Henry Willis II1,2,3

M, b. 14 September 1628, d. 11 September 1714
     On 5 February 1661,Henry and seveal others went to Salisbury to visit "friends in prison." While there, they were ordered to tender the "Oath of Allegiance", upon refusing they were sent to prison themselves. It is of note that his wife gave birth to their second child while he was confined in prison. On the same day, Henry was christened in Warminster at St. Denys Church.4 Henry was born on the 14th day of the 7th month 1628.  in Warminster, Wiltshire, England. He may have been born in Westbury, Warminster, since it is claimed that he named Westbury, Long Island after his home in England.5,6 He was the son of William Willis and Katheren Woodford. Henry married Mary Peace on 25 March 1655 in Warminster at St. Denys Church. The marriage was solunized before John Rideout.7,8 In 1666, Henry & Mary Willis, along with their family, moved from Devizes to London after the great fire & plaque there in the mid 1660's. It is in the public record that Henry went to visit his father and other friends in jail (they had been placed in jail because of being at a Quaker meeting). When Henry and his friends arrived at the prison, the were asked to take the Oath of Allegiance, which Quakers refuse to do, and upon their refusal, they were jailed as well. There daughter, Elizabeth was born during the time that Henry was in prison. While in London, the family was living in the Quaker Center of Spitalfields, specifically on Brick Lane in Stepney which is located less than a mile away from the Tower of London. In 1675, the family immigrated to the New World, where Henry made a purchase of 22 acres of land on 2 October 1675. This was in Hempstead and was called Wood Edge which is now known as Westbury. They purchased the land from Captain John Seaman. 31 August 1698, Henry and Mary and his wife, [ROF:Hempstead Town] were listed on the Hempstead Town Census. Enumerated in this household were Henry Willis, Mary, Hester Searing. Henry's wife, Mary, died on 23 June 1714 in Hempstead Town, Queens County, Long Island, New York, leaving him a widow. Henry died the 11th day of the 7th month 1714 at Westbury, Hempstead Town at age 85 years, 11 months and 28 days.9

Children of Henry Willis II and Mary Peace

Citations

  1. [S117] Mary Thomas Seaman, The Seaman Family of America, page 31.
  2. [S1045] L.I. Benjamin D. Hicks of Old Westbury, Willis Family of Long Island, page 170 - In 1760 Samuel Willis, a grandson of Henry Willis, the emigrant ancestor of the American family, wrote "An account of kindred," in which he traced, with some care, many of the branches of his paternal and maternal ancestry from his own time back to that of his English great-grandfather. In 1801 Thomas Willis, grandson of the above Samuel, perfected some parts of the record left by his grandfather, and made a few additions of later generations. Since 1852 Samuel Hicks, who married a great-great granddaughter of Samuel Willis, has been interested in completing the record, and in bringing down the main line and its collateral brances to the present. [note: the references in this work to this source are mainly coming from the work done by the above Samuel Willis in 1760. - KLM]
  3. [S79] William Wade Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy.
  4. [S1047] George I. Willis, The English Origins of Henry Willis of Westbury, Long Island, pages 66-67 - Henry Willens baptized 14 September 1628 St. Denys Church, Warminster, Wiltshire, England.
  5. [S1045] L.I. Benjamin D. Hicks of Old Westbury, Willis Family of Long Island, page 173 - Henry Willia born 14 September 1628 in Wiltshire County, England [These were Quaker dates transcribed incorrectly. - klm].
  6. [S2515] George I. Willis, The English Origins of Henry Willis of Westbury, Long Island, page 70.
  7. [S1047] George I. Willis, The English Origins of Henry Willis of Westbury, Long Island, pages 68 - St. Denys Church Marriage Records: ...Three notes of interest should be mentioned. First, the surname of Peace is seldom found in the parish registersof St Denys. Warninster, though Pearce, Pearse, Pierce and other variations are. ...Thirdly, the St Denys parish registers include persons from the adjacent communities of Norton Bavant, Upton Scudamore, Bishopstrow and Westbury. This raises the possiblity that Henry Willis' home before marriage may have been Westbury, giving some credence to the claim that he named Westbury, Long Island for his prior home.
  8. [S2030] England Marriages, 1538-1973 [IGI].
  9. [S1045] L.I. Benjamin D. Hicks of Old Westbury, Willis Family of Long Island, page 173 - Henry Willis d. 11 July 1714 [These were Quaker dates transcribed incorrectly. - klm].