James William Willis
In the death of James W. Willis, in 1906, there was removed another of those prominent business men of Washington C. H., Ohio, who have made their way in life by force of their own merit and industry from small beginnings to great successes, and his memory will long be revered and his influence for good felt in this section of the state, for he belonged to that class of worthy and noble citizens who leave behind them much that is deathless. He was a man of absolute honesty, always on the advance, and managed his extensive business affairs with a skill and prudence which came of accurate knowledge and wide experience. His rise in the world was at the expense of no one, and in his death Washington C. H. and Fayette county sustained a great loss and a wide circle of friends was left to mourn his passing away, for he was universally regarded as one of Washington's most useful and enterprising men of affairs, of which city he had been an active and influential citizen for many years.
There flowed in the veins of James W. Willis an admixture of the blood of those sturdy races from across the sea which have contributed so largely to the progress and advancement of this great country of ours—England and Ireland. From England came his paternal grandfather Willis, who married Eleanor Montgomery. He came to the United States when eighteen years of age and settled at once in Fayette county, Ohio. He acquired a farm in Jefferson township and there spent the remainder of his days, dying there when past eighty years of age. To him and his wife were born the following children: Henry, James, Robert, Samuel, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Gifford, Mrs. Boyer, Mrs. Fichthorn, Mrs. Thornburg, John. On the maternal side, the subject was descended from Robert Hogue, who, with his wife, came from the emerald isle and also became early settlers in Fayette county, their home being in Jasper township. Their children were John. Robert, William and Belinda. Of the children of these respective families, Samuel Willis and Belinda Hogue, who were both born in Fayette county, married, and to them were born ten children, namely : Samantha (Stover), Lucinda. Sallie, Ida, James W., Tillie, Lina, Linda and Jennie.
Samuel Willis passed his entire life in Fayette county, following the vocation of farming in Jasper township, where he owned one hundred and ten acres of excellent land. He was a man of splendid character, who enjoyed the respect of all who knew him. and his death occurred there in 1871, when about fifty-one years of age. His wife died in 1881, when sixty-five years of age. They were Methodists in their religious belief and were known for their kindness and benevolence. Mr. Willis was a soldier in the Civil War during the last year of that great struggle.
James W. Willis was born in Jasper township on the 4th day of June, 1853, and he remained on the paternal homestead until he had attained his maturity. He had received a good practical education in the district schools, and sometime after attaining his majority he moved to Jamestown and for a short time was engaged in the hotel business. He then went to Milledgeville and built a home, engaging there in the timber and lumber business. Later he engaged in agricultural pursuits, which always had for him a special attraction and in which he was always successful, though at the same time he gave some of his attention to the lumber business, About that same time Mr. Willis and John L. Barnes, engaged in the buying and selling of live stock for several years, meeting with very satisfactory results. In 1887, Mr. Willis came to Washington C. H. and engaged first in the butchering business, later adding the handling of live stock, and still later he again embarked in the lumber business and ran a saw mill, which commanded his attention up to the time of his death. It was a testimonial to his versatility of talent and his ready ability to adapt himself to any circumstances or demands upon him, that he could engage in so many different lines of enterprise and handle all of them successfully. In addition to the lines already mentioned, Mr. Willis established and built the present chair factory and engaged quite extensively in the manufacture of chairs and he was the chief actor in the promotion and establishment of the P. Haggerty Shoe Company. He was the owner of the Millwood addition to the city of Washington C. H., which he improved with splendid pavements and sidewalks, so that it became one of the most attractive suburbs of the city. He was a stockholder and director of the Commercial Bank, one of the solid financial institutions of Fayette county. Mr. Willis bought the old D. I. Worthington home and here he lived and dispensed an old-fashioned hospitality that was greatly enjoyed by his large circle of warm and loyal friends. He was a man of genial and kindly impulses, who continually made friends and never sacrificed any.
Politically, Mr. Willis was a Republican from principle, and took a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs, though too busy a man himself to mix much in political affairs. Fraternally, he was a member of and took a deep interest in the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, in which he took the degrees up to and including those of Knight Templar. Though not a member of any church. Mr. Willis was an attendant of the Baptist church, to which Mrs. Willis belongs, and he was a firm believer in every movement the object of which was the uplift of the human race. The death of Mr. Willis occurred on the 25th day of July, 1906, at the age of fifty-three years.
On August 20, 1882, James W. Willis married Carrie Spangler, who was born in Ross county, Ohio, on April 23, 1863, the daughter of Dr. Robert W. and Margaret (Somerville ) Spangler, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. Mrs. Margaret Spangler died in Ross county, Ohio, at the age of forty-one years. She had borne her husband five children. Lucy Jane, John Mlosby, Charles Somerville, Carrie Belle and Fred .Arthur. Doctor Spangler was a practicing physician in Ross county for about twenty years and in Milledgeville for a like period, thus rounding out an honorable and successful professional career of four decades. His death occurred in 1897, at the age of about sixty-one years. having survived his wife more than thirty years. Mrs. Willis' paternal grandfather, Frederick Arthur Spangler, was a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Jane Cornelius, was born in Kentucky. She died in middle life and he at the age of about seventy years. Mrs. Willis' maternal grandfather, John A. Somerville, was born in Scotland. He came to the United States in 1808, settling in Ross county, Ohio, and there married Elizabeth Smith, who was born in Highland county, Ohio. She died when past sixty years of age. and he lived to the remarkable age of ninety-three years. They were the parents of the following children: Jane (Steele), Rebecca (Dill), Mary (Howells). Nancy (Reed), Margaret (Spangler), Sarah Somerville. and several who died before reaching mature years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Willis were born eleven children, namely: Bessie Janet, who is the wife of Ralph O. Young and the mother of a daughter. Jane; Lina Marion, who is doing settlement work in Knoxville, Tennessee; Willard S., who remains at home with his mother, is manager of the Willis Lumber Companv, at Washington, C.H.; Helen May is the wife of C. G. Beckel, of Dayton, Ohio, and they have a son, Cambridge; Robert Ervin, Charles Somerville, Carrie Eleanor, Richard Rochester and Willis Hegler are at home, and two who died in infancy.
James W. Willis was in the fullest sense of the word a progressive, virile American citizen, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced age in which he lived. He made good use of his opportunities and prospered from year to year, conducting all business matters carefully and systematically and in all his acts displaying an aptitude for successful management. He did not permit the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his actions toward those less fortunate than he, and he always had a cheerful word and a helping hand for those in need. He was a most companionable gentleman and all who came within range of his influence were loud in their praise of his splendid
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)