Micheal (has also been spelled "Michael") Baughman Gill (1874-1946) was the son of William Lysander Gill (1849-1929) and Mary C. Baughman (1853-1906). Micheal Baughman Gill descends from the Gill line as follows:
1 – Benjamin Gill (b: 1782 in North Carolina d: 13 Nov 1826 in Perry County, Alabama)
Spouse: Mary "Polly" Smith (b: 16 Oct 1789 in GA d: 31 July 1860) [Parents: Thomas Mercer and Mary Smith]
Married: 22 Nov 1808 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia (Source: Oglethorpe Co., Marriage Book A, Page 164)
[Mary Polly married William C. H. Finley (Findlay, Findley, or Finely) on 30 Apr 1829 in Perry County, AL, after Benjamin Gill's death]
William C. H. Finley's 1st spouse was Elizabeth Smith (b: 31 May 1795 d: 29 Feb 1829), possible sister of Polly Smith Gill. William C. H. Finley was born 9 Aug 1789; died 11 Apr 1855, buried Shiloh Cemetery, Union Parish]
2—William Mitchell Gill (b: 26 Apr 1813 in Oglethorpe County, GA. d: 12 Mar 1884 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Spouse: Mary Jane Culbertson (b: 27 Aug 1824 in Perry County, Alabama d: 17 Aug 1882 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Parents: John J. Culbertson (1791-1866) & Bethany Heard (1788-1880)]
Married: 4 Mar 1841 at the home of her father, Noxubee County, Mississippi
3 – William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849 in Union Parish, La. d: 8 Feb 1929 in Lincoln Parish, La.) Spouse: Mary C. Baughman (b: 31 Aug 1853 in Fairfield District, SC d: 1 Aug 1906, in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Married: 25 May 1870 in Union Parish, Louisiana
4 --Michael Baughman Gill, Sr. (b: 19 Oct 1874 d: 28 Feb 1946 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Spouse: Eva Edwina Morrow (b: 1881 d: 16 Nov 1944 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Children of Micheal Baughman Gill and Eva Morrow:
1. Evelyn Gill (b: 1907 d: 1953)
Spouse: Rudolph Richard Plotz (1904 - 1965)
2. Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (b: 1910 d: Oct 1966 in Dade County, FL)
Spouse: Sylvia G. (b: 28 Mar 1918 d: 20 Aug 2005 in Dade County, FL)
3. Myriam Gill (b: 1912 d: 1927)
4. William Morrow Gill (b: 7 Jul 1914, Lincoln Parish, LA d: 30 May 1990, Bexar Co, TX)
Spouse: Ruth Albritton (b: 7 Nov 1916 in Farmerville, Union Parish, LA d: 29 Mar 2006, Bexar Co, TX)
5. Benjamin Cameron Gill (b: 28 Dec 1916 in Ruston, LA d: 5 Dec 1989 in Jefferson Co, TX)
Spouse: Lucille Hood (b: 3 Nov 1919 d: )
6. Clinton Reagon Gill (b: 21 Nov 1919 in Ruston, LA d: 29 Oct 2001 in Shreveport, LA)
Spouse: Margaret Hope Griffith ( b: 30 Dec 1918 d: 7 Oct 2003 in Shreveport, LA)
7. James Monroe Gill (b: 2 Sept 1922 in Ruston, LA d: 6 Jun 1994 in Baton Rouge, LA)
Spouse: Winfred Lindsay (b: 1922 )
[Married in 1946 in Palm Beach, FL ]
On the 1910 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, Micheal Baughman Gill & his young family are listed as boarders in household number 241. He is listed as an Opera House Manager. The 1920 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, shows the Micheal Baughman Gill family number 13, and he is listed as an agent – oil leasing. On the 1930 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census Micheal Baughman Gill is listed as head of household number 105, and he is listed as a buyer – oil leasing. The title "agent – oil leasing" and "buyer – oil leasing" are referred to as "oilman" today.
******************************************************
MICHEAL BAUGHMAN GILL, SR.
By
Phillip Plotz, M.D.
Great-grandson of Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr.
Known by his middle name of Baughman, Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr., was born on 19 Oct 1874 in Farmerville, LA, to parents William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849, Union, LA; d: 8 Feb 1929) and Mary C. "Mollie" Baughman Gill (b: 31 Aug 1853, Fairfield, SC; d: 1 Aug 1906, Ruston, LA). He was their second oldest child. His father was a prominent farmer in Union Parish, LA.
His siblings include Aylmer Conrad Gill (1872-1940), Willie T. Valentine Gill (1878-1956), Josie G. Gill (1879-1967), Gordia Glendie Gill (1881-1882), Mack Lawrence Gill (1884-1959), William Lottie Gill (1885-1949), Reuben Oscar Gill (1887-1964), Ella Gill (1890-1934), Willis Gill (1891-1895) and Raymond Browning Gill, Sr. (1895-1961).
Baughman married Eva Edwina Morrow on 1 July 1906 in Lincoln Parish at the age of 31. They lived at 201 South Sparta St. in Ruston, Louisiana. They had seven children. The children were:
Evelyn Gill (1907-1953); Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (1910 -1966); Miriam Gill (1912-1927); William Morrow Gill (1914-1990); Benjamin Cameron Gill (1916-1989); Clinton Reagan Gill (1919-2001); and James Monroe Gill (1922-1994).
He had only an 8th-grade education, but rose to become quite a successful businessman in Ruston in a number of different fields. At one point, he was so successful that he hired live-in help in his home, drove the nicest buggy in town, and was considered to be a millionaire.
Probably his success began with real estate. A review of real estate transactions at the Lincoln Parish court house reveals page after page of deals where Baughman was either the buyer or the seller. And the corresponding seller or buyer more often than not was another Gill family member.
The 1910 U.S. Census lists his occupation as manager of the Opera House, but at some point he purchased it. The Opera House on North Bonner St. was a center of cultural life in Ruston. It was where visiting theater took place and included comedies, drama, operettas and minstrel shows, as well as home talent performances. He also owned the Princess Theater where his wife was involved with the productions.
Michael Baughman Gill's 1918 WWI draft card lists his occupation as a merchant, and by 1920 he was negotiating oil leases. His draft registration card also describes him as medium height, medium build, brown hair, blue eyes with the left eye "partially out." The 1930 census also indicates that he was a buyer of oil leases. But oil prices fell, and due to some conflict with Standard Oil, he apparently lost quite a lot of his wealth. This would have been devastating to him and likely propelled him into a personal depression.
Five miles from town, Baughman had a 6-acre peach orchard in 1930 and had over 600 peach trees growing at one time. The orchard yielded $1,800.00 in 1930 (equivalent to over $25,000 in 2015 dollars). He attributed his success to a special patented "tree tonic" he used on the trees. The orchard also had a small house that Baughman would occasionally stay in rather than driving back to his main residence on South Sparta St. in to Ruston, Louisiana.
Baughman never lost his peach orchard, however, and by 1940, "farm owner" is his listed occupation on the census. He had come full circle. His grandson, Richard Plotz, remembers visiting him and having his first ride in a pick-up truck with Baughman as he picked up day laborers for work in the orchard. They were paid daily because, as Baughman told him, if he paid them at the end of the week, he couldn't be sure they would be available for work the following week.
A mark of success and likely a source of personal pride must have been the education of all five of his sons at Louisiana Tech University. And three of his boys served in the armed forces during WWII. His personality was tough and perhaps distant, but he softened in his older years, and some of his grandchildren remember getting on well with him. His granddaughter, Betty Gill Couch, does not remember him very well because she was only about five years old when Baughman Gill passed away. She does remember that, at about age 4, he jokingly told her that he lost his hair because birds pecked it out. (Micheal [Michael] Baughman Gill lost his hair at a young age, as confirmed by a family picture taken in 1905 showing him as being bald.)
Baughman caused a controversy in Ruston when, toward the end of his life, he gifted a portion of his orchard to the African American community to build a church. They were likely the same workers that helped him on his orchard.
He should be remembered as a visionary entrepreneur who came from very little education, but became quite a prominent businessman and developer of Ruston, Louisiana.
At the age of 71, Baughman died of complications of a stroke and kidney disease at his home on South Sparta. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston next to his wife Eva and their daughter Miriam.
1 – Benjamin Gill (b: 1782 in North Carolina d: 13 Nov 1826 in Perry County, Alabama)
Spouse: Mary "Polly" Smith (b: 16 Oct 1789 in GA d: 31 July 1860) [Parents: Thomas Mercer and Mary Smith]
Married: 22 Nov 1808 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia (Source: Oglethorpe Co., Marriage Book A, Page 164)
[Mary Polly married William C. H. Finley (Findlay, Findley, or Finely) on 30 Apr 1829 in Perry County, AL, after Benjamin Gill's death]
William C. H. Finley's 1st spouse was Elizabeth Smith (b: 31 May 1795 d: 29 Feb 1829), possible sister of Polly Smith Gill. William C. H. Finley was born 9 Aug 1789; died 11 Apr 1855, buried Shiloh Cemetery, Union Parish]
2—William Mitchell Gill (b: 26 Apr 1813 in Oglethorpe County, GA. d: 12 Mar 1884 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Spouse: Mary Jane Culbertson (b: 27 Aug 1824 in Perry County, Alabama d: 17 Aug 1882 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Parents: John J. Culbertson (1791-1866) & Bethany Heard (1788-1880)]
Married: 4 Mar 1841 at the home of her father, Noxubee County, Mississippi
3 – William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849 in Union Parish, La. d: 8 Feb 1929 in Lincoln Parish, La.) Spouse: Mary C. Baughman (b: 31 Aug 1853 in Fairfield District, SC d: 1 Aug 1906, in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Married: 25 May 1870 in Union Parish, Louisiana
4 --Michael Baughman Gill, Sr. (b: 19 Oct 1874 d: 28 Feb 1946 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Spouse: Eva Edwina Morrow (b: 1881 d: 16 Nov 1944 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Children of Micheal Baughman Gill and Eva Morrow:
1. Evelyn Gill (b: 1907 d: 1953)
Spouse: Rudolph Richard Plotz (1904 - 1965)
2. Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (b: 1910 d: Oct 1966 in Dade County, FL)
Spouse: Sylvia G. (b: 28 Mar 1918 d: 20 Aug 2005 in Dade County, FL)
3. Myriam Gill (b: 1912 d: 1927)
4. William Morrow Gill (b: 7 Jul 1914, Lincoln Parish, LA d: 30 May 1990, Bexar Co, TX)
Spouse: Ruth Albritton (b: 7 Nov 1916 in Farmerville, Union Parish, LA d: 29 Mar 2006, Bexar Co, TX)
5. Benjamin Cameron Gill (b: 28 Dec 1916 in Ruston, LA d: 5 Dec 1989 in Jefferson Co, TX)
Spouse: Lucille Hood (b: 3 Nov 1919 d: )
6. Clinton Reagon Gill (b: 21 Nov 1919 in Ruston, LA d: 29 Oct 2001 in Shreveport, LA)
Spouse: Margaret Hope Griffith ( b: 30 Dec 1918 d: 7 Oct 2003 in Shreveport, LA)
7. James Monroe Gill (b: 2 Sept 1922 in Ruston, LA d: 6 Jun 1994 in Baton Rouge, LA)
Spouse: Winfred Lindsay (b: 1922 )
[Married in 1946 in Palm Beach, FL ]
On the 1910 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, Micheal Baughman Gill & his young family are listed as boarders in household number 241. He is listed as an Opera House Manager. The 1920 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, shows the Micheal Baughman Gill family number 13, and he is listed as an agent – oil leasing. On the 1930 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census Micheal Baughman Gill is listed as head of household number 105, and he is listed as a buyer – oil leasing. The title "agent – oil leasing" and "buyer – oil leasing" are referred to as "oilman" today.
******************************************************
MICHEAL BAUGHMAN GILL, SR.
By
Phillip Plotz, M.D.
Great-grandson of Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr.
Known by his middle name of Baughman, Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr., was born on 19 Oct 1874 in Farmerville, LA, to parents William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849, Union, LA; d: 8 Feb 1929) and Mary C. "Mollie" Baughman Gill (b: 31 Aug 1853, Fairfield, SC; d: 1 Aug 1906, Ruston, LA). He was their second oldest child. His father was a prominent farmer in Union Parish, LA.
His siblings include Aylmer Conrad Gill (1872-1940), Willie T. Valentine Gill (1878-1956), Josie G. Gill (1879-1967), Gordia Glendie Gill (1881-1882), Mack Lawrence Gill (1884-1959), William Lottie Gill (1885-1949), Reuben Oscar Gill (1887-1964), Ella Gill (1890-1934), Willis Gill (1891-1895) and Raymond Browning Gill, Sr. (1895-1961).
Baughman married Eva Edwina Morrow on 1 July 1906 in Lincoln Parish at the age of 31. They lived at 201 South Sparta St. in Ruston, Louisiana. They had seven children. The children were:
Evelyn Gill (1907-1953); Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (1910 -1966); Miriam Gill (1912-1927); William Morrow Gill (1914-1990); Benjamin Cameron Gill (1916-1989); Clinton Reagan Gill (1919-2001); and James Monroe Gill (1922-1994).
He had only an 8th-grade education, but rose to become quite a successful businessman in Ruston in a number of different fields. At one point, he was so successful that he hired live-in help in his home, drove the nicest buggy in town, and was considered to be a millionaire.
Probably his success began with real estate. A review of real estate transactions at the Lincoln Parish court house reveals page after page of deals where Baughman was either the buyer or the seller. And the corresponding seller or buyer more often than not was another Gill family member.
The 1910 U.S. Census lists his occupation as manager of the Opera House, but at some point he purchased it. The Opera House on North Bonner St. was a center of cultural life in Ruston. It was where visiting theater took place and included comedies, drama, operettas and minstrel shows, as well as home talent performances. He also owned the Princess Theater where his wife was involved with the productions.
Michael Baughman Gill's 1918 WWI draft card lists his occupation as a merchant, and by 1920 he was negotiating oil leases. His draft registration card also describes him as medium height, medium build, brown hair, blue eyes with the left eye "partially out." The 1930 census also indicates that he was a buyer of oil leases. But oil prices fell, and due to some conflict with Standard Oil, he apparently lost quite a lot of his wealth. This would have been devastating to him and likely propelled him into a personal depression.
Five miles from town, Baughman had a 6-acre peach orchard in 1930 and had over 600 peach trees growing at one time. The orchard yielded $1,800.00 in 1930 (equivalent to over $25,000 in 2015 dollars). He attributed his success to a special patented "tree tonic" he used on the trees. The orchard also had a small house that Baughman would occasionally stay in rather than driving back to his main residence on South Sparta St. in to Ruston, Louisiana.
Baughman never lost his peach orchard, however, and by 1940, "farm owner" is his listed occupation on the census. He had come full circle. His grandson, Richard Plotz, remembers visiting him and having his first ride in a pick-up truck with Baughman as he picked up day laborers for work in the orchard. They were paid daily because, as Baughman told him, if he paid them at the end of the week, he couldn't be sure they would be available for work the following week.
A mark of success and likely a source of personal pride must have been the education of all five of his sons at Louisiana Tech University. And three of his boys served in the armed forces during WWII. His personality was tough and perhaps distant, but he softened in his older years, and some of his grandchildren remember getting on well with him. His granddaughter, Betty Gill Couch, does not remember him very well because she was only about five years old when Baughman Gill passed away. She does remember that, at about age 4, he jokingly told her that he lost his hair because birds pecked it out. (Micheal [Michael] Baughman Gill lost his hair at a young age, as confirmed by a family picture taken in 1905 showing him as being bald.)
Baughman caused a controversy in Ruston when, toward the end of his life, he gifted a portion of his orchard to the African American community to build a church. They were likely the same workers that helped him on his orchard.
He should be remembered as a visionary entrepreneur who came from very little education, but became quite a prominent businessman and developer of Ruston, Louisiana.
At the age of 71, Baughman died of complications of a stroke and kidney disease at his home on South Sparta. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston next to his wife Eva and their daughter Miriam.
Micheal (has also been spelled "Michael") Baughman Gill (1874-1946) was the son of William Lysander Gill (1849-1929) and Mary C. Baughman (1853-1906). Micheal Baughman Gill descends from the Gill line as follows:
1 – Benjamin Gill (b: 1782 in North Carolina d: 13 Nov 1826 in Perry County, Alabama)
Spouse: Mary "Polly" Smith (b: 16 Oct 1789 in GA d: 31 July 1860) [Parents: Thomas Mercer and Mary Smith]
Married: 22 Nov 1808 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia (Source: Oglethorpe Co., Marriage Book A, Page 164)
[Mary Polly married William C. H. Finley (Findlay, Findley, or Finely) on 30 Apr 1829 in Perry County, AL, after Benjamin Gill's death]
William C. H. Finley's 1st spouse was Elizabeth Smith (b: 31 May 1795 d: 29 Feb 1829), possible sister of Polly Smith Gill. William C. H. Finley was born 9 Aug 1789; died 11 Apr 1855, buried Shiloh Cemetery, Union Parish]
2—William Mitchell Gill (b: 26 Apr 1813 in Oglethorpe County, GA. d: 12 Mar 1884 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Spouse: Mary Jane Culbertson (b: 27 Aug 1824 in Perry County, Alabama d: 17 Aug 1882 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Parents: John J. Culbertson (1791-1866) & Bethany Heard (1788-1880)]
Married: 4 Mar 1841 at the home of her father, Noxubee County, Mississippi
3 – William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849 in Union Parish, La. d: 8 Feb 1929 in Lincoln Parish, La.) Spouse: Mary C. Baughman (b: 31 Aug 1853 in Fairfield District, SC d: 1 Aug 1906, in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Married: 25 May 1870 in Union Parish, Louisiana
4 --Michael Baughman Gill, Sr. (b: 19 Oct 1874 d: 28 Feb 1946 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Spouse: Eva Edwina Morrow (b: 1881 d: 16 Nov 1944 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Children of Micheal Baughman Gill and Eva Morrow:
1. Evelyn Gill (b: 1907 d: 1953)
Spouse: Rudolph Richard Plotz (1904 - 1965)
2. Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (b: 1910 d: Oct 1966 in Dade County, FL)
Spouse: Sylvia G. (b: 28 Mar 1918 d: 20 Aug 2005 in Dade County, FL)
3. Myriam Gill (b: 1912 d: 1927)
4. William Morrow Gill (b: 7 Jul 1914, Lincoln Parish, LA d: 30 May 1990, Bexar Co, TX)
Spouse: Ruth Albritton (b: 7 Nov 1916 in Farmerville, Union Parish, LA d: 29 Mar 2006, Bexar Co, TX)
5. Benjamin Cameron Gill (b: 28 Dec 1916 in Ruston, LA d: 5 Dec 1989 in Jefferson Co, TX)
Spouse: Lucille Hood (b: 3 Nov 1919 d: )
6. Clinton Reagon Gill (b: 21 Nov 1919 in Ruston, LA d: 29 Oct 2001 in Shreveport, LA)
Spouse: Margaret Hope Griffith ( b: 30 Dec 1918 d: 7 Oct 2003 in Shreveport, LA)
7. James Monroe Gill (b: 2 Sept 1922 in Ruston, LA d: 6 Jun 1994 in Baton Rouge, LA)
Spouse: Winfred Lindsay (b: 1922 )
[Married in 1946 in Palm Beach, FL ]
On the 1910 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, Micheal Baughman Gill & his young family are listed as boarders in household number 241. He is listed as an Opera House Manager. The 1920 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, shows the Micheal Baughman Gill family number 13, and he is listed as an agent – oil leasing. On the 1930 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census Micheal Baughman Gill is listed as head of household number 105, and he is listed as a buyer – oil leasing. The title "agent – oil leasing" and "buyer – oil leasing" are referred to as "oilman" today.
******************************************************
MICHEAL BAUGHMAN GILL, SR.
By
Phillip Plotz, M.D.
Great-grandson of Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr.
Known by his middle name of Baughman, Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr., was born on 19 Oct 1874 in Farmerville, LA, to parents William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849, Union, LA; d: 8 Feb 1929) and Mary C. "Mollie" Baughman Gill (b: 31 Aug 1853, Fairfield, SC; d: 1 Aug 1906, Ruston, LA). He was their second oldest child. His father was a prominent farmer in Union Parish, LA.
His siblings include Aylmer Conrad Gill (1872-1940), Willie T. Valentine Gill (1878-1956), Josie G. Gill (1879-1967), Gordia Glendie Gill (1881-1882), Mack Lawrence Gill (1884-1959), William Lottie Gill (1885-1949), Reuben Oscar Gill (1887-1964), Ella Gill (1890-1934), Willis Gill (1891-1895) and Raymond Browning Gill, Sr. (1895-1961).
Baughman married Eva Edwina Morrow on 1 July 1906 in Lincoln Parish at the age of 31. They lived at 201 South Sparta St. in Ruston, Louisiana. They had seven children. The children were:
Evelyn Gill (1907-1953); Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (1910 -1966); Miriam Gill (1912-1927); William Morrow Gill (1914-1990); Benjamin Cameron Gill (1916-1989); Clinton Reagan Gill (1919-2001); and James Monroe Gill (1922-1994).
He had only an 8th-grade education, but rose to become quite a successful businessman in Ruston in a number of different fields. At one point, he was so successful that he hired live-in help in his home, drove the nicest buggy in town, and was considered to be a millionaire.
Probably his success began with real estate. A review of real estate transactions at the Lincoln Parish court house reveals page after page of deals where Baughman was either the buyer or the seller. And the corresponding seller or buyer more often than not was another Gill family member.
The 1910 U.S. Census lists his occupation as manager of the Opera House, but at some point he purchased it. The Opera House on North Bonner St. was a center of cultural life in Ruston. It was where visiting theater took place and included comedies, drama, operettas and minstrel shows, as well as home talent performances. He also owned the Princess Theater where his wife was involved with the productions.
Michael Baughman Gill's 1918 WWI draft card lists his occupation as a merchant, and by 1920 he was negotiating oil leases. His draft registration card also describes him as medium height, medium build, brown hair, blue eyes with the left eye "partially out." The 1930 census also indicates that he was a buyer of oil leases. But oil prices fell, and due to some conflict with Standard Oil, he apparently lost quite a lot of his wealth. This would have been devastating to him and likely propelled him into a personal depression.
Five miles from town, Baughman had a 6-acre peach orchard in 1930 and had over 600 peach trees growing at one time. The orchard yielded $1,800.00 in 1930 (equivalent to over $25,000 in 2015 dollars). He attributed his success to a special patented "tree tonic" he used on the trees. The orchard also had a small house that Baughman would occasionally stay in rather than driving back to his main residence on South Sparta St. in to Ruston, Louisiana.
Baughman never lost his peach orchard, however, and by 1940, "farm owner" is his listed occupation on the census. He had come full circle. His grandson, Richard Plotz, remembers visiting him and having his first ride in a pick-up truck with Baughman as he picked up day laborers for work in the orchard. They were paid daily because, as Baughman told him, if he paid them at the end of the week, he couldn't be sure they would be available for work the following week.
A mark of success and likely a source of personal pride must have been the education of all five of his sons at Louisiana Tech University. And three of his boys served in the armed forces during WWII. His personality was tough and perhaps distant, but he softened in his older years, and some of his grandchildren remember getting on well with him. His granddaughter, Betty Gill Couch, does not remember him very well because she was only about five years old when Baughman Gill passed away. She does remember that, at about age 4, he jokingly told her that he lost his hair because birds pecked it out. (Micheal [Michael] Baughman Gill lost his hair at a young age, as confirmed by a family picture taken in 1905 showing him as being bald.)
Baughman caused a controversy in Ruston when, toward the end of his life, he gifted a portion of his orchard to the African American community to build a church. They were likely the same workers that helped him on his orchard.
He should be remembered as a visionary entrepreneur who came from very little education, but became quite a prominent businessman and developer of Ruston, Louisiana.
At the age of 71, Baughman died of complications of a stroke and kidney disease at his home on South Sparta. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston next to his wife Eva and their daughter Miriam.
1 – Benjamin Gill (b: 1782 in North Carolina d: 13 Nov 1826 in Perry County, Alabama)
Spouse: Mary "Polly" Smith (b: 16 Oct 1789 in GA d: 31 July 1860) [Parents: Thomas Mercer and Mary Smith]
Married: 22 Nov 1808 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia (Source: Oglethorpe Co., Marriage Book A, Page 164)
[Mary Polly married William C. H. Finley (Findlay, Findley, or Finely) on 30 Apr 1829 in Perry County, AL, after Benjamin Gill's death]
William C. H. Finley's 1st spouse was Elizabeth Smith (b: 31 May 1795 d: 29 Feb 1829), possible sister of Polly Smith Gill. William C. H. Finley was born 9 Aug 1789; died 11 Apr 1855, buried Shiloh Cemetery, Union Parish]
2—William Mitchell Gill (b: 26 Apr 1813 in Oglethorpe County, GA. d: 12 Mar 1884 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Spouse: Mary Jane Culbertson (b: 27 Aug 1824 in Perry County, Alabama d: 17 Aug 1882 in Lincoln Parish, La.)
Parents: John J. Culbertson (1791-1866) & Bethany Heard (1788-1880)]
Married: 4 Mar 1841 at the home of her father, Noxubee County, Mississippi
3 – William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849 in Union Parish, La. d: 8 Feb 1929 in Lincoln Parish, La.) Spouse: Mary C. Baughman (b: 31 Aug 1853 in Fairfield District, SC d: 1 Aug 1906, in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Married: 25 May 1870 in Union Parish, Louisiana
4 --Michael Baughman Gill, Sr. (b: 19 Oct 1874 d: 28 Feb 1946 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Spouse: Eva Edwina Morrow (b: 1881 d: 16 Nov 1944 in Lincoln Parish, LA)
Children of Micheal Baughman Gill and Eva Morrow:
1. Evelyn Gill (b: 1907 d: 1953)
Spouse: Rudolph Richard Plotz (1904 - 1965)
2. Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (b: 1910 d: Oct 1966 in Dade County, FL)
Spouse: Sylvia G. (b: 28 Mar 1918 d: 20 Aug 2005 in Dade County, FL)
3. Myriam Gill (b: 1912 d: 1927)
4. William Morrow Gill (b: 7 Jul 1914, Lincoln Parish, LA d: 30 May 1990, Bexar Co, TX)
Spouse: Ruth Albritton (b: 7 Nov 1916 in Farmerville, Union Parish, LA d: 29 Mar 2006, Bexar Co, TX)
5. Benjamin Cameron Gill (b: 28 Dec 1916 in Ruston, LA d: 5 Dec 1989 in Jefferson Co, TX)
Spouse: Lucille Hood (b: 3 Nov 1919 d: )
6. Clinton Reagon Gill (b: 21 Nov 1919 in Ruston, LA d: 29 Oct 2001 in Shreveport, LA)
Spouse: Margaret Hope Griffith ( b: 30 Dec 1918 d: 7 Oct 2003 in Shreveport, LA)
7. James Monroe Gill (b: 2 Sept 1922 in Ruston, LA d: 6 Jun 1994 in Baton Rouge, LA)
Spouse: Winfred Lindsay (b: 1922 )
[Married in 1946 in Palm Beach, FL ]
On the 1910 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, Micheal Baughman Gill & his young family are listed as boarders in household number 241. He is listed as an Opera House Manager. The 1920 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census, shows the Micheal Baughman Gill family number 13, and he is listed as an agent – oil leasing. On the 1930 Ruston, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, census Micheal Baughman Gill is listed as head of household number 105, and he is listed as a buyer – oil leasing. The title "agent – oil leasing" and "buyer – oil leasing" are referred to as "oilman" today.
******************************************************
MICHEAL BAUGHMAN GILL, SR.
By
Phillip Plotz, M.D.
Great-grandson of Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr.
Known by his middle name of Baughman, Micheal Baughman Gill, Sr., was born on 19 Oct 1874 in Farmerville, LA, to parents William Lysander Gill (b: 1 Mar 1849, Union, LA; d: 8 Feb 1929) and Mary C. "Mollie" Baughman Gill (b: 31 Aug 1853, Fairfield, SC; d: 1 Aug 1906, Ruston, LA). He was their second oldest child. His father was a prominent farmer in Union Parish, LA.
His siblings include Aylmer Conrad Gill (1872-1940), Willie T. Valentine Gill (1878-1956), Josie G. Gill (1879-1967), Gordia Glendie Gill (1881-1882), Mack Lawrence Gill (1884-1959), William Lottie Gill (1885-1949), Reuben Oscar Gill (1887-1964), Ella Gill (1890-1934), Willis Gill (1891-1895) and Raymond Browning Gill, Sr. (1895-1961).
Baughman married Eva Edwina Morrow on 1 July 1906 in Lincoln Parish at the age of 31. They lived at 201 South Sparta St. in Ruston, Louisiana. They had seven children. The children were:
Evelyn Gill (1907-1953); Michael Baughman Gill, Jr. (1910 -1966); Miriam Gill (1912-1927); William Morrow Gill (1914-1990); Benjamin Cameron Gill (1916-1989); Clinton Reagan Gill (1919-2001); and James Monroe Gill (1922-1994).
He had only an 8th-grade education, but rose to become quite a successful businessman in Ruston in a number of different fields. At one point, he was so successful that he hired live-in help in his home, drove the nicest buggy in town, and was considered to be a millionaire.
Probably his success began with real estate. A review of real estate transactions at the Lincoln Parish court house reveals page after page of deals where Baughman was either the buyer or the seller. And the corresponding seller or buyer more often than not was another Gill family member.
The 1910 U.S. Census lists his occupation as manager of the Opera House, but at some point he purchased it. The Opera House on North Bonner St. was a center of cultural life in Ruston. It was where visiting theater took place and included comedies, drama, operettas and minstrel shows, as well as home talent performances. He also owned the Princess Theater where his wife was involved with the productions.
Michael Baughman Gill's 1918 WWI draft card lists his occupation as a merchant, and by 1920 he was negotiating oil leases. His draft registration card also describes him as medium height, medium build, brown hair, blue eyes with the left eye "partially out." The 1930 census also indicates that he was a buyer of oil leases. But oil prices fell, and due to some conflict with Standard Oil, he apparently lost quite a lot of his wealth. This would have been devastating to him and likely propelled him into a personal depression.
Five miles from town, Baughman had a 6-acre peach orchard in 1930 and had over 600 peach trees growing at one time. The orchard yielded $1,800.00 in 1930 (equivalent to over $25,000 in 2015 dollars). He attributed his success to a special patented "tree tonic" he used on the trees. The orchard also had a small house that Baughman would occasionally stay in rather than driving back to his main residence on South Sparta St. in to Ruston, Louisiana.
Baughman never lost his peach orchard, however, and by 1940, "farm owner" is his listed occupation on the census. He had come full circle. His grandson, Richard Plotz, remembers visiting him and having his first ride in a pick-up truck with Baughman as he picked up day laborers for work in the orchard. They were paid daily because, as Baughman told him, if he paid them at the end of the week, he couldn't be sure they would be available for work the following week.
A mark of success and likely a source of personal pride must have been the education of all five of his sons at Louisiana Tech University. And three of his boys served in the armed forces during WWII. His personality was tough and perhaps distant, but he softened in his older years, and some of his grandchildren remember getting on well with him. His granddaughter, Betty Gill Couch, does not remember him very well because she was only about five years old when Baughman Gill passed away. She does remember that, at about age 4, he jokingly told her that he lost his hair because birds pecked it out. (Micheal [Michael] Baughman Gill lost his hair at a young age, as confirmed by a family picture taken in 1905 showing him as being bald.)
Baughman caused a controversy in Ruston when, toward the end of his life, he gifted a portion of his orchard to the African American community to build a church. They were likely the same workers that helped him on his orchard.
He should be remembered as a visionary entrepreneur who came from very little education, but became quite a prominent businessman and developer of Ruston, Louisiana.
At the age of 71, Baughman died of complications of a stroke and kidney disease at his home on South Sparta. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston next to his wife Eva and their daughter Miriam.
Family Members
Siblings
