THE GILLIAM FAMILY
I have put in more hours on this family than any other in the book for many
reasons. Since it is grandmother's maiden name, it seemed important to find out
all that I possibly could about the family. The Gilliam relatives were certainly
important to our parents, and we still have many relatives with that name in Vir-
ginia. But any idea that this would be an easy line to establish vanished long
ago. Aunt Mary's papers only gave me the line through Spencer Gilliam, and it was
some time later that we discovered that she had forgotten to give me the will of
his father, Richard Curd. When I was looking through some papers at Mrs. Morton's
in Farmville, I found the Court Order about Richard's father, John Gilliam, and his
wife, Susannah. A little later I discovered that her name was Susannah Richardson.
It seemed to me that there must be a reason for the "Curd" in Richard's name, and
the Curd Family genealogy revealed that Susannah's mother was a Curd. Just before
I started this article found the will of John Richardson which ran in several suc-
cessive issues of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Lucius Dillon of
Waynesboro, Virginia, has an old Gilliam Bible which begins with the marriage of
Richard Curd and Mary Robertson Jan. 22, 1798.
The search for the Gilliams has been a rewarding one, as I have made friends
with a "cousin" in Michigan who is searching for Gilliam data, and have had a
delightful exchange of letters and visits with Cousin Harry Gilliam who is 93 and
looks and acts decades younger.
With this family I am departing from my usual practice of giving only the line
that we are descended from. I shall first give all of the miscellaneous data that
I have gathered on the Gilliams of Virginia and then give our family as accurately
as it is possible for me to give it. I hope that others who read this may find
clues which will help them, or will pass on any clues which will help us to trace
our line to the original Gilliams in Virginia.
The Gilliams were originally from France. The Richmond Standard, Vol. 3,
April 1861, stated that they were of Norman descent and went to England during the
conquest of William the Conqueror. Count de Guillamme was granted a Coat of Arms
then. One Gilliam took thirty manors for himself, according to one story. They
first lived at Packley, England, near the Straits of Dover.
The name is derived from Guillamme, which means William, and is spelled
variously Gill -am, iam, um, em, im, and Gilham, Guillam. According to one source,
the -iam is used in Virginia the -um in North Carolina, and Gilham in Pennsylvania.
The Virginia Gilliams pronounce their name as Gillam, never to rhyme with William,
as far as I can find.
Most sources say that three brothers came to Virginia from England. Genea-
logists grin over any "three brothers" story, as this is a very popular claim. At
any rate, this version seems to be stated from all sources, except that Mr. Gilliam
of Michigan said that the legend is that a Gilliam man, wife, and three sons came
over. A typewritten manuscript by Mrs. Merlie Gilliam of Dallas, Oregon, who lists
herself as Historian of the Gilliam Clan, stated that three Gilliam brothers came
under Royal Commission to "survey the Dominion of Virginia."
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The earliest references that I have found are:
1635 - John Gilliam, 21, and Thomas Gilliam, 18, both came on the GEORGE from
England to Virginia. William Gilliam, 27, came on the CONSTANCE from London
to Virginia. I am not sure of the year. Virkus said that he settled at
Williamsburg.
1637 - Henry Gilliam entered land in Henrico County.
1684 - Hincha, James and John Gilliam took part in Bacon's Rebellion.
An interesting story of a sea captain named Gilliam is found in the Va. Mag.
of Hist. & Biol., Vol. IV. He was from Colchester, England, and wrote of the vio-
lent times in Virginia.
From Richmond Standard, Vol. 3, Apr. 16, 1881:
Three Gilliam brothers came to Virginia about 1680.
1. John, settled at Puddlecock, in Prince Georges Co.
a. William, son of John, married Christine Eppes, daughter of
Richard and Christine (or Christian) Eppes, of City Point, Va.
2. Robert
3. William
Another issue of the Richmond Standard, dated Apr. 10, 1880, argued that
William married Mary Poythress. This seems to have been another William.
Some of the interesting Gilliam names: Epaphroditus, Archelaus, Hincha, and
Devereaux.
There are many references to Gilliams in the Bristol Parish Vestry book, also
the St. Peter's Parish, and there are at least a hundred references to Gilliams in
the Albemarle Parish.
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It is stated in one volume of the Virginia Magazine that there were at least
seven John Gilliams at the time of the Revolution. When I told Cousin Harry Gilliam
about this, he said that he had heard of only three: John, Fool John, and Damn Fool
John. He also said that it was well known that when you rode around the country in
Virginia and asked the ugliest man that you saw what his name was, it would always
be Gilliam. Cousin Harry said that he once asked some people near Williamsburg
if they knew any Gilliams and they said they once had a sherriff named Gilliam who
always got his man. He went out to get a man once and had to shoot him. He came
back the next day with the body over a horse. Needless to say, Cousin Harry, who
is in his nineties and lives in Lynchburg with his charming wife, is a delightful
person to be around.
Margery Gilliam was the widow of John of Henrico. His will was dated September
1681. Issue: John, Hincha (or Hinshaw), Elizabeth Maybury.
Until very recently I believed our John Gilliam to be the son of William
Gilliam and Mary Jarratt, and the brother of Devereaux Gilliam, but I am not at all
sure of this.
I. JOHN GILLIAM m. Susannah Richardson
John and Susannah were listed in the Cumberland County Deed book, page 368,
dated 1769. The deed in question was for 55 lbs. rights in the dividend of
land on the Buffalo River.
Mrs. Morton of Farmville has a copy of a District Court Order book, 1792,
Buckingham County, which bears the accusation that the Executors of the will
had not made a correct inventory or report to the court, and had not paid the
legatees in full. It mentions Susannah as the Richard Curd, William R., Patty
Curd, and Isham.
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II. RICHARD CURD GILLIAM b. in Buckingham Co., Va., in 1771, m. Mary Robertson
Jan. 22, 1798. (This is recorded in the Gilliam Bible.) Cousin Harry Gilliam
says that he remembers "Grandpa Curd", as he called him. The will of Richard
Curd would indicate that he had nice holdings in Buckingham County.
Issue:
1. Isham, m. Sara W. Moseley
(Grandfather mentions him in his Civil War letters.)
2. Adline, m. James Richardson
3. Spencer (our ancestor), m. Mary Elizabeth Dupuy Aug. 23, 1839
4. John C., m. Elizabeth Thornton Oct. 6, 1831
5. Clayton, b. June 12, 1812, m. Francis E. Dupuy, b. Sept. 13, 1813. They
moved to Cadiz, Kentucky. Issue listed in Dupuy article.
6. Judith, m. William Gilliam March 1818
7. Martha, m. Robert Davis Dec. 23, 1817
8. Nancy, m. Thomas Routon Oct. 3, 1821
9. Mary, m. Cary W. Mc Craw
10. Sally, m. a Mr. Hix
11. Ardena (sometimes given as Ardenath)
III. SPENCER GILLIAM b. Dec. 17, 1810, d. Feb. 22, 1890. He married Mary Elizabeth
Dupuy Aug. 21, 1839. They built the home, Rosedale, in Appomattox County
which is described in this book.
IV. MARY LAVALETTE GILLIAM m. Charles Silas Morton
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