WILLIAM SILL (deceased) was born in Shelby County, Ky., August 9, 1801, and died in Monticello January 7, 1846. He was married, November 22, 1822. in Shelby County, to Elizabeth Martin, a native of the county, and born March 16, 1803; she died in Monticello, September 4, 1882. Adam Sill, father of William, was a native of Lancashire, England, and came to the United States about 1780, first settling in New York and afterward moving to Kentucky. Moses Martin, father of Mrs. Elizabeth Sill, was a native of Virginia, and his father a native of Germany. William Sill and wife came to Washington County, this State, in 1828, and two years later moved to Tippecanoe County; then, in the fall of 1830, came to what is now Prairie Township, and taught school that winter. In 1884:, he located in what is now Monticello, erecting the first house in the town, on Lot No. 1. In August, 1834, he was elected the first Clerk of the county, Which office comprised the duties of Clerk, Auditor and Recorder. He served seven years, and was in the fifth year of his second term when he died. He was the father of eight children, of whom four only are living-Robert W., ex-Sheriff of White County. Miranda J. widow of James C. Reynolds; Milton M. and Mrs. Georgiana Jones, of Oskaloosa, Iowa. Milton M. resides in Monticello. He was born in Tippecanoe County, Ind., May 20, 1893, but was reared in this county. At the age of nineteen, he began teaching school, and taught three winters. In 1859, he was el6eted County Surveyor by the Republicans; in 1862, he became proprietor and editor of the Monticello Herald, and the same year was made Draft Commissioner. In 1863, he accepted J. G. Staley as partner in the. paper, and in the fall left him in charge and accepted a position as clerk in the Paymaster General's office at Washington. In 1864, he resigned and returned to White, and the same fall was elected County Sheriff, and was appointed Provost Marshal. In 1854, he had been admitted to the bar, but did not go into practice until"1866; in March, 1881, he formed his present partnership with T. F. Palmer. He was married, December 13, 1859, to Miss Mary McConahay, who died October 10, 1873, the mother of six children - George (deceased), William, Charles, Bertha, Nina and Edward. Mr. Sill has been a Mason for twenty-eight years.

Back to the White County Biographies Main Page