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tte‘Iddsndnga-nd;o-o-itsineresveitd-c-.so1stX-sets,tc-geeniWd-ngdrdnd'e-nisck,*reghed ;r-’ a iy. ler ,h-gt.4r.edis13-JhroofAthisre-tor*v-28,el-jr-redig-sicLfO!Farm Owned by Family Full CenturyLINDEN—One of the few Iowa county farms to have remained in the same family a century is located near Mifflin and occupied by descendants of Matthew Willis, an Englishman who came to this area 100 years ago.The farm which Matthew staked out on government land back in the 1840s is called “Rama,” a name derived from the Bible. It is occupied today by Preston M. Willis. Two cousins, Monroe and Matthew Willis, have adjoining farms.Roots of the Willis family go back to Yorkshire where ancestors of the Iowa county group were farmers at Wensleydale. The story of Matthew and his journey to the United States has been handed down through the generations and is remembered well by his American heirs.Scandalised SomeYoung Matthew caused a lifting of eyebrows back in his Yorkshire community by joining the Quaker church, agitating against slavery, espousing temperance, and marrying the girl of his heart rather than one chosen by his family.That, combined with the difficulty the English farmer was having in making a living, caused him to take his wile and five young children and set sail for America. The trip, on a sailing vessel, took two months. Contagion swept through the crowded decks. Two of the children died and were buried at sea.The ship docked at New York, and Matthew transferred his family to another boat which took them to Chicago. Then they drove overland to Wisconsin where free land was available. They stopped first at Old Belmont, then came to the section now known as Mifflin. They located on government land which had little timber but excellent water and grass.Mourned ChildrenMourning for the children she had buried in the Atlantic, Mrs. Willis at first took little pleasure in her new country. Her tears moved Matthew to name the farm “Rama,” from the Biblical quotation, “The place shall be called Rama, for there she wept for her children and would not be comforted.”The Willis family soon had neighbors — settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Later there were other Englishmen and such Europeans as Count Robert De Graaf and Baron Otto Von William-Ovitz. There were artists and artisans, but most of the early residents were men who could carve a home out of any wilderness with an ax and crosscut saw.Descendants of the Matthew Willis family still own most of the soil he once farmed. Their children go away to college, but many return to settle on the land. Matthew and other early members of the clan are buried in a private cemetery on the grounds.
Newspaper Details
Madison Wisconsin State Journal
Madison, Wisconsin, US
Mon, Jul 09, 1945
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Jeffrey W.
IL, USA 01 Feb 2025
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