John Millikin of Chester County
Some more thoughts on the Stringer Will. It certainly looks as though Holdcraft Stringer is the key link between the Millikens of Juniata and John Millikin of West Caln, Chester County (Ridlon, p. 640). I subscribe to Ancestry.com and they have indexed the Probate Records for that County. I have extracted a number of interesting records, which are listed below. I was interested to see the index reference to John Stringer whose will was made probate in 1737, and note his wife was called Martha. Could Holdcraft have been one of John's son? Although the will mentions only three sons, William, George and Daniel, it is evident Joseph Stringer of West Fallowfield, who died in 1760, was also another son.
Ridlon's note: There is preserved in this family as an heirloom, a day book of one John Milliken who was a merchant in Dublin, Ireland in the early part of last century (the 18th), and family tradition, which lacks verification, has it that this John Milliken came to Dublin from Cathiness, Scotland (Ridlon adds Cromarty, which is wrong), and that three of his sons, or sons of Thomas his brother, emigrated to America, sat down in Chester Co., Pen., and became the ancestors of a host of Millikens in the middle and western states.
It seems highly likely the John Millikin listed in the Tax Roll of 1740, is the same John Milliken mentioned in Holdcraft Stringer's will. I now wonder if John Millikin of West Caln, Chester County, is the same John Milliken mentioned in Ridlon's note. If the case, this would push the link with Dublin even further back (see RD, issue #8, article on Ms in the City of Dublin). I had always thought Ridlon's reference to this John Milliken, who is said to have come to Dublin from Caithness, was too early. It now looks as though Ridlon's tradition may be correct. If John Millikin of West Caln, Chester County, came from Dublin, he must have emigrated in the early part of the 18th century. Question: could he have emigrated with John Stringer sometime before 1737?
The Ancestry.com has recently added to their collection some very early church of Ireland records for the City of Dublin. I was surprised to find the surname Stringer turning up in this City as early as 1658. I extracted the only two references found for the City of Dublin in the Ancestry.com archive, and have listed them below. The second reference should raise an eyebrow - the marriage of John Stringer and Elinor Barbar in 1680. The Christian names John and Elinor were both used by the Stringers of West Fallowfield. I also searched for the surname Holdcraft in Ireland, and was even more surprised to find it turning up in County Monaghan. Question: could John Stringer of 1737, have been the son of John and Elinor Stringer of Dublin?
This brings us back to Edward Mullikin of Hillsborough, County Down, and later, County Monaghan. I think there are now too many clues to rule this man out of the picture. As mentioned the other day, names like Huston and Lovery are common to County Antrim and Down, with the surname Lovery being almost exclusively linked to South Antrim and northeast Co. Down. In his book "The Book of Ulster Surnames", Robert Bell stresses the point that the surname Lavery/Lovery is the Anglicised form of O'Lavery, a sept that lived mainly along the marshes between the towns of Lisburn and Crumlin. I have a friend back home, called Stephen Lavery, who descends from this old family, and he told me, his family had lived in the Crumlin area for over three hundred years. It is a fair guess that Agness Lovery came from South Antrim or perhaps the district of Hillsborough.
When Edward Mullikin submitted his petition to the Privy Council of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1714, he was required to provide proof of his marriage to Mary Dumball. Amongst his case papers, there is a testimonial from Oliver Francis, Minister of Hillsborough Church of Ireland, then part of the old parish of Crumlin! It states Edward was married "in the yeare one thousand six hundred eighty and two, and second day of October" and by his marriage had eight children. It also states Edward and his wife Mary Dumball lived together for 15 years in the parish. The couple must have moved south to County Monaghan after 1697. There are, I think, two other testimonials, which are hard to translate, but from what I can make out, at least one was written from Co. Monaghan in 1714. He is certainly styled of County Monaghan in that year, when his case was heard before the Council in Edinburgh.
It is evident Edward Mullikin and John Stringer were contemporises. It is worth noting that the surname Stringer appears in County Cavan, next to Monaghan, in 1796, which although, of a later date, points to a family of this surname settling in this county sometime early in the 1700s. If John Milliken of Dublin and John Millikin of Chester County are one and same person, I think there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to suggest John Millikin of Chester County could arguably have been the son of Edward Mullikin of Co. Monaghan. It is quite possible, Edward Mullikin later moved to Dublin. The evidence to date points to the Millikins beginning to settle in Dublin early in the 1700s. The last time Don and I were in Dublin we extracted some early references to the surname Millikin in Dublin, dating from about the 1740s onwards. I intended including these references in the RD, but never got round to it. I will try to do so, sometime next year.
Ridlon's note on John Milliken of Dublin is important. Although, John Millikin is said to have been a merchant, he might not. It seems to me, it is assumed he was a merchant, based on the daybook belonging to him. It is a pity this book has been lost! If he had been a grocer or trades man, for example, the daybook may simply have recorded his business transactions. Ridlon's comment that this John Milliken came to Dublin from Caithness, which he says, lacks verification, may very well be accurate. Here again, we need to re-examine the papers relating to Edward Mullikin of Co. Monaghan. He employed the services of one John Mullikin of Edinburgh, writer. I have some information on this man. I have a copy of a document recorded by him. In issue #12 of the RD, I list a number of baptismal and marriage entries relating to Edinburgh, Canongate and St. Cuthberts. What I did not include was the list relating to North and South Leith. Today, these two towns or burghs, as they were once known as, are part of the City of Edinburgh. In 1698, they were separate burghs, but royal ports. They were the main ports for Edinburgh. In the parish registers of these two burghs, there are a number of Mullikins mentioned.
From what I can see, most people travelling from the North of Scotland made the journey by boat rather than take the inland route, which would have taken much longer. This is borne out in the church records relating to several Milliken families. In Ridlon's book, he mentions two families who came from Caithness, Alexander Milliken (p. 786) and William Milliken (p. 787). William Milliken made the journey to Edinburgh via Leith. In p. 790, there is a reference to a John Milligan of Drumghost, Co. Monaghan. I wonder if he was descended from Edward Mulliken. John named three of his sons, John, Edward and Thomas! Spookie indeed. It is possible Edward Mullikin may have come from Cathiness, and not John Milliken of Dublin, and that he and John Mulliken of Edinburgh, writer, were relations. As I have already mentioned, I have a copy of a document recorded by John Mullikin. I had it examined sometime go when I was trying to find out what became of John Milliken of Ayr. I dug it out this afternoon, and include the extract below:
Heading: Bond by John Monro etc to John Millikin
Extract of Bond: We Hugh Harrow and John Munro merchants in Wick bind and oblige us conjunctly and severally to be awand and addebted to John Mullikin wryter in Edinburgh all and hail the sowme of £16 Scots ....... with promise to repay by next Candlemas 169?8 and penalties if it is not repayed. This for the more security was to be registered in the books of Council and Session. This was drawn up at Edinburgh 26th July 1697 by John Monro and Hugh Harrow.
[Register of Deeds (National Archives of Scotland) RD4/82/1320-1321]
The burgh of Wick lies in Caithness! This is surely no co-incident. As I was typing out this letter, I started to wonder, could John Mullikin of Edinburgh be the same John Millikin of Dublin? I must say, this thought had never occurred to me before, but the more I think about it, the more the possibility grows. John disappears from Edinburgh, but where he moved to, remains a mystery. At this point, I would be very reluctant to draw any conclusion about him before establishing his identity more fully in Edinburgh. I have never had the need to find out much more about him, though, I would not be surprised if he is the same John Mulliken who married Elizabeth McPherson of Edinburgh. However, I think it will be hard to escape the real possibility that Edward Mullikin of County Monaghan may have been the father of John Millikin of West Caln, Chester County. If John Millikin, executor to Holdcraft Stringer's will, was the father of Martha and Susanna, and Edward and Thomas, it could be argued that his son, Edward, listed before Thomas, was named after his own father - Edward.
It seems to me, there is now a basic framework in place against which the Juniata family tradition can be tested in Ireland and Scotland. This tradition seems much more a reality now and if the evidence outlined above is anything to go by, Thomas Milliken probably descended from a family who settled in Ireland, but came originally from the northern County of Caithness in Scotland. Don and I plan to be in Dublin next September to undertake some more research. This would give you and Kathleen time to try and pursue the Chester County link further and let us know the outcome before September. It would help if you could clarify when John Millikin approximately settled in Chester County and as much detail as you can find on the other Ms mentioned in Chester County and John Stringer, elder, during the first half of the 1700s.
Chester County, Pennsylvania Wills 1713-1825
Decedent: John Stringer
Prove Date: 12 Dec 1737
Remarks: Administration to William Stringer, son, Martha the widow and sons George and Daniel renouncing.
Decedent: Holdcraft Stringer
Prove Date: 8 Mar 1757
Remarks: To John Millikin, William Miller, John Nailor, Joseph Huston, Ralph Huston, Cobert Miller in Shearman Valley. Martha and Susanna Millikin. Edward and Thomas Millikin.
Decedent: Robert Taylor of Marple
Date: 24 May 1759
Prove Date: 12 Sep 1760
Remarks: Provides for wife Jane. To granddaughter Mary Morris dwelling house and lot of land where I now live at expiration of wife's interest with reversion to granddaughter Phebe Morris paying to her sister Hannah £10. To daughter Elizabeth, Wife of John Morris, rents of plantation in Marple whereon William McAffee now lives during lifetime of her husband and so long as she continue his widow. To grandson Robert Morris the above plantation at expiration of his mother's right. To granddaughter Jane Morris case of drawers. To step daughter Sarah Woolley £6. Remainder divided between wife Jane and daughter Elizabeth Morris. Executor: Son-in-law John Morris. Witness John Stringer.
Decedent: Joseph Stringer of West Fallowfield
Date: 8 Mar 1766
Prove Date: 5 Jun 1766
Remarks: To brother William Stringer all personal estate until his son Joseph shall be of age when I give to my said nephew and namesake Joseph Stringer all my lands paying to his sisters Sarah McKim £10, Eleanor Stringer £10 and Martha Stringer £10 with reversion successively to his brothers William, George and John. Executors: Brother William Stringer and James Glendening. Witnesses: William Robb, John Huston, Mary Huston.
Decedent: Joseph Stringer of West Fallowfield
Prove Date: 28 Dec 1775
Remarks: Administration to Elizabeth Stringer.
Decedent: William Stringer of West Fallowfield
Date: 15 Mar 1784
Prove Date: 30 Aug 1784
Remarks: To son John messuage, etc. whereon I now dwell containing about 200 acres, etc., paying legacies. To daughter Elinor Stringer £20 gold or silver. To daughter Martha Stringer £20. To daughter Sarah, wife of David McKim, 30 shillings. To son George 30 shillings. To grandson John, son of Joseph Stringer, 10 shillings. To son William tract of land he now dwells on in Fallowfield containing about 140 acres. Executors: Sons John and William.
Decedent: John Stringer of West Fallowfield
Date: 7 Sep 1793
Prove Date: 5 Oct 1793
Remarks: To wife Sarah 1/3 of estate. To nephew Joseph £6 at 21.To nephew John Stringer, son of William, 2/3 of my lands, and to his brother William, the remaining 1/3 at death of wife. To sister Sarah McKim £20. To sister Eleanor Lawson £10. Executors: Brother William, John Irwin, Jr.
Decedent: William Miller. At present of Kennett, late of New Garden
Date: 28 Aug 1767
Prove Date: 14 Nov 1767
Remarks: To daughter Mary wife of James Miller ¼ of all estate real and personal. To granddaughter Ruth Miller, daughter of Jas. and Mary, bed &c. Executors to sell all estate and proceeds equally divided between daughter Mary aforesaid, daughter Hannah wife of Wm. Whitesides, daughter Margaret wife of Jonathan Hanson and my granddaughter Ruth. Executors: Nephews Jesse of Kennet and Saml. Miller of New Garden
Decedent: William Miller of New Garden
Date: 28 Jul 1768
Prove Date: 5 Sep 1768
Remarks: Codicil to son William all real estate in Chester and New Castle Cos., also personal estate to amount of £300. Confirms will of deceased wife Ann devising certain lots of land in Philadelphia. To daughter Mary, wife of Joshua Pusey, goods to amount of £205. To daughter Ann Miller goods to amount of £1050. To son-in-law Ellis Lewis 20 shillings. To granddaughter Mary Lewis £500 at 18. My cousin John Miller is indebted to me on mortgage out of which I give to Ann, daughter of Samuel Hill £14, for her support as Friends of New Garden Meeting think fit. Executor: Son Wm. Codicil gives to 4 grandchildren, viz., Wm., Joshua, Ann and Mary Pusey £20 each.
Decedent: William Huston of Carlisle
Prove Date: 10 Dec 1757
Remarks: To Mother, Ann Huston, my plantation on the Sider Spring and the houe and lot in Carlisle. Sister Jean Russell, bro. John Huston. Exs., John Robb, John Calhoun, both of Letort Spring.
Church of Ireland Records, Dublin
Marriage of John Stringer and Elinor Barber
On: 23 September 1680
Marriage Place: St. Audeon, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Source: D. A. Chart. Marriage Entries from the Registers of the Parishes of St. Andrew, St. Anne, St. Audoen, & St. Bride (Dublin), 1632-1800. Exeter and London: William Pollard & Co. Ltd., 1913. 185 pages.
Marriage of Thomas Stringer and Mary Whittick
On: 6 June 1658
Marriage Place: St. Bride, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Burial Place: St. Bride, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Source: D. A. Chart. Marriage Entries from the Registers of the Parishes of St. Andrew, St. Anne, St. Audoen, & St. Bride (Dublin), 1632-1800. Exeter and London: William Pollard & Co. Ltd., 1913. 185 pages.
St. Audoen and St. Bride Churches of Ireland
The published records of the Church of St. Audoen: baptisms 1672-1800, marriages 1673-1800 and burials 1673-1800. The Church of St. Bride only has marriages 1632-1800. The parish of St. Bride is remarkable for the inclusion of many French names, pointing to the settlement of Huguenot refugees in that vicinity.
Irish Flax Growers List, 1796
Samuel Holdcraft, County Monaghan
Widow Stringer, County Cavan
PS, it is interesting to note that the name of Thomas Milliken, John Millikin of Dublin's reputed brother, was still remembered in family tradition. He doesn't appear to have emigrated to North America.
John Mullikin of County Monaghan
Last night I sat down to re-read the various depositions, five in number, and what appears to be three testimonials or certificates, in the civil case brought by Edward Mullikin blacksmith of County Monaghan, and late indweller of the burgh of Hillsborough, Co. Down, Ireland, against James Brown merchant burgess of Edinburgh in Scotland. From what I could distil, the case centred on a bond of £100 or £200 Scots granted by James Brown of Edinburgh at the time of his marriage to Mary Dumball, who it was claimed had deserted Edward Mullikin about seven years before 1714. In his defence, James Brown claimed he was ignorant of her previous relationship and at the time of her marriage, granted her an annual sum of £100. There is one very important piece of information I hadn’t previously picked up on before. The John Mullikin mentioned in the depositions, and referred to above, doesn’t appear to be the same John Mullikin, writer of Edinburgh.
In at least three of the depositions, John is said to be the “son” of Mary Dumball, procreated between her and Edward Mullikin late of Hillsborough, Co. Down. This changes every thing. That John Mullikin was the daughter of Mary isn’t in dispute, what was in dispute, is whether Edward was lawfully married to Mary Dumball or simply cohabiting. This single point of law produced a flurry of legal correspondence. It seems, Mary following her death, left a legacy to John, which was contested by James Brown. I could be wrong about this, but what is very clear, John had in his possession a bond in which he is named as her heir. He must have been Mary’s eldest son. The bond itself isn’t recorded. The basis of James Brown’s argument against his claim is simple, he sought to prove that Edward Mullikin and Mary Dumball were co-habitants, and not therefore legally married. If proved, John Mullikin would have no claim to the bond.
So, John was the son of Edward Mullikin, this is a real turn up for the books, so to speak, and one that I hadn’t expected. It makes the whole thing all the more intriguing. If his parents married in 1682, then he at the very least couldn’t have been much older than 30-31 years in 1714. I cannot quite work out where John lived, e.g. Edinburgh or Ireland, or whether he was merchant or blacksmith. All the documents in question need to be properly translated. As already indicated, I think the identity of John Mullikin writer of Edinburgh has to be established, in case he is the same John son of Edward Mullikin. Some how I doubt it, as John would only have been aged about 14 years in 1697. But he may be the same John Mullikin, blacksmith, who married Elizabeth McPherson of Edinburgh on 10 May 1705 in the parish of Canongate. He had at least seven known children:
1. Agnes baptised 1706 at St. Cuthbert’s Church of Scotland, Edinburgh.
2. Elizabeth baptised 1708, as above.
3. Janet baptised 1710, at the Canongate, Edinburgh.
4. Martha baptised 1711, at St. Cuthbert’s Church of Scotland, Edinburgh.
5. Robert baptised 1718, at the Canongate, Edinburgh.
6. William baptised 1723, as above.
7. Catherine baptised 1727, as above.
The Christian names of this John’s children don’t indicate any particularly link with Edward Mullikin and Mary Dumball, but there again, there appear to be gaps in the record. I would have thought, for example, he would have named one of his sons John after himself. Mary Dumball appears to have had a sister called Catherine. There are other names mentioned in the depositions, which I cannot quite make out. I have scanned a section of one of the depositions onto the WebPages below, which refers to Edward Mullikin and his son John:
John’s name appears on the fourteenth line down from the top. As you can see his name is spelt as “John Mullikine”, a typical rendering for Edinburgh. This suggests to me, the deposition was actually written in Edinburgh and not Ireland in 1714. Immediately after John’s name appear two words that previously meant little to me. Needless to say, it has been a while since I last read these documents and since then, I have got better at reading old Scots. Last night when I read this section, I recognised the first word as "procreate", which I should have recognised before, though, the second word is much harder; it is the old word "betwixt", meaning between. This old word is still used in the King James I’s Authorised Version of the Bible, which I still read myself. So the line reads, “to John Mullikine procreate betwixt her and me Edward Mullikine”. I have translated below most of the section scanned above, which I hope makes for interesting reading.
Heading: Answer for Edward Mullikine indweller of Hillsborough in Ireland against James Brown’s Petition
Date: 28th July 1714
I having been lawfully married to the deceased Mary Dumball sometime indweller in Edinburgh (this is abbreviated in the text) by Oliver Francis minister at Hillsborough in the County of Down and lived 15 years together and had eight children as appears by a certificate herewith produced, dated 3rd June 1714, signed by the sovereign and [next two words unclear to me] in the said town and the said Mary Dumball having deserted me for some years past, and taken with her upwards of 30 lib? of my [word unclear to me], and traded there with to a considerable advantage, and being informed that she lately deceased in this place and had left a considerable quantity of goods, and [next few words difficult to translate] intromittor by the said James Brown chairman in Edinburgh and that he and granted a bond of 100 Stirling: payable to the said Mary Dumbal and [not sure of passage], to John Mullikine procreate betwixt her and me Edward Mullikine: Therefore I did easy? and prove against him before the Commissary of Edinburgh …… [there is two and half pages of writing after this]
I guess the most burning question now is whether or not John son of Edward Mullikin of Co. Monaghan, Ireland, may be the same John Millikin styled of Dublin in Ridlon’s note. I had a look through the various bits and pieces of information extracted in Dublin last year by Don and myself, and other records I have examined over the years. It is fairly clear a family of Mullikin/Millikins settled in Dublin early in the 1700s, but the information I have accumulated, doesn’t pre-date 1740. The references are very scattered and sparse. In general, information prior to 1750 is fairly thin on the ground for Dublin, due to the destruction of the Public Record of Ireland in Dublin in 1922. This makes the search all the more difficult. There is little hope of ever finding anything in Co. Monaghan, unless, in the estate papers of some landlord. However, there are some very early Church of Ireland baptismal (1686-95), marriage (1688-95) and Burial (1688-1735) records surviving for Hillsborough. Presbyterians frequently registered their names in the Church of Ireland records.
When I say, I have no pre-1740 records relating to the Millikins in Dublin, I mean by this, those families who came to spell their surname distinctly as Millikin or Milliken and not Milligan or Mulligan. In Scotland and Ireland, the surname Mullikin was modified to Mulligan, Milligan, Millikin etc. I have never been able to fully work out why? Two factors though played an important part in Ireland: those who adopted the Irish way of things, but remained Presbyterians, changed their name to Mulligan, whilst those who held strongly to their Scottish identity simply modified the “u”, which sounds too Irish, to “i” in Mullikin. This is never more evident than in the Cos. Antrim and Down in the North of Ireland. For example, we find Roger Mulligan, the grandson of Roger Mullikin alias Mulligan of Dunmurry, spelling his names as Mulligan. He settled in Dublin sometime early in the 1700s, when he married Alice Hartwell at St. Brides Church of Ireland in 1710. It goes without saying, however, that there were many native Irish Mulligans, nearly all Catholics (some became members of the Church of Ireland) who lived near their Scottish Presbyterian namesakes, making it mighty difficult to distinguish who is who, particularly in Dublin.
William Millikin, Gentleman, was amongst the first wave of Mullikins to settle in Dublin. His only daughter, Alice Milliken married Joseph Jackson of Dublin at St. Anne’s Church of Ireland in 1758. His only known son, John Millikin, married Susanna Hopper of Dublin in 1768. William founded the famous publishing company of Millikin & Co. in Dublin. This man lived to a great age, and there is some indication, he came from Scotland. It strikes me, that he would have been a contemporary of John Millikin of West Caln in Chester County. I have copy of his will, which is the largest looking will I have ever seen. He owned a number of proprieties in and around Dublin. It is interesting to note that the first two Millikins to appear in Chester County in the tax rolls bear the Christian names of William and John Millikin! A similar, picture emerges in Dublin with William Millikn, Gentleman, of Grafton Street, before 1748, and John Millikin, (silk) weaver, admitted burgess of Dublin in 1748. Perhaps it is only a co-incident or is it? I will try and find out more about John son of Edward Mullikin and let you know sometime in the near future.
