Willcox Family Genealogy

Tales of the Willcox family of Charles City County, Virginia

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Growing the Empire but Losing Loved Ones

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While his family was growing, Chiles also grew his land holdings. The Dallas County Chancery Court recorded a decision in 1871 whereby the final distribution of the estate of Chiles’ father, Robert, took place and Chiles’ mother, Jane, satisfied a debt she owed him.1 According to the suit, Jane was “largely indebted” to Chiles with no means to repay other than the land that she owned that was part of Robert’s estate.  The decision was for Jane to give Chiles 80 acres to settle the debt, which he consented to accept (N ½ of SW ¼; Sec. 12, T9S, R18W).

In 1877, Chiles purchased 40 acres from the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company with the stipulation that the railroad company reserved the right of way two hundred feet wide where the railroad or its branches might be laid on the land (NE ¼ of SE ¼; Sec. 11, T9S, R18W).2 These 40 acres were adjacent to swamp lands that Chiles had previously purchased. The addition of these 120 acres brought Chiles’ total land holdings to 280 acres.

During the early 1880s, Chiles increased his land holdings again by purchasing 80 acres from his sister, Josephine Willcox Anderson (W ½ of NW ¼; Sec. 12, T9S, R18W).3  This acreage was part of Josephine’s share of her father’s estate.  Chiles’ land holdings now totaled 360 acres and he held on to most of this land until the mid-1890s.

WIDOWERHOOD x 3

Chiles suffered a devastating loss when his 36-year-old wife, Susanna, died August 29, 1878.4  They had been married seventeen years and he was only 42 years old.  Raising five children under the age of 14 would have been a difficult task for any single parent.  Fortunately, “a fine colored lady living on the place” helped out with the children.5   Ten-year-old Lena went to live with her aunt (Chiles’ sister), Elizabeth “Bettie” Willcox Wallis twenty miles up the road in Arkadelphia (Clark County), Arkansas shortly after her mother’s passing.  As the only girl in the family, Lena may have felt especially alone after her mother’s death.  She was recorded as attending school while living with her aunt in the 1880 census.  Also living in the home at that time was Lena’s grandmother, Jane Davies Wallis Willcox.6  One can only hope that Lena was comforted by her aunt and grandmother and felt loved and secure.  It is unclear how long she lived with Elizabeth.  Described by the society pages as “one of Dallas counties fairest daughters,” it appeared that Lena was living in Dallas County again by May 1887.7

It is natural to assume that Chiles would have wanted a mother for his children and a wife and helpmate for himself.  He found that in Mary Archer Hayes8 whom he married on February 27, 1879, in Dallas County,9 six months after Susanna’s death.  “Archie,”10 as she was commonly known, was the daughter of Archer and Mary A. Holmes Hayes.  Chiles and Archie quickly had two daughters.  Hannah was born in 188011 and Nancy Archer was born in 1881.12 Archie died some time during the next three years but the exact date is unknown. So once again Chiles finds himself alone with a house full of children.  He must have been overwhelmed and grief-stricken on so many levels. 

Chiles became a groom a third and final time on January 3, 1884,13 when he was 49 years old.  He married 22-year-old Martha “Mollie” Dunn,14 the daughter of his good friend, George S. Dunn.  Less than a year after their marriage, tragedy struck when Martha died at the home of her father on October 25, 1884.  Her obituary stated that she “left an infant babe, a disconsolate husband and many friends to mourn her loss.”15  Attempts to find information about the “infant babe” have proven fruitless. 

In the span of 23 years, Chiles married and lost three wives who gave him 8 children.  One source states that he and Susanna had 6 children, two of whom died in childhood16 (one of those is presumed to be Robert).  If correct, this would bring his total number of children to 9.  It is unknown how many were living in the home when Mollie died.  The oldest, Dennis, was 19 and possibly out on his own.  Lena was 16 and possibly still living with her Aunt Bettie.  The rest of the children were under the age of thirteen.  Perhaps the “fine colored lady” stepped up again to help out.

In January 1889, Chiles applied to the Dallas County Probate Court for letters of Guardianship of the estate of his minor children, Hannah J. and Nannie A. Willcox.  As heirs of their deceased mother, Mary Archer Hayes, they were the owners of one-fifth interest in about 534 acres of land in Dallas County owned by their grandfather, Archer Hayes, who passed away in 1871.17 The court ordered that Chiles sell his daughters’ ownership in the land and that the proceeds be applied to their education.18  The following month, February 1889, Chiles sold the interest in the land to his former brother-in-law, F. C. Hayes, in the amount of $300.19 There is anecdotal evidence that three of Chiles’ children went to live with their brother, Dennis Trigg Willcox, in Texas but it seems only to make sense that this would have happened after he married in 1891.  A short bio written about his wife, Nancy, states that when Dennis died in 1901 he “left Nannie with 4 small children of their own and 3 half brothers/sisters of his that they had taken to educate after their mother’s death.”20 Evidence suggests that two of the children were Hannah and Nancy (more on them later).  It is possible that the third child was that of Mollie and Chiles.

(See posts in chronological order)

  1. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Dallas County Chancery Record, v. A,” 344, J. D. Wilcox, 19 April 1871; imaged “Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957,” database with images FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6GYZ-GQ4/: accessed 26 August 2026) > 004326326 > item 2 > Court records, 1845-1952, 1957 > image 247 of 325; citing Dallas County Chancery Court, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  2. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Deed Record K, Dallas County,” 583, C. M. Wilcox, 31 May 1877; imaged “Deeds, 1845-1887; index, 1845-1931,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37F-BC4Z: accessed 31 August 2026) > Deeds, v. K 1877-1880 > image 377 of 519; citing Dallas County Courthouse, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  3. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Deed Record L, Dallas County,” 742, C. M. Willcox, 1 March 1881; imaged “Deeds, 1845-1887; index, 1845-1931,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37F-L9X8: accessed 31 August 2026) > Deeds, v. L 1880-1883 > image 479 of 528; citing Dallas County Courthouse, Fordyce, Arkansas. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Deed Record M, Dallas County,” 432, C. M. Willcox, 26 February 1884; imaged “Deeds, 1845-1887; index, 1845-1931,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37F-R9MS-6: accessed 31 August 2026) > Deeds, v. M 1883-1885> image 283 of 387; citing Dallas County Courthouse, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  4. Richter, Wendy Bradley, Clark County, Arkansas : Past and Present (Clark County Historical Association, Arkadelphia, Arkansas : 1992), 680. ↩︎
  5. Personal papers of Eugene Hart Willcox (1917-1982) held by his son, Roy Dunn Willcox. ↩︎
  6. 1880 U. S. Census, Clark County, Arkansas, population schedule, Arkadelphia, enumeration district (ED) 33, page 28 (penned), line 20, Leora [Lena] Wilcox in R. S. Wallis household; imaged, “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/ : accessed 3 October 2026). ↩︎
  7. “Personal Mention,” Southern Standard [Arkadelphia, Arkansas], 28 May 1887, unpaginated third page, column 3; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/288880369/ : accessed 21 May 2025). ↩︎
  8. “Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2272/ : accessed 3 October 2026) >Milam > 1959 > Jan-Mar > image 35 of 54, certificate 10184, entry for Nancy Archer Rountree, Milam Co., 12 January 1959; citing Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Death Certificates, 1903–1982. Austin, Texas. ↩︎
  9. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Marriage Record, Book C,” 191, C. M. Wilcox and M. A. Hayes, 26 February 1879; imaged “Marriage records, 1845-1954, index, 1846-1976, 1980-1985, 1845-1985,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6PSQ-C2L/ : accessed 31 August 2026) > Dallas Co. Marr. records, v. C-D .. 1875-1884 > image 148 of 410; citing Dallas County Courthouse, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  10. 1880 U. S. Census, Dallas County, Arkansas, population schedule, Manchester, enumeration district (ED) 70, page 5 (penned), dwelling 37, family 37, C. M. Wilcox; imaged, Ancestry “1880 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/ : accessed 26 August 2026). ↩︎
  11. “Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61777/ : accessed 31 August 2026) > 1953, 055-072 > image 2640 of 3608, certificate 13433, entry for Hannah Wilcox Atkins, Pulaski Co., 23 November 1953; citing Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Death Certificates. ↩︎
  12. “Texas, U.S., Death Certificates, 1903-1982,” image, death certificate, Nancy Archer Rountree, Milam Co., 12 January 1959. ↩︎
  13. Clark County, Arkansas, “Marriage Record v. K,” 445, C. M. Willcox and Mollie Dun, 31 December 1883; imaged “Marriage records, 1818-1970; indexes, 1818-1987,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-YF91-JZ/: accessed 26 August 2026) > Marriage records, v. K 1881-1884, 1896-1899 > image 267 of 667; citing Clark County Clerk, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. ↩︎
  14. Clark County, Arkansas, “Marriage Record v. K,” 445, C. M. Willcox and Mollie Dun, 31 December 1883; imaged “Marriage records, 1818-1970; indexes, 1818-1987,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939Z-YF91-JZ/: accessed 26 August 2026) > Marriage records, v. K 1881-1884, 1896-1899 > image 267 of 667; citing Clark County Clerk, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. ↩︎
  15. Obituary: Mrs. Martha Wilcox, The Southern Standard, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 25 October 1884, page 3, column 2; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/281678508/ : accessed 27 August 2026). ↩︎
  16. Richter, Clark County, Arkansas : Past and Present, 680. ↩︎
  17. Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157479445/archer-hayes/: accessed 1 September 2026), “Archer Hayes” (1813 – 1871) memorial created by “Jerry McKelvy,” with tombstone image by “Jerry McKelvy”; citing Hayes Cemetery, Princeton, Dallas County, Arkansas. ↩︎
  18. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Probate Court Record v. F,” 194, Hannah J. Wilcox and Nannie A. Wilcox, 21 January 1889; imaged “Probate court records, 1845-1896,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99W3-3J1L : accessed 3 September 2026) > Probate Court record, v. E-F 1870-1896 > image 525 of 661; citing Dallas County Courthouse, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  19. Dallas County, Arkansas, “Deed Record v. Q,” 391, C. M. Wilcox, guardian application on behalf of Hannah J. and Nannie A. Wilcox, 21 January 1880; County Clerk’s Office, Fordyce, Arkansas. ↩︎
  20. “Public Member Trees,” database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 3 September 2026) “Robinson Family – From Hewick to Texas” family tree by Alex and Kate Finlayson, profile for Nancy J. “Nannie” Robinson (12 Jan 1873 b. Fannin County, Texas – 30 Jun 1952 d. Abilene, Taylor, Texas) undocumented data updated 21 Jan 2014. ↩︎

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