The Williams Families of Butler County, Ohio

ISRAEL WILLIAMS. In the brief and imperfect outline we are able to give in this sketch of the personal history of one of the oldest living representatives of the Butler County Bar, we can do little more than merely glance at some of the principal events with which he has been connected during his long and useful career as an attorney, patriot and citizen. Rising through his own unaided efforts from a humble position in youth to a place of honor and distinction among men, his life and character present a useful lesson to the youth of this generation, and add another striking illustration of the power and force of determined purpose and perseverance.

This influential citizen of Hamilton is one of Ohio’s native-born sons. His birth occurred in Montgomery County, August 24, 1827, to the union of William and Mary (Marker) Williams, the former a native of Bedford County, Pa., and the latter a native of Frederick County, Md. In the family there were three sons and six daughters. The sons, Israel, George (of Hamilton, Ohio) and Raymond (of Whitley County, Ind. still survive, but only one daughter is living, Mary Ann, wife of Samuel Briggs, of St. Paris, Champaign County, Ohio.

In the year 1816 William Williams came to Ohio and settled in Montgomery County. When about thirty years of age he removed from there to Champaign County, which he made his home until his death in 1872, at the age of sixty-nine years. Throughout his entire life he engaged in farming, and in addition thereto occasional held public positions. His wife survived him about three years, dying in 1875, when sixty-eight years old. They were a worthy couple and devoted members of the English Lutheran Church.

Israel Williams, Sr., our subject’s grandfather, was born in York County, Pa., of Welsh parentage, and by trade was a blacksmith. In 1816, accompanied by his family, he boarded a flatboat at Johnstown, Pa., and came down the Ohio to Cincinnati, from which place he proceeded to Montgomery County and afterwards to Champaign County. Establishing his permanent home there, he continued to reside in that county until his death, at the age of eighty-four. He and his wife reared a family of ten children. The maternal grandfather of our subject, George Marker, was born in Maryland and was a wagon-maker by trade, though he also engaged in farming for many years. About 1825 he came to Ohio and became a resident of Montgomery County, where he died, aged seventy-seven ears.

The most of his time until eighteen years of age our subject spent in Champaign County, after which he practically made Montgomery County his home until he came to Hamilton in 1856. After gaining the rudiments of his education in the district schools he entered Granville College (now known as Denison University and later was a student in Farmers’ (now Belmont) College, from which institution he was graduated in 1853. He then began the study of law in the office of Gunckel & Strong, of Dayton, and conducted his reading under their tutelage until March, 1855, when he was admitted to the Bar at Cincinnati, upon the completion of a course of study and graduation from the Cincinnati Law School. From Ohio he went to Washington, D. C., where he was employed seven months, and later went to Des Moines, Iowa, remaining in that city six months. In 1856 he came to Hamilton, and since then has occupied the same office, giving his attention to the management of his large practice.

Mr. Williams was a Democrat previous to the late war, but with the firing on Ft. Sumter his party adhesion was changed and he gave a hearty support to the government of Abraham Lincoln. To strengthen the Union cause he purchased, in conjunction with Frederick Egry, the Telegraph, the Democratic organ of this county, October 24, 1861, and shortly afterwards merged the Hamilton Intelligencer with it, which paper they also purchased. During their management the paper gave no uncertain sound. It upheld the Union and the prosecution of the war. On the 12th of March, 1863, Mr, Williams disposed of his interest in the newspaper enterprise to Capt. John C. Lewis. Through the entire period he was a member and Secretary of the Military Committee of Butler County. His associate members on the committee were the Hon. N. C. McFarland, Judge Alexander F. Hume, May. John M. Millikin and Henry Beardsley. The duties of the committee were varied and very useful. In all matters of recruiting soldiers and selecting officers they were in intimate relation with Governors Tod and Brough, and the committee was no less useful in providing measures for support of the families of the patriotic soldiers in the military service from this county. His support has ever been given to measures tending to the development of the place and the enhancement of its prosperity. He was largely instrumental in securing the present cheap gas supply for Hamilton and in effecting the city ownership of the water and gas works, which was accomplished about 1879.

On the 9th of January, 1860, Mr. Williams was united in marriage with Miss Maggie, daughter of John and Mary (Norman) Wakefield, natives respectively of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Mrs. Williams was born May 27, 1838, and is well known in the social circles of this place, and is an active member of the Presbyterian Church. Of the live children born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, we note the following: JCel la died in infancy; Mary married Frank G. Warden, of Newark, Ohio; Stella is the wife of J. Volney Gilbert, of Muncie, Ind.; Nina is the wife of Thomas L. Tincher, now a resident of Asheville, N. C.; and John W., the only son, is in the employ of the E. B. Rodgers Furniture Company, of Hamilton.

Nature has bestowed upon Mr. Williams a vigorous mind. He has been quick to see an emergency, and equally quick to devise means of overcoming it. His energy is one of the most noticeable traits of his character. His habits of prompt decision have made him a man of earnest and decided convictions, and both by nature and training he is admirably adapted for the successful discharge of every duty that his profession may bring to him.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

NELSON WILLIAMS, one of the foremost and most able members of the Bar of Butler County, resides in Hamilton. His native endowments and broad culture have admirably qualified him for the successful practice of his chosen profession. From the time he began his legal readings until the present he has steadily progressed m the study of law, and has attained the distinction of being one of the safest and soundest counselors of the Hamilton Bar. In addition to his general practice, he accepted in 1882 the position of attorney for the Provident Life and Trust Company, of Philadelphia, and since 1887 he has had full charge of their legal business in Ohio.

George and Margaret (McKinlejO Williams, the parents of our subject, were born in Ohio, and were here married. The father, who for many years was the proprietor of a sawmill and mercantile establishment, removed from the Buckeye State to Nebraska, after which he spent two years in Whitley County, Ind. About 1882 he came to Hamilton, where he is now agent for the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. During the late war he entered the army for the one hundred days’ service, and at the expiration of that time was honorably discharged. With his wife, he holds membership in the Universalist Church.

The paternal grandfather of our subject, William Williams, spent his entire life as a miller of the soil, and at an advanced age died near St.

Paris, Ohio. Our subject’s maternal grandfather, William McKinley, also a farmer by occupation, was a resident of Champaign County, Ohio, where he died in the prime of manhood.

The family of which our subject is a member consisted of six children, of whom five are living, namely: Nelson, who was born in St. Paris, Champaign County, Ohio, March 23, 1853; Alice, wife of Eli Waer; Sherman; Lillie, who married Rev. H. M. Egolf, of Bloomfield, Ind.; and William S. The deceased sister was named Emma. Nelson was reared in Champaign County until thirteen years old, when he accompanied his parents to Conover, Miami County. There he attended a graded school, after which he engaged in teaching for a period of three mars. It had been his ambition to become an attorney, and in the pursuit of this desire he came to Hamilton in March, of 1874, and began the study of law in the office of Israel Williams. Admitted to the Bar in April, 1876, he remained with his former preceptor until 1881, when, in July, he began practicing alone, and has since carried on a large practice in the various courts of this city and county.

The marriage of Mr. Williams, October 21, 1880, united him with a lady of culture and refinement, who is an active member of the Trinity Episcopal Church, and with her husband stands high in the best circles of the city. She was Miss Susannah Mallory, daughter of Dr. Henry and Ann M. (Rider) Mallory, of this city. Socially Mr. Williams is identified with hut one secret order — that of Freemasonry. He became a member of this order in 1886, and within a year held membership in all York Rite bodies. He soon became proficient in the esoteric work of Symbolic Freemasonry, and was elected and served two years as Worshipful Master of Washington Lodge No. 17, F. & A. M., of Hamilton. While occupying this office, he was appointed Assistant to the District Lecturer, and for the last two years he has been the District Lecturer of the Second Lecture District of the state. In Capitular, Cryptic and Chivalric Freema.sorry he has been no less active. He is the present High Priest of Hamilton Chapter No. 21, R. A. M., and the present Thrice Illustrious Master of Hamilton Council No. 19,

R. & S. M. He is also Generalissimo of Hamilton Commandery No. 41, K. T., and at the coming election will undoubtedly be elected Eminent Commander. He is the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Ohio, and is the Conductor in the State Council of High Priests. He is also a member of Dayton Valley and Ohio Consistories of the A. and A. Scottish Rite, and of Syrian Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Cincinnati, in which latter order he has recently won much distinction as the author of “The Daughters of the Nile.”

As a Republican. Mr. Williams is actively connected with the public affairs of the city and county. For several years he has been Executive Committeeman of the Ohio Republican League, and is one of the Managing Directors and Secretary of the Republican Publishing Company. He is a man of versatile ability, and while excelling as a lawyer has also gained a wide reputation as a poet. His writings have been extensively copied by the press, and are of the rhythmic and mellifluous character that is universally admired. In this connection we are pleased to present to our readers the following poem written by Mr. Williams:

The Poetry of Masonry.

The poetry of Masonry, like some sweet scented flower,

Spreads fragrance over all that grows within its sacred bower.

The lily may most perfect be, and so the blushing rose;

The honeysuckle beautify the spot wherein it grows.

The violet may raise its head toward a friendly sky,

And apple blossoms may appease the cravings of the eye;

But what would all these (lowers be to either you or me,

If they did not sweet fragrance shed to all humanity ?

Our landmarks may remain unchanged through all the years to come,

Our lights and jewels be displayed as in the years gone;

The emblems we delineate on Master’s carpets here

May still remain when each of us has left this earthly sphere.

The symbols of our noble craft, so beautiful to see,

May please the eye of brethren who shall follow 3’ou and me;

But none will ever comprehend the lessons they i m part,

Until they learn the poetry of Masonry by heart.

The poetry of Masonry is that which beautifies

And brings to clearer view the truths our emblems symbolize.

It is not always found in rhyme nor yet in metered prose;

It sometimes happens that a word its beauty may disclose.

Our one great light, which shines so bright upon our altars here,

Our lambskin aprons pure and white, to every Mason dear,

Our letter G, which all may see above the Master’s chair,

All tell in sweetest poetry of God’s protecting care.

The poetry of Masonry is that true harmony

Which should prevail amongst the craft where’er dispersed they be.

It looks beyond the words and forms to something grander still;

It fills the heart with charity and brotherly good will.

It is that halo which surrounds a noble work well done,

Which takes our choicest sentiments and blends them into one;

That one the grandest, most sublime, the trust of the true:

Do unto others as you would that they should do to you.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

EVERT E. WILLIAMS.

The profession of law has an able and successful representative in the person of Mr. Williams, who is engaged in the practice of the same in the village of Oxford and who has gained prestige at the bar of the county and state. Mr. Williams is a native of Preble county, Ohio, where lie was born on the 26th of September, 1867, being a son of John and Caroline (Jordan) Williams, both of whom have ever maintained their home In that county, being representatives of sterling pioneer families of this section of the Buckeye state. The paternal grandfather of our subject was of Welsh extraction and came to Ohio from central Pennsylvania, while the material ancestry is of German extraction. The father of our subject has always been a farmer by vocation and he and his noble wife are held in the highest esteem in the county in which they have passed their entire lives. To them have been born three children: Orion, who died at the age of two years; Viola E., who still remains at the parental home, and Everet E., who is the immediate subject of this sketch.

Evert E. Williams was reared to the sturdy discipline of the homestead farm,

36° and his early educational advantages were such as were afforded in the district schools, which he attended during the winter months, while he assisted in the work of the farm during the summer seasons. His ambition for a more liberal education was quickened and he was known as a most earnest student in his boyhood days, while the advancement which he made may be understood when we state that when he was but sixteen years of age he secured a license to teach. He, however, realized the expediency of continuing his studies, and he thus walked four and one-half miles each morning and night to arid from his home, to attend the high school at West Alexandria. In the fall of 1883 he began teaching in the district schools of his native county, and continued to follow the pedagogic profession until 1885, when he was matriculated in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware,, where he continued his studies for several years. In the fall of 1892 Mr. Williams entered the law office of Judge Elam Fisher and Edwin P. Vaughan, who were associated in practice in Eaton, Ohio, with whom he continued his technical reading during the spring and summer months, teaching during the winter terms, and in the fall of 1893 he passed an examination which entitled him to enter the Cincinnati Law School as a member of its senior class, so that he was enabled to be graduated in that well-known institution as a member of the class of 1894. Therefore he remained with his former preceptors, in Eaton, Ohio, until the ist of January, 1896, when he established himself in practice at Hamilton, Ohio, where he remained until the following November, when he came to Oxford and entered into a professional partnership with

W. J. Rusk, who passed the greater portion of the ensuing year in Texas, for the benefit of his health, the entire business of the firm thus devolving upon Mr. Williams, who purchased his partners interest in the practice in the fall of 1897, since which time he has conducted an individual business here, gaining precedence as an able and discriminating trial lawyer and safe and conservative counsel, while his success has been gratifying and his clientage of representative character. Mr. Williams has been the builder of the ladder upon which he has risen and his course has been such as to retain to him at all times the respect and confidence of those with whom he has come in contact. He is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party but has not been active in its work, preferring to devote his entire attention to his profession. He is a Knight of Pythias and a Freemason, and both he and his wife are members of the American - Reformed and Lutheran churches, respectively.

On the 23d of October, 1898, Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Sclilingman, of West Alexander, Preble county, where she was born and reared, and they have one son, Charles A., who was born on the nth of July, 1900.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.