that Jonas was baptized at Northowram Patish in Halifax, Yorkshire, on 23 Feb. 1611, son of Abraham and Susan (Whitley) Halstead and discusses his relationship to other Hempstead families. The theory that Martha was the daughter of Jonas Halstead is based on a land record where on 30 March 1677 Jonas Halstead of Jamaica deeded to Jonathan Mills of the same place, "for a valluable consideration," a third of the whole "Acomadation" which Jonas had bought from Robert Coe, but described as a half of the housing, orchard, land, meadow and fences which Jonas and his son Joseph owned. Cook says, "This was apparently a dowery (sic) given to Jonathan Mills at least ten years after his marriage to Halstead's daughter Martha." But six days later, by an assignment of 5 April 1677, Jonathan Mills transferred this property to William Creed and Daniel Whitehead (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:72-73, from 1:84-85, Cook says from Queens Co. Deeds, Liber B2, pp. 148-49, recorded 28 April 1706). The apparent contradiction in the portion may be due to Jonas having previously sold a third of his original purchase. The assignment to Creed and Whitehead might have been a mortgage except that they turned around and on 10 April 1677 sold it to John Skidmore (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:74, from 1:86). This does not seem sufficient evidence of Martha's ancestry.
44. Some time ago Harry Macy, Jr., raised the possibility that Jonathan's wife Martha was a daughter of Timothy Wood, based on the will of John Strickland. Strickland's will gave Jonathan Mills and John Loum's eldest daughter each a cow and later said, "it is to be understood that those two cows mentioned to John Loum's daughter & to Jonathan Mills were my wife's and she gave them as she saw good" (Matthew Wood, "English Origins of the Mitchell, Wood, Lum and Halstead Families," NYGBR, 120[1989]:9; Anderson, "Great Migration Begins," 1786). In "Descendants of Timothy Wood, of Long Island," (NYGBR, 132[2001], 37-45), Matthew V. Wood, Jr., concludes that Martha was indeed the daughter of Timothy Wood and granddaughter of John Strickland. .
45. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:42, from 1:49. Cook feels this probably pertains to Jonathan (Cook, pp. 5, 20a).
46. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:65, from 1:74.
47. The first case, brought by John Jackson against Abraham Smith involved Jonathan Mills' horse which was said to have been taken by Smith. However, one deponent talked about what sounds like the same horse, but said it belonged to Isaac Mills. The case was continued. Then on the same day, 1 August, Jonathan Mills was plaintiff vs. William Noble, saying Noble "hath taken up a hors of his of the Comons,…" The court found for Noble and Jonathan had to pay the costs ("Town Records of North and South Hempstead" 1:358-59, from Liber B, pp. 310-312). Whether both cases were about the same horse is not clear, but in any case, it seems most likely that the name Isaac was used in error.
48. On a list perhaps dated 12 April 1681 Jonathan Mills was listed with (granted?) 10 acres of meadow and 20 of something else, probably upland (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:119, from 1:135). As noted in the account of his father, in 1682 Jonathan Mills had ten acres of meadow and was granted 10 more. At some point, probably in 1687, Jonathan was also given five acres of "Chasmores Land," evidently an island, taken from seven other men (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:134-35, from 1:153). On 28 July 1683 Jonathan Mills of Jamaica in the "north Ryding of Yorkshier on Longe Island" conveyed to Theodoros D(P)ollhelmas [sic] of Flatbush, fifteen acres (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:271, from 1:100). On 9 August 1692 Benjamin Thirston exchanged 11/4 acres and some fresh meadow for Jonathan Mills' ten acres of meadow at "Charsmores Island" (Frost, "Jamaica," 2:173, from 2:382).
49. See above under his father.
50. Frost, "Jamaica," 2:375, from 2:548-49. Note that this list did not include a second Samuel.
51. Frost, "Jamaica," 2:440, from 3:58. This list included "Samuel Mills Sener" and "Samuel Mills Junr," but no third Samuel Mills who could be Jonathan's son.
52. Queens Co. Deeds, as transcribed, B2:176 from B2:512-14.
53. Queens Co. Deeds, C:49-51.
54. Cook, 25, and Edward C. Mills, 1:4, who both probably had it from James H. Mills.
55. See the discussion below under the section for Jonathan's son Samuel3 Mills. On 18 February
1717 Timothy Mills of Smithtown, mentioning "my father Jonathan Mills of Springfield," quitclaimed on the same land to Peter Nostrant alias Garrassin (Queens Co. Deeds, C:141). If Jonathan had died, the deed probably would have called him "deceased."
56. The fact that Jonathan Mills was listed with only one head on the 1683 list (see above) suggests that he had no son born by 1664-at least no son that lived to his majority. Jonathan's name is on a list of the number of various vital events for Jamaica for each family during the seven years preceding 1688, but either there were none in his family or the numbers were missing (O'Callaghan, "Documentary History," 3:197).
57. William S. Pelletreau, "Records of the Town of Smithtown, Long Island, N.Y." (np., 1898), 493.
58. Cook 23, 29; ECM, 1:5. A transcription of an "old family cemetery" on the road from
Smithtown to Stony Brook at the place called Mills Pond was done by George W. Cox and W.A.
Macy. While there are many Mills in the cemetery, including a Jonathan who died 28 Oct. 1798
"age 88 the day he died," who must be Timothy's son, the only older ones were fieldstones with no
marks on them (FHL #0,017,696, item 2, and #0,017,117 item 5).
59. Cook, p. 29, 32, from Queens Co. Deeds, B2:15.
60. Cook, p. 30, from Benjamin F. Thompson, "the historian of Long Island."
61. "Abstracts of Wills," v. 4, 416-18, from 18:215; Cook, 30, 36, from New York City Wills, 18:251 "(old no. 215)," says Sarah was named executrix on 18 Nov. 1852.
62. Cook p. 29-31, from Queens Co. Deeds, C:135.
63. Suffolk Co. Deeds, A:141. This also says the land was granted to Samuel Smith by his father
Richard.
64. Cook, 30, 35; "Second Annual Report of the State Librarian of the State of New York" (1897), 513; "Suffolk Co. Historical Society Register 23 [1988}:118.
65. Pelletreau, "Smithtown,", p. 79.
66. Cook, p. 30. A reconstructed historical map shows Timothy's house at the intersection of Three
Sisters Road and Mills Pond Road, a bit east of the head of Three Sisters Harbor (Norman O'Berry, "Early Smithtown, 1665-1865" (1975?), FHL #1,830,698 item 12).
67. Cook, p. 38, suggests 1670, but Samuel Mills was not on the 1 January 1693/4 list of those
assessed for the minister's salary (see above), so was probably not yet 21 years old.
68. Cook, 34, 36, 40.
69. 1n 1723 Isaac Mills was chosen Collector at Smithtown, in 1730 and 1733 Constable, in 1735 and
1744 Assessor, in 1740, 1744, 1745, 1752 and 1753 Overseer of Highways, in the latter year called "Isaac Mills Sr." On 10 June 1755 he was one of the proprietors signing an agreement to divide "lands, meadows and thatch beds" (Pelletreau, "Smithtown," pp. 80, 83-85, 90-92, 99, 219-20).
70. E.C. Mills, 1:4,50, his source unknown.
71. Cook, p. 23, from "The Social History of Flatbush, L.I.," p. 261. Zuytdam's name was often spelled "Suydam."
72. In April 1738 a Jonathan Mills was chosen Collector in Smithtown, in 1742 assessor and in 1744 fence viewer. In April 1740 he "brought his receipts of the Town money, for the year 1738, in which he was Collector" (Pelletreau, "Smithtown," pp. 90-92, 95). But this is more likely Jonathan, son of Timothy3, born 23 Oct. 1710 (Cook, pp. 37, 42-43, citing a family record in possession of Mrs. Robert B. Carnahan, Jr., of New York City)."
SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992).
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
Abt 1637 - Aft 1717 (> 80 years)
