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Note: Note: Colonel Henry WILLIS [about 1690 to 1740], founder of Fredericksburg, had by his first wife, Ann SMITH who was a widow [she having a son named John SMITH by her previous marriage] and they had a son which they named John WILLIS [b. 1724 and d. 1750]. The Colonel married secondly another widow Mrs. Mildre d HOWELL and had another son by her which, for some remarkable reason they ch ose to bestow the same name of John WILLIS [b. July 16, 1728]. So, curiously , the WILLIS household had three little sons all named John and living under the same roof---Colonel WILLIS' step-son, John SMITH; his son John WILLIS by his first wife; and another son named John WILLIS by his second wife. To avo id total confusion, Colonel WILLIS would refer to the three boys as Jack, Joh n and Johnny. The wealthy Colonel WILLIS married for the third time to Mrs. Mi ldred [nee WASHINGTON] LEWIS GREGORY. Mildred was the aunt of General George WASHINGTON and also the general's Godmother. She had been previously marri ed twice---firstly to John LEWIS and secondly to Colonel Roger GREGORY. Afte r her third marriage to Colonel Henry WILLIS, she bore him a son who Mildred chose to name in honor of her first love who had died childless in 1718---Lew is WILLIS. But some people say that Colonel Henry WILLIS had wanted to name the boy John too, but happily Mildred refused---else there would have been fo ur Johns in one household. Henry WILLIS represented Gloucester County in the H ouse of Burgesses in 1718, 1720-22, 1723-26, and 1727-1734. He died on Septem ber 14, 1740.
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