William Millikan Jr.

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William Millikan Jr. Grave Marker

William Millikan Jr. was born on January 7, 1753 in Chester, Pennsylvania to William and Jane (White) Millikan. William married Eleanor Smith in Guilford County, NC on August 10, 1776, the daughter of David and Ann (Bryant) Smith of Richmond, Virginia.  The union between William and Eleanor lasted 61 years until Eleanor’s death on February 5, 1837.  William passed away the following year on September 2, 1838. The couple had 13 children, 10 of which lived into adulthood.

Children of William and Eleanor:

David Millikan 1776-1855

Sarah Millikan 1778-1778

Nancy Millikan 1779-1779

Jonathan Millikan 1781-1781

Eli Millikan 1782-1849

Solomon Millikan 1784-1860

Elihu Millikan 1785-1864

Alexander Millikan 1789-1880

William Millikan III 1789-1812

Samuel Millikan 1792-1873

George Washington Millikan 1794-1864

Hannah Millikan 1796-1881

Eleanor Millikan 1800-1875

" The family apparently had strong anti-slavery leanings, as  William Millikan, Jr. was one of the early members of the Tennessee Manumission Society in Greene County, Tennessee. The Society was formed in Jefferson County, Tennessee (see Quakers & Slavery) in 1814, but quickly spread to other Tennessee counties. A  son of William, Jr.'s, Elihu Millikan, was drafted in Jefferson County in 1814 and served in the War of 1812, fighting under Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. His mother was a Baptist and  Elihu chose that faith and became a Baptist minister after the war. This information is from Jefferson County, Tennessee Families and History 1792-1996, and was submitted by a descendant of Elihu Millikan. 

In 1792, William crossed the Great Smokey Mountains and settled on a land grant of 400 acres 3 miles northwest of Morriston.  The site commanded a view of the Clinch Mountains to the north and the Great Smokey Mountains to the south.  William was employed as a farmer, blacksmith and land surveyor.  His house in Tennessee was built of large chestnut logs, hewed square, and was on the ground 20x30 feet, 2 stories, with a large cellar. 2 porches of 2 stories were on the north and south sides, and the larger chimney's were laid of limestone rock. Some parts of the house stood for more than 100 years.  William remained on the farm until Eleanor's death in 1837, then spent his last days in the home of his son-in-law, Jesse Howell where he died at the age of 84 years old.  William weighed not less than 300 lbs.  His eyes were blue, his hair rather light and his complexion fair and florid. He had been a blacksmith and gunsmith shop owner where he made guns and farm implements, he also did some silver-smithing.  A grandson, John S. Howell, owned a coin silver sleeve button made by William and a large armchair once owned by William, the posts of which are nicely turned sugar wood, the rungs of the best hickory, and the seat of split white oak.  He served in the Revolutionary War, state records lists him as a private in Captain Adam Alexander's Company made up of men from Mecklenberg, North Carolina.  William Millikan, Jr. and his wife Eleanor Smith are buried in Economy Cemetery at Morristown, Tennessee. 

Source: Randolph County, 1779-1979, published by Randolph County Historical Society and the Randolph Arts Guild, Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem NC 1980
Book: Millikan/Hinrichs Connections by Ilona Hinrch Stone
DAR application for William Millikan
Eleanor's parents - Abstracts of Wills and Inventories of Bath County, Virginia 1791-1842 (Will Book I)