Angus Gillis-St. Charles County, Missouri

Angus Gillis has long remained a mystery to our family.  We have found many documents regarding his life in Missouri, but nothing giving us clues as to where he was before he came here.  His son, Peter, told 1880 census takers that his father was born in Scotland and his mother was born in Prussia.  I have not found proof of either, yet.  But, Angus being a Scottish name, it is possible.

The earliest record I have found was a Spanish Land Grant given to him in 1799 in the District of St. Charles in the Louisiana Territory.  He also had some land transactions in that same period with a Jacob Zumwalt.  We have not been able to confirm if there is any relation there.

Also in 1799, was the immigration of Daniel Boone and many other settlers from Kentucky to Missouri.  One can only wonder if Angus Gillis was among those who traveled with him.

In this land grant, Angus names his wife Susannah.  Later records give his wife's name as Polly and as Mary.  I do not know if Mary/Polly and Susannah are the same person or two separate wives.  For the sake of simplicity, I will use Susannah as the mother of his children as they were born before Polly's name appears in the deed records of 1815.  Angus and Susannah had 3 children that we know of for sure; Daniel, Anna, and Peter Gillis.


1805  Angus appears on a list of subscribers to the memorial for Governor Wilkinson.
1806  Angus is a witness for Christopher Zumwalt in St. Charles, Missouri
1812  Angus sells land to Thomas Gilmore in St. Charles, Missouri.  This is the same year
          of the New Madrid Earthquakes.  Could this be a possible motivation to sell his
           land??
1814  Angus joins the Captain David Musick's US Mounted Rangers.  He is mustered at
          Ft. Independence (also known as Ft. Cap Au Gris).  His first two musters he is on
          command with Major Boone.  He is discharged on May 20th, 1815.

1815  Angus names his wife as Polly in a land transaction with James Beatty.
1816  Angus leaves a notice in the Missouri Gazette that he will not pay the debts of his wife
          who has left.
          In the tax lists for that year, Angus is listed as having 1 dwelling in the county and
          2 slaves over 10 years old.
1817  Missouri census, Angus is listed as being over 45 years old.  Also in his household are 3
          people under age 18.  One of those 3 is a female under 14 and another is a female between
         14-18.  Leaving me to conclude that the third person under 18 is a male.
         The census does not list him as having any slaves, but the tax list for that year does list him
         having 1 slave over 10 years old.  At this point he is now living near the Cuivre River in St.
         Charles County, Missouri.

Around 1819 or 1820 Angus Gillis dies in Lincoln County, Missouri either on or near the Mississippi River.  This is recorded in later court records of his children, by people who knew Angus.

In 1825, Phillip Sitton was granted guardianship of Angus' children.  Peter Gillis was living in Upper Cuivre Township (possibly at Angus' home), Daniel was living in Femme Osage Township, and Anna had not been found.

Even after many years of research, Angus Gillis is still elusive.  Was he really from Scotland?  When did he come to America?  Where did he land?  Was his wife related to the Zumwalts?  Or the Boone's?  Maybe she is from one of the other families that lived near them.  Did he have more than three children?  Where are they? 

If he came to Missouri with Daniel Boone, then he probably lived in Kentucky.  Yet, I have not found any record of him there yet.  There are also many Gillis families in North Carolina and Nova Scotia.  Did he start in one of those places before migrating to Missouri?

So many unanswered questions.