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Patricia,
Since my March 2001 posting, I’ve broken through my Willey “brick wall.”
I identified M.C. Willey as Marion C. “Mack” Willey, a son of Tennessee-born Newton Willey and Alabama-born Susannah (Lowery) Willey.
Mack’s bride was Arkansas-born Caroline (McMillin) Akers, a daughter of William Pinkney “W.P.” McMillin and Adaline (Cooley) McMillin and the widow of Mississippi-born William Akers.
William Akers died early in 1880, leaving Caroline with two daughters. She married Mack Willey later that year. Mack’s uncle, Marion Davis “Uncle Dave” Willey, was married to William Akers’ sister Mahalia. I suspect Mahalia may have played some role as matchmaker between Mack and Caroline.
Mack and Caroline Willey later moved from Greene County to Boone County, Arkansas, following Caroline’s sister and brother-in-law, C.D. “Cede” (McMillin) Harris and Benjamin S. Harris. My maternal grandfather and my mother were born in Boone County.
W.P. and Adaline McMillin are reported to have moved to Greene County in 1853. They were from Spartanburg District, South Carolina, but it's not entirely clear if they came to Arkansas directly from South Carolina. Many of their neighbors in Greene County also had connections to Spartanburg District. Some of them came to Arkansas via Walker County, Georgia. Among the other Greene County settlers with Spartanburg District roots were members of the Gramling, Cothran/Cothrew, Bolin/Bowlin/Bowling, Bobo, and Blackwood families. The latter included W.P. McMillin's sister and brother-in-law, Mary Caroline (McMillin) Blackwood and Theron “Them” Blackwood.
W.P. and Adaline McMillin brought two South Carolina-born daughters with them to Greene County. One was the aforementioned “Cede.” The other daughter was Martha Jane, who appears to have been called Emily. Martha Jane married Martin W. “Dock” Boyd, and remained in Greene County after her sisters Cede and Caroline went west to Boone County.
I've tried to find W.P. McMillin's household on the 1850 census, either in South Carolina or Georgia, but have had no luck.
Recently, I stumbled across this household on the 1850 census of Spartanburg District:
Dwelling 1544
MCALLISTER, Pinky, 25, M
MCALLISTER, Adelun, 23, F
MCALLISTER, Martha, 8, F
MCALLISTER, Celia, 6, F
MCALLISTER, Doctor, 4, M
MCALLISTER, Wallis, 2, M
Listed close by were households headed by Edmond Cooly in Dwelling 1546 and Joseph Cooly in Dwelling 1548. I understand that Adaline (Cooley) McMillin had Cooley brothers named Edmond and Joseph.
Immediately next to the Pinky McAllister household was one (Dwelling 1543) whose head was listed only as "Edmond, 75." I’ve wondered if he could have been Edmond Cooley, Sr., Adaline's father. He was born around 1775.
If Pinky and Adelun McAllister prove to be William Pinkney McMillin and Adeline (Cooley) McMillin, whose surname may have been mistakenly recorded as McAllister on the census, I don’t know what became of the boys Doctor and Wallis. I don’t know for sure if the two boys were sons of Pinky and Adelum, but I assume they were. Until I ran across the “Pinky McAllister” household, I had no hint that W.P. and Adaline might have had sons. I've seen no mention of W.P. and Adaline bringing any sons with them to Arkansas.
The first full accounting of their household I had was from the 1860 census of Cache Township, Greene County, Arkansas:
MCMILLIN, W.P., 38, M, Farmer, SC
MCMILLIN, Adaline D., 37, F, Housekeper, SC
MCMILLIN, Martha J., 17, F, Domestic Work, SC
MCMILLIN, C.D.P., 15, F, Domestic Work, SC
MCMILLIN, Caroline, 3, F, AR
KELTON, Robert, 26, M, Farm Laborer, GA
I don’t know of any connection between Caroline (McMillin) Akers Willey, who by 1930 was living near a daughter in Utah, and Floyd McMillan. The McMillin surname was often misspelled. Do you know who Floyd McMillan’s parents might have been?
Regards from Virginia,
Clete
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