Person talk:William Willis (55)

Should we not be looking for Willis men in Lincoln County? Madison was taken from Lincoln County if I'm not mistaken in 1780. I know Mercer was as well, but I believe Estill is located in the part of Madison that was Lincoln according to overlays for the county formations. Good point on the watersheds Bill Willis.

If William was McKenzie's father, which if someone has proof of that, please post because I dont, perhaps McKenzie's land was near his mother. Her land may have been purchased by his father or grandfather when it was still Lincoln County. Could be the same land.

There was some talk about McKinzie's father leaving when he was young so a William wouldn't be around after abt. 1815. I think this came from cousin Sal but I have no proof it is true. There is a court order in Madison County 1816, that pertains to Nancy Willis not appearing in court to answer why her son has not been bound out. That may have come from an email from Sal. Need to find that court doc. and post it.

There is a Nancy Willis in the 1810 census of Madison Co. as hoh and she has two males and one female. She is in the 1820 census with one male. If she is McKinzie's mother, McKinsie has a sister and he has a younger brother. That would fit with the age of McKinsie and fits with her daughter being Rachel who md. Christopher Durbin in 1814. It would also fit with Nancy who md. William Willis. Ruthnevada 21:43, 8 April 2011 (EDT)

UPDATE: William Willis is thought to be the father of McKinzie because he signed for Rachel Willis to marry Christopher Durbin in 1814. Nancy Willis signed for McKinzie Willis in 1820 with C. Durbin as witness. There is a court document in 1816 asking Nancy Willis why since her husband has "absconded", that her son has not been bound out? The 1820 census of Madison County, KY show McKinzie Willis living alone, next door to Christopher Durbin. The census date is BEFORE the marriage date, however the date may have been when the census was started.

There is a Nancy Willis in the 1810 census of Madison County with one daughter that would fit the age of Rachel and two sons. If that is the correct Nancy, mother of McKinzie, then there is a younger brother. That may be the brother the court is questioning about being bound out.

absconded past participle, past tense of ab·scond (Verb) 1. Leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection or arrest. 2. (of someone on bail) Fail to surrender oneself for custody at the appointed time. More » Merriam-Webster

Perhaps we should be looking for a William Willis on the run.

I bet we find him with Abner! (G) Seriously, I find it unusual that two closely related lines (by YDNA) should have similiar "left town without a trace" stories. Q 13:25, 14 April 2011 (EDT)

Where did we get the birthdate for William? I may have overlooked the source for that.ruthnevada 12:19, 21 April 2011 (EDT)

It probably got sucked in as part of a GedCom download, or a composited DOB based on Ancestry Tree entries. In either case, there's probably no primary source for the DOB. However, the DOB as given is highly consistent with other information about the family, and an 1760 DOB would not be. IN anycase, we probably should be able to get some confirmation for this from Census records, since he seems to have died after 1860.

As a footnote to this, the way this sort of thing works in practice is that almost no one has verifiable sources for anything. Trees are built largely on faith, and then verified as we go along with original source information as it comes to hand. Q 21:50, 21 April 2011 (EDT)

Checking the 1860 census for kentucky I find 19 different William Willis' none born earlier than about 1815. See Notebook. William Willis 1860 Census Kentucky, There is, however, a William Willis in Garrard County Ky in 1840 age 30-39, which could be William 55 born 1794. See:Ancestry].

Just realizing though that this William Willis "absconded before 1820", so its a long shot to find him still in KY, and even if we did, even a longer shot to know that a particular William Willis is "him". In Checkng the 1810 census I see four William Willis in KY, but only one seems to fit William 55---he's the on in Washington County. See: 1810 William Willis in Kentucky, fide Ancestry The only in Jessamine county is too young (16-25), and the ones in Henry and Adair are age 45+ with few family members.

Q09:35, 22 April 2011 (EDT)