Aside from trying to determine if my John Mills (II) of Windham belonged to the John Mills, UE of Clinton family I also had to sort out the descendants of James Mills UE. James and Johns descendants had tangled up the land originally granted to these two men and their children.
James Mills UE John Mills UE
Of Flamboro of Clinton
Land in Ancaster & Delaware Land in Grimsby
son John Mills son John Mills SUE
son applied 1799 son applied 1817
Rec’d land in Flamboro? Rec’d land in Lobo
Two Mills – James of Flamboro/Ancaster & John of Grimsby/Clinton applied for land as Loyalists as both had served the Crown during the American Revolution.
Both men, James & John had a son “John” who applied for land - John of Flamboro and John of Grimsby (settling in Windham). Over the years who their fathers were and where their land was has been mixed together. With the digitization of land grants I was able to finally figure out the genealogy of these two loyalist families.
In the Flamboro family, James Mills applied for land as Loyalist in November 1794
· “fought in the French War and has suffered in the late Rebellion of America for his loyalty and lately removed to this country for protection to settle after the order of proclamation as a subject with a large family”
· In April 1799 James son John applied for a patent for part of his fathers land in Ancaster and Delaware:
“resided for six years in the province and is the eldest son and heir of his late father James Mills of Ancaster who deceased about three years ago having received previous thereto, an order of council for 300 acres of land – 200 of which was located in Ancaster & the remaining in Delaware Township. That the Patent for the prementioned lands having never issued to his said father. Your petitioner humbly prays your honor that a patent therefore maybe issued in your petitioners name.” John Mills
A grant of 100 acres of the above mentioned land is in the surveyors office.
Written on the side “Solomon & Isaac & Jemima married Jno. McGarrison are brothers and sister to the petitioner James Mills in the States? another brother”
· In March of 1816 a family member of John Mills (son of James) sent an inquiry to the land office regarding the land that was granted to their ancestor, James. The answer indicates how the above mentioned Mills loyalists became tangled together.
“In answer to your note of yesterdays date, I have the honor to inform you that I do not find in the Township of Flamboro East any location in the name of John Mills. In Flamboro West have located the Lots #21 & 22 in the front or first concession upon Cootes Paradise containing about 280 acres under an order in council of the 27 May 1794.
I also find John Mills located lots #8 & 9 in the fifth concession of Grimsby – 200 acres, under an order in council of the 8th October 1796 – but whether these are one and the same person I cannot say. (and they weren’t; the land in Grimsby belonged to my John Mills.)
PS: On further search, I perceive that a John Mills had obtained a grant of lot #25 in the 1st concession of Ancaster, 200 acres under the Niagara commission in 1803, James Mills being the original nominee – and under the London commission in 1803 John Mills of Flamboro west has been allowed the west half of Lot #4 in the 4th concession of the Delaware township the claimants father, James Mills being the original nominee.”
In the Grimsby family, John Mills applied for land in 1794:
· John Mills Sr. of (Clinton) Grimsby applied for land in 1794 He was formerly an inhabitant of Sussex County, NJ; lost nearly all what he possessed of in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty or eighty one on that account was long imprisoned indicted and satt (sic) in a pillory for a long time. In an extreme late season that is nearly lost him his life and for a long time rendered him incapable of supporting his family and obliged him to remain in the state in a miserable way and that he hath lately come into this Province with his family.
Received lots #8 & 9 in the fifth concession of Grimsby
In 1797 John Mills of Grimsby applied for a further grant of 200 acres and received lot 15 & 16 Con 4 in Grimsby.
His son John (II) did not apply for his “son of a loyalist” land until 1817 at which time John II was granted land in Lobo.
· That your Petitioner is the son of John Mills Senior of the township of Clinton, an enrolled UE Loyalist, is of the full age of Twenty one years, has taken the Oath of Allegiance and has never had any lands, or order for lands from the Crown.
(This is how John Mills Sr. of Grimsby became John Mills Sr. of Clinton, His land grants were in Grimsby. I think in old age he moved in with one of his daughters who was living in Clinton, about the time John Jr. submitted his petition for land as the son of a loyalist)
The March 1816 letter plus the document below seems to be what fostered the confusion about the three Johns. I am not sure if it was heirs of James of Flamboro or John of Grimsby that instigated the 1858 request to clarify their ancestors' grants of UE land. The interpretation by family members, of the 1816 letter from the land board, was that John of Clinton/Grimsby and John of Flamboro, SUE James Mills, were one in the same person. If this request was indeed instigated by the descendants of John #2 then his death date would be about 1844. This is the document:
· Legislative Assembly 14th July 1858
Sometime in 1809 the Crown grants to John Mills of Grimsby, four lots of land; one in Burford, one in Delaware, one in Charlotteville and two in Woodhouse, patents for which were never found. The Grantee died some fourteen years since having the present applicant his heir at law. Owing to circumstances, the matter has not been attended to until now and the object of the present letter is to ascertain whether or not the Grant is still available for the benefit of the heirs at law.
In pencil along the side W ¼ 4-4 Delaware
18-4 Delaware (Middlesex)
14-1 Burford (Brant)
(Archives of Ontario – RG 1 Series A-1-6 Vol. 32 7 6 68 Will M.H. Foley to this ______lands legal example – July 14, 1858 for advice respecting claim – RG 1 Series A-1-6 Vol. 32)
Burford Twp papers Zone 5th Mar 1846
Lot #14 – first concession Josiah Bennett of Barton in the district of Niagara – on back of this James Mills, Jr.; certificate of Settlement – duty performed by him on Lot 14, Co. of Burford, 9 Dec 1805, entered in Bk of lot #15, p. 491.
Personally appeared Josiah Bennet of Barton and made oath that there are five acres of land cleared and fenced on lot 14 in the 1st, region of Burford in the ___ that is, a dwelling house erected on said lot which is or has been inhabited and that 1 of the road in front of said lot is well cleared. Sworn before me at York this 9th day of ____ 1805. Signed by Josiah Bennett and sworn by Alexander Woods and located in the name of James Mills, Jr.
I wrote to the Ontario Archives (1987) to find out if there was more information about this case and their reply was:
W 1/2 lot 4, Con 4 Delaware and Lot 14, Con 1 Burford, patented to James Mills 1797, 1805."
I thought I was having trouble sorting out the various John Mills, some 160 years ago they had a similar problem – the above 1858 letter made some wrong assumptions based on the 1816 letter which mentioned both John Mills of Flamboro and John Mills of Grimsby “but whether these are one and the same person I cannot say.” Misinterpreting or making an assumption that the two John’s were one in the same led to the conclusion that somehow John Mills Sr & Jr of Grimsby and James Mills of Flamboro and his son John were all related. Maybe they were but their land grants were separate. James is not a name that has been used in my John Mills family.
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