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Explore your connections with a great man ......
Sir Samuel WAY - his ancestors and descendants
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 1806 - 1868 (61 years)
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| Name |
John WILLIS |
| Born |
7 Sep 1806 |
Chatham, UK  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Notes for biography |
* John was born on 7 September 1806 in Chatham.
* On 25 December 1830 he married Mary Ann Tubbs in Dartford, the daughter of Richard (a mariner) and Elizabeth who it is thought may originally have come from Greenwich. The family appear to have moved to Milton-next Gravesend, where another four siblings were born, between 1808 and 1825.
* John and Mary Ann lived in Gravesend, and had seven children, four sons and three daughters.
* In 1841 John was employed as a Shipwright.
* Later he traded as a Timber Merchant, with premises in West Street (ref : 'A History of Gravesend' by Robert H Hiscock, page 23 following for a description of West Street in the 19th century) and Bath Street (ref : Post Office Directory for Gravesend, 1846). Although the location of his yards are not known, there is some evidence to suggest that that his West Street business might have been on the site of the New Wharf of Russell's Brewery, which was rented from the brewery.
* In the early 1880's John's son George was running the yard (ref : 'Gravesend to the Sea' by Edward C Bowen. Published in The Gravesend Reporter - 13 October 1934).
* A man of property, John owned nearly 30 properties in Erith, as well as property in Milton next Gravesend and Perry Street, Northfleet (ref : details taken from John?s Will dated 15 April 1868). On 29 August 1866 John purchased, at auction, the freeholds of nine tenements and 3 cottages at Garden Row and Perry Street, Northfleet, with a total ground rent worth £22.10s.0d. The tenements had already been let to him on 29 September 1849 (ref : details taken from the Particulars of Sale held at Gravesend Central Library. The document has been receipted acknowledging the deposit paid on the lots purchased).
* John's wealth may have been earned through the supply of huts for the army during the Crimean War (ref : E-mail from Geoffrey Willis - 6 April 2001)
* In 1860 an advertisement placed in the Gravesend 'Halls Directory Advertiser' stated that: "JW takes this opportunity of informing his friends and the Public in general, that he has lately made some extensive Purchases in TIMBER and DEALS - which, with his Large Assortment, enables him to give every accommodation of length and thickness, at the Lowest Prices" (ref : Directory seen at Gravesend Library - 20 August 2002)
* It appears that John was in partnership with his son George, which was dissolved about two weeks prior to his death (ref : The London Gazette 21 April 1868 page 2323). It is quite likely that John decided to leave the partnership due to ill health in 1868.
* In 1861 the family were living in bath Street, next door to John's son, George.
* John died on 30 April 1868 at the age of 62 years of heart disease. At the time of his death John was living in Pier Road, Northfleet.
* His estate was left in various parcels to his sons and daughters, with Mary Ann benefiting from the property during her lifetime. The share of the estate left to his daughters was only to be bequeathed to any sons they may have had, otherwise the property reverted to John's own sons and heirs. An executor to his will was John Thomas Cooper, the brother of Gerard Cooper, the husband of his wife's sister, Caroline. Five years after his death, in December 1873, John's executors were given leave by the Court of Chancery to grant leases on land adjacent to the River Thames held in trust by the executors (ref : presumably the land formed part of the estate that included the Baltic Wharf. From The London Gazette 5 December 1873 page 5755).
* In 1871 his widow was still living in Pier Road, with her three unmarried daughters, as well as one year old Florence, the daughter of Mary Ann's son Henry. It appears that Florence may have stayed with her Grandmother following the death of Florence's mother in February 1870 as there is also a Nursemaid living with the family. Living a few doors away were Gerard Cooper and his wife Caroline, Mary Ann's younger sister. The Cooper's were employing a Servant, Emily Welch who was possibly the sister of the Nursemaid, Jane Welch, employed by Mary Ann to look after Florence.
Mary Ann and her daughters are still living in Pier Road in 1881.
* Mary Ann died on 3 March 1882, at the age of 76 years, from Chronic Heart Disease.
* In her will she left her estate to her four sons and three daughters, with the daughters sharing a greater proportion of the estate.
* The three spinster sisters, Mary Ann, Emma and Martha benefitted from the estate of their aunt, Caroline Cooper (nee Tubbs), by having a half share in her estate, as well as some personal bequests.
* John and Mary's three daughters remained spinsters;
* Mary Ann born on 12 August 1838 died on 2 August 1916 of Senile Degeneration of the Nervous System, 10 days before her 78th birthday;
* Emma born on 15 August 1841, died on 20 April 1925 suffering from Bronchitis;
* Martha born on 22 October 1843, died on 14 January 1913.
* All three share the same grave as their parents.
* In their wills both Emma & Martha bequeathed a lifetime interest in their estate to their surviving sisters, with the estate being shared among their nephews and nieces following the death of the surviving sister. It would seem that they were particularly close to their brother, Henry James, and his daughters, (Florence and Ada) as they both enjoyed additional bequests from their estates. The gross value of Martha's estate was £4,795 17s 9d , whilst Emma' had a gross value of £6,857 2s 0d
In September 1927, following the death of Emma two years earlier, a notice appeared in the London Gazette calling for anyone who had a claim on Martha's estate to declare themselves, prior to her estate being distributed in accordance with her wishes. A similar notice appeared in the same edition relating to Emma's estate.
By 1901 the sisters had moved to 19 Overcliffe, next door to their sister-in-law, Sophia. Living with them was a General Domestic Servant.
[1] |
| Notes for biography |
Death : John wss 62 years old when he died. Cause of death was heart disease [1] |
| Occupation |
* In 1841 John was employed as a Shipwright.
* Later he traded as a Timber Merchant, with premises in West Street (ref : 'A History of Gravesend' by Robert H Hiscock, page 23 following for a description of West Street in the 19th century) and Bath Street (ref : Post Office Directory for Gravesend, 1846). Although the location of his yards are not known, there is some evidence to suggest that that his West Street business might have been on the site of the New Wharf of Russell's Brewery, which was rented from the brewery.
* In the early 1880's John's son George was running the yard (ref : 'Gravesend to the Sea' by Edward C Bowen. Published in The Gravesend Reporter - 13 October 1934).
* A man of property, John owned nearly 30 properties in Erith, as well as property in Milton next Gravesend and Perry Street, Northfleet (ref : details taken from John?s Will dated 15 April 1868). On 29 August 1866 John purchased, at auction, the freeholds of nine tenements and 3 cottages at Garden Row and Perry Street, Northfleet, with a total ground rent worth £22.10s.0d. The tenements had already been let to him on 29 September 1849 (ref : details taken from the Particulars of Sale held at Gravesend Central Library. The document has been receipted acknowledging the deposit paid on the lots purchased).
* John's wealth may have been earned through the supply of huts for the army during the Crimean War (ref : E-mail from Geoffrey Willis - 6 April 2001)
* In 1860 an advertisement placed in the Gravesend 'Halls Directory Advertiser' stated that: "JW takes this opportunity of informing his friends and the Public in general, that he has lately made some extensive Purchases in TIMBER and DEALS - which, with his Large Assortment, enables him to give every accommodation of length and thickness, at the Lowest Prices" (ref : Directory seen at Gravesend Library - 20 August 2002)
* It appears that John was in partnership with his son George, which was dissolved about two weeks prior to his death (ref : The London Gazette 21 April 1868 page 2323). It is quite likely that John decided to leave the partnership due to ill health in 1868.
[1] |
| Residence |
* Gravesend in the early years of marriage.
* Bath Street in 1861
* Pier Road, Northfleet when he died in 1868.
[1] |
| Died |
30 Apr 1868 |
Northfleet, UK |
| Person ID |
I84 |
Samuel WAY |
| Last Modified |
4 Sep 2016 |
| Family |
Mary Ann TUBBS |
| Married |
25 Dec 1830 |
Dartford, UK |
| Children |
| + | 1. John Richard WILLIS, b. 10 Jun 1832, Gravesend , d. 11 Apr 1885 (Age 52 years) |
| + | 2. George WILLIS, b. 20 Apr 1834, Gravesend, UK , d. 1 May 1891 (Age 57 years) |
| | 3. Joseph WILLIS, b. 27 Mar 1836, Milton, Gravesend, UK , d. 3 Dec 1915, Auckland, New Zealand (Age 79 years) |
| | 4. Mary Ann WILLIS, b. 12 Aug 1838, d. 2 Aug 1916 (Age 77 years) |
| + | 5. Henry James WILLIS |
| | 6. Emma WILLIS, b. 15 Aug 1841, d. 20 Aug 1925 (Age 84 years) |
| | 7. Martha WILLIS, b. 22 Oct 1843, d. 14 Jan 1913 (Age 69 years) |
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| Last Modified |
28 Aug 2016 |
| Family ID |
F26 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Sources |
- [S7] Clive Challis - UK - ID 351 on this website - more details are on his website on ancestry.com.
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