According to family tradition, he was kidnapped. In 1760, he was indentured to Joseph Watson, and his father\'s name is identified, according to Flaningham. (1)
Son of David Lilley (or Cockerton) and Margaret.
(1) Mary Jane Flaningam, Genealogy of the Family of James Lilly: Seventh Child of David Lilly and Sarah Wilson, citing letter from Rector Ronald Crowther (Brinkley Rectory, Newmarket, Suffolk, England), 1977; Research Paper of James A. Lilly (1863-1932).