Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameJohn MILLS 
Birthabt 1730, Stamford?, Fairfield, Connecticut1695, p 3
Removal28 Jun 1783, Saint John, St. John, New Brunswick, Canada2283, p 10 Age: 53
Memoaboard the Two Sisters
Removal1784, Nova Scotia, Canada1695, p 3 Age: 54
Death1793679, p 1 Age: 63
BurialRiver Hebert, Cumberland, Nova Scotia, Canada1695, p 4
FatherJohn MILLS III , 103 (1710-1746)
MotherTabitha DIBBLE (1713->1763)
Individual Notes
• A minor in 1746 when he chose Edward Nash of Norwalk, Conn., to be his guardian upon the death of John Mills III. A farmer living in Stamford at the time of the Amer. Rev.
Arrived at St. John, NB on the Two Sisters with wife and 7 children. In 1784 moved to NS, where sons received land grants on R. Remsheg.1695, p 3
• Mills, John. Loyalist; Cumberland Co. 1784 (391:43).1682, p 433
• From Southampton, N. S. Township Records, we find that Jesse was son of John and Sarah Mills said to be from Stamford (CT) in New England. We already know that there was a line of John Mills (Barbour Collection: CT Vital Records, Stamford 1641-1852) living in the Stamford area since 1702 or earlier, so why would we not assume that John originally came from Stamford rather than Bedford?1692
• His [Jesse] parents were listed on the town books as “John and Sarah Mills of ‘Hanford’ in New England.” “Hanford” did prove to be “Stamford,” but it was just the start of making adjustments and interpretations.1695, p 3
• See David Mills and John Mills of Cumberland Co., Nova Scotia, circa 1784 for discussion of possible relationship of David and John.1684 And further discussion postulating John as son of Zachariah Mills and his second wife, Martha Miller.2284, p 6
• His line not continued in Mills Ancestry.2285, p 2 Perhaps the same man as John, b 1724 in Mills Ancestry.1676, pp 6-7
Arrived at St. John, NB on the Two Sisters with wife and 7 children. In 1784 moved to NS, where sons received land grants on R. Remsheg.1695, p 3
• Mills, John. Loyalist; Cumberland Co. 1784 (391:43).1682, p 433
• From Southampton, N. S. Township Records, we find that Jesse was son of John and Sarah Mills said to be from Stamford (CT) in New England. We already know that there was a line of John Mills (Barbour Collection: CT Vital Records, Stamford 1641-1852) living in the Stamford area since 1702 or earlier, so why would we not assume that John originally came from Stamford rather than Bedford?1692
• His [Jesse] parents were listed on the town books as “John and Sarah Mills of ‘Hanford’ in New England.” “Hanford” did prove to be “Stamford,” but it was just the start of making adjustments and interpretations.1695, p 3
• See David Mills and John Mills of Cumberland Co., Nova Scotia, circa 1784 for discussion of possible relationship of David and John.1684 And further discussion postulating John as son of Zachariah Mills and his second wife, Martha Miller.2284, p 6
• His line not continued in Mills Ancestry.2285, p 2 Perhaps the same man as John, b 1724 in Mills Ancestry.1676, pp 6-7
Spouses
Birthabt 1732, Bedford?, Westchester, New York1687, p 76
BurialRiver Hebert, Cumberland, Nova Scotia, Canada1695, p 4
FatherJohn HOLMES (~1697-<1763)
MotherJemima BEECHER (1698->1763)
Individual Notes
• Unproven that wife Sarah is a Holmes (see HOLMES genealogy).1687, p 76
• It is possible that James Holmes’ sisters Rebecca and Sarah were the wives of our David and John Mills of NS. Here are some interesting connections:
1. James Holmes like David and John Mills was a loyalist and went to NS after the Revolution (although James Holmes returned to Bedford.) (David Mills son George stayed in Bedford until after 1790.)
2 James Holmes was the Lieutenant of the Company at Ticonderoga during the F&I War. Peter Mills, David’s brother served in that company and died that year (Probably killed in battle at Ticonderoga while serving under James Holmes.
3. The name Dorcas is significant. None of the sisters of David Mills’s Holmes or Mills ancestors were named Dorcas. So his daughter Dorcas was probably named from his wife Rebecca’s side. Rebecca Holmes’s sister was named Dorcas. This is not a common name.
4. Rebecca and Sarah Holmes, sisters of James Holmes, are the right age range and the Bedford Genealogies do not give their husbands’ names.
5. If Rebecca and Sarah were sisters, that would help explain the closeness of the families in NS since John and David Mills were apparently quite distantly related.
6. John Mills lived in Norwalk Conn and David Mills in Bedford before the Revolution. It is not known if there were any connections between their families there but there easily could have been. James Holmes’s mother was born in New Haven and James Holmes himself retired there during the last part of his wife.
7. It seems probable that David Mills’ wife Rebecca might have had strong loyalist ties. David Mills himself did not serve in the Revolution on either side. (Some of his uncles and cousins were active Patriots while his brother Reuben was apparently a Loyalist soldier.) He was able to sell his land in Bedford in 1791. What made him go to NS in 1785?
8. The fact that David Mills and Rebecca Holmes were 2nd cousins (And Jesse Mills and Martha Mills would be 1st cousins) helps rather than argues against the hypotheses since such marriages were very common in the Bedford Genealogies.
Of course this hardly proves the hypotheses that Rebecca and Sarah Holmes were the wives of David and John Mills. But the clues are very strong, and they give a strong reason to conduct any possible further research that might relate to this family. I would be interested in any details or scraps which either confirmed or contradicted this idea, or leads on the investigation of the Holmes Family. I noticed that in the BEDFORD GENEALOGIES Bibliography, Ronald B Reynolds of Katonah NY had a MMS collection relating to Holmes, Miller, Renolds and Seely Families. (I am also researching Millers and Seelys) I would like to see that but do not know about disturbing private persons.
Dennis Kenaga1674, p 5
• There is absolutely NO evidence that Sarah was a HOLMES. I checked the Holmes Genealogy in the Bedford Records and could not come up with any Sarah Holmes married to a John Mills. Even though the female marriage records were not as complete as the males, if the marriage was in Bedford, it was usually recorded.2286, p 4
• It is possible that James Holmes’ sisters Rebecca and Sarah were the wives of our David and John Mills of NS. Here are some interesting connections:
1. James Holmes like David and John Mills was a loyalist and went to NS after the Revolution (although James Holmes returned to Bedford.) (David Mills son George stayed in Bedford until after 1790.)
2 James Holmes was the Lieutenant of the Company at Ticonderoga during the F&I War. Peter Mills, David’s brother served in that company and died that year (Probably killed in battle at Ticonderoga while serving under James Holmes.
3. The name Dorcas is significant. None of the sisters of David Mills’s Holmes or Mills ancestors were named Dorcas. So his daughter Dorcas was probably named from his wife Rebecca’s side. Rebecca Holmes’s sister was named Dorcas. This is not a common name.
4. Rebecca and Sarah Holmes, sisters of James Holmes, are the right age range and the Bedford Genealogies do not give their husbands’ names.
5. If Rebecca and Sarah were sisters, that would help explain the closeness of the families in NS since John and David Mills were apparently quite distantly related.
6. John Mills lived in Norwalk Conn and David Mills in Bedford before the Revolution. It is not known if there were any connections between their families there but there easily could have been. James Holmes’s mother was born in New Haven and James Holmes himself retired there during the last part of his wife.
7. It seems probable that David Mills’ wife Rebecca might have had strong loyalist ties. David Mills himself did not serve in the Revolution on either side. (Some of his uncles and cousins were active Patriots while his brother Reuben was apparently a Loyalist soldier.) He was able to sell his land in Bedford in 1791. What made him go to NS in 1785?
8. The fact that David Mills and Rebecca Holmes were 2nd cousins (And Jesse Mills and Martha Mills would be 1st cousins) helps rather than argues against the hypotheses since such marriages were very common in the Bedford Genealogies.
Of course this hardly proves the hypotheses that Rebecca and Sarah Holmes were the wives of David and John Mills. But the clues are very strong, and they give a strong reason to conduct any possible further research that might relate to this family. I would be interested in any details or scraps which either confirmed or contradicted this idea, or leads on the investigation of the Holmes Family. I noticed that in the BEDFORD GENEALOGIES Bibliography, Ronald B Reynolds of Katonah NY had a MMS collection relating to Holmes, Miller, Renolds and Seely Families. (I am also researching Millers and Seelys) I would like to see that but do not know about disturbing private persons.
Dennis Kenaga1674, p 5
• There is absolutely NO evidence that Sarah was a HOLMES. I checked the Holmes Genealogy in the Bedford Records and could not come up with any Sarah Holmes married to a John Mills. Even though the female marriage records were not as complete as the males, if the marriage was in Bedford, it was usually recorded.2286, p 4
Marriageabt 1749, Bedford, Westchester, New York679, p 1; marriage only,2287, place only