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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

Update on the Benjamin “Ivey” Hullender Family

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Eight years ago, I began to piece together the family of Benjamin “Ivey” Hullender and his wife, Louella Junnie Williams. She was the daughter of John C. Williams and Louisa Miller and the sister of my husband’s great grandmother, Minnie Mae (Williams) (Brasher) Horne.

That makes her one of his closer extended family members, but she hasn’t been easy to trace as an adult. First, the Hullenders left Hopkins County, Texas and returned to Ben’s home in the Carolinas.

Second, she was sometimes found as Junnie, Junie, Jennie or Louella and he was found as Ben or Ivey.

Lastly, Hullender was often misspelled. When it incorrectly became “Hollander,” there were many more record hits, none of which belonged to this family .

With more digital records available, here is an updated family sketch of Benjamin “Ivey” Hullender and Louella Junnie Williams.

Benjamin “Ivey” Hullender was born during the Civil War on 8 October 1863 in South Carolina, probably York county, where the family lived in 1860. His father, Nicholas, served in the Confederate Army.

The family isn’t found in 1870, but by 1880, they had removed to Cleveland County, North Carolina. Sometime between that census and 1899, Ben headed west and settled for a time in Hopkins County, Texas.

There, on 19 March 1899, he married Louella Junnie Williams, the daughter of John Christopher and Louisa (Miller) Williams.

Ben and Junnie, as she was generally known, still lived in Hopkins County a year later when the census was taken in June 1900. However, not long before, they had welcomed and lost their first child.

Ben apparently didn’t take much of a liking to Texas and, by 1910, he and Junnie had gone back to Cleveland County, North Carolina where his family and friends still lived.

They lived there the rest of their lives. Ben died there on 26 March 1922. Junnie survived him by quite a few years, dying on 9 March 1937 in nearby Lincoln County, North Carolina.

They were the parents of six children, two of whom died very young.

Children: (Hullender)

  1. Child, born and died before June 1900
  2. Mary Lee, born 8 March 1901, Hopkins County, Texas; died 7 July 1971, Lincolnton, Lincoln, North Carolina; married Augustus Reynolds, c1924. They were the parents of seven children, six of whom have descendants and one child is still living today.
  3. Child, probably born c1904; died before 1910
  4. Emery, born 29 March 1907, North Carolina; died 1 August 1987, Cleveland County, North Carolina; married (1) Mamie Etta Laughlin, 15 January 1927, Cherokee County, South Carolina (2) Elizabeth Pruitt, 24 July 1937, Pittsylvania County, Virginia (3) Grace Geneva Philbeck, c1980. It appears that Emery was the parent of one daughter with Mamie, Virginia Luella, born 5 January 1928; Cleveland County, North Carolina; died 26 July 1997, Las Cruces, Dona Ana, New Mexico. Virginia married three times, but appears to not have had any children. Interestingly, one of her marriage records states her occupation in 1950 as “show business,” but no further information has been found about her career. Emery has no known living descendants.
  5. Frank Jonas, born 3 March 1910, Kings Mountain, Cleveland, North Carolina; died 21 June 1969, Kings Mountain. Cleveland, North Carolina; married Maggie Davis, c1929. They were the parents of one son, Joseph Arthur, born 20 June 1930 in Gaston County, North Carolina; died 8 October 2010, North Carolina; married Rachel L. Burton, c1948. They were the parents of one child so Frank has descendants living today.
  6. Richard Ira, born 19 May 1913, Kings Mountain, Cleveland, North Carolina; died 20 January 2000, Alamance County, North Carolina; married Madge Louise Pruett, c1939. They were the parents of one child and Richard has living descendants today.

This completes the updated family sketch for Ben and Junnie. If you are part of this family, I would love for you to leave a comment so we can connect.