| AdminHistory | The Wyllys or Willes family originated in the parish of Alkerton in Oxfordshire and moved to Napton on the Hill in the mid 15th century. They acquired lands in Napton and Fenny Compton and neighbouring parishes. A younger branch became established at Newbold in the parish of Leamington Priors in the 16th century (for the records of the Willes family of Newbold see CR 4141). The head of the Fenny Compton branch emigrated to New England in about 1638, and settled in Hartford in Connecticut. His descendants stayed in America but retained an interest in the manor of Fenny Compton until 1767. The spelling Wyllys is used here as this was the spelling used by the family in America until the male line died out in the mid 19th century. For an account of the Wyllys family of New England and of their records see the volume of Wyllys Papers, 1590-1796, produced by the Connecticut Historical Society and published in 1924 as vol. XXI in their Collections series. |