DAR #A125802

William Willard was a native of the state of Virginia. He was born in 1755 in Leesburg, Loudoun Co., VA. He was the son of William Woolard Sr (10/10/1729 North Farnham Parish, Richmond, VA‐abt 1785 Leesburg, Loudoun Co., VA), and Margaret Willard. In 1783, he married Jane Cooke. It is said by some of his old friends that she was of Irish descent. They were the parents of at least four sons and three daughters. He registered for military service in 1778. He died 9 Nov 1846, McDonough Co., IL, at the age of 97. He is buried in the Atkinson Cemetery, Colchester, McDonough Co., IL.

Following the war William and Jane moved to Tennessee where they lived for a number years. At some point they moved to the state of Illinois, residing for a time in Morgan Co. Jane, born in Ireland in 1763, passed in 1833, while they were living there. She is buried in the Jacksonville East Cemetery, Jacksonville, Morgan Co., IL. Following her death William moved on to the western part of the state, settling down in McDonough Co., near Macomb. There he lived for many more years, surrounded by his loved ones, his children and grandchildren, friends and neighbors.

William died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John (Mary) McCord, located near Colchester, McDonough Co., IL, 9 Nov 1846. He was buried in the family graveyard near Colchester. “It is situated on the north half of section thirty one near the line between the northwest quarter and the northeast quarter of this section in Emmet Township, McDonough County, Illinois.” A letter from Mr. J. A. McCord, a grandson, dated 5 Nov 1911, says, “I have this day visited the grave of William Willard and ___ the date on the headstone I find the above to be correct.” A letter from Wm. A. Snapp, a grandson, dated Aug. 11, 1912, affirms the correctness of this date by personal examination.

William’s granddaughter, Mrs. Mary Ann McCord of Macomb, IL, says in a letter dated 8 Dec 1911, “Grandfather was a very pious man and a strong Methodist. We all loved him, he seemed so happy and contented.” He was a man of medium height, rather heavy set, square shoulders and erect carriage. (Mrs. McCord died in January 1912.)

William was a soldier of the American Revolutionary War. He enlisted at Leesburg, VA in July 1778, serving for seven months under Captain James Ratican in Colonel Shepard’s Regiment. He reenlisted in 1781 for three months under Captain William Douglas and Colonel William Russell’s regiment. (This was said to be the Fifth Virginia Continentals) He was discharged after the surrender of Cornwallis in Yorktown, 19 Oct 1781. William’s application for pension, dated 22 Sep 1832, was issued from Springfield, IL Agency 2 May 1833, certificate No. 7981. He received $31.61 per annum, or a total of $95.01. “Ctf. 7981 File 31489.” Pensioned for services in the Revolutionary War.

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William Willard died in McDonough County, Illinois, 9 November 1846, buried four miles north and a little east of Colchester, Illinois and about seven or eight miles west of Macomb, about a mile south of where John McCord lived. John McCord and wife Mary Willard McCord, a daughter of Elizabeth, and John McCord’s black man “Jack”, are buried all in the same row. There are stones at each grave. The graves are in a pasture about one‐half mile from the public road. There is a deep ravine on the east that circles around to the northwest, according to W.T. Willard, who visited the grave in 1912. [Atkinson Cemetery, Argyle Lake]

Jane Cooke, wife of William Willard, seemed to have made a lasting impression on the family, my father Alexander Cooke Willard, a sister, Jane Cooke (Willard) Smith and other branches of the family held her in high esteem, so I thought this short sketch would not be amiss. It seems her father’s name was Nathaniel Cooke, who was born about 1725. If this is correct, then she had a brother Stephen Cooke, a surgeon in the Continental Army. He was captured, taken to Bermuda Island and there married Catherine Esten, a daughter of the President of the Assembly. In 1791, he returned to Virginia and settled on a farm near Leesburg where he raised a large family among whom were doctors, lawyers, a general in the US army.

Note: Willard signed by his mark. He was unable to sign his name. The uncertainty about his birth year may be explained by his parents’ probable inability to write down his birth date. This may also explain why there seems to be such a variety of reports about his age.

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Available resources:
-"United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Q-L6H6 : Archives and Records Administration, 1962), roll 7; FHL microfilm 1,319,387. -United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29K-2Q74 : 11 March 2016), Ezra Parker, 1812-1815; citing NARA microfilm publication M602 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); roll 159; FHL microfilm 882,677.
-"United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYX-3Y8 : 24 August 2015), Ezra Parker, Royal Oak Township, Oakland, Michigan, United States; citing p. 90, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 209; FHL microfilm 14,797.
-"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVD-R67N : 13 December 2015), Ezra Parker, 1842; Burial, Royal Oak, Oakland, Michigan, United States of America, Royal Oak Cemetery; citing record ID 15167043, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. -Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.