The Williams Families of Crawford County, Ohio

JOHN F. WILLIAMS, deceased. He was the progenitor of the Williams families in this section. He was born in Lebanon Co., Penn., and was brought up to farm life. When about of mature age, he was united in wedlock with one Elizabeth Flora; they moved from their native place to Belmont Co., Ohio, at a date which can not be accurately ascertained, but about the year 1806 they located near Steubenville, and enjoyed their new home about five years, when Mrs. Williams was taken from the family by death. leaving five children, viz., Frederick. Catharine, Isaac, Susan and Elizabeth. At this time he had a brother-in-law living in Stark Co., and, after disposing of his effects, he repaired to Stark Co. with his five children, and leaving them in charge of his relative, he returned to his native place in Pennsylvania, and there he married Elizabeth Gartie, and, having spent about a year on his visit, he returned with his young bride to where his children were, arriving in 1818. During his unsettled condition and his removals to and from Ohio, he escaped the draft, which would, in all probability, have drawn him into the war of 1812. He was in very poor financial circumstances, and was unable to enter the amount of land specified by law, but bought 60 acres of his brother-in-law, which he improved, and, by his unceasing industry and the enhancement in value of the property, he got to be in easy circumstances. In the course of time there were born to him, in Stark Co., by his second marriage, five children, viz., Thomas, George, Joseph, Mary A. and Jacob, three of whom are now aged and respected citizens of this county. An earnest feeling was pervading in the family as to finding a more suitable agricultural location, where farms might be secured for his growing family. Thus prompted, one of his elder sons. Isaac, made a tour of inspection, and purchased, in 1828, 160 acres near Bucyrus, in Holmes Township. He returned with a description of this locality, which induced Mr. Williams to come here with his family. They started in the spring of 1829, with a two-horse team and wagon, driving a few cattle along. When they arrived at Spring Mills. Richland Co., the family stopped there and Mr. Williams came on here and bought 80 acres in Liberty Township, where his son Jacob now resides. He then went back to Spring Mills and moved the family there. During his absence the oldest boy. Thomas, helped in the harvest at Spring Mills, reaping with a hand sickle. When they came to GaUon, they found the country so soft and impassable that it was necessary to hire a team to hitch on and help them through here. Elizabeth, the youngest child of his first wife, was the only one of hers who came at that time. She died shortly after their settlement here. But Isaac and his wife soon followed, to the location he had purchased when out here in 1828. Susan married Benjamin Gants and remained in Stark Co., where she lives to this day. Catharine married Leonard Slowin and moved to Wood Co., and is still living. Frederick came here and bought considerable land in Holmes Township, and built a saw-mill, which was not a success on account of want of water sufficient to run at all seasons, and when a dam was built, at a heavy expense, failed to serve the purpose, continually breaking because of quicksand surroundings. Exhausting much of his means, and becoming discouraged, he started for California with the first tide of emigration to that State, leaving here his wife and four children, with the hope of returning in the early future with a repleted fortune; but he never returned, and many years since died. In Decembei-, 1836, death again visited the family of Mr. Williams, this time summoning the loving wife and devoted mother. He married a third wife — Elizabeth Fox. widow of Michael Fox, late of Seneca Co. She had two children by Mr. Fox, but left no heirs by Mr. Williams. The children by his second wife we will make mention of elsewhere, except George, who will come in this connection. He lived at home until about 18 years old. when he went to sail on the lakes with Capt. Cobb. More than twenty years of his life were spent on the lakes; ten years of that time he was Captain of a steamer plying between Buffalo, N. Y., and Chicago, Ill., and intermediate points. He died in Buffalo. N. Y.. (his home for years), in 1866. Mary Ann married Josiah Jackson; they moved to Iowa, where she died. Thomas, Joseph and Jacob are still here, and spoken of, with their families, in the following sketches. Mr. Williams was living on the old homestead with his son Jacob, when his final dissolution came. His widow went back to her children by Mr. Fox.

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

THOMAS WILLIAMS, farmer; P. 0. Bucyrus; is the eldest child of John F. Williams' second marriage; was born in Stark Co., Ohio, Feb. 16, 1814. He lived with his father until of age, working on the farm, and being of a mechanical turn of mind, and genius of that kind being in demand, he took up the boot and shoe making trade, without ever spending an hour as an apprentice. By doing jobs of repairing for themselves and others, he soon acquired a knowledge of the business that enabled him to do any kind of work, doing a great portion of all that the early settlers of their vicinity required, not because he ever expected to make a lifetime business of it, but more for the accommodation of their own family and neighbors. In 1833. he married Sarah Shafl- stall. She was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., Jan. 25, 1816, and came here with her father's (Solomon Shaflstall) family in 1832. Mr. Williams had got 8(1 acres of his father, which was all in wood. He set about improving it. but his health failed him the first year, which interfered seriously- with further progress on his farm. The following year he regained his health and worked tor his brother in the summer, at the building of a mill in Holmes Township, at $10 per month. At this time they lived near the mill-site, and boarded the hands employed at its construction. In 1832, he had the logs cut and hewed to build a house, doing all the work himself and after the completion of his work on the mill, he returned to his farm, five acres of which he had succeeded in clearing. He then set about making general improvements on his place, working hard both early and late. The old log building which he first erected stands on the premises to this day. The nails which he put on the roof with, cost him 10 cents per pound, which he paid for with maple sugar, made by himself and wife; that was tlicir residence from 1832 until 186(1. In 1838, Mr, Williams worked some time at the construction of the Erie & Wabash Canal, near Defiance, and lost no opportunity in those early days to do whatever kind of work presented itself, whether considered hard or light, and all with the intent of securing an independent home, which now he so fully enjoy-s. Besides giving his children a good start, he owns 160 acres of good land. They had eleven children, viz., Almira, wife of George Seits; Henrv, whose sketch appears here; William, deceased; p]iiza)ieth, was married to Edwin Ferrall.and died in May, 1879, leaving three children; Catharine, wife of Isaac Dial; Joshua, deceased, in his 25th year; Laura, wife of John Davidson; Harrison, married Frances Slocum; Mary, wife of Joseph Hill; Amelia, wife of Jacob Payne; Emma, wife of Lawrence Sponsellcr. Those living are all married and doing for themselves, and Mr. and Mrs. Williams are spending their later years enjoying the fruits of their early industry.

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

JOSEPH WILLIAMS, farmer: P. 0. Sulphur Springs; is a son of John F. and Elizabeth Williams. He was born in Stark Co.. Ohio, March 4, 1819. Mr. Williams had but a poor opportunity of obtaining an education, consequently his schooling was very limited. His early pursuits were those of the farm, as they" have always been. He has been twice married, first to Catharine Nigh. She was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., July 1(5, 1816. Shortly after their marriage, they settled on 20 acres, which he owned along the creek, and lived there about two years. He then sold that and worked a rented farm for three years. Having saved a little money by that time, he purchased 80 acres (for which he paid $800) lying about two miles east. They lived there two years, when he sold out and purchased 138 acres, where he now lives, which is well improved. In 1877, he built the fine two-storjframe dwelling which adorns the premises, at considerable cost. Mrs. Williams died in October, 1878. They were parents of nine children, four of whom are living, viz., Eliza, now Mrs. John Rush; Amanda, now Mrs. John Schaal; Lovina, now Mrs. George Schieber, and Matilda, now Mrs. J. J. McBride. Mr. Williams married his second wife. Polly Miller, Feb. 19, 1880. She was born in this county, March 5, 1837, and is a daughter of Jonathan Miller, who came to this countjat an early date. She was the widow of the late Hon. John Welch, of Wyandot Co. He was among the first settlers there, and served about eight years in the Legislature from that county-. She was married to him Feb. 18, 1858. He died Dec. 9, 1859, leaving one child — Wesley E. Mr. Williams was drafted into the late rebellion in October, 1862. He served in Co. L. loth Ohio Cavalry, eight months, without having encountered much of the hardship which was incident to that difficulty. He has been a man of remarkable constitution, as he has scarcely ever experienced sickness, even in the early settlement of this country, when malarial affections prevailed in every community, almost in every family- in the fall of the year, except an attack of scarlet fever, when he was quite young, which affected his hearing very seriously; but, as he advances in years, the organs of hearing become more sensitive and his hearing impi-oves. His sonic-law, J. J. McBride, farms the place, and has ever since he was married. That event occurred Jan. 8, 1873. They have three children, viz..

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

JACOB WILLIAMS, farmer and teacher; P. 0. Bucyrus; is the son of John F. and Elizabeth Williams, and was born in Stark Co., Ohio, March 23, 1823. His boyhood was spent on the farm, without many privileges of obtaining an education, much as he desired it. As he approached the age of manhood, he felt still more keenly the necessity of acquiring knowledge; and so he studied closely during the odd hours of leisure, and being naturally apt, soon acquired a fair amount of learning. In 1842, he taught school through the winter term, receiving $15 per month, each month comprising twenty-six days. The proceeds of that term were turned over to his father for necessary general purposes. The next winter, 1843-44, he went to school, that being the only term that he ever attended school as a pupil. The following winter he taught a school four miles west of Marion. The next term he taught in Holmes Township, and continued for three terms, where he taught his first term. Oct. 8, 1848. he married Catharine Hershberger; and soon afterward they moved to Holmes Township where he worked a rented farm in the summer and taught school during the winter for two years. At that time his father wished him to return and take charge of the old homestead, which he did in 1852, and in 1855, purchased the farm, and has lived here ever since. Although he then had the charge of a farm and family, he pursued his studies by night, kept up with the advance in that direction, and has taught school almost every winter; having taught fifteen terms in their own district. Mrs. Williams was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., June 8, 1829, her mother (Magdalene Eberly) died when she was about 11 years old. There were thirteen children of them; ten of whom grew to maturity, and came with their father to this State in 1847. He (Jacob Hershberger) now resides with Mr. and Mrs. Williams, at the advanced age of 85 ears. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are the parents of four children — Mary A. (deceased), John F., Sally J., now Mrs. Jefferson Correll, and George H. The latter has prepared himself for teaching, and taught his first term in Holmes Township, where his father first began. Mr. Williams owns a good farm of 121 acres of good land, which he has earned by his own tact and industry.

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

HENRY WILLIAMS, farmer, P. 0. Bucyrus; is the oldest son of Thomas Williams; he was born in this township Dec. 24, 1836, and worked on the farm with his parents until after he attained his majority. He united his fortunes with those of Elsie Cobb on March 19, 1859; she was born in this township May 17, 1838. In August. 1862, he enlisted in Co. C, 101st 0. V. I., and was rushed to the front immediately. The regiment which he was in suffered severely from the long and hurried march which they were obliged to make almost as soon as enlisted. Many of them had only been a few days drilling, and were green recruits, unused to every phase of warfare. Mr. Williams was in the engagement at Perryville, and at Edgefield Junction, Tenn.; he was taken sick and sent into hospital for some time, and was terribly afflicted with rheumatism, which disabled and reduced his otherwise strong frame to a mere shadow. He received his discharge from army duty in January, 1865. He is a sufferer from the effects of the disease contracted in the service, to this day for which he is worthily among the list of pensioners. While Mr. Williams was in the army, Mrs. Williams taught school, as she was well prepared for that vocation before they were married, and had taught school several years previous. From the date of his return from the army, they resided on his father's farm until 1872, when they removed to their present farm of 40 acres, where they live very comfortably They have only two children, viz., V. K. and Sadie M.; the former is attending school, with the intention of preparing himself for teaching. Mrs. Williams' parents were Henry and Sallie (Mitchell) Cobb; they had twelve children, ten of whom grew up to maturity. He died at Bucyrus Feb. 20, 1878, in his 73d year, his widow still surviving.

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

WILLIAM S. WILLIAMS, retired, Bucyrus; a son of Mordecai and Sarah (Smart) Williams, was born February 26, 1802, in Fairfield Co., Ohio, where he was brought up on a farm until he was twelve 3-ears old, when his parents removed to Richland Co. Only three or four families then lived in Monroe Township; in the fall of 1814 there were but a few roads and trails through the county. There he grew to manhood, farming, clearing land and improving it. Went to school but little, as there were no schools for a number of years, but studied at home. He was married Sept. 2, 1824, to Martha Cunningham, who was born at Beaver, Penn,, Dec. 15, 1802; nine children were the result of this union, five of whom are living — Sarah, died in infancy, Jane, now wife of Elbert Racy, of Henry Co.; Nancy died April 5, 1873, was the wife of Norman Tucker, a lawyer of Lima, Ohio; JIargaret, wife of Josiah Galbraith of Henry Co.; James, now of Bucyrus; Joseph, a farmer of Putnam Co.; William N., fell at the battle of Gettysburg, and is buried in the National Cemetery there; Thomas J., a farmer of this township; Isaac was wounded at Murfreesboro, and thrown into Libby Prison, and by an accident caused by the breaking of a bridge near there he was disabled and died at the National Home at Dayton, where he lies buried. His wife died March 12, 1868. and he married a second time, June 29, 1871, to Mrs. Mary J. Hight, of Bucyrus. Mr. Williams farmer in Richland Co., where he owned eighty acres of land, until 1854, handling timber in the meantime extensively. In September of this year, he moved his family to this township, where he bought thirty-seven acres with a sawmill on it; he now owns sixty-eight acres; he ran the saw-mill twelve years, during which time he sawed large lots of lumber. He retired from active life in January, 1879, and came to Bucyrus; although nearly 79 years old, he is very active and industrious, has always been a hard working man. At the age of 24 years, he united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he has ever since been a faithful member; has been an Elder of the church, and a member of the session, and has always taken an active interest in Sabbath schools. He was an Old- Line Whig, and, after the organization of the Republican party, has acted with it.

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

WILLIAM A. WILLIAMS, Superintendent of County Inflrmary Bucrus, was born Dec. 15, 1825, in Berks Co., Penn. The parents. Price and Ann (Hughes) Williams, were both natives of Pennsylvania, where they were raised, married, and resided until 1836, when they came to Crawford Co., Ohio, settling in Auburn Township. The father's occupation was charcoal burning, a business he followed quite extensively after his coming to Crawford Co., and until the advent of the railroads in the county. He also owned a farm, but his sons did nearly all the work upon this, as his time was occupied in charcoal-burning. William A. being the eldest son, on him devolved the responsibility of clearing and improving the farm. This gave him but little spare time, and his opportunities for obtaining an education were very limited. In early life, he manifested a strong liking for the rearing and training of horses, and, on reaching his majority, began in a small way to deal in horses. During his life, he has owned some of the best horses ever kept in Auburn Township, and has done much to improve the grade of farm horses in the county When 25 years of age, he purchased 80 acres of unimproved land, and began its improvement. In the late war, he served in Co. H, 123d 0. V. I., from August, 1862, to August, 1864. At the battle of Winchester, Va., he was taken prisoner, and for eight months endured all the hardships incident to prison life in the historical Libby Prison of Richmond, Va. He was one of the men who planned and successfully established a tunnel, through which 104 men escaped from Libby Prison. After his escape, he rejoined his company, of which he-was Second Lieutenant, although during the year of 1864, he had charge of Co. H, and, from the time of his escape to his discharge, he had command of that company. After his return home, he devoted his time to farming and stock-growing. In 1877, he was appointed by the Infirmary Directors Superintendent of that institution. Mr. Williams possesses superior executive ability, and, under his skillful management, the Inflrmary has become almost self-supporting. During his residence in Auburn Township, he was honored with many positions of profit and trust. His marriage with Miss Rebecca J. Bleeks occurred Aug. 29, 1852. She was born in Medina Co., Ohio, Aug. 2, 1832. From this union there are three children — Allison, living; Emma and Oscar, deceased. Mr. Williams owns a nicely improved farm of 160 acres in Auburn Township, which he has obtained by his own exertions. He is a Democrat, politically, though liberal in his views.

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

G. WASHINGTON WILLIAMS.

Among the residents of Crestline who are identified with the railroad service is Mr. Williams, who is an engineer on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad. Numbered among Ohio's native sons, his life record began in Richland county on the 4th of August, 1843. His father, Joseph Williams, was also a native of Ohio and became one of the honored pioneers of Richland county, where his last days were spent. He married Rebecca Chew, who was born in Richland county, and there her demise also occurred. They were the parents of six children, but only three are now living.

G. W. Williams pursued his education in his native county, attending the district school near his home, and after he had become old enough to handle the plow he assisted in the work of the fields, becoming familiar with every department of farm labor. His time was thus occupied until he attained the age of eighteen years, when, the country having become involved in Civil war, he donned the blue as a defender of the Union, enlisting on the teth of October, 1861, as a member of Company E, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteers. The regiment was assigned to Sherman's brigade, and he served for three years, two months and nineteen days, during which time he participated in many hotly contested engagements, including the battles of Shiloh or Pittsburg- Landing, Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. I lis division, under command of General Thomas Wood, was the first to land on the top of the ridge. After the engagement at that place Mr. Williams was with the pioneer corps until mustered out of the service in 1864. On many a field of battle he had displayed marked bravery and loyalty, and with a most creditable military record he returned to his home in Lucas, Richland county, Ohio.

Not long afterward he assumed the position of brakeman on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and was thus employed for three years, after which he worked for a short time in the machine shops in Crestline. He next became fireman on the same road, devoting his energies to that task for thirteen months, when he became hostler in the roundhouse. After fifteen months he was promoted to the position of engineer, on the 23d of March, 1883, and since that date has been a regular engineer on the road. His service in the employ of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad has continued through thirty-five years, during which time he has met with but one accident, and that of a very unimportant character. Fidelity to duty, promptness and close application are qualities which are absolutely demanded by railroad corporations on the part of their employes, and that Mr. Williams is lacking in none of these particulars is plainly indicated by the fact that through more than a third of a century he has been retained in the service of one company.

On the 4th of June, 1866, was celebrated the marriage of our subject and Miss S. E. Travis, who was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Her father was a native of this country, but her mother was born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have become the parents of three children, of whom two are living, — Charles A. and Mrs. E. Moores. In his political affiliations Mr. Williams is a stanch Republican, giving an inflexible support to the principles of the party. Fie belongs to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and to the Grand Army of the Republic. In an analyzation of his character it is not difficult to determine that fidelity is one of his salient characteristics. It was manifest upon the held of battle, and has been continuously shown forth in his business career. Although he has lived a quiet and uneventful life, his history is one which has ever commanded respect and confidence, and as one of the reliable and representative citizens of Crawford county he well deserves mention in this volume.

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

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

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