Edward WILLIS

1778 - 1854  (~ 75 years)

• Name	Edward WILLIS
  Born	Sept 1778
  Christened	25 Sep 1778	Rollesby, Norfolk, UK   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Notes for biography	* See the notes of Clive Challis. * Edward was the fourth of five siblings but his three sisters all died at a few months old and so the only surviving sibling was his brother Henry who was five years older than him. * With his brother, Henry, Edward moved to Kent * Edward commenced employment as a boat builder in Chatham Dockyard in July 1801, on an annual wage of £80 0s 11d (ref : National Archives ref ADM 42/284). * He married Elizabeth Palmer in 1803 in Kent. * Edward had Elizabeth had seven (or 6??) children between 1804 and 1821. * Although marrying in Rochester, Edward and Elizabeth settled in Chatham. He was in Richard St, Chatham for the census of 1841 and 1851. * He was still a shipwright in the 1841 census and was a Greenwich Pensioner in the 1851 census. * Elizabeth died in 1849 and, after about five years, Edward died in 1854. * It appears from his will that he died a wealthy man, with properties in Rochester and Chatham, which he left to his children. * Edward was the last of a long line of small freeholders in Norfolk, but settled in Chatham. (ref : Burke???)   [1]
  Occupation	* Edward commenced employment as a boat builder in Chatham Dockyard in July 1801, on an annual wage of £80 0s 11d (ref : National Archives ref ADM 42/284). * He was still a shipwright in the 1841 census * He was a Greenwich Pensioner in the 1851 census.  [1]
  Residence	With his brother, Henry, Edward moved to Kent, where he married Elizabeth Palmer. Although marrying in Rochester, Edward and Elizabeth settled in Chatham. He was in Richard St, Chatham for the census of 1841 and 1851.   [1]
  Died	Mar 1854	Medway Registration District, Kent, UK   [1]
  Person ID	I8	Samuel WAY
  Last Modified	7 Sep 2016

  
  

  Father	Henry WILLIS,   d. 1820
  Mother	Elizabeth LETTING,   b. 1742,   d. 9 May 1781, Rollesby, Kent, Uk  (Age 39 years)
  Married	18 Dec 1770	Rollesby, Norfolk, UK
  Family ID	F24	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth PALMER,   b. 1783,   d. 13 Jul 1849, Catham, Kent, UK  (Age 66 years)
  Married	18 Jul 1803	St Margaret's Church, Rochster, Kent, UK   [1]
  	There is an indication that the marriage was in 1834, but that can't be correct.
  Children of the marriage	It is thought that Edward and Elizabeth had seven (or 6?) children :- * Their firstborn, Elizabeth Sarah born in February 1804 died shortly after her second birthday in June 1806. * Henry, born in October 1805 followed his father and was also employed as a Shipwright at Chatham Dockyard. * Elizabeth Sarah - the second by this name - born 1809 * Jane born in October 1811 married James Way. * In the 1841 Census 7 year old Elizabeth Way is living with Edward and Elizabeth, and may be Elizabeth's daughter. [Don Gordon's comment : The Elizabeth WAY in the 1841 census was NOT a daughter of Elizabeth WILLIS (nee PALMER). In 1841, a 7 year old would have been born about 1834 which is a generation after the rest of the Willis-Palmer children. In fact she was almost certainly the grand-daughter - ie the first daughter of Jane who married James Way. * Sarah followed in 1816, * followed by Mary Ann, incorrectly shown as Margaret on the 1851 census, is thought to have been born in 1821, although no record of her baptism can be found in the records of St Mary's, Chatham. Mary Ann married Gilbert Pledge. Mary Ann's daughter-in-Law, Julia wife of her son, George, died in March 1956, age 90 and left an estate of £224 2s 0d.
  Children	1. Elizabeth Sarah WILLIS,   b. Feb 1804,   d. 1806  (Age ~ 1 years)   2. Henry WILLIS,   b. Oct 1805,   d. Before 1881  (Age ~ 75 years) + 3. Edward WILLIS,   b. 13 Feb 1807, Chatham, Kent, UK + 4. Elizabeth Sarah WILLIS,   b. 1809,   d. 1890  (Age 81 years) + 5. Jane WILLIS,   b. Oct 1811, Chatham, Kent, UK ,   d. 15/5/1878, North Adelaide, SA  (Age ~ 66 years) + 6. Sarah WILLIS,   b. 1815,   d. 20 Sep 1869  (Age 54 years) + 7. Mary Ann WILLIS,   b. 1821,   d. 1863  (Age 42 years)
  Last Modified	28 Aug 2016
  Family ID	F5	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S7] Clive Challis - UK - ID 351 on this website - more details are on his website on ancestry.com.