THOMAS WILEY, oldest child of Alexander Wiley and Martha Noel, was born April 11, 1780 in Caswell County, North Carolina. [1] The Wileys, Noels, and Richmonds moved to Tennessee in the 1790s, settling in Roane County by 1805 [3] (see map of locations). Thomas married his cousin TABITHA NOEL on April 16, 1805 in Caswell County, NC. [2] They were given land by their families and soon their farm prospered. The following year Tabitha gave birth to their first son, James Noel Wiley, named after her father. [1] According to family tradition, Tabitha was remembered as a beautiful woman. A talented frontier housekeeper, she wove lovely patterns in all fabrics for clothes, bedding, and household items. She had a solid knowledge of herbs, which she gathered for medical remedies. She treasured the folk songs of England and Scotland and sang by firelight to her children at night. She could also shoot a rifle and was capable of protecting her family, if necessary. Thomas and Tabitha, like all the Wileys, valued education highly, and their children were given all the learning the time and place afforded. Schools were nonexistent at this time on the frontier, and families had to hold tight to what they knew and pass it on to their children. All were taught to read, write, and calculate and were familiar with the laws of their state. [9]

           Thomas served in the 1814 Creek Indian War in Alabama along with two of his brothers, John and Alex, and one of his Noel cousins, John. He enlisted in Capt. William White's Company of Mounted Volunteer Infantry in the Regiment of Tennessee Militia commanded by Col. John Brown, at Kingston, Tennessee on January 14, 1814. [10,11] Soon stricken with fever, he was released from active service for disability in March [10] and instead served as a clerk in Huntsville.[9] He returned to Tennessee later than his brothers and cousins who fought under Andrew Jackson in Alabama battles, but was back in Roane County by December, 1814, when he signed a power of attorney authorizing William White to collect his military pay. [10] The Wiley and Noel cousins would not soon forget the rich, fertile land they had seen in Alabama and Georgia. [7, 9]

            Thomasappears on the Roane County, Tennessee tax lists of 1814 (50 acres, 1 poll),1815 (50 acres, 1 poll), 1816 (50 acres), 1817 (50 acres, 1 poll), 1818(0 acres, 1 poll), 1820 (50 acres, 1 poll), 1821 (50 acres, 1 poll) and1822 (50 acres, 1 poll) along with his father, Alexander, and brothers,John and Alexander Jr.  Thomas Wiley served on a jury in Roane Countyin 1822.

           Around 1823, Thomas moved his family to Gwinnett County, Georgia and appears in the Gwinnett census of 1830. [4] His household consists of one male and one female aged 50-60, three males 20-30, one male and one female 15-20, and 2 females 10-15. His son, Alexander and Alex's wife Hollinda Farris, are in a nearby household. When the "new purchase" across the Chattahoochee River opened up a few years later, the Wileys moved to an area (view 1, view 2) about four miles northwest of Roswell, Georgia. [7, 9]

       In 1840, Thomas appears in the census in Forsyth County, Georgia and is enumerated adjacent to his youngest son, William Richmond Wiley.  His household at this time consists of one male and one female between the ages of 60 and 70, one male aged 30-40, two females aged 20-30, and one male 90-100.  This person is identified as Revolutionary War pensioner, James Nolen, age 90, who is probably James Noel, Thomas's father-in-law. [5] The name Thomas Wiley also appears in the Howell Store Ledger Accounts of 1840-1844, along with sons James and William, and daughter, Nancy. The Howells operated their store at Lebanon, Georgia, from the middle of the 1830s through 1844. [12]

       Eventually, three of Thomas and Tabitha's sons moved on to Alabama, but Thomas and Tabitha remained in their beloved Georgia with oldest son, James Noel Wiley. On September 29, 1852, Thomas was granted a military bounty land warrant for 80 acres in Talladega County, Alabama near Bluff Springs (Section 21, Township 21, Range 8) [14] that was apparently occupied by sons John and Alex. Son John Wiley was granted 40 acres in the area in 1850 and another 40 acres in 1859. [8] Youngest son, William Richmond Wiley, bought land in nearby Cherokee County, Alabama. On August 1, 1859, Thomas sold his 80 acres (lots 191 and 192, 1st district, 2nd section, Milton County [originally Cobb County] Georgia) to his son James Noel Wiley. [13]

       Thomas last appears in the records at the age of 80 in the 1860 Milton County, Georgia census living with his son James Noel Wiley's family and near his daughter Sarah (Sallie) Bently's family.[6] Milton County had been formed from parts of Cherokee, Forsyth, and Cobb in 1857. According family tradition, Tabitha died in 1858 and Thomas died October 26, 1862 in Georgia. Their burial places are unknown. [7,9]

      Children of  Thomas Wiley and TabithaNoel are:

             i. JAMES NOEL WILEY, b. May 09, 1806; m. NANCY DODD.

              ii. ALEXANDER WILEY, b. November 24, 1807; m. HOLLINDA FARRIS.

             v. NANCY WILEY, b. July 08, 1813; m. IRA CROFT.

             vi. THOMAS B. WILEY, b. March 16, 1815; died in childhood.

             vii. SARAH ANN "SALLIE" WILEY, b. December 09, 1816; d. March 26, 1880; m. JOHN BENTLEY November 2, 1843 in Georgia.

Sources:

1. McComb-Noel-Wiley Bible owned by Mr. Sidney Quin Noel (nowdeceased) of Shawnee Mission, Kansas. Printed in 1802, purchased in Kingston,TN in 1804 by Jacob Shaw McComb.

2. Marriage Bond for Thomas Wiley and Tabitha Noel, April 12, 1805,Caswell Co., NC (NC Archives).

3.  Roots of Roane County, Tennessee by Snyder E. Roberts,Kingston, TN, 1981.

4. 1830 Census, Gwinnett County, GA, Microfilm Publication M-19, Reel No.17, pp. 115, 359.

5. 1840 Census, Forsyth County, GA.

6. 1860 Census, Milton County, GA, Microfilm Publication M653, Reel No. 131, p. 88.

7. Joel C. Dubose, Ed., Notable Men of Alabama, Vol. II (Atlanta:Southern Historical Assn.), 1904, p. 376.

8. Talladega County Tract Book, p. 209, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, AL.

9. Narrative of John T. Wiley (grandson of Thomas and son of John Wiley), transcription in possession of Edward Wiley, Austin, Texas.

10. War of 1812 Military Record for Thomas Wyley (Wylie), National Archives, Washington, D.C.

11. Muster Roll, Capt. William White's 1814 Company, Col. John Brown's Regiment, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Microfilm Pub. Roll 1, Vol. 2, pp. 244-248, Nashville, Tennessee.

12. Transcription of Howell Store Accounts 1840-1844 compiled by Roy K. Wood from the original ledger, which is housed in the Roswell Presbyterian Church History Room, Roswell, Georgia. In: Dillman, Caroline: Days Gone By, Vol. II, Chapter 48, p. 172-173.

13. Milton County, Georgia Deed Book B, p. 516, Georgia State Archives, Atlanta Georgia, Microfilm. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1967.

14. Land Entry File for Thomas Wiley, Record Group 49, Records of the BLM, Box 1164, Military Warrant #9671, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

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