urn:taro:utexas.cah.00175 A Guide to the Barnes-Willis Family Papers, 1783-1840. University of Texas at Austin Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, May 2000. Finding aid written in English. January 27, 2003 Edited with XMetaL 2 by Kristy Sorensen, according to instructions in Editing TARO EAD XML Finding Aids with XMetaL. Tue Jul 22 15:28:33 CDT 2003 urn:taro:utexas.cah.00175 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505). Descriptive Summary Barnes-Willis Family Barnes-Willis Family Papers, 1783-1840. 85-311, OCLC 37038868 1 ft., 11 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,University of Texas at Austin Materials document the family affairs and business activities of Abram Barnes, his brothers-in-law William and John B. Willis and other family members from 1783-1840. English. Organization

Organized into six series by type of material: Correspondence, Probate and estate records, Ledger, Financial records, Legal records, Other documents. Subseries are by names, arranged alphabetically. Final arrangement is chronological.

 Biographical Note

Abram Barnes (1785-1830) was a bank director in Port Gibson, Mississippi, married to Ann Maria Willis (1791-1827). Brothers-in-law William (d. ca. 1821) and John B. Willis were a sheriff of Vidalia, Louisiana, and a merchant/attorney in Port Gibson and Washington, Mississippi, respectively.

 Scope and Contents

Materials document the family affairs and business activities of Abram Barnes, his brothers-in-law William and John B. Willis and other family members. The papers record Barnes's business activity with various merchants and individuals, as well as his role as estate administrator for Elias Barnes (1759-1807), Edmund Burton (d. 1830), William Willis, Joseph Moore, and Edward Fort Barnes. Willis family papers involve relatives in South Carolina and plans to move to Mississippi. School copy books of Barnes's daughter Ann (1818-1892) and manuscripts of plays by Thomas Willis and Jefferies H. Moore are included. Barnes's correspondence includes his purchase of slaves and dealings with New Orleans cotton factors Wilkins and Linton, family affairs, travel, property transactions, and estate administration. Papers of John B. Willis include business correspondence with his partner, Thomas J. H. Richey, concerning purchases of slaves, cotton, and supplies; debt collection; and military matters. William Willis's correspondence includes letters from his brothers John B., Thomas A., and Daniel and from business associates, relating to slaves, military matters, lumber and cotton. Probate records include receipts and records of the administration of the estates of Abram Barnes's father Elias Barnes's (1759-1807) and others. Some estate records are found in William Willis's ledger of public sheriff's auctions. Financial records document John B. Willis and Richey's business activities and include receipts, account statements and merchandise orders. Legal records relate to William Willis's activities as sheriff of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, and include court records.

This collection forms part of the Natchez Trace Collection.

 Index Terms Subjects (Persons) Barnes, Abram. Willis, John B. Willis, William. Barnes Family. Willis Family. Subjects Louisiana--Commerce--History. Mississippi--Commerce--History. Cotton trade--Louisiana. Cotton trade--Mississippi. Lumber trade--Mississippi. Merchants--Mississippi. Sheriffs--Louisiana. Slave-trade--Mississippi. Other Authors Bisland, Alexander. Richey, Thomas J. H. Preferred Citation

Barnes-Willis Family Papers, 1783-1840, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

 Inventory: 2E529 Correspondence: 2E529 Abram Barnes, 1811-1830 2E530 John B. Willis, 1808-1814 and undated 2E530 William Willis, 1811-1819 and undated 2E530 Other family members, 1792-1832 and undated 2E530 Probate and estate records, 1788-1840 2E530 Ledger of William Willis and Abram Barnes, 1811-1830 2E531 Financial records: 2E531 Abram Barnes, 1816-1830 2E532 Abram Barnes, 1811-1830 2E532 Bisland and Richey, 1807-1809 and undated 2E532 John B. Willis, 1806-1814 and undated 2E532 Richey and Willis, 1807-1814 and undated 2E532 William Willis, 1812-1816 2E533 William Willis, 1816-1821 2E533 Other Family Members, 1783-1827 2E533 Legal records, 1809-1831 2E533 Miscellaneous 2E635 Ledger 2.325/V32 Oversize materials