Mary Isabelle (Watkins) Willis (1733 - 1800)

Born 1733 in Goochland County, Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1800 at about age 67 in Rutherford County, North Carolina

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Biography

Mary Isabelle Watkins was born about 1733 to Joseph Watkins and Mary FarrarGoochland County, Virginia .

She married Henry Willis, Sr. . There children are:

1. Thomas Willis*
2. Stephen Willis*
3. Peter Willis*
4. Joseph Willis (1753 - 1848)*
5. Mary Willis (1757 - ____)*
6. Elizabeth Willis (1758 - ____)*
7. Christiana Willis (1760 - ____)*
8. John Willis (1762 - 1820)*
9. James Willis (1763 - ____)*
10. Henry W. Willis (1764 - 1820)*
11. Benjamin Willis (1770 - 1830)*
12. William Willis (1771 - ____)*
13. Joice Willis Mashburn Twiggs (1775 - 1840)*

Henry Willis and Mary Watkins came to Caswell County, North Carolina, from Goochland County, Virginia.

After the Revolutionary War, Joseph Willis (1753-1847) and Henry W. Willis (1764 - 1820) moved to Lincoln County, North Carolina. Both father and son are both buried at Saint Peters Methodist Church, Lawndale, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Joseph Willis had a son Randal Willis 1778-1845, who is buried there as well. There are many other Willis family members buried there.

She died, at the age of 66-67, in 1800 in Cleveland County, North Carolina. According to her Find a Grave Memorial, her headstone is no longer visible.^[1]

Research Notes

Explanation in response to Jan. 6, 2017 Comment

Liz: I received your message and here is my reply:

First step was to go to Findagrave.com and search for Keswick and Shadwell cemeteries in Virginia. I could not find a Keswick, but there is a Shadwick Estate and there is only one burial recorded, that of Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson, and it was here that Thomas Jefferson was born. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2204215

As regards the other issues:

Shadwell is a mountain in Virginia to the west of Richmond, there are things nearby named Shadwell or Shadwells. Keswick is a small town in Virginia.

However there were no such things as Country Clubs when those people died. Country Clubs are a rather modern invention. It is possible that those people were buried on land that subsequently became a country club.

Mary Farrar Watkins was daughter of Thomas Farrar and Katherine Perrin, she had brothers John, Thomas, William, Perrin, Joseph (Thomas was with his first wife, Mary Ligon (Lygon)).

The Randolph's were a rather wealthy family. William Randolph 1648-1711 was a great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, via his Isham Ranndolph and granddaughter Jane who married Peter Jefferson and begat Thomas Jefferson.

William Randolph who married Mary Isham (dtr of Henry Isham and Katherine Banks who is also my ancestress via her first husband Joseph Royall), had, besides Isham Randolph 7 children including a son Thomas, to whom the Farrars sold their "neck of land, and land adjoining glebeland in Varina" (ye neck of land-a pensinsula-was subsequently called Farrar's Island).

George Hearst, a ruthless mining magnate, had a son, whom he named after his family, William Randolph Hearst, although it is not known, yet, how he fits into the Randolph family, his name tells us that he does,either via his mother Elizabeth Collins or via his still unknown father, for George named his son William Randolph Hearst.. as was the custom at the time, either for his mothers father or for his wife's grandfather.

It is obviously the wealth of the Randolph family, that enabled George Hearst to get a leg up on the climb to wealth and fortune. He made his money in buying up silver mines in Colorado, and I believe that he was a mining engineer, one or both required a substantial family income

• *U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Source number: 1791.004; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1.

Dates are approximate. Information is not proven and should not be taken as fact. If any source can be provided, it will be added and very much appreciated.

Mary is descended from William Farrar. He is descended from 11 of the 25 guarantors of the Magna Carta. Through the deClare family, in Normandy, who were cousins of William I, Duke of Normandy and King of England. One of her grand mothers is Joan of Acre, wife of Gilbert deClare. Mary is also descended from Katherine Royal, daughter of Katherine Banks Royal, who is the g3 grandmother of Thomas Jefferson through second husband, Henry Isham. Through various Plantangenent marriages, the Farrars are descendents of British, French, and Spanish houses or Royalty. [sent by a member]

Source: Caswell County Family Tree by Richmond Frederick Henry Willis and Mary Watkins came to Caswell County, North Carolina, from Goochland County, Virginia. Joseph Willis 1753-1847, is the son of Henry Willis Sr. and Mary Isabella Watkins of Goochland County, Virginia, and Caswell County, North Carolina. Henry Willis Sr. and son Joseph Removed to Lincoln County, North Carolina, after the Revolutionary War. Both father and son are both buried at Saint Peters Methodist Church, Lawndale, Cleveland County, North Carolina. Joseph Willis had a son Randal Willis 1778-1845, who is buried there as well. There are many other Willis family members buried there.

Since the cemetery given above wasn't established at the time of Mary's death, I have elected not to place her burial there. Please do not send any more edits for me to place her at this cemetery.

Mary is my 5th great grandmother. ,

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181384824/mary-isabelle-willis : accessed 19 November 2021), memorial page for Mary Isabelle Watkins Willis (1733–1800),Find A Grave: Memorial #181384824, citing Saint Peters Methodist Church Cemetery, Lawndale, Cleveland County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Rita Wehunt-Black (contributor 48110921) .