Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Me

In July 2022, I started putting my family history information on WikiTree as one of the ways to validate my research and share my research with distant family.

WikiTree is a collaborative world tree with the Mission "to grow an accurate single family tree that connects us all and is freely accessible to us all, forever." The WikiTree site further explains its Vision as balancing "privacy and collaboration so that living people can connect on one world tree to common ancestors. . .  Collaboration on deep ancestors is between distant cousins who are serious about genealogical research, careful about sources, and willing to see their research validated or invalidated with DNA."  (www.WikiTree.com)

I was drawn to WikiTree because of the emphasis on documenting genealogy through sources. Also, important to me was the ability and encouragement to connect enslaved with enslavers -- whether it's a biological connection or not.

Once a week members get a WT News email with updates along with a "Featured Connections" to famous people. This week, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, was among my 12 connections. When I looked at the connection, it was through a marriage in my paternal line. I recognized the surname immediately -- Adair -- but the surname is connected to my maternal line.

Ms. O'Connor's third great-grandfather's brother, John Brooks, married Jane Adair who was the daughter of Whitmill Harrington Adair, who was the son of Bozeman Adair who was the enslaver of a branch of my maternal Washington family line (July 11, 2020 blog). Also, Whitmill's sister, Judith Adair married Elijah Williams who is the brother of John W. Williams, Jr. who is an enslaver in my paternal Williams line. John W. Williams, Jr. is the father of my great-grandfather, William Turner Williams. My blog of June 26, 2023 chronicles my paternal Williams enslavement.

So for me, WikiTree has proved it's point that we are all connected in some way or other. Below is the graphic of my connection to Sandra Day O'Connor.

Copyright © 2023 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Williams Enslaver Is My 3rd Great Grandfather

Spencer, Virgil, Clark, Isaac, Noel, Daniel, Henry, Jack, Bill, Snipe, Jim, Hilliard, Matilda, Maria, Ann, Betsy, Mary, Charity, Malinda, Rose, Amanda and Jerry

These are the people --  possibly my blood family --  listed in the 1849 Last Will and Testament of John Williams (Sr.) of Jones County, Georgia. He "bequeaths" these human beings to his children and grandchildren. 

The name Ann caught my attention right away because on the death certificate of my great grandfather, William Turner Williams, Annie is listed as his mother and John Williams is listed as his father. Also, Ann was among the "sixteen negroes" that John, Sr. bequeathed to his sons "to be equally divided among them." Did John (Jr.) select Ann as part of his inheritance? Most probably no matter which brother Ann went to, it's likely that John Jr. would have had access to her.  Could this Ann be the mother of William Turner and my 2nd great-grandmother?

I lifted up the names of the enslaved first to honor them and recognize their lives. 

I know the historical aspects of enslaver and enslaved intertwined in the same family, but to be able to document it within my family is hard to digest. As I process that John Sr is my 3rd great grandfather and his son, John Jr is my 2nd great grandfather, my concern centers on the enslaved individuals and the lives they lived.

Below is a chart of the direct paternal line from WikiTree uploaded from the Family Tree DNA yDNA test of my brother, Richard L. Williams. 

While I have only started preliminary research of this Williams line of European-descent, I have seen the Wills of each of these direct ancestors from George Williams, Jr. (1671-1750) to John W. Williams, Jr.(1812-1895) and each of these men Willed their land and enslaved people to the next generation --  five generations of enslavers!

WikiTree Williams-113378

Last Will and Testament of John Williams (Sr.)

"Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," database with images, FamilySearch : 20 May 2014), Jones > Wills 1809-1864 vol A-D > images 242-244 of 387

TRANSCRIPTION: 

John Williams' Will

In the name of God. Amen.

I John Williams of the State of Georgia and the County of Jones being aware of the certainty of death and the uncertainty of life, being in feeble body but sound & healthy mind and memory have thought proper to make and ordain there to be my last will & testament, in manner and form following, viz:

1^st I do hereby nominate and appoint my three sons, John, Thomas J and Samuel L Williams, Executors of this my last will & testament.

2^nd It is my desire and intention that my wife Mary shall have the use of the residence place and such negroes & stock as she may choose sufficient for her ample and d? suport during her natural life or widowhood.

3^rd I give to my son John Williams a negro man named Spencer to make him even with my other three sons to whom I have primarily given a negro.

4^th I give and bequeath to my four sons, Henry, John, Thomas J. and Samuel L. sixteen negroes, viz, Virgil, Clark, Isaac, Noel, Daniel, Henry, Jack, Bill, Snipe, Jim, Hilliard, Matilda, Maria, Ann, Betsy & Mary to be equally divided among them.

5^th I give and bequeath to my two grand children, Henry L. and Martha Elizabeth Densler the following negroes, viz, Charity, Malinda, Rose, Amanda & Jerry, in trust of my executors aforementioned & should they both die before the arrive to the years of maturity or the age of twenty one years said property with all that accrues to them from this instrument to revert to the remaining legatees.

6^th All the residue of my negro property I wish equally divided among my daughters Mittisiss, Barnard, Nancy Manderville, Katharine Bartlett and their issue after them & to the issue of my daughter Elizabeth Sawyer in trust of my executors (the portions following to Katharine Bartlett and the issue of Elizabeth Sawyer to be immediately under their control.

7^th I give and bequeath to my daughter Mittisiss And after her to her issue all of the lands I own or possess on the northwest side of Cedar Creek – though if her husband Jesse Barnard should wish to remove he shall have the privilege of selling it.

8^th I give and bequeath to my three sons, John, Thomas J. and Samuel L. all of my lands on the southeast side of Cedar Creek,

9^th I give and bequeath to my son Henry nine hundred dollars out of the moneys arriving from my estate.

10^th I give and bequeath to my grandson Jeremiah Mauderville two forty acre lots of land in the in the Cherokee County.

11^th All the residue of my property, money, crops, horses, mules, cattle, sheep, & hogs, carriages of every description, plantation tools, house & kitchen furniture, I wish equally divided among my four sons above mentioned & my daughters & their issue aforementioned, and the issue of my deceased daughter Elizabeth Sawyer and Martha Densler.

John Williams

Signed and acknowledged this 10^th day of October in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred & forty four in presence of

W. D.Ethridge

John P. Key

John L. Smith

Georgia Jones County

In Chambers, Dec 28^th 1849 and now in vacation before us, William Moreland and Jonathan Parrish two of the Justices of the Inferior Court of said County in person came William D. Ethridge & John P. Key two of the subscribing witnesses to the within instrument of writing and being duly sworn deposeth and saith that they saw John Williams the testator sign publish and declare the within instrument to be and contain his last will and testament and that testator was of sound and disposing mind and memory at the time of the execution there of and that deponents subscribed the same as witnesses together with John . Smith in the presence of the testator, and at his request, and in the presence of each other.

Sworn to and subscribed

before us, this 28^th Dec 1849              W. D. Ethridge

William Moreland J.I.C.                      John P. Key

Jona, Parrish J.I.C.

Recorded 16^th Jany 1850

Richard W. Bonner C.C.O.

Codicil to the Last Will and testament of John Williams

Georgia, Jones County

Whereas I John Williams did on the tenth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty four, Sign, Seal declare and publish my last will and testament in the presence of W.D. Ethridge, john P. Key and John L. Smith, who signed the said will and testament as witnesses, and whereas I am desirous of altering and changing two items in said Will and Testament, I therefore make and publish this codicil to said Will.

First I revoke and change so much of the fourth item of said will as relates to my son Henry Williams, and hereby give and bequeath the sixteen negroes in said item mentioned to me three sons, John, Thomas J. & Samuel L. Williams.

Second I also entirely revoke and expunge the within item of said will which gives to my son Henry nine hundred dollars as when he shall receive Six hundred dollars more from me, he will have received his entire share and interest of my estate.

Signed sealed published and declared by John Williams Sr. as a codicil to his will and testament of the tenth of October in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and forty four, in presence of us.

W. D. Ethridge                           his

Alfred Wyche                  John W. Williams

J.A. Ethridge                           mark

Georgia, Jones County

In Chambers, Dec 28^th 1849

And now in vaction before us William Moreland and Jonathan Parris two of the Justices of the Inferior Court of said county in person came William D. Ethridge and Alfred Wyche two of the subscribing witnesses to the within instrument of writing and being duly sworn deposeth and saith that they saw John Williams the testator sign publish and declare the within instrument as a codicil to his last will and testament as herein designated – that testator was of sound mind and disposing memory at the time of the execution thereof and that deponents together with J.A. Ethridge subscribed to the same as witnesses in the presence of testator at his request and in the presence of each other.

Sworn to and subscribed                       W. D. Ethridge

before us, this Dec 28^th  1849               Alfred Wyche

William Moreland J.I.C.

Jona. Parrish J.I.C.

Recorded 16^th Jany 1850

Richard W. Bonner C.C.O.

Copyright © 2023 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Gravesites of William Turner Williams and Mary Jane Clark Williams

William Turner Williams and Mary Jane Clark Williams are my paternal great-grandparents. They are the parents of my grandfather, Willie Frances Williams, who is the father of my father Willis Burkett Williams.

Headstone of Mary J Williams
Photographed by Patty Shreve
Find-a-grave site

 MARY JANE CLARK WILLIAMS

Through a series of leads today (8/29/2022), I virtually saw the gravestone of my paternal great-grandmother, Mary Jane Clark Williams. It started with that Ancestry hint which led me to Newspapers-dot-com. Click. There was her death notice in The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Georgia) from Sat, 6 Nov 1948 (page 10). I easily recognized my great grandfather's name, W.T. Williams, as her surviving husband, along with their eight daughters: Annie, Virginia, Hattie, Fannie, Maggie, Daisy, Edna, Mary Jane and sevens sons: Joe, Willie (my grandfather), George, Carl, Herman, John, Harris. Each name had the city where they lived at that time -- verifying information and in some cases, providing me with new information.

Other new information included the name of her sister, Mrs. Sina Pound of Macon; the names of two sisters-in-law Mrs. Eliza Clark and Mrs. Ola Clark both of Macon. My guess is that they are her brothers' wives. Wow, my great-grandmother had at least one sister and two brothers.

Further information: "Funeral services will be held at Williams Chapel AME Church near Haddock, the day and hour to be announced later. Hutchins' Funeral Home." In a search I found two churches with the same name near Haddock, so I decided to first reach out to the funeral home, asking for a funeral program. I was surprised with a same-day response that took me back another generation!

"We do not have a funeral program. We only kept cards back in the 1940's.

This is the information on the card:

Name:  Mary Jane Williams

Date of Death: November 3, 1948   Age: 54

Place: Macon, GA

Date of Birth: March 25, 1894 

Place: Jones Co. GA 

Father's Name: Austin Clark - born in Jones Co. GA

Mother's Name: Marth(a) Pounds - born in Jones Co. GA

Occupation: Laborer

Cause of Death: Unknown

Informant: Fannie Hudson

Funeral: 2:00 p.m. 11/8/1948 at Wiliams Chapel AME

Burial: 11/8/1948 at Williams Chapel AME cemetery in Haddock, GA"

*NOTE: Her birth year is about 1864.

   

I was so excited about the information provided by Hutchins Funeral Home that I immediately looked at Find-A-Grave for the Williams Chapel AME Cemetery. I added all the new information from the funeral home, along with the picture of her gravestone to my family tree. 

WILLIAM TURNER WILLIAMS

Then it dawned on me, what about my great-grandfather, William Turner Williams? Another email to Hutchins Funeral Home provided information on him. Again, it took me back another generation.

Not sure if this is the right person but it's the only one in 1954 that came close.

Name: W.T. Williams

Residence - 2195 Neal Avenue

Place of Death - Macon, GA

Date of Death - July 29, 1954

Date of Birth - August 25, 1884  age 64

Place of birth - Jones Co., GA

Father's name - John Williams

Mother's name - Annie ? (Maiden name)

Occupation - Farmer

Spouse - Mrs. Mary Williams

Informant - Mrs. Rufus Hudson

Funeral - 1:00 p.m. August 2, 1954 

Williams Chapel AME - Burial in church cemetery at Williams Chapel AME

*NOTE; His birth year is about 1858.

Headstone of William Turner Williams
Photographed by Patty Shreve
Find-a-grave site

I am beyond grateful to the "angel" who took the time to photograph my great-parents' headstones and to the person at Hutchins Funeral Home who responded to my inquiries. I have both shouted for joy and cried happy, mournful tears over this new information which, of course, leads me to more questions to research.

*NOTE: Their death dates of 1894 and 1884 were clearly typos because their daughter Fannie Williams Hudson (Informant) was born in 1898.

Copyright © 2022 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Putting Together the Family Unit of William Turner and Mary Jane Williams

Recently I have been on a mission to locate, verify and place on a timeline the children of a paternal set of grandparents, William Turner Williams and Mary Jane Brown of Georgia. These are the parents and siblings of my father's father's (his first name William or Willie or Willis, middle name Frances) .

The 1900 U.S. census is first one I have for the family (darn that 1890 census!).  They are living in Ethridge, Jones, Georgia. Turner and Jane were married in 1882 and have five children listed as their sons and daughters:

Year: 1900; Census Place: Ethridge, Jones, Georgia; Roll: T623_207;
Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 61.

Hester, 10
John Tom, 9
William, 4
Fannie, 2
Maggie, newborn

This census also lists that Mary Jane gave birth to eight children of which seven were living.  Where were the other three children?  Since their parents were married for 18 years, could the other children be older and on their own.


The 1910 U.S. census again has Turner and Jane with five children but one from the previous census is gone (Hester) and one is added (Edna).   It is also recorded on the census that Mary Jane gave birth to 10 children and seven were living.

Year: 1910; Census Place: Ethridge, Jones, Georgia; Roll: T624_200;
Page: 12B; Enumeration District: 0080; FHL microfilm: 1374213

John T., 18
*Fanny, 16
*Maggie, 14
*Willie, 12 Transcribed as daughter but this is William (male) from previous census
Edna,  (?) The transcription has Ed but I think this should be Edna who was born in 1908 and chronologically would have been the last child listed.

*Ages not consistent with previous census.  The birth order and ages on some the the children are different, but understandable since initial birth years were listed as "about".


The 1920 U.S. census has W.T. and Mary Jane and the family living in Lesters, Jones, Georgia.  I have found no information on Lesters, other than it being Militia District 305. There are ten children in the household, some additions and others from previous census records are gone --  probably on their own.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Lesters, Jones, Georgia; Roll: T625_265;
Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 127

W.F., 23
G.W., 16 (George,b 1902; where was he in 1910?)
Daisy, 14
Edna, 11
Carl, 10
Mary, 11
Herman, 5
Harris, 3
Louise, 4
Maggie, 20

Not only were there initials for the names of the father and two sons, but the transcription of this census was terrible; Herman was Hem*, Harris was Homer, and Maggie was Maygi --  so I really had to analyze this census. And then there was the Lesters factor.

The 1930 U.S. census has W.T. and Mary J. back in Ethridge, Jones, Georgia with three children.  Did they ever leave Ethridge or was it renamed for this census?

Year: 1930; Census Place: Ethridge, Jones, Georgia; Roll: 372;
Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0013; Image: 146.0; FHL microfilm: 2340107

Herman, 15
Louise Vinson, 15
Harris 13


It's been fun --  okay challenging -- searching for this family in the census with the slight variations in the parents names and the additions, subtractions and name variations of their children.  By the same token, I feel a bit out of place trying to put together my family who lived in a different time and space.

Copyright © 2019 by Sandra Williams Bush, Ancestor Callings: Georgia and Mississippi Roots. All Rights Reserved.

Jones County, Georgia (1807-1907)

Through the library system of Inter-Library Loan (ILL) I was able to get the book, History of Jones County Georgia: For One Hundred Years, Specifically 1807 - 1907 by Carolyn White Williams.  I requested the book because my paternal great-grandparents, Turner WILLIAMS and Mary Jane BROWN, are from Jones County, Georgia and I wanted to get a feel for the area during the time they lived there.

There was information that I could further research, like:

" . . . the slaves in Jones County came in from the Carolinas, Virginia and Maryland and were about four generations removed from the savage African Negro." page 32  (Okay the "savage" is a bit much but being four generations removed is very interesting.)

" . . . Until emancipation the negroes had no surnames, though often they used their owners.  After freedom they did, on most occasions adopt the family name of those with who they had lived."  page 68  (Is this why my last name is Williams)

 "The Negroes before the Civil War worshiped in the same buildings with the whites in the country churches" (page 66) and the list of "colored churches"  with organization dates, ministers, trustees and other information (pages 71, 72).


There are laughable statements such as  "In the North the slaves were never profitable, the negro was not suited for the cold climate.   The agricultural south suited him better as to climate and as to work. The work was manual, uncomplicated and routine; plowing, planting, cultivating and picking, from February to December.  He liked the South and was thriving in it." (page 100)  This particular statement had me laughing because (1) I have lived in the North all my life and so have both of my parents; and (2) it reminded me of a class in my freshman year of college.  I don't know what the topic of discussion was, but I clearly remember the philosophy class discussion in which a student said that Blacks didn't play hockey because their skin disintegrates in the cold.  This was in the northern winter cold when I had to take two buses to get to the college.  (I was the only Black person in the class and one of a handful in the entire college.)

There are also many statements about the loving "Mammy" and familial ties between the negroes and their white families.


But way in the back of the book were family names with brief genealogies that really caught my attention. "The first Williams came to America from Wales about 1620 to Culpepper, Co, Va.  John Williams and Mary Childers moved to Warren Co., Ga. in the late 1700s.  They had a family of four boys and six girls.  When Jones County was formed from Baldwin Co., these four boys were living near Blountsville. Samuel, Henry, John and Thomas Jefferson Williams.  . . . " (page 701).

WAIT A MINUTE!!!

(1)  There is a 13-year old Turner Williams (possibly my great-grandfather) listed in the 1870 Clinton, Georgia census on the same page as Thomas Jefferson Williams  --  and on the previous page is John Williams.
(2)  My European DNA is mainly from the Great Britain area.
(3)  A DNA cousin of European descent contacted me who is directly related to John and Thomas Williams.