"The Mills and Elligood were families in Lower Norfolk county from an early date." (Editor, William and Mary College Quarterly, series (1), vol. 8, p. 275.)

Beyond the above, three clues have guided research into Captain Luke Mill's ancestry. (1) A family tradition in one line of descendants that suggests he is a descendant of Mark Mills of Jamestown, VA. (2) The record of his marriage that specifically refers to him as being "of Northampton in Virginia", and (3) the altogether curious name of his son, Elligood (also spelled Alligood) Mills, which is believed to represent a maiden name of one of Luke's ancestors.

An editorial note that appears in the William and Mary College Quarterly article noted above flatly disputes Luke could possibly be the son of Mark Mills of Jamestown, as Mark Mills, even if he was a babe in arms in 1636 when he arrived in Virginia, could not possibly have fathered Luke Mills (b. 1713).

What research has been done amongst early Virginia records has been thwarted by the loss of documents from the parish Luke was believed to have lived in Northampton, VA.

Research on the MILLS family in VA: "I had done a search in Northampton Co. involving the Hungars parish where most all children at that time were registered. What I found was the due to wars and fires records between 1700-1740 were destroyed. Other items I found are a book in the later day saints library in Salt Lake City, that mentions a Capt. Luke Mills with no info at all. Also I found another note that mentioned a Luke Mills on the third boat from England to Virginia. I have not been able to prove any of this. If Mark was the first, you'd think you would find that name somewhere else in the line?" (Hiram Mills) ; "Complete or near complete records of Luke Mills and his father as well as records of many other early settlers in the Virginia area were probably destroyed thru the years due to fire, Indian Wars, and the Civil War." (Phil Murphy)

On 28 Jun 2002 I came across a fascinating genealogy posted by Michelle Kremer on RootsWeb.com that provides a working hypothesis that I am using to track down Luke's ancestry. Below is an outline of this hypothesis.

The crucial question is whether Luke Mills son of Edward and Agnes nee Moore Mills, is one and the same person as our Captain Luke Mills. There are two reasons for thinking they might be one and the same person, other than the fact that the dates roughly fit. (1) On Michelle's site, two of the children (Ann and Luke) are listed as being born in Northampton, VA. If we interpret the marriage record as indicating he was from Northampton, VA, but not necessarily born there, then even if these two children were born in Sussex Co. DE, there is a connection to Northampton, Virginia. (2) Captain Luke's firstborn son was named Edward. The name Edward does not appear among Captain Luke's wife Hannah Lang's family. (The second two sons (John and Jonathan) may have been named after Hannah's father.)

Is there a way to test this hypothesized relationship? The discovery of a marriage or deed record for Luke Mills son of Edward that indicates he lived in either Virginia or Deleware at the time our ancestor lived in Portsmouth would suggest otherwise.

1. Edward¹ MILLS. He married Ann BARNES. They had at least the following children:

	2	i.	Edward2 MILLS (b. 1686)
	3	ii.	Elizabeth2 MILLS

2. Edward² MILLS(Edward¹). He was born ca. 1686 in Sussex Co. DE. He died ca. 1751 in Sussex Co. DE. (He may be one and the same as Edward Mills, born ca. 1688 in Northampton Co. VA, son of Edward Mills and Ann Barnes.)

Edward married Agnes MOORE, daughter of Thomas Moore (b. 1652) and Elizabeth nee Getting/Gelding (b. 1656) ca. 1704. She was born ca. 1678-1690 in Sussex Co. DE.

Edward's will, written in 1750 and probated on 14 Oct 1751, is located here. Unfortunately it provides no information that would support or contradict the hypothesis that his son Luke Mills is Capt. Luke Mills of Portsmouth.

Edward MILLS and Agnes MOORE had the following children:

	4	i.	Ann3 MILLS (b. ca. 1702)
	5	ii.	Bowman3 MILLS (b. 1712)
	6	iii.	Littleton3 MILLS (b. 1714)
	7	iv.	Nathan3 MILLS (b. 1716)
	8	v.	Luke3 MILLS (b. 1718)
	9	vi.	Susannah3 MILLS (b. 1720)
	10	vii.	Agnes3 MILLS (b. 1722)
	11	viii.	daughter3 MILLS (b. 1722)

3. Elizabeth² MILLS(Edward¹). Elizabeth was dau of Ann Barner/Barnes and Edward Mills b 1671 Northampton Co Va. Elizabeth married William Baker (John/Hugh/John) of Accomack Co VA. They migrated with their children from Accomack Co VA to settle in Sussex Co. DE.

4. Ann³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). She was born ca. 1702-4 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA. She married Jonas WEBB Sr. ca. 1720 in Sussex, DE. He was born ca. 1700 and died ca. 1748. They had the following children:

		i.	Jonas4 Webb Jr. (b. ca. 1725 in Sussex DE and d. 1782 in Monongalia Co. VA (now WV))
		ii.	Littleton4 Webb Jr. (b. ca. 1726 in Sussex DE)
		iii.	Benjamin4 Webb Jr. (b. ca. 1729 in Sussex DE)
		iv.	John4 Webb Jr. (b. ca. 1731 in Sussex DE)

Jonas Webb Jr. second married Elizabeth Nutter b. 1739. She died Harrison Co VA They had 11 children. Jonas Webb Jr. third married Elizabeth Castrow.

5. Bowman³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). He was born ca. 1712 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

6. Littleton³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). He was born ca. 1714 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

7. Nathan³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). He was born ca. 1716 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

8. Luke³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). He was born ca. 1718 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

9. Susannah³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). She was born ca. 1720 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

10. Agnes³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). She was born ca. 1722 in either Sussex Co. DE or Northampton, VA.

11. Daughter³ MILLS (Edward², Edward¹). She is believed to have married William Richards.

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Last updated on 23 Nov 2005