Jane Gilliam

Many now feel that Lucy Henry was in fact Jane Henry that daughter of the Rev. Patrick Henry who was the uncle of the orator and patriot Patrick.

Family

https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/gilliam/1576/

John Gilliam, Jr. (1742-1801) son of John Gilliam, Sr. (1712-1772) of Monte Alto, Prince George County, VA and Elizabeth Poythress (1714-1788), married Jane Henry, the daughter of the Rev. Patrick Henry and his wife, Mary, widow of Arthur Clayton of Hanover County. Elizabeth Poythress (1714-1788) was the daughter of Robert Poythress.

John Gilliam, Jr. (1742-1801) lived at Spring Hill, Prince George County, VA which is the northern 526 acres of the original Monte Alto tract.

Presumably, Jane Henry was the only child or the only surviving child of the Rev. Patrick Henry at the time of his death, for only she is mentioned in his will, dated 1777.

The will mentions three children of John Gilliam and Jane Henry Gilliam: Mary Gilliam, Elizabeth Gilliam and Patrick Henry Gilliam. Mary and Elizabeth were named after their grandmothers; Patrick, after his grandfather.

Also to John Gilliam and Jane Henry Gilliam was born a son, Walter Boyd Gilliam. Walter is known from land and court records. Walter was named after, Walter Boyd, the first husband of Elizabeth Poythress. This Elizabeth Poythress, daughter of Joshua Poythress, also married John Mills and Thomas Griffin Peachey. Thomas Griffin Peachey also married Elizabeth Gilliam, the sister of the above John Gilliam (1742-1801).

John Gilliam and Jane Henry had four known children:

• 1. Mary Gilliam who is said to have married Capt. William Poythress, son of Joshua Poythress and Mary Short. Mary is said alternatively to have married John McKeand.
• 2. Elizabeth Gilliam who is said to have married John Arthur. It also has been suggested that Elizabeth married David Parish Cocke on 16 April 1800 in Goochland County, VA. The Elizabeth Gilliam that married David Parish Cocke is Elizabeth, daughter of John Gilliam (abt. 1752-1825) and Connie Parrish of Goochland County, VA.
• 3. Patrick Henry Gilliam who presumably died young.
• 4. Walter Boyd Gilliam married Easter Tinsley

Others also attribute to John Gilliam, Jr. and Jane Henry a son, John Henry Gilliam, who also presumably died young and a daughter, Jane Gilliam, who is said to have married William Harrison Baird. This Jane Gilliam, sometimes given the middle name of Henry, is also said by some to be the daughter of a John Gilliam and Mary Harrison, daughter of Nathaniel Harrison (1742-1782) and Mary Ruffin (1739-1767).

This John Gilliam is referred to in the Addendum to The Ancestry of Benjamin Harrison as the nephew of Mary Harrison1s stepmother. Mary1s Harrison1s stepmother was Anne Gilliam (1742-1781), the sister of John Gilliam Jr., and Elizabeth Gilliam mentioned above. If Mary Harrison indeed married a nephew of her stepmother, his identity at this time is not known, with certainty, to this author.

http://www.gilliamsofvirginia.org/FactorFiction/FactorFiction.htm

Fact or Fiction?

John Gilliam married Lucy Henry, daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry

John Gilliam married Lucy Henry of "Surry County," the daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry. John and Lucy were the parents of William Gilliam "of Bristol Parish, Washington County, who married Mary Jarratt.

Fact:

Though Ray states "after much and prolonged research . . . " he has come to his conclusions, many of his "conclusions" are incorrect. According to the Will of the Rev. Patrick Henry, John Gilliam married Jane Henry, not Lucy. In fact, Jane appears to be the Rev. Patrick Henry's only child.

No one by the surname Henry is found in the Register of Albemarle Parish, Surry County, VA, 1738-1778.

From the Will of John GILLIAM, the husband of Jane Henry, we know that John did not have a son named William. Also, it is chronologically impossible for John Gilliam to be the father of William Gilliam who married Mary Jarratt.

https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/gilliam/1703/

Here's a short survey of what has appeared in print regarding the children of John Gilliam and Jane Henry.

Charles Edgar Gilliam (1938) in his "Introduction to the Genealogical Data on the Ancestors of Richard Davenport Gilliam, 1855-1935" states on page 30 that "John Gilliam, b. 1743, d. 1801 married Jane Henry, the daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry, uncle of the orator, by whom he had at least three children and possibly more."

In a footnote on that page Charles (CEG) states that he is "in possession of a minature of Jane Henry Gilliam, wife of William Baird." He also cites Brock, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 18 Dec 1904.

I have not located the 1904 Brock article, but another by Brock dated 16 Apr 1881 from the Richmond Critic states, "John born 1712 married Jane, daughter of Rev. Patrick Henry, of St. George Parish, uncle of the orator."

CEG and Brock differ on the birthdates of John who married Jane Henry. I believe CEG to be correct, and that the John of 1712 was the actually the father of John who married Jane Henry. Hopefully, Brock revised his dates by Dec 1904.

Slaughter, in a "History of Bristol Parish" adds nothing new.

Leon M. Bazile in "The Wills of the Reverend Patrick Henry and Walter Coles of Hanover County, Virginia" states that "John Gilliam . . . married Jane Henry . . . and they had the following issue:

• 1. Elizabeth Gilliam, who is believed to have married David Cocke.
• 2. Mary Gilliam, who is believed to have married John McKeand.
• 3. Patrick Henry Gilliam, who died when circa 16 or 17 years of age.
• 4. John Henry Gilliam, who died in 1790.
• 5. Jane Henry Gilliam, who married William Baird.
• 6. Walter Boyd Gilliam, who died in 1821.

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• Updated from WikiTree Genealogy via husband John Gilliam by SmartCopy: Sep 20 2015, 12:35:16 UTC