I'm a sucker for family history...
I don't know why but I have always been fascinated with where we come from.
My own family history is a rather short trail. My great grandfather jumped a boat from Norway. The trail runs cold there.
However, Mike is a different story. A few weeks ago I was watching that show "Who do you think you are" and thinking how amazing that history was and wishing I could research family like that. The next day Mike's dad sent and email with a bit of family information in it and the rest is as they say...history. If you are interested and I am sure you probably are not unless your last name is Willits here is the summary of how we came to be.
It all started with:
- Andrew Willets(son of Thomas Willets and Elizabeth Stanton) + Jacomina Goad
Reverend Andrew Willett, born 1562, Ely, Hertford, England. He was married to Jacobina Goad in 1598 and died on 4 Dec 1621. They were the parents of:
- Richard Willetts, born 1618 in England and died 9 Jun 1665. He was married about 1649 to Mary Washburne, who was born in 1629 in Bengeworth County, Worcester, England. She died 17 nov 1713 in Jerico, Long Island. Mary was the daughter of William and Jane Washburne.
- Thomas Willetts, born May 1650, Hempstead, Long Island, New York. He married Dinah Townsend about 1670 and died 15 Jun 1714.
- John Willetts, born 1655 in Hempstead, Long Island. He married Margaret Hallock and died sometime after 1703.
- Richard Willetts, born 25 Dec 1660 in Hempstead, Long Island. He was married to Abigail Powell on 25 Mar 1686. He also had two other wives, names unknown. Richard died on 14 May 1703.
- Mary Willetts, born April 1663 in Hempstead, Long Island. She married John Fry on Sep 7 1686. She died in New Jersey, year uncertain.
- Hope Willetts, born 7 Sep 1652 in Hempstead, Long Island. He married Mary Langdon, daughter of Thomas Langdon, about 1676. (Mary later remarried, in 1707, to John Townsend of Cape May, NJ). Hope and Mary were the parents of:
- Joseph Willetts, born 13 Dec 1677. He married Deborah Seaman on 6 Nov 1702/1703.
- Mary Willetts, born 9 Dec 1678. She married Richard Ridgway on 9 Aug 1702, and died in 1719.
- Elizabeth Willetts, born 3 Feb 1681/2. She married Jarvis Pharo in 1702.
- Richard Willetts, born 14 Mar 1683/4. He married Elizabeth Ridgway.
- Hester or Esther Willetts, born 15 April 1686 and died sometime after 1698.
- Timothy Willetts, born 25 Feb 1688. He married a woman named Judith around 1714.
- Hope Willetts, born 24 Oct 1689.
- Phebe Willetts, born 11 Jan 1691. She married Robert Townsend in 1710.
- James Willetts, born 1694, died 1743.
- Hannah Willetts, born 3 Oct 1696. She married David Cress and died sometime prior to 1698.
- Patience Willetts, born 3 Oct 1696 (she was a triplet along with Hannah and Abigail)
- Abigail Willetts, born 3 Oct 1696. She married Thomas Cranmer in 1716.
- John Willetts, born 20 Oct 1688 in Cape May, NJ and married Martha Corson in 1716.
Born and raised in England
Andrew was born in 1562 at the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. He was the son of Reverand Thomas Willett and Elizabeth Stanton. Andrew married Jacobina Goade, daughter of Dr. Roger Goade and Katharine Hill, during Michaelmas 1588 at England.4 He and Jacobina were blessed with 18 children bur all their names are not known.5 He was a graduate of Cambridge University in 1580. He was a Proctor of Cambridge University in 1585, Prebend of Ely Cathedral in 1597, Rector of Childerby, Grantesden, and Chaplain & tutor to Prince Henry.6 On 24 November 1621, while returning home from London, his horse threw him, breaking his leg. He was taken to a nearby inn near Hoddesdon, where his leg was badly set. Andrew died on Saturday, 4 December 1621 at that inn near Hoddesdon, Herefordshire, England, at age 59 years from the complications of the badly set leg. On 8 December 1621, Andrew was buried at the chancel of St. Margaret's of Antioch Church, Barley, Herefordshire, England. An effigy and brass were placed by his parishioners and friends over the place of burial in the floor of the nave below the pulpit. The effigy showed a priest, full-length, dressed in his doctor's robes, with square cap, ruff, and scarf, and wearing a beard. The effigy has since been moved to the west wall of the church
- Richard Willets(1618-6.9.1665)+ Mary Washburn(Died 12.12.1713) married in the ate 1640s first to America
was one of the early colonists proof that he lived in Long Island NY by the time he was an adult. They had at least one
surviving child. Population of New York in 1630 was around 400 people. Richard died at Hempstead NY. Mary Died at Jericho NY
Came to the American colonies with his brother, Thomas Willets, in 1645. Lewesham, the Willets home in England, was near Wales, although the early family had been in Hertfordshire, England. Richard Willetts, our Progenitor in America, and his brother, Thomas Willetts, came to Boston ca. 1640. Then settled in New London, Connecticutt, and then, Richard and Thomas moved to Long Island when it was under Dutch rule by about 1647. Richard was the original proprietor of Nassau Co., Long Island. He became a surveyor of highways in 1659 at the town of Hempstead. he and his family lived at Hempstead until he died ca. 1665. Richard Willets was listed in 1657 at Hempstead, being found on the town tax rolls, and was found listed, having 6 cattle, 6 milch cows, and 28 acres of land. Only 12 others paid more taxes than Richard Willets. Before 1650, Richard married Mary/Martha Washbourne, the daughter of William and Jane Washbourne, early settlers of Oyster Bay, Long Island.
Came over on a boat that
Richard Willet/Willetts, Sr. had come from the western part of England to the American Colonies in 1645, with his brother Thomas Willets. They were cousins of Capt. Thomas Willett (1610) who came to Plymouth in 1629 from Lyden, Holland. Capt. Willett led the British forces when they took over New Amsterdam, which they re-named New York. Capt. Willett was the first English mayor of the town now re-named New York in 1664. Capt. Thomas Willett died 1674 at age 64 at Swansea, Massachusetts..
Capt. Thomas Willett came over with the Browne family. Both the Willett and the Browne family were close friends. Capt. Willett fell in love with one of the Browne's daughters on the 12 week journey over to America and was married after reaching America. There were 39 people on board the ship including his two cousins(brothers) one being Richard(our grandfather)
Turns ou the ship was the Mayflower but there were 20 Mayflowers back then and his was not "thee Mayflower"
- Thomas Willits(3.1651 or 52-6.15.1714) +Dinah Townsend(died 12.18.1732) married 1671 remarried Rachel Powell
When our name changed from Willets or Willett to Willits! Thomas changed it for him and his descendants.
Thomas was born in Hempstead NY(now Nassau County) He died in Suffolk County, NY. He and Dinah settled at Islip in Suffolk county NY. They had 5 known children: Richard, Amos, Thomas Jr, Dinah, and Isaac.
Dinah was born in 1651 in Warwick, Kent Co., Rhode Island.
Notes for Thomas Willits:
Thomas Willets was born on March 16 (or 11) 1682, at Jericho, Queens (later Nassau) County, Long Island, New York. Prior to 1682, Queens County was part of the political entity of Yorkshire (Riding) operating under the laws promulgated in Hempstead. At an even later date, Nassau County was created out of part of Queens County, and the place where Thomas Willets had lived fell in the newly erupted county. Thomas was raised in the Quaker faith.
Thomas Willets was married 1st October 24, 1706 to Catherine Hallock (b. 1684 at Southold, Long Island; d. 1718) at the residence of her parents, John and Abigail (Swezy) Hallock in Brookhaven.
Thomas Willets married 2nd at the Westover Monthly Meeting in Queens County (now Nassau County), Long Island, in 1719, Rachel Powell, the daughter of Thomas Powell of Bethpage and 2nd wife, Elizabeth (Phillips) Powell. Thomas and Rachel resided at Secatague (later known as Islip), Suffolk County, New York, until 1736. Thomas Willets was 54 and the land holdings around Long Island were beginning to be broken up into smaller units, while the cost of the land was rising. There was free land out on the colonial frontier. The Appalachian Mountains was a barrier beyond which white settlement had not yet begun. The Great Warrior path ran the length of the Appalachian Mountains from New York, along the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania, the Shenendoah Valley of Virginia, the Smokies of the Carolinas into Georgia. Indian Nations "owned" all the land west of the mountains, and controlled access to the mountains as their hunting preserves and "highway" between the Iriquois and Algonquin confederations to the north and south.
In 1736, Thomas Willets, wife, and seven children became immigrants and left the comfort of Islip and settled at Olney Township, Philadelphia (now Berks) County, Pennsylvania. A little later, as land was pruchased from the Indian tribes of the interior, they moved further westward to the vicinity of Lebanon, (then Lancaster and since 1813 Lebanon County), Pennsylvania. Here they settled for a while on the Piedmont Plateau at the foot of the Blue Mountains. The Quaker Monthly Meeting was at the North Wales in present day Montgomery County, just north of Philadelphia.
On August 25, 1736, Rachel received a certificate to the meeting in North Wales, Pennsylvania. Sometime in the 1740's, they removed to Maiden Creek Valley, where we find them established in the spring of 1747. But they were not to remain in that Quaker settlement for more than a few years, but desirous of pushing ever farther into the Pennsylvania wilderness to found a new home.
On August 22, 1749, Most of the land now included in Skuykill County, formerly with in the boundaries of Berks County, was conveyed by the various Indian owners to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania with a deed. In March, 1750, the land of this new Purchase over the Blue Mountains on the Skuykill River was opened to settlement.
In the year 1750, they (they Thomas Willets family) removed to what was then called the New Purchase, locating in the Blue Mountains area, taking up land beyond the First Ridge of mountains off the Skuykill.
Thomas Willets began to spell his name Willits, and all of his descendants followed this practice. Thomas' three brothers, Richard, Amos, and Isaac, consistently spelled their name Willets.
It was testified later, during a court dispute, that the Thomas Willits family of Quakers, previously of Maiden Creek Valley, were the first settlers of the area. Thus they had continually moved ahead of the settled areas of the frontier. Now they were in the mountains between the Susquehanna River and the head waters of the Schuykhill River.
All of this living at the edge of frontier was having its effect on the religious life of the Willets family. New attitudes were beginning to replace those that they shared with the settled Quakers in the safe enviornment of the life in a Long Island community.
In 1747 (or 1748), the Willits fmaily conflicts with Quaker practices (began). Thomas' daughter, Rachel, was disowned for her marriage to John Webb, Jr., by a non-Quaker magistrate, which was contrary to discipline.
In 1752, Berks County was formed out of protions of Lancaster and Philadelphia Counties and Indian lands.
The first effect of the French and Indian (1754-1763) War was felt on the frontier. The war on the frontier began when the French seized a Virginia trading post at the present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The French renamed the post Fort Duquesne. Lt. Col. George Washington and a small Virginia militia entered the disputed area and they were forced back to Fort Necessity by the French, who after a three day seige compelled the garrison to surrender.
On July 5, 1755, Maj. Gen. Braddock again contested the French strength with two under-strength British regiments. He was engaged by the French and was defeated. General Braddock was mortally wounded and Washington, serving as one of his aides, distinguished himself under fire.
It was after General Braddock's defeat by the French and Indians in western Pennsylvania, that the Indians became encouraged by their victory and began savagely raiding the unprotected Pennsylvania frontier cabins and settlements. The settlers appealed to Philadelphia for help and military support, but litle came. The frontier settlers protected themselves as best they could. They build fortified cabins and block-houses, and worked in groups.
However, the forts were easily bypassed by the Indian raiding parties, and settlers who were east of these strong points were attacked, killed, or taken captive to Kittaning in te western part of the Indian lands.
On October 16, 1755, Thomas Willits and his family were forced to flee for their very lives from their Maiden Creek homestead. Maraudering Indians burned their home. This was part of a series of scattered Delaware and Shawnee Indian raids, under their leaders Shingas and Captain Jacobs. Although the frontier colonists did not know it at the time, this series of raids ended with the onset of winter. The three sons of the family decided to defend their homes against further raids. In due course they were disowned by the Quaker Monthly Meeting. Slowly the realities of living on the frontier were seperating the Willits' from their Quaker beliefs and faith.
They remained until the First Indian War, which began on October 16, 1755, when they were compelled to leave their plantations as the Indian massacres and raids became too violent to remain... The Willits family and their neighbors were forced to flee to Maiden Valley.
After returning for a period, they were forced to flee and remain in the Maiden Creek Valley. The frontier attacks reached a climax on July 30, 1756, when a force of Indians headed by Captain Jacobs and supported by 15 Frenchmen, besieged Fort Granville, and having set fire to the place and killed the lieutenant in command, forced the garrison to surrender.
On September 8, 1756, Captain Armstrong with 300 men attacked the Indian stronghold at Kittanning. The subsequent battle was more of a draw than a victory; more soldiers probably died in the battle than Indinas or their allies, but the attack did have the effect of deterence. The Indians lost their confidence in radiing and withdrew further westward to the security fof the French held forts. Hereafter, Indian raids on the Pennsylvania frontier were not so bold and daring as earlier raids.
Thomas' sons, John and Isaac, joined the militia to fight the Indians, a violation of Quaker beliefs, and were disowned by Exeter Meetings, John in October, 1756, and Isaac in January 1757.
A few years later, his (Thomas Willits) daughter, Jemima, was disowned, possibly for the same reason, but was re-instated by request in 1757.
In 1755, Thomas, son of Isaiah, married also contrary to disciplione, Susanna Boone, a first cousin to the pioneer, Daniel Boone, and were disowned by Exeter Meetings in 1756 and 1757.
The Exeter Monthly Meeting made note on September 29, 1757, of "those who have left their plantations on account of the Indian enemies, Thomas Willits, and wife, both ancient". The incessant warfare left Thomas Willits in dire financial straits. The Monthly Meeting advanced Rachel funds of five pounds on May 31, 1759, and 30 shillings on November 29, 1759.
Whatever the effect their life and adversities on the frontier had on their material welfare, Thomas Willits remained a Quaker.
He was 80 now, and between the Indian threat, poverty, and advancing age, longed to visit his Long Island relations once more. Being the type of man who had plunged into an unknown frontier, the idea of a journey by an 80 year old man across the mountains to Philadelphia, then across the state of New Jersey, or by boat around New Jersey to New York, seemed only natural.
In October 1761, Thomas and Rachel were granted a certificate to visit Westbury Meeting on Long Island. After remaining there for the winter, they returned to Exeter Meeting in April, 1762.
According to the journal of Clement Willits, of Long Island, eldest child of Thomas by his first wife, "her father was still living in 1772, still able to attend the Meeting three miles from his home and work in his garden." He was then in his ninetieth year. Thomas Willits most likely died in 1772, in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Records show that many of Thomas' children and grandchildren continued to live in the Blue Mountain area streching from York and Adams Counties on the west to Berks and Schuykill Counties on the east. Mrs. Rachel Willits died (possibly) in the late summer of 1793 (or later); she had survived until at least her 96th year and 7th month.
Thomas was raised on Long Island where he was also a member of the Quaker faith. he was married at Brookhaven, Long Island to Catherine on October 24, 1706 They had 5 children:Clement, Hannah, Jesse, Amy, and John. Catherine died at around age 34
Thomas remarried to Rachel Olney(Married at Olney Township Philadelphia[now Berks] Pennsylvania.
Thomas and Rachel had 5 children together Rachel, Elizabeth, Isaac, Jemima, and Isaiah.
Soon after moving to Pennsylvania they moved to what is now Lebanon County Pennsylvania. They remained there until the 1740’s when they moved to maiden Creek Valley and in the 1750s moved to the Blue Mountains. At one time during the French and Indian war, Thomas’ house was burned down during an Indian Raid. During this time most of Thomas’ children were
disowned from the Quaker faith but Thomas remained a Quaker. He probably died in the year 1772 in Berks County Pennsylvania. He would have been about 90 years old. His widow Rachel died in 1793 or 94. She would have been at least 96
years old.
Rachel was born 2.18.1696 or 97 in Old Westbury, Long Island, NY she died in Columbia Co. Pennsylvania
Mentioned in this book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=e1bLNvBANlEC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Thomas+willits+quaker+indians&source=bl&ots=U8XwqnQ85V&sig=dtKxY_ug6PSSq8gxbe7pwOMr_Ms&hl=en&ei=oOe0TcTKL4PAtgeAm9XpDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=willits&f=false
4. Isaac Willits (born in 1730 in Old Westbury on Long Island-died October 1784 in Catawissa Twp. Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania. + Elizabeth (maiden Wilson?) Married in about 1761
In 1736 when Isaac was about 6 years old, his parents moved away from New York and went to the frontier of Pennsylvania.
They settled in an area near the Schuylkill River in Berks County, Pennsylvania. During the French and Indian war, Isaac and his family lived in a dangerous area and became enraged with raids on their families and neighbors. Isaac decided to join the militia to protect his community. In January 1757 he was disowned from the Quaker faith for this decision.
Isaac and Elizabeth had 11 children Thomas, Margaret, Samuel, Isaiah, Ruth, Isaac, Amos, William, Jesse, Rachel, and Levi.
Sometime after being disowned from his faith in 1757, they moved out west and settled at Catawissa in Northumberland(now Columbia) County Pennsylvania. He died there in 1784
5.Levi Willits (born on December 29, 1777 in Catawissa Township, Northumberland (now Columbia) County, Pennsylvania. He died on March 2, 1828 in Washington Twp., Wayne Co., Indiana. He is buried in the Franklin Cemetery, Washington Twp., Wayne Co., Indiana.)+ Rachel Field (born on February 20, 1780 in Abington, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) Co., Pennsylvania 3. She died on March 10, 1851 in Washington Twp., Wayne Co., Indiana. She is buried in the Franklin Cemetery, Washington Twp., Wayne Co., Indiana.)
Apparently Levi was orphaned at a young age and continued to live in what is now Columbia County, Pennsylvania with relatives. It was in Pennsylvania that Levi was married on November 2, 1797 to Rachel Field, a Quaker. According to family, she was disowned from the Quaker faith for marrying Levi, whose family had been disowned many years earlier. They remained in Pennsylvania until sometime between 1801 and 1806, when the family moved to Ohio. In Ohio, they probably lived in Fairfield County. Levi and Rachel had 9 children: Robert, William, Mary, Sarah, Vashti (see next generation), Hiram, Melissa, James, and Waldo.
Sometime between 1808 and 1815, Levi moved with his family to Indiana, where they settled at Washington Township, in Wayne County, Indiana. Levi was an early settler of Wayne County and aside from being a farmer, he also served as a Justice of the Peace.
Levi's house is on the national registry of historic sites in New Boston IL.
This is the house that Mike's GGGG Grandfather was probably born in. I find that amazing! It is only 247 mile away from where we live.
The oldest child of Robert(Levi’s oldest) and Sarah Beard Willits was Hiram S. Willits, born 2/5/1821, who went to California during the gold rush. He married Margaret Johnson 4/25/1844 in Van Buren County, Iowa, and together they went to California. Their intention however seemed not to be to prospect. TheHistorical and Biographical Record of Mendocino County (California), quoted in Bartlett, says that on April 1, 1850, Hiram Willits and his wife started for California, arriving August 17, 1850. They opened the Rough and Ready store and hotel and operated it for six months. They went to Colusa County and engaged in farming and also opened a public house. In August 1857 they went to Mendocino County and secured 807 acres of land in Little Lake Valley and sold off town lots from this farm. The town became Willitsville, and Hiram was postmaster for several years. He was treasurer of the Mendocino Agricultural Association and raised high grade horses and sold some of the fastest race horses on the coast. Willitsville is the present day town of Willits, California, where Margaret Willits died 11/13/1902. Hiram Willits died 3/27/1892
while visiting San Francisco.
6. James Monroe Willits(1833-1847) +Sarah A. Myers
James Monroe Willits was born 6/5/1818 in Wayne County, Indiana, and died 4/8/1906 in Mercer County, Illinois. He is buried in New Boston Cemetery. James Monroe Willits married (1) Sarah A. Myers, daughter of Andrew and Mary Lloyd Myers, on 9/29/1840 in Mercer County . Sarah Myers Willits was born 9/13/1822 in Pickaway County, Ohio, and died 9/23/1849 in Mercer County, Illinois. She is buried in New Boston Cemetery.
James Monroe and Sarah Myers Willits had children: Levi P. Willits (b. 1841); William H. Willits (b. 1843); Viola Willits (b. 1844); James Lloyd Willits (b. 1847); and Orpha Miranda Willits (b. 1849). Sarah Myers Willits died a few days after the birth of Orpha Miranda. James Monroe Willits is listed in the 1850 census in Township 14N, Range 5W (future New Boston Township): James M. Willits, 32, born Indiana, farmer; Levi P., 9, In; William H., 6, In; Viola, 5, Il; James L., 3, Il; Orpha M., 9/12, Il.
James Monroe Willits married (2) Sarah Prouty, daughter of William and Lydia Hall Prouty, on 6/17/1850 in Mercer County. Sarah was born 4/30/1832 in Massachusetts, and died 12/5/1895 in Mercer County, Illinois. She is buried in New Boston Cemetery.
James Monroe and Sarah Prouty Willits had children: Ledrew Willits (b. 1851); Felton H. Willits (b. 1852, d. 1853); Vashti L. Willits (b. 1854); Robert Murry Willits (b. 1856); Frederick Willits (b. 1858); and Courtney Willits (b. 1867). They are found in the 1870 census in New Boston Town: James Monroe Willits, 51, retired farmer, born Indiana; Sarah A., 36, born Massachusetts; William, 25, farmer, born Indiana; James, 22, butcher; Miranda, 20; Ledru, 19; Vashti, 15; R Murry, 14; Freddy, 11; Courtney, 3.
7. Ledrew Prouty Willits, (born March 6, 1851 in Illinois. On 1/9/1878) + Charlotte Kirlin, daughter of Anderson and Mary Willits Kirlin .
They had children: Glenn Roy; James Anderson; Stella; Don Poe; Clair; Lloyd; Grace; and Nellie. Both Ledrew and Charlotte and some of their children are buried in Sun River Cemetery in Cascade County, Montana.
8.Clair Willits (1889-1980)+Ruth Tallman
my husbands gg grandfather
I don't know much here other than the Tallman's have a family history that is very simular to the Willits family. They were Turkey farmers in Dodge center MN about 20 miles from where Mike and I live now.
9. Clair Willits Jr.(1922) married Dorothy(Dot)Cotton
my husbands grandfather
10. Robert Willits married Cheryl Keller
my husbands dad
11. Michael Willits (1974)married Monica Gunderson
my husband
12. Matthew Willits (2002)
my son
I have taken this information from dozens of sites online. My purpose for this blog post is for current family members knowledge. If you are interested in my sources please let me know.
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This is the first post of yours that I will NOT read entirely. :) Sorry!
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