HON. DENNIS M. WILLIS The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 381-382 Monongalia HON. DENNIS M. WILLIS. It is not the fortune of every individual to be successful alike in business, finance and pub- lic affairs. Every line of endeavor demands the possession of certain specific qualities and characteristics, and few there are who have so many differentiating ones, or are able to ap- ply those which they possess so as to make them adaptable 'for the securing of prestige. Modern life is exacting; much is demanded of men before they are crowned with success. Public matters are of such a character that a man who rises to high place must have a close and practical knowledge of local as well as state affairs and those of the nation. Modern business and financial conditions are also such that to gain prestige necessitates the possession of abilities beyond the ordinary. However unusual it is for men to gain a full measure of success in more than one line, there are some who have accomplished this feat, and in this connection mention is made of Hon. Dennis M. Willis, of Morgantown, member of the West Virginia State Legis- lature, president of the Union Bank and Trust Company, and a prominent figure in business circles and educational fields of Monongalia County. Mr. Willis was born near Bridgeport, Harrison County, West Virginia, January 15, 1871, and is of the fourth generation of his family in this state. His paternal great- grandfather, William Willis, was the pioneer school teacher of Harrison County, and in 1790 taught the first institution of learning in that county. Henry H. Willis, the father of Dennis M. Willis, was a native of Harrison County, where he married Prudence Jane Martin, also a native of Harrison County, whose paternal grandfather came over from England in 1756, and in that year settled in that county. Dennis M. Willis attended the district schools of his native county, and when still but a boy in years taught in the same schools in which he had received his primary in- struction. In 1891-92 he taught in the Methodist Seminary (now the West Virginia Wesleyan University) at Buck- hannon, and following that was an instructor in various commercial schools until 1895, in which year he became head of the commercial department of the University of West Virginia, at a time when that university was the only one maintaining a commercial department, although the custom is now almost universal. He remained in that capacity until 1917, at which time he resigned, with the intention of retiring altogether from teaching, but a short time following his resignation was offered and accepted the position of financial secretary of the university, a posi- tion he still retains. Professor Willis served as secretary of the West Virginia Alumni Association from 1889 to 1912, inclusive, when he resigned. He holds three degrees from the university. He was graduated a Bachelor of Arts in 1903, received his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1899, and was made a Master of Laws in 1905. One week following the entrance of the United States into the World war Professor Willis sent a letter to the War Department at Washington, D. C., offering his serv- ices, and in the following August was appointed a member of the Draft Board of Monongalia County, of which he was chosen chairman by the members upon the organization of the body, and served in that capacity without remunera- tion for two years, lacking one month, during which time 7,200 registrants came under the jurisdiction of the board, only eighteen of whom were unaccounted for in the final report of the body. Upon application, he gave letters of recommendation to different officers' training camps to twenty-five men in one of his classes, and of that number twenty-three were given commissions. In 1901 Professor Willis was elected a member from Harrison County of the West Virginia House of Delegates, and in that body was active in all legislation, especially along the line of educational interests, and became the author of a bill which largely increased the salaries of county superintendents of schools. While serving as above he was appointed a member of the the special joint com- mittee chosen to call upon the Secretary of the Navy in regard to the proper donation which West Virginia should make to the U. S. Battleship "West Virginia" to show the appreciation of the state for the courtesy conferred upon it by the Government in so naming a great fighting vessel in its honor. This donation took the form of a coat-of-arms of the State of West Virginia, wrought in solid silver, which was placed at the masthead of the vessel. In 1920 Professor Willis was again elected a mem- ber of the State Legislature, this time from Monongalia County. Professor Willis was admitted to the bar of West Vir- ginia in 1901, and is a member of both the Monongalia County and West Virginia Bar Associations, but has never entered practice. He is very active along financial lines and has done much in the way of encouraging development of Morgantown and the vicinity. In 1912 he was one of the organizers of the Labor Building and Loan Association, of which he is now the president. In 1914 he was one of the organizers of the Crude Oil Company, a successful royalty corporation, and is the general manager of this concern at present. In 1920 he was one of the organizers of the Union Bank and Trust Company, of which he was chosen the first president, a capacity in which he is now acting. Professor Willis is a member of the National Educational Association, before the meetings of which he has frequently read papers; of the Phi Sigma Kappa; the Mountain and the Caravan, a students' Masonic organization; Monongalia Lodge No. 4, F and A. M.; Morgantown Kiwanis Club; Morgantown Country Club; and the Methodist Episcopal Church. On March 25, 1903, Professor Willis was united in mar- riage with Miss Gilla Camp, daughter of Ulysses Camp, who resided three miles southwest of Morgantown, on a farm which was conveyed by original patent to the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Willis by Governor Dinwiddie. That farm, together with 77 acres additional, Professor Willis now operates, and on it they make their home, during the summer season. ==== WV-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List ==== ********************************************************************** WV-FOOTSTEPS/USGENWEB NOTICE: These messages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. 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