17 Dec 2011 Discovering family roots

by Rachel Parker Dickerson

When Lou Jane Wills started researching her family history, she had no idea what she would find.

At a family Christmas gathering a couple of years ago, her son, Robbie Wills, asked her about their family.

“I could not tell him a thing beyond my grandparents,” she said. She began a genealogy search at Ancestry.com.

She originally envisioned that she would research the family trees of all four of her grandparents and compile all of the information into a book. However, after a few months of research, it became clear that the data would be too extensive for one book. She started with her paternal great-grandparents, Charles and Belle Hutcheson, and researched their line back to 1782.

Along with the ancestry.com site, Fold3.com (formerly footnote.com) and familysearch.org also provided information. Documents such as census records and marriage and death certificates helped her learn about her ancestors. She noted the websites she uses for research have lists of questions for interviewing relatives.

Another source of valuable information is the Arkansas History Commission Library located at the State Capitol complex.

Ancestry.com and Fold3.com charge for using their sites, but Lou Jane says if “you’re into genealogy, it’s well worth it.” She was able to link with others researching the same people and share information.

Through her search, Lou Jane made contact with cousins living in Saline County and Garland County she had not seen in 40 years. She also visited several other relatives in other states who had done research relating to her family line and gleaned what she needed from their findings.

“The value of prior research is fantastic,” she said.

The Hutcheson line of Lou Jane’s family goes back to Ambrose Hutcheson and wives Hannah Wilson and Rachel Robins of Green County, Ga. Lou Jane learned he was a judge and discovered where he was buried. Of his 13 children, seven settled in Arkansas.

In the course of her research, Lou Jane has not only discovered the roots of her family tree, but also precious relics from her past and a pastime that fascinates her.

“It’s amazing what you find when you get with your relatives,” she said.

She met with different relatives and viewed many photographs she had never seen before. She saw a photo of one of her grandmother’s sisters that she did not know about because the sister died at an early age. While going through photos at a cousin’s house, she found her great-grandparent’s original marriage license. It was 120 years old. Lou Jane made a copy and framed it.  

“Doing research like this, you have ‘Aha!’ moments where you have to go deeper and find that next document,” Lou Jane said. “To hold that original document in your hand and see that it’s dated 1890 – it’s fantastic. While at the Arkansas History Commission Library she found her “third great” grandmother, Louisa Rowland Wright’s, obituary from September 1888 in Saline County. Prior to this, no one knew where or when she had died, most believing that she had never left Georgia.

“It came to me by accident because Robbie said, ‘Tell me about my family.’ I really enjoy doing it. You’ve got to find that next record or that next relative.”

Lou Jane also researched the lineage of her husband, Robert Wills, and found a living aunt whom he had not known about.

“It’s amazing the family members that are out there that you don’t know you have, I guess because of the way society is. We all scatter and go our separate ways, instead of like in the 1800s, when your whole community was right there,” she said. “I remember my grandparents telling stories, and I wish I had listened.”

Robert now describes his wife as a historian.

“And she always told me she hated history,” he said. “This is what history is. I’m a history person. I’ve always enjoyed doing historical research.”

Robert taught history at Conway Junior High School and Conway High School-East for 38 years.

Lou Jane taught science at Mayflower Elementary and Mayflower Middle Schools for 32 years.

Once Lou Jane completed the first line of her family tree, she went to MyCanvass.com to publish a book. It is called “Charles and Belle Hutcheson: Roots, Branches and Leaves.” It includes her great-grandparents’ six children and their families, along with the ancestors going back to Ambrose Hutcheson. Wills added the newer generations up through 2010.

“It’s a lot of work to get it done, but it’s well worth it. Thirty-five families now have copies of this book. It’s not expensive; it’s just a lot of work.”

The work continues, as Lou Jane is now getting ready to publish a book about her mother’s side of the family and enjoying every minute.