Thomas Willcocks

1689 - 1779  (90 years)

• Name	Thomas Willcocks  [1]
  Birth	1689	Ivybridge, Devonshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Death	Nov 1779	Ivey Mills, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania
  Burial	Ivey Mills, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania   [1]
  Notes	A Willcox Family History 1689-1981, Including Willcox, Wilcox, and Allied families of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri.} copyright Martha S. Albertson, June 1981 Thomas came to America probably about 1718, though possibly as early as 1712. He located eventually at Concord, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia, in what was then Chester county, now Delaware County, and was paying tan that county in 1725. He evidently brought from England the knowledge of paper making, he built and operated one of the first paper mills in America. "Ivy Mills" was established in 1729 and rebuilt in 1829. Upper Glen Mills was added in 1836; Lower Glen Mills was added in 1845; and the mill was in continuous paper production by Thomas and his descenants until 1866. The mill made papers for such famous people as Benjamin Franklin, a close friend and frequent visitor to the Willcox home. The Willcox mansion, as it was known, became one of the first Catholic stations in that section of Pennsylvania, near Concord, where Mass was conducted by priests from Philadelphia, and it continued in this capacity until 1837 when the "new" mansion was erected. [willcox.FTW] Thomas Willcox, born in Ivybridge, a village some eight miles from Plymouth, Devonshire, emigrated to the USA in the early 1700s. In 1727 he built a house and paper mill on Pole Cat Road, Wawa, Pennsylvania. He planted ivy from his native Devonshire against the mill which became known as Ivy Mill and the road as Ivy Mills Road. The mill was the second paper mill established in the USA and the first to use vellum or weave moulds; papers for Dr Franklin's newspaper came from the Willcox mill. Cole Foot Prints: One of the first pape factories in Colonial America known as Ivy Mills. furnished paper to Benjamin Franklin to publish his Amanac in Philadelphia. Up to the time of the Revolution, paper from Ivy Mills was sold to all Colonies from Mass to te Carolinas. Also for gov currency during the revolution and for the issue necessary for War of 1812. Willed to their son Mark in 1767, passed from father to son till today. They were Roman Catholics and worshiped in a room set apart for that purpose in thei Mansion House at Ivy Mills.
  Person ID	I10517	Roots
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2011

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Cole,   b. 10 May 1691, Wales d. 17 May 1780, Ivey Mills, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania (Age 89 years)
  Marriage	3 Jun 1727	Olde Swede Ch, Wilmington, New Castle Co, Delaware   [2]
  Children	1. John Willcocks,   b. 1728, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1793, of, Cumberland Co, North Carolina (Age 65 years)   2. Anne Willcocks,   b. 1730, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1765 (Age 35 years)   3. James Willcocks,   b. 1732, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1769 (Age 37 years)   4. Elizabeth Willcocks,   b. 1734, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1770 (Age 36 years)   5. Mary Willcocks,   b. 1736, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1824, of, Cumberland Co, North Carolina (Age 88 years)   6. Deborah Willcocks,   b. 1738, of, Pennsylvania d. 1815 (Age 77 years)   7. Thomas Willcocks,   b. 1740, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1740 (Age 0 years)   8. Thomas Willcocks,   b. 1741, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. Aft 1770 (Age > 30 years)   9. Mark Willcocks,   b. 1744, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. 1827 (Age 83 years)   10. Margaret Willcocks,   b. 1746, Concord Twp, Delaware Co, Pennsylvania d. Aft 1766 (Age > 21 years)
  Family ID	F4072	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2011

  
  

• Sources

  [S215] Cole Foot Prints by Camellia T Denys. [S517] Steve Forman (DW4man@aol.com).