Among the well improved and highly cultivated farms of North Otter
township must be numbered that of John Wilson Williams. He was born in
Morgan county, Illinois, on the 31st of July, 1836, and is a son of
William and Delila (White) Williams, the father a native of Kentucky and
the mother of Tennessee. They were married in the latter state and in
the early years of their domestic life removed to Illinois; the father
making the journey on foot while the mother rode an old mare and carried
her baby in her arms. All of the hardships and privations usually
visited upon early settlers of a country devolved upon them, but they
were young and possessed the courage, perseverance and tenacity of
purpose that characterizes the pioneer, never losing faith in the
ultimate success of their venture. They located in Morgan county in 1835
and there the father acquired a small tract of land which he set about
cultivating with his one mare. The following year they came to Macoupin
county, where they purchased forty acres of uncultivated and unimproved
land. Upon this Mr. Williams erected a small log cabin, replacing same a
few years later by a log house that is still standing. His constant
application and unremitting energy were rewarded by a fair degree of
success and he was able to add to his holdings from time to time until
at the time of his death his homestead embraced one hundred and eighty
acres of land, all in a good state of cultivation. He became known as
one of the successful agriculturists of the township and in 1868 erected
a two-story framehouse, at that period one of the finest farm houses in
the county. It seems somewhat quaint and old fashioned now, forty years
having brought many changes in architecture in America, but it is an
interesting place, pleasant and comfortable, the living room containing
a large fireplace that in winter adds cheer and brightness to the whole
interior. Mr. and Mrs. Williams were the parents of fifteen children:
Malinda, who is deceased; John W., our subject; Joseph, who is deceased;
Christie Ann, also deceased; Elizabeth, who is living at home; Susanna,
the wife of John Swift, of Macoupin county; Janetta, who is at home;
Amanda, also at home; Charles H., who is a resident of Carlinville;
William L., deceased; Samantha E., the wife of W. Z. Wilson of
Carlinville; and Oliver C., who was born on the 19th of September, 1855,
at Modesto, Illinois. The three eldest members of the family died in
infancy. The father passed away on the 9th of July, 1885, but the mother
survived until February, 1892.
John Wilson Williams was only an
infant when his parents settled in Macoupin county, where he grew to
manhood, obtaining his education in the district schools. In common with
other lads of the pioneer period he was early compelled to assist with
the work of the farm, to which his energies were entirely devoted from
the time he laid aside his text-books until he was twenty-one. Desiring
to set out for himself, he then rented forty acres of land from his
father, the cultivation of which proving so lucrative that in 1859 he
purchased eighty acres of him. He immediately settled upon this land and
there he has ever since resided, having made all of the improvements
upon the place during the period of his occupancy. Success having
attended his efforts, he has added to his holdings at divers times until
he now owns one hundred and thirty acres of land, which he devotes to
general farming. Mr. Williams went to the front in 1862 as a member of
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under
Colonel Rinaker, being discharged at the close of hostilities in 1865.
He participated in all of the battles in which his regiment engaged, and
while at Trenton, Tennessee, was taken prisoner. After being held for
thirteen days he was paroled and sent to Columbus, Kentucky, thence to
Benton Barracks at St. Louis. He was unfortunate enough to contract a
very severe case of rheumatism at this time from which he suffered for a
long period thereafter.
On Christmas day, 1857, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Williams and Miss Martha Jane Wilson. Mrs. Williams,
who was a daughter of John Wilson, passed away in 1905. To them were
born five children: Christiana, the widow of Samuel Rafferty, of
Macoupin county; Malinda, who is at home; Mary S., the wife of Thomas
Evans, of Kansas; Elizabeth Belle, the wife of Jesse Berry, of Macoupin
county; and John W., the youngest son, who is also a resident of this
county.
Mr. Williams affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal
church of which his wife was also a member, while his political
allegiance he gives to the republican party. He keeps up the ties he
formed during his three years of service on the southern battlefields by
means of his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, to whose
interests he has ever been faithful. In all of his relations of life,
both public and private, Mr. Williams has ever shown the same spirit of
loyalty that characterized him as a soldier.
Extracted 18 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 703-705.
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