Alexander Hamilton Willard

Infobox Person
name = Alexander Hamilton Willard


image_size = 150px
caption = Alexander and Eleanor
occupation = Blacksmith
known_for = Lewis and Clark Expedition
party = Corps of Discovery
spouse = Eleanor Mcdonald
birth_date = July 1777
birth_place= Condor Corner, Town of Charlestown, New Hampshire
death_date = 6 March 1865
death_place = Franklin Township, Sacramento County, California

Alexander Hamilton Willard (1777–1865) was a blacksmith who joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Biography

Origin

Alexander Hamilton Willard Sr. was born in July 1777 in the town of Charlestown, New Hampshire, he was the oldest son of Lt Jonathan Willard and the only child of Betty Caswell. [Charles Henry Pope, editor, Willard Genealogy; Sequel to Willard Memoir (Boston: Willard Family Association, 1915), p. 133 gives unsubstantiated b.d. of 24 August 1778.] Alexander was the 6th generation Willard born in America from Major Simon Willard's line.

Expedition

Alexander enlisted in an artillery company in 1800. During an unsuccessful search for Baker Bay, Willard and George Shannon were ordered to camp out and wait for the main party. While sleeping on the beach a group of Native Americans gathered their guns leaving them unarmed, The main party returned in such a timely manner as to startle the Native Americans into returning the guns. Although Willard had redeemed himself since this point he still received the harshest punishment distributed to a member of the Corps of Discovery; "Court Martial on the Trail". The punishment was issued on July 12, 1804, and consisted of a hundred lashes. [Clark William. "Dear Brother: letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark". 2003. Yale University Press. 230-240.]

During a portage around the Missouri River Falls in July of 1805, Alexander Willard was attacked by a "White Bear", Clark gathered three men and chased the bear off. The island nearby later became known as White Bear Island in memory of that event. [Meriwether Lewis. 2004 "Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery". U of Nebraska Press.400-405. ISBN 0803280394] In 1806 during his stay at Fort Clatsop, both Willard and William E. Bratton fell ill, although Willard recovered Bratton did not.

With the Corps of Discovery he assisted John Shields as a blacksmith. In 1808, Meriwether Lewis hired him as government blacksmith for the Sauk and Fox Indians; the following year he was appointed to the same position for the Delawares and Shawnees. He later served in the War of 1812.

Marriage

Half a year after the completion of the expedition, February 14th 1807 Alexander married Eleanor Mcdonald. They gave birth to twelve children.

*Austin James Willard
*George Clark Willard
*Alexander Hamilton Willard Jr
*Eliza Martha Willard
*Roland Rudolph Willard
*Christiana D. Willard
*Joel Willard
*Nancy Adeline Willard
*Narcissa C. Willard
*Eleanor C. Willard
*Lewis Augustus Willard
* Willis Willard

Death

Alexander Hamilton Willard Sr. died in March 1865, he was recorded as the last survivor known in California of the "Lewis and Clark Expedition". He is buried in Franklin Cemetery in Franklin, California, in Sacramento County. ["Family Bible of Mary Ann Wakefield Willard", 1857 Present owner is L. Spencer Leister, of Long Beach, California, Newspaper clipping tucked into the Bible.]

References

External links

* [http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/v02.appendix.a.html Lewis and Clark Journals, Members of the Expedition (U. Nebraska)]
* [http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2634 Discovering Lewis and Clark, Alexander Hamilton Willard]
* [http://weelyrd.net/AlexHWillardGenealogy/ahw000t.htm#toc1 Alexander Hamilton Willard Genealogy]