i have traced my tree back to 1780ish not found any lilly that went to the states. Checked ellis island and didnt find any. originally from suffolk one of the first mentions of lilly in the country was in suffolk any help would be good

Back when most genealogy sites were free, I remember discussions of the original Lilly immigrant coming to the US in 1634 on a ship called "The Ark." My understanding is that no proof was found on the passenger list of that ship. At the time, the story was that 3 Lillys arrived on the Ark - 2 stayed in Virginia and one traveled to Georgia. I've been trying to find more information on this but haven't yet found anything definitive. I have learned that 70% of the people who came to the Virginia Colony did so as indentured servants and records of them, even on passenger lists, can be hard to find. I wonder if there aren't good records of the original Lillys in the colonies because they were indentured for their first 4 or 5 years?

If anyone has information to add to this I'd really appreciate it.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Yes

lilly was one of the oldest recorded names in suffolk where i live and have traced back my family to about 1780.your information i found useful thank youunxc

They came to VIRGINIA in the seventeenth century. THEY WERE DEFINITELY NOT IN MARYLAND!!!! The Ark and Dove Society (for descendants of Maryland founders) have no record of any Lillys. If they don't, how could we have that information?

My grand uncle A A Lilly (Cousin Abe) paid $5000 to a fraud back in the thirties. That mess is a grand work of fiction. As for the three century nonsense, yes Robert and Mary could have lived in three different centuries but were not having children in their eighties!

That "genealogist" just through anything and everything at Uncle Abe for his work of fiction. I still have a good bit of editing to do (from clicking on five generations at a time without seeing past the most recent), but for the most part it's good info. Tread lightly but enjoy. The tree is named "Eden's Harvest" on ancestry.com.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? tes

I've heard of (and read) a fictitious genealogy created by a man named Anjou, I believe. He traces the Lillys back to Sweden or some other Norse country. Is that the genealogy you're talking about or is there another one?

Yes, the Ark and Dove ended up in Maryland. In fact, it came to America in order to found Maryland as a haven for religious freedom. Before that, however,there were stops in Barbados and "Virginia." Here's a quote from an extensive article on the two ships:

The two ships remained separated for most of the remainder of the voyage. The Ark arrived at Barbadoes in the West Indies on 3 Jan 1633/4, and were joined by the smaller Dove three weeks later. They disembarked shortly thereafter and arrived at Point Comfort in Virginia Colony on 27 Feb 1633/4:

"At length, sailing from this, we reached what they call Point Comfort, in Virginia, on the 27th of February, full of fear lest the English inhabitants, to whom our plantation is very objectionable, should plot evil against us. Letters, however, which we brought from the King and Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Governor of these regions, served to conciliate their minds, and to obtain those things which were useful to us. For the Governor of Virginia hoped, by this kindness to us, to the more easily from the royal treasury a great amount money due to him."

Just wondering here: As we know, Virginia was massive in the 17th century and into the 18th. Lord Baltimore was given a land grant by King Charles I with orders to call it Maryland in honor of the King's wife. However, until Lord Baltimore established his colony, wouldn't that land be considered Virginia? Is it possible that Lillys chose to travel south after disembarking so ended up in what became the state of Virginia?

I'm not arguing that the Ark & Dove story regarding the Lillys is true, it's simply what I've read on the Internet. But, until documentation is found one way or the other, I also don't want to close any doors.

Thanks for offering your Ancestry.com site. I don't subscribe so am unable to search for your records. I wish I could see them, though. You've obviously put a lot of time and thought into this.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Yes

There is no truth to the Maryland story; I double-checked with the Ark and Dove Society here in MD; if they don't have it, how could that "genealogist" find it? My grand uncle Abe paid $5000 in the early 30's for that piece of fiction. Earliest records for Lillys are in Virginia. The Maryland colony was almost exclusively Roman Catholic; the Lillys were staunch Protestants. Once and for all, throw out that old piece of fiction, please!!!!

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? yes

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET PAST MY GRAND FATHER (WILLIAM LILLY ?) TO NO AVAIL. HOPEFULLY YOU SEEM TO KNOW QUITE A BIT OF THEIR HISTORY. GRANDFATHER: WILLIAM LILLY BORN PENNSYLVANIA. GRANDMOTHER: BERTHA SCHERZ BORN GERMANY. SON: THEODORE R. LILLY BORN 1905 PENNSYLVANIA. HELP PLEASE...
THANKS IN ADVANCE,
TED

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? no

PAUL,
COULD YOU SEND ME ANY INFORMATION YOU HAVE ABOUT OUR FAMILY? I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR EVER, AND HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO GET PAST MY GRANDPARENTS.
THANK YOU
TED

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? no

There are no Lillys on the transcribed list of that ship, and the links to the Catholics of Maryland are likewise entirely unsupported.
Indenturement is misunderstood. Most children were taught trades as indentured servants. When someone bought your passage to the Virginia colony, they owned the "head rights" to the land and you were indentured to work for them for a certain period, typically seven years. It was a serious business: colonial newspapers carry ads for run-away indentured servants just as they did for runaway slaves, including a printer's apprentice Robert Lilly, by the way. A woman captured by Indians for many years was still forced to serve out her indenturement when she returned.
....
Interestingly, when the first captured Africans were brought to Virginia on a Dutch ship, the Dutch were out of food and traded them. There was no provision in Virginia for slavery then, so they were indentured. The system changed of course over time.

Thanks for posting about the fake tree. I had linked William Lilly (1783-1835) to Gustavus Lilly - supposedly from France. I checked the LDS records for William, and the real father is a Robert Lilly. I had no idea that a fraudulent tree existed - and that so many on Ancestry had accepted it. I thought tracking the Lillys was too easy - and was supprized at the France-Sweden connection when I had always been under the impression that we came from England/Ireland.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? maybe

I believe our first Lilly ancestor to America was John Lysley, born 1577 in Stafford, England. He died in 1645 in York County, Virginia; I do not have the date of his arrival in America. I've tried to reconstruct our tree and believe I finally have the correct information. Gustav Anjou (probably not his real name) was a fraud who bilked Uncle Abe and others of $5000 in the midst of the depression. In contrast, my parents bought a very large new home in Charleston for $3500 about the same time. You might say that the family was "had". And that three century nonsense (in even Ripley's Believe It or Not) was a simple case of lots of Johns and Marys. I seriously doubt that Mary would have been having children in her seventies or beyond! We would have heard of a repeat of the miracle that blessed Abraham and Sarah.

I've corrected most of the mess, and all are welcome to the info and photos in my ancestry.com tree Eden's Harvest. But word of warning: I haven't completely corrected all the mess from my eagerness when I first started the tree and could add five generations at a time without seeing what was really there. HUGE MISTAKE!!! So if you find anything that doesn't make sense, please leave me a message on the site. My tree is rather large, and it's really a "given" that there are errors that still need correction.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? To several!

I believe our first Lilly ancestor to America was John Lysley, born 1577 in Stafford, England. He died in 1645 in York County, Virginia; I do not have the date of his arrival in America. I've tried to reconstruct our tree and believe I finally have the correct information. Gustav Anjou (probably not his real name) was a fraud who bilked Uncle Abe and others of $5000 in the midst of the depression. In contrast, my parents bought a very large new home in Charleston for $3500 about the same time. You might say that the family was "had". And that three century nonsense (in even Ripley's Believe It or Not) was a simple case of lots of Johns and Marys. I seriously doubt that Mary would have been having children in her seventies or beyond! We would have heard of a repeat of the miracle that blessed Abraham and Sarah.

I've corrected most of the mess, and all are welcome to the info and photos in my ancestry.com tree Eden's Harvest. But word of warning: I haven't completely corrected all the mess from my eagerness when I first started the tree and could add five generations at a time without seeing what was really there. HUGE MISTAKE!!! So if you find anything that doesn't make sense, please leave me a message on the site. My tree is rather large, and it's really a "given" that there are errors that still need correction.

Oops! Looking back at a previous post, I see that I didn't bother to check my rather hurried blurb. I DO know the difference between THREW and through! That's what I get for being lazy and letting the computer program jump in!

Sorry!

R White

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? To several!

I found a deposition in either 1638 or 1639 of a John Lilly who came to Virginia in 1637 on the Elizabeth of London
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cullember/otherfam/
1639deposition.html
and
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/VTLS/CR/04005/index.html
Survey report page 2 and page 3

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? yes

If you want to look up the lilly I have found in Suffolk my tree is available on ancestry gordon Paul lilly is anyone wants to have a look.
My grandfathers building firm Walter lilly is still in existence after 90 years. Although no longer owned by the family it is a major firm in and around London. Their 90 th birthday celebrations were held at the Tower of London