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cilleys cave mt cardigan NH

cilleys cave mt cardigan NH

joe (View posts)
Posted: 31 Aug 2002 1:27PM GMT
Classification: Query
looking for info on george cilley who lived in a cave on mt cardigan NH was my ggg grandfather

Re: cilleys cave mt cardigan NH

Posted: 6 May 2011 9:30PM GMT
Classification: Query
George was the first born son of Nathan and Amy (Phelps) Cilley. When George was 22, he married Mary Jane Swett, and their first child Sabra was born 14 months later. William, their second child, was born in 1859.

George enlisted May 09, 1861 as a private at the age of 27 in I Company of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, New Hampshire, and was promoted to Full Corporal on Jan. 1, 1864. In the history Second Regiment NH VOL. Infantry (Haynes), George was listed along with Leonard E. Robbins, Co. G. and William K. Philbrick, Co. H as "The Three Guardsmen". George and his Regiment fought may battles in the Civil War, including Bull Run; the Second Bull Run; Gettysburg, PA; and Cold Harbor, VA. Cold Harbor was one of the bloodiest and cruelest battles of the War. The Confederate soldiers had many days to entrench and build fortifications and the Union soldiers, under inept leadership, marched in and were killed en mass. As a result of this awful battle, there were many Officers and Enlisted men who resigned their commissions. The New Hampshire Commanding Officer after this battle stated that "He would never put his men back into this (the Battle of Cold Harbor), even if Jesus Christ ordered him to do so!". George was mustered out on June 21, 1864, four months before the last battle was fought by his Regiment, and the conclusion of this War. All told, George's Regiment lost 21 Officers and 329 Enlisted men.

Upon returning from the War, George and Mary Jane had three more children together. Burt G. was born in the Spring of 1965, Jennie was born in 1866 (probably in the Spring), and Katie was born in the spring of 1867. Sometime later, for reasons unknown, George took Katie Belle away from Mary Jane and gave her to his father Nathan and Nathan's second wife Mary (Church) Cilley to raise. Around 1868, George "lived with" a woman, last name Mitchell, (Jess Barney) in what has become known as "Cilley's Cave". This cave is a natural warren made up of criss-crossed boulders fallen from an adjacent cliff known as Cilley's Cliff which is across from the western valley formed by Firescrew MT. in Orange, New Hampshire. At approximately this time the woman conceived a baby girl born 1869, they named Olive (later known as Olive Brock).

Sometime after Olive was born, George left Ms. Mitchell, left Mary Jane as well, and went West and lived with another woman by the name of Hussey. They had a son named Burt W. (aka Little Burt) who was born September 4, 1873 in Warsaw, MO. George returned to Orange 7 or 8 years after he left and brought Little Burt with him. He presented Little Burt to Mary Jane for her to raise. In the 1880 Orange, NH census, is listed Nathan Gove Cilley 60 years, Mary A. Church 48 years, George W. Cilley 46 years (and does not appear to be living with his wife Mary Jane). Katie B. is listed as 13 years of age and Burt W. (Little Burt) was listed as 6 years of age. About 1884, when Little Burt was 11 years old, he ran away from New Hampshire and returned home to his mother. Little Burt and the Cilley children stayed in touch over the years, and traveled at times to visit their families. (See Burt W. Cilley-Hussey notes).

At some point George went to Colorado, where he worked a silver mine. While in Colorado he met and married a woman named Lovinda B. He became a Christian before his death (source: Auguste Clough and Jess Barney). George is buried in Riverside Cemetery, in Adams County, Colorado. George died April 18, 1908.

Not much is known about the relationship that George had with his East Coast families toward the end of his life but some in-sight can be gained from the comments of his granddaughter, Zoe True King, when she wrote in her genealogy papers. At the conclusion of her comments on her grandfather she wrote: "God rest his soul as he was a cruel man."

Re: cilleys cave mt cardigan NH

Posted: 15 Feb 2012 9:13PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Cilley, Mitchell, Powers
I may a little more information. According to a story handed down in the Powers family, Olive's mother's name was Martha Mitchell. Olive's birth name was Martha Jane; she was fostered with the Powers family and renamed Olive Powers for her foster mother, Olive.

Olive had two sons & a daughter by her first marriage, and three daughters by her second marriage. On her children's marriage licenses, she is listed, variously, as Olive Powers, Olive Cilley, and Olive Mitchell. She also used the name Martha from time to time.
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