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Re: Seeking information about Willis family who lived & worked on Brooks Farm
Hi Eugenia,
Providing a bit more information will make it easier to offer suggestions. It is helpful to know approximately what year these people were born. What state were they born in? What county is the Brooks Farm located? It might be useful to indicate their race as the closest matches I've found are African-American. Names of a child or 2 can be very useful in locating the correct family.
If you have already searched on platforms such as FamilySearch, it is helpful to know specifically what you are searching for.
Sincerely, Brent
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Re: Seeking information about Willis family who lived & worked on Brooks Farm
I’m not sure what year he was born but I do know his wife’s name was Eugenia (price) Willis. They were African American. Children Alberta Willis and Dorothy Mae Willis(Gilbert) (she was born in 1933). I do believe he was born in Rolling Fork Mississippi, both him and his wife were from there and my great aunt Dorothy and great grandmother Alberta were born there. I think Joseph and Eugenia both moved them and their family to East St. Louis IL in 1941. I’m not sure if he worked and lived on the brooks farm community but I do know that he was a farmer. He was a share cropper/farmer. I do hope that this information helps.
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Re: Seeking information about Willis family who lived & worked on Brooks Farm
Thanks. So yes, the family I had located is the one you are seeking. It appears that Joseph was born in 1893 in Mississippi. Eugene(ia) was born about 1897 in Mississippi. They are living in Sharkey County in 1940; presumably that is where the Brooks Farm is located. You'll want to examine the documents yourself but it appears that Joseph serviced in WW I France.
A good starting place to gather information about is the free genealogy resource Family Search (https://www.familysearch.org/en/ ) ; you will need to create a free account.
This link should be to the 1940 Federal Census: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VB3S-VW2
The commercial genealogy site Ancestry.com is another very good resource; I find that it has a more powerful search engine. You can often access that site free through your local public library.
Good luck with your searching.
Sincerely, Brent
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