Category Archives: Williams

Williams

Descendants of William Alexander Williams & Hepsabeth Davidson, VA, TN & AR: Part 2, James Henry Williams

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While Judith (Williams) Powell and her family prospered and grew large, her brother James was not so fortunate.

James Henry Williams, the second child born to William and Hepsabeth Williams, made his appearance on 11 December 1830 in Marion County, Tennessee and was about thirteen years old when the family moved to Lafayette County, Arkansas.

At the age of 22, James married Parthenia S. Williams, whose origins have remained a mystery through years, on 20 March 1853 in Lafayette County, Arkansas. She was the daughter of Phebe Williams, a widow in the 1850 census, and was born on 1 February 1832 somewhere in Tennessee. Her father’s name has never been uncovered nor has her mother’s maiden name.

James and Parthenia, like the Powells, moved across the county line and settled into their new life in Hempstead County.

However, they sadly buried at least two of their four known children and both James and Parthenia died at relatively young ages.

Children: (Williams)

  1. Frances E., born c1854; died about 1874; married John Allison Mauldin, 21 September 1873. They had one son, George Franklin, born 23 June 1874, who was living with grandmother Parthenia (incorrectly called her nephew) and it is likely that Frances died soon after childbirth.
  2. James Franklin, born 24 October 1856; died 24 March 1906, Waller County, Texas; married Leila Alberta Sypert, 9 February 1881. James also died at the age of 59 years, like his father.
  3. Infant Twin, born 19 December 1858; died 20 December 1858
  4. Infant Twin, born 19 December 1858; died 20 December 1858

Unfortunately, this family hasn’t been found in the 1870 census – not terribly unusual since life in the South in 1870 was still a bit chaotic after the end of the Civil War.

However, by the time of the 1880 census, James was newly buried as he died on 16 January of that year. The census mortality schedule lists his cause of death as pneumonia.

Parthenia lived with her son, James, but also died fairly young, again aged 59 years. She passed away on 4 December 1891 in Milam County, Texas, where she is buried.

This, by far, is the small family group among the children of William and Hepsabeth Williams.

Williams

Descendants of William Alexander Williams & Hepsabeth Davidson, VA, TN and AR: Part 1, Judith Woodward Williams

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Just when I think I have covered all of the fairly close distant cousins, e.g. children of the 2X great grandparents, I discover I’ve missed people here and there.

So it is with my husband’s Williams family. I’ve published a lot about the earliest lines and extended collateral lines, but neglected to write about John Christopher Williams’ many siblings, all children of William and Hepsabeth Williams, who last settled in Lafayette County, Arkansas in the 1840s.

Today begins a series of family sketches covering the lives of the children of William and Hepsabeth. beginning with Judith Woodward Williams. the eldest of thirteen children born to them, although only nine married and had families.

Judith Woodward Williams was born on 15 October 1829 in Marion County, Tennessee, where she spent her childhood years.

The Williams family left for Lafayette County, Arkansas sometime after the 1840 Tennessee census and August 1843, when William A. Williams posted bond to be appointed as a constable by the court.

Shortly after settling in their new home, Judith met Benjamin Powell, from Alabama, and they married on 31 December 1844 in Lafayette County, Arkansas. Benjamin was a young man of 21 years, but Judith was an even younger 15 year old teenager.

They settled in Hempstead County, next door to Lafayette County, and spent the rest of their lives there.

Ben fought in the Confederate Army and Judith applied for, and received, a Confederate pension in 1901.

Benjamin died on 13 March 1886 in Hempstead County. Judith survived him by more than a quarter century, passing away on 18 June 1912, also in Hempstead County.

They were buried in Mount Nebo Cemetery in Patmos, where many other family members were also laid to rest.

All events were in Hempstead County, unless otherwise noted.

Children: (Powell)

  1. William Calvin, born c1847; died between 1860-1868; no further record
  2. Mary Elizabeth, born 5 June 1848; died 30 January 1923; married Greenbury N. Kitchens, 7 May 1865
  3. Rebecca Adelaide, born about 5 December 1850; died 11 March 1908; married Thomas Houston McClellan, 17 November 1870
  4. Martha Ellen, born 24 December 1852; died 21 March 1931, Franklin County, Arkansas; married Henry McGraw O’Neal, 4 November 1868
  5. James Anderson, born 23 June 1854; died 13 August 1939; married Martha Ann Martin, 21 December 1876
  6. George Clinton, born 16 January 1859; died 3 July 1940; married Arrie V. Bailey, 11 December 1883, Lafayette County, Arkansas
  7. Sophronia Virginia, born April 1861; died after 1900, possibly Smith County, Texas; married Joseph C. Murphy, 23 September 1880. He died before 1900, place unknown.
  8. Eliza J., born c1862; died after 1880; no further record
  9. William Franklin, born 10 August 1868; died 23 September 1944, Paris, Lamar, Texas; married Annie Louise Hatcher, 20 April 1890, Lafayette County, Arkansas

While most of the Powell children lived their lives close to their birthplaces, a couple of them were beginning to move away to Texas. We’ll see more of this with other children of William and Hepsabeth Williams, particularly to Tyler, Smith, Texas.

Williams

Mystery Photo ID’d, I Think! B.I. Hullender Family

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Way back in 2018, I shared this inscription on the back of a photograph taken in the early 1900s and given to Minnie Mae (Williams) Horne, my husband’s great grandmother.

Minnie married (2) Charles Horne on 2 October 1904 in Paris, Lamar, Texas, so the photo had to have been taken not long after that, based on the style of photo and the clothes worn by the family.

Even with the enlarged inscription above, the handwriting is poor. However, I have come to the conclusion that it says:

B.I. Hullentr (with the second L crossed instead of the T) or Hultentr with the cross missing from the T
to Minnie Horme
Pictur

Clearly, the person writing this didn’t have the benefit of much education.

However, Benjamin Ivey Hullender‘s wife, who I wrote about recently, was Louella Junnie Williams, the older sister of Minnie and the Hullenders had left Texas and gone back to North Carolina, where Ben was from.

The Hullenders had a daughter born in 1901 and then three boys born in 1907, 1910 and 1913 and would place the year c1920.

Ben was quite a bit older than Junnie, born in 1863 compared to her 1875 and he died in 1922 in Cleveland County, North Carolina.

That would certainly explain the family in front of their home and the importance to Minnie for keeping this photo, which her son inherited when she died in 1945.

I think the clues fit this family.

Readers, what do you think? B.I. Hullender, misspelled?