William Hansor
William Hanzer first appeared in Sussex Co., DE in 1716 where he was listed as a landowner in Indian River Hundred so he was probably born sometime in the 1690's. He purchased a piece of land called "Bottle n' Cakes" at the head of Long Neck which is located on the north shore of the Indian River. It was in this same area that Rose and Aminidab Hansor had their plantation named "Ebenezer". Although William was not mentioned in the will of Aminidab Hansor, Jr. in 1717 I believe he was Aminidab's brother and the son of Rose and Aminidab Hansor .

While living in Sussex Co., William married and had at least 3 sons: William, Nehemiah and Jonathon. In 1735 he was granted a patent on some land in Kent Co. He moved north and established a farm he called Jolly's Neck Farm in an area just north of present-day Dover, on the present Rte. 100 west of Rt. 13. This farm remained in the family until the last portion of it was sold in 1863. The house of the last owners, Benjamin and Sally Ann Durham, still stands although it is currently in ruins.

There is no indication of what became of William's lands in Sussex Co. It is possible they were sold or given to his sons who remained behind.

After removing to Kent Co., William appeared in at least two land transactions with his Sussex Co. relatives. These documents clearly link William Hansor of Kent Co. with the Sussex Co. Hansors, especially Samuel, son of Rose and Aminidab. It is because of these links that I believe William was also a son of Rose and Aminidab.

On 26 August, 1756, William Hansor wrote his will . In it he mentioned that his current wife, mother of his two youngest children Cornelius and Naomi, was named Mary. We do not know the name of his first wife, nor when she died.

In February, 1768 William Hansor died in Kent Co., DE. Letters of Administration were granted on his estate to his widow, Sarah, and John Durham (possibly her brother) until William's son, Cornelius, could reach the age of 17. This means that sometime between 1756 and 1768 William's second wife, Mary, died and William, then in his 60's, married for a third time and started another family. He and Sarah had 2 children: Rhoda and Rachel who was born after her father's death.

Based on William's will we can confirm the following children:

children from a 1st marriage in Sussex Co. to a wife un-named:

children from 2nd marriage to Mary :
children from 3rd marriage to Sarah (Durham??)

In 1771, the widow Sarah Hansor died. Letters of Administration on her estate were granted to her "next of kin", John Durham. This strongly suggests that Sarah may have been John Durham's sister.

In 1783 John Durham became the guardian for Sarah and William's orphaned daughter, Rachel Hansor.

Although Jolly's Neck Farm was left by William to his youngest son, Cornelius, by 1773 Cornelius had passed the farm over to his older half- brother, Nehemiah.