John Thomas Williams

Brief Life History of John Thomas

When John Thomas Williams was born on 17 April 1862, in Georgia, United States, his father, Thomas H. Williams, was 33 and his mother, Sarah Ann Doss, was 31. He married Margaret Jane Payne in 1884. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Wentworth, Rockingham, North Carolina, United States in 1870 and Catoosa, Georgia, United States in 1880. He died on 4 May 1938, in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee, United States, at the age of 76, and was buried in Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, United States.

Photos and Memories (2)

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Family Time Line

John Thomas Williams
1862–1938
Margaret Jane Payne
1866–1901
Marriage: 1884
John Payne Williams
1891–1973
Williams
1895–1895
Mary Adeline Williams
1898–1988

Sources (9)

  • Thomas Williams in household of Thomas Williams, "United States Census, 1880"
  • John T. Williams, "Tennessee Death Records, 1914-1963"
  • John T Williams in entry for John Payne Williams, "North Carolina, Department of Archives and History, Index to Vital Records, 1800-2000"

World Events (8)

1863

Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.

1865 · Sultana Tragedy

In April of 1865, the steamboat the Sultana exploded. The Civil War had been over for awhile so this was considered the worst maritime disaster in US history. Compared to the Titanic where 1,512 people were killed, 1,8000 soldiers were killed on the Sultana. Confederate soldiers that weeks earlier had been fighting with Union soldiers were now fighting to save their lives.

1882 · The Chinese Exclusion Act

A federal law prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. The Act was the first law to prevent all members of a national group from immigrating to the United States.

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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