Born in Pennsylvania, Will studied medicine in a town in the western portion of the state before moving to Illinois.
Arriving in the spring of 1815, he found a suitable location on the Big Muddy River in southern Randolph County to live, building a double room log cabin.
[1] In 1816, Will purchased some kettles and began to manufacture salt from a spring near his farm, but the venture was unsuccessful.
Will was one of two representatives from Jackson County at the Convention of 1818, which wrote the first Constitution of Illinois.
Following its approval, Will was named the first state senator from the county, making him one of the fourteen at the 1st Illinois General Assembly.
The next term he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served until returning to the Senate in 1828.