Family Album-Willis Simmons 1784-1862

According to the records, the US census for Amite County, MS in 1810 was started, according to law, Aug 1st. All counties reported the census completed by Nov 14th except Madison County, and the official report was made to the legislature by David Holmes Territorial Governor, on Dec 1, 1810. It was found that Willis with his wife and three sons under ten yrs of age in the census. Thus we know that he reached MS after Oct 11, 1809 when his passport was issued (in GA) and before Nov 14, 1810. It is reasonable to assume that the "old timers" were right when they wrote of his arrival in MS as of 1810. It took three to four months to make the trip from Jones County, GA to the "District West of the pearl" (Amite Co. now Pike Co.) where Willis and his family settled.

Although we have no detail as to how Willis and his family traveled, we know that "the stream of travelers to the MS Territory passed in a procession of individuals, families, groups of slaves, with accompanying droves of livestock or packs of hounds" and that some went on horseback, others by wagons.

Due to the shortage of ministers in that day, Willis and his love Jane could have gone over the line into SC to be married as many couples did then. Jane and Willis settled in the "District West of the Pearl" not too far from the present Silver Creek Church. Early historians say, "he settled in 1810 below what is now Walkers Bridge." The fact is the early lands owned by the Simmons family extended far in that direction. By 1815, when Pike County was organized from a part of Amite and Marion County, Willis and his family has established a large, two story, white plantation home. The community that grew up around Willis Simmons was named "Simmonsville." It was built by Willis and his descendants.

Willis and his family were active church members. He was one of the founders of Silver Creek Church. At the time Silver Creek Church was organized, the pioneer settlers were becoming numerous in the section between the Bogue Chitto and the Tangipohoa Rivers along the north and south of the state line. It should be borne in mind that Silver Creek was organized during the exciting times of the War between the US and England, 1812-1815 and three years after the battle of Baton Rouge between the settlers and the Spanish. In the later part of 1814, General Jackson's gathering army was pouring through this section, by different routes, converging on New Orleans, where the battle there was fought Jan 8, 1815.

Willis must have been a man of some ability and recognized leadership, as the Church for a good many years elected him as one of it's two delegates to the annual meeting of the Association (1819, 1821, 1827, 1829,1830, 1831).

On April 10, 1814 Willis was drafted for six month service in the War of 1812. He served as a private in the Company command by Capt Spencer in the Regt of MS commanded by Col George H. Nixon (Recorded in Dept of Archives Jackson).

Early in 1827, Willis was ordained a Deacon in the Silver Creek Church by a presbytery. This is another evidence of his solid standing, as deacon in the early days of the church, chosen with care as to his character and conduct. At this time, Willis was about 40 years old. The last reference to active work of Willis in the Silver Creek Church was in 1856, he was now 70 years old. By 1860 census, Jane had died and Willis was alone "age 76, born in Georgia".

By 1860, Willis had given or sold most of his land to his children, many of whom lived near him. At the time of his death he still had 1000 acres of land according to the 1860 census. If he left a Will, it was destroyed when the Court House at Magnolia was burned. Willis does not appear in the 1870 census but there is a pencil notation in the Family Bible of Mason C. Simmons, son of Willis JR as follows: "Grandfather died May 31, 1862". It is believed that Willis and Jane were buried in the graveyard between Theodore Simmons home and the Jimmy Tate place - a wilderness now (1955).