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William H. WILLIAMS. Prominent among the business houses of Lawrence County, Mo., is the general merchandise firm of Williams & Co. Mr. Williams is the senior member of the firm, and T. H. MABERRY and B. W. CHILDRESS are the junior members. All are Missourians, and have been tillers of the soil. They carry a large and well-selected stock of goods, and, by their energy and fair dealing, have a lucrative trade. They also handle produce and deal in cattle. Mr. Williams is about thirty-seven years of age, and besides his interest in the store, owns 200 acres of land, the principal part of which is under cultivation. He is postmaster at Chesapeake, and is unmarried. T. H. MABERRY, the second member of the firm, is twenty-nine years of age, and was married to Miss Izora KIRBY, a daughter of James H. KIRBY, of Mount Vernon, Mo. Mr. Maberry owns 220 acres of good farming land, which is considered very valuable and is situated on Turnback Creek. B. W. CHILDRESS, the junior member of the firm, is thirty-seven years old, and is married, his wife being Miss Retta GIBSON, daughter of W. K. GIBSON, of Lawrence County. Mr. Childress has an excellent farm of eighty acres.
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Lieut. William J. WILLIAMS, farmer, was born in Grayson County, Va., (now Carroll County), on his father's farm, in 1834, and is the son of Absolom WILLIAMS, and the grandson of William WILLIAMS, who was a captain in the War of the Revolution, and served five years. He was under the command of Gen. GREEN, and was in the battle of Guilford Court House. He was a native of Pittsylvania County, Penn., and immigrated to Carroll County, Va. He married Miss Nancy SAFEWRIGHT, of England, and to them were born seven children: William, Jesse, Henry, Jonathan, John and two daughters whose names are forgotten. Mr. Williams lived on his farm in Virginia until his death, which occurred when he was eighty years of age. The father of the subject of this sketch was a native of Virginia, and married Miss Sarah BOBBITT, daughter of William BOBBITT. Six children were born to this union: Lucy, Nancy, Rebecca, Paulina, Mary Ann and William J. Mr. Williams moved to Missouri in 1841, and settled two miles northwest of Mount Vernon. He died at the age of eighty-five, and was a man noted for his honesty of purpose and upright character. He was a farmer by occupation and an excellent citizen. William J. Williams was reared on the farm, and received by a limited education. He came to this county with his parents when a boy, and in 1862 he enlisted in the Seventy-sixth Enrolled Militia, and served as second lieutenant. His company was consolidated into the Seventh Provincial Regiment Company, until about June 1, 1863, he being first lieutenant, when he enlisted in the Second Regiment, Company I, Missouri Volunteer Light Artillery, and served until August 23, 1865, being honorably discharged at that date. He was in the battle of Nashville, Tenn., and was in a great many severe skirmishes in Missouri. October 24, 1869, he married Miss Mary E. STAKELY, daughter of George and Jane (WARDEN) STAKELY, and they have two children, George A. and Sarah J. Mrs. Williams died December 22, 1874, and Mr. Williams married, May 18, 1879, Miss Mary E. SPILLMAN, daughter of Thomas and Martha B. (PARRISH) SPILLMAN. Three children were the result of this union, May, Mary L. and Harry C. Mr. Williams purchased his present farm in 1866, and has since added to it, until he now owns 322 acres of fine farming land. In his political views Mr. Williams is a Democrat, and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Lieut. Williams is in independent circumstances, and is well respected by all who know him. His record as a soldier should be preserved to the most remote generation, and valued as highly as the record of grandfathers who fought for the independence of the colonists. The grandson fought to preserve the government which his grandfather had assisted in forming.
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W. M. WILLIAMS, son of B. and M. B. (REA) WILLIAMS, was born in Lawrence County, Tenn., April 29, 1840. The father was born in South Carolina, and when yet a boy emigrated with his parents westward, and settled in Lawrence County, Tenn. The mother was born in Giles County, Tenn., and was the daughter of William REA, who was one of the pioneer settlers of that county. She lived in that State five years after marriage, when she moved with her husband to Lawrence County, Mo., in 1842. They first settled on Honey Creek, where they remained but a short time, after which they moved and settled a short distance from where Verona now stands, and before that was a town. From there they moved four miles below the head of Spring River. Mr. Williams was a blacksmith by trade, and followed this occupation for a livelihood until the breaking out of the late war, when, in March, 1862, he went to Arkansas, and there passed the remainder of his life, dying two months afterward. He was the father of seven children, two now living, William M. and John R. Those deceased were named George, Gibson, Mary S., James G. and two who died when infants. W. M. Williams, one of the two surviving members of the above mentioned family, and the subject of this sketch, remained in Arkansas after the death of his father. Shortly afterward he enlisted in Company G, Sixteenth Missouri Infantry, Confederate States Army, serving three years, having previous to that time served a short time in the Confederate States Cavalry. He participated in the following battles: Lone Jack, Prairie Grove, Pleasant Hill, Saline River and Jenkins' Ferry. His command surrendered at Shreveport, La. Mr. Williams then went to Texas, where he remained for two years, working for wages. He next went from that State to Kentucky with a drove of stock, and landed at Lexington. He then returned to the old homestead, and being a blacksmith by trade, established himself in that business, and so continued for about four years, after which he located on a farm one mile north of where he now lives, and devoted his time to farming. At the end of one year he married Miss Nancy N. CLINE, daughter of Samuel and Adaline CLINE,
natives of Kentucky and Missouri, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams were born five children, all now living: Lee Price, Aura Belle, Tennessee, John Morgan, and an infant unnamed. When Mr. Williams first moved to Missouri it was in a very unsettled condition, and the houses were few and far between. Farming was not very extensively engaged in in those days, and wild game, such as deer, turkeys, wolves, etc., were numerous. The great mineral wealth of the county has but recently been developed, and Aurora has arisen since his time. Mr. Williams has 170 acres of land, 150 under cultivation, within one-half mile of Aurora. He is a strong Democrat in his political views.
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John R. WILLIAMS, stock farmer, of Aurora Township, and the son of Barnett and Margaret B. (REA) WILLIAMS, was born in what is now Lawrence County, Mo., in 1843. The father was born in South Carolina June 19, 1815, and the mother in Tennessee October 5, 1816. [For further particulars of parents see sketch of W. M. WILLIAMS.] John R. Williams remained with his parents until nineteen years of age, when from August, 1862, until 1865, he served in the Confederate army, and participated in the battles of Prairie Grove, Helena, Pleasant Hill and Jenkins' Ferry. After the war he returned home and resumed his labor on the farm where he now lives, and which consists of 440 acres, with 300 under cultivation. He was married November 25, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth J. MILLER, who was born in Lawrence County, Mo., and who
was the daughter of John D. MILLER, an early settler of Lawrence County, coming to this county probably as early as 1837. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams were born six children, five now living; John B., Ida S., Sterling P., Charles M., Russell D. and Mary Ethel. Charles M. died when about six years of age. The mother died April 13, 1887. Mr. Williams has been quite successful in his business transactions, and is one of the wide-a-wake farmers of the county.
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