Willis Family, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Nov. 2005
Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives.

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THE WILLIS FAMILY

BY JIM PERRIN, Local Historian

Coming to Ponchatoula from Illinois more than a century ago, the Willis family 
operated the town's leading hardware store for a generation.

Frederick Peter Willis, the owner of the Willis and Son Hardware Store, was born 
11 May 1852 in Auburn, New York, and was the son of Thomas Willis of Somersetshire, 
England, and Ellen Salvage, also of England.  Fred Willis and his family moved west 
from New York to Iroquois County, Illinois.  Fred grew to manhood on the Illinois 
prairies, helping his father farm the rich black earth.  He married 11 March 1873 
to Bernice Webber, a native of Devonshire, England and daughter of Thomas Webber 
and Mary Thompson.

Fred and Bernice Willis were farming next to Fred's parents when the census was 
conducted in 1880.  They had four children when the census was taken in 1880 but 
would later add three others, all born in Illinois.  Their children were: Ellen, 
Effie V., Frederick C., Thomas R., Jessie A., Harry E., and one additional child 
whose name is not known to this writer.

Sometime in the late 1890's Fred decided to move his family from Illinois to the 
Ponchatoula-Hammond area.  Why he decided to move to this area is uncertain, but as 
his home in Illinois was on the main route of the Illinois Central Railroad which 
had attracted many settlers from the Midwest to Hammond and Ponchatoula, perhaps he 
had heard of business opportunities in south Louisiana.  Fred, Bernice and four of 
their children are listed on the 1900 census in Hammond.  Fred listed his 
occupation as that of a merchant, and his son Fred C. Willis was then working in a 
laundry. 

Fred purchased a lot on the south side of West Pine Street in Ponchatoula, which 
is the current location of Roussel's Antiques, and erected a handsome brick 
building.  His two story building, erected sometime between 1903 and 1908, 
featured a steel storefront (the molded metal columns and facade in front of the 
store) and attractive display windows.  His business, The Willis and Son Hardware 
Company, featured a wide variety of hardware items, plus an assortment of wagons, 
buggies, and surreys.

When the 1910 census was conducted Fred and Bernice were living in Hammond, and 
Fred was listed as the proprietor of a hardware store.  His son Frederick C. 
Willis (b. ca. 1877 in Illinois) had married Florence Crosby (b. ca. 1881 in 
Illinois, daughter of Fred and Elizabeth Crosby, who were then residents of 
Tangipahoa parish).  Young Fred Willis, his wife, and their two children were 
living on Pine Street in Ponchatoula in 1910, probably above the hardware store.  
When the census was again taken in 1920 all of the Willis' were living in 
Ponchatoula.

Fred P. Willis decided to retire from the hardware business in 1920 and sold the 
business to W. J. Ganucheau of New Orleans and Wilmer Hardy "Will" Richardson, a 
native of Kentwood, LA.  Will Richardson later bought out his partner and operated 
a hardware store in this location for several decades.

Bernice Willis had suffered some health problems and she and Fred decided to move 
west in hopes that a change of climates might improve her condition.  By 1922, they 
had settled in Portland, Oregon.  Bernice died there 3 Nov. 1931, and Fred died 
there 11 Nov. 1939.  Fred C. Willis and his wife Florence also moved to Portland, 
where in 1930 he was working as the manager of another hardware store. 

Fred P. Willis and his family, through the operation of their hardware store, 
contributed to the Ponchatoula economy during the first two decades of the 
twentieth century and added another strand to the multicolored fabric of 
Ponchatoula society.

Anyone with comments, questions, or additional information about Ponchatoula's 
rich heritage may call Jim Perrin at 386-4476.