Barbara, The Willis family was a very prominent family back in the 1700's. In fact Brig. Gen. John Willis was the founder of Lumberton [1788]. His old plantation, Red Banks, is now the site of our current court house [Robeson County]. The Willis ancestors came here from Virginia about 1750. Now I do not know if your Shelah Willis was from here, but there is a slight possibility. Most of the early migration patterns out of Robeson Co NC was southwest through SC & GA. But one group of people left here going direct west. These folks first settled in central and east central Tennessee. After living there for a while some pushed their way west to the Mississippi River, but "some" turned north going into Kentucky and Ohio. Could your Shelah Willis have been Selah or Celia Willis? I believe I remember seeing those names somewhere. Some of the other families here that took this migration pattern to TN, KY, OH & MI were the Revels, Morgans & Baxleys [some of the Baxleys intermarried with the Willis family here in Robeson Co NC]. One thing you should do to see if your ancestry came out of MD or NC is to look at the 1880 Federal Census. This Census gives the birth place [state] of the person, the persons father, and the persons mother. Well keep me posted of your findings. Sam West Lumberton [Robeson Co] NC