|
I've been working on the The Willis Family of Virginia family tree for many years. There is much written about our early ancestors as Betty Washington - the sister of George Washington is my mother's 6th great grandmother, and she was the wife of Fielding Lewis.
I chose to publish the 7 generations before me because this is where the story turns from the Willis Family of Virginia to the Willis Family of Pensacola, Florida.
Mary Willis Lewis was the granddaughter of Betty Washington and Fielding Lewis. She married Byrd Charles Willis in 1800. Byrd Charles Willis (born in Frederickburg, Va. in 1781) was the grandson of Mildred Washington, wife of George Washington's father, Augustine. So we are related twice to the Washingtons!
Byrd Charles Willis, was a "larger than life" artistocrat, who moved to Pensacola, Florida after losing his fortune. He was a close associate of Florida's acting governor, Andrew Jackson, who may have induced the move and who appointed Willis as his agent at the Pensacola Navy Yard. Col. Willis also owned a brick factory in northeast Penacola near Mackey Bay and his in-law and close friend shipped Willis's brick to market.
Among Col. Willis's children, there are two that I will mention. One of his sons - Dr. Lewis Willis, born September 1801 - drowned in Grande Lagoon (Pensacola) in 1835. This was my mother's fourth great grandfather. One of his daughters - Catherine Willis Murat - was the Princess of Naples (by marriage to Prince Achille Murat) and was later elevated t the status of Princess of France by Emperor Napoleon III.
Dr. Lewis Willis's son, Byrd Charles Willis II, who was born abt. 1820, married Lucy Rose Barkley. The Barkley's were a prominent family in Pensacola. I have some information on the Barkley family and a bit of information on Lucy's parent's - the Garnier's from France.
I would like to have more information on the son of Byrd Charles Willis II, named Lewis Willis and his wife Elizabeth D. (Libby) Maclay. This Lewis Willis was a hardware salesman and merchant in Pensacola and I understand served in the American Civil War. Lewis and Libby's son was Walker Dorr Willis, an architect in Pensacola. More information on Walker Dorr Willis and his wife Annie Wyly Lowe would be appreciated.
I cannot find records for Edwin Stewart Wilson, with the exception of his marriage to Catherine Forney Willis, my grandmother. If anyone has any information on Edwin S. Wilson or his ancestors, I would be very grateful.
Thank you!
|
