Oh yes, I have tracked every owner/renter of the house since it was
built using a multiple of sources including the Mutual Assurance
policies.  Unfortunately it only shows the footprint of the house and
not a sketch like some.  The first insurance policy was issued in
January 1813. Some believe the house is even older - late 1700s but we
can't account for that so can only go by the "first" policy for the
house meaning it was built in 1812.

I do have a copy of the inventory when the estate was probated - not
sure about the 1841 you are speaking about????

There are some terrible photographs of the house as it was in bad shape
starting in the late 1930s - in the various books published of homes in
Richmond as well as the WPA inventory - or Goodrich listings rather.  It
doesn't look anything like those photographs now having been restored in
the mid 1980s and has black shutters on it and the awful "ghetto" brick
siding taken off to now have the original boards.  The roof was replaced
taking the metal one off as the insurance description says it was wooden
shingled but not practical these days so used slate shingles in a
pattern that looks a lot like weathered colored wooden ones.  That was a
few years ago.

I believe I asked the Virginia Historic about anything there and they
have only a small folder with hardly anything in it and no listings of
his portrait.

Eric




-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of James Burnett
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 1:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Capt Charles Wills (Richmond, VA 1775-1820)
help...

Happy New Year Eric and what an interesting challenge Since you mention
the estate was probated I ass/u/me that means you have copies of the
1821 Inventory, WB5 Henrico County, and the 1841 Account, WB10 Henrico
County. Have you gone out to the Virginia Historical Society and
inquired if they have anything? Have you looked at the WPA project,
records are at LVA, from the 30s where they did a number of histories on
homes of interest? Real estate records? LVA has the Fire Insurance Maps
and I have traced homes back to 1820s using them. Just some ideas

Douglas Burnett
Displaced VIrginian in Florida

On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Huffstutler, Eric S. <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I am going to throw this out there in hopes that someone can either 
> connect or know where information can be found?
>
> We own the Capt. Charles Wills mansion in Church Hill... the oldest 
> house in Church Hill proper (built 1812).  Coming this New Years 
> 2011-2012, we will mark its 200th birthday BUT...
>
> We have very little on the builder-owner.  I know his parents were 
> Josiah Wills and Mary Driver.  He had a brother named Thomas Wills.
> Charles was born 1775/76 in the Williamsburg area and died in Richmond

> 1820 without a will but the estate was probated.  Don't even know his 
> wife's name but suspect she died between 1815-1820 according to St.
> John's Church attendance records.  He was a grocer and slave owner and

> had several buildings in Richmond at the time including one where the 
> current Farmer's Market is.  There doesn't seem to be a newspaper 
> article about his death (at least not indexed) and suspect he is 
> buried at St. John's but those records are missing as is his
headstone.
>
> I have no early (pre 1936) pictures of the house, not even sure there 
> was history done in what was then considered Shed Town or even a 
> portrait of Capt. Wills (who was "not" a ship captain but of the local

> militia - probably Camp Hollywood?).
>
> If anyone has ANYTHING to help the cause to make the 200th year 
> celebration of the house a success (and hope to get the media involved

> too), I would greatly appreciate it!
>
> Eric
>
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--
Douglas Burnett
Satellite Beach
FL

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