I have endeavored to gain a correct account of the ancient Willits, but have found it a task impossible to accomplish. Most of the descendants of this family disagree in their traditional accounts about their ancestors, therefore, some things must be left to conjecture. Some of the Willits say, there were four brothers of the name of Willits, who came with their father (Richard Willits) to Egg Harbor; and others say there were but three brothers, which last statement agrees with the meagre records I have seen. From records, and other reliable accounts, there was a Richard Willits, Sr., and as it is said, three of his sons emigrated from Long Island to Little Egg Harbor, soon after the first white settlers came there. In old records appear the names of Richard Willits, Sr., Joseph Willits, Richard Willits, Jr., and James Willits. The three last named Willits must have been the sons of Richard Willits, Sr. From the aforesaid James Willits emanated all of the Willits' of Little Egg Harbor, the other two brothers finally settling in other places.

I believe that the names which we find written Wyllis, Willis, Willet and Willits, all originated from one source; but at this time it is impossible to say which is the original form of spelling the name. Most of our ancestors were miserable spellers, therefore the variation of names. Some of the Willits make the following statement about the ancient Willits:

At a very early date there was a Richard Willits who settled at New London, and finally removed to Long Island, and settled at Jericho. This Richard Willits had three sons, Hope, Samuel and Richard. Hope Willits was one of the early settlers in Cape May county, N.J. He had a son John, who was born at Cape May, in the year 1688. In the year 1716, John Willits married Martha Corson, by whom he had three sons, Isaac, James and Jacob. John Willits rose to wealth and distinction. He was a Judge of the Court for many years, and a member of the Legislature, in the year 1743. Samuel, son of Richard Willits, Sr., of Jericho, remained on Long Island.

Richard, son of Richard Willits, Sr., married and settled on Long Island, where he remained until most of his children were grown. He then removed to Little Egg Harbor, leaving three or four of his sons on Long Island. The children who accompanied him to Egg Harbor must have been Joseph, Richard, James and Abigail.

There must have been two Hope Willits, or else Hope Willits of Cape May returned to Long Island to reside, for it is recorded that Richard Ridgway, 2d, of New Jersey, was married at Jerusalem, Long Island, on the 9th of 8th mo., 1702, to Mary, daughter of Hope Willits, of that place.

Jarvis Pharo, Sr., married Elizabeth, daughter of Hope Willits, of Long Island, she being sister to Mary, who married Richard Ridgway, 2d. These two marriages constituting Jarvis Pharo, Sr., and Richard Ridgway, 2d, brothers-in-law. Many Quaker families emigrated from Old England, and also from New England, in order to escape persecution, and settled on Long Island, thinking they had found a land of rest; but in this they were sadly disappointed, and several families of them fled to Egg Harbor for a place of refuge, and this secluded section proved to be a haven of peace and rest. This place was a stronghold for Quakers. Here they lived and served and worshipped God in their own peculiar way, and no persecutor ever arose to say that they should not enjoy their religious views, or wear their chosen form of garments.

The Willits were Quakers, and people of respectability. Most of them throughout the various generations having closely adhered to the Quaker faith. I think there have been fewer apostates from the religion of their ancestors in this family, than in that of any other family of the first settlers in Egg Harbor. Many of the Willits have been wealthy, and an unusual number of them possessed of considerable means. Several of the old time Willits were magistrates appointed by the Sovereigns of England.

Richard Willits, 1st, of Egg Harbor, settled on the farm where Nathan Andrews now lives, in the neighborhood of Down Shore, and for several generations this farm was owned and occupied by the Willits family, in the following order: first, Richard Willits, Sr., second, by his son James, third by James, Jr., and finally, by his son John, after whose death it passed into other hands. Some one of the old time Willits erected a large clap-boarded dwelling house on this farm, and the frame of this house is still standing, the mansion having been repaired by its present owner, but the frame left as it was erected (probably) one hundred and fifty years ago.

First Branch of Richard Willits, Sr.'s Family. - Joseph, who must have been a son of Richard Willits, Sr., of Egg Harbor, was here as early as the year 1706, for at that date Michael Buffin executed a deed to him for a cedar swamp, and other tracts of land amounting to nine hundred acres. Between the years 1724 and 1730, Joseph Willits purchased of Edward and Richard Ridgway, the farm on which Amos Ridgway now lives. In the year 1730 Joseph Willits conveyed the said farm and other tracts of land to John Ridgway, Sr., and then removed to Haddonfield, N.J., where it is probable he ended his days. In the year 1730, Joseph and Solomon Willits, (who must have been his sons,) got certificates from the Egg Harbor Monthly Meeting to be taken to the Haddonfield Monthly Meeting, and at the same time his wife Elizabeth, and her daughter Deborah, received certificates for the same purpose.

Joseph Willits married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Ridgway, 1st, by his first wife Elizabeth. Joseph Willits' wife was the only known sister of Thomas Ridgway, Sr.

I have no knowledge of Joseph Willits, or his posterity, since his removal to Haddonfield in the year 1730.

Second Branch. - Richard, son of Richard Willits, Sr., of Egg Harbor, settled at Cedar Run, near Manahawkin. He had a son Micajah and a son Richard, and he must have had a daughter Deliverance, who married Stephen Birdsall.

Micajah Willits married Hannah, daughter of Joseph Parker, Sr., of Parkertown. Micajah Willits had several children, among whom were Micajah, Jr., Richard, Mary, Deliverance, and another daughter who married a Jackson.

Micajah Willits, Jr., married Judith Cranmer and emigrated to the West.

Richard Willits married Rachel Burdsall.

Mercy Willits married Jesse Andrews, being his second wife. No children.

Deliverance Willits married Samuel Cranmer.

Richard, son of Richard Willits, who settled at Cedar Run, married Sarah Burton, of Chesterfield, N.J., and in the year 1751 went to reside at Salem, N.J.

Third Branch. - James, son of Richard Willits, Sr., of Egg Harbor, married about the year 1715, his wife's name not remembered. He lived on his father's homestead farm. It is said that he had but two children - James and Martha. Martha married a man by the name of Burroughs, and resided at or near Moorestown, N.J.

James Willits, Jr., married Ann, daughter of Thomas Ridgway, Jr., and grand-daughter of Jacob Ong and Thomas Ridgway, Sr. Ann Willits was an eminent minister among Friends, and used to perform religious visits in company with her aunt Ann, Gauntt - Little Egg Harbor's most distinguished female minister. James and Ann Willits' children were Eliakim, who was born 3rd day of 11th mo., 1745, Henry, Jeremiah, Thomas, John, James, Phoebe, Ann, and a James who died in childhood.

Eliakim Willits married Phoebe, daughter of Jacob Ridgway, of Springfield, N.J. The children of this marriage were Jacob, Samuel, David, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Ann, Phoebe and Rebecca.

Henry, son of James Willits, 2nd, married Phoebe, daughter of Richard Osborn, Jr. Their children: Samuel Thomas, Martha, Ann and Phoebe.

Samuel, son of Henry Willits, married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Grey, of Mannahawkin. Samuel Willits went to reside in Genessee county, N.Y. No account of his posterity.

Thomas, son of Henry Willits, married a woman whose maiden name was Pancoast. She had a daughter Ann, who married Joseph Bartlett, son of Nathan, Jr. Thomas Willits' second wife was his cousin Mary, daughter of James Willits, 3rd, and Mary's children were Horatio, Phoebe, Marietta, Martha, Henry, Hannah, James and Rachel Louisa.

Thomas Willits, and all of his family, except Horatio and Phoebe, removed in the year 1838 to the State of Indiana.

Horatio Willits' first wife was Elizabeth Biddle, and his second wife Elizabeth Merritt. She has one son Merritt Willits, whose second wife is Louisa, daughter of Jesse C. Ridgway, of Tuckerton.

Phoebe B. Willits married Allen R. Pharo, and had children Anna, Horatio, George, Edwin, Mary and Robert.

Martha Willits married Asa J. Ridgway.

Marietta Willits married George Anderson, and had children Horatio and Emma.

Hannah Willits married Doctor William Holman, and had children Charles and John.

Rachel Louisa Willits married Isaac Holman, a lawyer. They have one son.

Henry Willits married Mary Chapman. They have one daughter.

Martha, daughter of Henry Willits, Sr., married John Willis, of New York city. They had two sons, the name of one was Alfred.

Ann, daughter of Henry Willits, Sr., married Robert Barnes, of New York, and had children Joseph, Ellen, Phoebe Ann, William, John James, Robert, George, Walter and Henry. Phoebe Ann Barnes married James, son of Nathan Bartlett, 2nd.

John Barnes married Mary, daughter of Joseph and Susan McCullough.

Third Branch. - Thomas, son of James Willits, 2d, married Rebecca Moody, daughter of John Moody, and half-sister of Molly Holden, wife of Moses Mulliner. The Moodys and Holdens were English people; so were the Mulliners, and it is said they came to Tuckerton at the same time. Thomas Willits' children were Eben, John, Eliakim, James, Jacob, Isaac, Sarah and Ann.

Eben Willits married Thursa, daughter of Hezekiah Mathis. Eben resided in Philadelphia.

John Willits married in Philadelphia; his wife's name Catharine. They had several children, among whom was Rebecca, who married Richard R. Carlisle, professionally known as Professor Risley.

James Willits married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Stiles, Sr. James Willits was the father of Alphonso A. Willits, D.D., the distinguished minister and lecturer. James Willits had a daughter Melvina, who married James, son of Bront and Ann Slaight.

Jacob Willits married Sarah, daughter of Hezekiah Mathis, and sister to his brother Eben's wife.

Isaac Willits died unmarried, a young man.

Sarah Willits married Jesse Stiles, Sr.

Ann Willits married James D. Kelley, a native of Salem county, N.J. Their children, Thomas, John, James, Edward, Curtius Q. and Jane Ann, wife of Wm. P. Haywood.

Fourth Branch. - Jeremiah, son of James Willits, 2d, married Mary, daughter of Nathan and Judith Bartlett. Jeremiah's children were Job, Nathan, Jeremiah and Judith.

Job Willits married Mary Lippincott of upper Burlington county.

Nathan Willits married Judith, daughter of Daniel Leeds, 4th, and had children: Charles L., Samuel and Nathan B. Willits.

Charles L. married Sarah Tomlinson.

Samuel married ______ Abbott and Rebecca Gill.

Nathan B. married Sarah Lippincott.

Nathan Willits' second wife was Sarah Pancoast; she had no children. Nathan Willits ended his days at Haddonfield, N.J.

Jeremiah Willits, Jr., married Sarah Smith and had children: Elizabeth, Mary, Jeremiah and Judith Ann.

Elizabeth Willits married Henry Wordington.

Judith Ann Willits married ______ Renshaw.

Judith, daughter of Jeremiah Willits, Sr., married Samuel Smith, of Atlantic county, N.J.

Fifth Branch. - John, son of James Willits, 2d, married Mary, daughter of Joseph Bartlett, 2d, and had children: Asa, Phoebe, Hannah, Charlotte, Martha and Naomi.

Asa Willits never married. He and Allen Ridgway were companions in their wanderings about the World.

Phoebe Willits married Willits Parker, Sr., and had children: Oliver, Ezra, Mary Ann, Jane, Martha, Naomi, Phoebe Ann and Willits.

Oliver Parker married Edith, daughter of Geo. M. Elkinton, and has children, George Willits and Ezra.

Ezra Parker died unmarried, a young man.

Mary Anna Parker married George Collins, and has three children, Phoebe Ann, Eliza and another daughter.

Jane Parker married William Brown and has several children, but I cannot give their names.

Martha Parker died unmarried, a young woman.

Naomi Parker married Jacob Haines, of Medford, N.J.

Phoebe Ann Parker and Willits Parker married in the West.

Hannah Willits married Nathan Bartlett, 3d, and had children: Louisa, Amanda, Martha and John. The names of the children of the above persons are given in the Bartlett family.

Charlotte Willits married Lewis Green, of Salem county, N.J. I believe they had children but do not know their names.

Martha Willits married Jonathan Cox, and her children were Charles, Walter, Martha, Mary and Hannah.

Charles Cox married Sarah Parker. Walter Cox married Josephine Shinn, and after her decease he married Almeda Joslin.

Martha Cox married Job Moore. Mary Cox married Samuel Carslake. Hannah Cox married Elisha Taylor of Canada.

Naomi Willits married James Ridgway.

Sixth Branch. - James, son of James Willits, 2d, married Phoebe, daughter of Joseph Bartlett, 2d, and his wife Hannah Gifford. Their children were Joseph, John, Archibald, Ann, Hannah, Mary and Rachel. James Willits second wife was Marjorie, daughter of Thomas Belangee. She had one child Jane Ann, who married Samuel Cawley, and has children Samuel and Eugene.

Joseph Willits married Lydia, daughter of Samuel Cawley, and her children were James, Samuel, Joseph, Alfred, Louisa and Lydia.

James, son of Joseph Willits, married Rachel C. Atkinson, daughter of Chalkley Atkinson. Their children are Mary, Archie and Joseph.

Samuel, son of Joseph Willits, married Phoebe A. Pearson, daughter of Isaac Pearson, of Holmesburg, Pa. Their children: Pearson, Emma, Louisa and Lydia.

Joseph, son of Joseph Willits, married Rebecca, daughter of Joshua Lippincott, of Moorestown, N.J.

Alfred, son of Joseph Willits, married Anna, daughter of Jesse Owen, of Philadelphia. Their children: Alfred and Jesse.

John, son of James Willits, 3d, married Mary Paxson. No children. Louisa, daughter of Joseph Willits, married Archelaus Pharo. Lydia, daughter of Joseph Willits, married Jesse C. Ridgway.

Archibald, son of James Willits, 3d, married Mary, daughter of Simeon Haines. I have no account of their posterity.

Ann, daughter of James Willits, 3d, married John Collins, of Barnegat, and had children: Eliza, Job, Phoebe, Mary, Ann, Sarah, Alfred, James, John and George.

Ann Collins married Wright Soper. Sarah Collins married Theodore Herbert. Alfred Collins married Frances Stokes. James Collins married Martha Collins. John Collins married Lucy Ann Leeds. George Collins married Mary Ann Parker.

Seventh Branch. - Phoebe, daughter of James Willits, 2d, married Jacob Hubbs, of Long Island, and had children, James and Mercy. James Hubbs died a bachelor, at an advanced age.

Mercy Hubbs married Amos Ridgway, 1st, and had children, Jacob and Sarah Ann. Jacob never married. Sarah Ann Ridgway married Jeremiah Ridgway, Jr.

Eighth Branch. - Ann, daughter of James Willits, 2d, married Joseph Sharp, of upper Burlington county. She died at the birth of her first child.

Sixty or seventy years ago, some of the farmers of Little Egg Harbor, who had not farms for all of their sons, sent the farmless ones to Philadelphia to learn the bricklayer's trade, and especially was this the case among the Willits; and this is the cause of so many of them being residents of that city. Those who were sober and industrious amassed clever fortunes, but those who embarked in the craft of dissipation, went down to the grave in utter destitution, "unhonored and unsung."

Among the youngsters of Little Egg Harbor who were apprenticed to the bricklaying trade, was Allen, son of Thomas Ridgway, 3d, Asa, son of John Willits, 1st, Joseph, Archibald and John, sons of James Willits, 3d. Eben, John and James, sons of Thomas Willits, Sr. Jeremiah, son of Jeremiah Willits, Sr., and Archelaus R., son of Timothy Pharo, Jr., also Job, Nathan and Edmund, sons of Nathan Bartlett, 2d.

Timothy Willits' Family. - The early history of this family is rather obscure. Some of the descendants of Timothy Willits suppose themselves related by blood to the Willits of Little Egg Harbor, and others who seem to know more about their consanguinity, say positively that they are not in any wise connected with the Willits of Little Egg Harbor, and that Timothy Willits was of Scotch extraction, and the Egg Harbor Willits were of English extraction. One thing is certain there is no family resemblance between the posterity of the two families. The Egg Harbor Willits were light complexioned with light blue eyes and were denominated the "blue-eyed Willits," and Timothy Willits' family were dark complexioned with beautiful sparkling black eyes, and the color of the eyes in each family have gone with them from generation to generation to the present time.

According to the most reliable statement, there was a Timothy Willits who came from Scotland and settled somewhere in Ocean, then Monmouth, county, and this Timothy had a son Timothy, who, probably about the year 1760 (or it might have been a little later), married Mary, daughter of Stephen Birdsall and his wife, Deliverance, of Barnegat.

This second Timothy Willits had children: Abigail, Deliverance, Judith and Rachel who were twins, and Stephen, the youngest child, who was born in the year 1772. The Timothy Willits, Jr., it is said once lived at Cedar Run near Mannahawkin, but at the time of his death he is said to have lived at Squan, Ocean county, N.J. He was killed during the Revolutionary War. I once heard my aunt, the only daughter-in-law of Timothy Willits, relate the manner and circumstances of his death. She said he was in his barn engaged in breaking flax, when a number of Continental soldiers were in pursuit of three or four refugees (those pests of the war of independence). The soldiers saw the refugees enter the barn where Timothy Willits was at work, and when the Continentals entered the barn in search of the refugees they were not to be found. They questioned Timothy Willits about the men whom they knew he must have seen, and he being a very obstinate and contrary man would not answer them in any manner whatever. They importuned him for an answer until their patience was exhausted, and his sullen silence caused the soldiers to suspect that he himself was one of the refugees, and under this supposition they shot him as he sat at his work, and thus he lost his life - a victim to his obstinacy.

After his death his widow married her cousin, Nathan Bartlett, Sr., and had children, Nathan and Phoebe.

Abigail, daughter of Timothy Willits, 2d, married first, Joseph Bartlett, 2d; no children with this marriage. Her second husband was Thomas Parker, Sr., and the children were Willits and John Parker. Her third husband was Joseph Cox, and the children were Jonathan, Joseph B., Timothy, Mary and Hannah.

Judith, daughter of Timothy Willits, Jr., and one of the twins, married Eli Mathis, and had children: Charles, Clayton, Samuel, Hannah, Esther, Jesse, Mary, Ann and David W.

Charles Mathis was drowned, and not married. Clayton Mathis married his cousin, Mary Mathis. Samuel Mathis married Atlantic Berry. Hannah Mathis married her cousin Isaac Gifford. Esther Mathis married Jonathan Gifford. Jesse Mathis married Ann, widow of John Bogan, and daughter of Maja Mathis, Sr. Mary Mathis died unmarried. Ann Mathis married Job Gifford. David W. Mathis married Maria Gaskill.

Rachel, daughter of Timothy Willits, Jr., and the other twin, married Peter Parker, and had children: Thomas, Nathan, James, Stephen, Timothy, Charles, Phoebe and Elizabeth.

Deliverance, daughter of Timothy Willits, Jr., married Edmund Bartlett, Sr., and her children Mary, Zilpha, Nathan, Phoebe, Judith and Edmund. Their marriages are given in the Bartlett family.

Stephen, only son of Timothy Willits. Sr., married Lydia, daughter of Benjamin Seaman; she was noted for her unusual retentive memory, and also for intelligence beyond her time and education, she was likewise unusually industrious, managing and ingenious. She lived to be about 86 years of age, and retained her great memory and other faculties beyond most people of her age.

Stephen and Lydia Willits' children were John, Timothy, Amelia, Stephen, Benjamin, Mary and Lydia.

During his time Stephen Willits, Sr., was one of the prominent men of West Creek, Ocean county, N.J.

John Willits, child of Stephen Willits, Sr., was born April 22d, 1797, in Burlington county, just over the division line between East and West New Jersey. In John Willits' youthful days all along the New Jersey shore there were but meagre facilities for obtaining a school education, but John Willits having a thirst for knowledge and a capacity for acquiring it, obtained a fair education which has been of great use to him throughout his long life, for without learning he could not have occupied the exalted position that he has. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, being one of the company of the "Tuckerton Volunteers and Home Guard." He is an enterprising man and has followed most kinds of business common to his native place by which enterprises he has amassed a clever fortune, and in his old age is enabled to take his ease. He is a long standing member of the Methodist church, in which he is a local preacher, and has held most of the offices pertaining to the church, and also most of the important township offices; for many years he was a Justice of the Peace, and for five years a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, of Monmouth county, and all of these things combined to make him the most prominent man of his native West Creek.

On the 11th day of March, 1819, he married Hannah, daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth Thompson, of Quaker Bridge, Washington township, N.J., by whom he had ten children, four sons and six daughters, some of these children died young, and those who lived to mature age were Arthur T., Mary Ann, Lucy Ann, Sarah, Elizabeth, Micajah and Lydia.

John Willits' wife has been a very industrious and enterprising housewife, greatly assisting in the prosperity of her husband, and she has been a very useful woman among her neighbors who were sick or otherwise afflicted.

Timothy, son of Stephen Willits, Sr., like his brother John, acquired a good education. He married Kesiah, daughter of James and Elizabeth Cranmer, and had children: Amelia, James, Ann, Elizabeth, Lydia, Adelia and Ann.

Stephen, son of Stephen Willits, Sr., was well educated, and for many years was one of the prominent men of Tuckerton, holding many important offices, and having a very extensive circle of acquaintances, and in his younger days was considered the handsomest man of his place of residence. In the year 1835, he married Mary, daughter of Eayre Oliphant, Sr., and had children: Anna, Augusta, Hope, Stephen Eayre, Marion and Shinn.

Benjamin, son of Stephen Willits, Sr., was a man of fair education, and living in a place that was inaccessible to schools, he took into his own hands the education of his children. And he was a competent teacher, as is proved by the learning of his children, some of whom have far outstripped in knowledge most of those who attended the district schools for nine months in the year, for years together. He married Harriet, daughter of John Crane, of Mannahawkin, and had children: John, ______ ______ ______ ______.

Amelia, daughter of Stephen Willits, Sr., was one of the beauties of her native place. She married David Jones, and had children: Timothy, Mary, Elizabeth, William, Serena and Lydia, and one or two who died young.

Mary, daughter of Stephen Willits, Sr., was the second wife of Nathan Atkinson. No children.

Lydia, daughter of Stephen Willits, Sr., remains unmarried.