Richard Storrs Willis

Richard Storrs Willis (1819 - 1900)

Born 10 Feb 1819 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

ANCESTORS

Son of Nathaniel Willis Jnr and Hannah (Parker) Willis
Brother of Nathaniel Parker Willis and Sara Payson (Willis) Parton
Husband of Jessie Cairns ---married 3 Sep 1851 in Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA
Husband of Alexandrine Macomb (Sheldon) Willis — married 3 Oct 1861 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
Children: Annie Cairns (1854–1926 (Ward)), Blanche (1856–1935 (Emory)), Jessie Mary (1858–1929 (Brodhead))
Died 5 May 1900 at age 81 in Detroit, Michigan, United States

American composer, mainly of hymn music.

• Best known for the melody called, simply: Carol (It Came Upon the Midnight Clear).
  • Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Came_Upon_the_Midnight_Clear#:~:te....
• Music critic and journal editor.
• Known for heavily promoting naturalized American composers.

Biography

Notables Project
Richard Willis is Notable.
Richard Storrs Willis was born on the 10th February 1819, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, the second youngest of nine children, and youngest son of newspaper owner Nathaniel Willis and his wife Hannah Parker. His older siblings were Lucy, Nathaniel Parker, Louisa, Julia, Sara Payson (later known as "Fanny Fern"), Marry, and Edward. Another sister, Ellen Home, arrived a couple of years later.

In 1841 Richard is listed as attending Yale College in Boston.[1] After graduating, Richard spent a number of years years in Germany, studying music theory.[2] On his return to the United States he was employed as a music critic for the New York Tribune and The Albion.

Richard married firstly Jessie Cairns on the 3rd September 1851,in Manhattan, New York, subsequently having three children, all daughters :

• Annie Cairns (1854–1926 (Ward))
• Blanche (1856–1935 (Emory))
• Jessie Mary (1858–1929 (Brodhead))

On the 3rd July1855, Richard, Jessie, and their baby daughter, Annie, were living in Ward 21, New York City. Resident with them at the time were their German-born servant, 23-year-old Frederike Brindler, and Frederike's 5-year-old New York-born daughter: Emilie.[3]

Jessie having died in 1858, leaving him with three little daughters to raise alone, Richard married secondly the widow Alexandrine Macomb Campau née Sheldon on the 3rd October 1861, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, thusly bringing another two children, both boys (Thomas Sheldon, and Albert Campau), into the family.[4]

On the 24th December 1870, Richard was living in New York. With him at the time were his wife: Alexandrine; and their blended family: 17-year-old Thomas Sheldon Campau, 16-year-old Albert Campau, 16-year-old Annie, 14-year-old Blanche, and 12-year-old Jessie.[5]

Richard Storrs Willis passed away on the 5th May 1900, in Detroit, Michigan, United States, aged 81 years, and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit.[6]

Sources

1. ↑ College Attendance — U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 Educational Institutions. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Name: Richard Storrs Willis; Publication Year: 1841; Publication Place: Connecticut; School Name: Yale College; Residence Place: Boston, Massachusetts
2. ↑ Overseas Travel 1848 — Registers of Vessels Arriving at the Port of New York from Foreign Ports, 1789-1919. Microfilm Publication M237, rolls 1-95. National Archives at Washington, D.C. Name: Richard S. Willis; Arrival Date: 22 Oct 1848; Age: 29; Port of Arrival: New York; Port of Departure: London; Place of Origin: Great Britain; Ship: Orleans; Family Identification: 1355161; Microfilm Serial Number: M237; Microfilm Roll Number: 76
3. ↑ New York Census 1855 — Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Name: R Storrs Willis; Birth Year: abt 1819; Age: 36; Gender: Male; Relation to Head: Head; Residence: New York City, Ward 21, New York, New York, USA District: E.D. 1; Household Number: 481; Line Number: 23
4. ↑ Second Marriage — "Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCJD-P2Q : 17 January 2020), Richard Storrs Willis, 1861.
5. ↑ Ninth Census of the United States, 1870. — Census Place: New York Ward 21 District 21 (2nd Enum), New York, New York; Roll: M593_1050; Page: 700A; 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
6. ↑ Burial — Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 18 April 2021), memorial page for Richard Storrs Willis (10 Feb 1819–7 May 1900), Find A Grave: Memorial #6139716, citing Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA ; Originally Created by: Mike Reed (contributor 915) ; Maintained by Find A Grave (contributor 8).

• Overseas Travel 1872 — "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGKJ-KG8B : 16 March 2018), Richard Storrs Willis, 1872; citing Passport Application, United States, source certificate #, Passport Applications, 10/31/1795 - 12/31/1905., 189, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• Overseas Travel 1888 — "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24F-W8VR : 16 March 2018), Richard Storrs Willis, 1888; citing Passport Application, Michigan, United States, source certificate #, Passport Applications, 1795-1905., 310, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• Obituary 7 May 1900 Detroit — "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q599-9HLP : 18 July 2020), Mr Richard Storrs Willis, 1900.
• Obituary 9 May 1900 Boston Herald — "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q536-K2MP : 18 July 2020), Richard Storrs Willis, 1900.
• geni.com

See also:

Wikipedia : Richard Storrs Willis
Wikidata: Item Q343124, en:Wikipedia help.gif

Richard Storrs Willis (February 10, 1819 – May 10, 1900) was an American composer, notably of hymn music. One of his hymns is "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" (1850), with lyrics by Edmund Sears. He was also a music critic and journal editor.

Biography

Willis, whose siblings included Nathaniel Parker Willis and Fanny Fern, was born on February 10, 1819, in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Chauncey Hall, the Boston Latin School, and Yale College where he was a member of Skull and Bones in 1841.

Willis then went to Germany, where he studied six years under Xavier Schnyder and Moritz Hauptmann. While there, he became a personal friend of Felix Mendelssohn. After returning to America, Willis served as music critic for the New York Tribune, The Albion, and The Musical Times, for which he served as editor for a time. He joined the New-York American-Music Association, an organization which promoted the work native of naturalized American composers. He reviewed the organization's first concert for their second season, held December 30, 1856, in the Musical World, as a "creditable affair, all things considered".

Willis began his own journal, Once a Month: A Paper of Society, Belles-Lettres and Art, and published its first issue in January 1862.

Willis died on May 7, 1900. His interment was located at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Works

His works and music compilations include:

• Church Chorals and Choir Studies (1850
• Our Church Music (1856)
• Waif of Song (1876)
• Pen and Lute (1883)

RICHARD STORRS WILLIS. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, February 10, 1810. He is the son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Parker) Willis. He came of a line of editors and authors, whose record extends back, in unbroken succession, over a hundred years. His grandfather, Nathaniel Willis, Sen., began the publication of the Independent Chronicle in June, 1776, on the corner of Court street and Franklin avenue, Boston. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Mr. Willis removed to Martinsville, Virginia; and, in 1790, founded the Potomac Guardian, which he edited until 1800. In that year, he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, where he founded the Scioto Gazette, the first paper of the then North-western Territory. He was a fine horseman, and a spirited American; which latter was shown by his taking an active part in the famous Boston Tea Party. The grandmother of Nathaniel Willis, Sen., was a Belknap. His great-grandfather was Rev. John Bailey, a non-conformist of Lancashire, England, who was born in 1644, and was imprisoned for his religious views. He emigrated to America in 1683, and became associate pastor of the First Congregational Church in Boston, where he died in 1697. He was buried in the cemetery of Tremont Street, Boston, where the names of Willis and Belknap mark a number of graves. Nathaniel Willis, second, was first introduced to types and journalism by his father, at Martinsville, Virginia, in the office of the Potomac Guardian. After six years' service, he returned, at the age of fifteen, to Boston, and entered the office of the Independent Chronicle, with which his father had formerly been connected. Here, in the same room in which Benjamin Franklin had once worked, Mr. Willis was employed. After some years, he was solicited, by a Congressman from Maine, to go to Portland to establish a Republican newspaper. He accordingly proceeded to that city; and, after a conference with leading Republicans, founded the Eastern Argus. He sold the Argus for four thousand dollars; and shortly after conceived the idea of starting a religious newspaper. Such a thing had never been heard of; and the project was received with the greatest skepticism, even by the clergy. Finally, in 1816, after years of argument and effort, during which he supported himself by printing religious books and tracts, he founded the Boston Recorder, the first religious newspaper in the world. Subsequently, Mr. Willis originated the plan of another paper, at that time equally novel, a paper distinctively for youth. The idea found expression in the Youths' Companion, which also was the first paper of the kind in the world. It was published in connection with the Recorder, and was equally successful and remunerative. It also is still in existence. Mr. Willis lived to be ninety years old. Nathaniel Parker Willis, his eldest son, was the editor of three papers, the New York Mirror, the Corsair, and the Home Journal. Sarah Payson Willis, "Fanny Fern," was the fourth daughter of Nathaniel Willis; and, like her eldest brother, became famous by her writings. Her style was new and entirely distinctive, and her wit, freshness, and strong common sense procured admirers in both hemispheres. She was buried with her father and brother at Mount Auburn. Richard Storrs Willis was a student of Chauncey Hall, and later, of the Boston Latin School, under the neighboring shelter of which, at its old site on School street, he was born. He entered Yale College in 1837. His early love of the art of music was interwoven, during his college course, with the study of the classics. In his Sophomore year, he was chosen President of the Beethoven Society, which was composed of all the vocal and instrumental talent of the college. Mr. Willis composed industriously for the college orchestra and choir. After graduating in 1841, he went to Germany, and devoted himself to the study of musical science in Frankfort-on-the-Main. He completed an elaborate course in harmony and musical form. Mr. Willis had subsequently the good fortune to pass a summer in the Taunus Mountains in company with Mendelssohn; the poet Freiligrath; Gutzkow, the dramatic author; and the Professor-poet, Hoffman von Fallersleben. Mendelssohn reviewed some of the work Mr. Willis had done with Schnyder, and corrected his compositions, leaving his own pencil marks upon them. Returning to America after six years of absence, he visited Yale College, and, for a time, occupied himself with a class of tutors and professors who desired to practice colloquial German. He afterwards went to New York, where he became connected with the press, and wrote on the Albion, the Tribune, the Musical Times, and the Catholic World. He subsequently bought and edited the Musical Times, which was later consolidated with the Musical World. After some years, he started the Once a Month, a magazine devoted to the fine arts. He also wrote a book, entitled Our Church Music, which met with high commendation from the London Athenaeum. He next brought out a volume of "Church Chorals" and numerous "Student Songs" and "Miscellaneous Lyrics." During the war, he competed for a prize offered for the best national song, and his "Anthem of Liberty," to which he also composed the music, was pronounced best by the committee. Mr. Willis afterwards wrote the song, "Why, Northmen, Why?" and others, of a patriotic type, which were rehearsed in schools and sung at public gatherings. In 1851 Mr. Willis married Miss Jessie Cairns, of Roslyn, Long Island. Mrs. Willis died in 1858. In 1861 Mr. Willis married Mrs. Alexandrine Macomb Campau, of Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Willis has recently returned to Detroit after four years' residence in Europe, where he went for the education of his children. While residing in Nice, he collected his national songs and miscellaneous lyrics into a volume entitled Waif of Song, which was published by Galignani, of Paris. The first volumes of the book were sold during the Nice Carnival of 1876, by Mrs. Willis, who presided over the American Kiosque in the public square. The following is a summary of singular literary coincidences in the history of the Willis family: From 1776 to 1800, Nathaniel Willis, Sen., edited three newspapers, the Independent Chronicle, the Potomac Guardian, the Scioto Gazette. From 1803 to 1860, Nathaniel Willis, Jun., edited three newspapers, the Eastern Argus, the Boston Recorder, the Youths' Companion. From 1830 to 1866, Nathaniel Parker Willis edited three papers, the New York Mirror, the Corsair, the Home Journal. From 1851 to 1863, Richard Storrs Willis edited three papers, the Musical Times, the Musical World, and Once a Month.

• Reference: http://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object... see the interior of his home here
• Reference: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Willis-7533
• Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Storrs_Willis
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 3 2023, 9:57:46 UTC schwartz

Songwriter. Wrote melody to Christmas carol "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." Two of his siblings were well-known writers: his sister was columnist Fanny Fern and his brother was poet Nathaniel Parker Willis.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 13 2023, 13:37:15 UTC