William MILLS

                   Notes:
William Mills 25.223   I  PG  £108.3.11    Dec 6 1705  Jan 8 1705
Servants mentioned: John Burk, John Barrat, Elisabeth Tharp.
Appraisers: Walter Smith, Hezekiah Bussee.
Mentions: widow (unnamed).
List of debts: Gabriell Burnham, Samuell Taylor, Mrs. Mary Bevan, Richard Bevan, James Waple, William Head, Hezekiah Bussee, James Moroney, William Chappman, Rouland Hall.

William Mills 26.136  A PG  £108.3.11    £128.1.4   Oct 29 1706
Received from: Capt. Timothy Keyter, Mr. John Bradford.
Payments to: Capt. Hide, George Young assigned to John Bradford, Capt. John Hyde, Thomas Trottman, John Pottinger for use of Martha Blanford, Mr. Thomas Greenfield, George Jones, Col. Walter Smith, Isaac Wills, Nathaniell Magruder, widow Mills, John Rooks, Josh. Cecill, Gabriell Burnam, Samuel Taylor, James Wapple.
Administrator: Mr. John Bradford.

William Mills 29.174  I PG  £3.16.0 (between entries for Oct 6 and Dec 1 1708)
Appraisers: Walter Smith, Hezekiah Bussee.
                  

                   Notes:
The probable birthdate of Eleanor Magruder, the wife of Nehemiah Wade is the most convincing argument against Sarah Pottenger, born 1659, being the wife of Samuel Magruder (1660-1711) and in favor of the Sarah Mills, born 1670, favored by (I think) Linda Reno. Eleanor Magruder was most likely born after the 23 Nov 1710 will of her father and possibly after his death which was before his 16 Apr 1711 probate. Eleanor isn't mentioned in her father's will but is given as a daughter of Samuel and Sarah Magruder and the wife of Nehemiah Wade in the 16 Jan 1731/32 will of her mother, Sarah Magruder. Nehemiah Wade was born about 1705, and Eleanor and he were married about 1729.

Magruder, Sarah, widow, Prince George Co., 16th Jan., 1731; 9th May, 1734.
To dau. Eleanor wife of Nehemiah Wade and granddau. Sarah dau. of George Clagett and dau. Mary, deceased, and their hrs., 300 A., "Headake," on e. branch of Potomack, divided equally; should either die without issue survivor to inherit portion of deceased.
" daus. Elizabeth wife of William Bell, and Virlinder wife of John Bell, each a silver tankard.
" dau. Eleanor Wade, Mary Edmondson, William son of William Selby, Sarah and John dau. and son of son Ninian, Samuel son of Ninian Bell, deceased, Sarah Clagett, child. John, James, Verlinder, Alexander and Eleanor, personalty.
Residue of personal estate not before bequeathed to be divided between sons and daus. Samuel, Ninian, Elizabeth, John, James, Verlinder, William, Alexander and afsd. grand-dau. Sarah Clagett.
Exs.: Son John and John Bell.
Test: John Baldwin Adamson, Ann Adamson, Rupert Butler. 21. 246

Mrs.  Sarah Magruder  20.54     PG   £543.17.4    Sep 3 1734   Sep 28 1734
Appraisers: Thomas Clagett, Richard Keene.
Creditors: John Caswell, Joseph Baser.
Next of kin: Samuel Magruder, Ninian Magruder.
Administrators/Executors: Mary Magruder, John Magruder, John Beal (merchant).

Sarah Magruder (widow)    13.31  A PG £543.17.4  £185.19.8 Apr 22 1735
Received from: Jonas Lewis, John Magruder, Joseph Adams.
Payments to: Dr. John Haswell, Joseph Ensor, Peter Hoggins, John Beal (accountant), Nehemiah Wade, John Gibson due Daniel Dulany, Esq.
Legatees: Elisabeth Beal (daughter), Virlinda Beal (daughter) wife of John Beal (accountant), Elloner Wade (daughter), William Selby, John Magruder (accountant), James Magruder (son), Alexander Magruder (son).
Executors: MM John Magruder, John Beal (gentleman).

Sarah Magruder  15.38 A PG Jun 22 1736
Received from: William Hunt, Samuell Hide, James Magruder.
Payments to: Benjamin Tasker & Danniell Dulany, Esq., Peter Dent, Danniell Dulany, Esq., Alexander Contee, Dr. Joseph Coleman, Dr. Thomas Creigo.
Payments to (in equal amounts): Samuell Magruder, Ninian Magruder, William Beale, James Magruder, William Magruder, Alexander Magruder, Nehemiah Wade, John Magruder (accountant), John Beale (accountant).
Legatees: John Magruder (grandson), James Edmonson for Mary Edmonson (granddaughter).
Executors: MM John Magruder, John Beal (gentleman).

Sarah Magruder; Prince Georges Co. Will Liber T, fol. 235; 16 Jan. 1731-1 May 1734
In the name of God, Amen. I Sarah Magruder of Prince Georges County in the Province of Maryland, Widow, being well and in health of body and of sound disposing mind and Memory, praised be allmighty God therefore Considering the Certainty of Death and the Uncertainty of the time thereof, do make and declare these present for and in my last Will and testament in manner and form following.
That is to say, first & principally my Soul I recommend into the hands of allmighty God my Creator who gave it trusting & aassuredly believing that in and through the alone merits and mediation of my blessed Saviour and redeemer Jesus Christ, to obtain free pardon and forgiveness of all my sins and life Everlasting in the World to Come. my Body I comit to the Earth from whence it came to be Decently interred at the Discretion of my Executors hereafter named. And to the disposing of my Worldly Estate wherewith God of his Goodness hath blessed me in this World after my Just Debts and funeral Expenses being thereout first paid and Satisfied I give and dispose thereof in manner and form following:
Imprimis: my land called Head Ake lying in the Eastern Branch of Potowmack Containing three hundred Acres I will and bequeath to be equally Divided between my Daughter Eleanor Wade, wife of Nehemiah Wade, and Sarah Claggett, Daughter of George Claggett and my daughter Mary Claggett descd and the Heirs of their Bodies lawfully begotten and to be (held) by them forever. My Said Daughter Eleanor Wade to have new Quarter on the Said land Woodland Ground thereunto Conveniently adjoining the whole to Contain one hundred and fifty acres and the said Sarah Clagett to have the Plantation lately in possession of the said George Clagett and the remainder of the said Land but if either of them shall Decease without Heirs Lawfully begotten then the said Land to go to the Survivour and the Heirs of Her Body lawfully begotten forever.
Item: I will and bequeath unto my Daughter Elizabeth Beall, wife of William Bell, one Silver Tankard to her own use benefit and disposal.
Item: I will and bequeath unto my Daughter Verlinda Bell one Silver Tankard to her own use benefitt and Disposal
Item: I Will and bequeath unto my Daughter Eleanor Wade two Silver Tumblers, two Silver Salt and Six Silver Spoons to her own use Benefitt and disposal.
Item: I Will and bequeath unto Mary Edmonson Six Silver Spoons
Item: I Will and bequeath unto William Selby, son of William Selby, Six Silver Spoons and one negro Girl
Item: I Will and bequeath unto Sarah Magruder, Daughter of Ninian Magruder, my Son, one negro Man called Will.
Item: I Will and bequeath unto John Magruder, Son of my said son Ninian Magruder, one Mulatto by name of Bailey
Item: I Will and bequeath unto Samuel Bell, Son of Ninian Bell, desc, one negro boy named Batchelor now in Possession of the said Samuel Bell
Item: I Will and bequeath unto the said Sarah Claggett one negro Girl
Item: I Will and bequeath unto my Sons and Daughters John, James, Verlinda, Alexander and Eleanor each one working negro
All the rest and residue of my Personall estate not before bequeathed I Will and bequeath to be equally Divided between my Sons and Daughters Samuel, Ninian, Elizabeth, John, James, Verlinda, William, Alexander and Eleanor and my said Granddaughter Sarah Clagett.
Lastly I do hereby revoke make Null and Void all former Wills by me at any time heretofore made Ratifying and Confirming these presents for and as my Last Will and Testament and do hereby nominate ordain Constitute and appoint my Son John Magruder and John Bell Executors of this my Last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and affixed my Seal this Sixteenth Day of January in the year of our Lord God one Thousand seven Hundred thirty and one.
Signed, Sealed, Published and Declared In the presence of Jas Baldwin Adamson, Ann Adamson, Rupert Butler
On 1 May 1734 came John Baldwin Addamson and Ann Addamson......

Sarah Bell arrived 1675. Vol. XVIII, folio 306, Land Office, Annapolis. She m Sept. 1681, James English of Somerset County. Court Records, Vol. DBIKL, local court, Somerset County, 1681

March 29 1675; Passengers Imported in the Concord of New Castle ...[by]...Michaell Taylor, Edward Robinson, Master.: Antho: Philips, Richard Smith, Robert Story, Henry Plomer, James Hunter, Leonard Milborn, Antho: Coxon, Matt: Brown, Xtopher Macknele, Tho. Birckett, Edward Wilkeson, Geo: Sturdy, Geo: Waters, Geo: Blades, Michael Studham, Richd: Anderson, Jane Stuard, Tho: Hewson, Jane Taylor, Margaret Midcalfe, Sarah Bell, Eliza: Trotter, Ann Leathett, Jane Beadle, Jane Houghen, Jane White, Eliz: Thompson, Margaret Wilkeson, Elizabeth Pratt, Twenty nine persons in all proved by the above named Michael Taylor before me this 29th March 1675.  /s/ Charles Calvert
I Michael Taylor doe Asigne over all my Rights of these Twenty nine Servants Imported by Tho. Taylor of Great Choptank. Witness my hand March the 30th 1675.  /s/ Michael Taylor.
May 5 1675; Warrant then Granted to Tho. Taylor of Great Choptank for one thousand four hundred and fifty acres of Land due unto me by the above assignment from Michael Taylor. [Maryland Patents, Lib.18:306. LDS film 0013071]

James English and Sarah Bee were married by Capt David Browne ye twenty September Ano Dm 1681.
Elizabeth English daughter of James English born of Sarah his wife ye third day of February Anno Dom 1681
The above quotes come from Somerset Co., MD land records; Lib.DB no. IKL:72+. LDS film 0014363.

From: "Clagett, Brice" 
To: GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Beall/Magruder/Pottenger/Mullikin
Several people have asked for my reasons for concluding that John Pottenger married Mary Mullikin and Samuel Magruder married Sarah Pottenger. Here is a brief summary.
Mary Mullikin of Calvert Co., MD., widow of John Demall (Demarell) and of James Mullikin, made a testamentary deed in 1667 in which she named her children John Demall (jr.) and James (jr.), Mary and Elizabeth Mullikin. Archives of MD. 57:216.
John Demall (jr.), in his will of 1725, named his "cosen" Robert Pottenger. MD. Calendar of Wills 6:36. (This reference was called to my attention many years ago by Douglas Richardson.) Mary Mullikin's will shows that John Demall (jr.) had no full brothers or sisters but did have three half-siblings through his mother's second marriage, to James Mullikin.
The inventory of John Demall (jr.) in 1727 named Thomas Mullikin as next of kin. Thomas Mullikin was a son of James Mullikin jr.
John and Mary Pottenger had a son Robert Pottenger, who, being the only man of that name in Maryland at the time, was obviously the "cosen" named in John Demall (jr.)'s will. Chronology indicates that Robert was a generation younger than John Demall jr., making an uncle-nephew relationship most likely.
No marriage or other post-1667 record has been found of Mary Mullikin, daughter of James and Mary, under that name.
An exhaustive study of the Pottengers in England fails to suggest any way in which Robert Pottenger could have been related to John Demall jr. through Robert's father. See Neil R. Thompson and Paul C. Reed, "The Ancestry of John Pottenger, Immigrant to Maryland in 1684," TAG 68:139 (1993).
It is concluded that the Pottenger-Demall relationship came through Robert Pottenger's mother. The obvious inference is that John Pottenger's wife, Mary, was Mary Mullikin, half-sister of John Demall jr.
Samuel Magruder named "my brother John Pottenger" in his will. If John Pottenger married Mary Mullikin, the only way in which Magruder and Pottenger could be brothers (-in-law) is if Magruder's wife Sarah was Pottenger's sister, and as shown previously John Pottenger did have a sister Sarah who is otherwise unaccounted for. Nat Taylor asks how we can foreclose the possibility that Magruder's wife was a Mullikin. The answer is that Mary Mullikin named no daughter Sarah in her testamentary deed of 1667, and there seems no reason to believe that she had other children not mentioned.
                  

                   Notes:
If John Pottenger's wife truly was Mary Mullikin, would Elizabeth (Mullikin) Hartup have gotten the whole of the estate of their half-brother James Williams per the following? (James Williams had already given land to James Mullikin.)
Prince George's County deed book M, page 222, in 1726, John Demall age 70 gave a deposition regarding 100 acres of "Wood's Joy" formerly in Charles Co. and James Williams and his son James. James died without bequest so the 100 acres went to Richard Hartrup by his wife Elizabeth, who was a sister to James Mullikin, deceased, father of James Mullikin. James Mullikin, deceased, and Elizabeth were children of James Mullikin and his wife Mary.

Ninian BEALL did have a daughter named Mary, but she married Andrew HAMILTON. In 1706, Ninian BEALL gave his daughter Mary a young Negro woman Nanny, age 5. (Prince George'e Co. MD deeds C:186a) The will of Ninian BEALL gave his son-in-law Andrew HAMBLETON a Negro woman named Allie. (MD Wills 14:504)  The will of Andrew HAMILTON (MD Cal. of Wills 4:211) named his wife Mary. The inventory of Andrew HAMILTON's estate listed a young Negro woman named Nanny, and a Negro woman named Ailie. These records show that Mary, daughter of Ninian BEALL married Andrew HAMILTON.

Mary Bell arrived 1666.  Vol. X, folio 417, Land Office, Annapolis. She m Peter Elsey, Nov. 11, 1672, Somerset County. Court Records, Vol. DBIKL, local court, Somerset County, 1672.
December 1666
Came Samuel Chew of Ann Arundell County Gent and demands Land for the transportation of these persons following. Viz: Robert Howes, Daniel Rogers, William Perce, Ann Cary, Mary Bell and George Tapscott (all his own Servants) into this province here to inhabit. Warrant granted to the said Chew for three hundred acres of Land and the thirteenth day of December returnable the thirthieth of May next on serving the which warrant ....?......  away unto Daniell Jennifer of St.Maries in the County of St.Maries gent, in manner and form following. Viz: [Chew sells his warrant and rights to land of 300 acres to Daniell Jennifer for an unspecified amount in hand]  Signed and Sealed this thirteenth day of December Anno Domini one thousand Six hundred Sixty and six. /s/ Saml Chew
Witnesses:Edward Savage, William Burges. [Proved before Charles Calvert] [Maryland Patents, Lib.10:286.  LDS film 0013068] Note: The demand for land could take place months or years after the arrival of the immigrant.
John Elzey [sic] died at Mancokin and was buried at the plantation there in May 1665(?).
John Elzey Jr. the son of John Elzey aforesaid died and was buried at Manockin in the  year of our Lord 1667.
Peter Elzey and Mary Bell were married by Mr. Rev. Maddert Clarke on the eleventh  day of November 1672.
The birth of four Peter Elzey/Mary Bell children are then listed, the last in Feb 1678 (1678/9). Arnold Elzey appears to be a brother and was married to Major (sic) Walter by Capt. David Browne (same as Sarah) in 1682.  There are also Evans marriages and births.
All the above quotes come from Somerset Co., MD land records; Lib.DB no. IKL:72+. LDS film 0014363.

From: "Clagett, Brice" 
To: GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Beall/Magruder/Pottenger/Mullikin
Several people have asked for my reasons for concluding that John Pottenger married Mary Mullikin and Samuel Magruder married Sarah Pottenger. Here is a brief summary:
Mary Mullikin of Calvert Co., MD., widow of John Demall (Demarell) and of James Mullikin, made a testamentary deed in 1667 in which she named her children John Demall (jr.) and James (jr.), Mary and Elizabeth Mullikin. Archives of MD. 57:216.
John Demall (jr.), in his will of 1725, named his "cosen" Robert Pottenger. MD. Calendar of Wills 6:36. (This reference was called to my attention many years ago by Douglas Richardson.) (In addition, his wife Mary bequeathed "To child. of cous. Ann Pottonger, personalty in payment for services rendered by their deceased father Robert.") Mary Mullikin's deeds shows that John Demall (jr.) had no full brothers or sisters but did have three half-siblings through his mother's second marriage, to James Mullikin.
The inventory of John Demall (jr.) in 1727 named Thomas Mullikin as next of kin. Thomas Mullikin was a son of James Mullikin jr.
John and Mary Pottenger had a son Robert Pottenger, who, being the only man of that name in Maryland at the time, was obviously the "cosen" named in John Demall (jr.)'s will. Chronology indicates that Robert was a generation younger than John Demall jr., making an uncle-nephew relationship most likely.
No marriage or other post-1667 record has been found of Mary Mullikin, daughter of James and Mary, under that name.
An exhaustive study of the Pottengers in England fails to suggest any way in which Robert Pottenger could have been related to John Demall jr. through Robert's father. See Neil R. Thompson and Paul C. Reed, "The Ancestry of John Pottenger, Immigrant to Maryland in 1684," TAG 68:139 (1993).
It is concluded that the Pottenger-Demall relationship came through Robert Pottenger's mother. The obvious inference is that John Pottenger's wife, Mary, was Mary Mullikin, half-sister of John Demall jr.
Samuel Magruder named "my brother John Pottenger" in his will. If John Pottenger married Mary Mullikin, the only way in which Magruder and Pottenger could be brothers (-in-law) is if Magruder's wife Sarah was Pottenger's sister, and as shown previously John Pottenger did have a sister Sarah who is otherwise unaccounted for. Nat Taylor asks how we can foreclose the possibility that Magruder's wife was a Mullikin. The answer is that Mary Mullikin named no daughter Sarah in her testamentary deed of 1667, and there seems no reason to believe that she had other children not mentioned.

Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 12:48:32 -0400
From: "Clagett, Brice" 
To: GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Mullikin-Pottenger-Magruder
John Ravilious asked in his post of April 29 whether there is anything new on my end re Mullikin-Pottenger-Magruder questions.Yes there is: I have concluded that my theory, posted Nov. 27 and 29, 2001, about the wives of Samuel Magruder and John Pottenger can't be sustained, for three reasons:
1. There is no evidence that Sarah Pottenger, sister of John, came to Maryland.
2. Mary (Waylett, Demall, Mullikin) Williams did have a daughter Mary (whether by her 2d or 3d husband seems uncertain), but that daughter married (1) Richard Wallis, (2) John Hill, and chronology forbids that she also married John Pottenger.
3. Research by Fredric Z. Saunders has convinced me that Robert Pottenger's wife, Ann Evans, was a niece of Mary Evans, wife of John Demall jr., and that this adequately explains the reference in the latter's will to Robert Pottenger as "cousin."
So we are back to square one: Samuel Magruder married a Sarah; John Pottenger married a Mary; Samuel Magruder's will called John Pottenger "brother." No one, including me, has yet shown how this relationship existed. The most likely explanation is that the wives were sisters. But, if so, there is not the slightest evidence that, as asserted ad nauseam, their maiden name was Bell or Beall.
I apologize: this is all off-topic. But since my original theory found its way here, it is best for my renunciation of it to be here also.
An on-topic query re Magruder: I have recently come across an allegation that James McGruder (d. c. 1593), paternal grandfather of Alexander Magruder who came to Maryland, married Margaret Drummond of Drummondearnoch, Perthshire. Does any one know anything about this branch of the Drummonds? Scots Peerage 7:40 shows that the first Drummond of Drummondearnoch was Thomas, younger son of Sir Malcolm Drummond and Marion Murray who were married in 1445, but Thomas' descendants are not traced.
                  

                   Notes:
Mills, John, Prince George's Co., 21st Oct., 1717; 25th. Jan., 1717/18.
To son William, ex., and hrs., 50 A., being upper pt. of tract bou. of John Tait, and 40 A. bou. of Richard Edwards.
" son Robert and hrs., lower 50 A. of tract bou. of John Tait, and personalty; to be free at decease of testator.
" son Richard, personalty.
" son John, 5s.
" daus. Ellinor, Seliner and Mary Travis, granddau. Elizabeth Travis and grandsons John and William Mills Travis, personalty.
Residue of personal estate to wife and child. equally, excepting son John.
Test: Benjamin Brassoure, Thos. Willson, Jr., Thos. Brassure, Nathaniel Wickham, Sr., Chas. Hyatt, Sam. Bresshear, Sr. 14. 664.

John Mills 39B.77   I  PG  £42.10.0     Feb 6 1717
Appraisers: Samuell Brashier, John Turner, Sr.
Approvers: Robert Mills, Richard Mills.

John Mills 39B.75   A  PG   £42.10.0      £43.19.7    May 13 1716 [?]
Payments to: Mr.  William Smith.
Administrator: William Mills

From: "Larry Mills" 
To: MDPGEORG-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: [MDPGEORG]  John Mills & Mary O'Luine
I am looking for any & all information of John Mills that married Mary O'Luine in Prince George's County in the late 1600's or early 1700's.  John Mills was the son of William Mills and Tabitha Wight.  William Mills first owned land in Calvert County and his land was named Trenent.
I also believe William Mills owned property in Anne Arundel County (NO PROOF).
William was supposed to have been born in Scotland, again NO PROOF.
Also, has anyone that descends from this family taken the DNA test?
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Larry Mills
Mooresburg, TN
                  

                   Notes:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnwcogs/famhist/willett.html
EDWARD1 WILLETT: He married ELIZABETH PEGG, daughter of JOHN PEGG and MARY.
Child of EDWARD WILLETT and ELIZABETH PEGG is:
2. i. EDWARD2 WILLETT, b. October 19, 1657, Hertford, England.

Generation No. 2
2. EDWARD2 WILLETT (EDWARD1) was born October 19, 1657 in Hertford, England. He married TABITHA MILL, daughter of WILLAIM MILL and TABITHA HILLIARY.
Notes for EDWARD WILLETT:
Edward Willett (2), the progenitor of those herein enumerated, was born on October 19, 1657, in Hertford, England, the son of Edward Willett (1) and Elizabeth Pegg. Edward Willett (2) was christened in Hertford's Church of All Saints and Saint John, the same Church in which his parents were married on November 18, 1656. According to a deposition in 1718, Edward Willett gave his age as 60. Additional depositions continue to place his date of birth as 1657 / 1658.
During the Colonial Period double year dates are given on many wills and other documents. In 1582 the Roman Catholic Church adopted a new, more accurate calendar known as the Gregorian calendar to replace the Julian calendar. Catholic countries followed suit. England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until September 1752. The difference in the calendars was significant. The New Year started on January 1 in the Gregorian calendar and March 25 in the Julian calendar. When England and the colonies changed over to the Gregorian calendar a period of eleven days had to be canceled out. The day following September 2, 1752 became September 14, 1752. Riots erupted because of the loss of those eleven days.
While England was not using the Gregorian calendar, they did take notice of it. Documents and legal papers recorded both dates. After December 21, 1637, one might see January 1, 1637/8. Then starting March 25, both calendars would be 1638.
Elizabeth Pegg, the mother of Edward Willett (2), was christened at All Saints and St John's Church in Hertford on February 10, 1632. She was the daughter of John Pegg and Mary ____. John Pegg was christened in the same Church on June 2, 1605 and his Father's name was given as Henry Pegg. Through his mother's side of the family Edward Willett (2) was raised as an Anglican, with their Church often being referred to as The Church of England, or Episcopalian. Maryland documents reveal St Paul's Anglican Church at Mount Calvert (Charles Town) where Edward Willett (2) lived as early as 1682. Eventually St Middleton, in Baden replaced this deteriorating Church.
Just when his uncle brought Edward Willett into the Province of Maryland has not been proved. It was probably as early as 1666. Edward Willett (2) was in Maryland as a young boy. In 1674 he was sent to London and apprenticed to Daniel Mason to learn the pewter trade. Daniel Mason had been apprenticed to Richard Willett from 1662 to 1669, and then Daniel Mason opened his own shop in 1672. When Edward Willett (2) enrolled in London to learn the trade of a peweter, his father's name was given as Edward Willett (1).
Richard Willett, the London peweter, was a first cousin of Edward Willett (1), the father of Edward Willett (2). As a very young lad, this cousin of his father's may have inspired Edward Willett (2). the peweter mark of Richard Willett, who received his mark in London around 1660, bore the 'willett bird'. Edward Willett's (2) mark bore the willett bird and his name.
In A SHORT HISTORY OF PEWTER, by Elsie Englefield printed in London in 1933, she states:
Pewter is mainly composed of tin. The highest priced metal in the trade, known as 'tin and temper'(best quality) is an alloy with copper and antimony, and is free from lead... The original standards of quality for making different articles in Pewter have survived the ages... English pewter dates back to the tenth century, and was in common use until the middle of the 18th century. The Pewter manufacturers had no competition and were generally very wealthy (pgs 24-27).
The earliest records of the Worshipful Company of pewters are to be found in their ordinances for the year 1348. These regulations insisted upon a high standard of quality and workmanship in the trade, and also included fines and penalties if disregarded. Evidence of insistence of good work can be seen in specimens of Pewter preserved to this day in museum and in the collections of expert Pewter lovers. In 1503 an Act of Parliament gave the Company authority to control the trade, making it compulsory for all makers to stamp their ware with a Touch mark or Punch; also to register their mark on the Touch Plates of the Company. All makers were compelled to adhere to the standard of quality demanded by the regulations of the Company. Searchers were appointed to visit the Pewter markers, and inspect the work. If found to be inferior it was destroyed, and in some cases the makers fined. Registration of Touch marks continued to about the year 1824, and it is by this means that the date and the maker can be determined.
When he was twenty-three years of age, Edward Willett received his mark and became a Pewterer. He was given leave to strike his touch, in the Pewterers Hall of London in 1684/ 1685 (Older Pewter by Cotterell, pg 337, #5161). The family coat of arms was sometimes used as an inscription on the pewter's touch. Toward the end of the 17th century, the touches appeared with the maker's names. Edward Willett (2) incorporated both practices in his touch.
The Willett families in England had coats of arms so similar that it is certain they were originally of one family. On the top of each Willett coat of arms is found a bird over a crown, as Edward Willett (2) had struck on his touch. The original will of Edward Willett (2) of Prince George's County, Maryland, still in existence in the Hall of Records in Annapolis, carries his seal - his mark. The seal bears the imprint of a bird with a crown over it. His seal places Edward Willett (2) as an English Willett descendant. The bird found on the top of the crest and coats of arms is said to be a willett, a large light-colored shore bird, known for it's loud cry 'wil-, wil-, willett'.
On October 6, 1684, Edward Willett (2) was in the pewter business with John Corinall for a short period. Edward Willett never had his own shop as his name does not appear on the British yeomanry list of Pewters. Sometime after 1685 and prior to 1692 Edward Willett returned to the Province of Maryland and settled at Mount Calvert near the Patuxent River. Edward Willett's pewter business was no doubt slight in the limited population near Mount Calvert. Edward Willett is ranked among the earliest of American Pewters by Laughlin in his book THE PEWTERERS OF THE SOUTH. To date, no pewter bearing the touch of Edward Willett has been found.
In 1692, Edward Willett is recorded in Maryland records as Clerk of the Vestry, St Paul's Parish in Mount Calvert. Edward Willett, a well-educated man, had to be a man of standing in his Episcopalian community in order to be clerk of St Paul's Parish. In other records Edward Willett is noted as 'pewterer' and 'planter'.
On October 10, 1694 Edward Willett witnessed the will of Thomas Barnard of Calvert County. I n the accounts of Thomas Barnard's estate on May 12, 1696, it states that Edward Willett received payment for the schooling of two of the sons of the deceased. Edward Willett appears to have done some tutoring. In 1695, with Samuel Magruder and William Mill, Edward Willett was named as overseer for the will of Thomas Blanford of Prince George's County, his step father-in-law. In the will of Richard Chaffee of Prince George's County in 1698, Edward Willett and Samuel Magruder were named as overseers for his will. All these gentlemen were parishioners of St Paul's Parish in Mount Calvert.
In 1697, as clerk of the vestry of St Paul's Church at Mount Calvert, officially called Charles Town, Edward Willett presented a petition to have the court clear the title of the Church property, which was done.
Prior to becoming the County Clerk, Edward Willett held some civil post in Prince George's County. In 1696 the Civil officers and Magistrate of the Province of Maryland sent a letter to the King which Edward Willett signed. The letter read in part:
Addressing your Majesty and Joyning with the rest of your Loyall Subjects in Congratulating your deliverance from the horrid designed Assassination against your Sacred person...
Edward Willet was influential in civic affairs as well as Church affairs. In 1698, Edward Willett, pewterer, was appointed clerk of the county court of Prince George's County, replacing Joshua Cecil who had kept the records since the erection of the County. Edward Willett served as clerk from 1698 - 1711.
Gentlemen, I have herewith Sent you a Commission for MR WILLETT to be Clerk of your County home after Security given and the Oaths taken According to the Usuall manner you are to Admitt. See that all Records and other matters to your Court belonging be delivered to him. So I remaine your Loving Friend. (This was signed by Francis Nicholson on August 23, 1698, at the Prince George's Court which was held at Charles Town).
Edward Willett's duties were written as follows:
The condition of this obligation is such that whereas the Honorable Sir Thomas Lawrence Barronett, his Magesty's Secretary of Maryland hath constituted and appointed the Said EDWARD WILLETT to be Clerk of Prince George's County and thereby committed to his care and Custody all the bookes Records Court Rules and other things and papers to the Said office and place of Clerk aforesaid belonging and Appertaining Now if the Said EDWARD WILLETT doe in all things according to the duty and trust of the said office and place well and truly Execute and performs the Same trust and Charge and the Said keeper and take Care of and preserve well and faithfully make and Enter without any Fraud concealment or delay and the Said Office and place with all the Bookes, Records and Court Rules and other Deeds and writeings thereunto belonging doe Surrender and deliver up when here shall be Lawfully discharged of the Said Office and place of Clerk as aforesaid that then this Obligation to be voyd or else to Remaine in full force and virtue. (Signed by Edward Willett, Ninian Beall and Samuel Magruder in the presence of Thomas Hollyday, John Wightt, and John Hawkins)
In 1708 Edward Willett was employed by the justices to write the rules of the court on parchment, frame them, and place them in the most visible place in the courthouse.
While he was fulfilling the office of Clerk, Edward Willett recorded the dates of his children. In the August 1699 court he recorded, "Bridgett Willett dau to Edward and Tabitha Willett borne in Mount Calvert the 18th day of July 1699". In the November Court of 1708 the following children were recorded as having been born to Edward and Tabitha Willett: Ninian Willett born on November 30, 1701, Edward Willett born January 12, 1703, and Thomas Willett born August 9, 1708.
For Edward Willett life began at forty. His only marriage was to Tabitha Mill, the daughter of William Mill and Tabitha Hilliary. After his marriage Edward Willett received his first deed for property. Edward Willet became clerk of Prince George's County in 1698. In July of 1699 his first child was born and in August of 1699 he had his mark for cattle and hogs recorded. So within a two-year period Edward Willett became a professional person, a husband, a father, a planter, and the owner of a small plantation.
On July 28, 1698 Edward Willett purchased from Ninean Beall a 43-acre tract called "Beall's Craft" on the west side of the Western Branch of the Patuxent River near the property of William Shelby. On February 25, 1700 Edward Willett purchased from James Moore a 100-acre tract called "Horse Race", which joined "Beall's Craft on the south. On April 18, 1702 Richard Jones sold Edward Willett a tract called "Bealington" on the west side of the Patuxent River near the land of William Croome which included a dwelling house, barn, stables, yards, gardens, and an orchard, plus an additional 100-acre tract called "Good Luck". Both tracts adjoined the property, which he already possessed. Prior to this time, Edward Willett had resided in Mount Calvert on property he had inherited from his merchant uncle, William Willett. Later, in his will, Edward Willett(2) bequeathed this lot in Mount Calvert to his daughter, Ann Swan.
"Bealington" became the home plantation of Edward Willett and later the home of his son, William Willett (3), and then later the home of his grandson, Edward Willett. The spot on the land where the house of William Willett stood was recorded on a survey plat used in a boundary dispute case in 1789. The land owned by Edward Willett (2) and the house were home to three generations of Willetts.
During the colonial period in Maryland the outstanding land records kept by Lord Baltimore are still in existence. Once Lord Baltimore patented land to an individual, the tract was given a name. To enable the Lord Proprietor to collect the quit rents due two records were kept: the rent rolls which gave the tract name and the notations concerning transactions in regard to it, and the debt books which listed the person's name and tracts they owned, and the rents annually due. The rent rolls cover the entire colonial period. The debt books, which are still in existence, cover from 1752 to 1774.
On July 6, 1702 a record was recorded in Prince George's County concerning the heirs of Richard Allen of Middlesex, England, who were trying to recover money, which Edward Willett had borrowed from Allen. On April 7, 1700 Joseph Webb, and Sarah, his wife, the daughter and executrix of Richard Allen, gave power of attorney to John Parker, who was going to Maryland to recover from Edward Willett, late of London, pewterer, then and still in Maryland, sums, goods, merchandise, and effects due Allen. Parker employed Jacob Regnier of Annapolis to represent him. The record shows Edward Willett was from Maryland prior to going to London to learn to learn the pewter trade.
As a young boy, Edward Willett (2) was brought into the Province of Maryland by his uncle William Willett. He lived with his uncle in Mount Calvert, Maryland, until he was nearing the age of eighteen. In 1674 Edward Willett was sent by William Willett to London to learn the trade of a pewterer. By the time Edward Willett was ready to return to Maryland, his uncle William Willett had died intestate. Thomas Stotle who was to administer William Willett's estate had also died. With no money to return to Maryland, Edward worked as a pewterer in London for a time. Then he borrowed money to equip himself with the necessary tools to start his pewter trade and for his return voyage to Prince George's County, Maryland.
On August 12, 1702, Edward Willett purchased from Thomas James a tract of land called "Little Dean" which contained a dwelling house, barns, stables, and 103 acres of ground. A mortgage on this property was recorded on August 19, 1702 between Edward Willett and Jacob Regnier of Lincoln's Inn in order for Edward Willett to pay the debt which he owed to Richard Allen's heirs. "157 acres, part of "Horse Race:...formerly taken up by James Moore and since sold to Edward Willett...also "Little Dean", 103 acres taken up by Thomas James and sold to Willett" were mortgaged. In order to void the mortgage, Edward Willett agreed to pay at the State House in Annapolis ~L173:02:00 in five yearly payments. Edward Willett paid off his mortgages and these tracts were later bequeathed to his children.
On May 3, 1702 Edward Willett had a survey taken of "Bealington" and found that whereas his original deed stated there were 100 acres in the tract, the resurvey showed the tract actually contained 209 acres of land (Land office DD#5:98).
This was not an uncommon occurrence in this period as many tracts had undeveloped and uncleared wood lands. When a resurvey was taken, there was almost always surplus acreage.
On December 9, 1704 St Paul's Parish was divided with the line "by the plantation of a certain Edward Willett". St Paul's Parish was relocated at Baden, since St Paul's Church in Mount Calvert, built in 1682 was deter