According to the 1847 marriage bond of William W. HICKS (b. 1827) and Abigail LITTRELL, William's father was John HICKS. Surety was provided by Jacob HICKS b. 1826, brother of William & s/o John. Am I understanding correctly that John HICKS may also have had a brother Jacob? The younger Jacob also named a son William W. (his 1st born), and I'm wondering if perhaps the "W" could be for Willis. In other words, might the Willis you are looking for be William Willis Hix? It would make sense... I don't have enough information to be sure, but if my William W. was John Hicks' eldest son and John Hicks' father was also William W. Hicks, it would fit the traditional pattern of naming the 1st born after the father's father. It breaks down after that, though, since Jacob (2nd born?) would have been the father's brother, not the mother's father--unless the mother's father really was named Jacob...