Brief Life History of John
When John Williams was born on 9 February 1852, in Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales, United Kingdom, his father, Wiliam Williams, was 33 and his mother, Christianna Cartwright, was 23. He married Caroline Knechtel about 1877, in Berlin, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 5 daughters. He lived in Saginaw, Saginaw, Michigan, United States in 1880 and Essex, Essex, Ontario, Canada in 1911. He died in 1937, in Ionia, Ionia, Michigan, United States, at the age of 85.
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Family Time Line
Sources (30)
- John Willis, "United States Census, 1880"
- John Williams, "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927"
- Williams in entry for Albert F. Goodrich and Marie Williams, "Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925"
Spouse and Children
Children (11)
+6 More Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1854 · Creation of the Republican Party
A debate continues over the location of the creation of the Republican Party. Some sources claim the party was formed in Ripon, Wisconsin, on February 28, 1854. Others claim the first meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Michigan, on July 6, 1854, where the Republican Party was officially organized. Over 1,000 people were present and candidates were selected for the party, thus making it the first Republican convention.
1863
Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.
1875 · A Treaty with Hawaii
In the Mid 1870s, The United States sought out the Kingdom of Hawaii to make a free trade agreement. The Treaty gave the Hawaiians access to the United States agricultural markets and it gave the United States a part of land which later became Pearl Harbor.
Name Meaning
English: variant of William , with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s. This form of the surname is also common in Wales. In North America, this surname has also absorbed some cognates from other languages, such as Dutch Willems . Williams is the third most frequent surname in the US. It is also very common among African Americans and Native Americans.
History: This surname was brought to North America from southern England and Wales independently by many different bearers from the 17th century onward. Roger Williams, born in London in 1603, came to MA in 1630, but the clergyman was banished from the colony for his criticism of the Puritan government; he fled to RI and founded Providence.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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