Willis
H
Sawyer
Born in South Carolina, United States
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Mary King
— married
3 Feb 1795 (to 15 Jul 1803) in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States
Husband of
Mary Rachel (McQueen) Sawyer
— married
23 Aug 1805 (to Jul 1852) in Horry District, South Carolina, United States
Descendants 
Father of
Thomas Sawyer
Died
at about age 79
in Farmerville, Union County, Louisiana, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 4 Feb 2018
This page has been accessed 201 times.
Biography
Willis Sawyer was born in 1776 in Colleton County, South Carolina. [1]
He married Mary King on 03 Feb 1795 in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. The North Carolina record for this marriage shows "Philip King" as bondsman and "Shared Gray" as a witness. [2]
Mary died on July 15, 1803, only thirteen days after the birth of their son, Thomas, in South Carolina.
Willis remarried on 23 Aug 1805, this time to Mary Rachel McQueen. [3]
On 31 Oct 1807, Willis’s second wife Mary Rachel appears in the will of her father Daniel McQueen, bequeathing “Mary Sawyer” 580 acres as well as “One Negroe woman Named Fillis and her two Children Simon and Isaac.” [4]
Willis appears in the 1810 US Federal Census for Marion, South Carolina, which lists one free white male age 26 to 44 (Willis would have been 34), two free white males age 10 to 15, one free white female under age 10, one free white female age 16 to 25 (Willis’s second wife Mary Rachel, who is also reported as one of the three “household members under 16,” and age 15 tallies with her actual age at the time), and one slave. [5]
Willis appears in the 1820 US Federal Census for Marion, Marion County, South Carolina, with a household that includes one free white male age 26 to 44 (Willis), one free white male 16 to 25, one free white male 16 to 18, two free white males under 10; one free white female 45 and over, one free white female 26 to 44 (presumably wife Mary Rachel McQueen), one free white female 10 to 15, and one free white female under 10; and one female slave age 26-44; one female slave under 14, and two male slaves under 14. [6]
The family moved to Lowndes County, Alabama, some time before 23 Dec 1821, when his daughter Mary Jane was born to his second wife Mary Rachel McQueen in Lowndes County.
Willis appears in the 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Lowndes County, Alabama, with a household as follows: two free white males age 10 thru 14, one free white male 15 thru 19, one free white male 20 thru 29 (son Thomas would have been 27), one free white male 50 thru 59 (presumably Willis); one free white female under 5, one free whit female 5 thru 9, one free white female 10 thru 14, one free white female 15 thru 19, and one free white female 30 thru 39 (presumably Mary Rachel). Also included are the following six slaves: two make slaves age 10 thru 23 (possibly Simon and Isaac from 1807 above?), two female slaves under 10, one female slave 10 thru 23, one female slave 24 thru 35 (possibly Fillis from 1807 above?). [7]
On 16 Nov 1830, “Willis Sawyer of Montgomery County [Alabama]” appears on a certificate issued by the Cahaba, Alabama Land Office and declaring that he made full payment on 80.04 acres described as “the east half of the South West quarter of section Thirty one, in township Twelve, of range Sixteen, in the District of lands subject to sale at Cahaba Alabama.” The certificate further states that this sale is provided for by an act of Congress on 24 Apr 1820 for the sale of public lands. [8]
On 1 Dec 1831, Willis was awarded a Homestead and Cash Entry Patent in Alabama, also recorded at the Cahaba Land Office, for 80.2 acres with the following land description: 1 W½SE ST STEPHENS No 13N 16E 32. [9]
Willis later appears in the 1840 U.S. Federal Census, still in Lowndes County, Alabama, with household members as follows: one free white male under age 5, one free white male age 20 thru 29, and one free white male 60 thru 69 (Willis); one free white female under 5, one free white female 5 thru 9, one free white female 15 thru 19, and one free white female 50 thru 59 (Mary Rachel). Also included are nine slaves: one male slave under age 10 and two male slaves 10 thru 23; two female slaves under 10, two female slaves 10 thru 23, one female slave 24 thru 35, and one female slave 36 through 54 (Fillis?) [10]
Willis and Mary Rachel moved to Union Parish, Louisiana, some time between 1840 and 22 July 1852, when Mary Rachel died. Their son Daniel lived and farmed in Union Parish.[11]
Willis died on 13 Oct 1855 in Farmerville, Union Parish, Louisiana, at age 79, where he is buried in the Taylor-Liberty Hill Cemetery next to his wife. [12]
Sources
- ↑ FindaGrave Memorial 35761027 for Willis Sawyer [1]
- ↑ “North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979,” Marriage Bonds, 1783-1868, vol R-S, for Willis Sawyer to Mary King. FamilySearch.org database, digital image of original [2]
- ↑ South Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980, Horry County Index and Will, Vol 1, Books 1, A-C, 1799-1853, will for Daniel McQueen. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of will transcript [3]
- ↑ South Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1670-1980, Horry County Index and Will, Vol 1, Books 1, A-C, 1799-1853, will for Daniel McQueen. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of will transcript [4]
- ↑ 1810 US Fed Census for Willis Sawyer in Marion County, SC. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of original document [5]
- ↑ 1820 US Fed Census for Willis Sawyer in Marion, Marion County, SC. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of original document [6]
- ↑ 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Lowndes County, Alabama, for Willis Sawyer. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of original document [7]
- ↑ U.S. General Land Office Records, 1776-2015, Lowndes, Alabama. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of original certificate [8]
- ↑ Alabama Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, pre-1908, for Willis Sawyer. Ancestry.com database [9]
- ↑ 1840 U.S. Federal Census for Lowndes County, Alabama, for Willis Sawyer. Ancestry.com online database, digital image of original document [10]
- ↑ U.S. Federal Census for union Parish, Louisiana for Daniel Sawyer, including in household four-year-old “Willis Sawyer.” FamilySearch.org online database, digital image of original document [11]
- ↑ Willis Sawyer tombstone, Find-a-Grave. With permission of Robert and Charlene Sawyer [12]
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Willis by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Willis:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Willis by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Willis:
-
~3.12%
Mark Todd
:
Family Tree DNA Family Finder, GEDmatch EN5648537 [compare], FTDNA kit #866309
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MyHeritage DNA, GEDmatch H618210 [compare]
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