John Albert Berriman Wills (1840-1919), the patriarch in the Wills Family, and Anne Reed (1836-1907) married in Truro, Cornwall in July 1866. (Full Biograhy Here) Soon thereafter, they departed for Canada where John worked in the Huntington Copper Mine in Bolton, Quebec and where their first child, Emma Elystra, was born. They soon moved to the Pennsylvania coal mining area where a son, William Henry, was born. Perhaps things were not working well there or the pull of a brother in upstate New York made the small family move once again to Moriah, an iron mining region on the west side of Lake Champlain. They remained there for 20 years while their family expanded to five living children, including John Albert Wills. His older siblings included Emma Elystra, William Henry, Anne Elizabeth and his younger sister was Henrietta called “Etta”.
John A. Wills (1873-1937) was born in Port Henry, Moriah, Essex County, New York. His tale and his family’s is the center of this story.
There are three John Albert Wills featured in this family story. For clarity, John Albert Berriman Wills (1840-1919) will be referred to as J.A.B. Wills. His son, John Albert Wills (1873-1937) will be identified as John A. Wills. John Albert Wills (1910-1985), the fourth child of John A. Wills will be identified as Johnny Wills.
J.A.B. Wills = John Albert Berryman Wills (1840-1919), born in Lelant, Cornwall, England. He married Anne Reed in Truro, Cornwall and immigrated to North America. He was the father of
John A. Wills = John Albert Wills (1873-1937), Born in Port Henry, Essex County, New York, USA. Married Marie Elizabeth Bissonnette in 1903. He was the father of
Johnny Wills = John Albert Wills (1910-1985) and eight other children who are discussed in this blogsite.
There are Wills Family Trees on the internet:
John Albert Wills on Wikitree
John Albert Wills on FamilySearch
John Albert Wills on Find A Grave
John Albert Wills family tree on Ancestry. This includes the FrancoAmerican side of my famly as well as the Wills. If you do not currently have a paid subscription to Ancestry, viewing this tree may be difficult or impossible.
Stories of Wills written 2010-2023 on FrancoAmericanGravy blogspot
Geographical Landmarks of the Wills Family on Google Maps
The photos above are all of John A. Wills and Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Bissonnette Wills
