Willis Brothers

 

James¹ Willis 1744 – 1794

Michael¹ Willis 1746 - 1814

Marmaduke² Willis 1748 – 1806

William¹ Willis 1753 - 1776

 

The names James, Michael, Marmaduke & William keep recurring through the generations of this family. In order to make things a bit clearer I’ve given each individual a number next to his name. I’m not sure that it makes much difference really but here goes.

James¹ Michael¹ and Marmaduke² were the eldest sons of Marmaduke¹ Willis and his wife Ann (maiden name Sadler). These three had a big impact on how the Willis line progressed down to us. All three were baptised at Kirby Wiske, North Yorkshire and their father was a yeoman farmer in nearby Newby Wiske. Altogether, there were six children born before Ann’s death in 1760, one of whom died in infancy. A fourth son, William¹, was born in 1753 and also appears in this story. In 1761 Marmaduke¹ married Elizabeth Ramshew and a further three children were born, one of whom died in infancy.

Marmaduke¹ died in 1766, aged about fifty. In his will he left his farm and goods to be divided into between five of his children and his widow, one part each to the children and two parts to his widow. He hoped that they would continue to live together and work the farm together. His two eldest son, James¹ and Michael¹, were not included in the division of Marmaduke’s estate. They were left the sum of five shillings apiece, which would clear a sum that he had already lent them. Presumably they had already left home at this point and were making their way in the world. The overseers of the will were to be Marmaduke¹’s friends, Solomon Baxter, Thomas Moor, William Carter, and William Meeke.

James¹ Willis. Mary Alice Willis’s 4X great-grandfather.

On the 18^th of August 1768 James¹ Willis of Wingleham (Windlesham), Surrey married Elizabeth Tebb of the parish of St James, Westminster. They married at the church of St James Westminster by Licence from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury (expensive). Elizabeth was the niece of William Almack and was born in Sandhutton, North Yorkshire, not far from Newby Wiske. I imagine that by the time of their marriage James¹ and Elizabeth were both working in William Almack’s businesses but may well have known each other whilst living in Yorkshire. By 1770 James¹ was running the Thatched House Tavern in St James Street, Westminster and later on he took over the business at Almack’s Rooms in King Street as well. The properties remained in the ownership of the Almack family and were leased to James¹ Willis. At some point James¹ became a member of the Vintner’s Company which was one of the twelve great London livery companies.

James¹ and Elizabeth had eight children including our ancestor, William², who was born in 1774. James¹ died in 1794 at the relatively young age of fifty. In his will he appointed his brother Michael¹ Willis and his friend John Baxter as executors. A later addition (codicil) to the will appointed James’s¹ wife, Elizabeth Willis, and brother, Marmaduke² Willis, as executors in lieu of John Baxter, who was suffering from ill health. The business was to be run by Elizabeth and James¹’ eldest son, another James². If Elizabeth did not want to carry on in the business or should die, then our ancestor, William², would take her place. Elizabeth was left an annual income of £100 during her widowhood and James² and William² were to receive £30 annually in their roles as waiters. Provision was made for the other children, and it seems that James died a wealthy man.

Michael¹ Willis. Mary Alice Willis’s 4X great-grandfather.

Michael¹ also moved to the south of England. On the 23^rd of July 1772 Michael¹ Willis of All Saints, Southampton married Mary Hall of Mapledurwell, Hampshire by licence at Mapledurwell. Mary was the daughter of John Hall, an innkeeper.

The previous year, Mary’s sister Sarah had married Joseph White, keeper of the Bush Inn, Staines. Joseph and Sarah’s daughter Harriet, born 1776, would later marry James² Willis, the eldest son of our James¹ Willis above.

Michael¹ took on a farm at Wraysbury, Buckinghamshire. An early type of census taken at the time of the Napoleonic wars, the Posse Comitatus, reveals that in 1798 Michael¹ owned twelve horses, three wagons and three carts.

The couple had two children, Michael², who was born in 1773 and died in 1788 and then Mary Anne, who was born in 1789. Mary Anne married John Goodwin, a farmer from Datchet Buckinghamshire in 1806 at Nately Scures, Hampshire. Two of their daughters, Sophia, born in 1808 and Juliana, born in 1814, married two of our ancestor, William² Willis’s, sons - George, born 1803 and Charles, born 1811. The two couples were second cousins. Charles and Juliana were Mary Alice Willis’s great grandparents.

Michael¹’s wife, Mary, died at Wraysbury in 1804. There’s a memorial inscription which reads “Sacred to the Memory of Michael Willis, son of Michael and Mary Willis, who departed this life 2nd July 1788, aged 15. Also Mary Willis, she died 16th August 1804, aged 51. Also Michael Willis, died 8th Oct. 1814, aged 68”.

Michael¹ remarried about eight months later. He married a widow, Ann May (formerly Webb), and moved to Nately Scures, Hampshire, where he presumably took over the land previously farmed by Ann’s first husband, John May. The Mays were relatives of Michael¹’s first wife, Mary Hall via her mother, Sarah (maiden name Tees).

Michael¹ died in 1814 and was buried in Wraysbury. He appointed his son in law John Goodwin and his nephew James² Willis (son of James¹ Willis) as his executors. Ann was to receive an income of £200 a year and after her death that sum would be paid to Michael¹’s daughter, Mary Anne Goodwin. John Goodwin would receive £2000. The rest of Michael’s estate, apart from a few small bequests, would be split between Ann Willis (his widow) and Mary Anne Goodwin (his daughter). Ann Willis died in 1827and left the bulk of her estate to her Webb and May relatives, many of whom also appear to have been distantly related to us! Her executors were John Goodwin and Thomas Hutton (Ann’s brother-in-law). Mary Anne Goodwin was to receive the sum of £30 to pay for mourning wear (quite a generous amount!) and also “my best tea urn, my pieced liquor stand and glasses, the two urn rugs of the same pattern worked by my daughter just before her death and my gold headed cane.”

It seems that Michael¹ and his family achieved a very comfortable life “down south” and became part of a wide network of extended family ties.

Marmaduke Willis². Mary Alice Willis’s 4X great uncle.

Marmaduke² was about eighteen years old at the time of his father’s death in 1766 and was still living in Newby Wiske, Yorkshire. He married Jane Baxter at Kirby Wiske parish church on the 12^th of February 1772 by licence. Jane was the daughter of Solomon Baxter, who has already been mentioned as the friend and executor of the will of Marmaduke¹ Willis senior.

Marmaduke² & Jane’s first daughter Ann or Nanse was christened at Newby Wiske in December 1772. Their second daughter Jane was baptised at Newby Wiske in 1774 and by 1776 the family were living in Egham, Surrey, where Marmaduke² was a farmer. Jane’s brothers, Solomon Baxter and John Baxter also moved down south. Solomon farmed in Southall Green, not far from Egham and I think that John Baxter was the same person who James¹ Willis appointed as an executor of his will.

Marmaduke² and Jane had eight children who survived to adulthood. Nanse, Mary and Maria spent their lives in Egham and remained spinsters. Jane married Robert Stracey Irish. Robert’s mother, Frances Irish, was a daughter of our ancestor, John Irish of Chobham. Frances had married a Thomas Irish (probably a cousin) and so kept her surname on marriage. The other daughter, Elizabeth, married Johnson Rowles Thomas, who doesn’t appear to have been related to us. There were three sons, unsurprisingly named Marmaduke³, Michael³ and Solomon. They were farmers and took over our ancestor Michael¹’s land at Wraysbury after he moved to Nately Scures.  

Marmaduke² died in 1806 and in his will, he appointed his brother Michael¹ as executor along with his wife Jane and sons-in-law. Jane died in 1825. Her three sons were appointed as her executors and they were to take over the farm.

William¹ Willis. Mary Alice Willis’s 4X great uncle.

William¹ was the youngest of Marmaduke¹ and Ann Willis’s four sons and was christened at Kirby Wiske in 1753. In 1768 he was apprenticed to Benjamin Frere, of the Vintners Company. Benjamin had previously run the Thatched House Tavern before James¹ Willis took over. Nothing else is known of William¹ apart from the fact that he was buried at Egham in 1776 at just twenty three years of age.

Egham, Wraysbury and the surrounding area.

As can be seen above, the fact that the Willis brothers moved from Yorkshire, firstly to London and then to Wraysbury and Egham had a big effect on the way the family line progressed. This continued in 1797 when our direct ancestor, William Willis (son of James Willis and 3X great grandfather of Mary Alice Willis) married Mary Bartholomew at Egham parish church. It seems likely that William and Mary would have met because William’s Uncle Marmaduke was part of the community there. The Bartholomew family go back several generations in Egham and Frimley and along the way back in time we become linked with the Harris and Irish families.

Phew! I hope that some of that made sense!