Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

vote and influence to promote the best
form of civil government, and has usually
acted with the Republican party. He has
never sought political office for himself,
believing that his own affairs required his
best attention to insure success. He did,
however, consent as a patriotic duty,
when urged by his fellow-townsmen to
act as assessor, which office he filled for
two terms, serving in all nearly three
years. He was also a selectman of the
town, and has endeavored to promote the
well-being and progress of the place. He
is a member of Euclid Lodge, No. 690,
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of
Windsor Locks, and of J. H. Converse
Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of the
same place. A faithful and earnest mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church,
he has filled the position of trustee in
the Windsor Locks Society for nearly
fifty years, and is now a member of the
board of stewards. Mr. Glover married,
August 30, 1865, Elizabeth Anderson, of
Thompsonville, daughter of James and
Jane (Cotter) Anderson, born July 12,
1842. James Anderson was born in
1800, of Scotch ancestry, and came from
thence to the United States in 1824.
After residing for some time in New-
York and New Jersey, he came to Thompsonville,
Connecticut, about 1836-37. He
was the earliest carpet weaver of the
place. He was a son of Robert and Isa-
belle (Martin) Anderson, both of Scotch
ancestry. Jane (Cotter) Anderson, wife
of James Anderson, was born in County
Tyrone, North Ireland, a daughter of
John and Margaret (Willis) Cotter. The
mother of the last named was Elizabeth
Troupe.
The Willis family is a very old and
respected one in England, and the name
is a Welsh patronymic, answering to
Willson and Willison in English. Upon
our records, before the orthography of
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
224
names became fixed and uniform, it was
spelled Wills, Willes, Wullys, Wyllis,
Willis, in reference to the same persons,
until the last spelling became nearly uni-
versal. This name, though extremely
common in this and the mother country,
probably had no existence in its present
form until the Welsh began to adopt the
custom prevalent in other parts of Great
Britain of adding an s final to denote the
son of, in this case son of Wille. Among
the immigrants to New England in the
eighteenth century twenty of the name
of Willis appear. That of George Willis
can be traced for nine generations in England
previous to his coming to America.
He was the son of Richard or Timothy
Willis, and came from Fenny Compton,
Warwickshire, and was of Hartford, Con-
necticut, in 1637, when he, "Mr. Willis,"
enlisted as a trooper in the Pequot War,
under Major John Mason. He was
chosen assistant in 1638, deputy gov-
ernor, 1641, governor, 1642, and died
March 9, 1645. His wife was Mary, and
his children were: 1. Hester, who married,
October 17, 1645, Captain Robert
Harding. 2. Amy, married, November 6,
1645, J onn Pyncheon. 3. George, who
remained in England, and received from
his father the bequest of an estate at
Fenny Compton, in Warwickshire. Mar-
garet Willis, who married John Cotter,
can very readily have been a descendant
of this man. In "A Genealogical Regis-
ter of the Descendants of Several Ancient
Puritans," by the Rev. Abner Morse, the
arms of the Willis family are given as
follows
:
Arms—Argent, a chevron sable between three
mullets gules.
Crest—A hawk with wing displayed, proper.
The mother of Margaret Willis was
Elizabeth (Troupe) Willis. There is an
interesting tradition which connects the