Person:Abner Willis (1)

Legend C=Castles Woods; S=Saltville; H=Henry WIllis; S1=home of Eve's Brother; S2=Home of Amos Sheffy WIllis; A1=Abner's Home of Locust Cove Creek; A2=Abner's home on Willis Branch.

Abner and Eve initially settled on Locust Cove Creek, near her brother. Her father lived a bit further up the valley. This area is heavily wooded today. A1=approimate area of homesite. Eve's father lived somewhere to the north of Abner and Eve in what was then Wythe County. S=Location of the homesite of Eve's Brother; Yellow spot marks the location of Saltville. H=Approximate location of Henry Willis Homesite;

Abner and Eve lived on Willis Branch, a fork of Little Cedar Creek, from about 1810 to Abner's dissappearance about 1845. Eve continued to live here until her death about 1873. When visited about 1971 the hillsides were primarily pasture, with patches of tree's along the ridge line above the area where the homesite is presumed to have been. The actual location of the homesite as of January 2012 has not been determined, but it now seems likely that Abner and Eve's property was slightly to the west of what is shown here, perhaps in the bottom landnear the head of Willis Creek.

Abner Willis and Eve Sifers were married by the Rev. Stanger at Zion Lutheran Church on Cripple Creek in modern Wythe County. Eve's family were apparently members of Stangers congregation, though only the fact of their marriage by him has survived to attest to this. Eve's father, John Sifers appeared in the area at a fairly early date, and is shown on a variety of land transactions in this general area. Whether the marriage was actually performed at Zion i snot know, though it may be that like many ministers of the time, Rev. Stanger traveled widely throughout the area, and perhaps performed the marriage at Eve's parents home. Zion Lutheran was not the first Lutheran Church in the area, but is thought to have been proceeded by two churchs both named "Zion Lutheran Church". One was located southeast of Wytheville, and the other north of RUral Retreat.