Back to School

It's back to school for many (really all) of us.  I say all of us because we're directly impacted by the increased traffic to and from anywhere.  Three of my immediate family members are starting back to school tomorrow.  My dad, Joe Denny Wills, is in his last year of his PhD work at the College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  My nephew, Jack Ryan Wills, my brother Jeff's youngest, starts high school and my nephew, James Orion Eddy, my sister Julie's youngest, starts middle school, also tomorrow.  We all got to spend good quality time together a few weekends ago in South Carolina.

The picture below is of a young Joe Summers Wills at Hickory Grove School in Saluda County, South Carolina.  It was taken in 1913 so Summers, as he was called, would've been 10 years old.  I scanned it from The Family History of Saluda County, 1895-1980.  There he is on the back row, fourth from the right - his head is circled.

I expect Grandaddy Wills went to school on foot with his books tied together and thrown over his shoulder.  It was both a quieter and slower time when automobile traffic hadn't penetrated the quiet backwoods roads off the Old Cherokee Highway.  An eighth grade education was all the compulsory education Summers would receive.  He was a class spelling bee champion and had an astute memory.  I remember him quizzing me on the spelling of gnat, "Mark, how do you spell, hat?  How do you spell, cat?..."  My most vivid spelling challenge was always his, "How do you spell, caoutchouc?"  It's pronounced something like, ka-tchook and it's a real word http://www.thefreedictionary.com/caoutchouc .  I never stopped being amazed at Granddaddy Wills' recitation of words from his Hickory Grove Spelling Bee days. 

Have a great school year, everybody!

Mark

New Connections

I've been enjoying reliving the Wills Family Reunion, looking at pictures old and new, listening to the digital voice recordings of the storytelling and sharing bits of the Reunion with others.  I'm thrilled to have made a connection with Uncle George Travis Wills' family whose members live in Washington State and Houston, Texas where I live.  After talking to one of Uncle George's granddaughter's last week, I really felt we were connecting all the lines of our family together.  Descendants of James Drayton Wills and Lizzie Attaway Wills (Eldred Jones Wills and Rachael Isabella Merchant Wills' son) live in South Carolina, Florida, Washington, Texas, Georgia, Ohio and probably a few other states I haven't recalled.

Till next time,

Mark 

Weekly Site Updates

A link list has just been added with a half dozen or so links for South Carolina and Virginia researchers.  It's located near the bottom of the page on the right when you scroll down.  Don't miss out on Historic St. Luke's Church either.  That's the church Matthew Wills, Sr. (I believe) was a member of the vestry and it was known as Old Brick Church.  Also be sure to check out The Relationship Chart (courtesy of Alice Ramsay) and figure out your relation to cousins of great great grandparents and so on.  A calendar of events has also been added.

I'd like to get about three people to work on this with me (as site administrators) so please let me know if you're interested.  Of course, this web site is meant to be a friendly resource for everyone interested in South Carolina Comfort and The Family Wills and all are encouraged to contribute.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Mark

The Earliest Members of the Wills Family of Warwick County

This is a "Working Draft" written in September 1982 by Mr. Fred Eggleston of Silver Spring, MD. The Draft was revised in 1992. Mr. Eggleston also produced an excellent Chart of the likely connection of various Wills families to the immigrant Emanuel Wills and his wife Elizabeth Cole

Our immigrant ancestor, Emanuel WILLS (WELLS) came to Virginia from England. We are descendants from his son John, then William, then Matthew, etc.


Among the 17th century settlers of Mulberry Isiand Parish in Warwick County, Virginia were members of the Wills family, whose descendants later spread to isle of Wight, Southampton, Surry, Amelia, Fluvanna, and other counties in the colony and state, and to North Carolina. The nearly complete destruction of Warwick County records during the Civil War and earlier has hampered efforts over the years to put together the early history of the family.(l) Sufficient pieces of the puzzle survive, nevertheless, to construct at least the begirining of an outline of the first three generations of the family in Virginia.

Welcome!

Many descendants of Eldred Jones Wills and Rachel Isabella Merchant gathered for a family reunion at Zoar United Methodist Church in Saluda, South Carolina on Saturday, July 31, 2010.  The objective of this blog is to share knowledge about our family history and heritage, our love of South Carolina, share our memories and make new ones.  While the primary focus will be on the Wills surname, I also encourage sharing noteworthy information on any collateral and spousal lines.