This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Hilliard, Hillyard Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/CkB.2ACI/1933 Message Board Post: According to a newspaper article I have in hand, in August 1894 a number of people were travelling through Colorado County on their way from Bell County to Jackson County. The group was camped south of Columbus when a storm came up. Lightning struck the wagon of Tom and Mary "Hillyard," killing them both. Tom, 22, and Mary 20, were buried in Columbus. The article says they had sold their property in Bell County and purchased property in Jackson County. The article also says that they had a baby who survived the lightning strike, but "with a livid red streak encircling one of its eyes and also around its neck, and a large red spot just behind one ear." This description aroused my curiosity. I have the two volume Bell County history, but can find nothing in it about these people. I note that two Hilliards wrote a piece about the family of John Lafayette Hilliard, but I did not see Tom mentioned. What I would like to know is, what became of this baby? Was it a boy or a girl? Was it adopted by another family on the expedition and raised in Jackson County? Was it sent back to Bell County to be raised by relatives? Is there any memory of a person in the Hilliard family who had marks on his or her face like those described? Perhaps this child became the first superhero, able to shoot lightning from his fingertips. If so, perhaps he or she maintained a secret identity? If not, can anyone identify him or her?