Wilburs birth

Early in the morning of November 1st 1814, William Will was awoken from less than a fitful sleep by a frantic pounding on the door of his sleeping chamber. He was well aware of what had been taking place in the carriage house next to the barn on his estate for the last 24 hours. Thankfully he was on the outskirts of town and the screaming was muffled by the hedgerow that separated the barn and carriage house from the main house, as well as any neighbors who where nearly a mile away! The foul weather had also been a buffer to the incessant screams that had pierced the night for the last 6 hours. As he bundled himself to face the biting cold and the 200 yard march through the cold autumn storm to the carriage house, he directed his wife, in no uncertain terms not to leave the house. Mary "Wilcott" Will was not the mother to Wilbur! His daughter of 15 years, "Martha" Elizabeth now lay dead having gave birth to "Wilbur." After having gave birth to Martha Elizabeth, on October 31st 1799, complications had rendered Mary "Wilcott" Will barren! Martha Elizabeth was the Apple of her fathers eye, she was afforded the best schooling and all the trappings of society such as it was in New Bedford. As she grew and matured to a young lady, her father lavished her with all of the finery that his budget could afford, and he could afford to dote in top fashion! As Martha matured, Williams' interest in her became more apparent. The simple fittings of dressmakers from the area for a young school girl were replaced with long trips to New York City and extended stays away from home and her mother, under the guise of shopping trips and custom fittings. He was taking more of a "Hands" on approach! After one of these trips, it was discovered that Marthas' monthly calling had been delayed, and delayed again. Incestuous relations, while considered a terrible sin, were not uncommon in the day. They were never made public and the upper class were in a position to hide the sin. Such was the case in the household of William Will. The house was in lock down during the term of the child, no one was to know what was going on behind the walls of the house of "Will." As William made his way to the carriage house, a million thoughts were going through his mind. If this baby was a boy, he could be his rightful male heir, something that Mary was not able to give him! Old traditions were still in tact. Property was passed from male to male. There was an obscure "Codicil" in the will of Williams' Uncle in England, whom had no male heir, that his estate would be passed to the closest Male. Due to Williams fall from grace in his home country, he would never be able to grasp that entitlement, but maybe his son would! His Uncle is a Baronet, maybe with time, the family tree could be mended? Upon entering the small room in the carriage house where his daughter lay dead, all thoughts of redemption or the future vanished from his mind! His Martha, the Apple of his eye lay sprawled upon the bed, her legs still spread, remnants of the terrible birth evident. The midwife was curled into herself in the corner sobbing, with spittle and blood dripping from her breast. Wilbur Will lay on his back on the middle of the the cold worn floor. He lay completely flat, eyes closed with no signs of life. For the treacherous man he was, William Will had never witnessed such a distressing sight! A tear came to his eye when looking at his daughter, he had no real compassion for the midwife, other than the look of complete and total terror in her eyes. His mind quickly calculated what he would have to do in order to deal with, or eliminate her to keep this dark day in his family a secret? He walked and stood over the newborn child on the floor. He did not seem to be alive, there were no signs of life, he looked odd, his skin was brown, it was not a color of race, it looked almost like the "Buckskin" of a tanned animal hide. He noticed a cleft of his upper lip. In that moment, Wilbur opened his eyes and his father was greeted with his piercing blue eyes, completely focused and seemingly, totally aware!

The birth of Wilbur Will

Wilbur William Will was born late in the evening of October 31st 1814. It was a stormy, cold autumn evening in New Bedford. The screams from the bedroom during delivery were so loud that the Mid-wife had placed balls of cotton in her ears. Wilbur’s mother was in terrible pain and the labor had lasted since midnight of the prior day. At 11:59 pm Wilbur made his entrance into the world, little did we know what kind of hell would be unleashed in the form of an 8lb baby boy! His mother died during labor, the minute Wilbur emerged she took her last breath. His entrance into the world was odd to say the least. From the moment he emerged from his mother’s womb, he did not make a single sound, not cry or gasp for air. The midwife laid him on the blood soaked sheets between his dead mothers’ legs thinking that he was too dead. He was an odd looking baby, no real terrible deformity, other than he did have a slight cleft lip, it did not appear to extend into the pallet, however there was a noticeable cleft of his upper lip. The tone of his skin was odd; it was not a pale grey like most babies but almost a perfect tan. He lay on his back without making a sound; the midwife noticed an almost imperceptible movement of his chest. He was breathing, very slowly, but he was breathing. At that moment, as she was looking at the baby, he slowly opened his eyes in a manner that seemed intentional, not like that of a baby who had just been born and was not able to focus on the world around him. Then she saw them, his eyes! Wilbur’s eyes were of the brightest piercing blue she had ever seen, they were like the eyes of a “Heeler” dog. As she moved away from him in shock, his eyes slowly followed her and his head turned as she moved away. He could see her perfectly and was quietly watching her every move. The midwife brought her hand down from her mouth, as she had been attempting to silence the horror she felt and was afraid she would scream out. She slowly walked back towards the boy, his eyes, perfectly focused and piercing, followed her movement. She reached down with a sharpened razor and cut the umbilical cord and clamped it with a clothes pen. Never once did Wilbur make a noise or utter a cry. She wrapped him in a blanket and sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. His mother was gone, fortunately the Mid-wife’s breasts were “wet” as she had given birth just 6 months prior and was still feeding her child. She knew the poor baby needed nourishment and she felt the least she could do was to feed him until his father could be made aware of the situation. She arranged herself in such a way as to allow Wilber access to her breast, she laid her head back and closed her eyes it had been a hard delivery and she totally exhausted. She thought that sleep would overcome her as she felt Wilbur nuzzling her bosom preparing to feed. In an instance she felt a searing pain in her breast around her nipple. She pulled Wilbur away, looking down she saw a sickening mixture of milk and blood on his mouth and her areola was bleeding profusely. She looked into Wilbur’s mouth and found he had 4 teeth. Natal teeth are not common; in cases of cleft lips and pallets they are more prevalent. Generally natal teeth will be to two lower teeth. In the case of Wilbur, he had four teeth and they were not the two uppers and two lowers, they were canine teeth and sharp like a puppies teeth.