Samuel Willis (1675-1758) is number 518 on my Ahnentafel List, my 7th great-grandfather, who married #519 Susanna Gleason (1676-1756) in 1703, in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
I am descended through:
* their daughter, #259 Experience Willis (1707-1787) who married #258. Isaac Read (1704-1780) in 1730.
* their daughter #129 Sarah Read (1736-1809) who married #128 Norman Seaver (1734-1787) in 1755.
* their son #64 Benjamin Seaver (1757-1816) who married #65 Martha Whitney (1764-1832) in 1783.
* their son #32 Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825) who married #33 Abigail Gates (1797-1867) in 1817.
* their son #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) who married #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884) in 1851.
* their son #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) in 1874.
* their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
* their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.
* their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)
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1) PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Name: Samuel Willis[1–10]
* Sex: Male
* Father: Roger Willis (1646-1700)
* Mother: Ruth Hill (1644-1736)
2) INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Birth: 1 April 1675, Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[2–3]
* Deed: 13 October 1703 (age 28), bought eastern half of New Grant Lot 17; Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[6]
* Petition: 15 January 1706/7 (age 31), signed petition; Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[7]
* Deed: 28 May 1750 (age 75), Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[8]
* Petition: 24 May 1753 (age 78), Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[9]
* Death: 26 November 1758 (age 83), Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[10]
3) SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
* Spouse 1: Experience Newell (1677-1703)
* Marriage 1: 23 May 1700 (age 25), Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States[4–5]
* Spouse 2: Susannah Gleason (1675-1756)
* Marriage 2: before July 1703 (before about age 28), Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts,
United States[11]
* Child 1: Samuel Willis (1705- )
* Child 2: Experience Willis (1707-1787)
* Child 3: Joseph Willis (1712-1799)
* Child 4: Elijah Willis (1720-1756)
4) NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
The article by Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," in the New England Historic Genealogical Register, Volume 114, pages 22 to 40 (January 1960) provides an excellent biography of the first generations of the Willis family of Sudbury.[1]
Samuel Willis was born 1 April 1675 in Sudbury, Massachusetts, the son of Roger and Ruth (Hill) Willis.[2-3]
On 23 May 1700, Samuel married Experience Newell (1677-1703), the daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Curtis) Newell, on 23 May 1700 in Roxbury, Massachusetts,[4-5] and they resided in Roxbury.
After the death of his father before December 1700, Samuel Willis had an obligation to his mother and minor siblings. However, Experience died in 1703, and Samuel moved back to Sudbury from Roxbury in 1703 and took over the management of his father's homestead and property.[1]
Before July 1703, Samuel Willis married, secondly, Susannah Gleason, the daughter of Joseph and Martha (Russell) Gleason, probably in Sudbury.[11] They had four children (the last two were recorded in Sudbury town records)[1]:
* Samuel Willis (1705-????), married (1) Rebecca Haynes (1705-730) in about 1727 in Sudbury; (2) Jerusha Brintnall (1704-1748) on 8 November 1730 in Sudbury; (3) Sybel Balcom (1721-1788) on 6 October 1748 in Sudbury.
* Experience Willis (1707-1787), married Isaac Read (1704-1780) on 11 February 1729/30 in Sudbury.
* Joseph Willis (1712-1799), married Thankful Clapp (1707-1794) before 1735, probably in Sudbury.
* Elijah Willis (1720-1756), married Abigail Smith (1721-1805) on 15 June 1738 in Sudbury.
On 13 October 1703, Samuel Willis of Sudbury, husbandman, bought 68 acres of the eastern half of the New Grant Lot No. 17, which adjoined the original Willis farm on Lot 16, from James Russell, yeoman of Charlestown for 17 pounds, ten shillings good and current money[6].
The McTeer article notes three appearances of Samuel Willis in the town records:
"On 15 January 1706/7, Samuel Willis signed a petition requesting that a new precinct be created on the west side of the Sudbury River. After some delay and protest from the east siders, including Samuel's Gleason in-laws, such a division was made and a new west side parish established. Thereupon, Samuel Willis was listed 18 March 1724/5, among the signers of the original covenant of the West Church."[7]
and:
"Samuel's final appearance in the records of the town's affairs was on 24 May 1753 when 'Samuel Willis Sen' together with his two sons, Joseph and Elijah, signed a petition to set aside the town election which had been held ten days earlier."[9]
Samuel Willis, yeoman of Sudbury, sold his 100 acre farm to his youngest son, Elijah Willis, yeoman of Sudbury, for 55 pounds on 28 May 1750.[8] The land included upland, swamp and meadow land with buildings or orcharding and fences thereon, and was bounded north and east by the new highway leading from Stow to Sudbury, on the south by Willis Pond, and on the west by "land commonly called the thirty rod highway."
Susannah (Gleason) Willis died 12 May 1756 in Sudbury at age 80, but the death was not recorded in the Sudbury town records.
Samuel Willis died 26 November 1758 in Sudbury at age 83.[10] There is no death record in the Sudbury town record book, and no burial location is known.
There is no probate record for Samuel Willis. He probably provided for his children during his lifetime. Based on the property held by his sons, it can be inferred that he gave the east half of Lot 17 and a portion of the southeast corner of the homestead to his son Joseph. The eldest son, Samuel, owned two farms in Sudbury, but neither adjoined or had been part of his father's homestead.[1]
5. SOURCES
1. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), pages 29 to 33, Samuel Willis sketch.
2. Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903), Births, page 155, Samuel Willis entry.
3. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), page 29, Samuel Willis birth entry, 1675.
4. "Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com), "Roxbury > Records - Births, Marriages, Deaths, 1630-1785," page 113 (image 58 of 115), Samuel Wllis and Experience Newell marriage entry, 1700.
5. Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts to the end of the year 1849 (Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1925, 2 Volumes), Marriages, page 439, Samuel Willis and Experience Newel entry.
6. Record books of the registry of deeds, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 1649-1900; indexes: grantee (1639-1905) and grantor (1639-1950); 1780 rolls of microfilm, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, "Deeds, 1696-1716, Vol. 12-13," Volume 13, page 467 (image 650 of 682), James Russell to Samuel Willis, executed 13 October 1703, recorded 15 October 1703; accessed on US/CAN FHL microfilm 0,554,004.
7. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), page 31, Samuel Willis petition, 1707.
8. Record books of the registry of deeds, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, 1649-1900; indexes: grantee (1639-1905) and grantor (1639-1950), "Deeds, 1753-1757, Vol. 52-53," Volume 52, page 282 (image 149 of 628), Samuel Willis to Elijah Willis, executed 28 May 1750, recorded 20 January 1754, accessed on US/CAN FHL microfilm 0,554,030.
9. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), page 32, Samuel Willis petition, 1753.
10. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), page 32, Samuel Willis death, 1758.
11. Francis (David) McTeer and Frederick C. Waters, "Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historic Genealogical Register, Vol. 114, No. 1 ((January 1960), page 31, Samuel Willis marriage to Susanna Gleason, before July 1703.
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