WILLIAM WILLITS. Having been born and reared in Oakland county and passed the whole of his life within its borders and in free mingling with its residents, except for two years, during which he was in the Union army fighting to save the Union from disruption, the late William Willits, of Pontiac, was well known to the people of the county, and the high estimate they placed on his worth as a man and his useful ness as a citizen was therefore based on genuine merit demonstrated to them in long association with him and through his transactions in several lines of activity.

Mr. Willits' life began in Birmingham , this county, on September 19, 1836. He was a son of Elijah and Rachel ( Harmon) Willits. William was the last born of their seven children , the others being John, George, Elijah, Jane, Matilda and Sarah, the latter the widow of the late H. S. Lee, of Caro, Michigan . The father was twice married. By his first marriage he became the parent of three children, Wellington, Washington and Eliza, all of whom have died.

After completing his common school education, all that he had opportunity to acquire, William Willits began life for himself as a farmer. But on August 12 , 1862, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, with the rank of first sergeant. He was promoted to that of second lieutenant on August 3, 1863, and on September 20th of that year, he was taken prisoner at the battle of Chickamauga. During the next eighteen months he languished in Libby and Andersonville prisons, finally making his escape from the latter on February 14, 1865.

After his escape from prison, Mr. Willits returned to his regiment and remained with it until he was mustered out of the service on June 26, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. He then returned to Bennington and opened a general store, which he conducted for about one year. end of that time he moved to Pontiac, and here kept a hotel for twenty years. In addition, he was ardently interested in high-bred horses and spent a great deal of his time breeding and handling them . He was a great lover of fine horses, and was successful in breeding and dealing in good ones. He died on July 17, 1891.

On August 9, 1859, Mr. Willits was joined in marriage with Miss Mary Grinley, a daughter of Janies and Freelove ( Olin ) Grinley, the former a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and the latter of the state of New York. The father came to Michigan with his parents when he was but four years old . The family located in Birmingham , and when the son grew to manhood he became a painter and decorator. They had six children: Mrs. Willits and her sister, Anna Augusta, the wife of James W. McGregor, of Detroit, are living; and Martha E., James Henry, Frances A. and Sarah M., are all deceased.

Mr. and Mrs. Willits had four children : Carrie, the wife of Henry S. Ten Eyck, and Frank L., who are living in Pontiac; and Wilhelmina and George, who have died . The father was a Republican in political faith and allegiance and a Freemason in fraternal life. At the time of his death he owned property of value in Pontiac and a large farm in Troy township, this county, which has since been sold. He was a good busi ness man, a useful citizen , and the residents of the county in all localities respected him highly.