Today, we will finish identifying possible grandchildren of Matthias Williams, born c1803 and who died in 1884 in Roane County, Tennessee. I’ve written about his wives and children and about grandchildren born to his older children.

There are four children left to cover:

Hulda Deborah, born 10 August 1873; died 9 May 1939; Monroe County, Tennessee; married William Harrison Price, c1892. They lived in Whitley County, Kentucky in 1900 and 1910 and then haven’t been found in the census. However, they had at least seven children by then- Lou D. (daughter), Willie (son), Anna, Henry, Sarah, Cenie, and Charley and one more with Hulda in 1910. Hulda reported 6 of her 9 children were still living. They apparently separated or divorced, as Hulda is living in Walker County, Georgia in 1920 with a 19 year old son, Henry H. Price, his 19 year old wife, Charlie and daughter Meda Belle, born c1902.

In 1910, Hulda reported that she had given birth to nine children, with six still living.

Children (Price):
1. Willie, born c1892, Tennessee; died after 1910; no further information
2. Lou D., (daughter), born 15 October 1894, Tennessee; died 3 July 1902, Whitley County, Kentucky
3. Anna, born c1898; died after 1910; no further information
4. Henry Harrison, born 9 June 1900; died 13 March 1972; married Hattie M. (MNU), c1920, when they were living in Walker County, Georgia. They had at least five children. Descendants
5. Sarah, born c1902, Kentucky; died after 1910; no further information
5. Cenie (daughter), born c1906, Kentucky; died after 1910; no further information
6. Charley Ketton, born 5 May 1909, Kentucky; died 17 November 1961, buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery; married Mollie Alexander, c1927. They had at least four children. Descendants
7. Meda Belle, born 1912, Tennessee; died after 1940, when she was living on her own and unmarried. No further information.

Sophia, c1876; died after 1880. She apparently died young as no further record has been found for her. Apparently no known descendants.

John Franklin, born December 1879; married Minnie Garrison, 3 June 1914, McMinn County, Tennessee. However, this couple divorced by 1930, when Minnie is living with a sister in Chicago, Illinois. Her son, John F. Williams, 12, is living with her. No further information and it is unknown if John married and left descendants. Unknown if there are descendants today.

Child (Williams):
1. John Franklin, born c1918; living with his mother and aunt in Chicago, Illinois in 1930; no further information.

Deborah, born 2 January 1882; died 11 April 1961, Loudon County, Tennessee; married Asberry Price, 27 September 1900, Roane County, Tennessee. They had at least six children – Lucinda E., Minnie Mildred, Susan, Hazel, James Franklin and Carl B. 

Children (Price):
1. Lucinda E., born 29 November 1905; died 22 June 1937; married Alonzo Jenkins, c1925.  She had at least three sons, Wayne Edward, Lloyd and Clyde Franklin. Descendants
2. Minnie Mildred, born c1909; died after 1920; no further information.
3. Susan, born c1911; died after 1920
4. Hazel, born c1913; died after 1930 when she was still at home
5. James Franklin, born 22 March 1915/17; died 12 April 2002, Cobb County, Georgia; married Nellie Mae Coker, no further information.
6. Carl Barstell, born 12 June 1919; died 19 December 1983, Dade County, Florida; married (1) Nellie Preston, 21 December 1947, Loudon County, Tennessee (2) Virginia Faye McKinley, 19 December 1960, Monroe County, Tennessee; no further information.

Identifying possible grandchildren is somewhat of a muddled mess, given that by the early 20th century, families began to move around move, there were separations/divorces, fewer identifying records are available due to privacy issues and there were many people with the same names.

In some cases, I have found more recent information on descendants, but have omitted the data here for privacy reasons.

As you can see, there is still a lot that is unknown about this family. I am hoping some descendant out there will recognize some of these people and contact me. I would love to know more about the family. Just with Matthias, being born in1803 and his youngest daughter, Deborah, dying in 1961, those two generations covered an incredible 158 years of American history!

Yesterday, I shared some updated information about Matthias Williams, his two known wives and ten of his fifteen known children.

Nothing (except that they existed and were alive in 1840) is known about his first three children, a son, born 1826-1830, a daughter, also born 1826-1830 and a third daughter, born 1831-1835. These are likely all children of Rebecca Davison and given that Matthias married her on 21 November 1825, the children may have been born in 1827, 1829 and 1831.

There is a female at home in the same age range (30-39) as Matthias in 1840. However, it is odd that no children born from about 1832-1840 are in his household. It may well be that Rebecca died and Matthias remarried, but learning the name of that possible wife is unlikely as he was living in Morgan County, home of the burned records, due to a fire in 1862.

Matthias and his family have not been found in the 1850 census. If they could be located, there might be new bits of information gleaned about his family.

Therefore, working off the list of remaining children, we have in the older group:

1. Simeon, born c1842 and who was at home with Matthias in 1860. No further record has been found and it is certainly possible that he died during the Civil War. No known descendants.
2. Elizabeth Eliza, born 12 October, between 1844 and 1846, depending on the record; died 4 November 1925, Roane County, Tennessee who married Henry Clay Burns, 5 March 1865, also in Roane County, Tennessee. Henry was born in April 1844 and died between the 1990 and 1910 censuses.

Henry and Elizabeth Burns were the parents of ten children, nine of whom have been identified. All were born, married and died in Roane County, unless noted otherwise.

1. Robert, born c1867; died after 1880; no further information, but appears to be one of two children that Elizabeth reported in 1900 as predeceasing her. No known descendants.
2. Sarah Elizabeth, born 28 May 1870; died 1 May 1946; married (1) John Alexander Hamilton, 1 December 1887 (divorced before 1900). They had three children, James Henry, born 31 October 1888; died 18 November 1948; unmarried; William McNutt, born 19 November 1890; died 11 February 1963; unmarried; and Susan Pearl, born 5 January 1896; died 19 December 1918; married Walter Leffew, 9 April 1916. Sadly, Walter died on the same day as his wife in the influenza pandemic. They had no children. (2) James M. Patton, married between 1910 and 1920 censuses, but appear to not have had any children. No known descendants.
3. Tennessee Adeline, born 25 November 1872; died 22 October 1953, Bingham County, Idaho; married Dudley Andrews, 16 November 1893. They were the parents of six children – Bertha Elizabeth, Crystal Hassie, Clarissa Lynn, Clifford Franklin and Elsie May, all of whom married. Descendants.
4. James Houston, born 12 February 1875; died 28 April 1935; unmarried. No known descendants.
5. Hamilton Henry, born c1877; died 29 January 1926; married Emma T. Farmer, 15 July 1908. They had one son, Robert Henry, born 1909 and seemed to have separated or divorced and it appears Robert had no children. No known descendants.
6. John Samuel, born 16 April 1880; died 9 November 1952; married Annie Eliza Smith, 21 June 1902. They had seven children – Pansy E., Lillian A., John William, Violet M., Lester P., Jesse Clifton and Edward. Descendants
7. William Franklin, born May 1892; died 7 October 1935; married Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Farmer, 31 October 1904. They had three children, Bernard Jack, Albert Franklin (died in childhood) and Frances Elizabeth. They separated and/or divorced and William moved to Bedford County, Tennessee with BJ and Frances. Bernard and Alice both married, but whether they had children is not known. Unknown if there are descendants today.
8. Margaret M., born 19 December 1884; died 11 November 1970; married Frank Driskill, 27 August 1912. They had two daughters, Frankie Lee, who married and had one known daughter, and Archie Pauline, who did not marry. Unknown if there are descendants today.
9. Ida Ann, born c1889; died 1921; married Andrew Jackson Farmer, 2 February 1908. They had three children – Walter, who died young, Helen, who married Avery Bright and Willie Frank, who married Roy McNabb. Helen and Willie each had at least one daughter. Unknown if there are descendants today.

Of Henry and Elizabeth’s nine children, only Tennessee and John Samuel are known to have descendants. William, Margaret and Ida all married and had children, but it is not known whether they have descendants today.

Here are the children of Matthias and Millie A.E. Shackleford:

1. Malinda J., born c1858, probably Roane County. She married Dr. Brookens C. Kelsey, about 5 August 1876 (license date), However, in 1880, B.C. Kelsey, doctor, & Annie R., 14, wife, but no children were living in Giles County, Tennessee. Malinda apparently died soon and left no children. No known descendants.
2. Mary Ann Josephine, born 2 October 1859; died 21 March 1923; married Henry H. Haggard, 25 July 1888, Loudon County, Tennessee. Henry was born c1836 and Polly was his second wife. They appear to have had no children. No known descendants.
3. Martha Emaline, born 4 July 1866; died 27 February 1939; married Henry Gyddes as noted on her death certificate in Roane County. However, Henry hasn’t been found in a single census and it is not known whether they had children. Unknown if there are descendants today.       
4.  Delilah Palestine, born September 1869; died 18 January 1926, Loudon County, Tennessee; married James C. Mitchell, but no record found. In 1900, the family is living in Loudon County, Tennessee with James Mitchell as the married head of household, but with Delilah Williams, housekeeper, and five children all enumerated as Williams and lodgers. No marriage record has been found for James Mitchel and Delilah Williams.

In 1910, James and Delilah are listed as having been married for 25 years (c1885?). Their children at home were Thomas, Sophie, Joseph, Charlie Ebb and John Henry, all now enumerated as Mitchells.

Children (parentage unsure except they all seem to be Delilah’s so they are grandchildren of Matthias):

1. Alice, born 25 June 1887; died 14 October 1955; married William Lillard Houston, 5 June 1904, Loudon County, Tennessee. They had at least six children. Descendants
   
2. Mattie, born November 1890; died after 1900; no further information
3. Thomas Franklin, born 29 April 1892; died 17 November 1965; married Martha McCullock, 24 April 1913, Loudon County, Tennessee. They had at least seven children. Descendants
4. Sophia, born March 1896; died after 1910; no further information
5. Joseph W., born 5 November 1895; died 21 January 1975; according to Find-a-Grave, he married Ella Russell, who is buried with him. I have not found this couple in a marriage record or any census and it is not known whether they had children.
   
6. Ebb, born 9 August 1904; died 19 March 1980; married Bessie Lawhorn, 21 August 1927. They had at least four children as of 1940. Descendants
7. John Henry, born 25 December 1907; died 31 March 1976; married Hazel Rynes, 12 November 1927, Monroe County, Tennessee. They had at least four children as of 1940. Descendants

Next, we will look at descendants of Hulda, Sophia, John F. and Deborah.

It has been over three years since I’ve written about this Mathias/Matthias Williams. I’ve learned just a bit more about him and hope to find out more about his children and grandchildren.

First, let’s take a look at Matthias Williams’ Civil War service. I already knew that one of the Mathias Williams in the Roane and Morgan County area had served in the Union Army. However, while following a BSO into the Record Group Explorer on the National Archives website, I found enlistment papers for Mathias Williams, born in Roane County, Tennessee about 1818.

Well, there are several Matthias Williamses, all related who lived in the area during the first half of the 1800s, but no one matching a birth date anywhere near 1818.

Matthias Williams served in the 1st Tennessee Infantry, Company I, was 5’8″ with blue eyes, gray hair and a fair complexion.

This Matthias Williams seemed to be sick more than he was on active duty and, eventually, I came across this page in his packet:

He was absent because of “sickness and old age,” which explains why a man supposedly only about 40 years old was described with gray hair.

One more page turned up:

Notice his age at the top of the page – 60 years old in 1862! Now I knew exactly who this man was. He aged 17 years in one year. I wonder what made him try to enlist in the army? Maybe there was some type of bonus paid for men to enlist and he needed the money. Whatever the reason, Mathias didn’t last long as a soldier, although he lived for more than two decades after his discharge.

Matthias Williams was born 13 December 1803, probably Cumberland County, Virginia, but possibly soon after his family arrived in Roane County, as he reported a Tennessee birthplace when he enlisted and in the census records.

He was the son of William Williams and Judith Saunders and a nephew of Revolutionary War soldier Matthias Williams, who settled next door in Morgan County, Tennessee. Matthias died after 1880, probably in Roane County and he is likely the “Mt. Williams” for whom Monroe Pickel made a coffin for county burial on 4 December 1884 in Roane County.

Matthias married (1) Rebecca Davison, 21 November 1825, Roane County, Tennessee. She was born c1800-10 and apparently died 1840-1850.
Rebecca may have been the sister of Hepsabeth Davidson, who married Mathias’s brother, William Alexander Williams in 1828.

He married (2) Millie A.E. (Lizzie) Shackelford, 30 August 1855, also in Roane County. The 1860 census shows Matthias with Elizabeth, 19, born 1841, but also daughter Elizabeth, born c1846. Millie A.E. may be Millie A. Elizabeth. She was born c1833/5 in Tennessee and  died after the 1900 census. At that time, she reported that she had given birth to 10 children and 8 were still living.

Matthias is found in Roane County in the 1860 census. Besides three children apparently from Matthias’ first marriage, there are two girls, ages 2 and 6 months. Matthias may have seen some type of Civil War service, as there is a marker for one Matthias Williams, Co. I, 1st TN Inf. at Cave Creek Cemetery, Roane County, Tennessee, where his daughter Debbie is buried. However, it is also possible that one of Matthias’s unidentified sons, born c1826 and c1830, was actually the soldier. Debbie and Matthias are the only Williamses with gravestones in Cave Creek Cemetery. Milly A.E. Williams is shown as the widow of Matthias Williams. Cert. #400695, May 12, App 379.709.

Children of Matthias and Rebecca, although it is possible that Simeon and Elizabeth were by an unknown wife, given the gaps in birth years:

1. Son, born c1826-1830, probably Roane County; died after 1840.
2. Daughter, born c1826-1830, probably Roane County; died after 1840.
3. Daughter, born c1831-1835, probably Roane County; died after 1840.
4. Simeon, born c1842, probably Roane County; died after 1860.
5. Elizabeth E., born c1846  and died 4 November 1925, both in Roane County. She is buried at Lawnville Cemetery, Roane County. Elizabeth married Henry Clay Burns, 5 March 1865, Roane County. He was born c1844, Tennessee and died after 1880, but predeceased her.  His gravestone only notes that he served in Co. I, 1^st TN Infantry.  Her death is listed in Booth Funeral Home records,  death certificate #364.

Children of Matthias and Millie A. Elizabeth. Elizabeth reported having give birth to 10 children, with 8 living in 1900:

1. Malinda J., born c1858, probably Roane County. She married Brookens C. Kelsey, about 5 August 1876 (license date), Roane County. However, no one filled in the marriage return for them or the marriage listed immediately below theirs. In 1880, B.C. Kelsey, doctor, & Annie R., 14, wife, but no children were living in Giles County, Tennessee. Did Malinda die? He was born c1854, Washington County, Tennessee; died 30 March 1903, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. B.C. married (3) Lula G. Davis, 1885, Tipton County, Tennessee. Lulu lived in Boston as late as 1922.
2. Mary A. (Polly Ann) Josephine, born 2 October 1858/59, Morgan County, Tennessee (6 months old in census), died 22 March 1923, Morgan County, Tennessee; married Henry Haggard, 25 July 1888, Loudon County, Tennessee. He was born c1844, Tennessee; died before 22 March 1923; buried at Oral Cemetery, Roane County, Tennessee.
3. Martha Emeline, born 4 July 1866; died 27 February 1939, both Roane County; married Henry Clay Gydes, who survived her. Her death certificate names her parents as Mathias Williams and Elizabeth Shakelford. One Henry Gaddes married M.J. McElroy, 15 April 1888, Roane County, Tennessee.
4. Delila Palestine (Tina), born September 1869, probably Roane County, Tennessee; died 18 January 1926, Loudon County, Tennessee; married James C. Mitchell, 1892. He was born 1842, Knox County, Tennessee; died 28 July 1911, Loudon County, Tennessee. Both are buried at Corinth Cemetery in Loudon County.
5. Hulda Deborah, born 10 August 1873, Roane County, Tennessee; died 9 May 1939, Monroe County, Tennessee; buried in West View Cemetery, Monroe County. She married William Harrison Price, c1892, probably in Tennessee. In 1920, Hulda is listed as widowed in Walker County, Georgia, but they may have divorced or at least separated. Harrison was born 12 July 1866, Loudon County, Tennessee; died 7 March 1940, Monroe County, Tennessee. Both are buried in West View Cemetery, but the two stones are very different styles. They lived in Whitley County, Kentucky in 1900 and 1910, having removed to KY between 1898-1900.
6. Sophia, born c1876, probably Roane County; died after 1880.
7. John F., born January 1880, Roane County, Tennessee (four months old in census shown as born in January); died after 4 June 1914; married Minnie Garrison, 3 June 1914, McMinn County, Tennessee. There are two Minnie Garrisons in McMinn County, both born about 1896. He could have married either one, but it appears that he may have died young or else they divorced soon. Neither John nor Minnie has been positively identified in 1920.
8. Deborah, born 2 January 1882/3, Roane County, Tennessee; died 11 April 1961, Loudon County, Tennessee. She is buried at Cave Creek Cemetery, like her father,  per information from Hawkins Mortuary, in Loudon County. She married Asberry Price, 27 September 1900, in Roane County. He was born March 1881; died after the 1930 census, but before Deborah, who died on 11 April 1961, probably also in Loudon County, Tennessee.

Ten of Matthias’s 15 children have been identified, but little else is known about them. Part of the problem is that this family had ties to Morgan and Marion Counties, which are burned counties, along with Anderson, Rhea and Loudon Counties.

Matthias Williams and family actually lived in Morgan County at the time of the 1840 census. It is possible that his three eldest children married there before 1850. Morgan County marriage records are lost before 1862.

Next, we will look at grandchildren of Matthias Williams.