Day (Willin) Willian migrated from Delaware to Kentucky.
Day (Willin) Willian served with Maryland Line during the American Revolution.
Day was born about 1766 to William and Nancy Willin, and passed away in 1852.[1]
He was apparently young when his father passed away:
In 1784, in Orphan's Court Proceedings, William Cambridge, George Pollitt and William Pollit acknowledged themselves to owe Day Willin 100 pounds for William Cambridge to teach Day Willin the trade of house carpenter and joiner.
Day served in Continental Line during the American Revolution. [4][5] He was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Old Jersey Prison Ship[6] at Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn, New York.[7][8][9]
The Jersey Prison Ship As moored at Wallabout about 1782
List of 8000 Revolutionary War Prisoners Onboard The Old Jersey
This list of names was copied from the papers of the British War Department. There is nothing to indicate what became of any of these prisoners, whether they died, escaped, or were exchanged. The list seems to have been carelessly kept, and is full of obvious mistakes in spelling the names. This list of prisoners is the only one that could be found in the British War Department.
The HMS Jersey was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment of dimensions at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched on 14 June 1736. She fought in several skirmishes and was seriously damaged on more than one occasion. In March 1771, the aging Jersey was hulked and converted to a hospital ship in Wallabout Bay, New York, which would later become the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
View of a British prison ship during the American Revolution
From 1776 to 1783, the British forces occupying New York City used the Jersey and other decommissioned warships anchored just offshore to hold those soldiers, sailors and civilians they had captured in battle or arrested (many for refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the British Crown). Some 11,000 prisoners died aboard the prison ships over the course of the war, many from disease or malnutrition. The HMS Jersey became notorious and earned the nickname "Hell" for its inhumane conditions and the obscenely high death rate of its prisoners.
Residence
1784: Somerset County, Maryland - Day Willin owed 100 pounds in Orphan's Bond
1790: New Castle County, Delaware - Marriage
1797: Greensburg, Green County, Kentucky - granted Tavern Bond
1800: Washingtoni County, Kentucky - Tax List
c1829: Sangamon County, Illinois - lived with son John Willin for one to two years before returning to Kentucky
1850: Hart County, Kentucky - Day Willin, 82, in household of son John Willin.
Memorial for Day Willin
Death and Burial
Day Willin's death was recorded on 6 Aug 1852 in Hart County, Kentucky, at age 85, according to Kentucky Vital Statistics. His parents were reported to be William and Nancy Willin.[1]
Day is buried in the Gaddie Family Cemetery, on Gaddie Cemetery Road, Magnolia, Hart County, Kentucky. [4][5]
Research Notes
For many years the wife of Day Willin was thought to be Nancy Beauchamp. More recently, documents related to both Nancy and Day have revealed her to be the daughter of William Morris.
Probate record for William Morris, 12 May 1794, Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. Kent County Guardian Accounts, McBride to Savin, 1739-1856, pages 68-69 (Day Willin listed as husband of Nancy Morris)
1830 US Census: Sangamon County, Illinois; male, age 60-69, in household of John Willin
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Day 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 Day: