Pike County AlArchives Photo Person.....Willis, Letitia Barnett Hutchison (As An Older Woman) ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: T. Bradford Willis http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007638 October 4, 2012, 11:20 am Source: John Todd Willis Name: Letitia Barnett Hutchison (As An Older Woman) Willis Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/pike/photos/willis11383gph.jpg Image file size: 77.0 Kb Birth: Dec. 8, 1828 Bainbridge Decatur County Georgia Death: Jan. 23, 1925 Abilene Taylor County Texas The following are obituaries on Letitia Barnett Hutchison Willis: Mrs. L. B. Willis 96 Died Here on Friday Funeral To Be Held Friday Evening; Burial At Denton, Texas. Mrs. Lutitia Barnett Willis, mother of City Judge T. M. Willis, died in Abilene Friday morning at 1:30 o'clock at the extreme old age of ninety-six years, one month and fifteen days. Though she had been in declining health, during the last few years, she was able to walk about the house and was up Thursday night. After sitting up the fore part of the night in her usual custom, she retired Thursday night about 11 o'clock and died at 1:30. She contracted a cold a few days ago, which with her old age caused her death. Mrs. L. B. Willis was born near Bambridge [sic], Georgia, December 8, 1828. Her husband was Dr. T. L. Willis, they having been married in Bambridge [sic] in 1860 [sic]. In 1866 the family came to Texas and settled in Waco, where they remained only two months, going from there to Weatherford, where they lived until 1872. From Weatherford the family moved to Denton, where Dr. Willis died in 1886 [sic]. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Willis came to Abilene and made her home with her son, T. M. Willis. Judge Willis came to Abilene in 1883 and is one of the pioneer settlers of this section. Deceased was a member of the First Methodist Church of Abilene and up until about two years ago was very faithful in church and Sunday school attendance. She joined the Methodist church in her early girlhood. Deceased is survived by one son, T. M. Willis, and a number of grandchildren and great grandchildren. The body of the deceased will be taken to Denton, Texas, for burial on the midnight train tonight (Friday), and interment will be made by the side of her husband. Funeral services will be held in Abilene tonight (Friday) at 8 o'clock at the home of T. M. Willis at 402 Peach Street, with the Rev. W. M. Pearce, pastor of the First Methodist Church, and Dr. T. S. Knox, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, officiating. The remains will be accompanied to Denton by Tom Willis, Jr., who will be joined at Fort Worth by John T. Willis, of Waco, another grandson and by Mrs. Ike Hudson and Miss Sallie Willis of Fort Worth, granddaughters of the deceased. Judge T. M. Willis, who has been ill for a few days, will not be able to attend the funeral in Denton. The services there will be conducted from the home of Mrs. Emory C. Smith, niece of the deceased. -The Abilene Reporter. January 23, 1925, p. 3 Mrs. L. B. Willis, 92, Dies at Abilene; Funeral Here Mrs. L. B. Willis, 92, a former resident of Denton, died at the home of her son, Tom Willis, in Abilene Thursday night and the body is to arrive here at 9:15 A.M. for burial Saturday. Mrs. Willis had been in feeble health for several years and her death was not unexpected. -Denton Record-Chronicle. January 23, 1925, p. 5 Mrs. L. B. Willis of Abilene Buried in Denton Saturday Commitment services for Mrs. L. B. Willis, 96, of Abilene, who died there Thursday night, were held at the I. O. O. F. cemetery here Saturday morning. Mrs. Willis, widow of the late Dr. Willis, was for many years a resident of Denton, where the family were pioneers, and moved to Abilene more than 30 years ago. She was an aunt of Mrs. Emory C. Smith of Denton. The services were in charge of Rev. Sam Black, pastor of the Methodist Church, of which she had been a member since childhood. Funeral services were held at Abilene Friday. The pall-bearers were John H. Cleveland, L. L. Fry, Will Williams, Fred Keyte, George M. Hopkins, R. A. Sledge, W. C. Orr and Will C. Edwards. Those here from out of town to attend the burial were Miss Sallie Willis of Fort Worth, Tom Willis of Abilene and John T. Willis of Waco. -Denton Record-Chronicle. January 24, 1925, p. 6 Thomas L. Willis, M.D., D.D.S. Thomas L. Willis was born on June 27, 1824 in Georgia. It is believed that he was a son of William W. Willis (ca. 1794-1874) and Elizabeth Middlebrook Willis (1795-1862) who are buried in Baptist Rest Cemetery in Brundidge, Pike County, Alabama. William W. Willis served in the Georgia Militia during the War of 1812, and his service and lineal descent through Thomas L. Willis has been accepted by the General Society of the War of 1812. Thomas L. Willis received his medical education at the Medical College of Georgia. His 1849 matriculation ticket, his November 1849 card for institutes and practice of medicine, and his November 1849 card for lectures on obstetrics and diseases of women and infants are still in existence. His hometown was listed as Milltown, Chambers County, Alabama while he was a student at the Medical College of Georgia. On June 17, 1858, Thomas L. Willis and Letitia Barnett Huchison were married in Decatur County, Georgia by the Rev. G. W. Fagg, a Methodist minister. Letitia Barnett Hutchison was born on December 8, 1828 and was the daughter of John Hutchison (1800-1856) and Malinda Penelope Craig Hutchison (1804-1876) who are buried in Attapulgus Presbyterian Cemetery in Decatur County, Georgia. Thomas L. Willis and Letitia Barnett Hutchison Willis had the following known children: Thomas Middlebrook Willis (1859-1937) who married Sallie Ann Parker, Jessie Elizabeth "Bettie" Willis (1861-1934) who married John R. Rabb, and John P. Willis (1864-1884). On the 1860 census, the Thomas L. Willis family is listed in Decatur County Georgia, and his occupation is listed as a physician. They are living next door to Malinda Craig Hutchison. In 1866, the Willis family moved from Pike County, Alabama to Waco, McLennan County, Texas where they planned on residing. While in Waco, they stayed with a relative, Dr. James Madison Willis. Later, Dr. Thomas L. Willis met with a Waco resident to buy a home for his family. While talking with the Waco resident about his property, the man was shot. After this incident Dr. Willis was ready to return to Alabama which he felt was more civilized. His wife, Letitia, persuaded him to remain in Texas for one year. If he was not happy with Texas after that time, she said that they could return to Alabama. Around February 1867, the Willis family traveled by stagecoach to Weatherford, Parker County, Texas where they would reside for the next five years. In Weatherford, he established a medical practice. Later that year, Dr. Willis traveled to Maryland for a six month course in dentistry at Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. He later returned to Weatherford to also practice dentistry. In the August 26, 1871 issue of the Weatherford Times is the following advertisement: DR. T. L. WILLIS, PHYSICIAN AND DENTIST, Offers his professional services to the people of Weatherford and surrounding country. Charges:-Mileage, day, $0.50 Mileage, night, $1.00 Visit, during the day, $1.00 Visit in town, including medicine, $2.00 Obstetrics, $10.00 OFFICE at A. S. Fain's Drug Store, where he can be found during the day, unless professionally absent, July 15, 1871. His Masonic life began in Phoenix Lodge No. 275 of Weatherford, where he was initiated June 23, 1868, passed August 22, 1868, and raised September 26, 1868. He served the Lodge as Senior Steward in 1871. He demitted from Phoenix Lodge on October 28, 1871, and affiliated with Stanfield Lodge No. 217 of Denton on March 23, 1872. He served as Junior Warden in 1875 and went suspended for non-payment of dues on November 10, 1884. In 1872, the Willis family moved to Denton, Denton County, Texas where he continued to practice dentistry. On March 31, 1889, Dr. Thomas Willis passed away, and a graveside service was officiated by the Rev. Mr. Chalk at the Odd Fellows' (I.O.O.F.) Cemetery in Denton on April 1, 1889. Letitia Willis later moved to Abilene, Taylor County, Texas where her son Thomas Middlebrook Willis and his family resided. There she was a member of the First Methodist Church. She later died on January 23, 1925 in Abilene and was buried on January 24,1925 next to her husband at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery of Denton. This information was taken from the book: Thomas L. Willis, MD, DDS, 1824-1889, Pioneer Texas Physician and Dentist, by T. Bradford Willis, DDS, MSD. 2010. Family: Parents: John William Hutchison (1800 - 1856) Melinda Craig Hutchison (1804 - 1876) Spouse: Thomas L. Willis (1824 - 1889) Children: Thomas Middlebrook Willis (1859 - 1937) Jessie Elizabeth Willis Rabb (1861 - 1934) John P. Willis (1864 - 1884) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/pike/photos/willis11383gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 9.4 Kb