The Williams DNA Project was established in January 2003 with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of all the various Williams lineages in the world. Hardly a family can say they don't have a Williams line in their ancestry. This project has proven very successful in helping many researchers prove and disprove their genealogies. Could it help you?
Latest News and DNA Results - 12 Aug 2013
Yes folks, the project is still alive! This past year has been the most difficult year of my adult life and because of that, I've really been off the radar this year. I've not stopped or given up the project...it's just a perfect example of how family has to take priority over everything else. I apologize for the disappearance but rest assured, I am back!
The project has become massive with well over 1,000 participants to date! Holy smokes!! It is taking me quite a bit of time to get all the information updated and I continue to work on it daily. Everyone really needs to join the Williams-DNA Rootsweb mailing list...that is my primary communication portal and I've been disseminating information to that list.
There are a number of issues with this website right now, most importantly the software I wrote to manage our results...it is currently broken...which means I haven't been able to add participants to our database nor been able to update the results table with the latest results. While I am working on these issues, I've turned on the results grid on the FTDNA website (http://www.familytreedna.com/public/WilliamsDNA/?iframe=ydnacolor) so that at least folks can see their matching information. There's a lot left to be desired with this particular results grid but it's certainly better than nothing as we work to identify what's broken in our code.
I am also interested in in any feedback that anyone may have regarding the format. Please let me know if this works or if you have an idea on how to improve it. Contact me at stickamw@earthlink.net. And again, if you are able, please consider donating to the fund.
Current Statistics:
Date of Last Update: 02 Jul 2013
Number of Participants: 923
Number of Unique Families: 236
Number of Matched Groups: 109
Number of Kits Not Yet Returned: 55
Legend:
In the table, there are a number of features. First, click on any of the
underlined participant or group names to access their pedigree information. Clicking on the underlined kit number
will allow you to email the owner of that kit! If there is a "Y" in the column entitled "Web",
it means that this participant has a website and you can access it by clicking on the "Y". The DYS numbers in
red are considered fast mutating markers. Finally, Haplogroups that have been confimed by SNP testing are in
bold green text.
Matched Group Results:
This first page of
information details the results for all of the projects matched groups. All of these groups have been
identified by carefuly analysis of all available data including, number of markers tested, number of
mismatches, which markers were mismatched and existing genealogies. Except in rare occasions, once a
matched group is identified, they are assigned a permanent group number and are referred to in the
future by that number.
Note to IE7 Users! - There is a known issue with using Internet Explorer v7 with the matched group
and no match group scrolling tables. I am working on getting a solution for this and during the interim,
you have a couple of possible options. First, these tables have been tested using other browsers and
works fine in IE6 and Firefox. The other is to use the printable results table. This works fine in the IE7
browser but doesn't have the scrolling table feature...it basically creates one very long page. I appreciate
you patience!! - adrian
Group 2 – Our family starts with an unkn Williams father and sons Isaac, John, Ambrose, James & Hardin. We are presently trying to connect Sherrod 1776 & Philip E. 1792 of Franklin County, TN & the unknown ancestors Davis 1764, James 1806 & Joseph 1829 of the South Carolina matching DNA participants.
Ambrose abt 1725 seems to be the most documentated with 8 generations, then James abt 1730. Philip "Buckspike" 1756 is part of this group.The family names Ambrose, Hardin, Philip, Sherrod & Davis seem to appear in each generation, several times. Sgt. Alvin York married into this Williams family.
* My Family Sherrod Williams site by invitation only*
Rootsweb DNA tree at:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=tenennesse
Group 3 - Thomas Barnes and Hannah (Pinson Williams circa abt 1790 South Carolina.
The participants in Group 3 descend from three different sons of Thomas Barnes and Hannah (Pinson) Williams. Thomas B. (sometimes known as Barney) was born in South Carolina abt 1790 and the first known records of him show up early in Laurens Co about 1813. In abt 1831 Thomas B., Hannah and their children emigrated to Carroll Co., GA. Many of the descendants stayed there but many spread on into Alabama, Mississippi and beyond. For more information see the following: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~devore/williams/williams1.htm
Group 5 is one of our most challenging groups to date. Not only are these participants blessed with the 3rd most common surname in the US, they also have one of the most common y-DNA signatures in the R1b Haplogroup. And, a couple of these participants have what is called the Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype. The Western Atlantic Modal Haplotype is THE most common Y-DNA signature of Europe?s most common Haplogroup, R1b. Simply put their ancestors have experienced a dramatic population explosion over the past 10,000 years and did more than their ?fair share? in populating Western Europe. Because they share both an incredibly common surname AND a very common Haplogroup, the 12-marker testing isn't sufficient in identifying matches. So, this is a sort of "holding area" for them until we have more information from either the 25 or 37 marker tests.
Group 6 The earliest ancestor for this group is an Unknown Williams. Two participants (Robert and Albert) to this Unknown Williams are descendants through son Nathanial b. 1794 NC; d. 1834 Monroe Co., MS. He married Lucy Mallory 3-9-1816 in Madison Co., AL-MS Territory. Lucy was the daughter of John and Lucy Southerland Mallory, b. 1798 GA; d. 1829 near Amory, Monroe Co., MS. North Carolina was also the earliest recorded record for participant (Joel) with his ancestor Joseph b. ca 1778, NC; d. Bet. 1860 and 1870, Fayette Co., AL; m. Rebecca Unknown b. ca 1780 NC; d. Bet. 1860 and 1870, Fayette Co., AL. Ron and James G. noted their earliest ancestors as born in GA. Ron has a recorded earliest ancestor Elisha b. 1809 MS; d. Abt. 1860 Polk Co., TX m. Martha Richard in TX. James G. reports James W. b. ca. 1824, GA; d. 30 Dec 1893, LA m. Elizabeth R. Baker. It is noted the migrations of these families were along the southern states and more points west such as TX, NM, and CA.
Group 7 has a couple of very interesting points. The strong marker matching confirms that the three are related. Also, there is a very rare 3-step mutation on a DYS 385b, however, the rest of the markers are right on (with the exception of DY b which is expected to be different.) Adrian's family migration path begins in Surry Co., VA with Roger Williams (1638) then to Bertie Co., NC then finally Chatham Co., NC. Documentation indicates that Walt's ancestor, Jeptha Williams (1775) also came from NC (his wife appears to be from Chatham) but no obvious documented match has been found yet. Jim's family lines hit a wall ca. 1777 in SC with their ancestor Theophilus Williams. The name Theophilus was primarily used by the Arthur & John Williams families who also immigrated to IOW & Surry Co.'s VA and who later moved to Bertie Co., NC. This group is actively looking for descendants from this family to see if there is a connection. Haskel appears to be tied to Walter's kin. Finally, the latest member of the group, Kenneth, is a documented descendant of the brother Adrian's 5th g-grandad. Interestingly, Kenneth doesn't have the same 3-step mutation on 385b that Adrian does, meaning that this mutation is fairly recent in Adrian's lineage only.
Group 8 - Oldest known ancestor of participants is Charles Williams d 1692 Charles City, VA; had sons William and Charles. At least five participants are known DNA descendants of his son William (d 1717 Prince George, VA) through his son Charles (d 1752 Brunswick, VA) and three of Charles's sons (Thomas d 1754 Brunswick VA, William d c 1805 and Jones d 1807, both in Rutherford NC). Two others in DNA Group 8 descend from William, b 1760 Ft Pitt PA but moved to VA in 1762; later to Bourbon, KY (1795) and Preble, OH, through son Absalom (d 1868 Madison, IN); no connector has been found to either of Charles d 1692's sons thus far. Others in DNA group show earliest ancestors born as early as 1763, 1772 and 1803 in parts of NC; 1776 and 1800 in VA; or 1818 in TN. Other participants' earliest descendants are as late as 1864 (KY) and 1856 (FL), with descendants in KS, TX, MO, IN, KY and GA. Brunswick Co. VA seems to be an important location for many of this group's ancestors. For complete trees, go to our blog at http://williamseekers.blogspot.com/. Group 8 Coordinator – Judith.
Group 9
This is based on the pedigrees submitted and the sharing of information within Group 9 to affirm connection to this Williams Family. The Most Common Ancestor in America is suspected to have been from the descendancy of John Williams who married Ann Whitley on Feb 21 1669 in IOW, Halifax County, VA.
John had eight sons: Theophius (b. 1689-90),– died early; John Junior (b. 1673), m. Margaret and/or Ann Jones (possibly other wives, one with surname Sanders) ; William (b ca 1676) m. Mary Moore; Thomas (b ca 1678) m. Susannah Crews; Jonathan (b. 24 Jan 1679), m. Unknown ; Nicholas H. (b 1687) m. Ann Lewis; and Capt. Richard Williams (b. well bef 1710- his marriage date) m. Sarah Daughtry (Daugherty or Daughtrey).
Some of the descendants migrated from VA to NC (Bertie and Chowan Counties, possibly Martin and Nash) and some to So. Carolina, with others going on to Tennessee. From there they scattered to MO, KY, LA, GA, AL, AK, IL and eventually to Texas and beyond.
There are many in this group that have documented early ancestors in America with some of the earliest as: Britton b. ca. 1741 SC d. 8 Apr 1781 and wife Elizabeth as well as William Micajai Williams b. ca 1740 and purportedly his father Capt. Micajai Williams being born in England in 1715. Another is Isaac b. ca. 1663 and d. ca 1707 in NC m. Martha (poss. Hodges). Additionally there is Elisha Williams b. 1746 (wife Sarah Josey) John b. 1781 and d. 1833 who m. Rachel England as well as Daniel Williams born ca 1790 and d. ca 1844 Haywood Co., NC m. Ellenor (Jenkins)
Of course expanding any or all members to a larger marker such as the 25-37can narrow the number of generations of relativity. One of our members is of African American descent and his family, though known only a few generations back, came from Natchez, Mississippi into Louisiana, just across the Mississippi. There are several members who have not submitted their pedigree as yet. Other members have known ancestors of later dates and are still in a state of discovery of their descendancy.
Group 10 This group has a strong marker match and confirms the three are related. The common ancestor continues to remain a mystery. The earliest known ancestor of this group is Paul’s James Williams b. 1575 in Wales, d. after 1600 in London, England. He married Alice Pemberton, b.1575 in Wales. They had two sons; Rodgers, b.1599 in Gwinsea, Cornwall, Wales, d. 1683, Providence, RI; and Daniel, b. about 1600. Paul has been on the lookout in North Carolina and has shown his ancestors were on the move from NC to parts of TN, and on to MO. The next earliest ancestor reported is Jim C’s Stephen Williams b. 1808, SC and d. 1897 in Meriwether Co. GA after moving there before 1845. He married Nancy E. Simpson and they had eight children. The most recent documented ancestor of this group is Jim H’s William L. (Will) Williams b. 1859, state unknown, and d. 1935, LA. He married Sarah J. Harris and they had five children. Five decades of Census records disagree on the state of birth for him and his father. His mother probably was born in AL. No obvious documented match in Group 10 has been found as yet. The families of the respective Jim's of this group have family lines that hit a wall ca. 1808 in SC and ca. 1859 in an unknown state respectively. To heighten the mystery, the DNA results of two "Bornefeld" surnamed men exactly match that of the two Jims.
Group 12's history. The paper trail of Scott Williams's line goes back to Caswell County, NC to a John Williams, Jr. b. 1777. On John's marriage bond (Jan 10, 1800), a Duke Williams is the co-signer. Marmaduke is a common given name among John's descendants. In the same vicinity, a Nathaniel Williams, Jr. has a family with two sons named John (b. 15 Aug 1777) and Marmaduke. Lewis L. Williams is a documented descendant of Joseph Williams (brother of Nathaniel Williams Jr). A 36 of 37 marker match cements a blood relationship, and provides additional support for Scott's ancestor John Williams, Jr. being a son of Nathaniel Williams, Jr. (Nathaniel had a brother, Col. John Williams, who did not have a son named John.) Lewis Lanier Williams' is a co-author of the book, Williams, "300 years of Leadership in America: A History of the Descendants of John Williams of Llangollen, Wales." Early members of this family include: Revolutionary War Brig Gen. James Williams; Colonels Joseph Williams; and John Williams. Gov. Robert Williams (Mississippi Territory); U.S. Senator John Sharp Williams; U.S. Senator John Williams (Colonel, War of 1812); and more recently, Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams (Poet and Playwright). This group is anxiously awaiting others to match to this clan.
Group 13 Of the lineage charts submitted the participants for this group have early ancestors recorded with no common earliest ancestor identified for the group of participants as yet. David (Edwin) b. ca 1720, VA; d. ca 1784, GA and the next earliest ancestors recorded by the participants include John Briggs (Diana for Thomas) b. Bef. 1790 Montgomery Co., NC; d. 11-2-1889 Tarrant Co., TX; Lewis (Jessie) b. 1765, VA followed by Absalom (Oscar, Jr.)b. 1776, VA; David (Bradley)b. 1796 NC; d. 1848 Yell Co., AR and John (Polly & Stephen) b. 1804, TN; d. Nov 1870, IN. Several within this group appear to be close relatives. One participant has participated in a published book on their lineage with a very active Williams Family Association (AL). Edwin (Boe) had been a tireless family historian as demonstrated with a legacy of records, documentation, published works, and a family association. This group has current participants that reflect origin in the VA and NC areas migrating along the southeast as the territories and lands opened to the south and west to GA, AR, LA, and TX. A second group took a more northern route to Indiana and parts further north and west.
Group 14 - Robert and Herman are descendants of William Williams (1774-1860), son of Frederick Williams of the 1790 Edgefield Co, SC, census. Frederick's neighborhood was divided by the Edgefield Co- Orangeburg Dist line (now Saluda-Lexington Co. line). William and Gerald of Group 14 are descendants of John Williams (1776-1836), whose father has not been identified. John (m. Anna Wells) was a brother-in-law of William (m. Martha Wells); Anna and Martha were daughters of Lewis Wells of Rocky Creek of Reedy River, Greenville Co., SC. William and Martha settled in Christian Co., KY. John and Anna settled in lower Greenville Co., SC. John's brother Samuel Williams of Greenville Co. (1770-1852) was father of West Allen Williams (ancestor of Olin of Group 14), who was the founder of Williamston, Anderson Co., SC. The ancestor of Preston and Thomas of Group 14 was Stephen Thomas Williams, father of Green B. Williams (1818-1890) who settled in Marion/Franklin Co., AL. Census records indicate Stephen traveled from SC to AL via TN. We are eager to discover how these related men were connected. Any help or new nuggets of information to will be appreciated!
Carole (for William), Group Leader.
Robert Williams was an early resident of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Some of his descendants are Samuel May Williams, who financed the Texas Revolution; William Williams, Signer of the Declaration of Independence; and John Williams, "Redeemed Captive" of the French and Indian raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704. Descendants in any line from Robert Williams of Roxbury are urged to join the surname project!
Our family is supposed to descend from a George Williams born 1620 in Pontypool Wales. Unless we find an earlier immigrant, Robert Williams born 1706 in Gloucestershire England, came to Virginia in 1730 will be our immigrant ancestor. This family moved to North Carolina, Tennessee and then Georgia.
Things have gotten VERY interesting for this group. I have added a new member to the group...Russell. However, he is not a Williams either by birth or on paper. His test (and ancestry for that matter) is via the Wright project. But, he and Joe H. are a complete 37/37 match. David is only a 2-step mutation from this match, which conclusively ties him into the fray. Further more, a couple of other Wright testers also match the grouping, though for simplicity sake, I have not included thim in this table. So the question that they are trying to solve at this point is: are the Williamses or Wrights? So far we have not established the 'event' and area yet. The event appears to predate Wilson C. Williams born about 1803, and was probably during the 1700s at the earliest, based on written records of everyone involved so far with the Wrights and the Williams.
Group 20 - Our group does not have a central line to follow. We are connected some time before 1790 and think our families passed through the Lincoln, Rutherford, Cleveland Counties of North Carolina after the American Revolution, probably came from Virginia. All the families moved on to different parts of Tennessee except for two; Jerry (#142126) and Lawrence (#56144). Jerry's family did not move to Tennessee, but stayed in Cleveland County, North Carolina and eventually to just across the state line in Laurens County, South Carolina. Lawrence's family went from North Carolina to Blackburg, South Carolina. Although, in 1860 he was in Cleveland County, North Carolina the same time as Jerry's family.
We think, cannot prove, that we are Scot-Irish decent and continue to search for our elusive common relative before 1790.
Group 21 - #7782 Ben, #32985 Arlen, #51771 James, #96334 Sanders, N40080 Michael
Having lost our former R1a1 members, I shall give us a new summary statement. On paper we can be quite sure that Ben, James, Sanders and Michael are descendants of Roland (Rowland) WILLIAMS born 1799/1800 NC and his wife Mary MILLS. We are pretty sure the NC county was Montgomery, which at least one researcher referred to as a "burned county" limits documented proof. From NC they went to Carroll Co., TN circa 1830.
Arlen is two markers off of Ben. However, the "paper trails" do not connect. For the same time frame Arlen's paper trail is from Barren Co., KY to Washington Co., IL. Before Barren Co., it was Mercer Co., KY and VA, exact county not yet clear. I believe that Arlen's Jonas WILLIAMS m. Elizabeth THOMPSON 1798 Mercer Co., KY and between 1799 and 1827 had these sons: William, John, Allen, James, Benjamin, Elihu (Hugh on a voter list), Asa, Jonas & Alexander. The parents of Jonas is thought to be Benjamin WILLIAMS & Winnie (BRICKEY ?). However, Benjamin's Will reads "Jones" not Jonas; and the Mercer County marriage first read "James" not Jonas. Benjamin WILLIAMS' Will was proved Jan. 1818; he had these sons: 'Jones', William, John, James, Benjamin, Richard, Thomas and David. -- Kay Chestnut, Group Leader
Group 22 -The Most Recent Common Ancestor of this line remains unknown, but is suspected to have been born circa 1770 and living in North Carolina by 1790. This Williams progenitor had at least four children born in the Carolinas: Elijah (b. 17 November 1790); William "Buck" (b. 1793); Ezekiel (b. 13 March 1795); and George W. Williams (b. 5 February 1802). The brothers migrated from North Carolina into Tennessee, where at least William enlisted in the War of 1812. The militia with which he fought campaigned south into Alabama, and all four brothers lived in Alabama following the war. Subsequently, the brothers moved into Mississippi and died there: Elijah just across the Alabama State line into Noxubee County, and the other three brothers into the Choctaw County area. Of interest is that the haplogroup designation was not readily apparent from the DYS values; SNP testing April 2005 resulted in a biallelic marker of P25+, a marker denoting the R1b1 subclade.
The Most Recent Common Ancestor of this line remains unknown. Two members of this group have pedigree pointing the common ancestor as suspected to have origins in Wales. One member currently resides in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. One member believes his earliest ancestor arrived in US in early to mid 1600's, as part of the Welsh migration to Pennsylvania. The earliest ancestor of origin in America is noted to be in VA with circa 1726. The seat of origin for the common ancestor here in America seems to point to North Carolina, but is suspected to have been born circa 1726 (VA or PA). Three members have confirmed ancestors born in NC between 1753 and 1790, with migration from NC of some of the brothers or their descendents covered the new areas of AL, OH, IN, MD and VA. One member has tested 67 markers and is very close to a Maddock.
The mutual common ancestor of Group 28's participants is unknown. Participant 36212 descends from John Williams who died 1750 in Richmond Co., VA through his grandson Roger Mackerness Williams who migrated to Edgefield Co., SC where he died in 1836. Participant 20312's presumed earliest ancestor is John Williams b. ca. 1774 in VA. His son Stephen C. Williams was born ca. 1808 in SC and married a woman from Edgefield Co., SC. Though the two participants' lines were in the same geographical regions, no connection has been found to date between the two lines.
Group 29. Earliest ancestors 1)Jobe Williams circa1750-1760 in NC; 2) William Williams circa 1750 (Lunenburg,VA) d. 1826 in Piney Grove Twp, Sampson Co., NC; 3) John Williams circa 1791 (South Wales) d. 1865, Newton, OH; 4) Presley Williams circa 1790 Frederick Co., VA; d. 1860 Warren Co., VA. Later ancestors 1) Frank circa 1879 IA; Martin b. 1814 Cumberland Co., KY d. 1837 TN. Any connection to these earlier ancestors is still elusive. Jobe is noted as having 10 children with three known sons Isaac, Benjamin, and George who eventually migrated to other parts of NC and GA ultimately to AL. William m. Mary Bell d/o Archibald Bell and Mary _______. There 5 children William, Redden/Redding, Arthur, Nathan(ancestor to Jeffrey), and daughter Mary Williams Byrd living in and around the area of Lunenburg Co., VA. Presley had 11 children with 8 sons James B., Wilford Henry known locally as “Henry”, William B., Alfred, George C.. (not proven as yet), John, Daniel E., and Addison. Most of the Presley children married and you will find many of his descendents in the Front Royal – Chester Gap, VA area today. Some of the other sons migrated on to PA, IL, NE, and IA. John Williams had descendants that migrated to MO. Frank had descendants migrate to CA.
Jan(for Douglas), Group Leader
Group 32 consists of Williams’ that originated in or around Carroll Co., VA ca 1700s; 14 of the 15 current participants have been diligently working together to sort out the various Williams Families in S/W Virginia & N/W North Carolina.
Earliest ancestors of the respective participants are outlined here beginning with
1) Thomas the oldest documented line of the group. Thomas b. Abt. 1730, prob. Chester Co., PA. It is said by a descendant that his father was also Thomas, yet to be proven.
He appears to have moved to Grayson Co., VA in 1770s. By 1783 he entered 170 acres on the headwaters of Glade Creek, then in 1790 he added another 300 acres to his land.
Son, Thomas b. Abt. 1775 NC moved first to KY then to MO. d. 1853 while crossing the plains to CA (buried Summit, CA). He married Hannah Hibbard, b. 12 Feb 1782 in TN d. 11 Nov 1853 Vacaville, Solano Co., CA. Their son Jedediah (1804-1878) traveled to CA with his father, the rest of his children stayed in MO. It is believed this family includes William (Welch) & John, b. 1750-1760 from Grayson Co. (unproven).
2) Capt William (Welch) b. unk Pittsylvania Co., VA; d. unk Grayson Co., VA. He married Mary Safewright. Their 6 children: Henry b. 9 Sep 1871, William b. 1783, John b. abt 1785, Jesse b. abt 1796, Absalom, b. 1799 and Jonathan b. abt 1800. Henry & William migrated to Logan Co., OH, and Absalom went to Lawrence Co., MO. We’re unsure where the other’s lived.
3) John & wife Mary (LNU) had 4 children; John b. 1769-1774; Milley b. abt 1781; Jeffrey b. abt 1789; & Obediah b. Jan 1786. John, Jeffrey & Obediah moved to Logan Co., Ohio, and there is a record of their lines in the area.
4) David b. 9-14-1759, unk d. unk. Married Sarah “Sallie” LNU (1759-1834 VA) Abt. 1781-82. They had 11 known children as listed in the Family Bible. Several of their sons (John, Jesse & James T) moved west to Hickman/Carlisle & Ballard Co’s in KY. Son David went to Warren Co, TN, where his children were born. Most of the male lines have been well documented, but several of the female lines have no further information beyond their birth and death information in the Bible.
5) Samuel b. Abt. 1776 possibly VA/NC. First found in Carroll Co. 1794 Personal Property Tax List. He married Abt. 1801 Anne Newman b. Abt. 1781 poss. Shenandoah, VA (dau. of Coonrod Newman) d. 7 Mar1853 Carroll Co., VA area. Descendents of the family remained in the area and some residing on the original owned land of the 1700’s. One branch of this family is well documented with a rich local history including photos & data. It is suspected Enoch b. 6 Oct 1818 Grayson is part of Samuel’s line. Enoch m. Rachael Davis in 1839 Grayson Co., VA and they had 6 children. James, the oldest has a fairly well documented line and remained in the Piper’s Gap area of Carroll Co. William b. abt 1780 m. Nancy Anerton. One known child, John b. 27 Dec 1803 VA d. 1884 Pulaski Co., MO. He married Eda Stewart and they had 14 children.
Three matches are a result of unofficial adoptions or non-marital events, more research to determine where these individuals fit into the existing lines. At least one of these matches was the result of an affair, and the mother refused to tell the son who his father was. Another line knew their surname had been changed, but not why or where, so we have another mystery to try to solve. In our attempt to identify the Williams from Carroll Co., this group has pooled resources to sponsor DNA testing for other possible family. Know there are at least 3 distinct Williams’s families in the area and working with Groups 60, 64 & 69 to align the various families. Group 32 Coordinator - Lynda Cook
The 2 current participants in Group 35 each descend from a different son of John Henry Williams and Annie Catherine Shank. John Henry was born in Norfolk, VA in 1846 and fought for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. After the war he married Annie and they seemed to move around having children born in the states of Virginia, W. Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Tennessee and possibly other states. Would love to find out who John's parents were and if he had any siblings. Family folklore is John's family came from Wales and were miners.
Group 41 - Oldest proven ancestors for three of the five participants are DANIEL T. Williams and Cassandra (Prather) Williams of Newberry Co., SC. DANIEL T. Williams was born ca 1740 MD or VA and died aft. Dec.1823 Newberry Co., SC. The first record for Daniel in Newberry Co., SC is his Colonial Headright land grant of July 1771. Research and source documentation indicates that Daniel’s parents were likely JOSEPH Williams and Lydia UNK. Joseph died in Frederick Co., VA 1747. JOSEPH Williams (wife Lydia UNK), PROVIDENCE Williams I (wife Sarah UNK), REMEMBRANCE Williams (wife Catherine UNK), RICHARD Williams (wife Susannah Peters), ANN Williams (husband Richard Paulson/Polson, MARY Williams (husband Isaac Pennington) were likely siblings of or related to JOHN & MARY Williams who operated the ferry near the mouth of Opequon Creek, a branch of the Potomac River.
The connections of participants Robert Williams and Bob Williams have not been established. Robert Williams descends from JOSIAH Williams, JR and his wife SARAH (Williams) Williams who was a granddaughter of Daniel and Cassandra. Family tradition states that JOSIAH JR and SARAH were cousins and DNA proves Josiah JR’s connection to the DANIEL T. Williams family.
Bob Williams’ oldest proven ancestor WILLIAM GREENBERRY Williams was born 1826 IL. Daniel and Cassandra had sons that migrated to Posey Co. & Gibson Co. IN and it is highly probable that WILLIAM GREENBERRY is part of the Daniel and Cassandra Williams line.
Descendants of Rev. PROVIDENCE Williams II and Elizabeth “Betsey” (Gary) Williams of Newberry Co., SC are urged to join the Williams DNA project.
Group 43 This group has a strong marker match and confirms the current participants are closely related. In addition to the DNA testing of the Y-chromosome, which indicated a common ancestor within eight generations,genealogical research has established confirmatory evidence of our lines inter-relatedness as recently as six generations. The common ancestor of all lines (except Robert at present) trace back to Lewis Williams 1646 Nansemond County Virginia d. 1717 in Chowan County, North Carolina. His ancestor line has not been definitively delineated at present, but it is being researched by John Brayton, author of Order of First Families of North Carolina Registry of Ancestors volumn 2. Lewis' single surviving son (Anthony) produced two stable and productive lines each yielding surviving lines. These were Anthony Jr. and John. Anthony Jr. had two sons whose progeny descend to the participants in this group and others are a hopeful prospect. John's line produced an additional two sustaining lines. At present, these”cousins” reside in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arizona.
Group 49 - GGGrandfather Benjamin (b. 1810 KY d. KY) m. Mahala Watson Oct 1827 Hopkins Co., KY, b. 1810 KY d. KY. GGrandfather Thomas J.(b. Dec 24,1838 – Hopkins Co., KY); Grandfather, James Thomas (b. 1874 Sebastian Co., AR); Father Burton F. (b.1917 Sebastian Co., AR.). Still in the stages of discovery is the connection to Gerald Vowell & Elma Clamp ancestors in SC. Samuel Dwight is proven to be the grandson of James B. who is proven brother to Thomas J.
Group 60
The earliest common ancestor for at least two participants (Clayton & Sherry) is William Williams (ca. 1725 – 1802) and Jane Yarnell. There is a proven 3rd participant (outside of the group) through a sister (Mary) to William (1757-1838). Charles has identified his earliest ancestor as John (birth unk) d.1848 in Jackson Co., AL, m. Christena “Thursa” (Self ?). 1st wife for John Williams is unknown. Participants Carl, James, and William have abundant information to Jeremiah, The Elder (circa 1750). Andrew, David, and Alexander, are brothers and sons of Jeremiah The Elder. There is a reasonable probability due to the strong marker match, though not proven, that Jeremiah was also a son of William Williams (circa 1725-1802). He appeared in the Montgomery/Wythe, VA Tax Rolls 1782, 1787 – 1790, and 1793. This is during the same period that William Williams Sr. (see above) was carried on the same tax rolls. Mark connects to Jeremiah Williams, b. 11 Jun 1824 in TN, the son of David Williams, b. 20 July 1780 in TN, d. 22 Sept 1845 in Greene Co., MO
Some Williams pedigrees trace back to Evan Williams b. 1699 in Wales. Several Evan Williams show up in Eastern Virginia during these early colonial times. No death record in Wales has been found. Evan Williams had a daughter, Grace Williams, from Amelia Co., VA.
Group 63’s Mutual common ancestor is John Williams b. December 17, 1794 in present day Carroll County, Virginia. John moved with his parents—Jesse and Sarah (Bryant?) Williams—to White County, Tennessee about 1810. There he married Elizabeth Massa (Massey) about 1813 , daughter of John and Lucritia (Tucker) Massa.
White County Tax Lists show that both John and his father, Jesse, had left the county by 1819 with both their names later appearing on an early McMinn County, Tennessee 1821 petition, along with John’s brother-in-law Borden McCoy. McMinn County records show Jesse died in 1830 and Sarah some eight years later; John purchased their home-place from his siblings.
Participant 2122 descends from John and Sarah’s third child and second oldest son Elijah, where participant 90594 descends from their youngest son Henry G. Elijah was born April 6, 1818 in White County Tennessee; married March 4, 1860 Elizabeth Lodosikia Wiley; and died September 20 1876 in Barry County, Missouri.
Elijah was among five of John and Sarah’s sons that migrated to southwest Missouri over a twenty year period beginning in 1851. At the time of Elijah’s death Elizabeth was pregnant with their tenth child Elijah Alba who was born April 17, 1877 in Barry County; married August 21, 1898 Mildred Armetta “Metta” Smyth; and died July 11, 1958 in Stone County, Missouri. Participant 2122’s father, Jess Thomas, was born December 23, 1914 in Barry County and was the sixth child of Alba and Metta.
Group 84 Stephen and Kenneth are an exact match at 27 markers where they connect still eludes this group. Stephen Clinton Williams family descends from Roger Williams (1603) of Rhode Island. “His family still owns a summer home on Prudence Island, Rhode Island. Half of this Island was owned by Roger Williams by Royal Patent in 1640s onward.” Prudence Place was built by George W. Williams in the 1880s for his son Edward B. Williams. Roger Williams Association site posts the lineage and is repeated here for the project. (1) Roger Williams (1603-1683) m. Mary Barnard (2) Daniel Williams (1641-1712) m. Rebecca Rhodes. (3) Joseph Williams (1692-1759) m. Sarah Whitman (4) Benoni Williams (1716-1782) m. Abigail Monroe Smith. (5) William Williams (1749-1825) m. Dorcas Shippee (6) Larned Williams (1810-1855) m. Sarah Ann Cranston. (7) George W. Williams (1836-1910) m. Elizabeth Darling Nickerson. (8) Edward Brown Williams (b. 1878) m. Mable E. Aldrich. (9) Edward Brown Williams Jr. (b. 1912) (10) Stephen Clinton Williams. This line of descendants of Roger Williams is still living in Providence, Rhode Island.
Kenneth’s family is documented from 1850 with Oren Capron Williams in Saratoga Co., NY. (1) Oren (Orrin) (1822-1877) is found in the 1850 census in Eagle, Wyoming Co., NY, enumerated with Fanny Williams and her son Lyman S. Williams. No proof of relationship has been found between Oren C. and Fanny Williams, possibly Oren’s mother given the age difference.
Oren. Oren’s wife, Adaline Grover and infant daughter were enumerated with her parents Kinney Grover & Elizabeth Walker. Adaline died in 1852, the same year that her second daughter was born. Oren moved to Clarke Co., IA and remained there until his death. He was a drummer in the Union Army and died in 1877 from sickness he contracted in the service. In 1855, Oren traveled back to NY to marry his second wife Susan Letitia Lanning. (2) Lyman Edwin Williams b. 1856 m. Mary Jane Gardner (John McBain Gardner and Mariah Jones) in 1880. (3) John Oliver Oren Williams (1881-1969) John m. his cousin (first double cousins) Jennie May Gardner (John Wesley Gardner and Adaline L Williams) (4) Royce Oren Williams (1916-1998) m. Lula George. (5) Kenneth is the second son.
Margo Lurvey, Group Leader
