Notes on Henry Willis of Montgomery County, VA fl 1780

Bennett Willis, son of John and Phebe Willis.... both from English Quaker families that are well-documented in Quaker records. This Willis family originated from Wiltshire, England, 1600, and emigrated to America in 1675. A branch of the family subsequently moved to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania records (primarily land records, Quaker Meeting Minutes, orphan court records, and work done on the family by the Quaker genealogist Gilbert Cope and by Chester County researcher Leslie B. Potter) list as children of Henry Willis, b. 1704 in Chester County:

Henry, (Monroe County Henry) as born in Newberry, York County, PA in 1734

John,

Josiah,

Isaiah,

Joseph,

Elizabeth,

Mary,

Martha,

Ann/Nancy

The records show Henry, Jr. (i.e., the Monroe County Henry) as having been born in Newberry, York County, PA in 1734.

The following evidence [suggests] Henry Willis, d. 1812 in Monroe County, is one of John's brothers:

(1) Henry Willis received a land patent for land in Henry County (later Franklin County) VA in 1779 on the same day (May 10, 1779) that John Willis received his land patent.

John and Henry were the only two people to file on May 10. (source: Henry County, Virginia Deed Books I and II, "a list of surveys made of Henry County from June 10, 1779 to June 10, 1780," "by John Dickenson and his associates,") The patent filed for by Henry Willis on May 10, 1779 was recorded in Franklin/Henry County deed records as follows:

20 October 1779. Henry Willis - acquired 62 acres on a branch of Blackwater, adjoining Hilton's land. (Deed Book A, p. 147)

(2) Henry Willis signed Henry County petition 408 (2 Nov. 1779) (Franklin County was not spun off from Henry County until 1786.)

(3) In 1779, Josiah, John & Henry Willis were taxed in the same tax group (Rentfro and Hill):

Willis, Henry 1 (pound), 10, 0

Willis, Josiah 4 (pounds), 12, 3

Willis, John 6 (pounds), 8, 4

(3) Around 1780, Henry disappeared from Henry/Franklin County records. He appears shortly thereafter in various Greenbrier (later Monroe) County records.

(4) John Willis moved to Greenbrier/Monroe County for a short period in late 1787 and into 1788: John Willis (plaintiff) vs. John Hartwell: Isaiah Willis gave bond in 1785, along with John Willis. It is stated that the case was dismissed because John Willis had removed to Greenbrier. (Manuscripts of Chancery cases, 1787-002) John's land acreage dropped from 789 in 1787 to only 36 in 1788. John moved back to Franklin County in 1788, and is shown in 1789 and thereafter as owning 467 acres. (Franklin County land tax records)

(5) John Willis' son, Bennett was on the Franklin County personal property tax lists in 1796, 97, 98, 99, 1801, ..., etc., but not in 1800. There is a record of Bennett's marriage to Catherine (Catrina) Nossaman on November 13, 1800 at the Monroe County Circuit Court, Union, West Virginia. Thomas Dunn was a witness on the marriage certificate. Thomas Dunn appears to be a son of John and Reuben Dunn who lived close to Henry Willis (same tax group). John Dunn, Sr. and Reuben Dunn are listed as neighbors in the 1796 tax list; i.e., information taken on same day Henry's was taken. Thomas Dunn is tied to this John Dunn in the following record. The following is from pages 10-11 of Deed Book D (1811 - 1815): "Hugh Caperton and wife Rhoda Caperton; John Dunn and wife Mary Dunn and David Graham and John Gray attorneys for Thomas Dunn and Henry Banks, convey to said Thomas Dunn 200 acres ... on Rich Creek." The December 14, 1814 sale of Peter Fleshman's estate lists John Nossaman, Jr., John Dunn, Sr., John Dunn, Jr., and Thomas Dunn, along with some others, together in one record (Will Book Vo. I, pp. 319 - 321). Thomas Dunn was an executor for the estate of John Dunn, whose will was probated Nov. 21, 1822 (Will Book II, page 132). Catrina Nossaman's father, Johann Conrad Nossaman (father of the John Nossaman, Jr. mentioned above), penned a couple a sentences on the marriage record giving his blessing to Bennett's and Catrina's marriage.

evidence that connects Henry and his brothers to the Willis Quaker family

(1) Per PA quaker Warrington Meeting Minutes, John Willis married Phebe Bennett in 1757; in Franklin County VA, John's wife's name is "Phebe" in many different records;

(2) Bennett Willis named after Phebe's maiden name, which was "Bennett";

(3) the disappearance of the Willis brothers from York County several years prior to the time they showed up in Franklin County;

(4) same first names for both groups of Willis brothers (Henry, John, Isaiah, Josiah);

(5)1880 census record in which Bennett's son Jonathan states that Bennett was born in Pennsylvania).

Henry signed a petitoin in in Henry/Franklin County in 1779.

Henry apparently owned 50 acres of land in York County, PA. (There was another Henry Willis in York County around the same time, who was a gunsmith, but this is a different person.)

Also, Henry and John were given a "letter of administration" relating to the death of their father in 1761.

Various online sources say that Henry married first Elizabeth, second Nancy McKnight, and third another Elizabeth. He was married to an Elizabeth when he died.

One online source says that Henry married Nancy McKnight in Gloucester County in 1770. Gloucester County is on the far eastern side of VA. No records for Henry was between 1768, when he left York County, PA, and when he showed up in Henry/Franklin County in 1779.

There were several other Henry Willises who lived in the general areas around SW Virginia in the late 1700's.

One of them was a Methodist circuit rider.

Another (maybe the same one) owned 400 acres in Washington County, VA.

There is also a Henry Willis who was stationed at the "Maiden Springs Fort" from August to November 1774 ("Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia, Publication 4, 1968, Historical Society of Southwest Virginia").

Henry Willis of Ontgomery County fought in the Revolution per DAR records, which include a couple of his wives' names and children's names,

Henry's brother, Josiah, disappeared from all records soon after moving to Franklin County. However, he had a daughter, Rhoda (stated to be a daughter of Josiah in a marriage record in which Isaiah was the surety). If Josiah died early and had children, his children and wife may possibly have lived with Henry in Monroe County. It is even possible that my ggg grandfather Bennett Willis is a son of Henry, for example if (a) Henry's wife was Elizabeth Bennett, who was a sister of Phebe Bennett, and for whom there is no record of a husband, and (b) John brought Bennett back to Franklin County with him when he went to visit Henry in 1787/88. (Bennett went to Monroe County to marry Catrina in 1800). Per the internet, there was an Edward Willis who was one of the founders of Peterstown. The first trustees or council were William Vaughter, Edward Willis, John McCroskey, Henry McDaniel and Hugh Caperton. Edward Willis was later listed as a "Delinquent Property Owner." Edward's one "lot" was purchased by Thomas Wylie. Delinquent tax amount was 33 cents (Deed Book E, 1815 - 1817, p. 293). Thomas Wylie is probably a brother of Abagail Wylie, who married John Nossaman, Jr. in 1809.

Some persons said to be Henry's children moved to Ohio.

Check www.geocities.com/heartland/pond/5533 This will take you directly to the info he gathered over the years.

Hugh Willis (b. 1778, Franklin County, VA, d. unknown date probably in Tennessee), is one of the sons of John Willis (b. abt 1732, York County, PA, d. 1800, Franklin County, VA). He lived in Claiborne County, Tennessee in the 1830's, 1840's, and 1850's, which was the later part of his life.

The following information was provided in email notes by Barb Thomas (2002):

"The tax records I obtained from microfilm while in Wythe Co. (VA) first show Hugh Willis there in 1812 ..... The next record I have for him is in the 1820 & 1830 census in Wythe County, VA. By 1835 he is found in tax records of Lee County, VA along with John Willis, 1840 records until his death are found

in Claiborne County, TN. Claiborne Co. adjoins Lee Co., VA.
It is not known when Sarah (his first wife, Sarah Albright) died, but by 1850, Hugh's wife in listed as Mary.
I was given information that Mary was the widow of John Willis, perhaps a close relative of Hugh. The interesting fact is that John Willis appears in the 1835 tax list in Lee Co.

"Hugh is living in Claiborne County, TN by 1840. He is in the the 1840, 1850, and 1860 census records there and I have found him in several church records there as well."

"It took two years and four trips to Claiborne County before I found that grave of Charity Willis Sharp, daughter of Hugh Willis. We were on gravel roads, knocked on several doors, taken to wrong cemeteries, etc. before we found it. I suspect that Hugh is also buried there because he lived next to Charity.

"It is quite possible that Hugh had a son named Joseph. There is a marriage in Wythe County, VA for Joseph in 1837. Joseph moved to Claiborne County by 1850 and had a son named Hugh."

I have the following additional information from my own research (in progress), which may or may not be of any use. There is a Monroe County, WV marriage record showing that a John Willis (probably a son or grandson of John's brother, Henry Willis) married Rebecca Cooper in 1808 (Monroe County Marriage Index, F2/J8615). (One of Henry's daughters - Tabitha - also married a Cooper.) This John signed Monroe County legislative petitions on December 9, 1806 (Box 169, Folder 32, Frame 23) and December 7, 1809 (Box 169, Folder 38, Frame 264). His name was not near Henry's name on either petition. On December 10, 1807, John signed a Monroe County peitition (Box 169, folder 33, Frame 238, 239). His name was directly above Hugh Willis and directly below Edward Willis.

John Willis (b. 1765, Halifax Co., VA, d. after 1834 in Hawkins County, VA) who moved to Hawkins County TN in the late 1700's is one of the sons of John Willis.

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