Thomas Stillwell (1700 - aft. 1773)

Descendants

Died after 6 Jul 1773 after age 73 in Rowan (later Davidson) County, North Carolina

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Biography

Thomas, whose parents of are unknown, was possibly born about 1700 in New York. He died after 6 Jul 1773 when his will was written at Rowan, North Carolina. It mentioned his wife Margaret Stillwell, son David (under 21), son Thomas (under age), Elizabth Giles, Mary J Sears, Jemimah Jackson, and Phebe Slader.^[1]

Thomas married Margaret Brown before 1730; children (surname STILLWELL):

1. Elizabeth Stillwell (1730-bef.1819) - b. 1730; d. bef 1819; m. Richard GILES
2. poss. Mary - m. — Sears?
3. Jemima Stillwell - m. — JACKSON
4. poss. Phebe - m. — Slades
5. Thomas Stillwell - b. aft 1752
6. David Stillwell (1755-1833)

Research Notes

"There seems to have been a court case in Johnson Co, North Carolina in 1821 when a Phebe Goss, wife of Jacob Goss stated her parents as Richard Giles and Elizabeth Stillwell, both deceased. Thomas Stillwell, an uncle, had died leaving a very large estate - he had a widow, Ellender [Eleanor], but they had no children. A brother of Thomas Stillwell - David Stillwell; and the husband of Jemima Jackson who had been Jemima Stillwell, sister of David & Thomas, as well as Phebe Goss who stated she was the only heir of Elizabeth Stilwell Giles a sister to Thomas, David & Jemima, were all attempting to claim part of the estate. The problem was that Richard Giles & Elizabeth Stilwell may very well have had other children who were not living in North Carolina. There were several things about this court case that seem questionable. The mother of the Stilwell siblings was said to have been a Margaret Brown whose brother James was still living and was also part of the attempt to get an inheritance [the father & husband of Margaret Brown said to have been also named Thomas Stilwell. Eleanor Stilwell, the widow, stated that she doubted any of these people were kin to Thomas Stilwell, as she claimed him to be illegitimate and that the Brown family were colored persons. Then the David Stilwell of this suit, sold his interest in the estate of Thomas Stilwell to a man named Seth Wade of Randolph Co in 1823, apparently without telling Wade of the problems involved, or that their were other heirs. Wade died before anything was done." ^[2]

Birth

Date: 1700

Place: Span, Johnson, Georgia

Notes: Removed Span, Johnson, Georgia from birth place. Spann is not in Johnson County which wasn't formed until 1858. Georgia wasn't formed until 1733.

Sources

1. ↑ North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, (Provo UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2015), Rowan, Wills, Vol 21-23, Smi-Whi. Original data:North Carolina County, District and Probate Courts. [1]
2. ↑ Richard E Giles (1735-abt.1819)