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The pivot around which my own research turns is Frances Theresa Vallillee; of earlier generations, I have assembled many clues but little certainty.

It is not clear even when Frances was born. Following the census record she seems to get younger and younger as time goes on; one suspects this may have been an intentional obfuscation. Through these records, however, it is possible to determine that she was born between 1864 and 1869 in Cleveland, Ohio. She lived with John Buckley and his wife, her mother, Elizabeth Lyons as shown by the 1870 and 1880 censuses. Her father was probably Edward Vallillee who died in Cleveland in 1864. As the name Vallillee was quite uncommon in Cleveland and we know that Frances’s parents were both from Canada, it is possible that this Edward Vallillee was the child of George Vallillee and Ann O’Hanlan born in Grenville Township, Quebec. His death record in 1864 gives his age as 31, which fits rather well. John and Elizabeth Buckley also had an older daughter named Margaret and a younger son Joseph. It would seem likely that Margaret is the daughter of Elizabeth Lyons by Vallillee or someone else.

The father of Frances’ first child, Myrtle, was Oscar McNalley, whom the state of Ohio later sued on her behalf for support. This Oscar was the from a Great Lakes shipping family — William McNalley and his wife Elizabeth Perew, about which there is considerable information. A vessel called the Mary E Perew, pictured at right, was built in 1869 and plied the Great Lakes until 1905. It was either named after Mary or her mother, whose name I have not found.

Sometime before October 1886, Frances married Charles Barnard from Rome, New York. Charlie was a switchman on the U.P. Railroad and they moved for a short time to Barrington, Illinois, where they had their first child. Frances and Charles divorced by 1900 (on grounds of desertion). She remarried to George P. Lare, a paper hanger. He adopted her younger children in Denver Colorado. She lives on 25th street in Denver in 1900, but then moves to 4249 Umatilla. She stays there, at least until 1920 and then moves to Oakland, California, probably with her son Carl Barnard Lare, where she died and is buried in 1927 in a “pauper’s grave.”

According to the Surname Database, Wilmot is of English with Germanic pre 7th century origins. It is a diminutive of the personal name “Wilhelm”, plus the diminutive suffix ‘et(t) or “ot(t)” meaning ‘little’ or possibly ‘son of’. In fact this surname is also used frequently as a woman’s first name.

Tracing back further than Benjamin Wilmot is and will probably continue to be difficult until a new set of records is discovered or DNA evidence comes to light.  I have tentatively linked him to Harry and Ann Wilmot of Northill, Bedfordshire as this is the only extant record I find that makes sense.  This link should be taken for what it is, a shot in the dark unsupported by what we know.

On the 2^nd of May 1648, “Old Goodman Willmote and Samuel March took the oath of fidellitie” in New Haven, Connecticut. His son, Benjamin, had been in New Haven since, at least 1641. On May 1, 1654, “Old Goodman Willmot desired the court that his son may be freed from training which was considered, and with reference to his own age, his wife’s weakness, and their living on a farm, his son was freed.” He was about fourscore when he died in 1669.

This Wilmot family is the root of many families in New England.

My own branch passes through Benjamin’s great-grandson Timothy Wilmot.  Timothy enlisted in the Revolutionary Army on May 20, 1777 and was a bombadier in Capt. John’s Company of the batallion of the artillery commanded by John Lamb. He deserted March 4, 1780. A deserter’s list from West Point notes: “light complexion, light hair and eyes, 5’9″ height, 23 years old.” Before the war was over he moved to Thetford, Vermont and married Mary/Polly Copp. Pay stubs at the National Archives indicate where he was for each payment. Timothy settled in north-west corner of Norwich, VT as early as 1782. Many of his family moved to Thetford, VT.

My line continues in Vermont for most of the next century. Timothy’s great grandson, Haviland George Wilmot moved to Denver, Colorado and married Florence McColl. (see McColl Family Page) He worked at Summit Fuel and Feed in Denver. Haviland and Florence had one son, Don Carlos (Carl) Wilmot (named after his grandfather, named after a King of Spain who sold sheep to farmers in Vermont). Carl became a Denver policeman.