THE MARYLAND GROUP .. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. WILLIS Y-DNA PROJECT .. DNA CHART


Thursday, March 7, 2019

auDNA access


Access to auDNA kit results:

Core Maryland Branch (6)
Diana Disharoon (Senah b 1802 + Quaker Rhoda)
Brenda Dolch (John b 1765/Nicholas b 1816 Talbot Co)
Erica Usry (Robert b 1759 Caroline Co)
Cary Weems (John Garretson b 1792 Caroline Co)
Gary Willis (Zachariah b 1805 Caroline Co)


Unknown Maryland Willis
Kammy Curry (Sarah Willis b 1830 m. Lewis Whittington)
Mark Keyes (Elizabeth Willis b 1824 m. Thomas Vickers)
Mary Kathryn Lewis Seifert (Thomas b 1806)
William Willis (Thomas b 1806)
Donna Ensor (Julia Ann b 1813, Caroline b 1808 + Quaker Rhoda)


Thomas N Willis Group
Larry Willis


North Carolina Branch (29)
Peggy Allen (McMinn clan)
Rhoda Barnes
Thomas Beam (McMinn clan - Frances Marion)
Kevin Bridges
Sybil Bridges
Pam Cain
Shaun Campbell
Mary Carr (McMinn clan - William, son of James)
Michael Chumley
Darla Edminston (McMinn clan - William Stephen Willis)
Linda Sue Heist (William 1775 to Kentucky)
Cynthia Jones (McMinn clan)
Linda Lee McFadden
Thomas G McKenzie (McMinn clan)
Jim Melton (McMinn clan)
Tina Melvin
Constance Miller (McMinn?  Double Check - Have doubts)
Talmadge Peace
Ann Russell
Jerry Self (Maryland + North Carolina Willis)
Clevie Whisnant
David White
Caroline Willis
Hal Willis
Jeff Willis
Jennifer Willis (Maryland + North Carolina Willis)
Jerry Willis
Jesse Craven Willis (Maryland + North Carolina Willis)
John Willis


Alabama Branch (7)
Clifton Boyd
Patricia Funderberburg-Wall (George Washington Willis)
Anita Gibson (unassigned Thomas Willis)
Betty Lyles (Emma Willis)
Mark Willis
Olin Willis
Vernon Willis


Indiana Branch (3)
Brad Brant
Jackie Brant
Donald Willis


Others
Bill Lehmann (Black surname lineage)
MJ
PM
Doris Melton
Elizabeth Powell
Beverly Riley (North Carolina Willis Group)
Robert Stringer
Chad Whisnant
Lee Whisnant
jerry willis (North Carolina Willis Group)
Sadonna Willis (Andrew Jackson Willis Group)


Jacob from Ireland
Russell Jackson
Lloyd George Willis


Wife's Lineage
Rebecca Levisay
Virginia Ann Morris



Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Willis - Common Tree Errors


I have Y-DNA tested into THE MARYLAND GROUP in the Willis Y-DNA project.  I spend most of my ancestry research time examining DNA matches and trees in conjunction with researching my Y-DNA group of Willis.  My group is just one, of 25 unrelated groups of Willis, in the US.   Over time,  I have looked at a ton of trees with Willis ancestors,  of all the various Y-DNA groups.  So,  it's easy for me to spot errors along a Willis branch.

If I have referred you to this post it's because DNA matches led me to your tree.  In reviewing your tree,  I see an error that is preventing the Ancestry.com DNA matching process from working properly.  Take a look at the info I am pointing you to below.   Consider making the suggested change to your tree.  See if that change improves the matching results you're seeing along your Willis branch.

First though,  here are the types of problems I see often:

Jumping between the 25 unrelated groups of Willis.  Y-DNA test results group men around a common male lineage.  So,  one Y-DNA group is unrelated to another.   Therefore,  if you have a tree that starts out with a Willis ancestor who is a proven member of one Willis group,  the science of DNA indicates that you can't jump your Willis branch over to another,  unrelated group of Willis.  That's just not scientifically possible.   I often see this error.

Common first name error, adopting the wrong spouse.  I am often shocked at the number of John and William Willis' that existed in our country's history.  James, Henry and Jacob were very popular Willis first names too,  among others.   It's so very easy to spot a male Willis ancestor of your ancestor's first name,  and just assume he's the one you're looking for,  so you readily adopt all the information from another person's tree about that ancestor.  Often,  that's just not the correct thing to do.  It leads to picking up the wrong spouse,  and often jumping your branch between different Y-groups of Willis.

Wildly differing birth and/or or death dates.  Understand that the DNA matching process must match between two primary sources of info.  First,  it needs to see that you have DNA segments in common with another person.  Second,  it needs to determine that the segments come from an ancestor that is common among the two trees of the people with matching segments.  Computers are making these decisions.  If you have wildly different birth or death dates,  a computer might not be able to determine if there's an ancestor match between trees. 

So,  with this in mind,  here are the common Willis ancestor errors I have come across over time ....

1.  John Willis 1667-1712  

Error: Spouse indicated as Margaret Cox.  
Correction:  Leave spouse blank

This change may not aide in your DNA matches,  because the ancestor might be too many generations away in your tree,  beyond the reach of auDNA matching. But, its a valid change none the less.  The John Willis of our Maryland Group was the first ancestor of our group to arrive in the colonies.  He landed in Dorchester County,  Maryland.  Over time,  there were Willis of at least 4 other Y-DNA groups that lived in and around Dorchester County,  Maryland.  So,  it's easy to get them confused, adopt the wrong information.  While our John,  of THE MARYLAND GROUP,  lived in Dorchester,  there was another John Willis,  of the QUAKER MARYLAND GROUP,  who lived nearby.  The other John was married to a Margaret Cox.  I often see Margaret Cox indicated as the wife of our John.   We do not know who our John married.  When he died in 1712,  he did not name a wife is his WILL.   So we logically assume that she had passed before him. There are also very good pieces of research addressing this issue.  One is by Professor Charles Bast.  Read footnote #1 of his paper on John Willis (c 1682 - 1764) in THIS POST.  In addition, the research of Gary N Willis of Houston,  Texas also addresses this issue, READ HERE.


2.  John Willis 1667-1712

Error: Father indicated as Richard Willis.
Correction:  Point John 1667-1712 to the two previous generations of John in Wantage,  UK.  Info is in MY TREE.

This change may not aide in your DNA matches,  because the ancestor might be too many generations away in your tree,  beyond the reach of auDNA matching. But, its a valid change none the less.  Our John Willis was the first ancestor of our Y-DNA group to arrive in the colonies.  There was an older Willis male, Richard Willis,  who lived in the vicinity,  but he is of a different Y-DNA group.  The research of Gary N Willis,  READ HERE,  tells us that John named his first property,  "Wantage".   The custom at the time was to give your property a name that reminds you of your homeland.  There is a Wantage,  UK,  in Berkshire.  The Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul still stands in Wantage today.  And the Christening records of that Church exist.  There was a John Willis Christened in The Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in 1667.   We naturally assume that this was our John.  And before him,  there are records of two previous generations of John Willis,  along with the names of their wives.  The info is in my tree.


3.  Samuel Willis 1799-1860

Error: Pointed to wrong father,  jumping between Y-DNA Groups.
Correction:  Father was James Willis 1780- aft 1830

The Samuel above is of my MARYLAND Y-DNA GROUP.  We have solid auDNA and Y-DNA evidence of him being of our group.  There are descendants of six of his children who are DNA matching each other,  and a member of our Y-DNA group descends from a brother of Samuel.   I see a number of trees out on Ancestry that point this Samuel of McMinn County,  Tennessee,  over to another Samuel who lived in Virginia.   This other Samuel is of THE GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VA Y-DNA group.   It's not scientifically possible to jump your tree from our MARYLAND GROUP,  over to an ancestor of THE GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VA group.

Samuel's lineage began when 3rd generation William Willis 1717-1782 migrated away from Dorchester County,  Maryland.  He arrived in Western North Carolina in the 1760s,  and settled on land that later became Rutherford County,  NC.  One of his grandsons was a James Willis.   James was born in Rutherford County, NC.  But,  in the 1820s he,  and his two sons,  Samuel and William,  migrated to McMinn County,  Tennessee.   The county had just opened for settlement in 1819.  It was formerly Indian lands.   Samuel does appear briefly in 1819 Rutherford County records,  serving on Jury Duty.  In the 1830 census of McMinn you will note that there are only 3 Willis households.  James is the older,  by far.  Sons, William and Samuel are younger.   James dies at some point after the 1830 census.  William moves down to Alabama briefly,  then on to Texas.  Samuel remains in McMinn through the 1850 census.  Before the 1860 census,  he relocates to Arkansas,  where he joins several of his nephews,  John and James Black Willis, who relocate there from Rutherford County,  NC.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Evelyn Willis b 1906 of Queen Anne's County m Edward Voshell


Ancestry user AnnHallstrom shows up on a number of DNA match lists I have access to.   She dead ends her tree on Evelyn Willis m. Edward Voshell,  no other info.   I know this Evelyn is of our group because Ann has DNA segment matches with other descendants of our Willis lineage.   So,  the hunt begins for the lineage of Evelyn Willis.

1. I went to the Ancestry.com search feature and input Evelyn Willis, lived in Queen Anne's County,  Maryland with spouse Edward Voshell.   A series of records came up.   The most promising was the 1930 Census of the Edward Voshell household,  with Evelyn as his wife.  CLICK HERE.

2.  Clicking on her name in that census,  I see a series of records on the right hand side of the screen that others have attached to Evelyn in their trees.   The best record to view next is the oldest census record that shows up.  CLICK HERE.  Its a 1910 census with 4 year old Evelyn in the household of a John V Willis, age 35 married to Nettie B Willis, age 31.   Clicking on John's name in that census record gives me information about him.

3.  So,  my next move is to turn to my master tree of our Willis lineage,  looking for a John V,  born 1875 in Delaware.   It's an easy find.   This is John Van Berkalow, CLICK HERE,  in my tree.   So,  Ann's Willis lineage was a very easy mystery to solve:

Evelyn Mae Willis 1903-1932
John Van Berkalow Willis 1874-1948 m Nettie Bryan 1879-1950
William Martin Willis 1828-1900 m Ruth Ann Adams 1837-1915
Senah B Willis 1802-1877 m Elizabeth Todd 1802-1860
Richard Willis Jr 1759-1823 m Bethany Britanna Goutee 1765-1826
Richard Willis 1718-1764 m Rebecca Granger 1718-1771
John "Marshy Creek" Willis 1683-1764 m Mary LNU
John "Wantage" Willis 1668-1712 who migrated from Wantage, UK to Dorchester Co, Maryland in the 1680s

Now,  if we can just get Ann to update here tree with this info,  many others many benefit from the resulting DNA matching that will happen from this information.

Jeff
Feb 2019


Friday, February 22, 2019

Location of Willis Lands in Dorchester County

CLICK ON THE MAP TO EXPAND TO FULL SCREEN


This is an 1877 Map of Dorchester County,  Maryland.  Just north are the neighboring counties of Talbot and Caroline.   Gary N Willis was kind enough to pinpoint the locations of the various farms owned by the first couple of generations of our Willis family:

1. WANTAGE.  Upper reaches of the Little Blackwater River.  

  • 1702 Patent issued to John Willis (1667-1712) for a tract in Dorchester County called Wantage,  50A.  
  • 3 Mar 1702 Survey Certificate to John Willis for a tract of 50 acres called Wantage on Blackwater River beginning at lowermost bounder of Littleworth,  then N 36 deg E 100 perches, N 36 deg W 80 p, S 36 deg W 100 p, then straight line to the beginning.  Signed,  John Taylor, deputy surveyor.  
  • 10 Sep 1702 Maryland Land Office - Assignment to John Willis of right, title and interest in 50 acres of land,  part of a warrant for 2,389 acres granted me this 15 Oct 1792. Signed and sealed 10 Sep by John Taylor.

2. SHOAL CREEK.  Where Andrew Willis (1690-1738) lived with his wife Jennet Jones (1700-1729).

3. NEW TOWN.  Given to Andrew Willis (1690-1738) and his second wife,  Rebecca Goostree (1697-1746) via the WILL of Rebecca's father,  Richard Goostree.  

  • 30 Apr 1728 Will of Richard Goostree,  planter,  Dorchester County - To two daughters, viz, Elizabeth,  wife of Robert Johnson, and Rebecca, wife of Andrew Willis,  and their heirs, 100 acres "Newtown" near the great beaver damn.  

4. BRIDGE NORTH.  Owned by the Seward family in the Neck Region where William Willis (1694-unk) lived after selling Wantage to Richard Seward, brother of William's wife,  Judith Seward.  A Thomas Willis (1714-1784), probably their son, gave a deposition about land in this area. So, William lived there,  but we have no record of his owning land.

5. CABIN CREEK.  Where some descendants of John Jr (1683-1764) from Caroline County acquired some land.  Joshua (1720-1797), James (1779-unk),  later possibly John L Willis.

6. MARSHY CREEK,  CAROLINE COUNTYJohn Jr (1683-1764) and Thomas (1692-1722) each bought 50 acres of Sharp's Prosperity.   Thomas died there.  John Jr expanded his lands.  Descendants moved north and east into Caroline County,  many up along Hunting Creek.

7. TRAPPE DISTRICT,  TALBOT COUNTYJohn III (1731-1794),  had inherited Sharp's Prosperity in Caroline County,  expanded it,  sold it,  then moved to Oxford in Trappe District.


Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Research papers of Charles Homer Bast 1914-2013

John William Bast 1853-1923
Mary Emily Willis 1856-1946

In a previous overview post,  I had indicated that our Willis clan's first serious researchers were Sandra and Carol in the late 1990s,  early 2000s,  followed by Gary Willis,  who is still active today as our primary researcher.  But, very recently,  I discovered the Willis research work of a distant Willis cousin,  Professor Charles Homer Bast 1914-2013,  a descendant of Mary Emily Willis 1856-1946. 

Professor Bast did his research back in the 1980s,  and early 1990s,  and wrote a series of papers about some Willis ancestors of our Core Maryland Branch:

1.  John Willis 1667-1712
2.  John "Marshy Creek" Willis 1683-1764
3.  John "Oxford John" Willis 1731-1794
4.  Lewis Willis Sr 1775-1850
5.  Louis Willis Jr 1816-1888
6.  Mary Emily Willis Bast 1856-1946

The research on each of these ancestors is posted below.   Please don't copy this research without giving credit where credit is due,  to Professor Charles Homer Bast.

These papers are detailed,  and unique,  in that they put the info into some historical context,  and give potential insight into our ancestors' actions and decisions.   I personally enjoyed reading the Professor's work and am deeply grateful for a family member sharing this information with me,  giving me permission to make it available to others.

Information about Professor Bast, from his son:
My father was born in Baltimore but grew up on the Eastern Shore in Easton, MD.  He was a History Professor and Dean at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. He did virtually all of this after he retired in 1979. All of his research was done the old way, by mail and visits, before the advent of the computer and internet.  He typed this on his manual typewriter until I got him a word processor.  I am pretty sure he finished up this line back in the 80s.  In the early 2000s I started to transcribe all of it into Word and format everything correctly.  He did not have any of this published.  He did have an article about the Deans of the eastern Shore published in the Maryland Historical Society around 2000 or so. Also one about his WW II service around 2005.   He died in 2013, almost 99 years old.  
After he retired in 1979 my father and mother would get in the car and drive to Dorchester and Talbot Counties and do their research on the Willis's, Deans, Todds, Keans and others.  For a couple years before he retired, my uncle, who was an Episcopal minister, had a church in Oxford, MD, very close to where they grew up.  My folks would go visit, and it was like going home. 
He was Charles Homer Bast, but went by Homer Bast.  He worked at Roanoke College in Salem, VA for many years.  There is a nice Roanoke College video tribute to him - google "Homer Bast Tribute" and it should come up. 

Professor Homer Bast ... Thank you.

Jeff
Feb 2019

Below is the research of Professor Bast.  I will not edit or alter this work,  but may circle back around periodically to insert web links back to my tree,  or insert notes, well identified in "[ ]" form.
=================================================

JOHN WILLIS, SR
(? – 1712)


The name of John Willis first appeared in the documents of Dorchester County as a witness to several deeds in the 1680s.1  Whether this is the same John Willis who was transported to Maryland in 1668 is unknown.2  Nor is the relationship known between John and Richard Willis.  The latter died in Dorchester in 1689 leaving a wife and three young children. One fact is certain, however, John Willis possessed little wealth. Richard Willis was a man of some means.3

Nothing further is known of John Willis until 1701-1703, when, once again, he was a witness to several deeds.4  Meanwhile, Dorchester was growing. By 1673 some 355 persons were on the tax list. With the establishment of Dorchester as a county in 1669, the court system was instituted. About 20 years later a 22 x 40 foot two story courthouse was constructed in Cambridge.  Shortly after John Willis was named “Cryer” of the Court.5 How Willis acquired the position of the “public voice” of the Court is not known.

John Willis married, probably around 1680.  The name of his wife is unknown. She is not mentioned in a deed because Willis sold no land and he failed to include her in his will. The latter meant that she had probably died. Whoever she was John and his unnamed wife had John, Jr., Thomas, Andrew (born 1689/90), William (born 1694), Grace, and Elizabeth .6

Willis and his family lived on a 50 acre plantation called Wantage on the Blackwater River four miles from Cambridge.  This patent was part of the Manor of Namticoke, but more specifically it was a parcel of part of a 2389 acre tract of land which had been granted to John Taylor in 1702.  He laid out the 50 acre Wantage for John Willis on July 20, 1704.  The annual rent was £ 0-0-20.7   Doubtless John had rented land from others prior to this time.  He grew corn, flax, a little tobacco and garden crops and, in addition, raised a few cattle for his family’s consumption.  All of this must have been supplemented by the wild game which he hunted.  While poor, judging from the value of his inventory,8 he had done well in those hard years. He owned land, he was no debtor, nor was he a tenant.  He was a free man in a free land.

The progenitor of this branch of the Willis family probably owned a one room 16 x 20 house with a fireplace at the gable end.  He had no chairs nor tables, but he did have two beds and a chest.  The windows were shuttered against the cold in winter thus making the interior quite dark except for the light from the fire.  In summer light entered through the open shutters since there was no glass nor screen.  Small, wooden and unpainted, John’s home must have sat in the middle of an unplanned and unsymmetrical tract.  Indoors there were few comforts and no conveniences.  The floor was of beaten earth, while the loft was covered over with movable planks to make a storage and sleeping area especially for the children.  The ground room served almost every function.  Its contents ranged from the large cast iron cooking pot, which always hung by the fire, a chest, a spinning wheel and work tools.  With kitchen and eating utensils lacking, the Willis family ate, as many of the others in Dorchester, with knives, their fingers, cattle horns and gourds.  Oyster shells were used as spoons. Forks did not come into existence until after 1750.9  As no chamber pot was mentioned in the inventory, the Willis family had none. They went outside. Some £ 13 of the total inventory were in animals leaving little of value in the house.10

John Willis, Sr. made his will on September 18, 1712, and died prior to December 3, 1712.  The will, however, was not probated until November 24, 1714.  Witnesses were William Kirke and William Jones. In the will John named only William, John, Grace and Elizabeth as his children and thus to share.  Although not the older son, William inherited the land and home Wantage. John, Jr. received “twelve pence”.11

On December 3, 1712, John, Jr. opposed the probation of the will on the grounds that two of his father’s children were not included and that his father was not of sound mind when the document was written.  No one appeared before the Commissioner General to contest the validity of the will as requested; consequently, the will was probated on November 24, 1714.12

An inventory of the estate was not made until December 1718. William Willis and Andrew Willis in signing the inventory indicated that it was a just rendering of their deceased father’s estate. Their signing of the inventory certainly confirmed the fact that Andrew was one of the missing children John, Jr. had mentioned.13  John’s second missing son was Thomas Willis who died in Dorchester in 1722.  His inventory was signed by Andrew and John Willis, Jr., as kindred, while Grace Willis, the administrator of Thomas’ estate, was undoubtedly his sister.  John Sharp from whom Thomas Willis purchased 50 acres of Sharp’s Prosperity served as one of those who inventoried the estate.14




1 Dorchester County (Land Records) 4 Old 4/1 May 1680. John served as a witness to two deeds on this date.  Hereafter referred to as DCLR.

2 Twelve individuals with the name of Willis arrived in Maryland between 1633 and 1680. Eleven of these were transported, while one, a Thomas Willis, immigrated.  Only one individual with the name of John arrived and he appeared in 1668. There were five Thomas Willises, but three of these were servants. A John Willis of Cecil County died in 1699 and a John Willis of Kent County died in 1716. The origin of the individual from whom we are descended is still a mystery, although a John Willis was living in Dorchester County m 1680. He could easily have been the John Willis who came to the colony m 1668. Gust Skordas, The Early Settlers of Maryland, 1633 –1680.

3 DCLR 4 ½ Old 1/21 October 1689, Will of Richard Willis; Ibid., 4 ½  Old 2/8-16 January 1689-1690, Grant of letters of Administration to Frances Willis; Ibid., 4 ½ Old 4, January 29, 1689, Inventory in the estate of Richard Willis, dec.

4 Ibid., 6 Old 13, April 29, 1703. In this deed John Willis, Sr. witnessed a “power of attorney”.  As John is referred to as Sr., it must mean that John, Jr. is at least 21. That would make John, Jr.’s birth in 1682 or before.  John Willis, Sr. witnessed another deed in 1701. He is not referred to as “senior” in this document.  Ibid., 5 Old 191, August 4, 1701.

5 DCLR 14 Old 130, March 14, 1746.

6 Prerogative Court (Wills) 14 pp 12-13, John Willis,  November 24, 1714.  Hereafter referred to as Wills. The other children, Thomas and Andrew, not mentioned in the will, can be verified by a study of Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A pp 203-204, John Willis, December 1718; Caroline County (Inventories) 1697-1776, p 25 Thomas Willis, December 15, 1722; DCLR 7 Old 68, John Sharp to Thomas Willis, 1717.

7 Land Office (Patents) CD pp 194-195, John Willis Certificate of Survey and patent of Wantage, July 20, 1704; Ibid., 14 Old 130, March 14, 1746.

8 Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A pp 203-204, John Willis December 1718.

9 Excellent accounts of the early life of the Marylanders may be found in Gloria L. Main, Tobacco Colony, 1650 -1750 and Gregory A. Stiverson, Poverty in a Land of Plenty.

10 Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A pp 203-204, John Willis December 1718.

11 Wills 14 pp 12-13, John Willis, November 24, 1714.

12 Statement of the Commissioner General attached to the wi1l of John Willis found in Ibid.

13 Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A pp 203-204, John Willis, December 1718.  Caroline County (Inventories) 1697-1776, p 25, Thomas Willis, November 15, 1722; Dorchester County (Land Records) 7 Old 68, John Sharp to Thomas Wallis, 1717.

14 Andrew Willis, son of John Willis, Sr., was born 1689/90 and died in 1738.  In 1722 he was living at the head of Shoal Creek, adjacent to William Jones, about a mile southeast of the Choptank River bridge. He knew of I.ittleworth , according to a deposition in which he also gave the year of his birth.  Andrew married twice; first, Janet Jones by whom he had four children and secondly, Rebecca Goostree, prior to April 13, 1728. When Andrew made his will in 1733 he had seven living children: Richard, George, John, William, Andrew, Thomas and Sarah.  Andrew possessed only one piece of property Newtown which was given Andrew and Rebecca by her father.  Wills 21 pp 918-919 Andrew Willis,  August 23, 1738; Ibid., William Jones, May 10, 1729; DCLR 2 Old 161Thomas Hayward to Henry Ennalls, March 13, 1722; Ibid., 9 Old 257, Janet Jones, widow, to her grandson William Jones, February 18, 1734;  Wills 19 p 501 of Richard Goostree, November 12, 1728.

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JOHN WILLIS, JR

(c 1682 -1764)

 As early as 1683, John Willis, Sr., was a tenant farmer living around the upper reaches of the Blackwater river in Dorchester County.  Little is known of his life but undoubtedly he used his carpenter skills to supplement the produce of his farm to make a living.  Sometime prior to the establishment of Cambridge as the county seat of Dorchester, John became the “court cryer”.  Meanwhile, he married and by this union the couple had six living children.  These were John, Jr., 1 born about 1682,2 Andrew, Thomas, William, Grace and Elizabeth. 3

Times were hard and just to carve out a living for himself and his family took a tremendous amount of hard work.  It was difficult for John, Sr. To accumulate enough capital or to obtain the necessary credit to purchase or patent land.  Living with his family probably until he was apprenticed as a carpenter, 4 John, Jr. experienced these hardships and determined to improve his station in life.  Doubtless, John, Jr., hired himself out to others.

When John Willis, Sr. patented in 1704 the 50 acre tract Wantage on the Blackwater River, 5 the Willis’ had taken a mighty leap form artisan/tenant farmer to landholder.  Undoubtedly, John, Jr. felt that despite the challenges he would one day own land of his own, a compelling ambition for most young men of early Maryland.  Synonymous with land was tobacco, the universal staple in Maryland, but its labor intensive nature nurtured the growth of slavery. With no money to purchase slaves the John Willis family was forced to compete in the tobacco market dominated by the large slaveholder. Apparently then early in the history of the Willis family they turned away from dependence upon tobacco and raised other crops. Indeed, in 1718 the Willises inventoried corn, flax and animals.  There was no mention of tobacco.6  Had the tobacco crop been shipped abroad or could it have been that no tobacco was being grown at Wantage?   If the latter is true hard money was difficult to come by.

When John, Jr. learned in 1712 of his father’s will, he was determined to break it. Irked over the disposition of Wantage to his brother, William, and angry, too, over his father’s slight of his brothers, Andrew and Thomas, from inclusion in the will, John, Jr. on December 3, 1712, wrote to the Honorable William Baden, Esq., Commissioner General, saying that his father was not of sound mind when he signed his will. In replying Bladen pointed out that those opposed to the will’s probate should appear before him in April 1713, “to give evidence of the condition of John Willis, Sr.”  With no record of John, Jr.’s appearance before Bladen, the will was probated on November 24, 1714, two years after the death of John Willis, Sr.7

Having been denied the ownership of Wantage but feeling economically secure in his trade, John Willis, Jr., carpenter, on March 10, 1717, purchased from John Sharp of Dorchester  part of a 100 acre tract called Sharp’s Prosperity, which had been patented to Sharp some years before. The land was located on Marshy Creek Branch above Hunting Creek, later to be in the bounds of Caroline County, but in 1717 in Dorchester some distance from Wantage.8  At the same time Sharp sold the other 50 acres to Thomas Willis, brother of John, Jr.9  At this session of the March court of 1717 John witnessed the sale of Hampton on the west side of Hunting Creek to John Nicolls.10

While John, Jr. was brought up on a farm apparently he had been pursuing carpentry for some years for he is referred to as a “carpenter” and not as a farmer or planter in the deed to Sharp’s Prosperity.11  This land John farmed as his father had done.  Placing considerable emphasis on hogs, for they were fairly easy to raise, the Willis boys raised corn and animals. In 1722 Thomas Willis died. Probably a shoemaker by trade, his inventory amounted to £ 12-17-1.  Andrew and John Willis signed Thomas’ inventory as his kinsmen.12

Upon petition to the Calverts on July 5, 1725, John Willis, Jr. was granted 50 acres of land called Willis’ Right, a part of Nanticoke Manor.  Originally a tract of 250 acres, the parcel was granted first to William Edmondson of Dorchester.  Willis’ Right was located on the south side of the Choptank and on the west side of the main road leading from Hunting Creek Mill at Linchester to Parson’s Landing.13  Fearing overlapping lines and hoping that additional unclaimed acreage could be acquired, John, on July 17, 1736, requested that a resurvey be made of the contiguous pieces of property, Sharp’s Prosperity and Willis’ Right.  The resurvey found that the tract contained 111 acres.  A patent was granted to John on October 1, 1743, and the whole was renamed Willis’ Regulation.14

In the meantime, on July 30, 1730, John, Jr. sold to Henry Ennalls Wantage, the 50 acre tract originally taken up by John Willis, Sr. The deed was not acknowledged however, until July 30, 1734.15  But then on August 15, 1734, William Willis, brother of John and to whom the land had been bequeathed, sold the same land to Richard Seward.  Strange enough this transaction was acknowledged on June 15, 1734, six weeks before it was deeded.16 The property thus was sold to two different men by two brothers, one of whom did not own the property.

In 1726, prior to the flap about Wantage, Willis, after purchasing Willis’ Right, had John Edmondson, a Quaker and a carpenter, build a home for him on the property.17   This, too, was strange, in that Willis, a carpenter, would need assistance on the construction of such a simple structure. In any case and for whatever reason, John, the planter, was farming in earnest by 1730.  In 1746 John’s plantation was referred to as Willis Regulation, located in St Mary’s Chappell Parish near Hunting Creek.18  John Willis, Jr. continued to work his farm until his death, although farming had not been particularly profitable for him.

Unlike his father John raised tobacco almost exclusively. From his inventory no other crops were on hand. Indeed, he had no oxen, although hoes of all kinds were listed and even a plow.  There were two horses but no wagon.  Doubtless, Willis used his horses when he wanted land plowed. A cow, several steers and some hogs provided the meat and dairy products supplemented, of course, by the game which was plentiful in the adjoining fields. A linen wheel and a spinning wheel indicated that he raised flax, and although not present in the inventory sheep must have been a part of his herd.19

Household pieces were scarce. Two beds, several chests, pine tables and chairs were inventoried along with both new and old pewter, six pewter tea spoons, several silver tea spoons. There was a bed warming pan, a pewter pot, a looking glass, brass tobacco box, a parcel of knives and forks, a knife box, a sugar box, a brush, earthenware and a table cloth. There were pot hooks and
fishing hooks, a bowl and tray, a cider mill and cider casks, bottles, a sifter, fire shovel, tongs and a spice mortar and pistol. The kitchen seemed to be well supplied.20

John, Jr. was married twice. By his first wife Mary, whom he married probably about 1702, Willis had eight living children: John III-A, Mary Clift, Judeath, Elizabeth Kellingsworth, Isaac, Richard, Joshua and Dorcus Nichols.  Following the death of Mary, whose maiden name is unknown, John, Jr., around 1730, married Elizabeth Nichols by whom he had John III-B and “Gernay”.21

Although John, Jr. wrote his will in November 1760, it was not probated until January 23, 1764.  In his will he bequeathed to each of his children by his first wife, two shillings six pence. An exception was made of John III-A to whom he bequeathed five shillings.  But the second wife, Elizabeth, and her children by John, Jr. inherited the bulk of the estate.  His personal estate was divided between the two sons, John III-B and Gernay. Willis Regulation was bequeathed to Elizabeth “for the time of her natural life, she making no waste nor destruction on any part” of the land.  Upon her death the land was “to remain to my son John” III-B.  He thus refused to divide the acreage he had accumulated into smaller parcels.  John’s inventory amounted to only £ 20-10-10, just a few shillings more than his father’s estate almost half a century before.  Joshua Willis and Thomas Willis were listed as next of kin in the inventory while in the “accounts” of 1768 John Willis III-B and John Nichols were named as next of kin.22   Once again the Nichols listing does give credence to the fact that Elizabeth was a Nichols.

Elizabeth Willis farmed the land until her death in 1769. Her son John Willis III-B was the administrator of her estate.  The inventory, completed on March 19, 1769, was witnessed by Andrew Banning and John Valliant, while Jarvis Willis and David Nichols signed as kindred.  Again a Nichols signed as a kindred of a Willis.  Elizabeth’s inventory amounted to £ 27-7-8 ½.23



1 Before proceeding, the identity of John Willis, Jr., son of John, Sr. and father of the two Johns, John III-A and John III-B, must be established. In early Dorchester records mention is made of a John Willis to be Senior, in 1680 and a Richard Willis who died in 1689. Richard Willis married a Frances Dawson, widow of William Dawson, around 1681/1682. The marriage produced two sons, Richard, born August 13, 1684, John, born July 7, 1686, and a daughter, Frances, born August 7, 1688. Richard Willis, Sr. died in 1689 leaving his 300 acre plantation Rondly to his sons when they reached 21.  F. Edward Wright, ed., Maryland Eastern Shore Vital Records; Dorchester County (Land Records) 4 ½  01d l, October 21, 1689, Will of Richard Willis, Sr.  On January 8, 1699, Frances Dawson Willis married Edward Fisher, a Quaker, who was prominent in the Friend’s Society. He died in 1701. The next year Richard Willis, Jr., now of age, acquired two contiguous tracts of land and short1y thereafter his mother purchased a 200 acre tract Barrtholomew’s.  On July 26, 1718, she gave to her two sons, Richard and John, 353 acres of land in exchange for Rond1y.  Dorchester County (Land Records) 5 Old 196, August 24, 1702, William Willoby to Richard Willis; Ibid., 6 Old 3, March 7, 1703; Ibid., 7 Old 63, Francis Fisher to Richard Willis and John Willis, July 26, 1718.  Meanwhile, John Willis, son of Richard, Sr., dec., unlike his brother Richard and his mother purchased no property but probably farmed Rondly until 1718. It was this John Willis, planter, and most probably a Quaker, who married Margaret Cox, born July 20, 1695, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Cox, at the Transquaking Meeting House on October 15, 1712. Margaret’s parents were Quakers, as was Francis Willis Fisher. Later, Frances was to write in her will “that all the travelling friends as the occasion shall can them this way shall have the freedom of entertainment”.  Records, Third Haven Meeting House; Dorchester County (Wills) Liber 19, Folio 679, Frances Willis Fisher, 1729.  An inventory accounting was made on July 16, 1723, for John Willis who died that year. The signers of the document confirm the fact that this man married Margaret Cox and that this John was the son of Richard Willis, Sr., dec.   Richard Willis, Jr. signed as kinsman as did Daniel Cox, whose daughter signed as Margaret Willis, John’s wife. A fairly successful planter, he was a cattleman of sorts with a herd of 60, an unusually large number for the times. With corn, wheat and tobacco on his inventory, he believed in diversification.  Furniture, blankets, spoons, pewter made up an inventory valued at £ 103-14-4. Only a man with an inheritance could have accumulated so much in such a short time.  He was 37 when he died. Prerogative Court (Inventories) 8 pp 191-193, John Willis, July 15, 1723.

Returning to the lineage of John Willis, Jr.,  son of John Willis, Sr., in 1746 “John Willis, now living in St Mary’s Chapel Parish near Hunting Creek, the eldest son of John Willis, who lived on the Blackwater four to five miles from Cambridge, formerly cryer of the Dorchester Court”.   Thus this John Willis, Sr.,  father of John Willis, Jr. is the progenitor of the John Willis who came to Maryland in 1668.  John Willis, Jr., his son, is not to be confused with the John Willis, son of Richard Willis, dec., who married Margaret Cox and then died in 1723. Dorchester County (Land Records) 14 Old 130, March 14, 1746.

2 Ibid., 6 Old 13 of April 29, 1703. In this deed John Wil1is, Sr. is referred to as “Senior” meaning that his son, John, Jr., was at least 21 years old. When John, Jr. witnessed a deed two years earlier he was merely John Willis.

3 Prerogative Court (Wills) 14 pp 12-13, John Willis, November 24, 1714; Ibid., (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A pp 203-204, John Willis, December 1718; Caroline County (Inventories) 1697-1776, p 25 Thomas Willis, December 15, 1722; Dorchester County (Land Records) 7 Old 68 John Sharp to Thomas Willis, 1717.

4 Ibid.,7 Old 51 John Sharp to John Willis of Dorchester, carpenter,  March 10, 1717.

5 Land Office (Patents) CD pp 194-195, John Willis, Assignment of Certificate of Survey and Patent, July 20, 1704.

6 Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A, pp 203-204, John Willis December 1718.

7 Ibid., (Wills) 14, pp 12-13, John Willis, November 24, 1714.

8 Dorchester County (Land Records) 7 Old 51, John Sharp to John Willis, March 10, 1717.

9 Ibid., 7 Old 68, John Sharp to Thomas Willis, 1717.

10 Ibid., 7 Old 54, Thomas Noble to John Nichols, March 7, 1717. This acreage was in the same general area of the county in which John Willis, Jr. purchased his land.

11 Ibid., 7 Old 51, John Sharp to John Willis, March 10, 1717.

12 Caroline County (Inventories) 1697-1776,  p 25, Thomas Willis November 15, 1722. It is likely that the brothers and sisters of Thomas divided the personal property left by Thomas between them. Because Thomas’ land Sharp's Prosperity was adjacent to John’s newly purchased property, he took the acreage and probably reimbursed his brothers and sisters at a later date. No deed is on record for this transaction. John’s action does not surface in the records until the Assessment of 1783 when it is noted that the acreage has been merged into Willis’ Regulation.

13 Land Office (Patents) IL#A, p 680, John Willis, November 1723.

14 Ibid., PT#1, pp 56-57, John Willis, 1743.

15 Dorchester County (Land Office) 9 Old 223, John Willis to Henry Ennalls July 30, 1730.

16 Ibid., 9 Old 214, William and Judith Willis to Richard Seward, August 15, 1734..

17 Ibid., 16 Old 76 of  November 11, 1755 - May 20, 1756.

18 Ibid., 14 Old 130 of March 14, 1746, Deposition of Thomas Pierson of Dorchester, planter, aged about 60 years.

19 Dorchester County (Inventories and Accounts) 86 Old 281, 1764-1765, John Willis; Dorchester County (Accounts) 1768 of John Willis.

20 Ibid.

21 Caroline County (Wills) CC#A, pp 108-110, John Willis, January 23, 1764.   The dates of John’s marriages are unknown. There is a strong possibility that Elizabeth was a Nichols. In a number of documents one of the Nichols men signs as a kinsman. John treats the children of his second wife more handsomely than he does those of his first wife. John sold a piece of property, which he did not own, in 1730 and his wife did not sign. It would appear therefore that Mary was deceased at the time and John had not married Elizabeth. The wedding probably took place later in the year.

22 Ibid.

23 Dorchester County (Inventories) Elizabeth Willis of March 19, 1769.

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 JOHN WILLIS, III-B
(1731- 1794)


John Willis III-B was the elder son of John Willis, Jr. and his second wife, Elizabeth Nichols.1 He was born in 17312 on the plantation to be known as Willis’ Regulation in then Dorchester County, but later Caroline. John III-B was the second son to be called John by his father, who named the first son of his first wife, John, III-A.3   Growing up John III-B worked alongside his father in the fields as both were very conscientious about their land.4  Certainly, too, they were aware of the changes occurring in agriculture by the mid eighteenth century.

The Willises had relied on tobacco for their cash crop over the years.5  But around 1750 a major decision was likely made. As with so many small farmers on the Eastern Shore, the Willises, father and sons, turned from the cultivation of tobacco to the growing of wheat.  They also increased their herds.  As Baltimore developed into an export center for grain, and as the West Indian market for food expanded, the demand for wheat and cattle increased.  Grain was easily transported by water to Baltimore thereby enabling farmers to readily market their crops.

By 1760 John Willis III-B was running the farm for his father who was ill enough at the time to write his will.  John Willis, Jr. provided in his will which was probated on January 23, 1764, that Willis’ Regulation should belong to his wife, Elizabeth, during her life and that upon her demise the land should pass to John Willis III-B.  The personal estate was divided between the two sons, John III-B and Gernay, of John’s  second marriage.6

Unlike most farmers of the time, John III-B did not seem to be interested in adding to his acres.  Instead, when money was available he purchased slaves.  He was satisfied with the farm which he finally inherited from his mother in 1769.7   The possibility remains that contiguous acres were not available for the price he was willing to pay.  The purchase of slaves after 1770 did little to improve the financial well being of John Willis III-B and his family, although it may have added to the family’s ease of living.  Some farmers preferred to use their surplus money, if any, to invest in livestock, household goods and buildings, expenditures that made the land more productive and valuable.  John added to the number of slaves he owned until upon his death in 1794 he owned eight slaves.8  His father John had no slaves nor had his grandfather before him.9   Of course there is always the possibility that John III-B raised slaves for sale.

Around 1764 or before John III-B married Keziah Holmes, born on September 22, 1740, one of the daughters of Ralph and Frances Holmes of Talbot County.10   Over the years seven children were born to John and Keziah.  There may have been more, but, these were the ones who lived long enough to be named in John’s will of 1794. The six boys were John IV, Philemon, William, Lewis, Nicholas, Henry and one girl Sarah Nabb.11  In 1783 seven males, including John, and two females, including Keziah, lived in the household and were counted in the tax assessment of that year.12

Following the adjudication of the dispute which settled the boundary between Maryland and Delaware in 1761, the fertile lands northeast of the Choptank River were rapidly settled.13   Problems arose which made administration from Queenstown and Cambridge slow and clumsy.  Agitation began for the establishment of a new county.  The act providing for Caroline County passed the General Assembly in 1773 and the county was organized in March 1774.14  Shortly after the first court met in March 1774, a mass meeting of the citizens or Caroline County was held to protest the unpopularity of various acts of the Royal government in England.  This meeting resulted in the “Caroline Resolutions” which while affirming loyalty to George III proposed an embargo on importations from Great Britain.15

At this point the Carolinians were seeking a readjustment of differences, not a war.  As friction intensified public sentiment in Caroline turned toward separation. How did John Willis III-B act in all of this?  What did he think?  Probably the key to his thoughts might be found in his failure to take the Oath of Allegiance in 1777, although his son John IV did so.16   John III-B was out of step with the times.  With few exceptions the people of Caroline staunchly supported independence.  Tories were scarce. Caroline raised and drilled several militia units and sent its quota into the front lines.  Farmers supported the war effort by responding to calls for clothing, blankets, shoes, food, lead and money.17  Did John play a part in all of this?  Did his attitude change as the war went on?  It would be interesting to know.

The State assessment of 1783 indicates that John lived in the Lower Choptank District of Caroline County on a 163 acre farm called Addition to Willis’ Regulation.  The soil was light and of the 163 acres some 100 acres were arable and 63 acres were wooded.  Interestingly enough John had four slaves valued at £ 55, as well as five horses and 11 catt1e valued at £ 40.  The total value of his property was £ 192.18   Comparing John III-B with others in Caroline, it was found that about 18% of all the Caroline County householders held between 100 and 199 acres.  Some 49% of the householders had no acreage in Caroline. There were 850 slaves in Caroline in 1783.19  Just seven year later the number of slaves had risen to 2057, a huge increase in a relatively short period of time.20

In 1790 John’s family consisted of three males under 16, three males over 16, four females and six slaves.  Of his children one male had moved away while two females were added in this seven year period.  Doubtless John’s eldest son, John IV, had moved.  Two additional slaves were listed.21  Along with the rest of the county John had increased the number of slaves he held.  With his boys establishing their own homes, John may have needed the additional manpower to assist in the cultivation of his lands.

Nothing is known of the religion of the Willis family.  Doubtless over the years the Willises were influenced in turn by the Quakers, the Anglicans and by the Methodists.  In the early 18th century the Friends held regular meetings at Marshy Creek Meeting House, while in 1764 they built a meeting house in Preston.22  By 1793 John III-B had permitted the Methodists to meet across the road from his “dwelling house”.   Here they were not to be molested or hindered from using the building as long as they continued to preach.23   It certainly implies that John was against noise, confusion and rowdiness, but he was favorably disposed toward “preaching”.  The possibility, of course, exists that the Willis family embraced the Church of England prior to the Revolution for Keziah Holmes belonged to St Peter’s Parish, Talbot County before marrying John.24

John died in 1794. At the time his young sons, William, Lewis, Nicholas and Henry, were all minors, while Sarah, his only daughter, was married.  John and Philimon were living in Oxford, Talbot County, and each had a general store. The older boys were willed the land and the “dwelling house” upon the death of their mother, while the personal property, including animals, furniture and slaves, was divided among all the boys.  Additional items in the will called for John IV, the oldest brother, to pay to each of the four younger brothers £ 15 when they became of age.  Both  John and Philemon were to pay to their sister £ 15 and £ 5 respectively for wearing apparel to be purchased out of each son’s store.25

Keziah disappeared from the scene following the death of her husband.  In the Census of 1800 in Caroline County she is not listed as head of the household nor is she named a part of the household of Lewis Willis who became the guardian of his three young brothers.  In 1800 Lewis had in his household two males between 10 and 16 and two males including himself between the ages of 16 and 26.  There were nine slaves.26  In 1810 two males between the ages of 26 and 45 were listed in Lewis Willis household along with six slaves.27

Keziah Holmes Willis died in the summer of 1810 and her inventory amounting to $1394.70 was made on August 14, 1810.   Most valuable of all the possessions was the ten slaves worth $1120.   Only four of the ten were males.  Jacob, 19, was the oldest and the most valuable at $250, while the 34 year old Lydia was next most valuable at $120.  Six year old Hannah and the one year old Washington were the youngest and valued at $50 and $20, respectivly.28  Keziah’s inventory is nothing more than the inventory of John Willis IV.  It is a listing of the items on the farm.29

Dimensions of the dwelling house, which probably was the one constructed in 1726 for John Willis, Jr. are not given, but the furniture and furnishings are listed.  Included with the three beds are sheets, counterpaines, coverlets, pillows along with two chests, two tables, cupboard and eight chairs.  There were no rugs nor drapes. The kitchen was stocked with six silver teaspoons, four blue edge plates, a tea pot, coffee pot, pepper box, china, sugar dish, cork screw, stone pots, jars, four knives, five forks, frying pan, an iron pot and dutch oven, among other things.30

To assist in farming the 100 acres there were two yokes of oxen, two plows, two harrows, a cart body, five hoes, an axe, cooper’s ax, a lot of old iron and a scythe.  No horses were recorded, which seems strange for the remaining members of the Willis family were left with no transportation.  The herd was made up of six pigs, seven cows, calves and heffers and some fowl. Three barrels of corn, four sacks of wheat, seven pounds of flax, 30 pounds of bacon and 10 pounds of lard were inventoried.  By late summer the wheat had been sold, while the corn was still in the field.  There was a linen wheel but no spinning wheel.  Other items such as books, razors, a cross cut saw, brass warming pan, fire place tools, a hogshead and flour tubs were on the list.31

In almost 50 years the Willis fortunes had remained about the same.  They resided on the same farm with no increase nor diminuation of acres. The items in the inventories were just about the same.  The gain in the Willis fortunes, if it can be called that, came in the form of slaves.  The Willises owned none in 1712 nor in 1764.  John owned 8 slaves in 1794 while Keziah owned ten in 1810.  Doubtless the slaves counted by Lewis in 1810 were the same slaves as had been inventoried in Keziah’s estate.




1 Caroline County (Wills) CC#A, pp 108-l10, John Willis, January 23, 1764.  No source can be cited for Elizabeth’s maiden name. However, from the documents used and the many occasions the Nichols name is associated with the Willises, it is not unreasonable to suppose that she was a Nichols.

2 Caroline County Canmission Book, B, pp 50-51. This book may be found in the Caroline County Court House, Denton, Maryland, a deposition or John Willis.

3 Caroline County (Wills) CC#A, pp 108-110, John Willis, January 23, 1764.  We will call the son of John, Jr.’s first wife John III-A and the John of his second wife as John III-B.

4 Ibid., Caroline County {Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794.

5 Caroline County (Inventories)

6 Caroline County (Wills) CC #A, pp 108-110, John Willis, January 23, 1764.

7 Ibid.

8 Gregory A. Stiverson, Poverty in a Land of Plenty, Baltimore, 1977 . Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794.

9 Ibid., CC #A, pp 108-110, John Willis, January 23, 1764; Prerogative Court (Inventories and Accounts) 36 A, pp 203-204, John Willis, December 1718.

10 F. Edward Wright, ed. , Maryland Eastern Shore Vital Records, 1726-1750, St Peter’s Parish, Talbot County.

11 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis November 20, 1794.

12 Caroline County (Assessment of 1783) , Lower Choptank District, p 57.

13 Edward M. Noble , ed., et al, History of Caroline County. Maryland, Federalsburg, Maryland, 23ff.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid., Swepson Earle, ed., Maryland’s Colonial Eastern Shore, Baltimore, 1916.

16 Oath of Allegiance, Maryland.

17 Noble , History of Caroline County.

18 Caroline County (Assessment of 1783) p 57.

19 Stiverson, Op cit., p 144.

20 Ibid.

21 Caroline County, Census of 1790.

22 Noble, Op cit.

23 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis November 20, 1794.

24 Wright, Op Cit.

25 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis November 20, 1794.

26 Caroline County, Census of 1800.

27 Caroline County, Census of 1810.

28 Caroline County, (Inventories) 1800-1811, p 340 Keziah Willis,  August 14, 1810.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.

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LEWIS WILLIS, SR
(c1775 – c1850)

 Lewis Willis, one of the six living sons of John Willis III-B and Keziah Holmes, was born in Caroline County between 1775 and 1780 on the farm known as Willis Regulation on Marsh Creek Branch on the west side of the main road leading from Hunting Creek Mill to Parson’s Landing.1

In 1794, while Lewis was still a minor his father died. John III-B’s will provided that all of his “stock” together with all of his household furniture, eight slaves and “every other kind of property” would be Keziah’s during her widowhood. Upon Keziah’s death and when Henry reached his majority, the slaves and cattle were to be valued and the total sum was to be divided equally among John’s six sons.2

By 1800 Lewis was head of the household in Caroline County.  He was responsible for his brothers and for farming the home place Willis Regulation.  The males living with him were his younger brothers.  His older brothers, John, Jr. and Philemon lived in Oxford. Three black males, one aged 16-26 and two, ages 10-16, along with nine other slaves lived in Lewis’ household.  There is no reference to his mother.3

In the decade between l800 and 1810 family responsibilities lessened for Lewis Willis.  By 1810 six slaves and only one other male (26-45) lived with him.4   Keziah’s personal property was inventoried on August 14, 1810,5 indicating that she died several months prior to that date.  Now John’s estate could be settled.  Prior to this and, indeed, at his father’s death, Lewis had received £ 15 from his brother, John.  A condition of his father’s will it was an attempt on his part to equalize the bequests in some manner.  John, Jr., after all, received most of the land.6

With Keziah dead and Henry now of age, John Willis of Oxford, Talbot County, the eldest son of John III-B, storekeeper and Collector of Customs for the port of Oxford, so appointed by President Jefferson,7 inherited Willis’ Regulation and Willis’ Grove.8 The value of the slaves was judged to be $1120, while the value of the cattle was $89.20.9 As the $1209 was divided six ways, there was not a great deal left for the heirs.  Suffice to say, that temporarily at least six slaves remained on Willis’ Regulation to assist in farming the land, which was probably rented by John to Lewis.

Now that Lewis’ future was more certain than it had been and now that many family responsibilities had been lifted from him he began to think about a family.  On August 25, 1813, a marriage license10 was issued to Lewis Willis and to Eleanor Dillen, daughter of Vincent (deceased) and Ann Dillen11 and granddaughter of John Dillen, deceased, of Caroline County.12  While not a member of the landed aristocracy, nevertheless, both Vincent and his father were well off for the time.  In addition to his 33 ½  acre farm, a part of Potter’s Landing, and a 50 acre tract called Lloyd’s Grove, Vincent had owned a part interest in the schooner Industry, which carried freight.13

By 1812 many Carolinians were thinking to some extent, at least, on the impending conflict between England and America.  Mass meetings were held in the county and resolutions adopted “to stand up and be counted”.  Whether Lewis was one who stood up is not known.  He failed, however, to enlist in either the Caroline Regiment of the 12th Brigade, nor in the extra battalion which was filled by volunteers.  Probably as a Caroline County farmer he allowed his Chesapeake Bay neighbors, if they asked, to drive their live stock in his fields or into the Caroline marshes where they could feed and be safe from the British.14

By 1820 Lewis and Eleanor (Elinor) had two boys of their own, William H. and Lewis. In addition, two other males, one 16-18, the other 18-26, and one young girl, 10-16, lived with them.  Two members of the household were “engaged in agriculture” and there were no slaves.15  What had happened to the six slaves who lived with Lewis in 1810?  Had they become a real economic burden?

The decade of the 1820s witnessed the aftermath of the Panic of 1819 and the depression years that followed.  Money was tight and times were hard.  The Willis sons helped their father on the farm and attended school when they could.  By 1830 the boys were still at home, while two girls, one 15-20 and the other 5-10, appeared as members of Lewis, Sr.’s household. The younger girl could have been a daughter, while the older one a neice.16

The 1830s brought death to three of Lewis’ brothers and the real possibility of owning his own land eventually.  Captain William Willis, brother of Lewis, Sr., went to sea early in life.  Rising rapidly in his chosen profession, the captain commanded several vessels, among them the brig Sara and Louisa.17  Serving at sea, he earned enough to purchase on June 27, 1823, from Thomas C. Earle and Thomas Hemsley for $6000 two tracts of land, Hemsley Upon the Wye and Hemsley Upon the Wye Addition.  Located in the Chapel District of Talbot, north of Longwoods a part of the 400 acre tract bordered on the road between Centerville and Easton.  William borrowed money and a mortgage on the property.  This was paid off by 1826.18  After farming the tracts for several years, Captain William Willis died around December 22, 1831.  By his will William left to his wife, Tamsey Willis, all of his real estate during her natural life.  After her demise the real estate was to be equally divided between his nearest blood relatives.  After payment of all debts one third of William’s personal estate went to Tamsey, while the remaining two thirds was divided between his nearest blood relations.  At William’s death Lewis, Sr. received a portion of William’s personal estate.  Later, Lewis, Sr. inherited the tracts of land William purchased in 1823.19

On April 23, 1839, John Willis, Lewis’ oldest brother died and left the Caroline County portion of his estate equally to his children,20 who wanted only the money the property would bring.  This land was Willis’ Regulation, the farm on which Lewis, Sr. had lived since birth.  By this time Lewis was getting up in years and probably did not have the money to buy out John’s heirs.  In view of this, Lewis, Sr.’s two sons took over the project of acquiring the acreage.

With the exception of Charles F. Willis, who was living in Louisville, Kentucky, the other children of John and their spouses on March 21, 1840, sold to William H. Willis and Louis Willis, Jr. the farm in Caroline County known as Willis’ Regulation (163 acres) for $700.21  Several months after the sale, on July 28, 1840, Charles Willis sold his share of the inherited property to William and Louis for $75.22  In all, the farm, which had been in the Willis family for over a century, cost $775.

In 1840, Lewis Willis, Sr., a resident of Caroline County, had in his household, besides his wife, Louis, Jr., his young wife, Eliza Ann Todd, their infant daughter and a free female black in the 10-24 age range.  Lewis’ other son, William, was not living at home. Nearby or probably on Willis’ Regulation lived two black families, the Samuel Chases and the John Webbs.  The former’s household consisted of Samuel himself and a female.  Both were over 55 years old.  Webb was a younger man (24-36) with four boys, three under ten and one aged 10-24.  The woman in the house was between 24-36.23 Certainly the Willis family had plenty of help.

Willis Regulation did not remain in the hands of William and Louis, Jr. for long.  Nor was Lewis, Sr. to live in Caroline County.  After owning the farm for about two years, on April 14, 1842, William, Louis, Jr., and Eliza Ann Todd Willis, all of Caroline County, sold Willis’ Regulation to Henry Corkin of Caroline for $675,24 a loss of $100 on their original investment and a sum they could ill afford to lose.  Why did their plans change so suddenly and why did they take a loss on their investment?

Doubtless by this time the two tracts of land, Hemsley Upon the Wye and Hemsley Upon the Wye Addition had passed into the hands of Lewis, Sr.25  Why else would it have been sold?  Tamsey must have died and as all of the blood relatives of William, with the exception of Lewis, had passed away, Lewis inherited the land.  With 400 acres of good Talbot land in his possession, Lewis, Sr. must have convinced his two boys that the family’s future was in Talbot.

Shortly after 1842 the Willises must have moved, although Willis Sr.’s deed of 1846 to his two sons indicated that Willis, Sr., as well as Willis, Jr. were still residents of Caroline, while William claimed Queen Anne as his home.  On May 19, 1846, Lewis, Sr. conveyed to his sons, William and Louis the 400 acre plantation in Chapel District of Talbot County.26

Lewis Willis, Sr. and his wife Elinor Dillen, dropped from sight after 1846.  It is certain that they lived with Louis, Jr. on the Wye until they died.  Neither appeared in the Census of 1850 either as a householder or as a member of their other son’s families.  It is likely that both were deceased by 1850.27



1 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794. The children named in John’s will were John, Philimon, Lewis, William, Nicholas, Henry and Sara (Nabb).  No record exists indicating the birth date of Lewis.  By using the census reports an approximate date of his birth can be gleamed .

2 Ibid. John’s will was written on October 1, 1793, about a year before he died.

3 Caroline County , Census of 1800; Talbot County, Census of 1800.   Keziah’s older sons, John and Philemon were living in Oxford in 1800.  In neither instance did the sons have a female in the household Keziah’s age.  John had three girls under ten years old, his wife, himself and three slaves.  In Philemon’s household there was a male under ten and a girl under ten, an unknown male (16-26) , another unknown male (26-45), his wife, Ann Barnaby (1780-1848), himself and five slaves.

4 Caroline County, Census of 1810. 

5 Caroline County (Inventories) 1800-1811, p. 340, Keziah Willis, August 14, 1810.

6 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794. The land John received from his father can be documented in: Land Office (Patents) IL #A, p 680 John Willis, Willis Right, November 4, 1723; Ibid., PT #1, pp 56-57 John Willis, Willis Regulation, Dorchester County, October 1, 1743.

7 Talbot County, Maryland, published by the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce, 1979.

8 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794. 

9 Caroline County (Inventories) l800-181l, p. 340, Keziah Willis, August 14, 1810.

10 Caroline County, Marriage Records, Caroline County Court House, Denton, Maryland. 

11 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 435-436, John Dillon, February 8, 1799; Caroline County (Land Records) A, p. 184, Samuel Fountain, Jr. to John Dillon, September 4, 1776; Ibid., A, P. 236, John Chilcutt to John Dillin October 6, 1777; Ibid., F, pp 248-250, Vincent Dillon from William Potter, January 13, 1801; Ibid., I, p. 47 Solomon Brown to Vmcent Dillon, August 21, 1804; Caroline County (Inventories) JR #C p. 107 Vincent Dillon, August 13, 1805; Caroline County (Accounts) JR #C, pp 67-68 Vincent Dillon, August 1, 1810. 

12 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 435-436, John Dillon, February 8, 1799.  Caroline County (Inventories) JR #C, p. 107 Vincent Dillon, August 13, 1813.  Eleanor Dillen’s parentage is still in question.  Of the possibilities only two can be considered -Vincent Dillen and William Dillen. From an examination of the Census Reports Eleanor was born between 1780 and 1790.  One of the difficulties in selecting William as Eleanor’s father is that he would have been barely 16 at the time Eleanor was born in 1790, using that date as her time of birth.  That is highly unlikely even in a time when individuals married at an early age.  Vincent seems to be a more likely candidate as a father.  He died young also in 1805.  If the latter is true then John Dillen is Eleanor’s grandfather.  Vincent in 1800 had a female in his family born between 1780-1790.

13 Caroline County (Inventories) JR #C,  p. 187 Vincent Dillen, August 13, 1805; Caroline County (Land Records) F pp 248-250, Vincent Dillon from William Potter, January 13, 1810; Ibid., I, p. 47, Solomon Brown to Vincent Dillon, August 21, 1804.

14 Edward M. Noble, ed., et al., History of Caroline County, Maryland, pp. 130-132.

15 Caroline County, Census of 1820. The young female living with the Willis family could have been a relative of Eleanor’s.

16 Ibid., Census of 1830

17 Talbot County (Wills) JP # 8 p. 476, William Willis, December 22, 1831. 

18 Talbot County (Deed Books) #44, p. 344. These were contiguous pieces of land. This tract was deeded by Philemon W. Hemsley of Talbot to Thomas Earle and Thomas Hemsley on August 25, 1819. 

19 Talbot County (Wills) JP #8, p. 476, William Willis, December 22, 1831.

20 Talbot County (Wills) JP #9, p. 130 John Willis, April 23, 1839.

21 Caroline County (Land Records) U, pp 360-361, William B. Willis et al to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr., both of Caroline County, March 21, 1840. 

22 Talbot County (Land Records) TR U, p. 377, Charles Willis to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr., July 28, 1840; Caroline County (Land Records) U, pp. 377-378.

23 Caroline County, Census of 1840.

24 Caroline County (Land Records) U, pp 360-363, Lewis Willis, Jr. and William Willis to Henry Corkin, April 14, 1842.

25 By 1842 Tamsey Willis, wife of Captain William Willis must have died.  John Willis, too, died in 1839.  Thus Lewis Willis, Sr. was the last of the blood relatives. This meant that the land bequeathed to William’s nearest blood relatives came to Lewis.

26 Talbot County (Land Records) TH #104, pp 487-488, Lewis Willis, Sr. to William H. Willis and Louis Willis, Jr., May 19, 1846.

27 Caroline County, Census of 1850; Talbot County, Census of 1850.  In the Census of 1850, Lewis is no longer referred to as Jr.  It would appear that Lewis, Sr. was dead by this time.  There must have been a reason for him to deed the property he received by the will of his brother, William Willis, over to his sons as soon as he did.  Doubtless, he was either sick or infirm.  There is no will, distribution, inventory account for either Lewis Willis, Sr. or his wife.  Lewis’ brothers died: Henry (living in Talbot) in 1822; William in 1831; Philemon in 1836; John in 1839; Nicholas unknown.  Sarah, his sister, died in 1836.

========================================================================

LEWIS WILLIS, JR
(1816- 1888)

 Lewis Willis, Jr., son of Lewis Willis, Sr. and Elinor Dillen, was born in 18161 in Caroline County Maryland on the farm known as Willis’ Regulation, the ancestral home of the Willis family.  Although the acerage was owned by John Willis of Oxford2 through inheritance, in all likelihood Lewis, Sr. rented the farm from him. Nothing is known of Lewis, Jr’s young life, although he either attended school or was taught the three Rs at home.  Working with his father and brother on the fields of Willis’ Regulation, he learned to be a farmer.

When he was 23 years old, Lewis, on September 15, 1839, married Eliza Ann Todd, daughter of Levin Todd and Celia Hubbard of Caroline County.3  Following the wedding Lewis brought his bride home to live with his parents.4   Over the years Lewis and Eliza Ann had at least 12 children.5 Several died young.  One of the living daughters was Mary Emily (Mollie), born  September 15, 1856, in Ta1bot County.6

With the death of Lewis, Sr.’s brother, John, in 1839, John’s land in Caroline County, consisting of three tracts, Willis’ Regulation, Addition to Willis’ Regulation, and Willis’ Grove, but referred to as Willis’ Regulation, was divided equally among Sarah, Nancy, Margaret H., Elizabeth, William B., Kitty, Charles and Nicholas, all children of John.7

Realizing that the beneficiaries had no interest in Caroline County lands, except monetary ones, Lewis, Jr. and his brother, William, purchased on March 21, 1840, for $700 from all but one of the heirs Willis’ Regulation (163 acres).8   After contacting the last heir and agreeing on a price, the two brothers, on July 28, 1840, paid to Charles F. Willis of Louisville, Kentucky, $75 for his share of the land.9  After the deed was finalized on January 18, 1842, Lewis, Jr. And William sold the tract to Henry Corkin on  April 14, 1842, for $675.10   This was a loss of $100 within a short period  by two men who were not only frugal but who could ill afford to lose their money.  Because the sale was completed so suddenly the possibility exists that the Willises knew that Lewis Willis, Sr. would inherit land from his brother, Captain William Willis’, estate.11

Sometime between 1842 and 1846 Lewis, Sr. acquired his brother’s lands in Talbot.  On May 19, 1846, however, Lewis, Sr., for $1000 and for “the love and affection” he had for his two sons, William Willis of Queene Anne and Lewis Willis, Jr. of Caroline “did give to them all that tract of land (400 acres) in the Chapel District of Talbot County, Hemsley Upon the Wye and Hemsley Upon the Wye Addition.12  The two contiguous tracts had been purchased by Captain Willis in 1823.13   Shortly after Lewis, Sr. made the gift, Lewis, Jr. moved to Talbot.  By August 1850 he was residing there according to the census report.14

In that year the 35 year old Lewis was not labeled a “junior”, hence the strong possibility that his father was dead.  The census taker of 1850 listed Lewis’ family in this manner: Eliza Ann, his wife, William (10), Francis (8), Charles (6), Luis Clayton (4) and Elizabeth (one month). Lewis was a farmer who owned real estate valued at $1200.15

Lewis farmed his Wye River lands just about the same way as his father had done those years on Willis’ Regulation.  Lewis’ fields doubtless showed the effects of poor tillage and soil exhaustion of those who had tilled the land in years past.  With only part of Hemsley Upon the Wye under cultivation, that part was divided into small fields by worm fences made of split rails.  Following a three field system of corn and wheat alternated with pasture, Lewis did not systematically apply manure to assist in the restoration of the soil’s fertility.  Before Lewis turned Hemsley Upon the Wye over to his sons, considerable improvement in agricultural methods occurred.

The 1850s brought to the Willises burning political issues as well as a general period of prosperity.  The Constitutional Convention of 1850-1851, in reapportioning the House allowed Talbot two representatives instead of three.  But generally Talbot, and doubtless Lewis as wel1, was apathetic toward politics throughout most of the 1840s and 1850s.  Underlying everything was slavery.  The slave code could be rigorous.  Louis steered clear of this problem.  He had no slaves and, indeed, his father sold those he owned before Louis was born.  Around Talbot there always seemed to be rumors of insurrections.  During 1855, the people became excited over reports that some Dorchester County slaves had planned an insurrection for Easter.  Citizens met and passed a resolution providing that blacks should be confined to their quarters until the danger was past.

Despite all this, in the early part of the 1850s, negro slaves brought $350 - $1,020 at public auction.  Market prices for wheat in January 1854 were quoted at $1.60 - $1.63 a bushel for the red and 10 - 15 cents more for good prime white wheat.  Corn sold at $.68 - $.69 and rye around $.98 a bushel.16   Probably the Panic of 1857 hurt, but good times followed shortly thereafter.  The period of the 1850s had been relatively good for the Willises.

During the 1850s “Luis” and Eliza Ann’s family grew, but there were losses, as well.  Their oldest son, William, as well little Elizabeth died.17   Eliza Ann, too, lost her father in 1854.18   On July 26, 1860, the census taker, N. E. Nichols, assistant marshall, listed the children as Francis/Frank (16) , Charles (15), Lewis Clayton (13), Levin (11), John (7), Mary/Mollie (6), Clara (1) and Ellen (I), twins.  Georgeanna Thomas (9) also lived with them.19

In April 1861, the War Between the States began.  Talbotians were divided in their sentiments.  Many were drawn to the seceeded states by blood ties and their determination to keep Talbot and the South a white man’s country.   In the county itself there was little if any warlike activity. The Willis family were southern sympathizers.  When Frank was drafted, “Luis” paid to have a substitute serve for him.  But in all, the war and the eight or so years that followed was a relatively prosperous time for the Willises. 20

On October 18, 1862, Louis and Eliza Ann sold to John Schnartman for $300 some 15 acres of land on the public road to the east of Hemsley Upon the Wye leading from Easton to Centerville and adjoining the lands of Thomas Clarke, Skinner Collier and others.  The tract itself, however, was situated between the lands of Collier and Perry Pendleton. 21  Whatever the reason for the sale of the property is not known.  They probably needed the money to pay for Frank’s substitute.

Water transportation had improved so that the markets of Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York were never far away.  The construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware canal proved to be the beginning.  Then in 1867, the Enterprise Steamship Company formed during the War for trade on the Miles, Choptank and Tred Avon, was organized as the Maryland Steamship Company with steamers plying along the river landings.   By 1869 the railroad between Easton and Clayton, Delaware, had been constructed.   It’s tracks ran just to the east of the Willis farm.22

All Lewis needed was capital. He had his sons’ labor and the markets were there.  Probably most important to the Willises was the acquisition of a reaper.  In general use by 1865, Lewis’ purchase date is not known.  With it grain production on the farm increased.  As time passed, Lewis either purchased or rented a self binding harvester, a harrow, a corn cultivator, a sheller, a planter, a mower and a horse rake.  A threshing steam engine always appeared at the farm in late June or early July to harvest the wheat crop.  The event was one in which all participated.  Payment to the owner of the engine was by the number of bushels harvested.

By 1870 Lewis was regularly applying manure to his fields.  His cattle, too, were larger and brought more money than formerly because of selective breeding.  He cut timber and sold it for cash.  Markets were available for peaches, tomatoes and watermelons.  Even with this, machines did cost; he had a large family of his own as well as many relatives who lived with and off him. Credit was not always easy to come by.23

By 1873 things soured.   Currency inflation with rising prices and accompanying speculation hit the county. Even money for seed was hard to come by.  When crops were marketable, Lewis sold for the price offered. The family purchased nothing but the absolute essentials.  Some of the children left home.  Charles married Frances Todd, granddaughter of James and Sarah Todd and later moved west.   Mollie departed for Baltimore, where she clerked in a milliner’s shop.  Here she worked with Bertha Bast, who introduced Mollie to her brother, Johnny Bast.24  On October 8, 1878, Mollie and Johnny were married.25

When Lewis, Sr. gave his sons Hemsley Upon the Wye and Hemsley Upon the Wye Addition in 1846, William and Lewis, Jr., divided the 400 acres into two parts.  One was the 220 acre farm Hemsley Upon the Wye owned and occupied by Lewis; the other, the part William agreed to take, was a tract of 180 acres.  Over the years there had never been a deed of this transaction.  On December 22,  1886,  James K. P. Willis, the only child of William H. Willis, deceased, and James’ wife, Jessee, in their desire to perfect the title of the land, agreed, as did Lewis, to execute a deed.   For $1.00 then James and Jessee Willis conveyed to Lewis Willis the 220 acres agreed upon by the brothers years ago.26

To further clarify title to lands which were partitioned to William in 1846, but which had been sold in 1863, Lewis and Eliza Ann Willis on December 23, 1886, conveyed 89 ¾  acres of land to George W. Collier, Mary H. Slaughter, Skinner A. Collier and Charles P. Collier, those tracts in the Chapel District of Talbot on the public road leading from Easton to Centerville about 1 ½ miles from Potts Mills.27

With these matters cleared, Lewis, who was getting up in years, gave the farm to his boys, Frank and Luis and retired from active farming.  In 1888 Lewis Willis died and was buried in the Easton Cemetery.  The Easton Gazette, in reporting his death wrote that “he was a highly respected farmer of Talbot County” who died of a heart attack on Friday morning,  June 8, 1888, at the home of his son near Longwoods.28

On July 28,1888, an inventory was made of Lewis’ personal possessions, which were valued at $235.80.  With the exception of the 20 animals and the horse and carriage, whose value was over half that of the inventory, Lewis had little to show in material things for his 72 years.  Furniture was sparce, but he did have a bed, two mattresses, a side board, a clock, lounge, six chairs, a rocker, a marble top table and a lamp.   In addition, a cook stove, utensils and a parlor stove were also a part of the inventory.  Besides a half interest in a boat with oars, Lewis’ inventory listed lumber and posts worth $40.  No clothes were listed, but $5.55 in cash was on hand.  Because Lewis was not farming Hemsley Upon the Wye, the farm equipment was not inventoried.29

Lewis left no will.  No distribution was made of Lewis Willis’ estate because nothing was there to be divided. Indeed, the estate was overpaid.  A disbursement of $75, however, was made to the widow, Eliza Ann, “for the amount due her under the Act of Assembly of 1884”.30   The accountant was Charles N. Willis, who received the customary 10% commission.31



1 Caroline County, Census of 1820; Talbot County, Census of 1850; Tombstone, Easton Cemetery; Family tradition.

2 Caroline County (Wills) JR #B, pp 246-249, John Willis, November 20, 1794.

3 Caroline County, Marriage Records, Caroline County Court House, Denton.

4 Caroline County , Census of 1840.

5 Talbot County, Census of 1850; Talbot County, Census of 1860; Tombstone Records; Family Tradition.

6 Talbot County, Census of 1860; Tombstone Record, Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland.

7 Talbot County (Wills) JP #9, pp 130-132, John Willis, April 23, 1839, Talbot County Courthouse Easton, Md. This John Willis was the eldest son of John Willis III-B who died in Caroline County in 1794.

8 Caroline County (Land Records) U, pp 360-361, William B. Willis and Mary, his wife, et al to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr. March 21, 1840.

9 Caroline County (Land Records) TR U, p 377, William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr. to Charles Willis, July 28, 1840.

10 Ibid., U (WK 545-546) pp. 360-363, Lewis Willis, Jr. and William H. Willis to Henry Corkin, April 14, 1842.

11 Talbot County (Wills) JP #8, p 476, Captain William Willis, December 22, 1831.  Doubtless, the will must have been executed with the death of Tamsey Willis, wife of William. The will stated that Tamsey should receive all the real estate during her natural life. After her demise the real estate was to be equally divided between the nearest blood relatives.  All of the Willis brothers died during the 1820s and 1830s except Lewis. The land then went to Lewis.

12 Talbot County (Land Records) JP #59" pp 442-444, Lewis Willis, Sr. to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr., May 19, 1846. One wonders why Lewis Willis, Sr. turned the lands over to his sons so soon after receiving them.

13 Talbot County (Land Records) #44, p 344, Thomas C. Earle and Thomas Hemsley of Queen Anne, gentlemen, and William Willis of Talbot, June 27, 1823.  Earle and Hemsely sold to William Willis of Talbot, formerly a mariner, but now a farmer for  $6000 the two tracts of land on the Wye.  Borrowing $300 from James Corner, merchant of Baltimore for 30 days, Captain William then took a mortgage on the property. This was paid off  by December 30, 1826.

14 Talbot County Census o.f' 1850.  Two problems stand out in this brief sketch. One has to do with the movement of the Willises from Caroline County to Talbot County; the other has to do with the date of the death of Lewis Willis, Sr.  It is strange that the property in Caroline was sold in 1842 and in 1846 Lewis, Sr. gave his Talbot lands to his sons who indicated at the time Willis, Sr. and Willis, Jr. were still residents of Caroline.  Neither the Caroline Census of 1850 nor the Talbot Census of the same year tell anything of Lewis, Sr.

15 Talbot County, Census of 1850.

16 Homer Bast, Talbot County, Maryland, A History in Charles B. Clark, ed., The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, New York, 1950.

17 Talbot County, Census of 1860.  While both William and Elizabeth appeared in the Census of 1850 neither were listed in the Census of 1860.  It can only be assumed that they were dead.

18 See the sketch on Eliza Ann Todd Willis.

19 Talbot County, Census of 1860.

20 Bast, Op cit; Family Tradition as told to Homer Bast by his grandmother, Mrs John Bast (Mollie Willis).

21 Talbot County (Land Records) STH #70 p 74, Lewis Willis and Eliza Ann, his wife, to John Schnartman, October 18, 1862.

22 Bast, Op cit.

23 Ibid.; Family Tradition. The writer is in possession of a post card showing the operation of a reaper on the Willis farm Hemsley Upon the Wye.

24 Family Tradition; J. R. Witcraft, Todds of the Eastern Shore.

25 Baltimore City, Marriage License. Found in Hall of Records, Annapolis.

26 Talbot County (Land Records) JP #59 pp 442-444, Lewis Willis, Sr. to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr., May 19, 1846; Ibid., TH #l04, pp 487-488, James K. P. Willis and Jessee, his wife, to Louis Willis, December 22, 1886.  James and Jessee, the only son and daughter in law of William H. Willis,  were residents of Talbot County.

27 Ibid., TH #104, pp 487-h88, Louis Willis and Eliza Ann, his wife, to George W. Collier, Mary H. Slaughter, Skinner A. Collier, and Charles P. Collier, December 23, 1886.

28 Easton Gazette, Saturday, June 16, 1888.

29 Talbot County (Inventories) EHR 8 p 31, Lewis Willis, July 25, 1888.

30 Maryland State Archives letter of September 9, 1987 to Homer Bast.

31 Talbot County (Inventories) EHR 8 p 31, Lewis Willis, July 25, 1888.  The location of Lewis Willis’ farm is found in The 1877 Atlases and other Early Maps of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Bicentennial Edition, 1776-1976, Salisbury, Maryland, 1976.  A photograph of the Lewis Willis home is in the possession of Homer Bast, Salem, Va.

=================================================

MARY EMILY WILLIS

(1856 –1946)

Mary Emily WiIlis, one of eight living children of Lewis Willis and Eliza Ann Todd1, was born on  September 15, 1856,2 on Hemsley Upon the Wye several miles to the north of the small village of Longwoods, Talbot County.3   Spoiled by her brothers, Mollie, as she was affectionately called, attended school in the little one room school house that predated the “Little Red Schoolhouse” standing beside the Easton-Centerville Road in Longwoods at present.4

Her days and nights were full of fun and laughter as she grew up in the area of Talbot known as Skipton. Her parents’ home was a clapboard and white washed farm house surrounded by a white fence. The house was built low to the ground and squatted in the middle of a field.  Shaded by maple trees the original part of the house was built like a small “cape cod”, but over the years a two story addition of about the same size as the original was attached to it.  On the other side, the left, a second addition had been built with sleeping accommodations on the second floor.  This so called upstairs was above an open storage space where the horse drawn carriage was kept.  Another room or storage facility was next to this.5    Here at Hemsley the Willis family worked and played.  Here Mollie learned to cook and sew and here Mollie helped at harvest time.

With the prospects of marriage slim in northern Talbot, she was anxious to leave home and find a job and a husband in Baltimore.  With the blessing of and maybe a little prodding by her family at the end, Mollie packed her things and took the steamer for Baltimore.6   Here a new life began.

In Baltimore Mollie secured a position in the millinery of Louisa Earnshaw Apsey Bast.  Here she worked with Louisa’s daughter Bertha Bast.  It was Bert who introduced Mollie to her brother John William Bast.  After a short courtship the two were married by the Reverend J. Pollard, Jr. on October 8, 1878, in Baltimore.7  Following the wedding they started housekeeping at 37 McHenry Street, within walking distance of the Mt. Claire, Baltimore and Ohio railroad shops, where Johnny worked as a machinist.  Their first child Beulah was born on August 18, 1879, but died just a year later on August 31, 1880.8

In 1880 Mollie and John were living with their young daughter, age nine months, his mother and his half sister on McHenry Street.9   While John’s mother lived with them, it was Mollie’s relatives from the Eastern Shore who were frequent visitors for weeks at a time during the winter months.  Few meals were served and few dinners eaten without relatives in attendance.10

Mollie dedicated her life, certainly until 1910 at any rate, to her family, to her church, and to Johnny.  The decade of the 1880s was one of life and death.  Mollie gave birth to a little girl, Nellie, on March 3, 1881, but she, too, died in infancy, some nine months after birth.11  The next year on October 9, 1882, John Lewis (Lou) Willis Bast12 came along followed by another boy, Charles Arthur on April 20, 1884.13  But then on March 27, 1886, John’s mother, Louisa, died and was buried in Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore14.  Within two years Mollie’s father, Charles Lewis Willis, of Longwoods15 died and one of the pillars of Mollie’s life on the Eastern Shore was gone.  There was little time to grieve for with Johnny’s half sister at home, two boys to care for and an endless stream of company Mollie was busy.  It was always a relief with the coming of summer when Mollie packed her trunks for the annual visit to Probasco’s Wharf and Hemsley for the summer.16

In the meantime, Mollie supervised a move of the family from McHenry Street to Paca.  John was still in walking distance of the “shop”.  There must have been a more significant reason for the move than distance to work. A larger home could have been acquired for the growing family.  On April 27, 1891, Pearl was born17 but by 1895 Mollie had lost her mother.18  The summer visits to the “Shore” persisted, however. On November 21, 1896, Herbert Nelson was born.19  Now there were three boys and a girl.  No more children were born.  

All the children went to school. The boys attended Baltimore Poly but dropped out after the 7th grade to go to work.  All three boys eventually worked for the railroad but only Herb made it a career.  Lou departed on the “road” to take up acting, eventually starting an acting troupe which toured the eastern part of the United States.  Charles purchased a hardware store on Baltimore Street20 and developed it into a thriving business until he was forced to sell out for reasons of health.

One by one Mollie’s children married.  Lou, Charles and Pearl all married before the war in 1917.  Herb did not marry until he came home from France.  But it was the marriage of Charles to Beulah Cowart Gent in 191021 that opened up Mollie’s life.  Charles brought Beulah home to live on the third floor of the big house on 8 South Gilmore Street22 where Beulah became a full fledged member of the household.  After Beulah had settled in Mollie decided that she was a free woman.  Leaving her daughter-in-law in charge of the house, to cook the meals, to pack the lunches and to clean the house, Mollie used her free railroad passes to visit her relatives as far west as Missouri.23  What a great time she had, and well deserved to say the least, although it placed a considerable burden on Beulah, the new bride.

With the war Herbert donned Army khakis, went overseas and saw murderous action in France.  Gassed during the conflict he suffered endless hours of suffering in the years following the war.  Meanwhile, Mollie had became a grandmother three times over with the birth of Lou’s daughter, Vivian, Charles’s son, Homer, and Pearl’s daughter Elizabeth.  Following the first three there was a succession of grandchildren from all of Mollie’s children.  Herbert, of course, marrying last was the last of Mollie’s children to present her with a grandchild, Audrey, followed later by a grandson Donnie.

Then came the 1920s and it was if the world had turned upside down for Mollie. Charles and Beulah departed 8 South Gilmore Street to purchase a place of their own, and at the same time Charles rented and then sold his store.   Herb and Margaret bought their own home as did Pearl and John Smith.  With John Bast retiring from the railroad there was little reason to hold onto the house at 8 South Gilmore.  Mollie and John sold that one and moved in with Pearl, their daughter, in Mt. Washington.   By 1923 Johnny was dead and Mollie was alone except for her children.24

For the next 23 years Mollie continued to visit her relatives, but for three months each year she parceled her time with Pearl, Lou, Herb and Charlie.  This meant visits to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami/California and Easton for her children lived in these places.  She enjoyed her visits to the “Shore” for her son lived just down the road from her sister Clara Lang.

Mollie was a kindly, lively, ageless person who enjoyed life.  She died June 18, 1946, in a Philadelphia hospital following a broken hip from a fall.25



1 Caroline County, Marriage Records; Talbot County, Census Report of 1860.

2 Tombstone of Mary Emily Willis Bast in Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore.

3 Talbot County (Land Records) JP #59, pp 442-444, Lewis Willis, Sr., to William H. Willis and Lewis Willis, Jr., May 19, 1846.

4 Mollie walked to school the short way generally across the fields and not along the roads. One teacher taught the seven grades in grandmother’s school. Mollie took advantage of the maximum number of grades.  The school attended by grandmother was almost an exact replica of the restored one alongside the road in 2003.  Recollections of Mollie Bast.

5 Photograph in possession of the Bast Family.

6 Recollections of Mollie Bast.

7 Baltimore Marriages found in the Hall of Records, Reel CR 10 280, p.24. The church they attended was not built at this time.

8 The Baltimore Sun, an undated newspaper clipping. Family Recollections.

9 Baltimore City, Census Report of 1880.

10 John Bast must have worked long and hard to pay the board bill for the relatives who lived at the Bast home. Recollections of Mollie Bast.

11 The Baltimore Sun, an undated newspaper clipping; Tombstone Record in Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore.

12 Bast Family Bible.

13 Ibid.; Tombstone Record in Spring Hill Cemetery, Easton, Talbot County.

14 The Baltimore Sun an undated newspaper clipping.  In 2001, Steve Bast, great grandson of Mollie searched Loudon Park for the marker.  Although the clipping indicates burial in Loudon Park, the cemetery has no record of the burial.

15 The Easton Gazette, 8 June 1888; Tombstone Record in Spring Hill Cemetery, Easton.

16 Recollections of Mollie Bast.

17 Bast Family Bible.

18 Tombstone Record in Spring Hill Cemetery , Easton.

19 Bast Family Bible; Tombstone Record, Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore.

20 Fami1y Recollections; Baltimore City (Land Records)

21 Records of All Saints Church, Baltimore, 1883-191l, in Maryland Diocesan Archives on deposit in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore.

22 Recollections of Bast Family.

23 Ibid.

24 City of Baltimore, Certificate of Death for John W. Bast

25 City of Philadelphia, Pa., Certificate of Death for Mrs. Mary Emily (Willis) Bast.