The oldest generation of Hilyards as yet discovered in our line is Thomas and Maria/Mary (maiden name as yet unknown) Hilyard. What is known of this family is described in the First Generation Narrative. I hope to pool all that is known of and speculated about this family on this page, and from that I hope we can push our line back further, hopefully across the Atlantic.
'Bretheren, Church of the, was organized in Germany in 1708 by Alexander
Mack. The group was persecuted in Germany, and the church was reorganized
in America in 1719 at Germantown, Pa. The religion spread through Pennsylvania,
the Shenandoah Valley, and westward to the Pacific Coast.' The principle
of the group is baptism by trine, or triple immersion, and they are sometimes
call Dunkers (from the German tunken, to immerse). Brethren believe in
peace, brotherhood, temperance, and simple living. They teach the way of
alternative service in place of military conscription. When I looked up
Brethren here's a little of what it said: Brethren immigrated to the US
between 1719 and 1740 and settled in PA. Until recently, they have remained
concentrated in rural PA, OH, IN, and the Shenandoah Valley of VA. Now,
the time frame of the early Brethren Church and the birth of Thomas Hilyard
are close. Maybe his parents left Germany to avoid persecution and ended
up in PA."
"I have re-visited the genealogical section
of the Denver Public Library re the work by Ted C. Hilliard, which, you
will remember, was cited from memory by Bronson. The results of my research
on the TCH work:
a. Rather than a book, it was a newsletter, which started in 1986 and ceased in 1988 (at least, those are the latest editions of the letter in the libe). Address: Hilliard History, c/o Ted C. Hilliard, P. O. Box 819, Hilmar, CA 95324. (I need to follow-up and see if TCH is still actively researching the family.)
b. Material that I found strongly suggests a rejection of the Germanic HILGERT origin for our line. From the Dec 1987 edition: "Many HILLIARD HISTORY subscribers are descendants of a German family that was prominent in Colonial Northhampton County, Pennsylvania; and later in Butler, Clarion and Armstrong counties, Pennsylvania. the progenitor of this populous line was Johan Franz Hilgert, also known as Francis Hilliard. It appears that the name was changed to Hilliard during his life time. The name has also shown spelled as Hilgerd and Hilyard. . . .Johan's sons, Isaac, Peter, John and Jacob all fought in the Revolutionary War." The article goes on to outline the migrations of several of the sons into western PA. Always they maintained the Hilliard spelling. In the April 1988 edition there is a further account of the family. One son and his family emigrated through Ohio into Illinois and finally Iowa. Another son also ended in Iowa. A third son went to Missouri. And another branch went to Michigan. As I have our line's history, Thomas P. emigrated from Fayette Co, PA to Fairfield Co, OH and then Jeremiah Sylvester came on to Allen Co. (Incidentally to German Twnshp, Allen Co--another argument, although weak, for the Germanic origin of the family. In case you were unaware, German Twnshp was renamed American Twnshp at the time of the anti-German feeling of W.W.I.) So it seems unlikely that we are related to Johan Franz Hilgert.
c. Another interesting finding worth following up: In the August 1987 issue is a copy of the will of JOHN HILLYARD, made in 1684 in Kent County, PA. Our Thomas, b abt 1750, could easily be a grandson. Listed as sunns (sons) of John Hillyard are John, Thomas, Oliver, and Charles. Only one daughter is named: Mary. The will was submitted by a Roberta Hilyard Clapp of Wilmington, DE. (Is her name anywhere in our databases?)" **NOTE FROM VONDA: I don't have her in any of my records. Sorry!