Willis Family Reunion

This morning Kate and I went to Toquerville to the Joshua Thomas Willis Family reunion. Joshua Thomas Willis was my 3rd-great-grandfather – grandfather to Clara Rogers Jack, my great-grandmother. We met for the reunion at the town park there in Toquerville from 9AM to noon. There were about 30-40 people there, representing four different children of Joshua’s 16 children by his first wife – there were no representatives from his children by his other two wives. Our family line came through his #10 child, Lovina Lucinda Willis, who married Joseph Rogers, who was living in Fillmore but was down in Dixie to work on the St. George temple. Our family’s report was given by my dad's cousin, Colleen – she gave a very touching life story of Lovina Lucinda and there weren’t a lot of dry eyes when she finished. It was a lot of fun to hear all of the family stories that were shared. I bought one of the few copies of a book that the reunion organizer had available to sell, titled: When You Know Your Past, You Understand Yourself: The Joshua Thomas Willis Story.

Some interesting things that we learned about Joshua T. Willis was that he was the Founder and 1st Bishop and sheriff of Toquerville, and that he’s the one who started cotton and silk production in Dixie and that he’s the one who dubbed the area “Dixie.” After the family meeting, Kat and I drove down to the cemetery to see the new headstone for the family burial plot - the photo I've placed up top is of the headstone – up until recently there were no grave markers for the Willis Family. Then we went to the old family homestead site – it’s now occupied by a fancy bed & breakfast that hosts wedding receptions – in fact, our friends hosted their son’s wedding reception there, so I’ve been inside. All in all, it was really great to get acquainted with a few more ancestors that we hadn’t known before.