RichardWatson Mills
RICHARDWATSON MILLS, one of the leading attorneys of Cass county, Illinois, wasborn in Jacksonville, Morgan county, this State, August 3, 1844.Hisfather, Chesley Mills, was born hear Lebanon, Tennessee, son of James Mills,a native of the eastern shores of Maryland. James Mills was born duringRevolutionary times, a son of John Mills, who lost his life in the Revolutionarywar, and in Maryland he was reared. When a young man he went to Tennessee,married the daughter of Isaac Lindsey, located a few miles from the Hermitage,and resided there until 1808. That year he removed to the Territory ofMissouri and located three miles from Hannibal, being one of the earliestsettlers there. He improved a large farm and resided on it till the timeof his death. Isaac Lindsey, his father-in-law, was a resident of EasternMaryland at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war. He was loyal tothe crown, but preferred not to fight on either side; so he sought thefurtherest bounds of civilization, taking up his abode in the wildernesseight miles from the Hermitage. At that time the Indians were numerousand often there was trouble with them. For a long time the settlers alllived in block houses. He improved a farm in the locality which is stillknown as Lindsey’s Bluff, and resided there till his death.
ChesleyMills learned the trade of plasterer and bricklayer, which he followedtill his death, in 1844. He married Harriet Cadwell, a native of Edwardsville,Madison county, Illinois, born on January 10, 1814, daughter of Dr. GeorgeCadwell. Dr. Cadwell was born and reared in Vermont, and in 1799 went toKentucky with his father-in-law, Matthew Lyon. He objected strenuouslyto the institution of slavery, and in 1804 came to the Territory of Illinois,becoming one of the original settlers of Madison county. He resided theretill 1820, when he went to Morgan county with his wife and children, makingthe journey with flatboats via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Naples.He located near Lynnville, being the first physician to settle in Morgancounty, and continued practice there till the time of his death. The maidenname of his wife, grandmother of the subject of our sketch. was ParmeliaLyon. She was born in Vermont. Her father, Matthew Lyon, was born in Ireland,of Scotch ancestry, and when a young man came to America and located inVermont, where he married the daughter of Governor Chittenden, the firstgovernor of Vermont. He took part in the Revolutionary war and attainedthe rank of General. After the war, he represented Vermont two terms inCongress. He was the first victim under the Sedition Act, the charge beingthat of speaking disrespectfully of John Adams, the President of the UnitedStates. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000;served his time in jail and paid his fine. In 1799, he emigrated to Kentuckyand located in Lyon county, which is named in honor of him. He foundedthe town of Eddyville, the county seat of Lyon county, and became a prominentand wealthy man. He was a slave owner and trader. While residing therehe was sent as a representative to Congress. He removed from Kentucky tothe Territory of Arkansas, was among the pioneers of Helena, and soon afterhis arrival there was sent as delegate to Congress. He died in Arkansasabout 1825.
Themother of our subject now resides in Jacksonville. She reared five children:Thomas, spent his last years in Dakota; Emily, married Thomas W. Jones,of Ritchie, Will county, Illinois; Martha, married Henry Demarest; George,resides in San Francisco, California, and is a member of the Judson ManufacturingCompany of Oakland.
RichardW. Mills received his early education in the district schools. He was inhis seventeenth year when the war broke out, and he enlisted in CompanyB, Tenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and went with the company to Cairo.He was there rejected on account of his age, and returned home. He hadbeen at home, however, only a few days when he again enlisted, this timein Company F, Nineteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was accepted.He went South with his regiment and remained with it till after his termof service had expired. He participated in the battles of Stone River andMission Ridge, and was in the reserve at Chickamauga. After his returnhome he received an academic education at Jacksonville, after which hetaught school four years. During that time he commenced the study of lawwith Judge Cyrus Epler, in May, 1870, was admitted to the bar. He practicedwith Judge Epler till 1871, and January 6 of that year he came to Virginia,where he has since been engaged in a successful law practice.
February4, 1873, he married Matilda A. Tate, a native of Cass county, Illinois,and a daughter of Dr. Harvey Tate. She died March 26, 1884. His secondmarriage was consummated November 29, 1889, with Nellie W. Epler, a nativeof Cass county, her parents being William and Jennie Epler.
Mr.Mills is a member of Virginia Lodge, No. 544, A. F. & A. M.; ClarkChapter, No. 29, R. A. M.; Hospitaller Commandery, No. 31, K. T. Politically,he has always affiliated with and been an ardent and efficient worker inthe Republican party. He has served as Master in Chancery.
Mrs.Mills’ father, William Epler, a resident of the city of Virginia, was bornin what is now Princeton precinct, Cass county, Illinois, April 15, 1835.His father, John Epler, was born in that part of Lancaster now includedin Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1795. His father, the great-grandfatherof Mrs. Mills, Abram Epler, was born in the same locality. His father,great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Mills, John Epler, was born in Germany,and was reared there to young manhood, and in 1734, with his brother Peter,came to America. They located near Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania.They were Lutherans and established a church of that denomination there.Peter’s descendants removed to Northumberland county; John’s removed tothat part of Lancaster now included in Dauphin county in 1768. He purchaseda tract of land there, which he occupied till his death in 1782. A naturalboulder marks his resting place, upon which is inscribed a shield, hisname and the date of his death. The farm which he owned is now in possessionof his great-great-grandson. He reared three sons and one daughter.
AbramEpler was reared and married in Pennsylvania, and resided there till 1798.Then, with his wife and three children, he removed to Kentucky, makingthe journey across the mountains with teams, down the Ohio river on flatboatsto the Falls of the Ohio, landing at the site of the present city of Louisville.He remained there two years; then crossed the river into Northwest Territory,and located in what is now included in Clark county, Indiana. There heerected a log cabin in the wilderness. In l807 he built a stone house there,which is still standing, it being the oldest stone house, in a good stateof preservation, in the State of Indiana. He resided there until 1832,when he came to Illinois. He died in Cass county in 1837. The maiden nameof his wife was Anna Oldweiler. She was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,October 26, 1768, and died at the home of her son George, May 3, 1847.There were eleven children born to them, all of whom reached adult years:Elizabeth Norris, John, Nancy Austin, Abram, Catherine Blizard, Jacob,David, Sarah Weir, Isaac, George, Mary Short.
JohnEpler, grandfather of Mrs. Mills, was but three years old when his parentsmoved to Kentucky, and five years old when they moved to the NorthwestTerritory. There he was reared and married. He resided in Clark countytill 1831, when with his wife and six children, he came to Illinois; madethe journey with teams, and after three weeks’ travel landed in Cass county.He bought a tract of land on which he engaged in farming and was very successfulin his operations. From time to time he purchased other lands until hebecame the owner of 1,200 acres in Cass and Morgan counties. He spent thelast years of his life in Virginia and died May 25, 1876. The maiden nameof his wife was Sarah Beggs. She was born in what is now Clark county,Indiana, April 28, 1800. Her father, Charles Beggs, was born in Rockinghamcounty, Virginia, October 30, 1775, and his father, Thomas Beggs, was bornin the same county. He took part in the Revolutionary war and died in theservice. Charles Beggs was reared and married in Virginia, and residedthere till 1798, when he moved to Kentucky. In 1799 he removed to the NorthwestTerritory and settled in that part now included in Clark county, Indiana.He served in the war of 1812, and fought with Harrison at the battle ofTippecanoe; was an old Whig, and personal friend of General Harrison; servedin both the Indiana Territorial and State Legislatures; resided in Clarkcounty till 1829. In 1829 he came to Illinois and was one of the pioneersof Morgan county. He bought a tract of land and resided on it till hisdeath, October 21, 1869. The maiden name of his wife was Martha Trumbo.She was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, March 16, 1778, and died May12, 1811. Four of her children grew to maturity: Elizabeth, Sarah, Maryand George. The grandmother of Mrs. Mills died January 11, 1882. Twelveof her children were reared: Charles, Abram, Cyrus, Mary A. Barrett, SarahFairbank, Elizabeth Hall, John M., William, David, Myron L., Ellen Prince,and Albert G.
WilliamEpler, father of Mrs. Mills, was reared in his native county, and receivedhis early education in the pioneer schools here, and subsequently attendedIllinois College, Jacksonville. He has been prominently identified withthe business interests of Virginia many years. The maiden name of Mrs.Epler, wife of William Epler, was Jane Abigail Woodman. She was born atPaw Paw, Michigan, March 6, 1838. From a genealogical record of the Woodmanfamily, compiled by Jabez H. Woodman, we learn that there were two brothers,Edward and Archalaus Woodman, natives of Christian Malford, a parish inWiltshire, England, came to America in 1635, and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts.There descendants are numerous and are scattered in various parts of theUnited States. It seems from this that Mrs. Mills is a descendant of Edward.The second in line was his son Edward, the third in line his son Archalaus,the next in line Archalaus’ son Joseph, born May 4, 1714. He married BridgetWiley in 1762. He died in Wheelock, Vermont, November, 1807. His son John,great grandfather of Mrs. Mills, married Sarah Foy. He died at Lyndon,Vermont, December 6, 1853, aged ninety years. His son, David Woodman, grandfatherof Mrs. Mills, was born in New England, July 27, 1793. He removed fromNew England to New York State, thence to Michigan, and from there to Oketo,Kansas, where his death occurred August 28, 1892, aged ninety-nine yearsand one month. His wife, grandmother of Mrs. Mills, was Abigail Gray. Themother of Mrs. Mills died in the State of Nebraska, October 2, 1863, inthe twenty-sixth year of her age. Mr. Epler, father of Mrs. Mills, nowhas a piece copied from an English history, that was published in 1615,that gave an account of the trial and burning at the stake at Lewis, inSussex, England, of Richard Woodman, June 22, 1557, on account of his religiousconvictions. He was tried before the Bishops of Chichester and Winchester.He was very tenacious of his opinions, as are said to be some of the Woodmansof the present day. The parents of Mrs. Mills were married at the homeof the bride’s brother-in-law, Colonel John B. Culver, at Duluth, Minnesota,April 12, 1859. At that time Duluth was an Indian trading post, and theywere the first white settlers ever married there. Mr. Epler was there inthe employ of the United States Government as a civil engineer.
Biographical Review ofCass, Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois, Biographical Review PublishingCo., Chicago, 1892, pages 253-256.
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