Lawyer/Judge
Centurion, 1880–1918
Born 5 November 1842 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 6 May 1918 in New York (Queens), New York
Buried Green-Wood Cemetery
, Brooklyn, New York
Proposed by Henry D. Sedgwick and Henry Drisler
Elected 1 May 1880 at age thirty-seven
Proposer of:
Century Memorial
William H. Willis, one of our native New Yorkers, was well known as referee in bankruptcy cases. He had been the esteemed friend of Justices Gray, Barrett, and Van Brunt of the State Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, by whom these important duties were entrusted to him early in his professional career, and he was subsequently appointed in a similar capacity by the United States District Court. The New York Bar Association, in its tribute to him at his death, stated that “his mind was clear, orderly, and systematic, and as referee he spared no labor or pains to ascertain the facts of a case.” In the Club as among his professional associates, Mr. Willis is remembered as a man of fine presence, well informed on public questions and taking constant interest in public affairs.
Alexander Dana Noyes
1919 Century Association Yearbook