Henry Willis, York County, PA & "Boreing Mill"

[spgordon]

Has anybody heard of, or even better have any information about, a York (PA) County gunsmith named Henry Willis? Whisker (Arms Makers of Colonial America) list him as a York County gunsmith, circa 1757-64. A short article by Mary Dyke in the KRA Newsletter in Spring 1979 identifies "Henry Wills" in 1757 in Lancaster County, I assume from a tax list (need to check that). There seems to be a gunsmith named Richard Willis (perhaps Henry's son) who was accused of treason, and had his property seized, during the Revolution (also from Whisker).

Does anybody have additional information about Henry Willis?

I ask because I found today in the Isaac Norris papers at Historical Society of Pennsylvania a receipt that records a payment by the Province of Pennsylvania to Henry Willis for "thirty five Days use of his Boreing Mill and gun Smith Shop at ten Shillings per Day." There is no date on the receipt but 1756/1757 seems likely.

The equally intriguing thing about this document is that it seems to be in William Henry of Lancaster's handwriting. On the back, William Henry has endorsed the document ("I do certify that the within is a just account") and added his signature.

This modest receipt may be quite significant. It could show, for instance, that William Henry, acting on behalf of the province (he had done work for the Provincial troops in 1756 and would again in 1758), is subcontracting some of the provincial work to others. Thus he certifies that Willis's receipt is valid. Alternately, it could show that Henry himself needed to "rent" a space to do his gunsmith work in, although this goes against most of what has been assumed about him having a gun shop (even factory), etc. But notice that Willis is being compensated for "use" of his boring mill and gunshop, not for work that Willis himself undertook.

At the very least (and not speculatively), it means that there was a specialized boring mill in York or Lancaster county as early as 1757 or so. (William Henry's brother, John, along with Jacob Dickert, had a boring mill in Lancaster County in the mid-1770s [precise date differs from source to source ... haven't pinned that down yet].)

[Karl Kunkel]

From Whisker's "Arms Makers of Pennsylvania"

Willis, Henry

In his will dated 1757, John Galbreath ordered that his son, Robert, "as soon as he is fit, shall be put to learn to be a gunsmith, either to Henry Willis, or to some other of that trade" (Cumberland Co. WB A, 40) in 1764, Willis was a gunsmith in York Co. (FSP, 333).

[tallbear]

Compliments of Jim Whisker

Richard Willis. gunsmith. In 1777 Richard Willis, gun­smith, took the oath of allegiance to Pennsylvania in Lancaster [2 Pa Arch 13 at 395]. However, on 15 June 1778, Henry Willis of York County, gunsmith, was accused of "being attainted by treason" and subjected to bill of attainder, according to the laws of Pennsylvania. In 1784 Willis' land was confiscated and sold at public vendue. [1 Pa Arch 10 at 250ff].





Richard Willls.  gunsmith.  York.  Willis was a Quaker and would not join the York militia.  Ordinarily members of the Society of Friends and Moravians who objected on the grounds of con­science to military service where exempted from military service.  Willis was a gunsmith by trade, unusual for Friends, if not Moravians.  Willis was nonetheless declared on 15 June 1778 to be a "non-associator" and convicted of treason by bill of attainder, according to the laws of Pennsylvania.  His farm was confiscated and sold at public vendue to Christian Kauffman [11 Pa Col Rec 513f; 1 Pa Arch 10 at 250ff; 2 Pa Arch 13 at 395].  Willis had ties in both York and Lancaster counties.




Wm Henry was the US armorer during Revolution so I'd ordinarily put date c.1780.

but he was also active, altho to my knowledge not as a public official during 7 years war.

Dyke reported Henry as an [the?] armorer on Braddock expedition leading to Battle [defeat] at Wilderness at Turtle Creek

I have studied the records of Braddock expedition carefully--in NY Col Doc and Browne's MD Archives

plus WVU [where I taught 40 years] had a huge microfilm collection

never found Wm Henry's name


Much of the story of the "boreing mill" comes from/ is recorded in
Miller's Scrapbook, pub. by York Co Hist Soc years ago [now long out of print]
Miller was a "folk artist" [meaning he could not draw/pain well] and also kept a journal/ diary

[spgordon]

Thanks for these replies. I do know the references to Henry Willis in Mr. Whisker's published works. In the first quotation that he supplies above, though, is it Richard Willis--not Henry--who was attainted of treason, etc.? Henry Willis died in 1764, I believe.

Lewis Miller did draw a picture of the "Bore Mill for the use of Gunsmith of York-Borough," reproduced in that York County Historical Society publication of Miller's drawings/scrapbooks (1966). But the 12 gunsmiths' names that Miller lists doesn't include Willis. And Miller (born in 1796) only records the burning of the mill in 1800--not how long it had stood (i.e., if this is Willis's mill, as early as 1756-58).

Most published work on William Henry, sadly, is inaccurate. Henry supplied wagons to the Braddock expedition (summer 1755) but I agree with Mr. Whisker's suggestion: Henry did not serve as a gunsmith/armorer (as is nearly always stated: this stems from stories the Henry family told and published). He did, however, serve the province of Pennsylvania in 1756 and both Pennsylvania and Virginia in 1758. When in June 1756 Captain Joseph Shippen led a company of Pennsylvanians from Lancaster to Shamokin to build Fort Augusta, he took “Wm Henry with” him “to repair” his men’s weapons: Henry was ordered “to do every Thing with regard to the Pennsylvanian arms.” A 1756 receipt records payment from the Province to Henry for some of “the Work done by himself and Men at Harris's Ferry and Shamokin.” Interestingly, given the document currently under discussion, Shippen reported that Henry had “taken a great deal of pains to rectifie [the arms], & bore & straiten the Barrels.”

Given that the Henry Willis in this document was dead by 1764, it cannot relate to Henry's service during the Revolution. It can relate, however, to this service during the French and Indian War.