NOTES, REFERENCES, SOURCES FOR AOTW FEATURE ON EDWARD J WILLIS 11/12/2003 http://www.15thvirginiainfantry.org/15thVaInfRgmt_FnS.htm From Muster Rolls: Edward J. Willis, Captain, Chaplain F&S. Appointed Chaplain on 5/15/62. Present or accounted for until 10/64. Requested transfer on 9/30/64 for medical reasons. Detached. to C. S. Barracks, Richmond on 10/21/64. Transferred to C. S. Barracks on 1/11/65. +++++++++++ http://www.15thvirginiainfantry.org/company_a.htm Company A Henrico Grays of Henrico County were known at first as the Henrico Rifles. They were organized on Church Hill in December 1860 and designated as Company A of the 33rd Regiment (Henrico County) State Militia. They enlisted and were mustered into service on April 23, 1861, for one year and reorganized on April 25, 1862. Roster: John Wilder Atkins, Captain Edward J. Willis, Captain Martin W. Hazelwood, Captain +++++++++++ http://www.abaptist.org/CHAC/bs_willis_edward_j.htm Edward Jefferson Willis 1820 ~ 1891 Edward J. Willis was born in Culpeper Co., VA, Dec. 19, 1820; was educated in Virginia and in Massachusetts; studied law at the University of Virginia, and graduated in July, 1842. He began the practice of law at once, his home being in Charlottesville. He was baptized in his eighteenth year. In 1849 he went to California, walking from Independence, MO, a distance of 2200 miles. He began the practice of the law in Sacramento; in April, 1850, he was elected judge. In 1854 he was licensed to preach; resigned his judgeship, and in October of the same year was ordained a minister of the gospel. The Oakland and Sacramento churches were both organized at his residence. His first pastorate was with the Oakland church, which continued till 1854. He then returned to Virginia, and from 1854 to 1860 was pastor of the Leigh Street church in Richmond. He was first chaplain, and then captain, of the 15th Virginia Regiment of infantry in the Confederate army, and commanded the regiment in several of the battles of the war. For two years, 1865-67, he was pastor at Gordonsville and Orange Court-House. From 1867 to 1869 he was pastor of the church in Alexandria; thence he went as missionary pastor to Winchester, and in 1872 took charge of the Winchester Female Institute, now Broaddus Female College, which was removed to Clarksburg, W. Va., in 1876. From: The Baptist Encyclopedia By William Cathcart Copyright 1883 Note: 1. 100th Anniversary Book First Baptist Church - Oakland, California Page 12. Rev. E. J. Willis- Dec. 7, 1854 to June 20, 1856 ".....He was appointed by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and came to Oakland to found the First Baptist Church. While on a trip East in 1856 to obtain more funds for the work in California, sickness in his family forced him to remain and take a pastorate there....." 2. Edward Jefferson Willis died February 26, 1891 and was buried at "Woodland" (father's house, in Orange Co., Va.) Photo from: 100th Anniversary Book First Baptist Church Oakland, California +++++++++++ http://home.comcast.net/~ofbc/reed.htm History of The First Baptist Church of Oakland, California By Chas. G. Reed. (written between 1920 and 1925) ... Oakland was incorporated as a City May 25th, 1854, with a probable population of seven hundred and fifty. By 1857 it had one thousand, and at the first census in 1860 it had grown to fourteen hundred and fifty three. The First Baptist Church of Oakland was organized on December 7th, 1854. The constituent members being Rev. E. J. Willis, Mrs. N. A. Willis, L. W. Taylor, S. Ayers, Mrs. Mary Potter, and Nathaniel J. Thompson. Rev. E. J. Willis was chosen Pastor, Nathaniel J. Thompson Deacon, and L. W. Taylor Clerk. ... I have tried but in vain to learn anything about Rev. Mr. Willis, who was pastor for the first seven months and until someone could be found who would take the pastorate. The only thing I learned about him was that he was City School Superintendent during his residence in Oakland. +++++++++++ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~npmelton/sachstry.htm In 1839 Captain John Augustus Sutter sailed halfway around the world to find a suitable site for migrating Europeans. Sutter landed where the Sacramento and American rivers converge and set up camp. In 1841 He received a land grant of nearly 97 square miles from Mexico. Sutter had a dream of building an agricultural empire. He established a fort and the town of new Helvetia which became known as Sutterville. Sutter set up fisheries, trapping expeditions, a flour mill and a lumber mill. On Janruary 24, 1848, Sutters dreams of an agricultural empire were shattered. A contractor at Sutter's lumber mill, James Wilson Marshall, discovered GOLD! Within a year, thousands of gold seekers had arrived in Sacramento. The workmen quit working to look for gold, Sutter's stock was stolen and his creditors pursued him. In order to keep from loosing everything, he deeded his remaining land to his son, John Sutter, Jr. The young Sutter began laying out the Sacramento townsite in Janruary 1849. By October 1849 Sacramento had a population of 2000 and by 1850, had grown to 9000. Sacramento County was created February 18, 1850. By April 1850 Sacramento County held it's first election even though the State Constitution, authorizing the county unit and establishing the authority for elections, still had not been sanctioned by the federal government. E.J. Willis was elected county judge. Joseph McKinney, a young gambling hall operator, was named sheriff. John H. McKune was elected county attorney. +++++++++++ http://www.calgoldrush.com/part2/02justice.html Justice wasn't pretty -- but it was quick Accused felons were likely to face crowd with a rope By Patrick Hoge (Sacramento) Bee Staff Writer Published Jan. 18, 1998 ... Even after statehood, confidence in formal legal processes remained low. In Sacramento in 1850, for example, a mob overwhelmed the city's first marshal and some sheriff's deputies and smashed in the door of the jail at Second and J streets to get at a gambler who had shot a merchant. The merchant had been trying to break up a fistfight. After a quick trial, the crowd hanged the gambler from an oak tree on Sixth Street between K and L streets. +++++++++++ http://www.militarymuseum.org/Winn.html During the Squatters Riots of 1850, (Cal State Militia BGen and former Mayor) Winn issued a Proclamation declaring Martial Law and brought 500 members of the State Militia to patrol the streets of Sacramento City to guard against further civil unrest. +++++++++++ http://www.wvculture.org/history/womtime.html Timeline of West Virginia Women's History Compiled by the West Virginia State Archives 1876. On February 15, after relocating from Winchester, VA, the Baptist affiliated Broaddus Female College held its first classes in Clarksburg, Harrison County, in the National Hotel, with the Rev. E. J. Willis as president. This later became Broaddus College and eventually merged with Alderson Academy to form Alderson-Broaddus College at Philippi, Barbour County. On May 19, 1877, Broaddus Female College was incorporated in West Virginia. Statehood leader John J. Davis and future United States Senator Nathan Goff were among the incorporators, all of whom were men. Source: Acts of the West Virginia Legislature; Ambler, A History of Education in West Virginia, 244. +++++++++++ http://www.fbcsac.org/history.htm First Baptist Church of Sacramento began on September 14, 1850. The river town of Sacramento was mushrooming with population growth as the gold fever swept the world. It was a town of hundreds that exploded into thousands in a very short period of time. Rev. O.C. (Osgood Church) Wheeler came to California from the East Coast in order to plant churches. In those days they considered California to be the spiritually darkest spot in the country. The vision, though, was to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ here in California so as to be a great place from which to send missionaries to Asia. Rev. Wheeler and his wife came to California with the express vision of planting churches. They didn’t know about the gold rush until they stepped off the ship in San Francisco. But God did. He prepared godly men and women to plant churches to meet the spiritual needs of the people who would come. It was on September 14, 1850 that the First Baptist Church was established in the home of Judge E.J. Willis. With vision, fortitude, conviction and belief, sixteen people sat down and said let’s form a church. They did, and it’s lasted to this day. +++++++++++ Leigh Street Baptist Church 517 North 25th Street, Richmond VA 23223 Leigh Street Baptist Church was constituted as a church in July 1854. (Willis pastor 1854-60). Offshoot of the 2nd Baptist. +++++++++++ 1860 Virginia Census E.J. WILLIS, Henrico Co., p634, 3 W. Richmond +++++++++++ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~willis/cacensus.htm 1850 California Census EDWARD J. WILLIS, Sacramento Co., p183 Age 29, born VA +++++++++++ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~willis/genl.htm LARKIN WILLIS (1800-1856) Submitted by Mark Willis Ballard Born 26 Feb 1800; died 21 Feb 1856; son of Capt. Isaac Willis and Ann Garnett. See Capt. Isaac Willis (1774-1867). Married 1: ca 1821 to Sarah Emily Fry, born ca 1800; died 1821. Children: 1. Edward Jefferson Willis, born 19 Dec 1820; died 26 Feb 1891. Sarah died one year after having the baby. Married 2: 15 July 1823 to Mary Gordon, born 4 March 1807; died 2 Nov 1881; daughter of Rev. John Churchill Gordon and Lucy Garnett Herndon. Children: 2. John Churchill Willis, born 21 May 1824; died 2 Aug 1894 3. James Addison Willis, born 16 Sept 1825; died 5 May 1900 4. Mary Elizabeth Willis, born 18 March 1827; died 16 Sept 1886 5. Lucy Herndon Willis, born 2 Sept 1828; died 20 Nov 1875 6. Anna E. Willis, born 2 Oct 1829; died 2 Nov 1847 7. Absolam Graves Willis, born 9 Nov 1831; died 22 Aug 1903; married Sarah Lee Gordon. 8. William Willis, born 23 April 1833; died 8 Oct 1910 9. Larkin Willis, born 24 Feb 1835; died 19 May 1927 10. Isaac Willis, born 20 June 1836; died March 1910; married Elizabeth LNU 11. Joseph Gordon Willis, born 27 Dec 1837; died 1864; prisoner of Civil War 12. Reuben Garnett Willis, born 16 July 1839; died 8 March 1900 13. Isabella Herndon Willis, born 15 Oct 1840 14. Ella Jane Willis, born 25 July 1842; died 15 March 1911 15. Charles Augustine Willis, born 20 Feb 1844; died 3 Oct 1879 16. Eugene Harrison Willis, born 16 April 1845; died 25 Dec 1916; married Bessie Young Hiter 17. Benjamin Willis, born 19 Feb 1847; died 6 Oct 1864 18. Walter Lewis Willis, born 30 April 1848; died 29 Nov 1848 19. Unnamed Infant Willis, born ca 1850; died ca 1850 20. Unnamed Infant Willis, born ca 1851; died ca 1851 21. Nora Fry Willis, born 29 Nov 1852; died 14 June 1878 +++++++++++++++ http://www.gencircles.com/users/mwballard/1/data/146#source1 Edward Jefferson Willis Birth: 19 Dec 1820 Death: 26 Feb 1891 Sex: M Father: Larkin Willis b. 26 Feb 1800 in Locust Grove,Culpeper Co.,Va Mother: Sarah Emily Fry b. About 1800 Spouses & Children Virginia Ann Sneed (Wife) b. 1825 d. 1875 (Marriage: EDWARD J. WILLIS to Virginia A. Sneed, 12 April 1843, Albemarle Co., VA) Children: 1. Edward Benjamin Willis b. 1844 2. James Fry Willis b. 1846 3. Marshall H. G. Willis b. 1848 4. Emily Virginia Willis b. 1852 5. Ella Virginia Willis b. 1853 6. Annie Shuck Willis b. 1855 7. Alice Evanette Willis b. 1857 8. Isabella Turpin Willis b. 1860 9. Lucy Sneed Willis b. 1862 Molly Rogers (Wife) d.1883 Children: 1. Son Willis b. 1883 Eva Taylor (Wife) Individual: Lawyer, minister, judge, educator. Lived in California and Virginia. Many descendants in Texas (Dallas and Shelby County) Sources 1. Title: Willis, Gordon, Garnett & Allied Familes Reunion Journal, Vol. I, Number 10, August 8, 1982 Publication: August 8, 1982 Page: A +++++++++++++ http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/1404/patwil.html#strt Patent for a Planimeter for measuring horsepower of steam engines, 1884, 1886. (probably his Grandson) +++++++++ http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/about/about.htm Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1826, the University of Virginia School of Law +++++ http://www.civilwarancestor.com/store/files/Ebook0008.htm EXPERIENCE OF A Confederate Chaplain 1861-1864; BY REV. A. D. BETTS, D. D., N.C. Conference Methodist Episcopal Church, South.; Chaplain 30th N. C. Troops. "Sep. 10 [1862] Whole army in motion. Dine at Mr. Fitzhugh’s in Frederick City [MD]. Lovely family. Mr. Jones, next door. Meet Rev. Auguste, Chaplain 15th Virginia Regiment ..." ++++++++ http://www.gencircles.com/users/gustine/1/data/15597 From "Early Churches of Culpeper Co., VA: Colonial and Ante-Bellum Congregations" edited by Thomas and Green, published by the Culpeper Historical Society, 1987. Chapter III; "History of Crooked Run Baptist Church, 1772-1986" by William Spotswood Burwell and Elizabeth Valentine Garnett: "Edward Jefferson Willis (1820-1891), the first son of Larkin Willis, Sr. by his first wife Susan Emily Fry, engaged a varied career as an attorney, judge, minister, editor, publisher, and college founder. In 1860 he became pastor of the Leigh Street Baptist Church in Richmond. He entered the Civil War as a chaplain with the 15th Virginia Regiment Infantry, and was promoted as Captain of Company A. In the Battle of Antietam, while leading his regiment, he had fifteen balls shot through his hat, beard, and uniform, but he emerged from battle without a wound. M.D. Anderson, Army Evangelist, sent in a report of the revival under E.J. Willis occurring in Corse's Brigade near Carter's Station, Tennessee, September 29, 1863: "It has been my privilege recently to bear testimony to the work of grace which has been going on in this brigade. Upon my arrival here I was pleased to learn that a glorious revival was going on. ... The meetings are conducted by the Rev. Mr. August, the faithful Chaplain of the Fifteenth Virginia, assisted by Captain Willis of the same regiment. A large number have professed faith in Christ, while many others are deeply concerned on accounts of sin. Today Brother Willis baptized fourteen, seven of whom are from his regiment." Thus the Crooked Run Church made its impact on the Great Revival in the Confederate Army through a grandson of Captain Isaac Willis. Edward J. Willis wrote a letter to General S. Cooper dated February 10, 1864 asking to be relieved of his office so he could attend to the needs of his father's family. This letter illustrates the hardships faced by a family during the Civil War: "My own family, my widowed mother's family and the families of two of my brothers in the service have had their homes broken up and desolated by the enemy, making it necessary for them to remove to a distant portion of the state for security and livelihood. Within the past three weeks places have been secured for them in Carroll Co., Va, about 270 miles distant from their homes on the Rapidan River to which locality it becomes necessary that they be removed at once. These families are dependant upon me for the attention and assistance necessary in the accomplishment of this purpose as all mu brothers, five in number who could render assistance are all in service. I leave with my company three capable and efficient Lieutenants. Very Respectfully, Your obedient servant, Edw. J. Willis, Capt. Co. A 15th Virginia Regiment"