Ancestor Birthday - Oct 5 - William Milligan 1787 - 1845

My father, Lester Albertson, shared a birthday with his 2nd gt-grandfather, William Milligan, just 120 years apart. My father had his birthday post on the 5th and my 3rd gt-grandfather, William had to wait until today, October 6th.

I believe that William was born in Virginia 5 Oct 1787. A family history of the Gordon Family mentions him because 2 of his daughters married Gordon brothers. William married Nancy Patton 2 Oct 1812 in Rockbridge County Virginia. They were married by Daniel Blain, a Presbyterian minister.

They moved to Adams County, Ohio and lived in Wayne Township. He was probably the William Milligan listed in Wayne Township in 1823 and 1831 on the "male enumeration lists."

William and Nancy had 8 children. According to the Gordon book, they all had middle names. The children were Elizabeth Hawkins (my 2nd gt-grandmother), John Patton, James Campbell, Martha Barton, Rachel Amanda, Mary Jane, Phebe Elmira and William Steele.

The Gordon book lists his death date as 1849. However Adams County has an inventory of the estate of a William Milligan who died in 1845. I believe this was probably my William, although there were other William Milligans living in Adams County, with at least 2 still alive by 1847 in other townships. One item in the estate sale papers from 1845 state that 1 mans saddle went to Wm. S. Milligan "under the will." Most of the wills from Adams County were destroyed by a courthouse fire in the early 1900's, but since William and Nancy's youngest son was William Steele Milligan this helps my belief that my 3rd gt-grandfather was the William who died in 1845.

Ancestor Birthday - July 9th - Elizabeth Milligan 1813-1885

This is supposed to be a photo of Elizabeth Hawkins Milligan, my 3rd great-grandmother. It was shared with me by my cousin, Lauren "Bob" Smalley in 1994 at a family reunion.

Elizabeth was born 9 Jul 1813. Some sources give her birthplace as Virginia and other show Adams County Ohio. She was the daughter of William Milligan and Nancy Patton. The Rockbridge County Virginia marriage records show they were married 2 Oct 1812. Apparently they moved to Adams County Ohio within a few years after their marriage. Elizabeth was their oldest child and had 7 younger brothers and sisters. Two of her sisters married Gordon brothers and so family information is included in a Gordon family history.

Elizabeth married John Hemphill about 1836 in Adams County. He was married previously, so she had at step children. They had 6 children together before John died in 1847. She remained a widow until 14 Jan 1851 when she married William Hamilton. He also had been married before, so again she became a step-mother of at least 5. In fact in 1855 her oldest daughter, Nancy Hemphill, married one of William's sons, John C. Hamilton. Elizabeth and William had 3 children, so now Elizabeth had 9 children, plus Hemphill and Hamilton step-children.

William died in 1877, so Elizabeth was again a widow. On the 1880 census she was living with her 24 year old son Thomas. Elizabeth died at age 72 on 28 Nov 1885 and was buried at Tranquility Cemetery, Adams County Ohio.

An Unknown Cousin in Halsey

Pine Grove Cemetery, Halsey, Oregon

I grew up in the Halsey, Oregon, area. I knew I had some Hayes and Bond relatives in the area since my 3rd great-grandparents Hayes and 2nd great-grandparents Bond were original settlers there. In the early 1900s some of my Albertson and Falk ancestors moved into the area. When I graduated from Halsey High School I had an Albertson 2nd cousin and a Falk 2nd cousin in my graduating class. But I had no idea while growing up that I had any relatives from the Patton family who lived at Halsey. In fact, I had never even realized that I had any Patton ancestors.

When I began researching my family history in the mid-1980s, my Albertson, Falk, Bond and Hayes cousins shared much information with me. I began working on my Smalley relatives from Kansas and learned they had previously lived in Adams County Ohio. As was usual at that time, I began writing letters and corresponded with various relatives. When I had traced back to Nancy (Patton) Milligan, some of the correspondents noted that two of the Milligan daughters had married Gordon brothers. A Gordon descendant (Robert Abram Gordon) had self-published a book about the Gordon family and included sections on the Milligans and Pattons, so some of my ancestors were in it. Copies were shared with me and I began to study the book. Several generations down in the Patton family it noted that a certain descendant was born in "Halsey, Linn Co., Oregon," the daughter of Thomas Porter Patton who was born in Illinois in 1855 and died in 1933. If his daughter was born in Halsey and he didn't die until 1933, maybe my father, who lived in Halsey area from 1911, would have known him. So on one of my visits I asked my father if he remembered a Thomas Porter Patton. He replied yes. He and his father had considered buying some sheep that Thomas had for sale, but then decided against it.

Later in doing newspaper research in the microfilmed Halsey newspapers, in the Halsey Journal on 9 Mar 1933, there on the same page as a Falk item was an obituary for T. P. Patton. The headline stated: "Pioneer Passes." In the article: "Thomas Porter Patton was born in Illinois, June 26, 1855, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Patton. He came to Oregon in 1879, and has lived in this locality ever since." It also stated he would be buried at Pine Grove Cemetery. In a visit there looking for other relatives, I photographed his gravestone. I suspect that my grandmother Albertson never knew that her 2nd cousin twice removed lived close by. We probably have many unknown cousins out there.