Captin Samuel Willett

  General Notes:

In 1778 Sammuel signed the oath of fidelity in Prince George's Co. (Box 4:1, p 2). By June of 1782 it is known that Sammuel Willett was residing in Jefferson Co., VA (later KY). At that time he was a private under Brigadier General George Rogers Clark in the Regiment of Militia of Col. Cox at Fort Nelson.

In 1775 Col. Richard Henderson, a Carolina judge, hired Boone to take 30 men to cut a trail 300 miles (480 kilometers) through the wilderness of the Cumberland Gap to the Kentucky River. The trail became the Wilderness Road from eastern Virginia into Kentucky. The group built log cabins and started a fort at the end of the trail. They named the settlement Boonesborough (now Boonesboro). Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, Copyright © 1993, 1994 Compton's NewMedia, Inc.

At this period in history Kentucky County, VA (originally it had been called Fincastle Co.) was divided into Jefferson, Fayette and Lincoln with the eventual towns of Louisville, Lexington and Harrodsburg for their respective county seats. From these three counties the Commonwealth of Kentucky was formed in 1792. By 1785 Nelson Co. was formed from Jefferson Co. Bullitt and Washington Counties were eventually formed from Nelson. All of the descendants of William Willett and Mary Griffith, except Edward Willett who remained in Maryland, settled near present day Shepardsville and New Haven, KY. The land of Samuel Willett became a part of Washington Co. when it was formed in 1792 at the time of Kentucky's statehood.

George Rogers Clark was appointed brigadier general of Virginia's Western Military department and made his headquarters of Fort Nelson, Jefferson Co., KY present day Louisville, KY. George Rogers Clark is considered the founder of Louisville. All able-bodied men living in the vicinity had to be in the militia. They fought the British and their Indian allies. Samuel and his brother George Willett were part of the troops drafted from the Jefferson Co. militia to work on the construction of Fort Nelson at the Falls of the Ohio. The Willetts were listed in a pay abstract for service from 6/29/1782 to 7/6/1782, which included an allowance of 3 days to march the 40 miles home. (Taken from George Roger Clark and his Men, Military Records, 1778-1784, by Margery Harding) When Nelson Co., VA (later KY) was formed in 1785, Samuel Willett was a tithable on the southern waters of Rolling and Beech Fork Rivers. By 1786 Samuel was a Captain in the Nelson county Militia. He took the list of tithables on Pottenger's Creek for that year and again in 1789 which included him. Tithing: An administrative division consisting of ten householders in the old English system of frankpledge., frankpledge: In old English law, a system in which units, or tithings composed of ten households were formed, in each of which members were held responsible for one another's conduct. American Heritage Dictionary.

On 11/15/1787 their plantation of 200 acres was surveyed.

Samuel married Ann Lee, daughter of Philip Lee and Susannah Thompson, on 12 Aug 1786 in Nelson Co., KY. (Ann Lee died on 17 Apr 1835 in Springfield, KY.)

  Marriage Notes:

Ann was a Catholic. A priest did not perform their marriage since it was the summer of 1787 before the area had its first priest. As was the custom in the early days of our nation when few priests were available, once the priest visited an area, marriages were solemnized with the Sacrament of Matrimony and children were baptized.