John Christopher Williams was one of my early brick walls. When I found him in the Texas census, I learned that he was born in Arkansas around 1847-1848 to an unknown Williams set of parents. After reading almost every Williams entry in the 1850 Arkansas census (this was way before the internet and there were a LOT of Williams families there by 1850), I discovered that he was the son of William A. and Judith Williams. That led to other difficulties as they had come from Marion Co., Tennessee, which lost its records in 1922. Eventually, I untangled many branches of the Williams family and even self published a book about the Williams family of Cumberland County, Virginia.

I’ve been lucky in terms of having photos of this family as I not only found some cousins along the way, but my father-in-law inherited photos of his grandmother Minnie Mae’s family. Minnie Mae was the daughter of John C. Williams and his first wife, Louisa Miller.

I love this photograph and it is the only one I have of Louisa. Louisa was the daughter of Michael Miller and Elizabeth Hendricks of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. She married John on 13 September 1871 in Nevada County, Arkansas. The Millers had already moved to Hopkins County and I am not sure why Louisa was in Nevada County. Actually, I am not sure why John was there either since his family lived in Lafayette and Hempstead Counties, near the county line.

Louisa died on 22 June 1883 in Hopkins County and is buried in Connor Cemetery there. John married (2) Ellen Watson Connor in late 1883 or early 1884.

John and Louisa had four children:

1. James Benjamin, born about 1873 in Arkansas; died 1 April 1936 in Hopkins County, Texas
2. Louella J., born abut 1875, also in Arkansas; died after 1880.
3. Levi, born about 1877; died 8 September 1879, Hopkins County, Texas
4. Minnie Mae, born 23 March 1879, Hopkins County, Texas; died 22 June 1945, Hillsboro, Hill, Texas
5. Unidentified child, born about 1881