Rewriting the Biography is an ongoing theme for the rough draft notes of a new/updated biography of my 5th great-grandfather James SIMS (1754-1845) of Nicholas County.
Mildred “Milly” SIMS was the 4th child and 3rd daughter of James SIMS and his second wife Elizabeth COTTON. Milly, as she was seen in the 1850 to 1880 census, was born about 1807.
The 1810 U.S. Federal Census
At the time of the 1810 census, she was about three years old and the youngest of the three females under the age of 10 in the household of her father James SIMS in Kanawha County.
1810 U.S. Federal Census 1
Kanawha County, Virginia
Kanawha
Sheet 207A, Line 23
Name: James Simms
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 1 (James Jr.)
Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1 (James)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 3 (Margaret, Sarah, Mildred)
Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44: 1 (Elizabeth)
Numbers of Slaves: 5 (Isaac, Black Jude, Black Fanny, Robert, and ?)
Number of Household Members Under 16: 4
Number of Household Members Over 25: 2
Number of Household Members: 11
The 1820 U.S. Federal Census
By 1820 Milly was thirteen years old and fitted into the 10 thru 15 years category on the census sheet. She was still living at home with her father James, mother Elizabeth, two brothers, three sisters, and nine slaves. The land James SIMS had bought in 1800 in Kanawha County was now part of Nicholas County which had been formed in 1818.
1820 U.S. Federal Census 2
Nicholas County, Virginia
Page No. 204A, Sheet 152, Line 19
Enumeration Date: 7 August 1820
Name: James Sims
Free White Persons – Males – Under 10: 2 (Dryden, Charles)
Free White Persons – Males – 45 and over: 1 (James)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 10: 2 (Jane & Sarah)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 15: 2 (Margaret, Mildred)
Free White Persons – Females – 26 thru 44: 1 (Elizabeth)
Slaves – Males – Under 14: 2
Slaves – Males – 14 thru 25: 2 (Isaac and Robert)
Slaves – Females – Under 14: 3
Slaves – Females – 14 thru 25: 2 (Black Jude and Black Fanny)
Number of Persons – Engaged in Agriculture: 3
Free White Persons – Under 16: 6
Free White Persons – Over 25: 2
Total Free White Persons: 8
Total Slaves: 9
Total All Persons – White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 17
The 1830 U.S. Federal Census
On 12 November 1826, Milly SIMS and Joel SETTLE were married by John CAMPBELL. By 1830 the couple had two daughters under the age of 5. They likely lived on land owned by Joel’s father Abner SETTLE. Abner had added to James KELLY’s “improvement by making entries above and below it in 1823. The survey which followed in 1825 mentioned his fields and affirmed his ownership of the Kelly lands which, with the new additions, amounted to more than a hundred acres. One field in the mouth of Right Hand Fork was long known as Joel’s Field, named for Joel Settle, the settler’s son.“3
1830 U.S. Federal Census4
Nicholas County, Virginia
Sheet 188, line 23
Enumeration Date: 1 June 1830
Name: Joel Settle
Free White Persons – Males – 20 thru 29: 1 (Joel)
Free White Persons – Females – Under 5: 2 (Mary Ann Elizabeth and Nancy)
Free White Persons – Females – 20 thru 29: 1 (Milly)
Free White Persons – Under 20: 2
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 4
Total – All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 4
The 1840 U.S. Federal Census
By 1840 Milly’s family had grown. There were three daughters and two sons now in the household. One of the daughters who was seen with Milly and Joel in 1830 was likely Nancy R. who was born about 1830 – soon enough to be included in the 1830 census count but too late in the year to be considered as a 10-year-old in 1840.
The area of Nicholas County in which the family lived became part of Fayette County in 1831.
1840 U.S. Federal Census5
Fayette County, Virginia
Page 146, Line 4
Name: Joel Suttle
Free White Persons – Males – Under 5: 2 (Abner and Campbell)
Free White Persons – Males – 30 thru 39: 1 (Joel)
Free White Persons – Females – 5 thru 9: 2 (Nancy and Araminta Jane)
Free White Persons – Females – 10 thru 14: 1 (Mary Ann Elizabeth)
Free White Persons – Females – 30 thru 39: 1 (Milly)
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1
Free White Persons – Under 20: 5
Free White Persons – 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 7
Total All Persons – Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 7
The 1850 U.S. Federal Census
By 1850 Milly had given birth to eight children who were still living. Seven were living at home. Her oldest daughter Mary Ann Elizabeth had married Henry ARTHUR about 1846 and was living with him and their son several households away.
1850 U.S. Federal Census6
Fayette County, Virginia
The 14th District
Sheet No. 366A, Lines 8-16, HH #463-463
Joel Suttle 44 M Farmer Virginia
Milly Suttle 44 F Virginia cannot read & write
Nancy R. Suttle 20 F Virginia cannot read & write
Jane Suttle 18 F Virginia
Abner Suttle 12 M Virginia
Campbell Suttle 11 M Virginia
Jas. Wesley Suttle 8 M Virginia
Francis A. Suttle 4 M Virginia
Joel D. Suttle 1 M Virginia
The 1860 U.S. Federal Census
Milly gave birth to one more child, a daughter, a couple of years after the 1850 census. She was the last of nine children.
In 1856 Joel bought fifty-two acres of bottom land in the small valley of a stream that came to be called Joel’s Branch but later was known as Taylor Branch, a left-hand branch of Jenkins Fork of Loop Creek.
Joel and Milly had five children still living at home. Abner was living with his wife and his brother Campbell next door and in the next household was their oldest daughter with her husband Henry ARTHUR. Only their daughter Nancy was away from the family. She had married William TINCHER of Greenbrier and was living with him and their two sons in a stable in that county.
1860 U.S. Federal Census7
Fayette County, Virginia
District 1, Fayetteville Post Office
Sheet No. 338, Page No. 28, HH #204-181
Joel Settle 53 M farmer $200 $100 Virginia cannot read & write
Milly Settle 52 F Virginia cannot read & write
Jane Settle 26 F Farm laborer Virginia cannot read & write
James Settle 18 M Farm laborer Virginia attended school
Berry Settle 15 M Farm laborer Virginia attended school
Dixon Settle 10 M Virginia attended school
Rebecca Settle 7 F Virginia attended school
Ellen Atkerson 18 F servant Virginia
Note: The column for literacy was for people over 20 years of age.
The 1870 U.S. Federal Census
Joel and his son Campbell cleared adjoining farms in the head of Open Fork, a small right-hand tributary to Loop Creek, a branch of Kanawha River in Fayette County, following the Civil War.
By 1870 only the two youngest children of Joel and Milly were living at home. Araminta Jane had married William Madison PRINCE soon after the 1860 census and was the mother of five. Abner had married Locky Jane PRINCE just before the 1860 census. Campbell Washington married Anna Elizabeth TAYLOR in 1864. James Wesley married Mary Melvina BLAKE In 1866. Francis Asbury married Lucinda TREADWAY in 1867.
Mary Ann Elizabeth and her husband Henry ARTHUR were still living near her parents in household #7. Nancy and her husband William TINCHER were in Greenbrier County.
1870 U.S. Federal Census8
Fayette County, West Virginia
Falls of Kanawha Township
Gauley Bridge Post Office
Sheet No. 95B, Page No. 2, Lines 4-7, HH #8-8
Settle, Joel 63 M W farmer $150 $130 Virginia cannot read & write male US Cit. over 21 yo
Settle, Millie 63 F W housekeeper Virginia
Settle, Joel D. 20 M W farm laborer Virginia
Settle, Rebecca 18 F W housekeeper Virginia
The 1880 U.S. Federal Census
Joel and his son Campbell were the first settlers on Open Fork along with Joel’s son-in-law Henry ARTHUR but did not remain there. They moved away after Joel sold his improvement. This would be Joel and Milly’s last move as they ended their days at a place known as Millie’s Bottom or Milly Place opposite McVey Hollow.
Only the youngest daughter of Joel and Milly was still unmarried and living at home in 1880. Their youngest son Joel Dixon married Charlotte Marsh DARLINGTON in 1874. Their son James Wesley’s wife had died about 1871. He married Clarissa KILLINGSWORTH, a widow, in 1874. The marriage did not last long, perhaps ending with the death of Clarissa as James was listed as widowed when he married Martha Jane McKinney, a single lady, in 1875. James had three children from his first marriage. His oldest son has not been located but his daughter was in his household and his youngest son Charles Asbury was found with the SETTLE grandparents Joel and Milly in 1880.
1880 U.S. Federal Census9
Fayette County, West Virginia
Fayetteville District
Enumeration District No. 27
Page No. 10, Sheet No. 17B, Lines 18-21, HH #64
Settle, Joel W M 73 married Farmer VA VA VA
Settle, Milly W F 73 wife married Keeping House WV VA VA
Settle, Rebeckey W F 26 daughter single At Home WV VA WV
Settle, Charley A. W M 10 grandson single WV WV WV
After the 1880 U.S. Federal Census
Milly’s husband Joel died in June 1881 and Milly followed in May 1882. They are said to be buried in Moseley Cemetery, Loop Creek in Fayette County but no stones mark their graves.
Milly had seen all of her children married and starting families of their own. Her son Campbell was widowed at the same time his father Joel died. He then married Mary Margaret FOSTER in March 1882. Milly and Joel’s youngest daughter Becky married Henry S. MITCHELL in April 1882, only a month before Milly’s death.
In the next installment James SIMS’ youngest daughter from his second marriage, Jane L. SIMS will be featured.
© 2018, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
- 1810 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Third Census of the United States, 1810 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M252, 71 rolls, FHL 0181429, roll 69, image 405, Virginia, Kanawha, Kanawha, page 129, sheet 207A, line 23, James Simms (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2018). ↩
- 1820 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Fourth Census of the United States, 1820 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls, NARA Roll M33_130, image 388, Virginia, Nicholas, page 204A, line 19, James Sims. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 February 2018). ↩
- L. Neil Darlington, Cabins of the Loop and Environs of the Southern Half of Fayette County Virginia (Now West Virginia), 1988, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, West Virginia, pgs. 246-247. ↩
- 1830 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Fifth Census of the United States, 1830 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls, FHL Fim 0029677, NARA Roll M19_198, Virginia, Nicholas, images 33+34 of 42, page 188, line 23, Joel Settle. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 March 2018). ↩
- 1840 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Sixth Census of the United States, 1840 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls, FHL Film 0029685, NARA Roll M704_555, Virginia, Fayette, image 15 of 54, page 146A+B, line 4, Joel Suttle. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 April 2018). ↩
- 1850 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Seventh Census of the United States, 1850 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration,Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M432, 1009 rolls, Roll: M432_943; Image: 289; Virginia, Fayette, District 14, image 73 of 91, Sheet No. 366A, Lines 8-16, HH #463-463, Joel Suttle household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 June 2018). ↩
- 1860 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Eighth Census of the United States, 1860 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls, Roll: M653_1344; Page: 290; FHL Film: 805344; Virginia, Fayette, District 1, image 26 of 26, Sheet No. 338, Page No. 28, Lines 1-8, HH #204-181, Joel Settle household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 July 2018). ↩
- 1870 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Ninth Census of the United States, 1870 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration,Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T132, 13 rolls, Roll: M593_1686; History Library Film: 553185; West Virginia, Fayette, Falls of Kanawha, image 2 of 36, Page No. 2, Sheet No. 95B, Lines 4-7, HH #8-8, Joel Settle household. (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 July 2018). ↩
- 1880 U.S. Federal Census, (index and images), Ancestry, citing Tenth Census of the United States, 1880 population schedule, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C., NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls, Roll: 1402; West Virginia, Fayette, Fayetteville, image 10 of 46, Enumeration District No. 27, Page No. 10, Sheet No. 17B, Lines 18-21, HH #64, Joel Settle household. “.” (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 July 2018). ↩
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Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
Cathy, As always, well organized. Anyone who relates to the Sims family I’m sure appreciates the effort that you are making. So glad to call you friend! Brian
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Brian, thank you. I hope so. It has been wonderful getting to know you my friend – you are a whirlwind when it comes to getting people together to work on a project.
Best wishes,
Cathy
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Just call me Whirlwind Brian! I don’t like to do things halfway…
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Well done as always. This group seemed to have far fewer wrinkles than so many of the other Sims.
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Oh Amy, if you only knew. Daughter #3 had a daughter she named Molly after her mother. She married her uncle, the widower of daughter #1. I left out the census listings of this children after they left home. Thank you.
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LOL! I should have known better!!
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Sometimes I think there is more endogamy than in your Jewish families. I haven’t found that they had children so her stepchildren were her cousins and not the half siblings of her children. 🤔
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It’s amazing that any of us have any diversity in our DNA!
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Great to see the family’s story continue to be so very-well documented. It seems the update for the James Sims biography is on its way. Continued good luck, Cathy! I look forward to the next installment.
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Thank you, Michael. They have a saying in German – “im Sand verlaufen….” This would have happened to the biography if I hadn’t chosen to make the notes public. Each installment gets me closer to the finished project.
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Cathy, I came back to review this post after working on a question on the line of William Henry Settle, son of James Wesley Settle. William Henry was enumerated with this aunt and uncle Henry P. & Gincy (Blake) Settle in 1880 in Fayette Co, as nephew. Gincy was the sister of Mary Melvina Blake, William’s mother. I’ve had no success in locating him in 1910, 1920 or 1930, and can’t figure out how he ended up in Hix, Summers Co. as noted on his death certificate (which does appear to be him). He seems to have disappeared after 1903.
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David, I’ll take a closer look at your comment in the morning. Thanks for reviewing the post.
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