I was going to tie this in with the previous post, but it didn't seem right, so here you go--two in one day. Enjoy, who knows when I'll do another one.
From everything I can find in my research, I am a descendant of Jonathan & Jenet (Edmond) Millet of Voluntown, New London, Connecticut. My assignment, and I have accepted it, is to figure out which one of their sons I am descended from.
I have ruled out the oldest son, John, born in 1764. His family went to Darke County, Ohio, by 1830 when he appears in the census for Twin township. His will is made out in 1831, and he died sometime before May, 1833. His will names all but two of his children. His "two youngest daughters" are listed this way, not by name. I was never sure if this was "my" John, but later on a timely email from someone who had in his possession a family history of sorts, indicated this was indeed the oldest son of Jonathan & Jenet. I've found no trace of him between 1800 & 1830, but have traced his descendants enough to know that he is not my 4gg grandfather, in spite of having a son named "Merrit."
I have also ruled out Samuel, born in 1772. His family is well-documented, first in a history written in the late 1800's by someone related to his wife, Rachel Douglass, and by further research. Most of his family remained in upstate New York, although a few did migrate west and settled in Illinois, which is where I first pick up my gg grandmother Mary Millet.
And I've ruled out William, although at one time I was pretty sure he was my 3gg grandfather. However, he seemed to be most prominent in Jefferson Co., Indiana, as well as Geauga Co. Ohio and Jo Daviess Co. IL, so he always made me scratch my head in wonder. Later, we discovered why he was hopping around so much.
The other sons are Andrew (born 1767), Daniel (born 1774), Jonathan (born abt 1780), William (born about 1784) and Alexander (born 1790).
My gg grandmother was Mary Millet. She married my gg grandfather, Samuel Henry Johnson, in 1843 in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. She had two sons, Merrit and Samuel Henry Jr., before dying prior to 1850. Samuel married Roxy Lyon in 1850, who turns out to be a cousin of Mary's. A descendant of the second marriage has a paper which she found in her great grandmother's things, giving a listing of some of this family. The paper credits Alexander Millet for being the father of Alexander, William, Hiram and Martin Millet, as well as daughters Rhoda and one who married a Simmons. The paper also gives credit to this William as the father of my Mary. I had thought William was my 3gg grandfather, but I had the wrong William!
Gotta love this family! They are not original when naming their children--they use the ancestral names over and over again, and it gets confusing when there are many Williams, Alexanders, etc., who are born pretty close together and often in the same place. The William I "thought" was mine, turns out he's only an uncle! Thank you, Sandy Groezinger, for appearing on the genealogical scene long enough to share this information with me!
However, in my research, I have not found an Alexander Millet old enough to be fathering any children in the 1790's to early 1800's. The above-mentioned Alexander wasn't born until 1790; the other Alexander's were born even later, and are apparently sons of some of the brothers. One Alexander was born in 1809, and through court records of Geauga County we can assume this one is a son of William, grandson of Jonathan & Jenet.
This is getting long, so I will cut to the chase. I have narrowed down the possible candidates to be the grandfather of Mary Millet Johnson, to Andrew, son of Jonathan & Jenet. In checking through 1800-1830 censuses, he is the only one with enough children listed in his household to qualify, compared to his brothers Alexander, Daniel, William & Jonathan. Samuel has already been ruled out due to the Douglass genealogy, and he did not have an Alexander according to this biography. Or a William.
So, I'm looking for an illusive will or land record that will give me the definitive proof I need to declare the identity of my 4gg grandfather. And while I'm at it, I'm trying to sort out the later generations who keep popping up here and there in the same places as my known Millet family.
Stay tuned for more!
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