Biography - SHILOAH GILL
Shiloah Gill, an old Mexican soldier, and one of the pioneer settlers in
Bowdre township, was born at Gill's Mills, Bath county, Kentucky, September
11, 1827, and is a son of Samuel C. Gill, who was a son of Capt. Thomas
Gill, a Revolutionary soldier and a son of the Irish waif (see history of
the Gill family in America, by Thomas F. Gill). Samuel C. Gill was born in
the state of South Carolina November 22, 1783, and was reared on a farm. He
was wedded to Sarah Malone, a daughter of Jonathan and Mary Malone, the
latter of whom lived to be nearly one hundred years old. The family came
from Tennessee and settled in Montgomery county, Kentucky, later removing to
Boone county, Indiana, where she died. Samuel Gill and wife were very poor,
their stock of goods consisting of one bay pony, one dollar in money and a
feather bed. They packed all on the back of the pony and settled in Bath
county, Kentucky. He built a mill, one of the first built in that section.
He afterward entered large bodies of land in Putnam Montgomery, Boone and
Henry counties, Indiana, and also entered several tracts in what is now
Douglas county. It looks as if this old gentleman foresaw everything and
selected the creme de la creme of the land. He became very prosperous. For
twenty-five years he served as justice of the peace, and by virtue of that
office he was also one of the justices of the Bath county court. His first
wife died in 1847 and in 1849 he married Elizabeth Reed. In about 1845
Samuel C. Gill sold the old mill, but stipulated in the deed that the place
should ever be known as Gill's Mill.
Shiloah Gill grew to manhood on the farm and while attending school
volunteered for the Mexican war and was soon ordered to the front. He was in
the ranks of Capt. James Ewing and served through the whole war, handling a
musket in many of the principal battles of that conflict. He was in the
ranks when Gen. Scott marched triumphantly into the city of Mexico, and
after the treaty of peace of Hidalgo, Guadaloupe, he returned home with his
regiment by way of the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans.
On October 2, 1849, Mr. Gill married Sarah Ann, a daughter of William
Anderson, of Bath county, Kentucky, where they remained until 1854, when
they emigrated to Douglas county and settled on three hundred and twenty
acres, where he now lives, and which was deeded to him by his father; he has
since added two hundred and sixty acres more. His wife died about 1872. His
second wife was Eliza Kensil. Her death occurred in 1874, and he was again
married, September 1, 1875, this time to Mrs. Sarah (Dodge) Coots, who was
born within six miles of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio. The hospitality of
Mr. Gill and his wife is well known and highly appreciated.
Extracted 16 Jan 2020 by Norma Hass from the Historical and Biographical Record of Douglas County, Illinois, published in 1900, pages 257-258.
