Charles Robert Hilliard, ca. 1930
One of my great-great grandfathers, Charles Robert “Tanner” Hillard, has a rather interesting story tied to one of his brides. A Confederate veteran, Hilliard began his married days, five years after the war, in 1870. The rather sad part about those years, however, is that he ended up outliving four of five brides, remarrying in 1872, 1887, 1894, and 1896. His second wife (my great-great grandmother) was Margaret Elizabeth Eaton, a daughter of Thomas and Amanda Shifflett Eaton.
Family stories, as I roughly recall them… tell us the following…
One day, Margaret was visited by a woman. There may have been an argument, and I seem to recall something about an accusation of making the milk cow’s milk sour… no doubt, an earlier spell. The woman apparently took my great-great grandmother’s tobacco pouch (if you didn’t know… personal items always work well when wanting to cast a harmful spell on someone else) and cast a spell on said pouch. Great-great grandmother become deathly ill, and was visited by a doctor. In turn, the doctor pronounced, something to the effect, “I know who did this” and that he would make sure the “witch was in hell by morning”. Both Margaret and the witch died… or at least so the story goes.
Cheryl Lumsden Jozsa
October 6, 2013
Hello Robert :O) this is sooo coolllll :O) I just started looking into my “family tree” and as a result I ran across your story! I was thrilled to see it because Margaret Elizabeth Eaton is also my Great Great Grandmother :O) Margaret and Charles had a son John Thomas Hilliard- he is my paternal grandmother’s father :O) My grandmother was Alice Louise Hilliard :O) Nice to meet you Robert! :O)
Cheryl Lumsden Jozsa
October 6, 2013
Robert I just found your story today :O) and I am so thrilled. I just started a family tree and during my search is how I came upon your blog. I was thrilled to see this! Charles and Margaret were my paternal Great Great Grandparents too :O) My Grandmother’s father was their son John :O) which by the way I saw in the article your Mother’s Mother’s Bday was Oct 31- well get this…. My Grandmother’s Father John Hilliard’s Bday was Also Oct 31- but you probably already know that. My mother’s Bdy is Oct 31 and my late Mother in Law’s Bday is Oct 31…. all I can say is what a trip given the nature of your topic in this blog :O) It is so cool to find that you are my cousin and just to let you know I am totally digging your blogs and research :O) I hope to make it to Virginia in the Spring for a visit. My full name is Cheryl Lyne Lumsden Jozsa ( Lumsden being my maiden name Jozsa being my married name) my Grandmother was Alice Louise Hilliard- her father was John- son of Charles and Margaret :O) wayyyy cooool :O)
Robert Moore
October 7, 2013
Hi, Cheryl! Glad you enjoyed the blog post. Enjoy your search! By the way, I’ve traced the Hilliard line to… I believe, one of two brothers who settled in Berkeley and Frederick County, Va., having moved there from “Monocacy Hundred”. It might well be that the Hilliard/Hillyard line was originally… Quaker. Nothing for sure yet, but there seems to be a link to the Hillyards who came into Delaware in the 1600s.
Robert Moore
October 7, 2013
Cheryl, If you haven’t already seen this (and all the connecting Find-A-Grave pages), you might want to see this…
Cheryl Lumsden Jozsa
October 8, 2013
Hi Robert- anxious to hear what you have found on the Hilliard lineage. I am fascinated with all of it. Have to admit the story of our Great Great Grandparents Charles and Margaret was interesting to say the least. That is the first I had ever hear of that story. As I mentioned earlier my paternal Grandmother was Alice Louise Hilliard Lumsden. There is a road by their last homesite named Lumsden Drive – its in Stanley right beside Louderback Implements. It is sooo cool to meet you cousin :o) wayy cool :O) made my weekend! And we were just talking this weekend about visiting Virginia Spring 2014 and do a Civil War battlefields tour of sorts- and then I get the pleasure of bumping into you on the net :o) wayyy coool :O)