Person:William Lewis (206)

Abbie and William W. Lewis were probably first married in 1851-2.

William Lewis supposedly was traveling with a circus early in their marriage and Abbie traveled with him for a while. While still traveling, either with the circus or heading West to prospect, depending on which story you hear, William W. Lewis "disappeared" ---- sometime around 1856 - 1857. He was supposed to have taken a ferry across the Mississippi or Missouri River, and that ferry sank and all passengers died. The family was immediately worried that William had been on the ferry and when they never heard from him, it was "assumed" that he was dead.

Abbie waited a couple years, never heard anything from him, and then in 1858, she married Luther Follett. She and Luther had two boys. Luther signed up to serve in the Civil War and died of Typhoid Fever at Jefferson Barracks on June 6, 1862. Both of the Follett boys were born in the Kalamazoo area where all of Abbie's family lived.

Curiously, by October of 1863, Abbie had made her way back to the Detroit area of Michigan where she files for a widow's pension against Luther Follet's Civil War service. In her pension application she gives all the pertinent facts, but interestingly, William Wallace Lewis "of Wyandotte, Wayne Co, MI" was one of two witnesses to her application!

In his declaration William states, "that he did know the deceased intimately for three years previous to his death".....and that he had never heard the fact of there being "any question" of or "any dispute" of the marriage of Abigail and Luther D. L. Follett. Abigail was approved to receive a pension on 11 August 1864, retroactive to the date of Follett's death.

Thirteen days later, Abigail Follet, age 28, and William W. Lewis, age 32, both of Wyandotte, Michigan, were married in Wyandotte. A month and a half later, William W. Lewis was named legal guardian for the two Follett boys.

From later pension records, William applied for increases in the boys' minor pensions, and in 1876 he applied to have the pension records transferred from Detroit to Antrim County, Michigan. That is most probably when the family first moved northward in the direction of Fife Lake where they lived the rest of their lives, til they were in their last months of life and moved back to Kalamazoo to live with their son, William A. Lewis.

1870 Census:
Name: William W. Lewis
Age at Time of Census: 38
Estimated Birth Year: 1832
Birth Location: Michigan
Residence: Dallas, Clinton, MI
Other People in Household:
Abigail Lewis, 34 yrs
William Lewis, 16 yrs
Martha Lewis, 14 yrs
Wallace Lewis, 4 yrs
Isabell Lewis, 6 yrs
George Lewis, 2 yrs
Curtin Follett, 10 yrs
Deloss Follett, 7 yrs
Genealogical Society Number: 4271417
Film Number: 552168
Line Number: 28
Page Number: 12
Source Information: National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org

1880 Census:
Name: William Lewis
Age: 48
Birth Year: abt 1832
Birthplace: Michigan
Home in 1880: Rapid River, Kalkaska, Michigan
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
Spouse's Name: Abazil Lewis
Father's Birthplace: Michigan
Mother's Birthplace: Michigan
Occupation: Farmer
Household Members:
William Lewis 48
Abazil Lewis 44 [Abigail]
Isabelle Lewis 15
Wallace Lewis 13
George Lewis 11
Minnie Lewis 9
Annie Lewis 7
Leander Lewis 2
James Lewis 8m

1900 Census:
First Name: William W. Lewis
Age at Time of Census: 68
Estimated Birth Year: 1832
Birth Location: Michigan
Residence: Fife Lake village, Grand Traverse, MI
Relationship to Head of Household: Self
Other People in Household:
Abbigal Lewis, 64 yrs, Spouse
Anna Lewis, 28 yrs, Child
James Lewis, 21 yrs, Child
Father Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother Birthplace: Louisiana
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 49 (indicating first marriage in 1851)
Spouse First Name: Abbigal H
Spouse Last Name: Lewis
Spouse Birthplace: Canada Eng
Genealogical Society Number: 1240712
Line Number: 3
Sheet: A
Page Number: 5
Source Information: National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org

1910 Census:
First Name: William W. Lewis
Age at Time of Census: 77
Estimated Birth Year: 1833
Birth Location: Michigan
Residence: Fife Lake, Grand Traverse, MI
Relationship to Head of Household: Self
Other People in Household:
Abigail Lewis, 73 yrs, Spouse
Father Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother Birthplace: France
Marital Status: Married
Spouse First Name: Abigail H
Spouse Last Name: Lewis
Spouse Birthplace: Canada
Sheet: B
Sheet Number: 4
Source Information: National Archives, Courtesy of FamilySearch.org

Michigan Deaths:
Name: Will W. Lewis
Birth Date: abt 1832
Birth Place: Detroit, MI
Death Date: 8 May 1918
Death Place: Texas Twp., Kalamazoo, Michigan
Death Age: 86
Occupation: Storekeeper
Marital Status: Married
Father Name: J.O. Lewis
Father Birth Place: NY
Mother Name: Sophia Plicher [Peltier]
Mother Birth Place: NY
FHL Film Number: 2074997

William was a son of the well-known artist James Otto Lewis. See his wikipedia page: [[2]]
William Lewis tried to sue the Federal Government for $25,000, which was money he claimed had been owned to his father for artwork he had done back in the 1820's and 30's.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Find A Grave.

   No tombstone shown: [[1]]