It is long past time to brush off my Williams line, and see what more can be learned about them. The answer so far is not much.
James Williams died in Pike County, Alabama in 1836. His will was dated 22 January 1832 and recorded four years later on 2 February 1836. In that will, he names his wife Kissiah; his "three youngest children": Julia M., Kessiah L., Irvan Yancy Williams; "all my children together with Joanna Huffman whom I make my lawful heir"; "my son in law Solomon Huffham"; and son John A. Williams.
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| Will of James Williams filed in Pike County, Alabama |
When wife Keziah Williams died in 1859, the legatees of the estate were as follows:
Zachariah Williams son of dec'd over the age of 21
Nancy Dendy--wife of Wm Dendy
Mary Owens wife of Robert Owens
John A. Williams son of dec'd in Florida
E.Y. Williams
Elizabeth Barnett wife of Asa Barnett
Julia wife of William Lawrence
The above are all over the age of 21 and with the exception of John reside within the state of AL.
Kesiah wife of Thomas Urquhart residing in St. of Fl.
Wiley Williams residing in State of Georgia are over the age of 21
O.P. Williams over the age of 21 residing in SC
Minors in the state of Alabama:
Perry Tucker
Asbery Tucker
Ellis Tucker
minors of Joanna Tucker, dec'd
Notice that no Huffhams are named in the 1859 list. I think this is because Joanna had remarried a Tucker. Joanna's connection is murky. She possibly is not a child of James Williams's. Could she be a daughter of Keziah's from a previous marriage? A foster daughter? A niece raised as a daughter?
Tracking these people should have been easier than it has been. A reasonable assumption (always dangerous, I know) is that the group of children who were living in 1859, were also living in 1850, possibly still living in 1860, and certainly living in 1836 when James Williams died. Some of them, however, have been very difficult to track, and some have still not been found. Mary Owens and Wiley Williams have been hard to follow. O.P. Williams is still missing in action. Joanna is a mystery. Zachariah Williams seems to be found. The others, for the most part, have been documented. Fortunately, my ancestor is Nancy (Williams) Dendy, and her descendants can mostly be tracked.
As usual, my goal in tracking descendants is to make contact with other researchers and to find clues that might move this family backward - to James and Keziah's parents. So far, not much is shaking loose. I've tackled Mary (Williams) Owens and will be posting on her first.
Karen Tapley has been the most active researcher on this line and has contributed the most information. However, as the old message boards and email lists died, I lost track of her.
Working on these tricky Williams folks? Would love to hear from you.
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