William B. Willis (b. 1804 - d. 1865)
MSA SC 5496-38837
Property Owner, Talbot County, Maryland

Biography: 

    William Barnaby Willis was born on May 8, 1804 around Oxford Neck in Talbot County, Maryland.¹ The town of Oxford was built on a tract of land called "Hier Dier Lloyd,"* which was three thousand and fifty acres.² The land was patented to Mr. Edward Lloyd on August 11, 1659.³ Willis made his home in Talbot County for the greater part of his career and made a trip to the West Indies in his sailing vessel. Soon after his return home, he opened up a business shipping freight from Baltimore to Oxford. Although an accomplished sailor and captain of his ship, Willis also owned and operated a farm which helped make him wealthy.⁴

    On June 23, 1829, Reverend Scull married Captain William B. Willis and Mary Spencer, of the same county.⁵ Mary was born into an old Oxford family, a number of whom fought in the War of 1812, one being Colonel R. Spencer. Mary, daughter of Jonothan Spencer and Eleanor Robinson, was born July 3, 1806.⁶ Willis and Mary had a large family with at least nine children. From the 1850 census, their children were listed as: Alexander (17), Margaret C. (15), Elizabeth (14), Thomas (13), Sarah (11), and William (9).⁷ The 1850 census lists Willis as a "farmer" with a $12,000 value of real estate.⁸ By 1860, Willis's real estate was valued at $20,000 and his personal estate was valued at $10,000.⁹ His household consisted of Mary, Sally, and William.¹⁰ Alexander Willis was born December 15, 1831 and he died September 4, 1854.¹¹ Samuel Spencer, Willis and Mary's other son, was born February 5, 1841 and died September 13, 1845.¹² Albert, son of Willis and Mary, was born September 13, 1838 and died September 19, 1913.¹³

    The farm that Willis owned and operated was known as "Jena," a 26 acre tract of land situated on an inlet of Goldsborough Creek, about eight miles southwest of Easton.¹⁴ Jena was conveyed in two parcels, in 1837 and 1841 to William B. Willis.¹⁵ According to the 1840 census, Willis lived in a household with nine free white persons, four male slaves, and three female slaves.¹⁶ The assessment record for 1840 shows that Willis owned seven slaves: Sophia (28), Betsy (25), David (18), John (16), Henry (10), George (5), and Hester (2).¹⁷ David and John were valued the highest at $120 each.¹⁸ The total value of all seven slaves was $435.¹⁹ On the 1852 assessment record, Willis owned ten slaves: Simon (1), Columbus (7), Moses (10), Clay (10), Job (19), Henry (23), Henry (26), John (29), Jenny (8), and Sophia (40).²⁰ The total value of all ten slaves was $1,900.²¹ In 1852, the Trappe District had a total assessed value of $177,645.00 for negroes.²² According to the 1850 slave schedules, Willis owned 13 slaves, ranging from the ages of 36 to 2.²³ Ten years later, in 1860, Willis was listed as owning 12 slaves on the slave schedules.²⁴

    On November 10, 1829, Willis purchased a slave named David "supposed to be about eight years old" for $100 from Philemon Willis and Susan Ellen Willis (both of Talbot County).²⁵ A year later, on August 5, 1830, Willis purchased from John H. Hall a negro boy, slave for life, named David, "supposed to be about nine years old," for $100.²⁶ On February 11, 1845, Willis made a transaction with William Rose and Alexander E. Dudley (of Talbot County) in which he purchased Negro Henry, aged 21 years old and a slave for life, for $400.²⁷ 

    On April 16, 1851, Isaac C.W. Powell and William B. Willis borrowed from "the Easton Branch Bank of the Farmer's Bank of Maryland the sum of fifteen hundred dollars" in order to pay James G. Thomas (of Talbot County) for a number of slaves.²⁸ Powell and Willis purchased "one negro boy George Miller, aged eighteen years, one negro boy Alfred Miller aged about sixteen years, one Negro boy Perry Miller aged about twelve years, one negro boy Thomas Miller aged about ten years, One Negro Boy Alexander Miller aged about eleven years, and one negro boy Daniel Miller aged about eleven years. All and singular which said Negroes are now remaining and being at my Farm Anderton in Oxford Neck in Talbot County..."²⁹ Between 1829-1851, Willis completed transactions for a total of nine slaves.

    Two of Willis's slaves, Henry Clay and Moses Maxfield, joined the United States Colored Troops. On May 22, 1863, five months after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established as a separate entity of the War Department.³² By September, the War Department Adjutant General's Office gave Colonel Birney the authority to raise a regiment of Colored Troops, known as the 7th regiment.³³ Clay joined Company H of the 7th U.S. Colored Troops and Maxfield joined Company C of the 30th U.S. Colored Troops. The 7th regiment participated in numerous battles and skirmishes that were contributing factors towards winning the war. Some battles included Cedar Creek, Florida, Camp Melton, Florida, White Point, South Carolina, Petersburg, Virginia, Fort Gilmer, Virginia, Fort Burnham, Virginia, and Appotmattox Court House, Virginia.³⁴

    The 30th regiment was organized at Camp Stanton, Maryland from February 12 to March 18, 1864, to serve three year terms.³⁵ They were primarily recruited on the Eastern Shore and southern counties in Maryland.³⁶ In the spring and summer of 1864, the regiment participated in the Wilderness campaign and they were also present for the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia where they built forts and rifle pits.³⁷ The regiment also participated in the capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina from late 1864 until early 1865.³⁸ The bounty rolls show that Willis had no slaves join the 9th, 19th, or 39th U.S. Colored Troops regiments. Moses was listed at ten years old on the 1852 assessment record, which would have made him about 23 years old at the time of his enlistment.³⁹ It's possible that Henry Clay was listed as "Clay" on the 1852 assessment record, since he was ten years old at the time of that record.⁴⁰ Willis was eligible to receive $100 as compensation for each slave that joined the Union army.

    For several years, Willis served as Sheriff of Talbot County, elected on the Democratic ticket.⁴¹ Three times he served the people in the state legislature. Willis died on November 4, 1865, aged 61.⁴² William's fond and devoted wife, Mary, survived him ten years. At the time of her death, on September 4, 1875, both were survived by seven children.⁴³ In 1866, after William B. Willis's death, his heirs divided the acreage: 74 acres of arable land and 26 acres of woodland were conveyed to Alexander E. Beale and his wife, Margaret Willis Beale, and another part was conveyed to James H. Lightbourne.⁴⁴ After his death, Willis's personal estate was valued at $10,705.59 on June 20, 1867 by the Registry of the Orphans Court.⁴⁵ Mary was to due to receive $3,568.53, one third of William's personal estate.⁴⁶ The remaining personal estate was divided amongst his children: Jonathan Willis, Margaret E. Beall, Elizabeth S. Lightborn, Thomas J. Willis, Sarah B. Moore, and William Willis.⁴⁷ 

^{*Note: After careful research done by Prof. S.A. Binion, of the Peabody Library, a gentlemen of singular accomplishments in linguistics, he attempted to trace the words to their source: "I have consulted no less than a dozen authorities of Welsh lexicographic and patronymic works. There are no proper names in the Welsh language under Dyer-Hier or Dier-Hyer, &c. Hyer-Dyer must therefore be a misnomer. The Welsh hir and hair is equal to English long, and the Welsh word tir daira or daear stands for land or earth. Thus instead of Hyer Dyer, &c., it should be Hair Daiar Lloyd, which if rendered into proper English is the long (track of) land belonging to Lloyd." This information came from page 334 of Oswald Tilghman's History of Talbot County, Maryland: 1661-1861, Vol. 2. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Company, 1915.}

Return to W.B. Willis's Introductory Page
 
 

This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user. Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website! Archives' Home Page    |    Maryland Manual On-Line    |    Reference & Research    |    Search the Archives    |    Students & Teachers    |    Archives of Maryland Online Governor     General Assembly    Judiciary     Maryland.Gov

© Copyright March 04, 2014 Maryland State Archives