Person:Thomas Willmore (1)

From A History of Jackson County, Michigan Notes and Biographies on Willmores

[Note that several years (e.g., the year his father died) and ages (e.g., when he went to London) in this story depend on the assumption that he was born in 1809, and are therefore wrong by about 8 years.]

The history of Thomas Willmore is a story of hardship and privation, and of indomitable pluck, which resulted in an honorable character and a competence in this world's goods. Few men who ever lived in Jackson could tell a more interesting story.

Thomas Willmore was born in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, March 31, 1809; he was the son of William and Zillah Willmore, also natives of England. William Willmore died in 1812, leaving his widow with six small children to care for. Thomas commenced daily labor at the age of seven. He worked for William Britain for four cents per day and boarded himself. He resided with his mother until his sixteenth year, then left home to seek his fortune, roaming about for years, seeking and finding employment. In his twentysixth year he removed to London, where he remained until May 23, 1838, then went to Chatham and set sail for Canada. The voyage was long and tedious, taking thirteen weeks to cross the ocean. They were nearly shipwrecked, being met by one of those tremendous gales which are prevalent on the sea. He says that for several nights in succession he fervently prayed that the ship might go down, so great were his sufferings. After the storm had passed an attempt was made by some of the passengers to mutiny, but the parties being discovered they were whipped by a cat-and-nine-tails, one man receiving fifty lashes, another one hundred, on the bare back. The attempt was made on account of a great lack of provisions. He landed at Quebec on the 16th of August. He remained in Canada until 1840, when he concluded to see Yankee land, as the states were then known; first settled in Burlington, Vermont, three years, employed by different parties, among whom were Hon. George P. Marsh and Judge Smalley. It was here he became an advocate of the Whig party in the year 1842, when G.P. Marsh first became a congressman. From Burlington he went to Boston, Mass., and worked for John D. Williams, living with the family. While there he became acquainted with Miss Ellen Butler, a relative of General Ben. Butler, whom he married in 1845. They removed to Philadelphia, thence to Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the coal region, at a village called Llewellyn [in the township of Branch]; he was here engaged as foreman in a coal mine, by Johanan Chockle [Cockill] & Sons, encountering all kinds of hardships. While here he became acquainted with Mammon Duke Hearst, formerly a missionary at Dexter, Michigan, who induced him to buy land of him without having seen it; came here the following fall and found it was not what it was represented; exchanged for another piece of land with no house upon it; moved in with Joseph Hawley, who still resides on the same farm, in Waterloo, Jackson County. As soon as the house was raised, he, with his wife and two children, moved in, without a chink being in. Many hardships met him and his family before the next harvest; at one time they were seven days without bread. There were no roads in that part of the country, and Mr. Willmore and Joseph Hawley cleared and prepared a road to Stockbridge, a little village two miles and a half from their home. About the year 1855 Mr. Willmore sent to England for his aged mother; she came with her daughter Ann and family, and her son Richard, both of whom have since died. Mrs. Zillah Willmore was a very remarkable woman. When she was seventy seven years of age she walked to Jackson, a distance of twenty miles, starting about 6 o'clock in the morning; and arriving at her journey's end at noon. She lived on the farm with her son until his removal to Jackson in 1875, and at that time seemed in perfect health; sewed and ready easily without glasses. In the spring of 1876 she was taken to her last peaceful home, at the age of one hundred years and ten months. She is supposed to be the oldest person buried in Mount Evergreen cemetery. To Thomas and Ellen Willmore were born seven children, all of whom are living, three being married. Mr. Willmore always took a deep interest in religion, and was a member of the Episcopal church. He died in 1900, leaving a competence for his family, and a good name behind him.

[Additional information deleted]

At the time the progenitor of the Willmore family in Michigan arrived in the territory with his wife and children, in 1832, he was poor indeed. It is told of him, and by no means to his discredit, that at one time, when the provisions of the family were running low, he took a bushel and a half of wheat in a sack, carried it on his back to Dexter, 35 miles away, to have it ground into flour. Resting only while the mill was in operation with his grist, when it was ready, he again shouldered the sack and retraced his weary steps homeward.

Attempting to trace Thomas according to the above bio

There was a Briton family in West Wycombe on the 1841 census. According to the IGI, there were William Brittains (various spellings) married in Sherington, Leckhampstead, Foscott, Maid's Moreton, and West Wycombe. If Thomas could spell well, Maid's Moreton and West Wycombe appear to match the best.

No record of Thomas appears in the IGI for Canada.

Thomas Willmore is not a household head in the 1840 census in Burlington, Vermont. If he was with George Marsh in the 1840 census, he was marked as either under age 30 or 40 (depending on Marsh's age) as Marsh is listed with two males in those age ranges. David A. Smaley, presumably the Judge as he is the only Smaley in town, has two males in the same age range, as well as four boys under 10.

On the 1930 census, daughter Victoria says Thomas was from London, England.

From the History of Schulykill County, PA; New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 36 Vesey Street, 1881 Press of George Macnamara, 36 Vesey Street, N.Y.

There are several small villages in the township [of Branch]. They are known as Llewellwn, Dowdentown, West Wood, and Phoenix Park. Llewellwn is the largest and best known. It is a brisk village, situated two miles south west of Minersville, on the west branch of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad, on the main road leading from Pottsville to Millersville, Dauphin county [in the Pocono Mountains]. It was named in honor of a coal miner and it contains 400 inhabitants. Its population in 1870 is said to have been 500.

(page 195) At Forestville the Diamond colliery was opened, about 1840, by William Hoch, who sold out to Johannan Cockill before he had shipped any coal. Cockill worked it five years, and it was then abandoned.

From West to Far Michigan

Corn could be processed easily with a minimum of tools and equipment. Michigan pioneers frequently mentioned the use of samp mills, or hominy blocks, for crushing the kernels... corn bread, or "johnny cake," was much more common in pioneer households than wheat bread and that cornmeal mush formed a substantial part of the immigrant farmer's daily diet.

... the delay in obtaining a first crop curtailed its [wheats] use on new farms on timbered lands. Wheat's growing cycle required that it be planted in the fall to be harvested the following summer, making it necessary to clear land a year before the earliest yield of grain. The time and labor required to prepare woodlands for wheat discouraged farmers from sowing it as an early crop, and they often postponed planting wheat for several years.

... An initial absence of lateral roads encouraged millers to place these facilities along the principal immigration routes into the interior, locations that were inconvenient to many parts of the interior and forced many settlers to make long, arduous trips to convert their grain into an exchangeable product. In 1830, residents of Jackson County likewise found it necessary to make "tedious and unprofitable trips to the grist mill in Dexter."

Thomas Willmore purchased land in 1854: the government land patent shows a purchase of 53.23 acres in Jackson County dated June 15, 1854. [Sections 3-4] A copy of this record is included. Mt. Evergreen Cemetery, established in 1843, is at the corner of Morrell and Greenwood Streets in Jackson. The Mt. Evergreen cemetery plot was owned by Thomas. He, Ellen, his mother and two children are buried there. Other family members are buried in plots not far distant.

Regarding his naturalization papers

A Declaration of Intention Certificate is in the family bible in the possession of Charles Driver. Dated in Jackson 1 March 1853, Thomas Willmore signed his name to the intention of becoming a citizen of the United States and renouncing the "Queen of Great Brittain". The full records for Jackson County naturalizations were lost.

Some immigrants filed the Declaration, perhaps for homesteading, but did not follow through with the final papers. If they could vote and obtain land with the Declaration only, they had no need to complete the process. Others were allowed to skip the declaration and only had to file the final petition. During much of our history, the wife and children automatically became citizens when the husband/father took out citizenship papers. A Declaration of Intent, not final papers, was all that was required to homestead. Not everyone who became a citizen registered to vote. Also, some states allowed people who had filed a Declaration of Intent to vote even if they had not received their final papers.

It was usually a two-part procedure, the first being a Declaration of Intent indicating that the person intended to become a citizen (voluntary after 1952). This may have included as part of the document or as a separate certificate or record information on the individual's date and place of arrival into the United States. After a required period of residency (five years, with some exceptions) the individual would then file a Petition for Naturalization and, if granted, would receive a Certificate of Naturalization. Both the Declaration and the Petition may contain valuable genealogical information.

From the Jackson City and County Directories

1875Thomas WillmoreT [tenant farmer] [Section] 3-4, Waterloo [Twp]

1890Thomas Willmore res N S Mason 5 W of Jackson Johanan C. Willmoreclothing 114 W. Main, res 427 W. Wilkins

1891-Thomas Willmorebds 312 W. Mason 1892Miss Anna M. Willmorebds 312 W. Mason Johanna C Willmore*removed to Stockbridge, Mich Mrs Sarah E Kleindressmaker res 114 E Mason

1915 - 1916W. T. Willman3-4, 347, $10310, Waterloo, Stockbridge

• This is most likely Johanan C. though it could refer to the wife of Richard Willmore, who is unknown, but believed deceased.

I believe Llewellyn is in Branch Twp, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the coal region. Schuylkill is pronounced: Schuyl-kill (skool'kill) It is a Dutch word meaning Hidden River. Llewellyn was named for David Llewellyn, the Welsh pioneer resident who founded it in 1830.

Obituary from the Stockbridge Brief, 11 Mar 1897, from the Jackson Citizen Patriot

At 7:30 a.m. Thursday March 4 at the residence, 312 W. Mason St., Thomas Willmore, aged 87 years, 11 months, 4 days. Funeral at 1:30 p.m. Saturday from the residence, Rev. R.B. Balcom officiating.

Thomas Willmore was born in Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England on the 31st day of March, 1809. His father died when he was three years of age leaving his mother with six small children to care for, therefore Thomas was obliged to commence daily labor at the age of seven years. He resided with his mother until his 16th year, then left home seeking and finding employment in various places. Then he went to London and remained there until 1838 when he sailed from Chatam to Canada and after a long and tedious voyage of nearly 14 weeks he landed at Quebec. He remained there until 1840 when he went to Burlington, Vermont, living there for three years. From Burlington, he went to Boston, Mass. While there he became acquainted with Miss Ellen Buttler to whom he was married July 24, 1845. From Philadelphia they moved to Llewellan, Penn. He was here employed as foreman in a coal mine. While there he became acquainted with Mr. Hurst, formerly a missionary at Dexter, Mich. and from him purchased a farm in Waterloo, Jackson Co., Michigan and in 1848 came to live on this farm and he and his family endured all the hardship of a pioneer life. During these years of hardship he had not forgotten to remember his mother whom he had left behind in his native land and in 1855 sent a remittance with which she came from England to reside with him and continued to reside with him until her death in 1876. Mr. Willmore lived in Waterloo until 1875 when he returned to Jackson where he has since resided, living a retired life. To Thomas and Ellen Willmore were born seven children, six of them are still living. Miss Anna and Mrs. Sarah Klein of this city, J.C. Willmore, Mrs. S.M. Thompson and Mrs. A.J. Bott of Stockbridge and Mrs. W.H. Mapes of Gorhams, N.Y. His son Joseph died in the year 1868. After traveling life's journey together for 47 years his companion passed away August 17, 1892. Since her death, his daughter Anna has lived with him and helped to make his last days happy. His last sickness was long and painful, having been confined in his bed for nearly six months but he looked forward to death as just a rest from toil and suffering and as awakening in the home beyond.

1. ↑ Unknown. JACKSON COUNTY: A History of Jackson County. (1874).
2. ↑ Jackson County Directory 1896
   p. 702.
3. ↑ Colonel Charles V. DeLand. History of Jackson County, Michigan. (B.F. Bowen, 1903).
4. ↑ Thomas Wilmer, in England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast).

   baptized 4 Mar 1817 in Buckingham, Buckingham, England
   parents: William and Zillah Wilmer

5.   Waterloo, Jackson, Michigan, in United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432).

   Thomas Willmore, age 34, born in England
   Helen Willmore, age 26, born in Ireland
   Sarah, age 4, born in Pennsylvania
   Johanan {addedcomment|sic}}, age 2, born in Pennsylvania
   Joseph, age 2/12, born in Michigan

6.   Thomas Willmore, in Michigan, United States. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952. (Ancestry.com [database online]).

   died 4 Mar 1897 in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan, age 88
   born in England