Thomas and Ann Mills
Family of Thomas Mills & Ann Clegg & Sarah Ann Cashmore & Mary Christine Olesen, c. 1839-1892 (b. 1816)
Residence: Greater Manchester, England; Utah County, Utah
Grandparents:
Descendants:
Contents
Parents' Childhood
Thomas Mills was born in 1816 to William and Catherine Mills in Culcheth, Cheshire, England.
Ann Clegg was born in 1818 to William and Ann Clegg in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England.
Thomas and Ann Mills in England
Thomas and Ann lived in Leigh and had 15 children there.
| 1838 | Married in Leigh, England |
| 1839 | Anne born & died |
| 1840 | Mary born |
| 1841 | Jane born |
| 1842 | Martha born |
| 1843 | Ellen born |
| 1845 | George born |
| 1847 | Joseph born |
| 1848 | Sarah born |
| 1849 | Joseph died, age 2 |
| 1850 | Alice born |
| 1852 | Nephi born |
| 1854 | Samuel born |
| 1856 | Rebecca born |
| 1858 | Robert born |
| 1859 | Ann born |
| 1862 | Eliza born |
| 1863 | Mary married Richard Yates |
| 1863 | Jane married George Hone Jr. |
| 1864 | Jane and George immigrated to Utah |
| 1865 | Sarah died, age 16 |
| 1866 | Mary and family immigrated to Utah |
| 1866 | Martha married Thomas Wood |
| 1867 | George married Alice Leigh |
| 1873 | Nephi married Mary Willcock |
| 1873 | Ann died, age 54 |
At the time of Ann's death, the younger children were: Samuel, age 19; Rebecca, age 17; Robert, age 15; Ann, age 14; and Eliza, age 11.
The Mills family was closely connected to the Hones—Jane and Rebecca would marry two of their sons, and Robert would marry one of their granddaughters. Mary and her husband traveled to Utah on the same ship as the Hones.
Thomas and Sarah Mills in Utah
Thomas immigrated to Utah in 1874 with his children Ellen, Rebecca, Robert, Ann, and Eliza. He married Sarah Cashmore just a few months later.
| 1874 | Alice died, age 23 |
| 1874 | Immigration to Utah |
| 1874 | Thomas married Sarah Ann Cashmore |
| 1875 | Samuel married Mary Elizabeth Davies in Leigh |
| 1875 | Rebecca married Henry Hone |
| 1876 | Ellen married Josiah Thomas Arrowsmith |
| 1876 | Nephi died in Leigh, age 23 |
| 1877 | Ellen died, age 33 |
| 1877 | Thomas divorced Sarah |
Sarah was an English widow with three surviving children: Ellen Bithell (age 18, just married months before), Sarah Kidgell (age 10), and Fredrick Kidgell (age 2). Thomas brought four teenagers to the mixed family: Rebecca, Robert, Ann, and Eliza.
Rebecca and Ellen married in Utah. Ellen was Josiah Arrowsmith's second polygamous wife. They lived in Provo. She died soon after giving birth to her first child.
Thomas and Sarah divorced after just two years of marriage, in 1877. Sarah would remarry and lived with her third husband in Salt Lake City.
Thomas and Mary Mills
A few months later, Thomas married Mary Olesen. They had two children together.
| 1877 | Thomas married Mary Christine Olesen |
| 1877 | Lydia born |
| 1878 | Ann married Francis Alfred Peay |
| 1879 | Thomas William born |
| c. 1883 | Eliza married Francis Marion Koontz |
| c. 1884 | Robert married Sarah Ann Hone |
| 1885 | Thomas died, age 69 |
| 1885 | Annie Davis married Alma Martin Barney |
| 1890 | Morris Davis married Rachel Mahala Loveless |
| 1891 | Lydia, age 14, married John James Brash |
| 1892 | Mary died, age 52 |
Mary was an immigrant from Denmark. Thomas was her fifth husband:
- In 1860 she married Christen Plougmann in Denmark. They had two children, Catherine and Anders. Christen probably died in Denmark.
- In 1864 she married Moses Shepherd in Utah. She was his third polygamous wife. They had one child, Rhoda. Moses died in 1866.
- About 1867, she married David Davis, his second wife. They had three children: Morris, Annie, and Lydia. David died in 1873.
- About 1874, she married a Mr. Tryon. More research is needed to document this marriage.
At the time of her marriage to Thomas, Mary had 5 unmarried children: Anders Ploughman (about age 16), Rhoda Shepherd (age 11), Morris Davis (age 9), Annie Davis (age 7), and Lydia Davis (age 6). Thomas's unmarried children were Robert Mills (age 19), Ann Mills (age 17), and Eliza Mills (age 15).
The family appears to have settled in Benjamin, Utah around this time.
Thomas and Mary were together about 8 years before he died. Mary died in Benjamin 7 years later.
Descendants
Martha, George, Nephi, and Samuel remained with their families in Leigh. Nephi died young, and his only child died soon after.
The rest of Thomas and Ann's children immigrated to Utah:
- Mary and her family settled in Benjamin.
- Jane and her family also settled in Benjamin; after their children were grown, she and her husband retired in Payson.
- After Ellen's death, her daughter was raised in Provo.
- Rebecca and her husband remained in Benjamin.
- Robert and his family lived in Benjamin.
- Ann and her family lived in Benjamin, and later moved to Provo.
- Eliza and her family lived in Benjamin, and later moved to Burley, Idaho.
Among Thomas and Mary's children:
- Lydia married three times and settled with her children in northern California.
- Thomas William died a few years after his mother's death, at about age 18.
References
- Saints by Sea immigration record for George and Jane Hone, Richard and Mary Yates (traveling with George and Mary Hone), and Thomas Mills and children (some ages are wrong)
- The Faces and Places of Benjamin, Utah
