Jonathan Spencer Willis (April 5, 1830 – November 24, 1903) was an American politician from

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

Kent County, Delaware Kent County is a County (United States), county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851, making it the least populous county in Delaware. The county ...

. He was a member of the Republican Party, and served as U.S. Representative from Delaware.

Early life and family

Willis was born in

Oxford, Maryland Oxford is a waterfront town and former colonial port in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 651 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. While Oxford officially m ...

, attended the district schools there and studied under private tutors. Willis married twice. To Annie Barratt Townsend (1843–1885), they had one daughter, Elizabeth Townsend Willis (1864–1934). And to Edith Gillespie (1855–1914), they had one son Jonathan Spencer Willis Jr. (1892–1957).

Professional and political career

He taught school seven years and then entered the ministry of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, serving charges in Maryland, Delaware, Philadelphia, New York City, and Stamford, Connecticut. He retired from the ministry in 1884 and settled on a farm near Milford and engaged in fruit growing. Willis was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for election in 1892 to the 53rd Congress, but was elected to the 54th Congress, serving from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1897. He was an unsuccessful candidate, however, for reelection in 1896 to the 55th Congress, and returned to the full effort of agricultural pursuits.

Death and legacy

He died in Milford and was buried in the Barratt's Chapel Cemetery near

Frederica, Delaware Frederica is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover metropolitan area. The population was 1,073 in 2020. ILC Dover, the company which manufactured the spacesuits for the Apollo and Skylab astronauts of the 1960s ...

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. U.S. Representatives took office March 4 and have a two-year term.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161. *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965. {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Jonathan 1830 births 1903 deaths People from Milford, Delaware People from Talbot County, Maryland Methodists from Delaware Burials in Kent County, Delaware Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Delaware 19th-century American educators Schoolteachers from Delaware 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives