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Biography of Francis Willis |
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Biography of Francis Willis. |
From:
Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. 1915. Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, under the editorial supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co.
Willis, Francis, was born in the city of Oxford, England, and was a near relative of several persons of his name, members and fellows of the colleges in the university there.
He emigrated to Virginia when a young man
and was soon appointed clerk of Charles River
county. He appears to have been a friend of
Sir John Harvey, and when that governor was
succeeded by Sir Francis Wyatt, Willis
severely denounced the new governor, the
council and the house of burgesses for their
hostility to Harvey. For this he was condemned
in 1640 to lose his offices, to be disbarred
from practicing as an attorney, to be
fined and imprisoned during the governor's
pleasure. His period of misfortune was brief,
however, for in two years Wyatt was succeeded
by Berkeley, and it is probable that
Willis's disabilities were removed. Certain it
is that in 1648 he was a justice of York county
and in 1652 was one of the first representatives
of Gloucester county. He was appointed
to a committee for the review of the laws of
Virginia in March, 1658-59, and a year later,
ht also became a councillor and held that
office for many years, and even after he had
returned to England in 1676. He never returned
to Virginia, but died in Kent sometime
between 1689 and 1691. He left all his
large estates in Virginia to his nephew Francis
Willis, son of Henry Willis, and from him
descend our Virginia Willises.
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