Mildred (Lewis) Willis (1700 - 1733)

Born 1700 in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Willis Sr — married 30 Oct 1726 in Virginia

Descendants

Died 17 Oct 1733 at about age 33 in Fredericksburg, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Sjana Lee Bauer [send private message] and Bob Carson [send private message]

Biography

Mildred Lewis, daughter of John Lewis and his wife Elizabeth Warner, was born about 1700.^[1]

Marriages: Mildred married three times:^[1]

1. John Howell,^[1] about 1720^[2]
2. Dr. John Browne,^[1] about 1722 in Gloucester County, Virginia^[2]
3. Henry Willis (as his second wife) on 30 October 1726^[1] in Gloucester County, Virginia^[3][2]

Children: Mildred had five children - one by John Howell and four by Henry Willis. She and Dr. Browne, her second husband, had no children.

by John Howell

1. Mildred Howell, born 1723, married William Lightfoot^[1]

by Henry Willis

1. John Willis, born 16 July 1728, married Nanny ______^[1][4]
2. Elizabeth Willis, born 12 January 1729/30, married John Clayton^[4][5]
3. Anne Willis, born 14 September 1731 (died 1804), married Duff Green^[4]
4. Isabella Willis, born 10 June 1733, married Howell Lewis^[6] married Howell Lewis.^[4][6]

Mildred died in Fredericksburg in November 1733.^[2] "Widowed in 1733,"^[7] Henry Willis married (3) Mildred Washington, daughter of Lawrence Washington and his wife Mildred Warner, on 5 January 1733/4.^[3] She had three daughters by her previous husband, Roger Gregory.^[8][9]

Research Notes

Following had been entered as the biography for Mildred, apparently from 'GENEALOGY Lewis Family IN AMERICA, FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME, By WM . TERRELL LEWIS, Of Perryville, Winston County, Miss. 1893

It appears from various genealogical accounts obtainable that JOHN LEWIS, who married ISABELLA WARNER had a daughter (name unknown), who married "Colonel HENRY WILLIS of Fredericksburg." Also a son, Charles Lewis, who married Mary Howell. [NOTE: Charles Lewis who married Mary Howell was not a son of John and Elizabeth (Warner) Lewis.] The LEWIS and Howell families being intimately associated, this unnamed daughter's name was really MILDRED HOWELL LEWIS, and it was she who married Dr. Brown and later Colonel WILLIS. [NOTE: "Howell" because she had married John Howell 1st, according to Dorman.] This girl was born about 1701, and when she married WILLIS in 1726, she was quite old enough to have been married and widowed. This seems to be the most credible solution of the ancestral problem of ANN WILLIS who married DUFF GREEN, retaining also the "cousinship" with General George Washington, which has always been a GREEN tradition, as, in that event, ANN WILLIS and George Washington, both being grandchildren of the WARNER sisters, would be 2nd cousins. It would also account for the close relationship claimed by the LEWIS and GREEN families. (PLEASE KEEP WHILE RESEARCH IS CONTINUING ON THIS PORTION.)^[10]

Birth date: FindAGrave has 1691.^[11] That is her husband's birth year. She was born c1700.^[1]

Death date: A warning was received that "Mother died before last child, Mary was born...1733". This was corrected by changing the date of death "17 Oct 1732" for the mother..to 1733, with the note "And of course find a source to prove". Most sources indicate that she died in 1733 (November, according to one^[2]). This is supported by her widower, Henry, marrying again in January 1733/4.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} John Fredrick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Fourth edition Volume 2, pg 556 (accessed 12 February 2020).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Entry for Mildred Lewis in "Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties" (online database, accessed 13 February 2020).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Entry for Henry Willis in "Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties" (online database, accessed 13 February 2020).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Volume 2, page 557 (accessed 18 February 2020).
5. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 18 February 2020), "Record of Lieutenant John Clayton", Ancestor # A022913.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} DAR record for a descendant of "Mary Isabella Willis", wife of Patriot Ancestor Howell Lewis, son of Patriot Ancestor Mary (Howell) Lewis:
   • Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 18 February 2020), "Record of Howell Lewis", Ancestor # A069956.
   • Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 18 February 2020), "Record of Mary (Howell) Lewis", Ancestor # A070069.
7. ↑ Paula S. Felder, "Henry Willis' Fredericksburg", 29 March 2003, fredericksburg.com (accessed 13 February 2020).
8. ↑ See Mildred Washington's profile for sources for her Gregory children (accessed 18 Feb. 2020).
9. ↑ Some sources list a daughter for Mildred Washington by Henry Willis born 30 January 1734 or 1735. This source has an Ann Lee - not Ann Willis - as born 30 Jan. 1734 (transcription of bible information provided to the editor). In introducing the list, the editor's notes says, in part: "It has been supposed that Anne Willis, who married Greene, was a full sister of Col. Lewis Willis, but this record appears to prove the contrary. There were also two John Willises living at the same time. It was not unusual at this time to give two children the same name." The two John Willises were his sons by his first wife and his second.
10. ↑ GENEALOGY Lewis Family IN AMERICA, FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME By WM . TERRELL LEWIS, Of Perryville, Winston County, Miss. 1893
11. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181986968/mildred-willis: accessed 27 April 2023), memorial page for Mildred “Widow Brown, Widow Howell” Lewis Willis (1691–17 Nov 1732), Find A Grave: Memorial #181986968, citing Saint Georges Episcopal Burial Ground, Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg City, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Megc (contributor 47532676). for Mildred Lewis.

• WikiTree: jpg
• WikiTree: jpg
• Find A Grave: Memorial #181986968 for Mildred Lewis
• John Fredrick Dorman, Adventurers of Purse and Person, Fourth edition, (Volume 2, pg 556), states that this Mildred was the daughter of John Lewis and Elizabeth Warner, that she was the widow of John Howell, widow of John Brown, 2nd wife of Henry Willis, and that she was the mother to
  • Mildred Howell 1723-1783
  • John Willis 1728-1749
  • Eilzabeth Willis 1729-1783 wife of John Clayton
  • Ann Willis 1731-1804 2nd wife of Duff Green
  • Isabella Willis wife of Howell Lewis
• Ancestry Family Trees (Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members): http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=13232476&pid=12896163
  • Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Ancestry Online publication, 2004; APID: 7836::0). Original data... extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases.
  • Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Individual Records (Ancestry Online publication, 2000; APID: 4725).

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Lewis-3843 created through the import of 2010-09-14.ged on Jul 28, 2011 by Bob Carson. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Bob and others.