The Gillis family was an American family of eight who traveled the world in a covered wagon in the 1960s.
The family consisted of father Leon Gillis (1920–2010[1]), mother Iyone Gillis (1923–2015[2]), and their six children: Lee Ann, Janet, Susie, Barbara, Allen, and George.
[3][4] In 1961–62, starting from their home in Virginia, Leon led the family on a coast-to-coast covered wagon journey, in the "Last Wagon West."
In 1963–64, the Gillis family took their wagon to Europe, traveling from France, to a Dutch visit with Freddy Heineken, through Minsk[5] to Moscow, living by dint of their wits and the generosity of strangers.
These journeys were covered in various local media[6] as well as Newsweek,[7] Life magazine,[8] Soviet Life,[9] the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant,[10] and on network television from prime time news to The Ed Sullivan Show, the Today Show, and the television program To Tell the Truth,[4][11] and Soviet film Beloved (Любимая).