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Marcus "Mark" Iler or Eiler
Born 1745? ?Germany
Died by Mar 19, 1789 Natchez District

SPOUSE	CHILDREN
Anna Maria Rhinehardt m. by 1767 ?Frederick Co. VA b. 1748? ?Frederick Co. VA d. Nov 3, 1806 Natchez, Adams Co., Miss. Terr.	Adolphus Jonas b. by 1767? ?Frederick Co. VA d. by Sep 7, 1805 Lost at sea
In Frederick Co. VA there are deed records that show, as either witness or owner of adjoining land between 1755 and 1774, individuals named "Adolph Ilor" and "Jonas Rhinehart" and in Dunmore Co. VA similar records involving "George Rindhart" and his assignor "Mark Ilor" between 1761 and 1774 [Northern Neck Land Grants, p.307]. During both of these periods Adolphus Jonas Iler was born, possibly named for siblings and/or parents of his parents.
Frederick Co. VA was formed in 1738 from Orange Co. (see present day map for location of Frederick Co. It is the northernmost county in VA, bordering WV not far from the state of Maryland. Dunmore Co. VA was formed on May 15, 1772 but renamed Shenandoah Co. on Feb 1, 1778 and now borders Frederick Co. to the southwest (see present day map) [familysearch.org, "Virginia County Creation Dates... "].
In 1768 Marcus bought land in what became Bourbon Co. KY from Isaac Ruddle. In 1773 "Marcus Isler" sold land to Adam Halker in what was Dunmore Co. VA and became Shenandoah Co. VA in 1778. According to Dunmore Co. Court Minutes dated Aug 27, 1776 "Mark Iler and wife" transfered land to Henry Fravell [McBee, pp. 596-7].
Between 1773 and 1778 the "guard ship" Royal Oak was stationed at Portsmouth (VA). On Dec 13, 1778 it sailed to the West Indies [threedecks.org, website]. Joseph Ford Sr., 1724?-1804, said that Mark came with him to [West Florida] from England on the ship Royal Oak about 1774 [McBee, Book B, p. 247].
Marcus seems to have arrived in Natchez about 1775 when it was part of the Province of British West Florida, but left when the Spanish took control and claimed land in the Cumberland Settlement of Washington Co. NC [now Tennessee] because he was a single taxable there in 1787 and a "Melchior Fain", also known as Marcus Fain, assigned his 640 acres on the Little Harpeth River as a Private in the Continental Army to Thomas Malloy, issued in 1797, but there is no entry date in the record [NC Land Records website].
The file number (2346), military warrant number (3634) and land grant number (2991) of Melchior's 1797 land claim were higher than those of all original claims in the area (between Hardiman's and Thompson's Stations, near the Wilderness Trail or Natchez Trace to the west). See Topolographical Map showing this area around Little Harpeth River [Drake, map F8]. This claim indicates that he arrived late to the Cumberland Settlement, possibly via the Wilderness Trail up from Natchez, and had served at least one year in the war.
Map of the Cumberland Settlement in 1780.
In May 1782, "Xphal Ryer & wife" arrived at Natchez without children or slaves. The "wife" may be the "Eliza Ophill" in the St. Catherine's Creek area in one of the translations of the 1792 Natchez District Census, identified as a widow (in Spanish) of [Mark] Iler [similar in sound to Ryer). The only other "familia" to arrive that day without children was recorded as William Barland under the name "Guillermo Barland" [Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, record at the Archives General of the Indies, Spain]. A total of 13 families were recorded by Spanish authorities as arriving, and the record was signed by Commandant Charles de Grand-Pré on Jul 6, 1782.
Map of the Natchez District as it may have looked between 1779 and 1799.
On Jan 18, 1787 a Census of the Natchez District was reported to the commandant, Charles de Grand-Pré: There were 1,926 Individuals; 25 male births, 20 female births, 4 male deaths, 3 female deaths, and 356 were able to carry arms. In Saint Catherine [St. Catherine's Creek section] 10 individuals were counted in the family of "Mark Oiler": 3 white males in age group 1 [Mark, Jonas, William Barland]; 1 white male in age group 2 [Andrew Barland]; 2 white females in age group 1 [Elizabeth, aged 21, and Anne Marie, wife of Jonas]; 1 white female in age group 2 [?dtr of Jonas' wife nee Miller]; 2 male mulatoes in age group 1 [slaves]; 1 female mulatoe in age group 1 [slave]; and 12 cattle; 3 horses, 30 hogs [Baker, wiki website].
In 1787, a George Fournay sold to Mark Iler, "140 arpents he purchased from John Row, near the Fort, bordered by lands of John Hartley, John Lusk and Saint Germain, for $400, $200 at end of present year [1787]; $100 at end of 1788; $100 at end of 1789" [McBee, Book A, p. 64]. This is where Iler had begun building Hope Farm, which was eventually bought by the Natchez District Commandant Charles de Grand-Pré to be his residence.
On Mar 19, 1789, "Having received notice from Jonas Hailer of the death of his father, Marcus Hailer, commandant [Grand-Pré] and others repaired to his plantation, 1 mile from Fort, to take an inventory of the deceased Marcus Hailer who died interstate [without a will], whereupon Jonas Hailer was interrogated and he made the declaration that his father had no children but the deponent and that he left no wife" [McBee, Book B, pp. 247-8].
Historians of the Hope Farm off of Homochitto Street in Natchez believe the back part was built by Mark Iler about the time he arrived there in 1774-5 "while the city was under British rule; the front wing was added by Carlos de Grand-Pré" [Historic Houses of America, American Heritage Books, 1971], after he purchased it from Jonas on Mar 21, 1789 for $100 a "parcel of land [owned by John Row and then John Forney from whom] my father Marcus Hailer, purchased" [McBee, Book B, pp. 247, 581].
In a 1789 deposition after the death of Mark Iler was reported by his son, Jonas, "Joseph Fort" (Joseph Ford Sr., 1724?-1804) said that Mark came to this country from England on the ship Royal Oak with him about 14 years ago [1775] and "he did not know him to be married nor that he had other children than the one present [Jonas] whose mother died in America" [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book B, p. 64]. Six "young men" came to West Florida in 1775 from England aboard the ship Royal Oak, participated in the West Florida rebellion in Bayou Sara (before it was part of the Natchez Dist. and now within Louisiana), and then settled in the Natchez District [Louisiana Anthology, website].
Bayou Sara no longer exists because the Mississippi River now runs through it. In 1820 it was partly in Wilkinson Co. MS (formed in 1802 from a part of Adams Co.) and a part of West Feliciana LA, south of the town of Natchez (see present day map for location of Wilkinson Co. and present day map for location of West Feliciana Parish.
A Spanish grant to "Mark Oiler" for 400 acres on St. Catherine's Creek, 5 mi. east from Fort, bordered by lands of Mr. Andrews and Richard Adams, Lewis Bingaman and Peter Surget (also in the 1792 Natchez Census) was mentioned later as the 400 acres bordering lands of "Mrs. McIntosh" and others, that was "sold by his lawful heir to Christian Harman [McBee, p. 384].
The Will and Testament of William Barland, Adams Co., MS, written Jun 19, 1806, proven in Apr 1816. In it he states that on Apr 7, 1789 he "did purchase my friend and companion Elizabeth Barland and three infant children, ... of Jonas Eiler, then of the City of Natchez, of whom the said Jonas Eiler then put me in possession, and furnished me with a legal Bill of Sale..." [Historic Natchez Foundation, Miss. St. Univ., website].
On May 17, 1790, "Jonas Eiler" son of Marcus sold to William Barland "a mulatto woman 'Elizabeth', aged 25, nat. of America, with her four children, for $700 specie, paid" [McBee, p. 78]. If she was the woman identified by the Spanish as the "wife" of Marcus in May 1782, she would have been about 17 years old then.
According to a translation of the 1792 Spanish Census for the Natchez District, there is no Barland household, but there is an "Oiler, the Gentleman" household with 8 white members, and one black, living on 800 arpents of land. This would have to be William Barland, Elizabeth, their five children, and Jonas Iler, the heir of the estate. The translator may have confused "Gentleman" for the Spanish word for widow [Adams Co. Gen. Hist. Network].
On Sep 5, 1805, a signed agreement between "Abraham Iler" and the sons of "Mark Iler" was submitted to the Adams Co. Court. A transcription of the agreement which was signed by Abraham Iler, "Jacob Eiler", and "Job Routh". The "believed" death of Jonas is mentioned. Mark's stepson Christopher Miller also signed the aggreement on the same day "to lend myself as surety that the above named Jacob Iler shall comply" [Adams Co. Chancery Court file, "Estate of Mark Iler (or Eiler) deceased", box no. 49, item 4].
On Sep 26, 1805, an inventory was authorized for the estate of "Jonas Iler, late of said county [Adams] deceased" [Adams Co. Miss. Terr. Orphan's Court].
In the Will and Testament of William Barland, Adams Co., MS, written Jun 19, 1806, proven in Apr, 1816. In it he states that "on or about" Dec 27, 1792 his house was burned, losing Jonas' bill of sale and manuscription from 1789 in the fire. On Jun 6, 1797 he "did confirm the freedom or manuscription" [Historic Natchez Foundation, Miss. St. Univ., website].
On Nov 3, 1806, wife Anne Marie Eiler died in Natchez "on Monday evening last in the "59th year of her age" [Mississippi Messenger of Natchez, obituary of Mrs. Anne M. Eiler, Nov 4, 1806].
St. Francisville is a city along the northwest bank of the Mississippi River. See present day map for location in West Feliciana Parish. Wilkinson Co. was formed in 1802 from a part of Adams Co. and a part of West Feliciana Parish, south of the town of Natchez (see present day map for location of Wilkinson Co.)
On Oct 1, 1869, the Obituary of Jacob Eiler appeared in the Vicksburg newspaper with the Natchez Gazette as the source. It stated that he was a Natchez merchant for a number of years; married in 1816; and was the "oldest native resident of this county, born in this county [Adams] in 1797 [sic]" [Vicksburg Daily Times, 01 Oct 1869, Fri, page 1]. In Natchez Sexton Records - Jacob died Sep 28, 1869 aged 83.6 Years as recorded by Dr. J. S. King.
Sources: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. Baker, Anne, www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eiler-186, last updated Mar 23, 2024. Cumberland Compact, original document signed May 13, 1780, Washington County NC, website. Clayton, Prof. W.W., History of Davidson County Tennessee, reprod. 1971 by Charles Elder, Nashville TN. MS Dept. Archives & Hist., Will Book Vol. 1, Adams Co. Courthouse, Natchez MS, microfilm, Apr 1816. Drake, Doug, Jack Masters and Bill Puryear, Founding of the Cumberland Settlements, The First Atlas, 1779-1804, Warioto Press, 2009, map F8. Historic Natchez Foundation, "William Barland Sr. and William Barland Jr. Probate File", Box 2, Adams County Probate Records, Miss. St. Univ. website]. Imbert, J. Leopold, map maker, Carte des Possessions Angloises... 1777, reprinted by the Museum of the American Revolution from map image at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library. Louisiana Anthology, website. McBee, May Wilson, comp., "Land Claims", in Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Book F, p.21. McBee, May Wilson, comp., Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Greenwood MS, 1953, v. 2, pp. 581, 596-7, Book A, pp. 64, 78, Book B, pp. 84, 247-8. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Americans Arriving in Spanish-Held Natchez 1780-1790. MSGenWeb, Natchez District 1792 Census Index, comp. by Ellen Pack, website, transcribed and translated from Spanish. North Carolina Land Grants, Davidson Co. TN, #2991, website Potter, Dorothy Williams, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, Gateway Press, Baltimore MD, 1982, p. 342. Univ. of NC, Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, "Roster of the Troops in the Continental Army", vol. 16, on website, 1st Reginment, pp. 1060, 1073. Wells, Carol, Natchez Postscripts 1781-1798, Heritage Books, pp. 101, 144-5, 151, Whitley, Edythe Rucker, comp., Pioneers of Davidson Co., Tennessee, Clearfield Publ., 2009.