Romelia Jay Mills 1860 - 1944
Romelia was the son of Thomas Mills (1825-1908) and Lucretia Barton Mills (1828-1910). He was born 26 January 1860 in Posey County, Indiana, USA.
We first see Romelia in the 1860 census in Robinson Township in Posey County.(census image here) (View neighbors in HTML)
As of the 1870 census, Romelia and most of his family were still living in Robinson Township. (census image here) (View neighbors in html)
Romelia married Paulina Ann Parks (1861-1927) in Posey County on 12 July 1879. They had the following children:
Romelia Mills
Infant Mills (1881-ca. 1881)
Marcus Mills (1883-1886)
Silas Mills (1885-1973)
Rebecca Mills (1886-1959)
Lucretia Mills (1888-1920)
Clarence Mills (1890-1958)
Clara Mills (1892-1981)
Infant Mills (1894-1894)
Ida Mills (1896-1992)
By the time of the next census in 1880, the couple was living in New Haven Township in Gallatin County, Illinois. The couple were next door (at least as far as the census was concerned) to Romelia's oldest brother John and his family, who had been living in Gallatin County for most if not all of the last decade. (census image here)
There were some rough times ahead for the couple. It looks as if their first child was either stillborn or died very young; it's not known whether this was a boy or a girl. Apparently they also had a son Marcus who died at the age of three. After that things must have taken a turn for the better, they had seven more children and five of those lived normal lifespans and beyond. The exceptions were Lucretia, who was crippled as a child and died in her early thirties, and another infant who was stillborn or died very young in the 1890s.
The 1900 census found the family, both parents and six children, in Ridgway Township in Gallatin County. (census image here)
By 1910 the household was back down to four people. Silas had married Dora Sanders in 1906 and struck off on his own. Rebecca married Fred Meyer in 1905. Clarence married Melvina Cox in 1908, and Clara married Halleck "Hack" Jones before 1910. Romelia, Paulina, Lucretia and Ida were still there. (census image here)
By 1920 the household was down to Romelia, Paulina and Lucretia; Ida had married Elmer Culley Edwards (1891-1940) in 1914 and moved out. (census image here)
Lucretia died on 20 June 1920 and was buried at Old Cottonwood Cemetery, Cottonwood, Asbury Township, near her grandparents Thomas and Lucretia and other family members (inluding at least one, and probably all, of her siblings who had died as infants).
On 14 June 1927, Paulina died and was also buried in Old Cottonwood.
In 1930 Romelia was living with his daughter Rebecca and the Meyer grandchildren; Rebecca's husband Fred had died in 1925. (census image here)
Romelia died on 8 November 1944 in Ridgway Township at the age of 84 and was buried in Old Cottonwood near his parents, most of his siblings, and where most of his children would be buried. He outlasted all of his siblings except for his three youngest brothers, who all lived into the 1950s.
From the History and Families of Gallatin County Illinois, Volume I, 1988:
[Romelia and Paulina] moved into a cabin on a farm about two miles south of the community of Cottonwood.
In later years, Romelia would tell how they started house keeping with a cast iron skillet and a straw tick in the corner for a bed.
By 1900 their farm consisted of 140 acres of land with the house and farm buildings on the 80 acres immediately south of the John Mills farm.
Through the years, the house and family expanded. The family was almost completely self-sufficient with the resources produced on the farm by the family.
(Information from the History and Families of Gallatin County book provided by Romelia's grandson Ray Edwards).
Other Links
Romelia Mills page at Find A Grave
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