We're coming to the reunion this year for the first time!

Ballard P. Lilly, born abt. 1886 in Summers, WV and died in Raleigh Co., WV. He was a son of William Stonewall Lilly and Romanza Estaline Harvey (according to what I pieced together from various sources).

Ballard P. Lilly married Martha J. Snuffer who was born in abt. 1886 and died in Raleigh Co., WV. Ballard & Martha had at least four kids, Macie or Macle, Ernest E., Thermal and Sherril. (These folks show up as a family on a 1930 Census).

Ernest E. "Buzz" Lilly was born July 19, 1916 in Sprague, Raleigh Co., WV and died at his sister, Mrs. Clifton C. Persinger's, house on September 11, 1971 in Baltimore, MD. He is interred at Mt. Tabor Cemetery, Beckley, WV.

I have a copy of his death certificate which names Ballard and Martha as his parents.

Are there any cousins out there who are related directly to these folks? I'm fairly sure at least one of his sisters had a son but not sure about the other sister. The youngest brother, Sherril, died fairly young. As far as I know I am the only child of Ernest but I don't know that for sure. He and Mom parted ways when I was very young.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Yes

Hi Nancy,

I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news first. You may be tracking the wrong family line. I cannot find any information to indicate that Ballard Preston Lilly, married to Martha Snuffer, was a child of William S. J. Lilly.

The good news is that Ballard's death certificate indicates his parents to be Preston Lilly and Susan Ann Walker. This information was from Earnest Lilly, assumed to be his son.

I believe Preston Lilly is Elijah Preston Lilly and that Ballard was living with his parents in Raleigh during the 1900 census.

The problem is that I have a different wife for Elijah so I am going to have to find out if he married more than once or if he is not the father of Ballard.

I hope to hear see your thoughts on this and I would appreciate knowing why you think Ballards father was William S.J. Lilly.

Sincerely, Cousin Bob

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Yes, 5 or 6 ways

Hi Bob: Regarding the info I had of Ballard P. Lilly, married to Martha J. Snuffer, being a child of William S. J. Lilly--this came from surfing the research of others on Ancestry.com. At the reunion, I found that this info is not verified and apparently false.

The only documents I have at this point are my father's (Ernest E. Lilly) certificate of death (on 9-11-1971) which lists Ballard P and Martha J. Snuffer as his parents and his date of birth as 7-19-1916, plus the settlement of his estate which names his siblings: Macil (F), Thermal (F) and Sherrill (M).

Ernest was born in Sprague according to the death certificate but Mom always said he was born in Ghent, WV. He actually passed away at his sister's house in Baltimore, MD but is interred at Mt. Tabor Cemetery there in WV. I found his name listed for that cemetery along with his nickname being incorrectly spelled "Duz." It was actually "Buz" or "Buzzy."

I would love a copy of Ballard's death certificate and will give you my mailing address at the bottom of this note. I did see a 1900 Census showing a Ballard Lilly, age 14, as a Boarder with Preston Lilly & Sarah (Raleigh Co, Shady Spring, 12-June 1900 Pg 249, Supervisors 289, Emumer. Dist 118). I found this record on Ancestry.com.

Also Ballard & Martha J. Lilly are on a 1930 Census which shows Ernest and his siblings being the right ages for that year and Ballard (according to that census) would have been born in abt. 1886.

I am considering sending in a request to vital statistics in WV to get a certified copy of Ernest's birth certificate and then if that shows no changes or surprises, I'll next request a copy of Ballard P. Lilly's birth certificate (if such exists). Do you think these are likely to be helpful?

My mailing address is: Nancy Lilly Friedman, PO Box 12723, Roanoke, VA 24028.

Sincerely,
Cousin Nancy

Can you trace your Line to Robert Lilly?
I don't know yet but hope so.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? I think so

Hi Nancy,
I don't actually have a copy of Ballard's death certificate. I looked it up online at the WV culture site. Using the following link go to the site, select death certificate, and put in his information. If you have a problem let me know and I will see what I can do to re-find it. Oh, use all lower case letters and you may want to do this very early or late in the day. The site is frequently maxed out. http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_select.aspx

Could you provide me with the info you have for Ballard's descendents? I would like to add it to my database.

Cousin Bob

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Yes, 5 or 6 ways

Hi Bob: I am working on trying to get a birth certificate for Ballard Preston Lilly. I understand I will have to go through Archives of History Library/The Cultural Center. I'm hoping and praying that there is a record which shows his father's name.

Good News! On Ancestry.com I found Ballard’s Draft Registration Card, dated 9-17-1918. He is listed as Ballard Preston Lilly, born May 8, 1886, living in Crab Orchard and nearest relative, Martha J. Lilly. He was employed by Pemberton (Coal maybe) Co. I also found, and printed out, a copy of the Marriage License: Ballard Preston Lilly & Martha Jane Snuffer, both age 23, were married on July 9, 1909 by W. J. Peters, a Baptist Minister, at residence Sunda Lilly.

A 1930 Census for Raleigh shows Ballard as Head of House, Martha as wife and the children as: Macie (Macle) age 16 (dau); Ernest age 13 (son); Thermal age 11 (dau) and Sherril age 8 (son) and also Oliver Snuffer, age 39 (Martha's brother).

These siblings do match up to Ernest’s brother and sisters’ which were listed on his (Ernest's) estate settlement when he passed away in 1971. His sister's first names, however, are spelled as I have them in parentheses as I recall. I have the settlement document in my safe deposit box and haven't yet copied it.

While surfing through ancestry.com I found that someone on Martha Snuffer's side has been doing research for a long time and even has an independent web sit set up showing the links and descendants. I'm hoping somewhere; somehow I can find verified documents to make the link from my grandfather, Ballard, to the name of his father and thus my place on the "Lilly Tree."

With kind regards,
Cousin Nancy

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Maybe

I found the estate settlement for Ernest E. Lilly. It lists his siblings as: Sisters, Therma Persinger of Baltimore, MD; Macil Smith of Baltimore, MD and brother Sherrell Lilly of Fort Myers, FL. The person named as administrator was Cleta Wood. It was filed in Raleigh County on June 22, 1973.

Can You Trace Your Line To Robert Lilly ? Maybe