John Willis (abt. 1668 - bef. 1712)

John is likely the John Willis born 3 Jan 1668/9 in the village of Wantage, (then) Berkshire, England to John Willis and Elizabeth (nee Chapman) Willis as shown in Berkshire County Parish Register for St. Peter and St. Paul Parish Church. For that reason, I call him "Wantage John."

It is not clear when “Wantage John” came to Maryland. At least one other person from Wantage, Berkshire County, England made that trek. Henry Willis at age 21, son of Leonard Willis, came to Maryland in 1684. There is no known relationship between Henry and “Wantage John” or between their fathers Leonard and John Willis who both lived in Berkshire, England. Regardless of when he arrived, “Wantage John” patented 50 acres of land in Dorchester Co., MD, on 3 Mar 1702 and named it “Wantage.” Naming tracts of land was a tradition on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and often the names were of hometowns in the old country. Said land lies on the headwaters of the north branch of the Blackwater River adjacent "Littleworth" about 4 -5 miles southeast of Cambridge. The north branch is now known as the Little Blackwater River. He was the “Cryer” of the Dorchester County Court that met in Cambridge. Fees from that role supplemented his income from farming. The Maryland Assembly set the following fee schedule for the Cryer of the County Courts, payable in pounds of tobacco: Swearing every jury, seventy-two pounds, Swearing the bailiff, six pounds; Every oath, six pounds; Special bail, thirty-six pounds, Good behavior [I assume his own?], thirty-six pounds; Clearing every prisoner by proclamation or acquittal, forty pounds. As noted below, tobacco was valued at about a penny a pound. John made a will dated 18 Sep 1712 naming four children, William, Grace, Elizabeth and John. The will did not name his wife. Presumably, she predeceased him, or she would have been named for dower purposes. The will gave Wantage to son William and 12 shillings to son John, who proved to be the eldest son. The will bequeathed livestock and personal property to Grace and Elizabeth, with Grace as a contingent beneficiary to Wantage should William die without issue. The will was submitted for probate 24 Nov 1712. Son John protested the will on 3 Dec 1712 stating 1) that one of the two witnesses to the document was also an executor making him an invalid witness, and 2) that two children were not named in the will indicating his father was not of sound mind at the time he made the will. The court ordered the parties to appear at the April 1712/3 Session to resolve the matter. No one appeared at that date to dispute the will, therefore, the dispute failed and probate proceeded. Subsequent filings proved Andrew Willis as one unnamed son, and significant circumstantial evidence indicates Thomas is the other. The probate filings did not John’s wife, confirming that she predeceased him. John Kirk and Arthur Smith appraised John Willis’s personal property estate and filed an inventory with the Perogative Court in Dec 1713. Sons Andrew Willis and William Willis attested that it was a true and correct listing. The inventory totaled £23.14.01 (23 pounds, 14 shillings, 1 pence) of household goods, tools, livestock and other assets. The main business of Wantage appears to be raising livestock … hogs and beef cattle. The inventory did not include farm implements. There were no plows, no harnesses, and no hoes. The only grain in stock was Indian corn, which may have been feed for the livestock. There were nine hogs, two steers, one cow and a calf on the place. There were also 200 pounds of beef and 240 pounds of pork in storage. The inventory did not list the specific items bequeathed in John’s will to Grace and Elizabeth, which makes sense. They had already taken the items given them (a couple of cows, two horses, a bed, and a great chest), or if they remained on the place, they were appropriately not counted. Executors William Jones and Rice Levena filed with the court an estate accounting on 10 Sep 1714 referring to the earlier inventory and listing expenditures made on behalf of the estate, which totaled £9.08.00 (9 pounds, 8 shillings). The executors paid some of the expenses in tobacco, aggregating 513 pounds of tobacco at one pence per pound, worth £2.02.09 (2 pounds, 2 shillings, 9 pence). Tobacco was a common medium of exchange with cash in relative short supply in the colony. However, note that Wantage did not apparently grow tobacco since there is no inventory. The executors used their own stocks of tobacco as well as their own cash to pay the estate expenses. The two largest expenses made on behalf of the estate included £2.05.00 (2 pounds, 5 shillings) for funeral charges and £1.10.00 (1 pound, 10 shillings) paid in cash to William Jones “for wintering and looking after the stock of Cattle, Hogs, and horses & tending corn.” The net personal estate value after expenses was therefore £14.06.01 (14 pounds, 6 shillings, 1 pence), which meant a share for each of the six siblings of only £2.07.08 1/6 (2 pounds, 7 shillings, 8 and 1/6 pence). Because John’s will did not specify the disposition of the personal property after the stated bequests, the net residual estate would be shared equally among the six heirs. The record does not show an estate sale or a final distribution, but it is reasonable to assume that such a sale took place and that each heir received a couple of pounds. It is revealing that an executor cared for Wantage’s livestock over the winter of 1712-13. While William Willis (C04) inherited the Wantage real estate, he did not own or control the personal property associated with the farm. Undoubtedly, he took care of the stock under the “direction” of the executor, and was paid for his efforts. Once the estate settled, William operated Wantage unencumbered by probate requirements. Data is per Berkshire Parish Register; deed records of Dorchester Co., MD; Perogative Court of Maryland, Wills; Perogative Court Inventories and Accounts, 36 A: 203 and 36 B: 131; and Archives of Maryland No 36.