Henry Overton Wills II (3 July 1800 - 23 November 1871) of Ashley House, in
Bristol, England, was a tobacco merchant who in 1830 together with his elder brother
William Day Wills co-founded
W.D. & H.O. Wills, a company which (building on the successful tobacco business established by their father) by the late 1800s had become Britain's largest importer of tobacco and manufacturer of tobacco products.
Origins
Henry Overton Wills II was born on 3 July 1800 in
Bristol, the younger of the two sons of
Henry Overton Wills I (1761-1826) by his wife Ann Day. In 1786 his Salisbury-born father, with his partner Samuel Watkins, had opened a
tobacco shop in Bristol, which grew into a successful business.
Career
Henry and his elder brother
William Day Wills in 1815 joined their father's firm, and became co-owners of the company in 1826 when he died. In 1830 the brothers founded
W.D. & H.O. Wills, which grew to become the leading importer of tobacco, and manufacturer of tobacco products in late 19th-century Britain. In 1859 Henry made his son Edward Payson Wills a partner in the firm, who succeeded to his father's interests in the company.
H.O. Wills II entered local politics in 1845 as a City Councillor for the
St. Pauls district of Bristol and he continued to serve on the town council for several years until hearing problems forced him to retire from public duties. He also served in 1856 as
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
. He was also an active a supporter of the
Congregationalist faith, and he and his brother William were founder trustees in 1841 of the
Hanham Chapel and in 1843 of the
Barton Hill Chapel, both located in the Bristol suburbs.
Marriages and children
H.O. Wills II married twice:
*Firstly to Isabella Board (1806–1843), by whom he had eleven children including:
**
Henry Overton Wills III (1828–1911), eldest son, of
Kelston Knoll
Kelston Knoll is a Grade II listed building on the National Heritage List for England, located in the parish of Kelston, a village near Bath, in Somerset, England.
The house is made from ashlar stone, with a slate roof, and was built in the Italia ...
, near Bath in Somerset, who funded the creation of the
University of Bristol and became its first Chancellor;
**
Sir Edward Payson Wills, 1st Baronet (1834–1910), second son, in 1904 created a
baronet "of Hazelwood
Stoke Bishop, in
Westbury-on-Trym in the County of Gloucester and
Clapton-in-Gordano
Clapton in Gordano is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is situated within the unitary authority of North Somerset on the southern side of the Gordano Valley, immediately adjacent to the M5 motorway. The parish has a population ...
in the County of Somerset". He donated the Jubilee Convalescent Home to Bristol.
[Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement, ''Wills, William Henry'', by Charles Welc]
/ref>
** Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet (1838–1909), 4th son, in 1897 created a baronet "of Northmoor and Manor Heath".
*Secondly he married Mary Seccombe (c.1815–1897), by whom he had another seven children, not all of whom survived to adulthood.
Death and burial
He died on 23 November 1871 in Bristol, and is buried in Arnos Vale Cemetery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Henry Overton II
1800 births
1871 deaths
Businesspeople from Bristol
19th-century British businesspeople