Henry Overton Wills I

Henry Overton Wills I (2 March 1761 – 1826) was a British merchant who founded the firm of W.D.

[2][3][4][5] He was born on 2 March 1761 in Salisbury, England, the son of Edmund Wills, a watchmaker, and his wife Rebecca, daughter of Henry Overton of Andover, Hampshire.

He soon found new partners, and the company merged in 1791 with the firm of Peter Lilly, which had a mill to grind tobacco into snuff.

He continued to be involved in the firm until his death on 1 December 1826 in Bristol, when his sons took over their father's interest in the business.

[6][3][7] He raised his children in the strict Congregationalist faith, and his descendants actively supported the church in Bristol for more than a century.