Robert Lilly and Mary Fanny Moody

Robert Lilly was born about 1696 as the first child of John Lilly and Dorothy Billups. He died about 1810 in Summers Co., VA. When he was 63, He married Mary Fanny Moody between 1759–1802 in Albamarle Cty.,Fluvanna Co.,  Virginia.

Robert Lilly was buried in Flat Top, Mercer, West Virginia, USA (Flat Top Baptist Church Cemetery).

Robert Lilly and Mary Fanny Moody had the following children:

1.Thomas Lilly was born in 1775 in Bedford Co., VA. He died in 1834 in Giles Co., VA. He married Roseanna Meador on 22 Aug 1798 in Montgomery Co., VA.

2.Judith Lilly was born between 1760–1764 in Albemarle Co., VA. She died on 10 Jan 1846 in Giles Co., VA. She married Josiah Meador in 1787 in Little Bluestone, VA.

3.Edmond Lilly was born in 1772 in , Fluvanna, Virginia, USA. He died in 1832 in , Mercer, West Virginia, USA. He married Edith Meador on 20 Mar 1795 in , Botetourt, Virginia, USA.

4.Robert.


Find A Grave. LillyGreyBowe.ftw, Date of Import: Jun 10, 2003.

  [Lilly2.FTW]     Robert was in 1810 Giles Co census . Marriage: WFT Est. 1759-1802, Albamarle Cty., Virginia (Source: Brøderbund Software, Inc., World Family Tree Vol. 3, Ed. 1,  (Release date: February 9, 1996), "CD-ROM," Tree #3605, Date of Import: Nov 26, 1999.) [LillyGreyBowe.ftw]     Robert was in 1810 Giles Co census
 [Lilly2.FTW]


The following information can be found at watson-lewis-ancestors.blogspot.com.

Robert Lilly, the son of John Lilly, married Frances Moody and settled in Albemarle County, Virginia, formerly a part of Goochland County.
Robert Lilly first lived on a farm of Charles Dameron and purchased it in 1776. The deed dated October 22, of that year, is recorded in Albemarle County and conveys to Robert Lilly 200 acres of land situated in that portion of Albemarle County which became part of Fluvanna County in 1777. Robert paid 32 pounds and 10 shillings for this tract of land, and sold it four years later for 3,000 pounds, or $9,000 dollars at that time. This deed is dated September 7, 1780, is recorded in Fluvanna County, Virginia, and signed Robert and Frances Lilly.
Robert was considered wealthy for his day. In 1781, he moved to a farm in Bedford County, Virginia, purchasing it three years later. The deed is dated August 23, 1784, from Richard and Susanna Watts to Robert Lilly, conveying 460 acres of land situated on Prathers Run, the southside of Staunton (Roanoke) River, in that portion of Bedford County which became a part of Franklin County, Virginia, in 1785.
A deed exists in Botetourt County, Virginia, dated January 7, 1783, in which one Arthur Cooper conveyed to Robert Lilly 100 acres of land situated on the south side of Back Creek, "the place where on Josiah Meadows, deceased, lived", and on a line with the said Lilly's line. The witnesses to this deed were Josiah Meadows, Jacob Meadows, and Robert Richardson. The deed shows that Robert Lilly and the Meadows family lived on adjoining farms and in adjoining counties for several years. The Josiah Meadows, deceased, mentioned in this deed was the father of Jacob Meadows and Reverend Josiah Meadows, who were two of the witnessed to this transaction. The Reverend Josiah Meadows married Juda (Judith) Lilly, a daughter of Robert and Frances Lilly. Also note that Rev. Josiah was the brother of Rosanna Edith Meador who married Thomas Edmond Lilly, parents of Pleasant Lilly.
Robert Lilly and Reverend Josiah Meadows moved west of the Allegheny Mountains, and lived a few years at the mouth of East River with John Toney and Jacob Meadows. They later moved near the mouth of Little Bluestone River in what is now Summers County, West Virginia, thenMontgomery County, Virginia.
In Montgomery County there is a deed dated August 10, 1802, from Thomas Copley (who was married to Mary Day and in the McKinney line of the Hammack family) to Robert Lilly and Josiah Meadows, conveying 231 acres of land situated at the mouth of Little Bluestone. A plat has been made from the calls given in a copy of this deed which shows that this tractof land extended from the foot of Ellison Ridge crossing Little Bluestone, thence down the north side of Big Bluestone River two miles. This tract was divided into three parts: Reverend Josiah Meadows located on the upper part at the mouth of Little Bluestone; the elder Robert Lilly located about one-half mile below Meadows and the lower portion was occupied by two of his sons, Thomas Lilly and Edmond Lilly.
According to Mr. Miller's "History of Summers County, West Virginia", the first Robert Lilly died in 1810 at the ripe old age of 114 years; and his wife died in 1807, at the the age of 111 years. But the following deeds show that the original Robert and Fanny Lilly were stillliving in 1817. So it is all VERY confusing!
In Giles County, Virginia, there is a deed dated February 28, 1817, from Robert Lilly, Sr., conveying his personal property to his son, William Lilly, for the "maintenance of the said Robert Lilly and Fanny Lilly during life."(Signed:) Robert Lilly.
On March 1, 1817, Robert Lilly, Sr., of Giles County, Virginia, made a deed to his son, William Lilly, conveying 50 acres of land situated on the north side of Big Bluestone River for the "personal maintenance of himself, the said Robert Lilly, Sr., and his wife, Fanny Lilly during life.”
Also in Giles, Co there is a deed dated March 13, 1817, from Robert Lilly, to two of his sons, Thomas and Edmund Lilly, conveying the lower portion of his land situated on the north side of Big Bluestone River.

Ancient papers of the original Robert Lilly and Josiah Meadows families of Bluestone River were found December, 1948, by Mr. Garland Snuffer and his wife, of Glen White, WV. The batch of old papers were found lying in the yard of an old farm homestead near the Bluestone Dam. According to Mr. Snuffer, the papers were evidently thrown from the old house during the period when workmen at the Bluestone Dam were razing old dwellings to make way for the backwater from the structure. Many of the papers in Snuffer's collection, which number approximately 100 different items, date back as far as 1749. One letter was from the Territory of Upper Louisiana in the District of St. Louis. It was dated February 2, 1812, and was from William S. Lilly to his father Robert Lilly, Sr. of Giles Co, Va., now Summers Co, WV. Evidently William S. Lilly traveled a great deal, because on July 18, 1809, three years before, he was in Kanawha County (spelled Canawha). At this time he wrote to Josiah Meador, his brother-in-law.
Robert & Fannie were married about 1762. The Lilly family has been one of the most outstanding families in Southern West Virginia, many of them doctors, lawyers, bankers, merchants, businessmen, ministers, educators and farmers.
A historical marker overlooking the Bluestone Lake, says - Lilly - The historic village of Lilly was located at the confluence of the Little Bluestone and Bluestone Rivers three miles Northwest of this point. It was settled by Robert and Fanny Lilly who migrated here in the late 1700's from the Dublin-Pulaski area of the Botetourt County. The village was razed with the construction of Bluestone Dam in 1949. Remains from 149 graves were exhumed from Lilly Cemetery with most reinterred in Crews Cemetery on Sand Knob. Robert and Fanny Lilly were reinterred at the Lilly Reunion Grounds at Flat Top.

http://www.nps.gov/blue/historyculture/the-lost-town-of-lilly.htm

The Lost Town of Lilly
Lilly was one of the first Appalachian settlements in present day West Virginia, settled by Robert and Frances Lilly in the 1700's along with Josiah Meador and their families. The Bluestone area was used by Native Americans before this time because of its abundant supply of natural resources. The area offers a wide variety of flora and fauna that is still widely enjoyed and explored today.

Robert Lilly and Josiah Meadors chose the area to carve a new way of life for themselves and their families. They moved from Dublin Pulaski, Virginia to what is present day West Virginia. Both families settled on the Bluestone River where they survived by subsistence farming and logging. It has been said the families arrived with a bible, ax, and gun and created a new life on wild and rugged land. Lilly soon became home to over thirty families.
Lilly continued to thrive until the mid 1900's when the construction of the Bluestone Dam began. Construction calculations predicted Lilly would be underwater, and residents were forced to move. Cemeteries were exhumed and moved to new locations. Buildings, churches, and homes were all destroyed or moved to new locations. A few of their foundations still remain, offering a tangible link to the families who once struggled to survive here. While walking through the old settlement of Lilly today you can still see foundations of old structures scattered throughout the area, or a coal bucket laying on the ground offering one of the only clues that a once thriving community was based here.

From the original settlers a great family emerged. The Lilly family is one of the largest families in the world. Family members come each year to celebrate on the Lilly Family grounds in Flat Top to enjoy the memories and bond close to the original settlement of Lilly. The Lilly reunion began in the early 1900's and still continues today, being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest family reunion in the world. Lilly is still a beautiful sight that can be explored, and will be preserved for future generations.
Today the forest has reclaimed the old townsite of Lilly.
Did You Know?
The Bluestone River is managed jointly by the National Park Service and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.


West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State - Page 400
Federal Writers' Project - 1952
FLAT TOP, 53.3 m. (3,305 alt., 30 pop.), a tiny trade center on the mountain, plays host for two days in mid-August each year to some 75,000 guests who come to attend the Lilly Family Reunion, held annually since 1930. Robert Lilly was one of three sons of an associate of Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, who came to Maryland in 1640. All three sons migrated, one to Georgia, another to Kanawha Valley; the third, 'Father' Robert Lilly, married Mary Fanny Moody, and the couple left Maryland with four sons in 1732 to settle at the mouth of the Bluestone River, about 10 miles east of Flat Top. 'Father' Robert died in 1810, aged 114, and his wife in 1807, aged 110. The first of the large families in the Lilly line was that of their grandson, also named Robert, who was the father of 13 children; succeeding generations of large families have rapidly increased the clan.
Within the LILLY FAMILY REUNION GROUNDS (L), on a rolling hillside, are a small grandstand, a stage, and frame booths for sale of souvenirs. During the reunion week end the hillside is as crowded as a summer resort on a hot Sunday. Tourist camps and parking places for miles around are filled. Enormous quantities of fried chicken and sandwiches are consumed by Lillys, Lilly-in-laws, and friends and admirers of the virile line, who gather to exchange news and gossip and become further acquainted with the family. The occasion is usually honored with a speech by the governor of the State. Flat Top is abruptly and strangely quiet again on the following Monday morning, and the reunion grounds, buried under a varicolored snow of debris, await the next high wind to sweep them clean.