Jeremiah Hilyard

son of Thomas and Elizabeth Haught Hilyard

Descendants of Jeremiah on the mailing list:

Jeremiah Hilyard was born November 10, 1817 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, located in the southwestern corner of the state. By 1836, not even twenty years old, Jeremiah was scouting out a new home for his family in Ohio. He must have liked what he saw, as he, his parents, and several siblings relocated to Fairfield County in the late 1830’s. They settled in Rushcreek Township, which is in the southeast corner of the county. A short time later, in 1839, Jeremiah married Mary Ann Valentine, who was born August 13, 1819 in Ohio.

At the time of the birth of their first child, Thomas, Jeremiah and Mary Ann were living near both sets of grandparents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Haught) Hilyard, and Mary Ann’s mother Nancy, widow of the late John Valentine. It was common in those days for families to live quite near each other, with the parents often deeding a part of their land to their children. As with the Hilyards, families often migrated in large groups to new states or territories.

Jeremiah and Mary Ann’s family grew steadily from that time on, having a total of eight, possibly nine, children. Jeremiah, again feeling the need to move on to new territory, purchased land in western Ohio, in Allen County, in 1849. The family didn’t move immediately, however. At the time of the 1850 federal census, they were still living in Fairfield County. Jeremiah was the first white man to purchase and settle on this land, so there was no doubt much work to do in readying the homestead for a wife and small children. Trees had to be cleared and the land prepared for farming. Certainly within the next year or two, the family made the journey (of how many miles?) to their new home. Jeremiah had little time to enjoy the fruits of his labor, as he died in the spring of 1855. He was laid to rest in the Allentown cemetery, not far from his farm.

Mary Ann was left a widow with seven surviving children. Thomas, the oldest, was 14 years at the time of his father’s death, and the baby Ephraim wasn’t even a year old. It isn’t really a surprise that Mary Ann remarried with such a burden before her. But her choice, Samuel Neely, was only 18 when they were married in 1856, less than a year after Jeremiah’s death; Mary Ann was 36.  He was a scant two years older than his step-son, Thomas Hilyard.

Very little is known of Sam Neely. Family tradition says that he and Mary Ann had twins, which did not survive; though I have seen no records to substantiate this.  He and Mary Ann were together in the 1860 federal census, though she was listed as the landowner; this was unusual during a time when women gave up all but their dower right (one third of the property value) when they married. Samuel served in the same Civil War company as Mary Ann’s son Thomas.  He is no longer living with Mary Ann in the 1870 census.  By 1880, Mary Ann was living alone near her sons Ephraim and John, and was listed as a widow in the census. It is possible he died during his service.  It is also possible that the marriage did not work out and the two were quietly divorced. When Mary Ann died in 1888, she was buried next to Jeremiah at Allentown, and had reclaimed the name of Hilyard on her tombstone.

Children of Jeremiah and Mary Ann Valentine Hilyard
 

And possibly:

VLH says on 12 Apr 2004:  I have always included this name in the list of children, but recently deleted it from my database.  Here is my reasoning.  The only reference I have at all to “D” Hilyard is the 1860 Federal Census.  He is a male child, age 7.  He is not listed in any other census, there is no gravestone for him (and there is one for Angeline, who died young), no other record I can find whatsoever.  I looked again at the 1860 census, and here is what I found:

Figure 1:  1860 Federal Census Amanda Township, AllenCounty, Ohio p. 146

1860 Census for Samuel Neely

Here’s what I think happened. The census taker listed all the people in the household, going right down the column putting in the initials of their names.  T for Thomas, J for John, J for Jeremiah, N for Noah, and E for Ephraim.  Hey, don’t forget David, so he puts down “D” at the end. Then he goes on to the age column.  The person giving the information (maybe it’s even Samuel Neeley, who might not be exactly familiar with everyone’s ages), and he gives the children’s ages in order, so that David, the last one listed, gets Ephraim’s age.  With the exception of Thomas, all the children’s ages are a little off.  David should have still been living in his mother’s house, and I have not found him anywhere else in the census.  Also note that Nancy was already married, and Angeline was dead.

Census Records

 

1840 Federal Census Fairfield County, Ohio; Rushcreek Township, p. 411:

 

HILYARD, Jeremiah

 

1 male 20-30    Jeremiah

1 female 20-30 Mary Ann

 

1850 Federal Census Fairfield County, Ohio; Auburn Township, p. 411:

 

HILLARD, Jeremiah    34        PA       farmer  $100

            M.A.                30        OH

            Thomas            9          OH      school in year

            Nancy              7          OH      school in year

            David               5          OH

            John                 4          OH

            Angeline           2          OH

            Jeremiah           4/12     OH

 

1860 Federal Census Allen County, Ohio; Amanda Township, p. 146:

 

NEELEY, Sam'l           22 OH farmer  -- $50 

            M.A.                44 OH             $1500 --

HILLARD, T.              20 OH day labor                      male

            J.                      18 OH day labor                      male

            J.                      15 OH day labor                      male

            N.                    12 OH                         male

            E.                     10 OH                         male

            D.                    7   OH                         male

 

1870 Federal Census St. Joseph County, Michigan; Fawn River Town, p. 15:

 

HILLIARD, Mary A.   44        OH      Keeping house  $150

            Ephraim            16        OH      At home

            Jeremiah           20        OH      Farm laborer

            Noah                18        OH      Farm laborer

 

 

1880 Federal Census Allen County, Ohio; Amanda Township, p. 213:

 

NEELY, Mary A.         60        widowed          KH      OH PA PA      cannot read and write

 

Mary Ann was living next door to her sons Ephraim and John.