User Home Page Genealogy Report: Descendants of Thomas Isaac Mills
Descendants of Thomas Isaac Mills
1.Thomas Isaac1 Mills was born Abt. 1818 in North Carolina1,2,3, and died Aft. 1880.He married Nancy E. Bef. 1846 in Alabama4.She was born Abt. 1823 in Tennessee5, and died Aft. 1880.
Notes for Thomas Isaac Mills:
Isaac may be spelled incorrectly.
The 1880 Polk County, Arkansas census records indicate Thomas was born in North Carolina. The same census indicates his father was born in Virginia and his mother was born in North Carolina. Their names are not known.
Thomas's exact whereabouts are not known between 1818 and 1846. We first found a record of him in the 1850 census for Polk County, Arkansas.The census indicated his first three children were born in Alabama, so we can assume he lived there from at least 1846 when their first son Henry was born until sometime in 1849 when their son Thomas J. was born. Notes from research done earlier by Mary D. Robinson show that Thomas and Nancy were married in Alabama, but we have not been able to confirm this.
In the 1850 census Thomas is listed as a carpenter, and in the 1860 census as a farmer. That census also indicated he had $1,200 in real estate and $1,800 in personal property.In the 1860's Thomas I. Mills and his family lived in the log cabin which still exists on its original site, located in Janssen Park in Mena, AR. His daughter Nancy married Elijah Cagle in the cabin in 1869. During this time Thomas contracted to handle the six mail routes out of old Dallas, the county seat, handling mail to and from Hot Springs, Fort Smith, Arkadelphia, and other points in Howard and Sevier counties. The 1860 census shows three mail carriers living in the Mills household.
Homestead and Cash Entry Patents before 1908 for what is now Polk County, Arkansas from the Federal Bureau of Land Management:
Mills, Thomas; Sec 31 Twp 2S R 29W; 40 Acres; 3/1/1855
Mills, Thomas; Sec 31 Twp 2S R 29W; 40.41 Acres; 3/1/1860
Mills, Thomas; Sec 31 Twp 2S R 29W; 40.31 Acres; 10/1/1860
Mills, Thomas; Sec 18 Twp 2S R 30W; 0 Acres; 6/10/1882
Mills, Thomas; Sec 18 Twp 2S R 30W; 0 Acres; 6/10/1882
Mills, Thomas; Sec 18 Twp 2S R 30W; 160 Acres; 6/10/1882
(These last three entries could be either Thomas I. or Thomas J.)
The 1870 Arkansas census lists the value of his personal estate at $1,000. From 1874 to 1878 Thomas served as a Polk County judge. In 1880 he is still listed as a farmer, with two sons still living at home working on the farm. This is the last record of Thomas Isaac Mills that we know of. Where and when he died is not certain.
According to Jo Blackman on 11/16/1998, Thomas I. Mills owned a flour mill near the cabin in Mena. Also, she says he is listed in a Cherokee land lottery in North Carolina.
More About Thomas Isaac Mills:
Occupation: Bet. 1874 - 1878, Judge of Polk County, Mena, AR6
Notes for Nancy E.:
The 1850 Center Township, Polk County, Arkansas census gives Nancy's place of birth as Tennessee. The 1880 census gives her parents place of birth as Tennessee as well.
According to Dean Mills, Nancy's middle name is Edelyn. However, on the death certificate of her daughter Nancy Elizabeth (Lizzie) Cagle, her mother's name is listed as Emily Lawrence. The last name was very hard to read and may be incorrect. Emily may in fact be Nancy E., as Emily was often a short form of Emaline. This is very close to Edelyn, which Dean said was her middle name. Nancy E. may have been called by her middle name as her daughter Nancy Elizabeth was.
In the 1880 Arkansas census the family listed next door to Nancy and Thomas is the family of Daniel Lawrence. More research needs to be done to determine if this could be a member of Nancy's family. By tracing Daniel's lineage we might find Nancy's. Daniel was born in 1825, just about the right age to be Nancy's brother. The census lists Daniel as a farmer, born in Tennessee.
The 1880 census is the last record we have of Nancy. The exact date of her death is unknown.
More About Thomas Mills and Nancy:
Marriage: Bef. 1846, Alabama7
Children of Thomas Mills and Nancy are:
2 | i. | Henry P.2 Mills, born 1846 in Alabama8; died Bef. 1860. |
Notes for Henry P. Mills: Henry is listed in the 1850 Arkansas census with his parents, Thomas I. and Nancy E. Mills. He was born in Alabama about 1846, as he is listed on the census as being 4 years old. Henry does not appear on any later census records, and a handwritten note by Jack Mills indicates that Henry drowned while still a child. |
+ | 3 | ii. | Nancy Elizabeth Mills, born July 01, 1848 in Alabama; died February 12, 1932 in Mena, Arkansas. | |
+ | 4 | iii. | Thomas J. Mills, born February 07, 1849 in Alabama; died December 08, 1894 in Indian Territory. | |
+ | 5 | iv. | Williamson R. Mills, born 1852 in Arkansas; died Unknown. | |
6 | v. | George W. Mills, born 1854 in Arkansas9; died Unknown. | ||
7 | vi. | Mary C. Mills, born 1857 in Arkansas9; died Unknown. | ||
8 | vii. | John M. Mills, born 1858 in Arkansas9; died Unknown. | ||
+ | 9 | viii. | Andrew J. Mills, born 1860 in Arkansas; died Unknown. | |
10 | ix. | Lena F. Mills, born 1865 in Arkansas10; died Unknown. | ||
+ | 11 | x. | Sarah Della Mills, born November 13, 1867 in Arkansas; died August 07, 1909. |