I recently vowed (again) to get rid of paper by consolidating miscellaneous notes into my “county data tables.” That is where I keep records of pertinent genealogical documents and events.
Almost immediately, some notes from Sandra Willis’s website (here) related to Caroline County, Maryland caught my eye.[1] Her abstracts of estate inventories included the following:
Henry Willis – 1 Feb 1794[2]
John Willis – administrator
Kin listed – Joshua Lucas, Deborah Lucas
Total Inventory – £240/2/0
Further, Sandra’s abstracts of guardian bonds had this information:
9 Jun 1795 – Nancy Willis orphan daughter of Henry Willis – bound to Rhoda Willis. Rhoda Willis made guardian of Nancy Willis[3]
11 Aug 1795 – Rhoda Willis, widow of Henry Willis deceased, guardian to Nancy Willis daughter of Henry Willis – Valuation of lands called “Painter’s Range” containing 222 acres – deduct ¾ for other 3 children (not named).[4]
These cryptic entries show that a Henry Willis died intestate in early 1794, based on the date of the estate inventory.[5]Henry left a widow and one minor child, Nancy, who inherited a one-fourth interest in a tract of land called “Painter’s Range.”
The entries are intriguing. John Willis, administrator of the estate, and Deborah (Willis) Lucas, kindred, were both children of Joshua Willis, a successful planter in Caroline County, Maryland. Also, the land called “Painter’s Range” was connected to Joshua Willis. Henry Willis seems to have been a relative. Was he also Joshua Willis’s child? Initially, I did not think so. An earlier article on the heirs of Joshua Willis found here established that Joshua had eleven children at the time he died. None of them were named Henry. This led to a series of questions. The answers established — spoiler alert here — that Henry was indeed a son of Joshua Willis. Here are the questions and answers.
How many children did Henry and Rhoda Willis have?
Answer – One.
The guardian bond abstract states there were four children. However, Henry had married “Rhody” Batchelor in Caroline County, Maryland on 12 June 1793.[6] They had only been married about six or seven months when he died. At his death, his wife Rhoda probably was pregnant with their only child, Nancy, who was born in the spring or summer of 1794. If there were other children in the household, they were not Rhoda’s.
Why did Nancy get only one-fourth of the real estate?
Answer – There are a couple of ways this could have happened.
As Henry’s child, Nancy was entitled to his property under the laws of intestate distribution. She would receive less that 100 percent of his property if there were other equal heirs at law — that is, siblings or half-siblings. She clearly was the only child of Henry and Rhoda. Moreover, the 1790 census shows Henry alone, without any children or an earlier wife. If Henry had any children born between 1970 and Nancy’s birth, there should be a record of a guardianship similar to Nancy’s. There is no such record. We can rule out half-siblings.
However, there is another possibility. Nancy would only get a fraction of the land if she were Henry’s sole heir AND he only owned or was entitled to that fraction. That begs the next question.
Did Henry own “Painter’s Range?”
Answer – No.
There is no record that Henry Willis ever purchased any land, either alone or with partners, much less land called “Painter’s Range.” Instead, the record shows Joshua Willis Sr. purchased 393 acres of land by that name in 1778.[7] There is no record of Joshua selling it before he died in about 1795. Over his lifetime, Joshua acquired more than twelve hundred acres of land in Caroline and Dorchester Counties. He still possessed most of it at his death.
In about 1790, Joshua made a will, which unfortunately has been lost.[8] The earlier article on the heirs of Joshua Willis covered in detail the various documents proving that Joshua made a will devising specific tracts of land. That article also concluded that Joshua had a total of eleven children, none named Henry.
Was that earlier article wrong?
Answer – No and Yes.
No, because the earlier article correctly identifies eleven of Joshua’s children based on the documents underlying that analysis.
Yes, because it missed the documents related to Henry, his widow and daughter, plus land that Joshua clearly owned and almost certainly devised to someone in his will.
What gift of land in Joshua’s will could prove Henry was his son?
Answer – See Occam’s Razor.
The simplest answer is most likely correct. Joshua’s 1790 will most likely devised 222 acres of “Painter’s Range” jointly to his four eldest sons in fee simple, with the common proviso that should any die without heirs, their share would revert to the other devisees.[9] Those sons would include Joshua Jr., Charles, and Thomas, plus Henry Willis.[10] Henry died in early 1794, and his only heir – the afterborn child, Nancy, automatically became an heir under Joshua’s will under the law of intestate descent and distribution.
Joshua Willis Sr. probably died before 9 Jun 1795, when Rhoda Willis was appointed guardian of Nancy Willis. He definitely died before the 11 Aug 1795 land valuation, because by that time Nancy was clearly entitled to one-fourth of the Painter’s Range acreage.
Did Nancy ever get her share?
Answer – No.
In 1800, Joshua Jr. sold part of Painter’s Range without the participation of any of the other heirs.[11] One way that could legally happen was if the other three heirs sold their interests to Joshua Jr. However, there is no record of a sale to Joshua Jr. from any heir, including from Nancy or her guardian. The other way it could legally happen is if the other heirs all died without leaving an heir of their own. In fact, Charles Willis and Thomas Willis both died without issue before 1800.[12]We can conclude that Nancy had also died before reaching the age of six in 1800.
What have we done here?
Answer – A couple of things.
We have presented reasonably conclusive evidence of another son and a grandchild of Joshua Willis Sr. (which will have no bearing on anyone’s ancestry search because Nancy left no descendants).
And we have proven how easy it is to get led astray from good intentions like eliminating paper and consolidating notes. We did, in fact, get rid of three notes, but it took a week to do so! At the time, however, it was bitterly cold outside, so this was undoubtedly the right and fun thing to do.
One final question.
Was there any happy ending to this sad tale?
Answer – Yes.
In 1796, the widow Rhoda Willis married Allen Parker, who happened to be one of the securities on her guardianship bond in 1795.[13] The 1810 census shows Allen Parker in Caroline County. His household appears to include Rhoda and five children — four sons and one daughter, all under the age of ten.[14]
Good Hunting!
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[1] Sandra Willis was a fabulous researcher who abstracted many original documents from court houses and the Maryland State Archives. She took the time to share her research notes in a well-organized website. She also provided in her will that the site be maintained so others could benefit from the work she had done. Check it out.
[2] Caroline County Original Inventories, Box 9450 (1792-1799)
[3] Caroline County Guardian Bonds, Liber JR-B, Folio 243
[4] Caroline County Guardian Bonds, Liber JR-B, Folio 253
[5] If he had made a will, an executor rather than an administrator would have been named to handle the estate.
[6] Sandra’s “Index to Caroline County Marriage Licenses by Henry Downes Cranor” at mdwillis.nabiki.com.
[7] Carolina County Deed Book A:269 – Deed dated 24 Mar 1778, filed 23 Apr 1778 – Robert Lloyd Nicols of Talbot County, merchant, sold to Joshua Willis of Caroline County, planter, for sum of 412 pounds 18 shillings 3 pence all of a tract of land part of “Painter’s Range” lying lately in Dorchester County but now in Caroline County containing 393¼ acres more or less.
[8] Not only is the will lost, but there are no estate inventories, administration bonds, or other usual probate records for Joshua Willis. He owned significant real estate in both Caroline and Dorchester Counties. It is likely that his eldest son, Joshua Jr., was executor of the estate and, living in Dorchester at the time of his father’s death, filed the will for probate in Dorchester out of convenience. Unfortunately, those records were lost in the 1851 fire at the County Court House.
[9] Joshua’s will contained a similar provision regarding land devised to Charles, which descended to his brothers Peter and Thomas after Charles’s death in 1797.
[10] The earlier article lists eleven children in likely birth order.
[11] Carolina County Deed Book G:293
[12] Charles died in Dec 1797 based on an estate inventory dated 30 Dec 1797. A deposition of Captain William Haskins dated 5 Nov 1804 states that Charles and Thomas Willis died without issue before that date. There is no probate record for Thomas Willis, but he must have died prior to the 1800 sale of “Painter’s Range.”
[13] Caroline County Court Bonds, 1785-1892, 243 and 253.
[14] Had Nancy lived, she would have been 16 in that census.