[email protected] wrote: > I have a direct Link to James H. Mills born 28 Aug 1828 in Ohio Died 16 Nov > 1866 Indiana Married to Mary Smith. The 1850 Census of Whitley County Indiana > shows him living next door to Joseph Mills borrn 15 Feb 1821 Knox County Ohio > Married to Jane Michener? 16 Nov 18? Marion County Ohio (probably an Older > Brother) Joseph is the son of Thompson Mills? Am Looking to corispond with > someone who is familier with Joseph and Thompson Mills. I have the James H. Mills descendants. Dear Fritz: I have nothing on your James and Mary Mills, but I have some knowledge of Knox and Coshocton Co (OH) Mills that may be relevant. John and Rachel (Leonard) Mills came from Morgan Twp Greene Co PA to Knox Co in the early 1800s. Eventually (at least by 1814), they settled in Bladensburg, which is in the southeast portion of Knox Co. Among their children was Thompson Mills, probably b in the 1780s. A Knox Co court record includes Thompson Mills (and his brother Michael) as a witness in 1808, so we know he was still there. I have no further knowledge of Thompson and his children (if any), but neither have I tried to find it. I imagine you could track him. Bladensburg (Knox Co) is just about 15 miles from New Guilford, in Perry Twp, Coshocton Co (OH). A notice in the Coshocton Democrat, 19 Sep 1876, says: "Joseph Mills, one of the pioneer settlers of this county, died on the 4th inst, in the 87th year of his life. He was born July 4, 1790, and came to Coshocton Co and settled in Perry Twp in 1823, where he continued to reside for fifty three years." Land records show that Joseph actually bought Perry Twp land as early as 1820, and that he was "the original proprietor," meaning that he cleared and improved it for farming. In the 1824 tax roll, James Mills appears in Berlin Twp, Coshocton Co, but I suspect he is not part of this family. There is some reason to believe that this Joseph is Joseph Mills Jr, son of Joseph b 1754 who moved from Frederick Co MD to Bedford Co PA. Joseph Jr. was a gunsmith. Given the tendency of families to rely on relatives for help when moving, and the closeness of New Guilford and Bladensburg, I suspect there was kinship between John of Bladensburg and Joseph of New Guilford, but I have no evidence for it. But it would suggest that if Thompson Mills had a son Joseph, he might have been named for his (cousin? brother? nephew?) Joseph of Perry Twp, Coshocton Co. The Mills Family Genealogy volumes of Edward C. Mills (available from the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, and on microfilm for InterLibrary Loan) list some of Joseph and Mary (Exline) Mills' twelve children (Vol II, pp 50-54). One is Joseph W., b 1830 at New Guilford and d in Minerva IA in 1888. However, Joseph W. was still living in Perry Twp Coshocton in 1850, so I doubt that he can be yours. Finally, an article found by Shirley Evans refers to Samuel Mills, son of the Joseph who came to Coshocton in 1820. Samuel was born 1818 in PA and had nine children, including a Joseph and an S. A. Mills (probably Samuel). This youngest Samuel spent some years in Buckeye City (a few miles west, in Knox Co) but returned in 1882 to farm his grandfather's (Joseph Jr's) land. This also suggests a possible link to Knox County Mills, among whom the younger Samuel might have lived as a youth. Really finally, I am eager to locate descendants of John, Thompson, Michael, Joseph or James who are living Mills males and will do the DNA test with Family Tree DNA, where we have a terrific Mills project going. It is urgent that Mills men with solid paper trails back to the Ohio families of the early 19th century get into this DNA project. It's our best hope for resolving the confusion of Mills genetic lines. Ted Mills