Richard Gilliam Jr (1705 - abt. 1740)

Born 1 Apr 1705 in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Martin) Gilliam — married 22 Nov 1735 in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1740 at about age 34 in New Kent, Virginia [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Greg Gilliam [send private message] and Wanda Horn [send private message]

Biography

Richard was no doubt born in the first quarter of 1705 as he was christened in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, on April 1 of that year. He is the son of Richard Gilliam and Margaret Unknown.^[1]

There are no further surviving records regarding him for fully three decades. However, he must have married no later than the forepart of 1735, as the Parish Register reports the christening on December 21, 1735 of a son William to Richard and Rebecca "Guilliam." The birth date of November 22 for this child was also entered in the register; this exact birth date becomes important later on.

Only part of the early marriage records of the parish have survived, and there is no record of the marriage of Richard Gilliam Jr. to Rebecca as such, or other proof of her maiden name. However, it has been posited that his bride was Rebecca Spurlock. This is based on circumstantial evidence including the rarity of the given name "Rebecca" in the parish.

The only other girls named Rebecca christened there in the relevant time frame are:

Rebeccah dau. of Robert Walker (11 Jan 1698/9), Rebecka dau. of Simon Woode (21 Nov 1703), Rebecca dau. of Thomas Barnes (1 Mar 1712/3), Rebecka dau. of Edw. Johnson (11 Nov 1698), Rebecka dau. of John Kimbriell (10 Aug 1699), Rebecca dau. of John Moore (2 Feb 1700/1), Rebecca dau. of John Martin (18 Aug 1713), Rebecca dau. of Richard Snoroe (1686), and Rebecca dau. Thomas Sneade (1688/9).

In addition, there is the fact that on 3 September 1722, the Parish made an appropriation of compensation to Margaret Gilliam for having cared for Rebecca Spurlock.

At this time, Rebecca Spurlock would have turned 21 years old. The parish register records the christening of Rebecca, daughter of Robert Spurlock, on 4 May 1701. Rebecca also had two older sisters (Elizabeth (chr. 1688) and Frances (chr. 12 March 1698/9). The entry for Frances' christening specifies the mother's name as Rebecka Spurlock.

The younger Rebecca Spurlock also had two younger brothers. The older of these two boys, Richard, was christened 29 April 1705, exactly four weeks after Richard Gilliam Jr.

Returning to the appropriation by the Board of Vestry for care of Rebecca Spurlock, it is not clear why she would have required care at the charge of the Parish, unless her parents had passed away and left her an orphan. A separate entry in the Vestry Book, a few months earlier in 1722, awarded Margaret Gilliam compensation for caring for "Spurlock" - no given name specified but presumably another family member. (Otherwise the award in September would seem to be superfluous and excessive.)

Only two children of Richard and Rebecca Gilliam were recorded in the St Peter's Register: William (chr. 1735, as noted above) and a younger child chr. in 1737, whose given name either was never entered in the Register, or been lost.

Some have imagined that this William Gilliam is identical to the William Gilliam of Buckingham County who married Elizabeth McCormick. However, this theory is refuted by court documents from Caroline County, Virginia demonstrating that the William Gilliam who had been born in 1735 became closely associated with the William Sale family of Caroline County on the eve of the French & Indian War. Contemporaneous military records mention William Gilliam's age, matching the age as calculated from the birth date given in the St. Peter's Register. And the will of James Jackson in North Carolina demonstrates that this William Gilliam's wife was Lucy Jackson, not Elizabeth McCormick.

The William Sale family relocated to Halifax County, North Carolina not long after William Gilliam chose William Sale as his guardian. William Gilliam (b. 1735) did not leave many records in North Carolina, but we do find there the 1761 will of his father in law, James Jackson. Mr. Jackson made special provisions in his will for his daughter Lucy in case William Gilliam did not take care of her; possibly stemming from the possibility that William Gilliam might be killed in the war.

In contrast to this picture of William Gilliam marrying Lucy Jackson, William Gilliam of Buckingham County reportedly married Elizabeth McCormick, as noted above. He may have had a brother John Gilliam who married Susannah Richardson. This John Gilliam is classed as the brother of Epaphroditus Gilliam who is said to have married Elizabeth Holland.

Whether these Gilliams who were in Buckingham County by 1763 originated in St. Peter's Parish or not, it is noteworthy that the very rare name of Epaphroditus Gilliam is found in that vicinity. Specifically, Epaphroditus Gilliam appraised a couple of estates in 1745 and 1747 in Charles City County. The 1745 estate - that of Minerva Stone - was administered by James Jackson (probably the same man whose will was proved in 1761 in Halifax County, NC). Epaphroditus Gilliam also witnessed the will of James Clarke in April of 1750 and served as bondsman for the executors of the estate of James Howl seven months later.

This is significant because it fits the theory that this Epaphroditus was the brother of Richard Gilliam Jr. In particular, much speculation has been directed at the notion that Epaphroditus Gilliam was the younger brother of Richard Gilliam Jr., and that the antecedent for the name Epaphroditus in the Gilliam family was one Epaphroditus Lawson. Some researchers have claimed, without other evidence, that the mother of Richard Gilliam Jr. was a Margaret Lawson. However, extensive research regarding the Lawson and Gilliam families has uncovered no support for that idea whatsoever.

More likely, the Howl (Howell) family are the source for this name. In the St. Peter's Register, at a discontinuity between marriages celebrated between 1700 and 1712 for men whose surnames started with "R" and a set of marriages of men whose surnames started with "S," we find this standalone "BIRTH" Record: "Thomas son of Ann & Epaphroditus Howle was born in the middle of the summer at break of day." See https://archive.org/details/parishregisterof00stpe/page/50/mode/2up. No specific year was mentioned.

Based on the context (between events of 1685 and 1712), I imagine that said Thomas was born in or about 1700 to 1705. This Thomas evidently grew up, married a woman named Anne, and had a son Epaphroditus born 5 March 1729/30. See https://archive.org/details/parishregisterof00stpe/page/86/mode/2up. Then that Epaphroditus Howle grew up, married a woman named Mary, and had a son Thomas on 1 September 1753, a son Epaphroditus Jr. born 13 Feb. 1756; a son James b. Feb. 25 1759, and daughter Nancy b. 6 July 1768.

Thus there was an Epaphroditus Howle in St. Peter's Parish during the entire time of the Gilliam family's presence there. Accordingly, it is suspected that:

(a) Richard Gilliam Sr. and wife Margaret were the parents of the Epaphroditus Gilliam whose birth year is estimated at around 1707 and who died in or about 1789; and

(b) the child born to Richard & Rebecca Gilliam Jr. in 1737 (the one whose name is missing from the Parish Register) might have also been named Epaphroditus Gilliam. [Comment from prior version of this biography: The John Gilliam who was in Buckingham County by the 1770s appears to have been younger man.] But then it's not at all clear that Richard Gilliam Jr. & Rebecca Gilliam had a third child, as there is no record of the christening of a son of theirs named John at St. Peters.

What is certain is that no births for this couple are recorded after 1737. It is also certain that their son William Gilliam was an orphan. The New Kent County guardianship records have not survived, but we know that John Carnall was serving as William Gilliam's guardian until November of 1735, when the Caroline County Court allowed William to choose his own guardian.

Based on the above, is seems probable that Richard Gilliam Jr. died about 1738. At a minimum, this would explaining why there is no record of a christening for a child of Richard & Rebecca in 1739 or thereafter.

The Richard Gilman or "Gillman" who appears on processioning records in Hanover County as early as 1763 cannot be this Richard Gilliam, because this Richard's son William Gilliam was an orphan no later than 1755.

Timeline

Birth
before 1 Apr 1705 • New Kent County, VA
Rich, son of Rich GILLAM, bap. ^[2]

Vestry
2 Sep 1722 • New Kent County, VA
At a Vestry held at the Parish Church of St. Peter’s on the Second day of September 1722
Ordered that Marg’t Guillam have 600 lb of Tobacco for keeping Rebecca Spurlock. Ordered that Jno. Guillam, have 800 lb of Tobo for keeping eliz Johnson. ^[3]

Vestry
13 Jun 1722 • New Kent County, VA
At a Vestry held for St. Peter’s parish June 13th, 1724
To Marg’t Guilliam for keeping Spurlock, Sam’l Bugg for keeping Edm. Bedford 1450 ^[4]

Birth
22 Nov 1735 • New Kent County, VA
William, son born to Richard and Rebecca Guilliam.
Baptised Dec 21, 1735 ^[5]

Birth
29 Aug 1737 • New Kent County, VA
_____ of Richard and Rebecca GILLIAM born.
Bap Octob 8. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ 1705, Apr 1: Rich, son of Rich GILLAM, bap. Saint Peter's Parish, page 358
2. ↑ Chamberlayne, C.G., ed. The Vestry Book and Register of St. Peter's Parish New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia 1684-1786. Richmond, Va.: Library Board, 1937, page 358
3. ↑ National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia. Parish Register of Saint Peter's, New Kent County, Virginia, 1680-1787. Richmond, VA: Clearfield Co, 1904, page 133
4. ↑ National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia. Parish Register of Saint Peter's, New Kent County, Virginia, 1680-1787. Richmond, VA: Clearfield Co, 1904, pages 139 and 140
5. ↑ Chamberlayne, C.G., ed. The Vestry Book and Register of St. Peter's Parish New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia 1684-1786. Richmond, Va.: Library Board, 1937, page 524
6. ↑ Chamberlayne, C.G., ed. The Vestry Book and Register of St. Peter's Parish New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia 1684-1786. Richmond, Va.: Library Board, 1937, page 547

• "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1584-1917", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRRW-LVM : 28 January 2020), Rchd. Gillam, 1705.

* https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/50409290/person/13746915641/facts