My Genealogy Hound

JOSHUA B. LILLIE, proprietor of the Franklin Flouring mills, was born near Watertown, N. Y., September 6, 1828, son of James and Caroline (Akins) Lillie, and is of French-Dutch descent. The father of Mr. Lillie was born in New York and the mother in Connecticut. They both died in Canada. When our subject was six years of age he was taken by his parents to Canada, where he received a common school education, and served an apprenticeship as house carpenter and joiner. Continued this business until 1861. He came to Tennessee in 1855, and in 1864 engaged in the saw-mill business, which he continued until 1869. He then bought the Franklin Mill, which was then very imperfect, and began at once to improve it and adopted the “roller process” in 1884. The capacity now is 200 barrels of flour per each twenty-four hours and 500 bushels of meal. In 1860 he was married to Miss Sallie M. Smith, of this county, and is the father of an interesting family of three children: Emma, James and Pryor. During the late war he was a Union man, and is now a Republican in principle. His first wife died in 1875 and the next year he married Lucy A. Smith, a sister of his first wife. He and wife are worthy members of the Christian Church. He is one of the leading millers of the South, and is a fair business man.