WILLIAM MILAM

William Milam's brother, Benjamin Rush Milam, in the Revolutionary struggles of Mexico against the Spanish Monarchy before 1820 & of his later efforts to colonize land grants in the Mexican State of Texas.........................I know very little of the activities of the Milam family in Missouri. I am aware that the first was the widowed sister-in-law of William & Ben Milam named Susannah Milam who married a man named Massey after the death of husband Archibald Milam in 1804. They relocated in Missouri around 1810 in the area of Palmyria, Mo. In 1825 Jefferson Milam accompanied Ben Milam to the Red River district of Texas where he became a surveyor, married Eliza McKinney, raised a large family, received a league of land as a colonist in the Mexican State of Texas & assisted his Uncle Ben in settling colonists in northeast Texas. Indeed at least half of the Milam family members in Texas are descended from Jefferson Milam.....................The original spelling of the name was from the Parish of Mileham in Northhampshire, England. The first Milehams to immigrate from England landed in Boston in 1624.........................It appears that the families migrated west New York & south into Virginia........................Archibald Milam's son, Moses Milam, received land in Kentucky near Frankfort where they settled during the 1880's. His sons included William, James, Archibald, & Benjimin Milam.................From: William Milam file - Washington County Library

1830 Census
William Milam 0-0-0-0-0-0-1
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mowashin/wc1830_2.html
This was the only Milam/Milan that was in the county in that census

CITY CEMETERY - In 1831 William Milam proposed to donate to the citizens of Potosi a lot between Breton & High Streets for a cemetery, & a subscription was at once commenced to raise funds to clear & fence the lot.............From: Goodspeeds Hist. of Wash. Co. Mo. - pg. 519

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (Note - In Goodspeed's history it says "BAPTIST" church but this must be a misprint as other records indicate Presbyterian churhch) - - On the 21st of August, 1833, William Milan donated & conveyed to James Glenn, P.P. Brickey & John C. Brickey, trustees of the Baptist Church, a lot on Breton street, in Potosi, for the purpose of having a chuch erected thereon.............From: Goodspeeds Hist. of Wash. Co. Mo. - pg. 534

1840 Census - None

Edward Bates was the arbitrator inthe famous Austin land grant suit. This wsas not the suit for the partition which old Moses Austin brought at the first meeting of the Washington County Court in 1814, when he wished to divide the tract between himself & John Rice Jones, but, it was the suit brought after the death of Stephen F. Austin. William Milam of Kentucky, a brother of the Gen. Milam, after whom Milam County, Texas was named, had a claim on the _____ for money advanced, & John Deane, ______ represented parties known as the Devotion heirs, who had a similar claim. Mr. Bates decided tht Milam had the prior claim & awarded him the land, subject to the amount of the Dean claim. This Milam refused to pay, & Deane paid Milams claim & took the land. Mr. Long, of Potosi, now holds what is left of the grant by purchase fromthe Deane heirs. From: Moses Austin file - Washington County Libraray

WILLIAM MILAM - Probate File #735 - Estate of William Milam, deceased. Year of death: 1847 - William Milam was the owner of Lots deeded to the City of Potosi for the Publick City Burying Ground (City Cemetery) in year of 1833 - Potosi Presbyterian Church - (Deeded inyear of 1833) - These land surveys are recorded in the Washington County Recorder of Deeds Office in Survey Book 1824 - 1840 - survey # 8 & 15 - The deeds to same lots are recorded in book C, page 148 (Presbyterian Church) & (City Cemetery) - Book __ & ___ - We believe that William Milam was living in the Druham Hall at the time of his death & that he was operation the Moses Austin Store across the creek from Durham Hall, Moses Austins home. His inventory in the Probate File indicatess notes Mr. Milam held from persons well known in the years of the early 1800's. - We note also that the dates 1847 - 1848 (The date given us by th Core drilling of the log structure where the samples were taken from the Austin Store) could not be correct as the Store was already in operation many years before these dates. From: William Milam file - Washington County Library

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