GEORGE KEARSE WILLIAMS and SHELOMITH REBECCA RUSHTON
George Kearse Williams was born near the village
of Cuthbert in Randolph County, Georgia on December 6, 1847 the youngest son of
Reverend William Green Williams and his wife Harriett Kearse. Harriett was 37 years old at the time of the
birth of her son. Rev Green was 43 years
old. Harriett named her youngest son
after her grandfather who was the first George Kearse (originally spelled
Kersh.) George Kearse Williams never
went by George. He either was called by the family nickname “Babe” or later in
life as “G.K.”
In a statement dictated to a granddaughter a
few years before his death, Babe Williams stated that while born in Cuthbert,
Georgia, and his family took him to Pike County, Alabama where he grew to young
manhood. The family moved to Alabama by 1850 when Babe Williams was age 2. His
father had farms near the villages of Missouri and New Providence where Green
Williams was a preacher in the Missionary Baptist Church. As a young child Babe worked on his father’s farms
so that his father could attend to his ministry.
In the same statement as mentioned above,
Babe Williams said that he attended his first school at the age of eight (1855)
where he attended for about ten months.
After that time he could only attend at a few months at a time because
of his working on his father's farm. Although Babe Williams spent the major
portion of his boyhood working as a farm laborer, he did manage to read and
write and as he stated “became a Bible Scholar.”
On the eve of the Civil War, however, Alabama
was only one generation removed from the frontier and most of the state's
farmers owned few, if any, slaves including the family of Babe Williams. Babe
Williams was thirteen years old at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. All of his brothers and brothers-in-law
enlisted in the Confederate Army in the early years of the war while Babe
Williams stayed behind to work his father's farm. However in October of 1864, Rev.
Green Williams and Hattie Williams allowed Babe Williams to enlist in the army
under the supervision of his older brother Lewis Williams. In the fall of 1864, Lewis C. Williams was
home on leave in Alabama and he convinced his folks to allow his youngest
brother, who was a large 16-year-old boy, to join the Confederate Army. Green
and Hattie Williams agreed as long as Lewis promised to look after him. Alabama
needed ever able-bodied male to defend the home front from the imminent invasion
of Federal Troops.
Babe Williams enlisted in the army October 1,
1864 at Troy, Alabama enlisting in his brother’s company. Some sixty-five years after the event, in June
1929, George Kearse Williams applied for a pension the state of Texas was
supplying to ex-Confederate soldiers. In the same pension application, G.K. Williams
stated that his full name was George Kearse Williams and that he enlisted at Troy,
Alabama on the 1st of October 1864 in Company H 47th Alabama Regiment.
His sister Mrs. Mattie R. Smith gave an
affidavit which stated, "I am 80 years old of age and of personal
knowledge know G.K. Williams enlisted in the Confederate Army the 1st of
October 1864 and served 7 months in the 47th Alabama Regiment of Company
H." Mattie Smith verified her brother's war record for the Texas
Confederate pension also saying that she was present the 1st of October 1864
when Babe Williams left home to go to Troy, Alabama for the purpose of
enlisting in the Confederate Army. She
was also present the next day when Babe Williams left home with his brother
Lewis C. Williams who was a Confederate Soldier at the time and was home on
furlough. Mattie R. Smith also stated
that during the time Babe Williams served in the Army she saw a number of
letters written by her brother to their mother, Harriett Williams, which letter
told of his service and. experiences in the Confederate Army.
George Kearse Williams' nephew, James H. West
of Tarrent County also testified, "I was well acquainted with G.K.
Williams in 1864 and know of my own knowledge that he enlisted in the
Confederate Army about October 1st 1864 and served 7 months in Company H 47th
Alabama Regiment." He stated that in the company with him were Captain
J.P. Wood of Pike County, Lieutenant Cox and his neighbors Butler Sparks,
Bayford Sparks, Jim Jones, L. Norton and his brother Lewis C. Crawford.
In the company of his brother Lewis C.
Williams, the brothers went to Montgomery, Alabama and were joined to the 47th
Alabama Regiment, which was later consolidated with the 57th Alabama Regiment
as death took its toll.
The Williams brothers were shipped immediately
to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia where the 47th battled Major General Philip
Sheridan’s army. At dawn, October 19, 1864, the Confederate Army under Lt. Gen.
Jubal A. Early surprised the Federal army at Cedar Creek and routed the 7th and
19th Union Army Corps. Sheridan arrived
from Winchester to rally his troops, and in the afternoon, launched a crushing
counterattack, which recovered the battlefield. Sheridan's victory at Cedar
Creek broke the back of the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan’s
forces in the Shenandoah Valley also destroyed the economic infrastructure of
the Valley. The campaign was called "The Burning" by residents and was
one of the first uses of scorched earth tactics in the war. Abraham Lincoln
rode the momentum of Sheridan's victories in the Valley and General William T Sherman's
successes in Georgia to re-election in November 1864. In 1865, Sheridan’s cavalry
pursued Gen. Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at
Appomattox in April 1865.
When
the 47th Alabama was consolidated into the 57th Alabama Infantry Regiment, the
Williams brothers now participated in the movement into Tennessee under the
command of the Army of Tennessee. Confederate Gen. John B. Hood began the
Franklin-Nashville Campaign in Tennessee during the fall of 1864. The Battle of
Franklin began about sunrise on November 30 and quickly caused frightening
casualties. When the battle ceased, after dark, six Confederate generals were
dead or had mortal wounds. Despite this terrible loss, Hood's army was depleted
and worn out as they crawled on toward Nashville.
Although Hood suffered terrible losses at
Franklin continued toward Nashville, in a last desperate attempt to force Maj.
Gen. William T. Sherman's army out of Georgia. Hood led the Army of Tennessee
north toward and reached the outskirts of Nashville on December 2.
Before daylight on the 15th, the first of the
Union troops attacked the rebel army. The
following day Hood's army fled. For ten days, the Union troops’ pursuit
continued until the beaten and battered Army of Tennessee recrossed the
Tennessee River. Hood retreated to Tupelo Mississippi, and resigned his
command.
The Alabama 57th was then transferred to
North Carolina, to fight under the command of General Joseph Johnston in an
attempt to block General Sherman’s march north through the Carolinas to reach General
U.S. Grant in Virginia.
On 19 March 1865, General Joseph E. Johnston
with 21,000 men surprised General Sherman just south of Bentonville, in
Johnston County, North Carolina. On the third day, 21 March the vastly
out-numbered Confederate force withdrew across Mill Creek. The Confederates
suffered 2,606 casualties.
The war was all but over when Babe Williams
was granted a furlough on the 1st of April 1865 at Greensboro, in Guilford
County, North Carolina. He had served
six months in the Confederate Army. He was given $1.15 in silver as his final
payment for service to the Confederacy and after gathering up what personal
belongings he still had, the former rebel soldier started for home.
Three weeks later General Joseph E. Johnston
surrendered the Confederate Army to General William T. Sherman on April 26,
1865. Johnston surrendered by far the largest share of the Confederate troops
still in the field at war's end, more than Lee and the others combined. He surrendered
all Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida and took those
States out of the war.
By the time Babe Williams reached Augusta,
Georgia on the Savannah River, some 250 miles from his regiment, he learned
that the war was over. About April 20, he turned himself in to the Federal
authority at Augusta, surrendered his weapons, and was paroled to go home as
long as he swore not to take up arms against the United States.
His sister, Mattie R. Smith remembered being
present when Babe Williams, on parole, returned home the late part of April
1865. Babe Williams had walked home all the way from Greensboro, North Carolina
to Goshen, Alabama, some 540 miles, with the journey taking a little less than
a month. He was walking approximately eighteen
miles a day.
Mattie R. Smith stated that her brother was
wearing a worn out Confederate uniform and carrying a knapsack, a canteen, and
other army equipment issued by the Confederate Army. When the Confederate Capital Richmond was
burned to the ground during the last campaigns of the war many Confederate Army
records were destroyed and in later years Babe Williams was unable to secure
any verification of his service of six months.
Alabama was desolate after four years of
Civil War and many folks were now starving. The antebellum South of G.K.
Williams' boyhood was now gone when at the age of 17 he returned home to his
father's farm near New Providence, Alabama. Once prosperous families were now
destitute.
The struggle for Southern Independence failed
and the cost of trying to reserve the South’s peculiar institution of slavery
was paid with the blood of Alabama’s white men folk. Alabama was mourning the loss of a third of
its manhood during the failed rebellion as that as many as 70,000 men were killed
or disabled during the failed rebellion. Widows and orphans abounded in Alabama
and there was a not a single family left untouched by the ravages of war. In his
father’s family, the price was paid by Babe Williams' older brother Wilson Williams,
and his brother in laws husbands of his sisters Hanson and Winnie. In the
family of his future wife, Shelomith Rushton, she lost a brother, a brother in
law, and five male cousins.
Alabama was destitute immediately following
the war having suffered invading Union troops and foraging armies on both sides
during the conflict. Alabama’s once-rich cotton economy was in shambles as the
black slaves upon which its wealth depended were freed with the war's end.
Small farms which had produced general crops before the war now turned to
cotton as a cash crop. However the market for cotton became overloaded and
prices dropped 50 percent nearly ruining most farmers.
Additionally a “Reconstruction” government in
Montgomery tried to break up treasonous sentiments that still existed. Although
Alabamians had surrendered their weapons, they did not surrender their white
supremacist convictions. The Reconstruction conflict led many to identify
themselves as southerners rather than as Americans.
In 1865 President Andrew Johnson ordered federal
troops to oversee the Emancipation of African Americans under the Freedmen's
Bureau. At the end of the war, Alabama
was placed under the jurisdiction of General John Pope, commander of the Third
Military District that included Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Federal Troops were
stationed in Alabama counties to enforce the laws of emancipation and civil
rights. General Pope placed the jurisdiction
of Alabama under Gen. Wager T. Swayne. General Swayne, often referred to as
Alabama's military governor, never formally held that title but nonetheless, he
wielded substantial executive authority. Swayne was persuaded that only black suffrage
could force necessary political changes in Alabama, to stop the continuing
violence toward freed people. These attacks by former Confederates provided Swayne
with the "fullest evidence" that Alabama was "not very fit for a
free government at all.
President Johnson gave the ex-Confederates
latitude to reestablish race relations on the terms that they supported despite
the wishes of the Republican majority in Congress. President Johnson opposed federally guaranteed
civil rights protection or extending voting rights to freedmen. He also favored
rapid pardons for ex-Confederate leaders and quick reintegration into the Union
for the 11 states formerly in rebellion. Johnson's policies mostly prevailed
for nearly the first two years after the war.
However in 1867, the Republican-dominated
Congress took control of the Reconstruction process and attempted to expand and
protect the civil rights of the formerly enslaved. During the next eight years,
the federal government worked to rewrite Alabama's constitution. Freedmen
founded political and workers' rights organizations such as the Union League, while
Democrats who favored states' rights and white supremacy responded with legal
action and, sometimes, terrorism in the form of intimidation, violence, and
murder by the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was
formed in Tennessee by ex Confederate Officers to suppress the civil rights of
the freed slaves and to attack Union men.
The state constitutional convention in
November 1867 framed a new constitution for Alabama which conferred universal
manhood suffrage and imposed the iron-clad oath, so that whites who had supported
the Confederacy were temporarily prohibited from holding office. Most whites
boycotted the polls but the new constitution went into effect and the state was
readmitted to the Union in June 1868, when a new governor and legislature were
elected.
G.K. Williams as young man continued to live
with his folks for the next two years 1865-1867, working as a farm laborer. During
this time the state suffered a severe cotton crop failure that plunged Alabama
into an economic chaos.
However the family of his father continued to
attend church in the Missionary Baptist Communities until he had a falling out
with them. For a time the Williamses attended Primitive Baptist Church services
where G.K. Williams met and began to court a young lady in his church, Rebecca
Shelomith Rushton.
Rebecca Shelomith Rushton was born the 13th
of September 1845 near the village of Ramer in Montgomery County, Alabama. Her
parents were William and Rebecca Fanning Rushton, natives of Orangeburgh
District, South Carolina and members of the Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church of
Ramer, Alabama.
The Rushtons were originally from
Bedfordshire, England, from where Shelomith’s grandfather, William Rushton
immigrated to the United States in 1785 after the Revolutionary War. The
original spelling of the family name was Rishton. William Rushton married a Miss Kichen and had
a large family in Orangeburgh District South Carolina.
The youngest son of William Rushton was
another William Rushton who was born 1807 in Orangeburgh District South Carolina.
He married about 1833 Rebecca Fannin and had a large family. William Rushton moved to Montgomery County,
Alabama before January 31, 1837, when he bought land from Eli Amason.
Land records of Montgomery County show that
he had several farms in Montgomery and there was land transference between
Nehemiah Posey and him in 1860. Nehemiah Posey was the brother in law of William
Rushton’s brother Moses Rushton.
Moses Rushton was the founder of Pisgah
Primitive Baptist Church in Section 9 Twp 12 of Montgomery County, Alabama. The
1850 Slave Census showed that he owned a 23 year old African American female
and her 6 year old son.
His untimely death occurred on the way home
from Montgomery with a cortege of wagons from a trip to buy supplies. Before
reaching Catoma Swamp (Creek), a heavy rain had fallen. "Mr. Rushton, an
expert swimmer, volunteered to swim a head, feel the way for the horses, and
pilot the wagons across the creek. But the waters were too swift and he was
carried under. His body was recovered and laid to rest in Pisgah Cemetery 29
Jan 1859. When 30 years later his wife died in her 80’s, an oak tree had to be
dug up by the roots in order to make her grave by the side of her husbands.
It is certain that Shelomith Rushton’s mother
and family were also members of the Pisgah Primitive Baptist Church because
William Rushton’s son John was married to Julia Hancock by Rev. Robert
Misseldine the pastor of that church. Several children of the Missledine Family
also married into the Rushton family.
William Rushton was a farmer and according to
a statement to a granddaughter, he witnessed the inauguration of President
Jefferson Davis at Montgomery, Alabama on February 18, 1861, on the portico of
the Alabama capitol. Jefferson Davis and his family lived in Montgomery until
May, when the Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Virginia.
The children of William Rushton who married
in Montgomery County prior to the outbreak of the Southern Rebellion were
Martha Abigale Rushton married at the age of 25 on 10 Jul 1859 to William G
Kennedy, Mary Jane Rushton married at
the age of 19 on 6 Nov 1856 to Joseph T Soles, Margaret Elizabeth Rushton
married at the age of 17 on 7 Feb 1857 to Simon Peter Kimbro and John Allen
Rushton Rushton who was married at the age of 17 on 18 Aug 1860 to Julia
Hancock. He enlisted on 15 March 1862 at
Greenville, Alabama in CSA Company A 39th Alabama Infantry as a private.
The remainder of William Rushton’s daughters
did not marry until after the Civil War ended. Perhaps the scarcity of
available men or the fact that William Rushton was worried his daughters would
be widowed came them from marrying.
Zibbiah Maranda Rushton married at the age of
20 on 23 February 1865 Moses Rushton Fannin her 2nd cousin. Shelomith married at the age of 21 on 1
August 1867 George Kearse Williams.
William Rushton died in December 1869,
destitute after his Confederate money became worthless. He had removed to Crenshaw County, which was
recently created, from Montgomery and Pike County, Alabama, where died of
Palsy. That is a condition that is marked by uncontrollable tremor and
quivering of the body or one or more of its parts
After the death of her husband Rebecca
Rushton remained on the farm she lived with family members. In the 1870 census
she had three daughters and a grandson John Greer Kennedy living within her
household. All around her were her sons in laws. It is not known when Rebecca
Rushton died. She is not located in the 1880 census and therefore sometime in
the decade of the 1870’s.
Daughter Louisa Amanda Rushton age 22 married
on 25 Jan 1872 Rev. Daniel Wilkerson Stephenson. The youngest child of William and Rebecca
Rushton,
Zaraviah "Zary" Anngalisa Rushton
married at the age of 22 on 26 Nov 1874, William Franklin Marion (Bill) Stephenson.
Daniel and Bill Stephenson were
brothers.
It is highly likely that Rebecca Rushton had
died by 1874 as that some of her daughters were moving to Texas with their
husbands.
The nineteen-year-old G.K. Williams was
attracted to the petite Shelomith Rushton’s beauty. He towered over Shelomith, with him being over
six feet tall and she barely five feet. He was also attracted towards her
Christian piety as he was a serious Christian scholar having witnessed the
horrors of war. He knew that he wanted to be a Minister of the Gospel as was
his father was and felt he had the calling. Shelomith Rushton this suited his
need for a Christian helpmate. A granddaughter recalled that Shelomith was a
very old fashioned woman who believed that it was her duty and role in life to
care for every need of her husband.
G.K. Williams and Shelomith Rushton were
married by a Primitive Baptist minister, R.T. Webb at the Elam Primitive
Baptist Church in Goshen Pike County, Alabama on the 1st of August 1867. The marriage certificate however was recorded
in the newly formed Crenshaw County. G.K.
Williams and Shelomith both had nicknames by which they were known by family
members for the rest of their lives. G.K. Williams was called “Babe” and Shelomith
was “Toad” as she was so small. Even in her old age she was known as “Grandma
Toad”.
The newly weds lived with G.K’s folks, Green
and Hattie Williams on a section of Green Williams' farm in Crenshaw County on
which G.K. labored during the hard lean years after the war. The pair’s first
child, a daughter, was born ten months after they were married. She was born on the 1st of June 1868 on the
farm and was named Margaret Jane although she and called Maggie all her life. Another daughter followed two years later on
the 2nd of March 1870. This daughter was
named Elizabeth Victoria and called Betty by the family.
To show how hard were the times after the
Civil War ended, three years into his marriage G.K. Williams was still
struggling to provide a living for his family in Alabama. The 1870 census of Crenshaw County, Alabama was
taken on June 17th and listed Babe and Shelomith Rushton Williams as
the next successive family after his brother Miles Williams. He was probably living
and working on Miles’ farm . According to this census G.K. Williams held
neither real nor personal property. His youngest daughter Maggie was enumerated
by her nickname “Puss”.
The Agriculture census of 1870 showed also
that G.K. Williams had no lands but was renting a farm or sharing it with his
brother Miles who had 35 acres under cultivation out of 80 acres he owned which
was valued at $250. This property was probably the farm of their father Green
Williams. GK Williams was shown to own a horse, 2 cows, and 3 hogs all worth
$110. Miles Williams did not own a horse but owned a mule, 3 cows, 2 oxen, 3
head of cattle and 20 hogs all worth $360. GK Williams produced 100 bushels of
corn, 1 bale of cotton [400 pounds], 30 bushels of sweet potatoes, 18 gallons
of molasses, and $75 worth of slaughtered animals. All of his products were
worth $358. Miles on the other hand
produced 357 bushels of corn, 3 bales of cotton, 40 bushels of sweet potatoes,
16 gallons of molasses, $125 worth of slaughtered animals worth a total of $923.
The following year, another daughter was born
to Shelomith Rushton Williams on the 24th of July 1871 while the family still
lived in Crenshaw County. This third
daughter was named Sarah Frances and known as “Fannie”. This same year G.K. Williams decided to move
from Alabama to Texas where his sister Mary West had written glowing reports.
The economy of Alabama had collapsed during the
postwar period where frenetic, unregulated growth of the nation’s railroad
system laid the groundwork of the Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed. However hard times had already come to
Crenshaw County as the Williams scrambled to make a living.
After much family discussion, G.K. Williams
and his brother-in-law John Smith o agreed to pick up and move to Texas for a
new start. It was decided to take G.K. Williams’ aging parents Green and Hattie Williams with
them.
In December 1871 G.K. Willlams, with his
family, left Alabama, which had been his home for over twenty years. Accompanied by his father, mother, and his
brother-in-law John A. Smith's family, G.K. Williams booked passage from
Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans where then boarding a paddleboat to continued their
journey up to the Red River to Jefferson, Texas. There they disembarked on the
12th of January 1872.
The years after the Civil War were Jefferson's
heyday with people coming from the devastated southern states seeking a new
life. In 1872, there were 226 arrivals of steamboats with a carrying capacity
averaging 425 tons each. Situated on Big Cypress Bayou, Jefferson was a river
port town, and, in fact, has been described as the "River port to the
Southwest." The boats came up the Mississippi River into the Red River,
through Caddo Lake, and up Big Cypress to what was known as, and still is
termed, the "Turning Basin" where the stern-wheelers loaded and
unloaded cargo.
From Jefferson, G.K. Williams moved 31 miles
further northwest and settled his family in a community known as South Union which
was four miles south of Daingerfield in Titus County, Texas. The farm was known
as the Hedrick's Place and is now located in Morris County which was formed
from Titus in 1875. The farm was also about five miles west of Hughes Springs
in neighboring Cass County. The family worshipped at the South Union Baptist
Church.
G.K. Williams may have picked this area in
which to settle for the region had a strong Primitive Baptist and Missionary
Baptist Churches at an early date and he may have known Alabama people there. His
sister Mary West family was located in Titus County. The family of John and
Mattie Smith's also settled at the South Union Community where Rev. Green and
Hattie made their home with them. Here in
South Union GK Williams raised corn, cotton and livestock to support his
growing family. Cotton remained the principal cash crop, and corn
remained the principal food crop. Hogs remained the other principal food
product until the 20th Century.
On the 12th of July 1873, G.K. and Shelomith
Williams’ first son was born on the Hedrick's place at South Union in Titus
County, Texas. He was named Edgar
Lewis. The middle name Lewis was for his
brother Lewis Crawford with whom he had served in the Civil War. Edgar was not
a family name but eventually would be passed down to several of his
descendants. Edgar Lewis always went by “Edd’ as an adult spelling it
distinctively with the double consonant.
Edd Williams was followed by another son, who
was named George Myles Williams. He was born on the 28th of January 1875, also
born on the Hendrick's place. George
Myles was named after his father and his uncle Miles Williams. It seemed that sibling
rivalry kept the two brothers from being very close.
In 1876 the
East Line and Red River Railroads was constructed through the southwestern
corner of Cass county with its principal
station at Hughes Springs about 7 miles from South Union. The two railroads
gave residents more reliable transportation for their crops and enabled Hughes
Springs and Atlanta to develop as supply centers. Within the area the
predominant means of transportation remained horses, mules, wagons and buggies.
Shelomith Williams was pregnant with a set of
twin daughters who were born on the 5th of November 1876 on the Hendrick's
Place. They were named Anna and Hattie.
Little Anna died September 7, 1881 at South Union, Morris, Texas at the age of
5 year of consumption.
The following year, on April 28, 1878, G.K.
and Shelomith's eighth child was born. She was their sixth daughter. They named
Martha Rushton Williams after Shelomith's sister. She was known as Mattie and as
“Aunt Rus”.
In July 1879, G.K. Williams' father, Green
Williams died while living at South Union now in Morris County, Texas, on or
near Edgar Louis Williams birthday. His widowed mother Hattie continued to make
her home with G.K. Williams and later his sister Mattie Smith until her death
in 1900 at the age of 89 years.
The 1880 census of Morris County, Texas
listed 12 persons in the household Of G.K. Williams. They were living within
Precinct #1 when they were enumerated 14 June. This census did not record his
financial status but evidently he was living on the farm his father had rented
at South Union according to the 1880 Agricultural Census. George Kearse Williams was listed as “George”
Williams age 33 a farmer born in Georgia with both parents born in South Carolina.
Shelomith Williams was listed as 32 year old housewife when she was actually 34
years old. Their children listed in the census were Margaret Williams age 12,
Bettie Williams age 10 and Fannie Williams age 7 all born in Alabama. Next came
Eddie Williams age 6, George Williams age 5, Annah Williams and Hattie Williams
both age 3 and Mattie Williams age 1. All of these children were born in
Texas. Also included in this household
was George Kearse Williams widowed
mother, Harriett age 65 and born in South Carolina. She was actually closer to
70 years old. Also within this household
was a 43 year old single man named Hiram Pritchard who was listed as a boarder
and a farmer.
The 1880 agricultural census showed that G.K.
Williams was renting his farm and owned $30 worth of farm equipment, $127 worth
of livestock, with the total worth of everything being $405. He owned 2 horses, 2 milk cows, 6 head of
cattle with 2 calves being “dropped” during the year, 17 hogs and 35 barnyard
fowl. His farm produced 100 pounds of butter and 140 dozen eggs. He also had 17
acres in corn which produced 250 bushels, 14 acres in cotton which produced 5
bales, 1 acre in sorgum which produced 127 gallons of molasses, and ¾ of an
acre in sweet potatoes that produced 60 bushels. Hiram Pritchard most likely
was a hired hand who helped G.K. Williams farm as his eldest son Eddie Williams
was only about 7 years old. Certainly all the kids old enough did chores like
feeding and tending the livestock and out in the fields as soon as they were
old enough to hold a hoe. Most likely
Rev. G.K. Williams’ family lived on this place until about 1898 when he moved
to Cass County, Texas.
The 1890 census was destroyed so it would be
twenty years before Rev. G.K. Williams and his family would be enumerated
again. During those two decades, more children were born, one died and several
married and left home.
About two weeks after the 1880 census was
taken, the South Union Missionary Baptist Church licensed G.K. Williams to
preach on the 3rd of July 1880. He used as the text for his first sermon the
topic, "Prepare To Meet Thy God" and he was so well accepted as a
preacher that he was ordained a Baptist Minister in August that same year. At
the time all the local Baptist Churches had pastors so Rev. G.K. Williams
preached at schoolhouses for the rest of the Associational year.
During the following year, Rev. GK. Williams
was called to act as Pastor at three Baptist Churches, one forth time each, for
one year, making it a full time ministry. These churches were the South Union
Baptist Church, the Avinger Baptist Church, the Turkey Creek Baptist Church and
the Bear Creek Baptist Church. Rev. G.K.
Williams was to be an active full time minister for the next fifty-six years.
On the 4th of May 1881 Rev. G.K. and
Shelomith's ninth child and seventh daughter was born, they named Mary Ellen. However the following September one of their
twin daughters, Anna, died at the age of five years. She was buried next to her
grandfather William Green Williams at the South Union Cemetery in Morris
County, Texas.
Katy Belle Williams was born the 24th of
March 1883. She was Shelomlth's 10th child and eighth daughter. Katy Belle was followed
by Lula May Williams born the 11th of September 1886. The last child born to Rev.
GK and Shelomith was a son named Leonard Ferman Williams. He was born the 10th of January 1889. Shelomith
Williams was 44 years old at the time of the birth of her last child.
Bettie Williams was the first daughter to
marry. On 3 Mar 1890 in Morris County, Texas,
at the age of 20, she married Thomas Cobb
Glover son of William Franklin Glover and Sarah A. Smith. They had five
children.
Fannie the third daughter of Rev. GK Williams
and Shelomith was next to leave home. Fannie married Charlie Clyde Collins son
of R.B. Collins on 7 Jan 1892 in Morris County, Texas. She had three children,
one which died in childbirth with the mother.
At the age of 25, Maggie” Williams, the
eldest daughter, married next on November 8, 1893 to Thomas White “Tom” Williams
but had no children. About three weeks
later daughter Harriet Emiline “Hattie” Williams left home at the age of 17 when
she married Riley Frederick Smith on 25 Nov 1893 in Cass County, Texas. Riley
Frederick Smith was the son of Jhn E Smith and Martha Dawkins. She was the
mother of six children.
Edgar Lewis Williams at the age of 20 years married
January 14, 1894 Rosa Lee Perser of Carterville, Cass Texas. She was the
daughter of William John Perser and Martha Ann Carter. A Rev. James Smith
married them. They were the parents of
12 children and later moved from Cass County to Dickens County, Texas. Later that year his younger brother 19 year
old George Myles Williams married August 21, 1894 in Morris County, Nora
Estelle Nelson daughter of George Washington Nelson and Martha Goodson. They
had four children.
There is a family story that took place in
May 1895 when Shelomith’s daughter in law Rosie Lee Williams went into labor
with her first child. Her son Edd
Williams was such a nervous father to be that he refused to leave Rosa Lee's
side even to get a doctor but it was Shelomith who said, "Your Pa got the
doctor for me and you married this woman so you go get the doctor for
Rosie!" No one in that family ever crossed Shelomith, so Edd went and got the
doctor for Rosa Lee but it was a mid wife, which ended up delivering Edd first
child, a son the named Clarence George Williams after Edd's father. 1895 and
was followed by eight more children while Rosa and Edd resided in Cass County
Texas. Rosie Lee said she always appreciated Shelomith's no nonsense approach
to life after she needed a doctor that time.
“Rus” Williams was 17 years old when she
married Rufus “Ruf” Lafayette Fite on her parent’s 70th anniversary, November
3, 1895. Rufe Fite the son of Joseph Fite and Sarah Permelia Goodson and they
were the parents of twelve children.
Fanny Williams Collins died 9 May 1897 in Hughes
Springs, Cass, Texas at the age of 25.
She left a widow Charlie T Collins and two daughters who was raised by Rev. G.K
Williams after Mr. Collins remarried in 1898.
He died in 1907 which left the girls orphans.
Sometime around 1898, Rev. G.K. Williams moved
from Morris County to the Bear Creek Community in Cass County where most of his
churches were located in the 1890's. Bear Creek was 15 miles south east of
South Union, 11 miles southeast of Hughes Springs, and 6 miles east of Avinger. It was here where many of his married
children were living. Katy Belle Williams, a month shy of her 15th birthday, married
William L. Parker on the 2 February 1898. He was the son of Noah Lewis Parker
and Cynthia Ann Stubbs. C.A. Earp, a Justice of The Peace, married the pair.
Thus when Rev. G. K. Williams moved to Bear
Creek only three of his children were still living at home, 18 year old Mary
Ellen, 16 year old Lulu Belle, and 10 year old Leonard FermanHe eventually
bought 57 acres in Cass County from J. T. Henderson in the Bear Creek Community
where he moved his family on the 24th of November 1899. By this time he only
had two children still living at home, Mary Ellen and Leonard Williams.
At the turn of the 20th Century,
Rev. G.K. Williams and his wife Shelomith were living at Bear Creek, active in
the Baptist Communities of Cass County. The 1900 Census which was taken 8 June
1900 showed he lived in Precinct 1 “West of Jefferson and Petty’s Ferry Road
and was enumerated as household 80. He listed
his occupation as farmer and minister and stated he owned his farm free and
clear. Others in his household were his wife Shelomith R Williams, eighteen
year old daughter Mary E Williams, fourteen year old daughter Lula May Williams
and eleven year old Leonard F Williams who was listed as a farm laborer. Shelomith stated she was the mother of 12
children with ten still living, daughters Anna and Fannie having died.
On the 24th of September 1902, Rev. G.K.
Williams bought a home in Hughes Springs where he and his wife were to live out
the remainder years of their long lives.
Their home was lot 16 of the Hughes' Addition tract in Hughes Springs,
Cass County, Texas.
Their daughter Lula May Williams married
Leonard Wesley “Bud” Neville November 3, 1902 which the 77th anniversary of her
grandparents Rev. Green and Hattie Williams marriage. He was the son of Albert
Neville and Laura Henrietta Ramsey. Four children were born to this marriage
The youngest child of Rev. G.K. Williams, Leonard Ferman
Williams, was just five days shy of his 19th birthday when he married on 5
January 1908 Vera Reeder the daughter of Berry Reeder and Elizabeth Ann Bearden. He only had two children before dying of
tuberculosis.
The eldest daughter Maggie Williams wife of
Tom Williams died 19 May 1909 of tuberculosis in Avinger, Cass, Texas.
The 1910 census of Cass County, Texas was taken 22 April for the household of Rev.
G.K Williams which resided in Precinct 1 near Linden. None of his married children lived in close
proximity of him. It is not certain who have the information to the enumerator
as G.K Williams is listed as having been born in Alabama and Shelomith’s
parents being from North Carolina. Their 26 year old unmarried daughter Mary
may have been the source of this misinformation. The census for household 158
lists George K Williams as the head age 62 years old, married for 40 years, a
minister by occupation and owned his farm free and clear. His age is correct as
he would not be 63 until December.
Shelomith Williams is listed as his wife age 63 years born in Alabama
and the mother of 12 children with 9 still living. Shelomith was actually 65 years old. Others
in the household was daughter Mary Williams age 26 whose occupation was a
seamstress and granddaughters Clyde Collins age 16 and Louisa age 13 years old.
Mary Ellen was actually 29 years old in 1910
when she made her home with her parents where she worked as a dressmaker. She married William Bedford “Cap” Harris on
Christmas Day 1911. She was 30 years old when she married and last to leave
home. Rev. S.G. Echols married them. She was the mother on one child. Cap Harris was the son of William Handy Harris
and Margaret Lemmon.
Rev. G.K. Williams was pastor of New Colony
Baptist Church from 1912 to1913. The church was about four miles northeast of
Linden in east central Cass County. The New Colony Baptist Church was
established in 1889 and by 1891 services were held in a log schoolhouse. The
building was destroyed in a 1908 cyclone, but members rebuilt the structure
within a year. The New Colony Cemetery sat behind the church.
The youngest son of Rev. GK and Shelomith
Williams, Leonard Ferman Williams died 25 October 1915 of tuberculosis at the age of
27. He left a 25 year old widow with a six year old daughter. She left Cass
County to move to a drier climate in Hale County, Texas not far from her
brother in law Edd Williams’ family in Dickens.
Within the year Mary Ellen Harris died 30 June
1916 in Cass County, Texas of typhoid fever. She was survived by her husband
Cap Harris and a four year old son.
In November
1917 Rev. G.K. Williams and Shelomith celebrated fifty years of marriage with
his remaining children hosting a celebration. His son Edd Williams and his
family who were now residents of Dickens County in West Texas came by train to
be at the reception to honor his parents.
At the close of World War I, about 1918, Rev.
G.K. Williams and his wife Shelomith returned to Crenshaw County, Alabama to
visit relatives after an absence of nearly 45 years. They made the train trip
to Laverne, Alabama in less than a day. It is believed that Rev. G.K.
Williams’s sister made the trip also for a family reunion. Of his parents ten children, only three
remained alive in 1918, and they were Miles, G.K. and Mattie. Relatives there in
Crenshaw some 40 years later told a family researcher that they and all others
who met Rev. G.K. were deeply impressed by his Christian demeanor and
Christ-like life.
The
1920 Census of Cass County, Texas showed the Rev. G.K Williams had relocated
back to Hughes Springs in Precinct 2. The census was taken 23 January which
showed that he was living near his son George Myles Williams who was listed as
an operator of a Saw Mill. Rev. G.K.
Williams was listed as “George K.” Williams age 72 years old born in Georgia
and a minister of the Gospel. The only other person in his household was his
wife “Shelomith R” whose age was listed as 73 born in Alabama. Her parents were
said to have been from North Carolina which again is incorrect. It had been
nearly 50 years since Shelomith’s parents died so perhaps memory dimmed with
time.
Four years after this census Rev. G.K.
Williams' companion of 56 years passed away at the age of 78 on the 24th of
July 1924. She died at her home in Hughes Springs. Grandma Toad as she was affectionately called
by her family was buried at the Hughes Springs Cemetery. Her gravemarker has
the inscription “Here is one who is Sleeping in faith and love With hope that
is treasured in Heaven above”
Rev. G.K. Williams continued in the Baptist
ministry for the next 16 years cared for by his various daughters. It was
remembered that all of Rev. G.K. Williams daughters supported their father's
ministry and attended their father's meetings regularly. Several of his daughters were described as
"heavy set" women and "mighty shouters" who would clap
their hands and shout "Amen" at Rev. G.K. Williams' meetings causing
the church benches to rock and shake. They would also "Hallelujah
"though out their father's sermons as they felt the Spirit move upon them.
The 1930 Census of Cass County, Texas was
taken on 22 April for Rev. G.K.
Williams. He is listed as living in Hughes Springs on the road “going east to
Linden, Turkey Creek and Sardis Church. He is enumerated in household 44 with
his daughter Hattie Smith and her two children Genie Belle and Fred. “George K. Williams” is the head of the household
listed as an 82 year old widower. He stated he was born in Georgia and was 19
years old when he married. He owned his house that was valued at $1200 and the
census stated this family did not live on a farm. His occupation was given as a
“Baptist Minister” and he stated he was a veteran of the “U.S. military or
naval forces.” This was not correct as
he had been a soldier in the Confederate military. The others in his household were his widowed
daughter Hattie Smith age 53, and his grandchildren “Bell G Smith age 17 and
Fred Smith age 15. As no occupation was
given for Hattie certainly she was keeping house for her father.
Later that summer Lula May Neville died 23 July
1930 in Hughes Springs Cass County just a day before the sixth anniversary of her
mother’s passing. Five years later Rev. both
of Rev. G.K. Williams son died. Edd Williams, age 62, died 16 July 1935 from heat
stroke in Afton, Dickens county, Texas and George Myles Williams died 1 October
1935 age 60 of Typhoid Fever.
On 6 May 1936, Rev. G.K. Williams last remaining
sibling, Mattie Smith died about 85 years old.
Finally in October of 1936 Rev. G.K. Williams
retired from the active ministry at the age of 88 years. At the time of his
retirement he was the Pastor of the New Prospect Baptist Church four miles
north of Jefferson on Highway 8 and the Lassiter Baptist Church eleven mile
south west of Jefferson on Highway 49 in Cass County, Texas. In his long career he had served as a Pastor
for twenty-three different churches in the East Texas region. He was Pastor of the New Prospect Baptist
Church for 45 years, the Bear Greek Baptist Church for 28 years, and the
Avinger Baptist Church for 25 years.
After a physical check up as he neared ninety
years, in 1937, Rev. G.K. Williams' doctor told him that he was in as good
physical condition as most men at the age of forty.
In a newspaper Interview in 1938, Rev. G.K.
Williams admitted to being "a full scholar of tobacco. I smoke, chew, and dip also." When asked what gave him the most trouble
during his long ministry Rev. G.K. Williams said, "In looking back over
the ministry, dogs had had interfered more with the performance of duty as a
Clergyman than any other one thing but they provided a number of light spots. In
particular one night when performing a marriage ceremony in my front yard two
dogs came around the corner of the house fighting. The couple were seated in a buggy when the
horse bolted and began to run. The groom finally stopped the scared horse in a
pea patch nearby then drove back to the yard for the completion of the
ceremony."
In this same article Rev. G.K. Williams
stated that he never used a sermon prepared by anyone else or wrote his out
before hand. He said he always prayed
before attempting to preach so that the Holy Ghost would help him rightly
interpret the scriptures so they could be applied in a practical manner.
"I studied the great plan of Salvation and tried to make it plain to the
listener in a way that I could be understood by all reasonable people. I
sincerely believe the Spirit of God has been with me through these years and is
still with me in my preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the Church and God's people and
righteousness with all my heart and hate sin in all its forms. The people have always treated me nice. Only
three times have I had to reprove anyone for misbehaving during services. It has been my pleasure to assist young
people every way possible."
The 1940 Census of Cass County is the last time
Rev. G.K Williams was enumerated. On 16 April 1940 he is listed as “George T” Williams
age 93 years old and a widower. He was still listed as head of the household with
his daughter Hattie Smith and another widow named Mattie Patrick. The house was valued at $1000. In this census G.K.
Williams stated he had a 5th grade education. He gave no occupation and
must have been living on old age pensions. His daughter Hattie Smith was listed
as 62 years old who had completed 1 year of high school. Mattie Patrick was a 60
year old widow who worked as a seamstress and was a lodger in the house. Rev. G.K.
Williams’ household was the 202 visited on the Linden Highway. Near him at household
200 was his daughter Katy Belle Parker the wife of William L Parker and at 206 was
his daughter in law the widow of George Myles Williams. Nora Williams’ house was
valued at $3000.
As Rev. G.K. Williams neared his 94th
birthday, his health declined from a kidney infection. At his home in the care
of his daughter Katy Belle Parker, Rev. G.K. Williams died on his 94th birthday
of Malaria complicated by his kidney infection. He died disappointed that he had not realized
his ambition to live to be a hundred years old.
Rev. G.K. Williams died the 6th of December
1941 the day before Pearl Harbor brought America into another World War. As America was mourning, its lost in the
Pacific Cass County, Texas was mourning the loss of a beloved man of God. Rev. G.K. Williams' funeral lasted over nine
hours as the community paid its last respects and anyone who wanted to say
something about him was allowed to speak.
Babe Williams was laid to rest next to his companion of 57 years in the
Hughes Springs Cemetery which is about three blocks from the home in which he
spent the last thirty-nine years of his life. Rev. G.K. Williams outlived all
his brothers and sisters, his wife, and nine of his 12 children including all
his sons. He was survived only by daughters Betty, Hattie, and Katy Belle.
A portrait of Rev. G.K. Williams hangs in
many of the Churches he was a Pastor of and one known specifically is in the
Turkey Creek Baptist Church. During his long ministry Rev. G.K. Williams
established and built 8 Baptist Churches, helped organized several others, and
preached the dedicatory sermon for a number of other new churches. He was the moderator of the Salem Baptist
Association for I7 years and the moderator of the Enon Baptist Association for
3 years. Rev. G.K. Williams was also chosen a Messenger from Cass County to the
Southern Baptist Conventions at New Orleans and Washington D.C. He was also a Messenger to the Texas Baptist
Convention on numerous occasions.
Rev. G.K. Williams has estimated that he had
baptized over 3,000 persons, held 2,000 funerals including the funerals of I7
Baptist Ministers, and married 2,500 couples during his long career as a
Baptist Minister.
G.K. Williams was a large framed man over six
feet tall as was his father and was said to have favored him. Instead of a long thick beard like his father
G.K. Williams wore a neatly trimmed Van Dyke beard. Shelomith was a petite woman with sparkling
blue eyes and blond hair in her youth.
In the opinion of a nephew of Alabama who
wrote an initial Williams Study in 1959 stated that George Kearse Williams was
the most outstanding personality and of the most service of any member of the
family of William Green Williams. This man wrote that as one talks with people
who knew him, one is struck by the way he was universally admired. One gets a picture of a kindly genial, fun loving,
physically active, and alert individual, who was also simple and direct in his
approach. He was extremely understanding and tolerant of his fellow human
beings but withal he had a deep and sincere testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ
and was an earnest and devout Christian.
A sister-in-law of Edd Williams, Nora Davis
in 1974, stated that Rev. G.K. Williams was her Pastor while growing up in Cass
County and was well acquainted with him since he was her sister, Rosa Lee
Williams' father-in-law. She said that
she greatly admired G.K. Williams and she believed him to be the finest man
that ever lived; a true Christian man who feared God and loved his fellow
man. Nora Davis named one of her sons
George Kearse in honor of Rev. G.K. Williams.
A granddaughter, Marye Jim Glover remarked,
“Truly he was God’s spokesman to many people including me.” A grandson, Perry Fite stated, “My
grandfather the Rev. G.K. Williams had a great influence on my life and I am
truly grateful I had with him as a Christian and I share with him the strong
love we hold for the Hughes Springs Community.”
One of the outstanding early ministers of
this and other Baptist churches in the area was brother G.K. Williams. An old
Civil War Vet. with a long white beard, he was well loved and will be long
remembered by many. Baptist Church Hickory Hill Avinger Texas
GEORGE KEARSE “BABE” WILLIAMS
Born December 6, 1847 Cuthbert, Randolph,
Texas
Died December 6, 1941 Hughes Springs, Cass,
Texas. Rev. G.K. Williams is buried in Block 3 Lot 9 with wife and son Leonard
Fermon Williams and his wife Vera. Babe Williams married Rebecca “Shelomith”
Rushton August 1, 1867, Vidette, Crenshaw, AL daughter of William and Rebecca
Rushton. She was born September 13, 1845 Ramer, Montgomery, AL and died July
24, 1924 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas
Margaret
“Maggie” Jane Williams was born June 1,
1868 Vidette, Crenshaw, Alabama and died May 19, 1909 Avinger, Cass, Texas. She
married 8 November 1893 Thomas W. “Tom” Williams (1870-1943 Hughes Springs,
Texas). They were married by W.F. Martin. Her Obituary was printed 25 May 1909-We are grieved to record the death
of Mrs. Margaret J. Williams which occurred on last Wednesday May 19. Remains
interred Hughes Springs Cemetery daughter of G.K. Williams. Tom Williams 1910
Census says he is 35 (1875) born in Texas and a widower. He’s boarding with
family of Isaac Burkhalter.
Elizabeth
“Bettie” Victoria Williams was born March 2, 1870 Vidette, Crenshaw, Alabama and died
June 24, 1954 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas. She married 1890 Thomas Cobb
Glover son of William Franklin Glover
and Sarah A. Smith (Born July 2, 1864-Died May 25, 1939) In 1910 Census family
is living next door to John S. Perser, Edgar L. Williams brother-in-law.
A. Clarence
Glover was born March 1891 Bear
Creek, Cass, Texas
B. Newton
Judon “Jude” Glover was born July 8, 1896 Avinger, Cass, Texas and died Nov
30, 1971. He was a WWI Veteran. He married Lillie Joyce (March 8, 1914-Jan 14,
1988). There were the parents of Franklin Delano Glover 1934-1988, Billy Gene
Glover, Barbara Jane Glover, Minnie E.
Glover, and Don Glover
C. Pauline
Glover was born Born October 1897 Avinger, Cass Texas
D. Loonie
Ward Glover was born August 30, 1902 and died Dec 6, 1976
E. Baby
Glover Tom Glover and wife rejoicing over advent of a sweet babe Sunday,
but the little one passed away Monday- Bear Creek. October 4, 1905
F. Bernice
Glover born 1914 “
Sarah
“Fannie” Williams
was born July 24, 1871 Vidette, Crenshaw, Alabama and died May 9, 1897 Hughes
Springs, Cass, Texas. She is buried in
Block 1 Lot 16 of Hughes Springs Cemetery. She married Charlie Collins son of
R.B. Collins born November 1868 and died March 14, 1907. His second wife was
named Emma. Next to her grave is a small grave containing a small iron marker
with lamb on it. Presumable this is a baby’s grave. In the 1910 Census these
two daughters are show as grandchildren of G.K. Williams and were being raised
by him.
A. Clyde
Collins (female) born 1894 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas
B. Louvinia
Collins born 1897 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas
Edgar
Lewis Williams
was born July 12, 1873, South Union, Titus, Texas and died July 16, 1935 Afton,
Dickens, Texas. He married January 14, 1894 Rosa Lee Perser in Carterville,
Cass Texas, daughter of William John Percer
and Martha Ann Carter. They were married by James Smith. .
A. Clarence
George Williams was born May 22, 1895 Avinger, Cass, Texas. He married
November 13, 1915 Lillie “Pearl” Callaway daughter of William A. Callaway and
Margaret Frances “Fannie” Hall. She was Born April 9, 1893 and her father was a
charter member of Hughes Springs First Baptist Church. It was first a two-story
log building. She died Lufton Texas. Their children were Theresa LaJuan
Williams, George Callaway Williams, Edgar
Lyon Williams, and Billy Gene Williams
B. Onie
Belle Williams was born February 5, 1897 Avinger, Cass, Texas and died Feb
7, 1988. She married John Oberlin Colberg. Their children were Doris Rose Colberg and Virgil Orin
Colberg 1920-1980 Hobart, OK
C. Austin
Edgar Williams was born January 30, 1899 Avinger, Cass, Texas. He died
March 18, 1960 in Columbus, Ohio. He was first
married to Ione Robertson whom he later divorced. He later remarried
Lorraine Junkins. Children by Ione Robertson were I. Glynton Williams 1926 -1936
and Billie Ware Williams. Children by Lorraine Junkins were Becky Williams and Eddy
Williams
D. Thurston
Lee “Joe” Williams was born November 8, 1900 Avinger, Cass, Texas. He died March 17, 1967 Empire, California. Joe
Williams as he was known married on December 21, 1922 Ruth Mims. After she died,
he remarried Jane Wylie. His
children were Joe Billy Williams, Truman Lee Williams, Bobbie Ruth Williams, Freddy
Wayne Williams, and Donald Williams
E. Louis
Milton “Boots” Williams was
born October 22, 1902 Avinger, Cass, Texas and died January 20, 1978 in Cherry
Hills, Riverside, California. He married 27 September 1921 Anne Ruth Danforth
(1902-1979). Their children were Oscar Louis Williams, Raymond Leonard “Ray”
Williams, Edgar Hugh Williams, Wallace Willard Williams, Minnie Lee Williams, Bonnie
Ruth Williams, and Milton Bradford Williams
F.
William Russell “Tab” Williams was Born December 9, 1904 Avinger, Cass,
Texas and died September 22, 1958 in Dickens County, Texas. He married Irene
Putnam. Their children were Mildred Williams, Francell Williams 1934-1998 wife
of Mr. Young.
G. Hattie
Lillian Williams was Born August 22, 1906 Avinger, Cass, Texas and died
December 11, 1923 in Upland, California giving birth to the son of Tom Chesney.
Her only child was Raymond Chesney born December 11, 1923 and was raised by his
aunt Onie Belle Colberg.
H. Horace
Vernon “Bunch” Williams was Born March 9, 1910 Linden, Cass, Texas and died
November 6, 1987, Afton, Texas. He married Edna “Anne” Gentry and had children,
Jerrie Ann Williams, and Tommie Ruth Williams
I. Hazel
Clyde Williams was Born July 22, 1912 Linden, Cass, Texas and died
September 10, 1956 Ashland, Nebraska. She had a son by Michael Maynor named
Michael Michael who was raised by his Aunt Jerry Smith
J. Elizabeth
Lorrene “Jerrie” Williams was Born April 13, 1915 Midway, Dickens, Texas and
died May 26, 2003 Dickens, Texas. She married Gail Smith June 1946. She raised her
nephew as her son Michael Smith.
K. Winnie
Morlene Williams was born February 14, 1917 Midway, Dickens, Texas and died
April 16, 2004 died San Dimas California. She is buried in Earth, Texas. She married
John Walker while pregnant with a son named Gene buried in earth. He was the
son of a New Mexico . Her other son was Kenneth Walker.
L. Nellie
Juanita Williams was born December 12, 1920 Afton, Dickens, Texas and married
Wayne Howell whom she later divorced. Her third husband was Art Czarapota and
her 3rd marriage was to Toy Dial. She
had one child Darlyn Howell.
George
Myles Williams
was born January 28, 1875 South Union Community, Titus, Texas and died October
1, 1935. He married August 21, 1894 Nora Estelle Nelson daughter of George
Washington Nelson and Martha Goodson. She was born March 3, 1978 Livelys
Chapels crossroads, Cass, Texas . As a
lad it was necessary that young George work to help support the family, so he
did not attend school regularly. Most of his work and social life took him into
the Cass County area where he met and married what he called "the
prettiest girl in Cass County". She was Nora Estelle Nelson born while her
parents lived in the Livelys Chapel-Cross Roads area where her father was an
enterprising farmer, had a blacksmith shop and operated a sawmill where young
George Myles was working at the time. The first child born to George Myles and
Nora was a daughter born 21 August 1895, whose name was Lola Mae, but from
infancy to the present time was called "Bill". When she was almost
eight years old they moved "to town" where George Myles had built a
house on the north side of what is now East First Street in the 800 block,
across from where his parents lived. Eventually he and his father-in-law owned
the land East to North Pecan and on the North to School Drive and four houses
were built by them and occupied by the two families at various times. On 17
Dec. 1903 a son was born to the Williams family and his name was Esker Ray, but
better known as "Boots". George Edna was born July 27,1908 and Myles
Guinn on 1 Dec. 1911. He was called "Squirrelly" - and the name grew
up with him. George Myles was working at T.B. Keasler Co. most of this time,
and later he worked at a cotton gin. George Myles engaged in the lumber
business and street and road construction and he and E.B. "Cap"
Phillips had a partnership for a number of years. Williams built the rock
filling station at the corner of East First and N. Pecan Streets in the 1920's.
It was built of native rock and became a landmark. It was regrettably removed
in the 1970's. George was civic minded and served on the School Board and City
Council. He encouraged his children to attend school and to take part in
worthwhile activities. "Squirly" played Clarinet in the first band
that was organized in Hughes Springs. Lola Mae “Bill” married Ernest “Judge”
Traylor after he returned from during World War I and finished his degree in
Pharmacy in Baylor School of Pharmacy in Dallas. Their wedding was at the
Williams home 11 October 1919; their children were Ernestelle, Charles Norman
and Billy Merrill. "Judge" died 23 Dec. 1929 and was buried in Hughes
Springs Cemetery. Esker Ray married Maggie McLeary on 23 Dec. 1928. They moved
to Rayville La. and later moved to Monroe. They had two children, Gene and
Bobby. Bobby died at age 10 and was buried in W. Monroe Cemetery. George Edna
graduated from C.I. A. now Texas Women’s University in 1931 and in 1968 retired
from a teaching career that spanned 29 years. She was married to Burgess Henry
Hooton 11 June 1939, Burgess died 16 May 1968, and was buried in Hughes Springs
Cemetery. Horace Samuel Wallace, Sr. of Austin and George Edna were married 23 Jan.
1983. They live in Austin and Hughes Springs. Myles Guinn was born1 Dec. 1911,
and was married to Willsie Kathleen McCain of Daingerfield 3 Aug. 1933. They
had three sons, Ronald Guinn, Michael Kent and Jack Alan. Jack died 1 May 1974.
They live in Tyler, Texas. George Myles and Nora were devoted members of the
First Baptist Church where he was a deacon. He belonged to the Masonic Lodge
and they both were members of the Order of the Eastern Star. As soon as
"Bill" and George Edna were eighteen, they also joined the O.E.S. and
have been members for over 50 years.
Informant: George E. Hooton Wallace
A.
Lola Mae “Bill” Williams was born August 21, 1895 and married October 11,
1919 George Ernest Traylor. He died December 1929. Her children were Ernestelle
Traylor, Charles Norman Traylor 1922 -1969 and Billy Merrill Traylor
B. Esker
Ray “Boots” Williams was born December 17, 1903 and died July 8, 1990. He married
December 23, 1927 Maggie McLeary. They moved to Monroe, LA. They had Juan Jean
Williams, Gene W. Williams 1936 -2002, Bobby Williams died at age 10
C. George
Edna Williams was born July 27, 1908 and married June 11, 1939 Burgess
Henry Hooton son of John David Hooton and Luella Shumate . He was born Dec 28,
1908 in Hughes Springs and died there May 16, 1968 and she remarried January
23, 1983 to Horace Samuel Wallace Sr. George Edna graduated from Denton’s Texas
Women University in 1931 and taught school for 29 years. Her children were
Judith “Alison” Hooton,
D. Myles
Guinn “Squirly” Williams was born 1 December 1911 and married Wllsie
Kathleen McCain on 3 August 1939. They had Ronald Guinn, Michael Kent and Jack
Alan
Anna
Williams
was born November 5, 1876 South Union, Morris, Texas and died September 7, 1881
South Union, Morris, Texas at the age of 5
Hattie
Williams
was born November 5, 1876 South Union, Morris, Texas and died September 27,
1955 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas. She is buried in Block 3 Lot 7 of the Hughes
Springs Cemetery. She married Riley Frederick Smith born July 1869 and died Nov
14, 1928.
A. Clifton
Smith born October 3, 1895 died Oct 1968 Haltom City, Texas
B. Gladys
Smith
C. Preston
Williams Smith born Feb 24, 1900 died March 3, 1939
D.
Fred Smith born December 5, 1902 died March 1973 Hughes Springs
E. Claudine
Smith born Aug 6, 1904 died July 30, 1905
F. Genie
Belle Smith
Mattie Eva Rushton “Rus” Williams was born
April 25, 1878 South Union Community, Morris, Texas and died January 25, 1941
Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas. She is buried in block 5 Lot 9 in the Hughes
Springs Cemetery. She married November
3, 1895 Rufus “Ruf” Lafayette Fite on her parents 70th anniversary. Rufe Fite was the son of Joseph Fite and
Sarah Permelia Goodson and was born March 29, 1871. He died August 2, 1944. She
was the mother of twelve children.
A. Hattie
Oreeta Fite was born August 1 1896 and died November 30, 1970. Oreeta Fite
married Feb 1, 1914 Thomas Floyd Glover. He died Jan 28, 1951 age 63. Their
children were Thomas Floyd Glover Jr. 1914-1916, Auvis Vernon Glover 1916-1918, Marye Jim Glover 1920-1990, Mattie Don Glover 1923-2003
wife of H.J. Shaid, Frances Floydine Glover 1925-2001 wife of Don Tittle, Lilly
Maurine Glover wife of Bill Proctor Nelson, Willie Loreta Glover wife of Calvin
C. Hodges, James Morgan Glover husband of Rosanna Keys, Rebecca Jacqueline
Glover wife of Andy Beakey Jr. and Bob Jones
B. Odis
Willard Fite was Born 27 Sep 1897 died May 27, 1966 Hughes Springs, Cass,
Texas. He married Minnie Wallace. Their children were Odis Willard Fite Jr. and
Wallace Elwin Fite
C. Lawrence
Weldon Fite was Born September 4, 1899 and Died October 1979 Madisonville,
Texas. He married Frances Steel January 18, 1935. Their children were James
Richard Fite husband of Wilma Gilbert and David Lawrence Fite husband of Diane
Suther
D. Perry
White Fite was Born January 30, 1902 Hughes Springs and died 15 Jan 1988
Dallas, Texas married May 31, 1929 Florence Jane Gregg. He was a High School
Football coach in Cass County for many years.
E. Katie
Louis Fite was born June 2, 1904 and died March 27, 1969. She married Sam
Hull
F. Audrey
Mae “Lillie Bell” Fites was born October 30, 1906 and died August 16, 1983.
She married Delbert Clark
G. Horace
Orvie Fite was born July 6, 1909 and died February 23, 1969. He married
Gladene Hull
H. Frances
Maurine “Peg” Fite was born Feb 20, 1913 and died March 13, 1999. She married
Charlie Morris Lee
I. Baby
Boy Fite was born October 5, 1915 died November 29, 1915
J. Rufus
Lafayette “R.L.” Fite Jr. was born May 18 1917 and died May 3, 1994 New
Braunsfels, Texas. He was married by his grandfather Rev. G. K. Williams
October 11, 1941. This may have been G.K.’s last wedding ceremony since he died
two months later age 94 years. R.L.
married Mary Frances Davis. He was a schoolteacher and principal. Their child was James Howard Fite born June 25, 1951 husband
of Kathy Evans
K. George
Kearse Fite was born May 16, 1921 and died May 17, 1966. he married
December 24, 1947 Oreeta Nelson. He was a school teacher and principal in Cass
County for many years. His son George Kearse “G.K.” Fite Jr. was husband of Pamela
Penn.
L. Jack
Rustin Fite was born June 24, 1924 and died October 13, 2003 Hughes
Springs. He married July 7, 1947
Johnnyrea Luker. He worked for the
National Weather Service for many years. His children were Gay Beth Fite, Jack Rustin Fite Jr. husband of Mary
Churchwell, and William Gregg Fite
Mary
Ellen Williams was
born May 4, 1881 South Union, Morris, Texas and died June 30, 1916 Hughes
Springs, Cass, Texas. She married
December 25, 1911 William Bedford “Cap” Harris. They were married by
Rev. S.G. Echols. Cap Harris was born
November 28, 1883 and Died November 3, 1950. His 2nd wife was Vivian Hulan
Surratt. The 1910 Census shows that Mary Williams was living with her parents
unmarried and working as a seamstress. Her only child was William Bedford
“Buck” Harris Jr. 1912-1964
Katy
Belle Williams
was born March 24, 1883 South Union, Morris, Texas and died March 16, 1976
Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas. She married William L. Parker February 2, 1898 by
C.A. Earp Justice of The Peace. Her children were Mary O. Parker, Morris S.
Parker, Leone Parker 1904-1920, Maude Mae Parker, and Willie Belle Parker.
Lula
May Williams
was born September 11, 1886 South Union Community, Morris, Texas and died July
22, 1930 Hughes Springs, Cass, Texas. She is buried in Block 3 Lot 8 on the
other side of her father G.K. Williams. She married Leonard Weldon “Bud”
Neville November 3, 1902 the 77th anniversary of Rev. Green and Hattie Williams
marriage. They were Married by T.C. Ayers. Leonard Wesley “Bud” Neville was born in1882 and died 1954. Their children
were Lorene Neville 1903-1992, and George
Kearse Neville 1907- 1966 husband of Maggie Ora Morgan,
Leonard
Ferman Williams
was born January 10, 1889 South Union, Morris, Texas and
died October 25, 1915 Hughes Springs, Cass,
Texas. On 5 January 1908 he married Vera Reeder daughter of Berry Reeder and
Elizabeth Ann Bearden. She was born November 24, 1889 Lasseter, Cass, Texas and
died September 27, 1964 in Amarillo, Potter, Texas. After the death of her
husband she moved to Plainview, Texas. They are buried in Block 3 Lot 9 with
G.K. Williams and Shelomith. In 1910
Leonard was working in a lumber camp and Vera was running a boarding house.
Their children were Mary L. Williams
1909-1911 and Myrtis Williams.
