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By : Pam Vaughan ©
Milton Wiley Milligan was born near Pinckneyville, Perry Co., Illinois where his large extended family owned a number of farms in close proximity to each other. His father, Fergus/Forgus Milton Milligan (who went by Milton, too) had been born in South Carolina (according to the 1850, 1860 Illinois census) while Forgus' siblings were primarily born in Iredell Co, North Carolina and Perry County, Illinois Milton's mother was Eupha Leslie who was born in Ohio in 1814. Besides Milton Wiley, she had other children: Mary Ann, Elizabeth, James Curtis, Joseph P., Madison, and Selicia/Celicia (1830-1860 Federal Census.) Madison went on to become one of the first physicians in New Mexico during the time of Wyatt Earp.
After growing up on the farm in Perry County, Milton enlisted and joined the 110 Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company H to fight in the Civil War. He was mustered along with his brother James C. Milligan on Sept. 11, 1862 and went off to fight at such places as the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, and the battles around Atlanta which is discussed in various online histories of this infantry. Willard Milligan, Milton's grandson, also remembers Milton telling him about the battles especially Chickamauga. He served under Col. Hazen and General William Sooy Smith and, of course, General Sherman. The history also says that this company was in Sherman's famous March to the Sea which split and crippled the South. In Milton's records received from the National Archives, it shows that he saw most of his service in Tennessee. In the Company Descriptive Book, it describes Milton as being "20 yrs. old, 5' 8 1/2", complexion fair, eyes blue, hair black, born in Perry Ills, occupation Farmer." He was enlisted Aug 13 1862 at Pinckneyville by Capt. Murphy for a term of 3 years. "Transferred to 1st U.S.V. S. O. Engnrs. Ill Dept. Cumberland. No. 86 Dated July 29, 1864." In the monthly muster rolls taken during the Civil War, some of his are from Company D and some from Co. H: In March and April of 1863, he was at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. There had been a battle, the Stones River Campaign, near this town in December of 1862. It is uncertain whether he participated in this battle but certainly was part of the Union occupation afterward. More records were to follow. In May and June of 1863, the Muster Roll of Co. H shows that he was stationed at Elk River Bridge, Tennessee. There was a garrison at this location. During September and October 1863, it shows that he was at Chattanooga, Tennesee. November and December, 1863 shows him absent and detached to the Pioneer Corps which we can presume is the Engineers. The archival information goes on to say that Pvt. Milton W. Milligan was with "Co. H of the 110 Reg't. Illinois Infantry and D of the 110 Reg't." In "Dec. of 1862 he was detached with the Pioneer Corps since Nov. 20/82. May 1863 detachd [sic] in Pioneer Corps since Dec 26/62 absent sick in hospl Nashville Tenn Dec 26/62. June 1863 to July 1864 detchd in Pioneer Corps since Dec 15/62. Aug 1864 Transfd 1 U.S. Vet. Eng. Regt. July 30/64 Chatanooga; appears also as Mulligan & Miligan Milton M. and William also Milton C. " His pension application information from the Army's Adjutant General's office has him listed as a teamster for the Pioneer Corps. He left the service on June 20, 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee (per Pension Application) after reenlisting once when Company H had suffered numerous casualties and then consolidated into Company D. In his Sawtelle Vets Home record from Los Angeles, it said he had served in the Engineers. So he probably saw 2 1/2 years of service which included being wounded; knowing the high casualties and illnesses of this war, it's a miracle he and his brother both survived. Willard Milligan, his grandson, said that his being in the Engineers answers how he survived; he also mentioned that Milton wasn't the type to want to shoot anyone.
After discharge, Milton married Flora Adeline McCaw (b: 5 April 1852 Dalton, Whitfield Co, GA- Family Bible) in Perry County, IL.
on March 19, 1868 by John Davis, Justice of the Peace . (per Marriage Certificate, Perry Co. IL)
 Flora with her grandson, Willard Milton moved his new family to Parsons, Kansas where the rest of their sons, Milton Lee(b: 1871), Arthur Dallas (b: 1874), Charles Wilman (b:1877), and George Roland (b:1881) were born. Sidney and Milton L. were probably born in Illinois. Parsons was where several famous wild west outlaws were stationed at the time including the Dalton Gang. Milton's brother, Joseph P., also is rumored to have migrated to Kansas, (per Genealogy card catalogue, DuQuoin Library, Perry Co. Illinois) but whether it was before or after Milton remains a mystery. Milton took at least two sons to the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush: Arthur (my grandfather) and Milton L. Milton Sr. must have been a little odd to take his children to such an event, and one can only imagine his wife's protests. Arthur said to son Willard that "it was a wild and wooly place." One morning Arthur woke to the sound of gunfire and a bullet hit the saddle that Arthur was using for his pillow. Arthur was about 15 at the time. Arthur survived, but Milton Jr. died in Oklahoma City in 1890 from a horse's kick. (per Family Bible) Where he is buried remains another mystery. Willard said that Arthur talked about the Oklahoma journey more than any other event in his past. According to the Fort Collins, Colorado newspaper, The Coloradoan, Sidney also lived in Oklahoma from 1894 to1899. Milton Sr. lived there for five years around this time according to his pension papers. The Special Schedule of the 1890 Federal Census for "Surviving Soldiers, Sailors and Marines, and Widows, Etc., Supervisor's District No. 185" has Milton living in Oklahoma City. After that, Milton Sr. became a traveling missionary. According to his pension application dated 6 Aug 1912, he stated that after the Civil War, he lived in Illinois for seven years, Kansas for nineteen years, Oklahoma for five years, Texas for one year, Colorado for three years, and New Mexico for twelve years. At the time he filled out the application, he was living in East Las Vegas, New Mexico. He had several relations living in New Mexico including his brothers James and Madison. On a file titled, "Declaration for Original Invalid Pension," in March of 1888 he was living in SW Kansas at Meade where they currently have a Dalton Gang memorial and museum. On this application, Milton stated that he had contracted "chronic diarhea by reason of exposure and it has produced piles and rheumatism which affects his arms and back, also constipation and general debility." At any rate, we can conclude that he was a roamer. Perhaps his experiences in the Civil War "touched" him. According to grandson, Lyle Milligan, "He sometimes left his family consisting of a wife and five children for long periods. One time he was gone for a long, long time without contacting his family, so his wife, Flora, divorced him (quite rare in those days) and remarried a man named Mr. Witham. Milton returned, probably from Texas, and accused her of living in sin; he went on to proclaim that she would never get to heaven. Grandpa Witham from Billings, Montana, was like our grandfather. He and Grandmother visited us a lot when we lived in Portland, Oregon." According to one of Milton's pension applications, it states that they were divorced in Boulder, Colorado; this would be around 1900 or so as they lived there about this time. On the "Declaration of Wife Under Act of March 3, 1899," a form in his application file, it had Flora living at 335 23rd St. in Denver, Colorado and Milton "is an inmate of the Western Branch National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Leavenworth Kansas." This hospital was new at the time having been opened in 1885. The patients were even able to grow their own vegetables and fruit. Milton disappeared again after finding Grandma Witham living in sin. Granddaughter, Lois Milligan Blondin, said that Arthur and Sidney Milligan, his sons, came up from Texas (where they had probably been with Milton Sr.) to Fort Collins, Colorado. Fort Collins was where Arthur was to meet Lois' mother, Nellie. Sidney met Cora, and these two stayed in Fort Collins where they had a son, Donald James Milligan. Many years later, Emma Milligan, the wife of Milton's son, George, was visiting Sawtelle Veteran's Home in Los Angeles. She was looking for someone else, and discovered Milton was living there. After that, he went to live with George and Emma. In the summers of 1926 and 1928, he stayed with Arthur's family in Fresno. Arthur barely spoke to his father because he never quite forgave him for deserting his mother. Nellie, Arthur's wife, in her usual manner treated Milton well and had a good relationship with him. Both Lyle and Willard who were both teenagers said he was a quiet man but would go off for the day and stand in the town square preaching the gospel. He would also go out in the hot summer sun fully dressed in his blue serge suit, read his Bible for a couple of hours, and come back swearing that he was going blind. Wherever Milton went, he always wore his blue serge suit and his white gloves. Willard as a teenager remembers being curious about his Civil War exploits so asked him about his memories of this, and Milton got very indignant thinking Willard was poking fun of him. But he proceded to list the battles he was in, one of them Dad remembers was Chickamauga. Lyle who was a young man when Milton was staying with them felt that Milton didn't exactly approve of him because Lyle loved his social life and had occasional drinks which Milton thoroughly disapproved of; Milton was a teetotler. Unfortunately, Milton never talked about his own family in Illinois. In fact, he never talked much at all. When Milton checked into Sawtelle Veterans Home (L.A.) at 56 in 1898, he suffered from vertigo, piles, rheumatism, and general disability. (per Sawtelle Veteran's Home Records, Los Angeles, National Archives) Over the years, he checked himself in and out of this home on 5 different occasions. In the end he was getting a military pension of $72 per month (in the books it increased from $20 over the years). Physically the page describes him as being 5'9", dark complexion, gray eyes, light hair, could read and write, was a Protestant, a farmer, and was "widowed." His nearest relative was listed as George Milligan who lived in Harbor City, CA. Sidney James Milligan, Ft. Collins, CO was listed before George but was scratched out, probably after George and Emma located him. In his later years, Dad remembers Emma saying that Milton had his own house somewhere in Los Angeles for awhile and was sometimes seen foot racing the neighborhood kids. Milton died at Sawtelle Veterans home from chronic myocardial artero sclerosis and is buried in Sawtelle National Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA, plot 60-C-22. It is now called Los Angeles National Cemetery, and the names are even listed online.
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© 2007-2008 GWayne Hinton
