Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameRebecca TANNER? 
Birthabt 1609, England2653
Deathaft 24 Mar 16822662, p 12,2446, p 3 Age: 73
FlagsLegatee in Will
Individual Notes
• Discussion of “Who was George Mills’ first wife?”2663, p 10
• My will [Nicholas Tanner of Rusdorp (the Dutch name of Jamaica)] is that BETHIA MILLS shall have a cow and a calf, and that she and her mother shall have £10 more betwixt them to buy them clothes with.2432, p 4 (old)
• The above mentioned Deed is the only record in which the wife of GEORGE MILLS appears; no further account of her has been found.2432, p 2 (old)
• My will [Nicholas Tanner of Rusdorp (the Dutch name of Jamaica)] is that BETHIA MILLS shall have a cow and a calf, and that she and her mother shall have £10 more betwixt them to buy them clothes with.2432, p 4 (old)
• The above mentioned Deed is the only record in which the wife of GEORGE MILLS appears; no further account of her has been found.2432, p 2 (old)
Spouses
1George MILLS , 1
, 1Birth1605, Yorkshire, England2447, p 510; gives 1585 as birth year,2653,2654,2442,2655
Death17 Oct 1694, Jamaica, Queens, Long Island, New York2657,2653,2658, p 36,679, p 1,2441, p 9,2446, p 3; probably Age: 89
Residence1656, Hempstead, New York2656
ResidenceJamaica, Long Island, New York2659
Occupation“probably a clergyman”2658, p 36
OccupationClergyman, Jamaica, Queens, NY2656
FlagsEarliest Immigrant
Individual Notes
• George Mills of Jamaica, LI, NY, is the ancestral immigrant for many Mills, et al., who trace their ancestry to colonial NY, NJ or Connecticut and to Cumberland Co., NS, Loyalists. Unfortunately, no material regarding his life in England has been found, nor anything regarding his parentage or siblings.
16 Feb 1656 Granted home lot in Hempstead.
10 Mar 1656 Name appears on petition for grant in Jamaica, NY.
25 Nov 1656 Granted home lot in Jamaica, NY.2441, p 9
• Came from Yorkshire, England in 1630.2660, p 10
• Follower of Rev. Richard Denton. Some researchers call George a Reverend also. He was conservative as records of Jamaica NY indicate one of 17 underwriters of Jamaica in 1656. If he did follow Denton, then this was his route in America:
1. arrived 1630 with Winthrop’s fleet (eldest son b. 1631 in MB)
2. 1635 rem to Wethersfield
3. 1641 rem to Stamford Ct
4. 1644 rem to Hempstead LI, NY (in 1656 Geo. sold his lands in Hempstead)
5. 1656 rem to Jamaica // 1659 Denton returned to England leaving his many sons behind.679, p 2
• Not mentioned in the list of settlers who departed Stamford for Jamaica in New Amsterdam Colony.1693, p 73
• Torrey gives last residence as Jamaica, Long Island. Cites Phillips 362658 and Keeler-Wood 902661 as his sources.
• GEORGE MILLS, the progenitor of this family of Mills in America, was born in 1600 in a parish in England, the name of which has not been recovered in this essay, and he came over in or before 1631-1632 (in which year his son Samuel Mills was born in this Country, as see page 10 hereof). George Mills appears first, in contemporary records, as a resident of the town of Homestead, Long Island, in 1656, a town which had been settled in 1644 by some thirty of forty families from Stamford, Connecticut. Evidently, he had joined this settlement between those two years, but coming from what previous places, supposedly in New England, searches made for this account have not discovered, as see page 77.2432
• George Mills was one of the founders of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, and at the first Town Meeting held there February 18, 1656, was granted a home lot.
The first and only mention of his wife was made in his statement of 24 Mar 1682, where he states “my wife Rebecca, shall enjoy my dwelling house and home lot and orchard during her life time, if it please God that she shall live longer.
A statement has been made that he was born in 1585 and died in Jamaica October 17, 1674, but the Town Records do not confirm it.2661, p 90-1
• Among the early settlers of Jamaica L. I. was George Mills born in 1585 [sic] and died aged 89, Oct. 17, 1674 at Jamaica. He was probably a descendant of John Mills who was made freeman of Boston in 1632.2657, p 105
• Witness our hands this 11th day of February, 1661. Stylo novo.
Nath. Denton Andrew Messenger
George Mills2659
• 24 Mar 1682. He writes his “will.”2441, p 9
• On March 24, 1681/2, is the first and only mention we have of his wife. He states that “my wife Rebecca, shall enjoy my dwelling house and home lot and orchard during her life time, if it please God that she shall live longer than I...2661, p 90
• Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley,' New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, pp. 803-807. On page 804, it was claimed that George was from Yorkshire, England and was in Milford, CT before removing to Jamaica. Weiner recorded George's DOB as 1585 and his DOD as 1674, aged 89. George was one of the first settlers at Jamaica, Queens Co., NY. He was one of the seventeen underwriters of the Certificate of Purchase or Declaration of the Founding of Jamaica, 25 Nov 1656 (from: Mills, S. H. (compiler), 'Samuel Mills Ancestry or George Mills and the Samuel Mills Line of Jamaica, Long Island, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut,' (at the NYG&B Soc., 1958).2656
• George Mills was born, surely in England, perhaps about 1605. He died at Jamaica, Long Island, New York, probably on October 17, 1694 age 89. His only known wife was Rebecca ------ who was living on March 24, 1681/2 when he signed a deed providing for her. But the wording of the deed, charging his son Samuel with her care, suggest that perhaps she was not Samuel’s mother and that George may have had an earlier wife. Many have assumed that this was a daughter of Nicholas Tanner, but the documents relating to Nicholas Tanner’s estate do not show this clearly at all.2446, p 3
• No probate records exist for George; probably because he transferred his land to his wife Rebecca on March 24, 1681/2, to his son Zachariah on February 22, 1678/9 and apparently to his son Samuel.2446, p 8
• No record of a Will, or of Administration upon his estate, appears on file; the apparent reason being that he had already transferred his real estate by Deeds to his wife REBECCA MILLS on March 24th., 1681/2; to his son Zachariah Mills on February 22nd., 1678/9; and to his son Samuel Mills, as of record.2432, p 2 (old)
16 Feb 1656 Granted home lot in Hempstead.
10 Mar 1656 Name appears on petition for grant in Jamaica, NY.
25 Nov 1656 Granted home lot in Jamaica, NY.2441, p 9
• Came from Yorkshire, England in 1630.2660, p 10
• Follower of Rev. Richard Denton. Some researchers call George a Reverend also. He was conservative as records of Jamaica NY indicate one of 17 underwriters of Jamaica in 1656. If he did follow Denton, then this was his route in America:
1. arrived 1630 with Winthrop’s fleet (eldest son b. 1631 in MB)
2. 1635 rem to Wethersfield
3. 1641 rem to Stamford Ct
4. 1644 rem to Hempstead LI, NY (in 1656 Geo. sold his lands in Hempstead)
5. 1656 rem to Jamaica // 1659 Denton returned to England leaving his many sons behind.679, p 2
• Not mentioned in the list of settlers who departed Stamford for Jamaica in New Amsterdam Colony.1693, p 73
• Torrey gives last residence as Jamaica, Long Island. Cites Phillips 362658 and Keeler-Wood 902661 as his sources.
• GEORGE MILLS, the progenitor of this family of Mills in America, was born in 1600 in a parish in England, the name of which has not been recovered in this essay, and he came over in or before 1631-1632 (in which year his son Samuel Mills was born in this Country, as see page 10 hereof). George Mills appears first, in contemporary records, as a resident of the town of Homestead, Long Island, in 1656, a town which had been settled in 1644 by some thirty of forty families from Stamford, Connecticut. Evidently, he had joined this settlement between those two years, but coming from what previous places, supposedly in New England, searches made for this account have not discovered, as see page 77.2432
• George Mills was one of the founders of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, and at the first Town Meeting held there February 18, 1656, was granted a home lot.
The first and only mention of his wife was made in his statement of 24 Mar 1682, where he states “my wife Rebecca, shall enjoy my dwelling house and home lot and orchard during her life time, if it please God that she shall live longer.
A statement has been made that he was born in 1585 and died in Jamaica October 17, 1674, but the Town Records do not confirm it.2661, p 90-1
• Among the early settlers of Jamaica L. I. was George Mills born in 1585 [sic] and died aged 89, Oct. 17, 1674 at Jamaica. He was probably a descendant of John Mills who was made freeman of Boston in 1632.2657, p 105
• Witness our hands this 11th day of February, 1661. Stylo novo.
Nath. Denton Andrew Messenger
George Mills2659
• 24 Mar 1682. He writes his “will.”2441, p 9
• On March 24, 1681/2, is the first and only mention we have of his wife. He states that “my wife Rebecca, shall enjoy my dwelling house and home lot and orchard during her life time, if it please God that she shall live longer than I...2661, p 90
• Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley,' New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, pp. 803-807. On page 804, it was claimed that George was from Yorkshire, England and was in Milford, CT before removing to Jamaica. Weiner recorded George's DOB as 1585 and his DOD as 1674, aged 89. George was one of the first settlers at Jamaica, Queens Co., NY. He was one of the seventeen underwriters of the Certificate of Purchase or Declaration of the Founding of Jamaica, 25 Nov 1656 (from: Mills, S. H. (compiler), 'Samuel Mills Ancestry or George Mills and the Samuel Mills Line of Jamaica, Long Island, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut,' (at the NYG&B Soc., 1958).2656
• George Mills was born, surely in England, perhaps about 1605. He died at Jamaica, Long Island, New York, probably on October 17, 1694 age 89. His only known wife was Rebecca ------ who was living on March 24, 1681/2 when he signed a deed providing for her. But the wording of the deed, charging his son Samuel with her care, suggest that perhaps she was not Samuel’s mother and that George may have had an earlier wife. Many have assumed that this was a daughter of Nicholas Tanner, but the documents relating to Nicholas Tanner’s estate do not show this clearly at all.2446, p 3
• No probate records exist for George; probably because he transferred his land to his wife Rebecca on March 24, 1681/2, to his son Zachariah on February 22, 1678/9 and apparently to his son Samuel.2446, p 8
• No record of a Will, or of Administration upon his estate, appears on file; the apparent reason being that he had already transferred his real estate by Deeds to his wife REBECCA MILLS on March 24th., 1681/2; to his son Zachariah Mills on February 22nd., 1678/9; and to his son Samuel Mills, as of record.2432, p 2 (old)
Marriage1628/30, England2447, p 510; marriage only,2661, p 90; marriage only,2654,2441, p 9