Milius Family Page
Welcome to The Milius Family Page, which furnishes historical detail beyond the site index, exploring four generations of Millius' in the line of Johann Wilhelm Milges of Germany as well as the Dings line.
8. Anna (Miliussin) Milius (Weatherwax)--The mother of Anna Weatherwax, and wife of Lorentz Weatherwax, Anna Milius (Millious, Melius) was born in upstate New York in 1763 and married Lorentz in 1784. Together they had eleven children. Anna died sometime after 1810. While I have not located church records or other documents definitely proving Anna’s parents, circumstantial evidence and DNA strongly suggest that she is the daughter of Johann Jacob Milius (b.1722) and Catherina Kilmer (b.1728). Researcher Barbara Jeffries' website lists the father as John. While LDS records show Lorentz’ wife Anna Miliussin as being born in West Sand Lake, Rensselaer Co., NY. in 1763, researcher Rebecca Rector checked the church records there and could find no record concerning the Milius family before the 1770s. She believed the place of birth was probably inaccurate since "the first white settler did not come to the Sand Lake area until 1767 and the first church (Trinity Lutheran) was not established until 1777." She did find one George Millious listed next to Andrew Widerwax in a 1740-1850 list of births and deaths from Philipstown, Rensselaer Co., NY. The U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989 on Ancestry.com records the Nov, 21, 1763 baptism for Annatje Milius, daughter of Jacob Milius and Catherine Kilmer (Gallatin, NY Church Records). The same collection of Church records shows the birth of an Anna Milius on Oct. 7, 1764 in Churchtown, Columbia, NY, daughter of Johann and Janetje Milius (no further details given). Unfortunately, none of these entries show Annatje’s husband or children, which would conclusively identify her as our ancestor. If we accept John as the father's name, it does not rule Jacob out because his first name is Johann (ie. John). It is worth noting that I have 36 DNA matches to Jacob and Catherine through Anna and her siblings, 5 to John William Melius (one match is 44 cM and another is 22 cM), 3 to Elizabeth Milius, 3 to Simon, and 24 to Anna Weatherwax. Anna’s oldest daughter was named Catherina and her second son, Jacob, indicating these were probably names in Anna’s family. Jacob & Catharina’s children are listed as: Elizabeth (b.1749 in Gallatin, NY) John William (b.1750), Simon (b.1751), Johannes (b.1753), Wilhelm (b.1756), Mareitje (b.1758), Christina (b.1761) Annatje (b.1763), Adam (b.1765) and Jacob Jr (b.1767)--most born in Red Hook, NY.
9. Johann Jacob Milius (Jr)--The probable father of Anna (Annatje) Milius Weatherwax, Johann (or John) Jacob Milius was born in 1722 in Red Hook, Dutchess, New York. He was christened June 17, 1722 in Kingston, Ulster Co., NY and on April 2, 1743 Jacob and other family members joined the Red Hook Lutheran Church. On Aug.18,1747, Jacob married Catherina Kilmer (1728-1827) in Germantown, Columbia, New York (U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989) and together they had seven children. Their children were: Simon (b.1751), Wilhelm (b.1756), Mareitje (b.1758), Christina (b.1761), Anna (b.1763), Adam (b.1765), and Jacob (III-b.1767). Jacob was noted on the tax roles of North East from 1753 to 1774 (Dutchess Co. Tax Lists). Jacob died sometime after 1774; some date his death ca.1801 but without supporting documentation. There are two Jacob Meliuses who appear in the same region in the 1790 New York census, one in Livingston, Columbia, NY (with 3 males over 16 and 4 under and 3 females) and one in Northeast, Dutchess, NY (with 1 male over and 1 male under 16, and 5 females in the household). If one is Jacob the son (b.1767) and the other is his father (b.1722), then Jacob the father may have lived until 1790 or slightly beyond that. (There is an 1813 will for a Jacob Millius of Columbia, NY but it appears to be another individual of the same name and only mentions one son, Andries.) Jacob’s parents, Johan Jacob Milius (Sr.) and Anna Maria Dings, were both Palatine Germans who immigrated to New York.
10. Johan Jacob Milius (Sr)--The father of Jacob Milius Jr., Johan Jacob Milius (Melius) Sr. was born in Gönnersdorf, Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany between around 1695. He immigrated to New York in 1710 and in 1721, in Kingston, Ulster Co., NY, married Anna Maria Dings (b.1692 in Germany; see below for more on her family). Between 1710-1715 Jacob built a house for his family which still stands today (with additions to the house) and is known as “The Melius-Bentley House” and is on the National Register of Historic Places (on Lot 51 of the Little Nine Partners Patent--near present day Pine Planes, NY). The house was built in a wilderness area, though not too far from the house of the Jacob's in-laws, the Dings, who lived a few miles away, across the kill. The older portion of the Melius house is a one-and-a half story house in the homey, informal Dutch style, while the later wing is in the more formal Federal style, and was built sometime between 1790 and 1800 by Henry Bentley. The house Melius built was originally one room square, with a loft, a few small windows and an extended porch across the front. As more children arrived, another room with a loft was added, as was a cellar kitchen, with a huge fireplace for cooking. Legend has it that the Melius house was an inn, or at least a stopping place for travelers, which is partially born out by the addition of a second private entrance to the original house.
Jacob is listed on the tax rolls of the North Ward from 1720-1732 and is next registered on the tax rolls of the North East from 1746-1748 (Dutchess Co. Tax Lists). The known children of Jacob and Maria Milius are: Gertraud, Johann Jacob (who married Catherina Kilmer), Anna, Catharina, Wilhelmus, Adam, and Margaretha. Jacob died sometime after June 1748, when last listed on the tax rolls. (U.S., Selected States Dutch Reformed Church Membership Records, 1701-1995 lists a Johan Jacob Milius as a member of the Church in Gallatin, New York in 1759, but this might be his son of the same name.) Jacob Sr.'s father was German immigrant Johann Wilhelm Milges; his mother's name is unknown.
11. Johann Wilhelm Milges-- The father of Johan Jacob Milius Sr., Wilhelm was born around 1675 in Gönnersdorf, Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Henry Z. Jones provides information on Wilhelm and his descendants in his two-volume book, The Palatine Families of Germany (pp.642-43). He says Wilhelm's probable father (name uncertain) lived in Gönnersdorf until his death in 1688 at age 60 (b.1628). He adds that from two old documents we learn that Wilhelm and (his son) Johannes are listed in Gönnersdorf in 1691 and Wilhelm has two sons and two daughters in Gönnersdorf. Wilhelm and family immigrated to New York and made their initial appearance on the Hunter's Lists of July 1, 1710 showing Wilhelm with 4 persons over 10 and one under 10. By Dec. 24, 1711, Wilhelm is listed with only 2 children over 10 and one under 10. Wilhelm's two surviving sons are listed in 1716/177 (Simmendinger Register) as Johann Jacob Milius (Sr), who married Anna Maria Dings, and Johannes, who married Maria Elisabetha Micheal. (A Dec.8, 1741 baptismal record from Germantown, Columbia, New York for Johan Willem Millius shows the parents as Johannes Millius and Lisabeth Michel. (U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989). Wilhelm's wife's name and his parents are unknown. It is thought that he probably died around 1715 in Livingston Manor, Sullivan, New York.
DINGS
10. Anna Maria Dings -- The mother of Johann Jacob Milius (Jr), Maria was born in 1692 in Höckstenbach, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Germany, immigrated in 1710 and married Jacob Milius (Sr) in 1721, in Kingston, Ulster Co., NY. Henry Z. Jones's book again provides useful, well-researched information on the Dings family from which we draw much of our information (pp.171-73). He writes that the German ancestral home of the Dings was 5239 Höckstenbach, and states that records on the family begin in 1670. Maria's parents were Johan Jacob Dings and Anna Gerdraut Ax.
11. Johan ("Hans") Jacob Dings -- The father of was Anna Maria Dings, Jacob was born before 1672 in Mündersbach, Westerwaldkreis, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany, immigrated with his family in 1709-10 and died in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, NY ca.1720. Per Jones, Jacob Dings' likely mother, "the smith's wife from Mündersbach," was born in 1653 and died Feb. 8, 1672 in Germany, and was also named Anna Maria Dinges. (Some on-line trees suggest that Anna Maria's surname was Franz, but the evidence for this is equivocal.) Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985 on Ancestry.com records the baptism of Johannes Jacobus Ding on Dec.31, 1663 in Reutlingen, Württemberg, Germany and lists the parents as Hans Jacobe Ding and Anna Maria Ding. (Note: While these family names match well with Jones' research, the location of the baptism in Württemberg is further south, a little below Stuttgart, while Mündersbach is further north, between Bonn and Frankfurt, however Höckstenbach, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia, Germany is fairly close to Württemberg; also the baptism takes place nearly two years after the mother's death.) Jacob Dings married Anna Gerdraut Ax in 1691 in Germany. Gertraut was born ca.1679 in Höckstenbach and was probably the daughter of Jost Henrich Ax (or Loucks), who was born ca. 1640 and died 8 days before his wife's burial on May 5, 1698. (Some on-line trees list his wife as Barbara Elizabetha Bechtholdt, but without adequate proof.) Jacob and his family immigrated to New York in 1709 and he first appears on the Hunter's list in 1710 with 4 persons over 10 years of age. He was naturalized in 1715. Jacob Dings of Annsberg is listed as a soldier in 1711 (Palantine Volunteers to Canada). The first Supervisors Book of Dutchess Co. shows that he was assessed in 1717-1725 as an inhabitant of the North Ward of that county and that he served as Surveyor of Fences. A Kingston, NY list of baptisms in 1722 records the June 17, 1722 baptism of John Jacob Milius to parents Johan Jacob Melius and Marytjen Dings, and lists the sponsors as Johan Jacob Dings and Geertruy Ax, Anna Maria's parents. The children of Jacob and Gertraud Dings were: Johann Adam, Anna Maria, Anna Elisabetha and Johann Theis.
12. Hans Jacob Dings -- The likely father of Johan Jacob Dings was born ca. 1640-50 in Germany. Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971 lists the baptism of Hanß Dinges in Aug 1642 in Schneverdingen, Hannover, Germany and shows the father's name as Christoff Dinges, however it is not certain that this is the father of Johan Jacob Dings (in part due to the Hannover location).