Lillie Arvillous Presnell

Family/Spouse: Alfred Miller. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Jerel Miller
2. Rita Miller

Willard married Celia Louise Tinie Mast. Celia (daughter of William Penn Mast and Caroline Eliza Mills) was born on 27 Mar 1897; died on 26 Jul 1939; was buried in Vilas, Watauga, North Carolina, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
Age: 76

Jordan married Margaret Elizabeth (Betsy) Flannery on 21 May 1886 in Johnson, Tennessee, USA. Margaret was born in Jul 1864 in North Carolina, USA; died on 3 May 1917 in Laurel Creek, Watauga, North Carolina, USA; was buried in Rominger, Watauga County, North Carolina, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Caroline Eliza Mills. Caroline was born in Nov 1866. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Terry Harmon:

Miles Presnell was born around 1824 in North Carolina. Some have suggested that his full name was “Harvey Miles Presnell,” and his great-granddaughter, Aner Tester Rominger, even arranged a tombstone with that name on it, but there are no records to substantiate this. In fact, the 1860 Watauga County census records his name as “Miles A. Presnell.” Miles’s son, Jordan H. “Jerd” Presnell, was a patient at the North Carolina State Mental Hospital in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and although more is written about Jerd later, it is important to note here that the hospital archives record Jerd’s parents as Rilda Hix and Miles Abernathy Presnell. There is no indication as to who the provider of this information was, but perhaps it was Jerd himself or Jerd’s son, Harrison Wesley Presnell, who is believed to have sent his father to the hospital. Either way, a son and/or a grandson would probably have known Miles’s name. Jerd’s death certificate also lists his father as “Miles Abernathy Presnell.” Additionally, on the death certificate of Miles’s
son, John Columbus Presnell, John’s father is listed as “Miles Avanathy Presnell.” “Avanathy” was likely a misspelling of “Abernathy.” The middle name “Abernathy” supports the 1860 census listing of “Miles A. Presnell.” It is also interesting to note that Miles Presnell’s nephew, Jackson Ward (son of Miles’s sister, Clarissa Presnell Ward), named one of his sons Miles Abernathy Ward, no doubt after his uncle Miles Abernathy Presnell. Miles Ward in turn named one of his sons Charles Abernathy Ward.

When I discovered that Miles’s middle name was Abernathy, I wondered about the source of it, particularly since Abernathy is not a name common to the Watauga area. I wondered if it was similar to Lorenzo Dow. Many early residents of this area were named Lorenzo Dow. There were several Lorenzo Dow Wards, for example, as well as a Lorenzo Dow Whittington and a Lorenzo Dow Tester. This name was, in fact, originally given in honor of Lorenzo Dow (1777-1834) who, according to Wikipedia, the on-line dictionary, “was an eccentric minister whose infamy, influence and travels throughout the country led to many thousands of U. S. children of the early 19 th century to be named after him. The 1850 U. S. census lists Lorenzo as one of the most popular first names in America. His autobiography at one time was the second-best selling book in the United States, exceeded only by the Bible.” With that knowledge in mind, I searched for a man named Miles Abernathy. Although I did not locate a Miles Abernathy of the same fame as Lorenzo Dow, there was an Abernathy family in early Lincoln County, North Carolina, and at least two of their members were named Miles and others were named James and Nathan - all names that appear in the Presnell family. Miles Presnell’s father, James Presnell, at one point lived in Burke County, and part of Burke County was later added to Lincoln County (1782- 1784). As is believed to be true of the Presnells, the Abernathys moved to North Carolina from Virginia. Although there appears to be no intermarriages or blood relation between the two families, perhaps they were neighbors or associates, and perhaps that is how the Abernathy name came to be part of the Presnell and Ward families.

Miles married Rilda Hicks on 4 Dec 1845 in Watauga, North Carolina, USA. Rilda (daughter of Harmon Hicks and Nellie Tester) was born in Dec 1826 in Ashe County, North Carolina, USA; died in 1902 in Rominger, Watauga, North Carolina, USA; was buried in Mast Cemetery, Rominger, Watauga County, North Carolina. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]