| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Marcus "Mark" Iler or Eiler m. by 1767 ?Frederick Co. VA b. 1745? ?Germany d. by Mar 19, 1789 Natchez District |
Adolphus Jonas b. by 1767? ?Frederick Co. VA d. by Sep 7, 1805 Lost at sea |
||
|
William G. Miller m. by 1770? ?Frederick Co. VA b. 1750? ?Frederick Co. VA d. after 1820 ??Rapides Parish LA or Tuskegee, Macon Co. AL |
Christopher b. Mar 12, 1770 ?Frederick Co. VA d. Dec 24, 1854 Natchez MS |
Joach b. by 1771 ?Frederick Co. VA d. by Mar 15, 1855 St. Francisville LA |
Susannah b. 1772? ?Dunmore Co. VA d. Feb 15, 1838 St. Francisville LA |
|
Anna Madeline b. 1774 ?Dunmore Co. VA d. Oct 20, 1820 St. Francisville LA |
Anne Marie (twin) b. 1774 ?Dunmore Co. VA d. 1812 Rapides Parish LA |
||
|
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,
p. 596]. |
|||
|
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 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 ?]; 1 white female in age group 2 [?dtr of Elizabeth]; 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]. |
|||
|
On Jun 25, 1787, son Christopher Miller and possibly his mother, Anne Marie, and
her new husband Jonas Iler all witnessed the will
of Lucy Crane. The witnesses were recorded by the Natchez Court on Aug 26, 1787,
upon notice of her death, as "Moore Cilon, Jonas Cilon, Christopher Miller,
Esther Bradshaw" with Cilon being misread or misspelled from Oiler [McBee, p. 42]. |
|||
|
In 1787, a George Forney sold to
Marcus Tyler [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 may be where Iler had begun building Hope Farm, which was eventually
bought by Natchez District Commandant
Charles de Grand-Pré to be his residence. |
|||
|
On Nov 3, 1788 "Margaret Tyler" (likely Marcus' wife) was one of the witnesses of
the will of Anne Gaillard [McBee, Book B, p. 59]. The plantation of "Mistress
Gillaird" produced 12,800 lbs. of tobacco in 1790 [MDAH, website]. |
|||
|
On Dec 31, 1788 a William Miller family of 3 (possibly with his second wife and a
child), along with two other families ("Fooy" or Foye and Bassitt), arrived in
Natchez from the "Chacta (CHOCTAW NATION)" which meant they travelled by land
either from the east, possibly through Alabama and from as far as the Carolinas,
or down the Wilderness Trail which became known as the Natchez Trace [MDAH,
website]. |
|||
|
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 ... my father
Marcus Hailer, purchased" [McBee, 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. |
|||
|
In a letter dated Mar 2, 1790, from
Carlos de Grand-Pré, Natchez to
Governor Don Estavan Miro, the amount of tobacco produced in 1790 was reported
by growers of Natchez. A "Archd. Miller" plantation reported producing
3,400 pounds of tobacco and a "William Meller" plantation reported producing
100 pounds of tobacco that year [MS Dept of Archives & History, website]. |
|||
|
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]. |
|||
|
On May 17, 1790, "Jonas Eiler" 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. |
|||
| Son Christopher married Hannah Elizabeth Boyd (1775-1848). They were both buried in historic Natchez City Cemetery, but there his grave marker says he was moved to Hagerstown MD [Find-a-Grave, website] | |||
|
Daughter Susannah married a native of Scotland, John Scott (1760-1801). He died
Jun 19, 1801 in Natchez. She then married Philander Smith (1765-1824), who died
in Natchez [Find-a-Grave, website]. |
|||
|
Portraits of son
Christopher Miller
and daughter
Susannah Miller Smith
[Find-a-Grave, website]. |
|||
|
The last two Miller children were twins who married the brothers Jeremiah Routh
Jr.(1763?-1815) by 1792 and after 1792
Job Routh (1762?-1834), the future owners
of Dunleith plantation. |
|||
|
Portrait
of son-in-law Job Routh [find-a-grave]. |
|||
|
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]. |
|||
|
In the
1792 Census
for the Natchez District,
there are two Miller families: "Guillermo Miller", with no land but having 4 white persons [William, wife Anne Marie, Christopher and the twin unmarried daughter] living in Bayou Pierre, and "Roberto Miller", with 6 persons living on 250 arpents of land in Homochitto, part of which became Wilkinson Co. There is a "Jeremiah Routh" household with two persons and no land, and "Job Routh", a single man with 400 arpents of land, both in Villa Gayoso which later included parts of Jefferson & Franklin Counties [Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network}. |
|||
|
On Apr 15, 1794 son Christopher Miller bought from
William Barland Lot no. 2, Sq. no. 21 in
the "new town of this Post [Natchez] ... part of the ground granted to [Barland
by Miro], said lot 150 feet square, for $30" and then sold it on Apr 22, 1803
[McBee, p. 412, Book C, p. 101]. |
|||
|
A William Miller partnered with Alexander Fulton (1764-1818), an Indian trader
who came to Rapides Parish "in the early 1790s from Pennsylvania" and formed a
"monopoly to trade with the Indians of this section" and built a store on the
banks of the Red River. In Jun 1805, William became the county Judge and Alexander
the coroner. In Feb 1805, Alexander Fulton named and laid out the town of
Alexandria LA. William served as a judge until May 1807 and a few years later
returned north, living in several states, including "Maryland where he died"
[LAGenWeb, rapidesgenealogy.org, "Development..."]. |
|||
|
William Miller and Alexander Fulton (1764-1818) were "traders at the post of
Rapides as early as 1803" after Choctaw, Pascagoula and Beluxy Indian land on
Bayou Boeuf was sold and certified through a petition signed by many Indian
leaders in May 1802. William Miller himself claimed land "at falls of Row Gully
Bayou" [AHGP, "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of
Northwest Louisiana", website]. |
|||
|
On Sep 7, 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 son Jonas Iler is
mentioned. Anne Marie's eldest son,
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 son "Jonas Iler,
late of said county [Adams] deceased" [Adams Co. Miss. Terr. Orphan's Court]. |
|||
|
On Jan 7, 1806, "Joach Miller, resident of Feliciana" (Louisiana) sold 300
arpents of land that "was granted to my sister, Susannah, widow of John Scott"
[Archives of Spanish West Florida 1782-1810] |
|||
|
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 Nov 3, 1806, Anne Marie 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]. |
|||
|
By 1808, son Abram married Pheriby ?. |
|||
|
The "heirs" of "W. Miller" (possibly Widow Anne or her first husband William) were
taxed in the
1810 Tax Roll of Claiborne Co., on page 10, line 25, owning 460 acres of
land in W. Bayou Pierre, with no polls slaves [Kohler, 1810 Claiborne Co.
Tax Roll]. |
|||
|
A "Mary Miller" (daughter Anne Marie who later married
Job Routh) was listed
as a head of family of 5, including 3 daughters under the age of 21) in the 1810
Claiborne Co. Census, on line 7 of
page 18 [MDAH]. |
|||
|
In the 1816 Adams Co. MS Census, on line 10 of
page 21
was the household of "Jacob Eiler" with: 2 males older than 21 [Jacob, ?his brother Abram], one male under age 21 [his brother Thomas], and no females or slaves [MDAH, Adams Co. Census]. |
|||
|
Jacob Eiler (a grandson, and the son of Jonas), married Eleanor Martha Smith
in 1816 at St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish LA. Her tombstone at the
Routh Cemetery across from Dunleith Plantation in Natchez reads "Wife Of Jacob
Eiler Born 6 Jan. 1797 Died 5 Jan. 1851 Aged 54 Years... Her Remains Here
Deposited Near Her Husband's Father & Mother" [Find-a-grave, website]. |
|||
|
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.). |
|||
|
In 1820, grandson "Abram Iler" headed a large household of 27 members in Wilkinson Co.
MS. On page 364, line 20 of
1820 Wilkinson Co. Census
the oldest white males in the household were aged 26-35 [born by 1795], and four
were counted. There was one white female aged 45 or older [born by 1775] and one
female aged 26-35. 8 members, including 4 slaves, in the household were engaged
in agriculture [USGenWeb, website]. |
|||
|
In the 1820 Rapides Parish LA Census,
page 132,
line 30, in the Red River section, there is a William Miller with 3 children under
age 10, a male aged 26-44 [child who arrived in Natchez Dec 31, 1788], a female
aged 16-26, and a male and female both over the age of 45 [William and his second wife].
Also 3 slaves for a total of 5 persons engaged in agriculture [Rapides Parish
1820 Census]. |
|||
|
A William Miller was partners with Alexander Fulton (1764-1818), an Indian trader
who came to Rapides Parish "in the early 1790s from Pennsylvania" and formed a
"monopoly to trade with the Indians of this section" and built a store on the
banks of the Red River. In 1805, William became the county Judge and Alexander the
coroner [LAGenWeb, rapidesgenealogy.org, "Development..."]. |
|||
|
Daughter Anne Marie Routh died on Oct 20, 1820 aged 46. Her husband
Job Routh died in Rapides Parish on Dec 12,
1834 aged 72. They and most of the Millers and Rouths are buried in the Routh
Cemetery in Natchez [MSGHN
Photo
of grave marker]. |
|||
|
Son "Christopher Miller" was listed on
page 12,
line 10, as head of a household of 2 white males and 2 white females in Adams Co.
MS in 1853 living outside of the city of Natchez. Listed on line 9 was another
"W J ?? C Miller" household of only 2 females, likely belonging to a widow
[MDAH, Adams Co. MS 1853 Census, page 12, col. 1, line 10]. |
|||
|
The will of Jacob Eiler, dated Mar 15, 1855, probated Sep 1869, mentioned nieces
through half-brother Joash Miller, deceased, and of Christopher Miller [Adams Co.
Will Book 3, page 371, find-a-grave website]. |
|||
|
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. AHGP, Rapides Parish, Louisiana History and Genealogy, "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana", website. Archives of Spanish West Florida 1782-1810, vol. X, p. 292-93, roll 176. 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. Kohler, Lee, transcriber, 1810 Claiborne Co. Tax Rolls, genealogytrails website. LAGenWeb, "Section II The Antebellum Period 1804-1861... Development of Alexandria-Pineville Trade Center", rapidesgenealogy.org, website. 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. 42, 131, 549, 596, Book A, pp. 64, 78, Book B, pp. 84, 247-8, Book C, p. 101. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Americans Arriving in Spanish-Held Natchez 1788-1790. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Early Mississippians in Spanish Natchez. MDAH, MS Territorial Census 1810, Claiborne and Warren Cos. MDAH, Adams Co. MS 1816 Census, Territorial Census 1801-1816 website, microfilm. MDAH, Adams Co. MS 1853 Census, State Census Returns 1818-1880, website, microfilm. 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. Rapides Parish, 1820 Census, S-K Publ., 2003, p. 132. 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. |
|||