Williams Brothers

Although Benjamin and Mahala Watson Williams, had two daughters, we don't really know much about them.  Martha married Matthew Harris in 1846, had a daughter in 1849, appeared in the 1860 census, but her husband re-married in 1867.  That is more than we have on Polly who appeared in the court records and then we have nothing.  She might have married or died.

The oldest brother Thomas Jefferson Williams went with his brother-in-law Matthew Harris and his brother Daniel to Indiana where they joined the Union army in the Civil War.  Their brother James (and possibly Charles) went to Tennessee to join the Confederate Army.  While there are scores of James Williams in the Civil War, cousin Tom pointed out that this one joined the same day as JJ Vaughn who appeared as his neighbor in the 1860 Census. (and was possibly a relative of his future wife Mary Ann Pullum)

While the Union war and pension records for Daniel and Thomas Jefferson are lengthy (A 65th and C Infantry 120th Reg. Indiana), there is very little on James which makes us wonder if he went AWOL as many did.



James Williams did marry Mary Ann Pullam in Webster Co. Kentucky in 1865.  Charles had married Jane Clayton in 1861 also in Webster Co. and hosted their wedding.  Thomas Jefferson married Elizabeth Graddy in Arkansas (1869) with Daniel marrying Nancy Caroline Canada (Canady) in 1879.  None of these families lived "happily ever after"  The Civil War undoubtedly scarred all of them and one of the ways of dealing with that was to move West.

Thomas Jefferson Williams

Charles Williams died around 1866 (his wife re-married Mathew Harris) Thomas Jefferson Williams moved to Arkansas sometime around 1868.   James B. Williams moved to Missouri around 1882 (family stories say my great-grandmother Macy was an active toddler and almost fell over board crossing the Mississippi).  Daniel followed his brother James to the boot heel of Missouri between 1883-1887, both settling in the same area around Hornersville, Mo.

Thanks to cousins Rick, Carol, Tom for help in sorting this all out---not an easy task with names like Thomas Williams,  Daniel Williams and James Williams.  Before the internet, I spent hours in front of microfilm machines scrolling through all of the Williams families in Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.  Thanks to technology, we now have quick access to cousins, documents, DNA.