Francis Willis (abt. 1658 - abt. 1719)

Born about 1658 in Ware Parish, Oxfordshire, England

Descendants

Died about 1719 at about age 61 in Gloucester County, Virginia [uncertain]

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Biography

Captain Francis Willis IV, born c 1658-60, died c 1719-26. Inherited Virginia estates of uncle Francis of parishes of Gloucester and East Greenwich.

Francis Willis V, born 1689 in Ware River, member of House of Burgesses 1748, married (1) Lady Anne Rich, daughter of Edward Rich, born 1695 and died 10 June 1727. Henry Willis, born February 1692

Captain Francis Willis was born in 1666 in Ware Parish, Oxfordshire, England. Before 1689 Francis immigrated to Gloucester Co VA where his uncle, Col. Francis Willis, was a major landowner. In Col. Francis' will which was recorded in London in 1691, Captain Francis Willis received lands and estates in Gloucester Co VA. These lands were located between the Severn and Ware rivers west of "Mockjack Bay" and were annotated on a 1751 map of Virginia.

Francis father was Henry Willis, who was said to be born in England about 1638. Francis died before October 1692 in Gloucester County, Virginia.

His sons were (Col.) Francis Willis (b.abt.1690) and (Col.) Henry Willis (b.abt. 1691). Col. Francis Willis married Ann Rich in 1715.

Please See

• Willis Family (generation 3) ^[1]

Their children were Francis, John, and Mary. John, married Mildred Smith and lived in Brunswick County, Virginia. The other son of Francis Willis of Gloucester County, Col. Henry Willis, lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which at that time was in Spotsylvania County. ^[2]

Francis Willis was born in 1690 in Gloucester Co VA. Francis' father, Cpt. Francis Lewis, died in about 1691. This left their mother, Sarah Lewis, a young widow with two infant sons. Records show that Sarah married Robert Woodson in Henrico Co VA in 10/1692. Reasonable conjecture leads to the belief that young Francis and his brother Henry grew up in the home of Robert Woodson in Henrico Co VA until they reached the age of majority and inherited their father's estate.

Sometime before 11/1714, Francis and Henry collected their inheritance; as Henry had the wealth to marry Ann Alexander and Francis had the wealth to voyage to England. Francis is first found recorded in 1715 in London where he married Lady Anne Rich b. 1695 London, England. Did Francis collect his inheritance and use it to pay his way back to England? After marrying Lady Anne, did he bring her back to White Hall in Gloucester as the new owner/occupant?

Evidently Francis and Jane had a good life at White Hall. In 1741, Francis is referenced in his brother Henry's will as Francis Willis, Esq. Beginning in 1748, Francis is referenced to as Col. Francis Willis. Additionally, Francis began service in the House of Burgesses in 1748.

Will

Will of Francis Willis of Ware Parish In Gloucester County, Virginia, but now resident in East Greenwich Parish, Co. Kent., w. 6 Jul 1689, p. 25 Apr 1691, probate in Perogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), London, England, to William Willis. ^[3]

sister Grace Feilder; Charles Feilder, her son
cousin Elizabeth Butler; her daughter Sarah Butts
cousins Frances (sic) Willis and Elizabeth Willis, sisters of Hugh Willis, clerk [“Clerk” often meant an assistant to the minister of the Church of England parish churches in Virginia and other English colonies.]
Francis Willis and Christopher Willis, sons of said Hugh Willis
widow of Hugh Willis
Susanna Willis, daughter of his brother Henry Willis
cousins John and Joan Lipton; her two children Henry and Mary
cousin Mary Herron, daughter of his brother Henry Willis
Alice Willis, daughter of said Henry
cousin Elizabeth Ironmonger; her two sons Charles and Matthew Ironmonger
William Willis, son of his brother William Willis deceased.
To the poor of St. Fowle’s or St. Algate’s Parish, City of Oxford, the place of his birth.
wife Jane Willis - all the household items she brought from Virginia to England and household goods and money at his house in East Greenwich.
aforesaid William Willis - land and plantation his father formerly lived on - about 100 acres on the south side of Crany Creek.
aforesaid Francis Willis - all the rest of his estate in Virginia
Overseer: Edward Potter of the Parish of St. Peter’s in the East, Oxford City, milliner and George Richards of London, merchant.

See Also

• Willis Family Of Virginia,^[4]

• Willis Family ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~marshall/esmd73.htm
2. ↑ http://www.willisdna.com/
3. ↑ Index of Wills P.C.C. 1686-1693. Vol. XI, 304. Typed transcript available at Virginia Colonial Records Project, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA - https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/15qbn42/alma990007032690205756
4. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/550895-a-sketch-of-the-willis-family-of-virginia-and-of-their-kindred-in-other-states-with-brief-biographies-of-the-reades-warners-lewises-byrds-carters-champes-bassetts-madisons-daingerfields-thorntons-burells-taliaferros-tayloes-smiths-and-amblers?viewer=1&offset=43#page=2&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=
5. ↑ “Willis Family.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 1, 1896, pp. 24–27. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1921232. Accessed 16 Jul. 2022. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1921232#metadata_info_tab_contents

• https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/16015/dvm_dez_GenMono002730-00008-1/11?backurl=https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/71905904/person/282144051018/facts#?imageId=dvm_dez_GenMono002730-00005-1
• Descendants of Francis Willis of England
• Ancestry Family Trees.
• http://lewis-genealogy.org/genealogy/Lewis/Willis-1.htm#3
• https://archive.org/details/parishregisterof00stpe/page/43/mode/1up?view=theater&q=mar