It is fairly obvious that the Barnett and McMillan families were closely linked, but what does this have to do with Elizabeth R, since she married into the Barnett family, and wasn’t likely born a Barnett herself? For one thing, the record of their marriage says that she and Elijah were married “at the residence of McMillins.” That would seem to indicate a relationship between either Elijah or Elizabeth and the McMillan family.
Look again at the McMillans living in the household adjacent to Elijah & Elizabeth in the 1850 census. Unlike next door in the Skidmore household, in which Deltry and Andrew’s surname, although different from the head of household, was omitted, the McMillan surname is entered twice—as if to explicitly designate separate families.
Excerpt of the 1850 federal census of Sevier County, Arkansas, Clear Creek Township showing the Skidmore & McMillan households
This is where the relationship mentioned earlier, between Joshua McMillan and Andrew McMillan, comes in. In April 1847, three months after the purchase of the coffins for Andrew McMillan and Mrs McMillan, Joshua appeared before the Sevier County Court, and stated he was “of kin to Susannah S. McMillan and Sindarella McMillan minors under the age of eighteen years and children of Andrew McMillan deceased.” Joshua was granted guardianship of the girls.1
Susan Salina McMillan later married Elijah Smoot, and by 1870, they were in Scott County, Arkansas. Elizabeth, widowed again when Elijah Skidmore died in the Civil War, was resident in their household in the 1870 census, as were her three youngest children.2 For a widowed Elizabeth to move her children two counties away—a distance of at least 50 miles—to live with her former “next-door” neighbor, there had to have been a very strong tie between the two families.
According to the census, Elijah Smoot was born in Illinois, so it’s doubtful that he was the link. We believe Susan was the link, and we believe she and Elizabeth were sisters. This theory is further strengthened by the presence of an entry in a Bible belonging to Elizabeth’s daughter, Christana Elisabeth Skidmore Conatser, which reads, “Susan S Smoot was born August the 4th 1833 and departed this life May 14th 1899.” 3 We do not think that Susan’s name would have been included in the Bible if she had not been a family member.
Conclusion
While we have no hard proof that Elizabeth R was a McMillan, we can find no other plausible explanation for her having moved to Scott County to live with Susan. This, combined with the other evidence presented in this site, seems to us to be the most logical theory (please see the items in "More Family Info" on the main menu).
We have open minds, however, and we would welcome further information. In turn, we have much more documentation than room allowed in this site, and are happy to share.
Update (July 2007)
Since the original writing of this text, notes of a 1973 interview by Nanette Testa with Christana Elisabeth Skidmore Conatser’s daughter, Lundie Florence Conatser Miears, have been found. (Lundie Florence Conatser Miears was the granddaughter of Elijah D and Elizabeth R Skidmore.)
Mrs Miears spoke of hearing Christana tell how her father, Elijah Skidmore, died in the Civil War, and how carpetbaggers tore up the family’s home (which would certainly help explain why Elizabeth and the children moved to Scott County).
Most significantly, Mrs Miears said that Elijah and Susan Smoot were Christana’s aunt and uncle.
As mentioned previously, Elijah Smoot was from Illinois, so it is unlikely that he was the brother of either Elizabeth or Elijah Skidmore. The logical assumption is that Susan McMillan Smoot (“Aunt Susan,” as Mrs Miears referred to her) was the sister of either Elizabeth or Elijah Skidmore. Since we know that Susan was Andrew McMillan’s daughter, we can conclude with a fair amount of confidence that she was not Elijah Skidmore’s sister. That leaves Elizabeth.
Although this may not be definitive proof, it greatly strengthens the hypothesis that Susan and Elizabeth were sisters, and that Elizabeth R Barnett Skidmore’s maiden name was McMillan.
