The following is from the Genealogy Database of Bryon P Johnson:
The earliest of the Workman line may have been Nicolas Workman born inE ngland in 1543. He married Julyann Gyllian probably in Holland.
Note: The connection between Nicholas and the John William, shown inth is database as the next generation, is unlikely at best. Nicholasdid h ave a son named John, but the later John William would morelikely be a g randson or great-grandson to Nicholas. I have chosen toleave them link ed in the database, for the time being, as a reminderof the possible c onnection.
Little is known of John William Workman (the Dutch form of his namebei ng Jans William Woertman ) except that he was married and had afamily. I t is believed that he was an emigrant from England, comingto Holland a s a result of religious persecution during the time ofthe Puritan uphe avals. Derick Jansen Woertman, son of John William,came to New York i n about 1660 when it was still under Dutch control.
The Workman descendants moved into Somerset, New Jersey by the early17 00s and Allegany, Maryland by the late 1700s. It’s probablyduring this t ime that the Workman and Bilyeu families got to knoweach other and sta rted an intermingling that spanned the Continentand the next 200 years .
Jacob Workman, a great-grandson of Derick Jansen Woertman, leftMarylan d about 1800 and moved to Bourbon, Kentucky where he died in1821. Jaco b’s son, David Workman, married Lydia Bilyeu about 1823in Kentucky and a fter the marriage they moved to Overton, Tennessee.In 1828/29 they mov ed again to Sangamon, Illinois and settled on LickCreek.
David and Lydia were only part of the extended family that moved intoS angamon, and Christian County, Illinois. There are many instances ofBi lyeu to Workman marriages in the Illinois contingent, much to thedisma y of my genealogy software.
As with the Bilyeu families, not all of them moved into Sangamon andCh ristian Counties. Many stayed in Tennessee while some moved intoother s tates and at least one family group led by John Workman (abrother of t he David mentioned above) and two of his sons (JacobLindsey Workman, A ndrew Jackson Workman) joined the Mormons inNauvoo, Hancock, Illinois a nd eventually went to Utah.
