Jacob WILLIS / Lydia BLACK


   Husband: Jacob WILLIS           (Descendant Chart)
      Born:                        in: 
   Married:                        in: 
      Died: 1828                   in: Rutherford County, NC
    Father:
    Mother:
      Wife: Lydia BLACK            (Descendant Chart)
      Born:                        in: 
      Died: AFT 1828               in: 
    Father:
    Mother:
  Children:
1     Name: Sarah WILLIS
F     Born:                        in: 
      Died:                        in: 
2     Name: William Q. WILLIS
M     Born: 6 AUG 1806             in: 
      Died: 2 JUL 1882             in: Cleveland County, NC
3     Name: James Black WILLIS
M     Born: 1 DEC 1808             in: 
      Died: 30 JUL 1883            in: Boone County, AR
4     Name: Johnson WILLIS
M     Born:                        in: 
      Died:                        in: 
5     Name: Agnes WILLIS
F     Born: 30 OCT 1812            in: 
      Died: 25 MAY 1907            in: Cleveland County, NC
6     Name: Ann WILLIS
M     Born: 1 NOV 1814             in: 
      Died: 11 APR 1913            in: Cleveland County, NC
   Married:                        in: 
    Spouse: Joseph C. EAKER
7     Name: John WILLIS
M     Born:                        in: 
      Died:                        in: 
8     Name: Polly WILLIS
F     Born:                        in: 
      Died:                        in: 
9     Name: Jacob Craven WILLIS
M     Born: 17 DEC 1821            in: Rutherford County, NC
      Died: 28 SEP 1883            in: Cleveland County, NC
   Married:                        in: 
    Spouse: Malinda SELF
10    Name: Rachel WILLIS
F     Born: 13 DEC 1822            in: 
      Died: 1 APR 1911             in: Cleveland County, NC
11    Name: Jesse Richardson WILLIS
M     Born: 9 JAN 1825             in: 
      Died: 8 JAN 1889             in: Cleveland County, NC
12    Name: Joseph Gallishaw WILLIS
M     Born: 23 JAN 1827            in: 
      Died: 27 JAN 1892            in: Cleveland County, NC

Jacob Willis

Notes:

The original will of Jacob Willis is preserved in the North Carolina State Archives. The will is dated 15 July 1828, and was recorded on 11 August 1828, so he must have died sometime during that period. Lydia Willis (his wife) and James Black Willis (his son) were named as executors of his will. The will names his wife Lydia and twelve children.
I have seen various secondary sources such as the Jacob Willis Family article in the Heritage of Cleveland County which indicate that Lydia's maiden name was "Black", but I have not seen an any original record that confirms this. Please contact me if you know of an original source.
The estate papers of Jesse R. Willis, son of Jacob and Lydia Willis, are preserved in the North Carolina State Archives¹. Jesse apparently died without any children. As a result his estate was settled among his siblings and their children, and his estate papers reveal a great deal of information about them (see below).
An internet source indicates that Jacob and Lydia Willis's son James Black Willis re-settled in Boone County, Arkansas. Another internet source includes a listing of the graves in the Willis Cemetery in Boone County. Among those listed is an "L. Willis, age 94". One Willis family descendant that I corresponded with believes this may be Lydia Black Willis, wife of Jacob Willis.
The following are probable burial locations of some of the children of Jacob and Lydia Willis:
- Willis, W. Q. - August 6, 1806, July 2, 1882, Clover Hill Meth. Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Willis, Agnes - October 30, 1812, May 25, 1907, Mt. Harmony Church Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Eaker, Ann - November 1, 1814, April 11, 1913, Clover Hill Meth. Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Willis, Jacob C. - December 17, 1821, September 28, 1883, Kadesh Methodist Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Willis, Rachel - December 13, 1822, April 01, 1911, Mt. Harmony Church Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Willis, Jesse R. - January 9, 1825, January 8, 1889, Mt. Harmony Church Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
- Willis, Joseph G. - January 23, 1827, January 27, 1892, Mt. Harmony Church Cemetery in Cleveland Co., NC
The following confirms the will Jacob Willis was recorded in Rutherford County, North Carolina:
Rutherford County, NC - Estates, Orphans, & Others - August 1828:
The last will and testament of Jacob Willis dec'd was presented & proved in open court in the usual form by Samuel S. Gidney & Joseph Thomas subscribing witnesses thereto - and was ordered to be recorded.
(Source: Bulletin of The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, November 2005, p.172)

Estate Papers of Jesse R. Willis

Jesse R. Willis, son of Jacob and Lydia Willis, died in 1889 leaving no surviving wife or children. His estate papers¹ are preserved in the North Carolina State Archives and reveal a great deal of information about the descendants of Jacob and Lydia Willis. When his estate was settled in 1896, he had eight siblings who were either surviving at that time, or had descendants that were surviving at that time. They are summarized below as identified in the estate papers. Three siblings that were identified in the will of Jacob Willis in 1828 ... Sarah, Johnson, and Polly ... were not listed in the estate papers of Jesse R. Willis in 1896. They had likely died or lost contact with the family by that time.

Rachel Willis - surviving in 1896
Agnes Willis - surviving in 1896
Ann Eaker - surviving in 1896
J. C. Willis - died before Jesse Willis, 9 surviving children as follows:
1. Jesse A. Willis
2. Craven Willis,
3. Lem Willis
4. Tris Willis
5. Sarah Willis
6. Agnes Willis
7. Malinda Wellman - husband M. R. Wellman
8. Becky Kennedy - husband T. D. Kennedy
9. Ann White - husband A. S. White
W. Q. Willis - died before Jesse Willis, 3 surviving and 1 deceased children as follows:
1. Archie Willis
2. Caroline Willis
3. Sarah A. Eaker
4. Liza Turner - deceased, and husband Joseph Turner also deceased, 4 surviving children as follows:
  1. Sarah Turner
  2. Wm. J. Turner
  3. Elizabeth C. Turner
  4. Minta B. Turner
Joseph Willis - died after Jesse Willis, 6 surviving children as follows:
1. Sophia Whisnant - husband Fletcher W. Whisnant
2. Lydia Elliot - husband Jackson Elliot
3. Thos. Willis
4. Edney Willis
5. Ivey Willis
6. Sallie Willis
John Willis - died before Jesse Willis, 7 surviving and 1 deceased children as follows:
1. Mary Ann Shultz - husband James W. Schultz
2. Margaret Dobbs - husband Jonathan Dobbs
3. Rachel Roberts - husband Lewis Roberts
4. Manda Glenn - husband L. S. Glenn
5. Francis Goodell - husband William Goodell
6. W. A. Willis
7. Sarah Black - died after Jesse Willis, husband J. C. Black (deceased), 4 surviving children as follows:
  1. Hursey Black
  2. Burleson Black
  3. Berty Black
  4. Auby Black
8. Hester Sizemore - husband A. J. Sizemore
James B. Willis - died before Jesse Willis, 5 surviving and 1 deceased children as follows:
1. Marshal Willis
2. Wiley Willis
3. P. C. Willis
4. C. M. Willis
5. Y. F. Willis
6. Hulda Patterson - deceased, 4 surviving children as follows:
  1. W. J. Patterson
  2. E. J. Patterson
  3. L. A. Patterson
  4. R. F. Patterson

Sources:

[Estate Papers of Jesse R. Willis (1896)]. Cleveland County loose estate papers, file C.R.026.508.57, North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. 5 p. (Scanned copy of originals made 16 Aug 2006 (only first 5 pages of larger file copied) (2.4 Mbytes)).
[Will of Jacob Willis (1828)]. Rutherford County loose wills, file C.R.086.801.40, North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh. (Scanned copy of original will made 16 Aug 2006 (4.3 Mbytes)).
Willis, Mary Elizabeth. The Jacob Willis Family. Heritage of Cleveland County (NC), Vol. 1, 1982, p.603-604. [ Brief article that includes a listing of the children of Jacob Willis and Lydia Black. ]

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