Denton County Texas Archives Biographies.....Willis, Thomas L. 1824 - 1889 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/txfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: T. Bardford Willis tford53@gmail.com September 16, 2010, 9:21 pm Author: T. Bradford Willis Thomas L. Willis, MD, DDS 1824-1889 Pioneer Texas Physician and Dentist By T. Bradford Willis, DDS, MSD Waco, Texas 2010 Dedicated in memory of John Todd Willis, Jr. (1921 – 1995) and Hester M. Beck Willis (1924 – 2009) Foreword This biographical sketch of my great-great-grandfather Thomas L. Willis is the result of many years of genealogical research. Appreciation is expressed to Mary Annette Willis Zimmerman of Abilene, Texas for her collaborative research on the Willis family since the mid 1970s. Appreciation is also expressed to Evlyn Broumley at the Weatherford Public Library; Ralph Elder at the Barker Texas History Center in Austin; Bruce Mercer of the Masonic Grand Lodge Library and Museum of Texas in Waco; and Alec Williams of the Emily Fowler Public Library in Denton. This project would not have been completed with the assistance of Andrea Anderson and Christabelle Alexander, a pre-dental student at Baylor University, who typed the hand-written pages and placed the photographs on the computer. Thomas L. Willis, MD, DDS Thomas L. Willis was born on June 27, 1824 in Georgia. 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 have been accepted by the General Society of the War of 1812 through General Society Member Number 4467. 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 in Decatur County, Georgia. She 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 medical doctor. They are living next door to Malinda Penelope Craig Hutchison. In 1866, the Willis family moved from Pike County, Alabama to Waco, McLennan County, Texas where they planned on settling. While in Waco, they stayed with a relative, Dr. James Madison Willis. Soon, Dr. Thomas L. Willis met with a Waco resident to discuss the sale of a home for his family. While talking with this resident about the property, the man was shot and killed. After this incident, Thomas L. 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 the 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 and John Fain, a dry goods merchant, moved to Denton, Denton County, Texas where Dr. Thomas L. Willis continued to practice dentistry. They moved to Denton because they felt that Indian attacks were less likely to occur there. On March 31, 1889, Dr. Thomas L. Willis died in Denton, 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. He was buried in Division B, Block 18, Grave 9 at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery. Letitia Barnett Hutchison 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, in Grave 8 at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery of Denton. References Beecher, Maximilian P. Beecher's Manual and Dental Directory of the United States. New York: Beecher & Co, 1884. Blizzard, Dennis F. The Roster of the General Society of the War of 1812. Mendenhall, Pa: The Society, 1989. Butler, Samuel Worcester. The Medical Register and Directory of the United States. Philadelphia: Office of the Medical and surgical reporter, 1874. North, Jack Edward. Pioneers of the Abilene Area. S.l: s.n.], 1978. Pike County Heritage Book Committee (Pike County, Ala.). The Heritage of Pike County, Alabama. [Heritage of Alabama series], v. 55. Clanton, AL: Heritage Pub. Consultants, 2001. Sekanick, Alice. The Hutchison Family: Including Clore, Blankenbaker, Kaifer, Garr, Snyder, Leutert/Lyter, Huffman, Arledge, Featherston, Wade, Rabb. Richardson, Tex: A. Sekanick, 1994. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/denton/bios/willis12nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/txfiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb