Brief History of the
Milligan Early Generations

During the research into my family tree, I decided to look into the Milligan Family name and how it affected my ancestors. To begin with, my tie-in with the Milligan name is that my grandmother on my Mothers side was Agnes Milligan. I must confess that this was the most confusing train of research that I encountered in dealing with my ancestors. It is because of this that I must say that a lot of the information gathered is based on assumption and I can in no way say that everything written about the Milligan history is fact. Many of the dates were changed from Census to Census and some of the names were also different each time. However, I have reason to believe that most of the data is correct. I have received much more Milligan information from a couple of long lost Milligan cousins, namely Lavinia Milligan Sala of Tennessee and the late "Kay" Milligan Slefinger of Florida. Some of this information updated much of what I had and other parts further confused things. I somehow have a feeling that I'm not done with the Milligan Family tree just yet.

To begin with, the first Milligan in our family tree to come to Canada was James Milligan, Sr. He was born on 29 Feb 1800 at Killyleagh, County Down, Ireland. Another report states that he was born in Dumalig, County Down, Ireland. He was reported to have left Saintfield in Northern Ireland in the 1820's and came to Bayside, New Brunswick and lived in Bocabec for a few years and then moved to Baillie where he resided until his death on 1 June 1866.  Another source states that both he and his wife came to Canada in 1825. There were other Milligan families in the Bocabec area at that time and likely were related to James. Time did not permit me to research this at this time. Maybe someone on the Milligan side has more information on this but for the present, I cannot wander too far afield. One of his children was born in St Andrews, NB in 1829, another in Bocabec in 1837 and one in Baillie in 1847. This would indicate that the family moved to Baillie sometime between 1837 and 1847. His will was recorded in the Archives in the St Stephen Library and states that he purchased his property from one Richard Haddock who originally purchased it from a Joseph McLaughlin who was the original grantee of the land. The date of James' purchase was 19 July 1845. This property is what I remember as being the "home place" which was the home of my grandfather and grandmother, Tom and Agnes Fleming. How it was passed down to my grandparents is part assumption and part old timers tales as related to me by some old-time residents of Baillie. James and his family lived there until his death in 1866. His wife lived there until her death on 1 March 1889. His son Samuel moved there in 1899 according to the personal column in the St Croix Courier and likely lived there until his death. At this time, Thomas J and Agnes moved in and "occupied" the property. It is reported that my grandfather was of stern moral fibre but not overly ambitious. He was nicknamed the "Deacon" and was closely affiliated with the Baptist Church which was built on the Hill just a mile north of the property. The school and the Orange Hall were built on the "home place" but I have no idea as to when. It was reported that my grandparents moved around a lot. Apparently, Thomas found all of his homes by "occupying" them when others moved out until he was forced to move on.

James, Sr., married Mary McKeag who was also born in County Down, Ireland. Shipping records show her as immigrating to St Andrews in 1824 and James as landing in Bayside in 1825 so I assumed that they were married in Canada. I have since received documented information from Lavinia which states that they were married in the Killinchy Presbyterian Church in 1825. Likely the shipping records stating different dates of arrival in Canada were in error.  She was born in Oct 1807 and died on 31 March 1889. James and Mary were assumed to have eleven children. The census reports in the late 1800's were to say the least a bit confusing. Their first child was a son Robert; then Alexander; next was William; the fourth child was James, Jr. (my great-grandfather); fifth was Margaret who died in 1851 just one week short of her 16th Birthday; sixth was Sarah Elizabeth; seventh was Samuel; eighth was the first John who died in 1846 at the age of three; ninth was Thomas; tenth was John W.; and lastly, Mary Ann. The names listed as children were taken from Census' from the late 1800's and from information provided by our "cousins", Lavinia and Katherine.

• Robert Milligan was born on 22 Feb 1827 and died on 30 Dec 1883. He married Sarah Elizabeth Fleming on 27 May 1855. I have just recently received sufficient info to indicate that his wife, Sarah Elizabeth died and that he married Jane Grace Hoyt from the Harvey Lake George area of York County and that they had a son, Walter Hoyt Milligan.
   

  • Walter Hoyt Milligan was born  on 5 May 1879 and died on 19 Dec 1957 in California. His parents both died shortly after is birth. He was listed in the 1891 Census' as a "lodger" in the James Milligan household. The "L" designation in the early Census' was for a lodger which could be a servant but it is the common designation for an orphan, adopted or illegitimate child or welfare children.   Based on a story told by him to his son, Walter, he lived with his Uncle and Aunt.  After a very eventful childhood, he joined the circus and moved to the western USA.  He was reported to have married three times, first in Canada to a Minnie Luella Richards in 1905 in New Brunswick , then to Evelyn (Eva) Hopper in Oregon, and then to Norma G Brant in California.   For more information on this family, click on Walter Hoyt Milligan above or  e-mail me for updates as this branch can sometimes be a "work in progress". 
   

• Alexander Milligan was born in St. Andrews, NB on 30 Oct 1828 and died on 6 February 1908. He married Abigail Bagley, the daughter of Thomas H Bagley and Belinda Malcolm of Baillie, on 19 Oct 1858. She was born on 8 Nov 1835 and died on 15 Mar 1908. They are both buried in the Moores Mills Cemetery. They had one son, Albert Edward Milligan. Alexander Milligan was given a land grant described as Lot "P", St James Parish, Charlotte County, 43 Acres, 1864/04/09. It was a pie shaped lot across the Baillie Road from the Scott Road and bordered on the land owned by his father, James. It was later owned and occupied by Milton Palmer. "Miltie" told me that my grand-mother, Agnes (Milligan) Fleming, used to come over next-door and listen to the "War News" on his battery powered radio during the Second World War.
   

  • Albert Edward Milligan was born on 19 Nov 1859 and died on 5 Jul 1939 in Schuylerville, N.Y.. He married Clara M Babb of Pomeroy Ridge, NB on 20 June 1881. She was born in 1865 and died in 1896. They moved to Schuylerville, New York where he built the Broadway Theatre. He was also a superintendent at the Horicon Mill. They had three children: Addie May, Jesse Bertram and Etta Claire. After Clara's death in 1896, he remarried, this time to Carrie Stein. They also had three children: Albert Edward II, John Alexander, and Caroline Anna
    
    

• William Milligan, the third son born to James and Mary, was born on 26 Apr 1831 and died on 26 April 1910. He married Elizabeth Ann Mann on 15 August, 1864. She was born on 13 Jun 1840 and died on 15 Dec 1915. She was the daughter of "Deacon" Thomas Mann and Maria Eliza Dewolfe. Prior to coming to Canada, she lived in Glencoe and New Mills, County Tyre, Scotland. It is believed that William inherited 3 acres of land from his father, James. It was located across the road from the "home-place" in Baillie. Through a series of sales and wills, this property was later owned by their daughter, "Mamie" French. William was listed in the 1871 Census as a Carriage Maker in Dewolfe. William and Elizabeth are believed to have had five children: Charles Rockwell Milligan, Fanny Etta Milligan, William Arthur Milligan, Mary Elizabeth Milligan and Annie Zilla Milligan.
  
  

  • Charles Rockwell Milligan was born on 11 May 1865 and died in July,1949. He has been reported to have lived in Metheun, Massachusetts. He was married to Minnie Frances Clark on 9 Oct 1894. She was born on 21 Sep 1873 and died on 18 Nov 1927. The had five children: Eva Grace Milligan,, Mabel Milligan, Ruth Milligan, Wilbur Wallace Milligan and Donald Clark Milligan.
    
    

  • Fanny Etta Milligan was born on 11 Mar 1867 and died in January, 1941. She married Jay Clark Merrill of Philadelphia, Penn. on 30 May 1903. Nothing is known at this time where they resided or if they had any family.
    
    

  • Mary Elizabeth "Mamie" Milligan was born on 27 Aug 1869 and died on 1 Feb 1955. She married Rev. George Washington French of Holden, Maine on 7 Oct 1908 in Baillie, NB. The had one child, Clark French. The Rev. French was born on 31 Dec 1871 and died on 21 Feb 1923. I believe that they lived in Metheun, Mass. and that after his death Mamie bought the property mentioned above and moved back to Baillie. She lived there only a short time and then moved to St Andrews, NB sometime in the early 1940's. Melva Dickerson-Merrill and Edna Dickerson-Woodside remember her and stayed at her place some times. Other members of our family can remember "Uncle Charlie" visiting her from his home in "the States". Photos given to me by Miltie Palmer show Mamie, Charlie, Fanny and Clark on the steps of her home in Baillie. These photos are presently held by Melva Merrill. One thing that I can remember about "Aunt Mamie" is that we used to get (maybe swipe) "Yellow Transparent" Apples from the orchard behind her house.
    
    

  • William Arthur Milligan was born on 18 Jan 1872 in St Stephen, NB. He died on 5 Jul 1906 in Baillie, NB. He married Margaret Barclay Anderson on 6 Apr 1904 in Andover, Mass. She was born on 17 Oct 1873 in Valley Falls, New York. She died on 30 Oct 1956 in Andover, Mass. They had one son, Charles Ernest Milligan.
    
    

  • Annie Zilla Milligan was born on 26 Jun 1874 and died on 20 Nov 1930. It is not known at present if she was ever married.
    
    

• James Milligan, Jr. was born on 23 Apr 1833 and died on 16 Mar 1901 in Baillie. He was married to Nancy Luke on 17 Nov 1862 in Bocabec, NB. James and Nancy were my great-grandparents. Prior to her marriage she lived in Bocabec with a Mary Carr who may have been her grandmother. Nancy was born in Ireland in 1840 and immigrated to Canada in 1846. There appears to be a bit of confusion in this family as James, Jr.'s birth date is different on the 1861 and the 1871 Census'. To further add to the confusion one Census lists his wife as Mary and the 1871 Census lists her as Nancy. On their wedding certificate her name is listed as Nancy however she signs it as "Agnes" Perhaps her name was Agnes Mary Nancy Luke. Hopefully, further research on my next visit to New Brunswick will clear up this mystery. James Jr. and Nancy are believed to have had five children: Agnes Cummings Milligan, Frederick Melvin Milligan, Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Milligan, Leila A Milligan, and James Culbert Milligan.
  
  

  

  • Agnes Milligan was born in 1863 and died on 9 July 1945 at Old Ridge, NB. She married Thomas James Fleming at the Manse in Waweig on 15 March 1893. These were my grandparents on my mother's side of the family. Little is know of my Grandmother's childhood as her name never showed up on the Baillie (St James) Census with the rest of the family. According to a letter from my Aunt Sarah Lindsay to Lavinia Sala, my great grandmother, Nancy Luke-Milligan, died when Agnes was only 9 years old. Agnes then went to live with her grand-mother Luke who also passed away shortly thereafter. She then is reported to have been brought up by a Presbyterian Minister. This is confirmed by the 1881 Census which has her living with a Rev. William Millen, his wife and eight children in Waweig. She was 17 at the time. Interestingly enough, this Rev. Millen's name appears on her Wedding Certificate as the minister who performed the ceremony. She didn't see her father or brothers and sisters until after she had grown up, when the returned to Baillie to visit them. She also visited her Aunt, Mrs Fleming, where she met and later married her cousin, Thomas J Fleming. At the time of her marriage, she was employed as a servant with a William and Mary Russell in Waweig. Tales passed down through the generations indicate that she was brought up very "prim and proper" with high moral and religious values and that by the time she was ready to get married, "Old Tom Fleming" was all she could find. She was 30 and he was 37 at the time of their marriage. During the early part of their marriage, they moved around a lot for reasons previously mentioned before settling at the "home-place" in Baillie. Thomas was born in 1856 and died on 2 Jun 1936 at the age of eighty. He died at home of a heart attack. "Grammy" Fleming's health began to fail and she moved in with our family for awhile. She proved to be too much of a handful for my mother and was moved to the home of Mrs Willie Moore at Old Ridge where she remained until she died. Agnes and Thomas Fleming had nine children: Jessie, Robert William, Mary Agnes, Frederick Melvin, George Moore, Sarah Elizabeth, Norman Fenwick, Hazel Edna and John Burton.
    
    

  • Frederick Melvin Milligan was born in Baillie in 1865. He is listed in the Census' sometimes as Frederick and sometimes as F. Melvin but I have reason to believe that they are the same person. He married Edith Flynn in Calais, Maine on 5 Feb 1902. No further information on this family is available except that he apparently lived and died "in the States".
    
    

  • Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Milligan was born in 1867. She was married to James A Johnson in April 1887 at the Manse in Baillie. He was also known as "Jerry". They had two children, Kate and Maude.
    
    

  • Leila A Milligan was born in 1869 in Baillie. She was married to Hugh Pinkerton, also of Baillie. They are believed to have lived and died in the Baillie area but the children are reported to have moved to California. An article in the St Croix Courier noted that one of their children, Lizzie, died tragically at home when struck by lightening while looking out the window of their home. She was 9 years old at the time. For some unknown reason, I can remember my mother mentioning the "Pinkerton" name. They had 5 other children besides Lizzie; namely Ida, Sarah, Etta, James and Fred.
    
    

  • James Culbert Milligan was born on 20 May 1871 in Baillie. The 1891 Census still lists him as living at home in Baillie. I remember an "Uncle Culbert" being discussed at home; also Aunt Hazel Dickerson's Address Book had him living in Watertown, Mass. The 1935 Census of Lubec, ME lists Culbert J Milligan, farmer and Catherine J Milligan. This bears out what I remember as I can vaguely recall visiting him there many years ago.

  
  After the birth of James Culbert all reference to Nancy Luke-Milligan ceased and she was assumed to have died in 1872. James remarried on 9 Aug 1880 in Calais, Me. to a Sarah Elizabeth Day from St Stephen, NB. She was born in 1852 which works out to be 19 years younger than her new husband. She died at the young age of 44 years. Her obituary from the St Croix Courier reads: "Entered into rest at Baillie on 22 Apr 1896, Elizabeth, beloved wife of James Milligan and daughter of the late Michael Day, of Rheumatism." 
  

• Margaret Milligan was born on 24 July 1835 and died on 16 July 1851, just one week short of her sixteenth birthday.
  
  

• Sarah Elizabeth Milligan was born on 22 Mar 1838 in Bocabec, NB and moved to Baillie with her parents in her early childhood. She died on 2 April 1915 in Dewolfe, NB. She married William Fleming on the 16th of July,1855. This was the second marriage between the Milligan and the Fleming families as Sarah's brother Robert married William's sister, also named Sarah. It may seem as useless information but as a result of these marriages, Sarah Elizabeth Milligan became Sarah Elizabeth Fleming and Sarah Elizabeth Fleming became Sarah Elizabeth Milligan. I can only hope that this wasn't as confusing to them as it was to me. Sarah's obituary states that she and William had ten children but I could only find eight of them listed in the N.B. Census. The Family Tree Research of Lavinia Milligan Sala of Tennessee and of Katherine Milligan Slefinger of Florida both list a "Fletcher" and a "James" as members of this family. The children of Sarah and William were: Thomas James Fleming (my grand-father), Margaret Fleming, Adeline G Fleming, Robert M Fleming, Samuel Fleming, William Burton Fleming, Elizabeth C Fleming, John A Fleming, James Fleming and Fletcher Fleming.
  
  

  • Thomas James Fleming was the oldest child, born in 1856 and died on 2 Jan 1936 at home in Baillie of a heart attack. He married Agnes Milligan at the Manse in Waweig on 15 Mar 1893. For more information on this couple, refer to the paragraph on Agnes Cummings Milligan..
    
    

  • Margaret (Maggie) Fleming was born in 1858 and died in Baillie at he home of her brother, Thomas on Sept 25, 1925. She was buried in the Moores Mills Cemetery. She was married twice, first to Everett Brown. They had one child, Everett Percival Brown. Her next marriage was to Daniel Webster Moore. He died in a boiler explosion in Moores Mills at the Percy Doten Mill in either May or June of 1915. Maggie was reported to have suffered from Diabetes for eleven years before her death. Personal news from the St Croix Courier report that on 23 Aug 1906 that she lived in St John West, NB at which time she had Miss Jennie Fleming as a visitor. I am unable to find out who Jennie Fleming was. Maggie was also known to have run the Women's Christian Temperance Union Boarding House in St Stephen.
    
    

  • Adeline G Fleming was born in 1860 and died on 13 Dec 1873 at the early age of thirteen.
    
    

  • Robert M Fleming was born in 1864 and died on 6 Aug 1895 at age 31. He was buried in the Baptist Cemetery in Baillie.
    
    

  • Samuel Fleming was born in 1865 and died on 11 Nov 1886 at Dewolfe Corner. He was reported in the 1871 Census as living with his Aunt Sarah and Uncle Robert Milligan.
    
    

  • William Burton Fleming was born in 1867 and died on Jan 4, 1913 in the Chipman Memorial Hospital in St Stephen, NB. He was married to Mary A Whirty of Dewolfe on 24 Sep 1912. They were not known to have had any children.
    
    

  • John A Fleming was born in 1875. He married Lillian C Stuart on 19 Oct 1904. At the time of his sisters death in 1925, he was living in Westbrook, Maine. A personal note from the St Croix Courier states that he and Lillian of Milltown sold their Baillie property to Hazen and Skiffington Palmer on 12 March 1921. Another article states that they sold their property to Byron Marshall and moved to Milltown. This is believed to be the original land grant issued to John Fleming, Sr. Both he and Lillian died in Mass. and were brought back to Calais for burial. Nothing else is known of this family at this time.
    
    

  • David Fletcher Fleming died of diptheria at the age of two.
    
    

• Samuel Milligan was born in 1839. There is a lot of confusion regarding the name "Samuel Milligan". There was also a Samuel Milligan listed in the 1901 Census who was born in 1844. Notes from Kay Milligan-Slefinger list him as being born on 4 May 1840 and died on 18 April 1909. He had living in the same household with him a "lodger", Hazen F Milligan, who was born in 1895. The provincial Birth Records show a Hazen Fletcher Milligan born to Samuel Milligan and Annie Maria Slater. Anna Maria Slater died when he was 15 days old.
  The research done by Lavinia Milligan Sala of Tennessee also stated that the Samuel Milligan in our family tree had a son Hazen. It is difficult to ascertain if these Samuel Milligans are one and the same. For the purpose of records in this Milligan Family Tree, I shall list the Samuel Milligan who was married to Anna Marie Slater and had one son, Hazen. Hopefully more research on my next trip to New Brunswick may clear up this area of confusion.
  
  

• John Milligan (the first John in this family) was born on 14 Jul 1843 and died on 10 Jan 1846.
  
  

• Thomas Milligan was born on 28 Jun 1844 and died in Fortuna, CA. on 31 Jan 1908. He was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Rohnerville, CA. He was the first Blacksmith in Humbolt County, California. He went to Eureka, CA in 1876 and moved to Fortuna about 1883. He was reported to be in the Draying and Express Business in California. He married Elizabeth Simmons on 15 Dec 1870. She was the daughter of Benjamin Simmons and Margaret McGeorge of St James Parish in Charlotte County, NB. They were reported to have had eight children: Etta MIlligan, Marietta Milligan, James Benjamin Milligan, Thomas II Milligan, Adney Coleman Milligan, Maude Milligan, Anna Estella Milligan and Shirley Milligan. The family was all believed to have lived in California.
  
  

• John W Milligan was born on 29 Dec 1846 in Baillie. He died in Eureka, California in 1878. The cause of his death was listed as a bowel inflammation. He married Alice M Smith on 17 Sep 1870 in New Brunswick. They were believed to have had four children; Clarence Pershon Milligan, Ida M Milligan, Lester Vernon Milligan and Blanche E Milligan. It is believed that he emigrated to California with his brother, Thomas, likely lured by the lumbering opportunities that existed in Humbolt County, CA at that time. After his death, Alice remarried a George Maxwell who was also a lumberman from New Brunswick.
  
  

• Mary Ann (Annie) Milligan was born in 1851. She was married to George Kirk on 3 Aug 1871 in Lynnfield. They were believed to have lived in this area all their lives. They had three children; Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Kirk, Arthur Kirk, and Sarah Kirk.

  
  
  

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  The preceding information is just generalities on the earlier generations of the Milligan Family tree and, as stated previously, in most cases more information on the later generations can be found by searching the Milligan name.
  
  
  

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