She came to America with her father (John
Morrison) and mother (Flora Campbell) from Scotland when she was only
about 15 years old.
They were married before 1801 in North Carolina.
She never learned to speak English distinctly.
About 1835, Blansett Morrison Willis, a young
daughter and an infant granddaughter were scalped by the Indians when the
Indians raided the Willis home located near the village of Dakota,
Georgia. The murdered family are all buried in the cemetery at Dakota,
Georgia, where their graves may be seen today. See
photo near bottom of page.
Amelia Fletcher
(1816 -October 28, 1887)
Daughter of Joseph
Fletcher,
Married David Branch who
died in 1854.
After David's death,
Amelia married Benjamin Willis.They had no children.
Amelia is
buried in the Macedonia Church Cemetery in Irwin County, Georgia.
Children:(they had eleven children)
Peggy Willis
(??-1835) Died 1835, Dakota, Turner County, Georgia
Fact: 1835, killed, and scalped , by Indians
John Washington Willis
(1803- 1885) married to
Matilda Calloway
(??-??)
Born in Bladen County, North Carolina, died in Tift County, Georgia
(Salem Baptist Church)
Maintain Willis
(1808 - ??) married to
Sarah Merritt (??-??)
born in Telfair County, Georgia, died in Irwin County, Georgia
Benjamin Willis, who was born
in Cumberland County, North Carolina in 1774.
Benjamin
died in 1860 in Worth County, Georgia.
Benjamin and Blansett were
married prior to March 28, 1801. In John Morrison's will of that date,
he gave "to my son-in-law Benjamin Willis my plantation afer my wife's
decease and he should obligate himself to pay to my grandsons......"(4)
He is reported to have
possessed a land deed in Laurens County, Georgia, in 1811.
He was included in the census
of Laurens County, Georgia, in 1820.
These records revealed that he
served as Grand juror in March 1821 in what was then Irwin County, Georgia.
(Worth County was later formed from part of Irwin county)
From "History of Turner
County" Georgia: "In relating the importance of "old Pindertown" (in Turner
County) stated ...."It was here that old man Willis had a blacksmith shop,
long before the Indians killed his family near Dakota in 1837." Reference
here is to Benjamin Willis, husband of Blansett
Morrison.
From "History of Worth County" Georgia: "Sam Story Whips Indian. The Indian
Kills Willis Family"
"The following story has been told to me by many others but I'll tell it as
Uncle Jack Collins told it to me in 1900. Uncle Jack was but a youth when it
occurred, but was 87 years old when he told it to me. A man by the name of
Willis lived a few miles west of Dakota, Ga., but was away from home working
on a water wheel for a grist mill near the Ocmulgee River. One night he had
horrible dreams and seemed to hear the cries of his family nearly forty
miles away. He immediately arose and walked all the way home to find that
his family had been murdered. One of the younger women grabbed a small child
and fled and was more than a half mile away from home when her pursuers
over-took her and slew her. Rev. J.J. Davis said that Mr. Nas Hendserson,
who had been for about forty years, said that they stamped the child to
death in the mud with their moccasin shod feet.
Uncle Billie Whiddon was but a small boy and was away from home and knew
nothing of what had happened and on coming home at night, and finding no one
there, for the pioneers had congregated for protection, knew something was
wrong and slept in the staple loft over his horse.
The murdered family were all buried in the cemetery at Dakota, where their
graves can be seen today.
Uncle Billie Whiddon said that Mr. Willis was not sure that the Indians did
the crime, but suspected his son-in-law, but afterwards while among the
Seminoles in Florida, he found his wife's kettle ands some bed clothing that
he knew.
The cause of this trouble was that Uncle Sam Story found an Indian stealing
his hogs. He caught the Indian, tied him to a pine tree and gave him a good
"flogging" with his cow whip and they retaliated by killing the Willis
Family."
This story is also related in the "History of Lee County, Georgia"
People trying to locate this cemetery
can go to MapQuest and type in "Jones Road, Dakota, GA"--Dakota is
small enough that you don't need to be more specific than that. Dakota
is about 5 miles north of Ashburn, on Highway 41. If you're going
north on 41, you'll see the Dakota Baptist Church on the left; Jones
Road is maybe 200 yards past the church (also on the left). Jones Road
ends a "block" from US 41 (less than 100 yards) at Dakota Road (so
small it doesn't show on MapQuest): the cemetery is at the
intersection of Jones Road and Dakota Road.
The cemetery was used
for burials as recently as 1977. It's a tiny cemetery (fewer graves, I
think, than the Willis cemetery). There are two concrete slabs by the
fence at the back of the cemetery, and this marker is by those slabs.
None of the other graves appear to be Willis family, but many have
broken markers. What I was told was that this was the family burial
ground on Benjamin's farm. Benjamin and Blansett's children moved
south into what would become Worth County. Benjamin eventually sold
the land at Dakota and moved south, too (I read somewhere that he was
living with daughter Mary Smith when he died), but he deeded the
family burial ground to the church. Someone looks after the cemetery
and keeps the grass cut...maybe the church.
Kathy Fowler
(Mollie Willis Fowler's great-granddaughter)
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