Teacher Jonathan Spencer Willis also represented his state in the US House of Representatives. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many fine classroom teachers also find success as politicians. One of these is Jonathan Spencer Willis, a teacher from Delaware who served in the United States House of Representatives.

Jonathan was born April 5, 1830, in Oxford, Talbot County, Maryland. Her attended public schools there and also studied with private tutors. He taught school for seven years. He left the classroom to become a clergyman in the Methodist Episcopal Church. As a minister, he served in churches in Maryland, Delaware, Philadelphia, New York City, and Stamford, Connecticut. Upon his retirement from the ministry in 1884, Jonathan settled on a farm near Milford, Delaware, where. he became a fruit farmer.

In 1894, Jonathan was elected on the Republican ticket to serve in the US House of Representatives. He served in the 54th Congress from March, 1895, to March, 1897.

Jonathan married two times. His first marriage, to Annie Barratt Townsend, spanned the years 1843 to1885. One daughter, Elizabeth Townsend Willis, was born to the couple. His second marriage, to Edith Gillespie, spanned the years 1855 to 1914. This union produced one son, Jonathan Spencer Willis, Jr.

Sadly, this teacher and politician passed away in Milford, Sussex County, Delaware, on Nov. 24, 1903. He was 73 years old. He is interred in Marratt’s Chapel Cemetery near Frederica, Kent County, Delaware.