Brief Life History of Eleanor
When Eleanor Williams was born on 11 June 1823, in Overton, Tennessee, United States, her father, James W. Williams, was 37 and her mother, Esther Jones, was 34. She married Willis Burten Harper on 16 November 1845, in Harrison, Missouri, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. She died in 1880, in Illinois, United States, at the age of 57.
Photos and Memories (1)
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Family Time Line
Sources (7)
- Ellen Harper in household of Willis Harper, "United States Census, 1850"
- James McReynolds & Eleander Harper, "McLean County, Illinois, Marriages, Groom Index"
- Unknown in entry for Mahalia Anne Leap, "Idaho Death Certificates, 1938-1961"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1825 · The Crimes Act
The Crimes Act was made to provide a clearer punishment of certain crimes against the United States. Part of it includes: Changing the maximum sentence of imprisonment to be increased from seven to ten years and changing the maximum fine from $5,000 to $10,000.
1832 · Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of other tribes, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, into Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832. Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but records show that he was hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on tribal land that had been given to the United States in the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis.
1839 · From Swamp to Beautiful Place
By 1829 Venus, Illinois had grown sufficiently and in 1832 was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. But during late 1839, arriving members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the small town of Commerce and in April 1840 it was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith Jr., who led the Latter-Day Saints to Nauvoo to escape persecution in Missouri. The name Nauvoo is derived from the traditional Hebrew language. It is notable that by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to around 12,000 residents, rivaling the size of Chicago at the time. After the Latter-Day Saints left the population settled down toward 2,000 people.
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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