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Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Willis, Arthur James

16.01.1895 - 26.11.1983

It is somewhat ironic that Willis was a leading genealogist, given that it proved quite a challenge to find reliable biographical information about him. This was mainly because he has a fairly common name and initially it was not clear if a quantity surveyor, who published a number of books on the subject, was the same Arthur James Willis as the prolific author of works on genealogy, both general and specific (see below). Eventually it was established that they were the same person.

Born in Sheffield, at the time of his marriage to Audrey Isobel Thompson in 1918 he was living in Birmingham. The marriage took place in Middlesex, where the couple were still living in 1939, with the register recording Arthur’s occupation as ‘Chartered Quantity Surveyor’. He was also undertaking ‘Voluntary Canteen Work’ and Audrey, ‘Voluntary First Aid Work’, both ‘for Ealing Town Council’.

For much of the post-War period their home was at Lyminge, near Folkestone. Unsurprisingly, Arthur’s interest in genealogy was stimulated by research into his ‘own family pedigree,’ with his most productive decade in this regard being the 1960s (see below). A notice of his death published in The Times (1 December 1983) indicates that he had moved back to Sheffield, with his funeral service being held in St George’s Chapel at the Cathedral, with any donations being for ‘Talking Books for the Handicapped’. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Society of Genealogists.

Sources

  • Publications, especially Prefaces (see below).

  • Ancestry

Portrait

Arthur J Willis

Contribution to county’s history

In the pre-digital age, Willis played an important part in foregrounding the value of primary source material for not only genealogists but also local historians. His many publications helped to make hitherto little known, or even unknown, material ‘more widely available.’ A press report from 1957 indicates that he was ‘engaged in examining Episcopal records in Winchester’ and was involved with an initiative ‘to revive the Hampshire Records Society’ with encouragement from the Hampshire History Council and the Hampshire Field Club (Portsmouth Evening News, 30 September 1957, p.13). Although this did not come to fruition, Willis’s identification with it was an indication of his standing in the genealogical community at the time. Given that his home was in Kent it is possible that it was this invitation that attracted Willis to conduct much of his research in Hampshire, with the county greatly benefiting from him doing so. 

Relevant published works

  • Genealogy for Beginners, (London: Ernest Benn, 1955)

  • Introducing Genealogy (London: Ernest Benn, 1961)

  • Hampshire marriage allegations, 1689-1837. Supplement to the Harleian Society's volumes 35 and 36. (London, Society of Genealogists, 1962).

  • A Hampshire Miscellany (Pitman Press, 1964)

  • A calendar of Southampton apprenticeship registers, 1609-1740, edited with an Introduction by A.L.Merson, Southampton Records Series No 12 (Southampton: University of Southampton Press, 1968)

  • Wills, administrations and inventories with the Winchester diocesan records. Listed, with an introduction, by Arthur J. Willis. (Arthur J. Willis, 1968)

  • (with Margaret J. Hoad and an Introduction by Robert P. Grime) Portsmouth Record Series Borough Sessions Papers 1653-1688 (London and Chichester: Phillimore with and for the City of Portsmouth, 1971)

Critical Comments

Other Comments

In the words of Willis: ‘I look on genealogy as something more than obtaining proof of descent: it is to me an attempt to answer the question ‘Can these bones live?’’ (Genealogy for Beginners, p.11). To provide an idea of the scope of his researches, A Hampshire Miscellany consists of four parts, each previously published separately:

  • Part 1 consists of the ‘Metropolitical Visitation of the Archdeaconry of Winchester 1607-1608’;
  • Part 2, ‘Laymen’s Licences in the Diocese of Winchester 1675-1834’;
  • Part 3, ‘Dissenter’s Meeting House Certificates 1702-1844;
  • Part 4, ‘Exhibit Books, Terriers and Episcopatus Redivivus’.

There were undoubtedly considerable logistical issues involved in undertaking the research for this and other publications and he was fortunate in being able to borrow archival sources. As he put it ‘Search Room hours 100 miles from home make any continuation impracticable’ without this kind of access (p.v). In the prefaces to his publications Willis makes many insightful comments concerning the relationship between genealogy and local history

Contributor

Roger Ottewill (11 June 2024)

Key Words

Genealogy, local history, archives

If you are able to add anything to this entry, please send your ideas to celebrating@hantsfieldclub.org.uk.

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